Hello, everyone. I apologize for the lateness of this column. I’m quite sure it’s late because this particular installment was supposed to go live this morning, and yet I’ve not been able to get around to it until just now. The little one is sick, you understand, and sacrifices must be made. I’m sorry about that, but I hope you’ll understand. Let’s get to it, shall we?

The Imperial Histories

I know that we concluded our previews of this particular book some time back, and that’s not changed, but I did want to share some information about it with you this time around. My august superior, Todd Rowland, recently released some information on the book, specifically that it will hit shelves in January and previewed its rocking cover. It’s perhaps my favorite out of all the books so far, and I think you’ll agree that it’s incredibly dynamic and exciting. Anyway, in addition to all the previews you’ve read in previous installments of this column, I wanted to let you know that we have a number of exciting previews with additional material. Specifically, we’ve got what basically amounts to extra mini-chapters, most of which were created by fans just like you, dear readers. When we had the contest to see who was going to include their material in the book, there were some entries that I liked too much to just toss away. So I spoke to the authors, and we got quite a few who were interested in contributing. Now, when next month rolls around and we start to get some PDF previews, you’ll be able to see exactly what kind of thing you’ll find inside the book, but without spoiling any more of the contents. Hopefully you’ll agree with me that it’s the best of both worlds! I’m looking forward to it tremendously.

The Book of Air

I’m pleased to inform you that the Book of Air has gone… well, not gold, so maybe silver? I’m not sure what the proper expression is, exactly. What I mean to say is that all the art has been selected and the book is in the process of being laid out by our talented master of the digital arts. There will be a proofreading stage once the PDF files are completed, so there’s still an opportunity for us to make any last minute changes that come up (such as in case anything in this column brings us to a profound realization regarding balance or errors), but for the most part we are well on the way for it to be released in the second quarter of next year. I hope you’ll enjoy it, since you guys helped shape its contents!

For today’s preview, I thought I’d go one more round with some sweet shugenja goodness, and share a really interesting idea created by one of our freelancers. We liked it so much, we figured we’d better include some mechanics as well.

Miscellaneous Alternate Path: Sisters of the Sacred Light
Technique Rank: 2 Replaces: Asahina Shugenja 2, Isawa Shugenja (Air) 2, Moshi Shugenja 2 Technique: Light Banishes Lies – The sisters of the sacred light specialize in the revelation of illusions as the falsehoods that they are. When attempting to banish kami of Air, who are of course responsible for the vast majority of illusion effects, you require only two Raises on the Sense spell (rather than the normal three) and only three Raises on the Commune spell (rather than the normal five).

Strongholds of the Empire

The good news continues! I finally got approval this morning to send Strongholds for art selection and layout! The first ever PDF-exclusive L5R RPG sourcebook is going to be a reality in the not-too-distant future! This is very exciting because there’s a lot of neat stuff in here that has been in the can for like… holy cow, something like three years? That’s insane! It’s time to share the love. The book contains no less than 21 new Alternate Paths, including options for all the clans as well as some unaligned options, and it also has a nice selection of 24 new Advantages or Disadvantages of a regional nature. Last time we took a peek at the Unicorn’s Calm Heart Duelist, so now let’s look at one of the new Advantages! In this case we are examining the Advantage/Disadvantage pair that accompanies the Mantis Clan themed chapter, which concerns Broken Wave City.

New Advantage: Broken Wave Citizen [Social] (3 points)
Broken Wave City is the beachhead of the Yoritomo family’s influence upon the mainland, and as such is a center of commerce, education, and military organization. Those who dwell within the city have an incredible wealth of opportunity available to them due to the city’s importance to the clan. You gain a bonus of +1k0 to the total of all Commerce and Sailing Skill Rolls.

New Disadvantage: Broken Wave Stigma [Social] (2 points)
Your status as a citizen of Broken Wave City is a constant reminder of the past difficulty between your clan and the Phoenix. Despite their inclination toward pacifism, many have found the War of Fire and Thunder difficult to forgive. You suffer a penalty of -1k0 to all Social Skill Rolls made targeting members of the Phoenix Clan. You gain one less point than normal when purchasing the Sworn Enemy or Nemesis Disadvantages if the other party is a Phoenix Clan samurai.

The Secret Project!

Last time I told you that we have a secret project we’re working on. I’m pleased to say that since that column, the project has broken ground and is well underway with an all-star team of writers and freelancers! I’m extremely excited about it, and I can tell you that it’s something we’re hoping to make a huge splash in the RPG community at GenCon next year. Unfortunately, I think it’s probably best to keep things a little close to the vest until I know for certain that we’re going to hit that mark. I don’t want to get you all riled up and then disappoint you. So, sufficed to say, I won’t be mentioning this any more until I can absolutely, positively tell you that we’re on track for a GenCon release! However, the first drafts are due in on January 20th, and I’m already a’tingle with excitement about reading them when they do make it.

Catch you later, fellow samurai aficionados!