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This is the sixth in the series of the "Way of" books for the Legend of the Five Rings RPG. The subject this time around is the militarist Lion Clan, the samurai's samurai of Rokugan.

For those of you already familiar with the world of Legend of the Five Rings, don't expect a whole bunch of suprises. Everything is pretty much as it was originally presented, almost stereotypically so at times. The Akodo family are still the thoughtful militarists, the Matsu are the emotional militarists, etc., etc.

The opening fiction is stuffed with samurai cliches - which is to be expected for this particular group, but the same stories of sacrifice for the greater glory of the clan an their descendants can grate after a bit, since the same idea is repeated umpteen times throughout the book. Still, most of it is quite good, or passable at the very least.

The information on the families is very good, however, and helps greatly. Though the information on the Ikoma is a little confusing - their founder was a mean, nasty old samurai, but they went on to become historians... but the discrepancy is never even touched upon. Still, the information is useful and meaty, and not one family is left uninteresting.

The character section is fairly good, though gamemasters may want to watch some of the new advantages for abuse - some are quite powerful. Some advantages and disadvantages are reprinted from the other "Way of" books, though it's wasted space if you don't have any. As usual, a variety of interesting character options are presented, like the Ikoma bards, Kitsu ancestor-magic, and a new bushi school for the Matsu. The Bujitsu section clears up any confusion anyone had concerning weapon skills (like, "What skill do I use for a polearm?"), thankfully.

The NPC character section is nice, though for some reason it seems longer than normal. As usual, even though the Kolat is mentioned, the various characters' associations with it are, for some reason, utterly ignored, which is unfortunate. It feels a little longer than it should be, however, but at least no family goes neglected.

Next are the sample characters. They're more particularly dull than usual, and hopefully Alderac will not repeat this habit after Way of the Phoenix (the most recent book in theseries). Ten pages go to waste on this tripe.

Next is the section on military matters. Very well done, and handy to all whom seek to run any sort of military engagement in the RPG... and what's a good samurai tale without a war? Almost invaluable to anyone whom makes a war a centerpiece of their campaign. There's a section on famous battle thereafter. Remember what I said about tales of samurai sacrifice? Well, here's some more. To give them credit, none of the examples are poor, in fact they're quite good, but they take up quite a bit of space without adding much that's particularly substantial.

Following that is a section on the Lion lands - rather handy, since going many places requires a trek through their provinces, and a good section on ghosts and Rokugani afterlife. Those gamemasters wanting to do anything with a character's soul post-death should take a peek at this.

Overall, Way of the Lion is a good piece. Though there's nothing unexpected or exceptional (for the "Way of" series), it does deliver everything one needs to make the Lion roar.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Way of the Lion
Author: Patrick Kapera, Ree Soesbee, and John Wick Category: game Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group Cost: 14.95 Capsule Review by Julian J. Kuleck on 12/15/98. Genre tags: Fantasy Asian/Far_East	This is the sixth in the series of the "Way of" books for the Legend of the Five Rings RPG. The subject this time around is the militarist Lion Clan, the samurai's samurai of Rokugan. For those of you already familiar with the world of Legend of the Five Rings, don't expect a whole bunch of suprises. Everything is pretty much as it was originally presented, almost stereotypically so at times. The Akodo family are still the thoughtful militarists, the Matsu are the emotional militarists, etc., etc. The opening fiction is stuffed with samurai cliches - which is to be expected for this particular group, but the same stories of sacrifice for the greater glory of the clan an their descendants can grate after a bit, since the same idea is repeated umpteen times throughout the book. Still, most of it is quite good, or passable at the very least. The information on the families is very good, however, and helps greatly. Though the information on the Ikoma is a little confusing - their founder was a mean, nasty old samurai, but they went on to become historians... but the discrepancy is never even touched upon. Still, the information is useful and meaty, and not one family is left uninteresting. The character section is fairly good, though gamemasters may want to watch some of the new advantages for abuse - some are quite powerful. Some advantages and disadvantages are reprinted from the other "Way of" books, though it's wasted space if you don't have any. As usual, a variety of interesting character options are presented, like the Ikoma bards, Kitsu ancestor-magic, and a new bushi school for the Matsu. The Bujitsu section clears up any confusion anyone had concerning weapon skills (like, "What skill do I use for a polearm?"), thankfully. The NPC character section is nice, though for some reason it seems longer than normal. As usual, even though the Kolat is mentioned, the various characters' associations with it are, for some reason, utterly ignored, which is unfortunate. It feels a little longer than it should be, however, but at least no family goes neglected. Next are the sample characters. They're more particularly dull than usual, and hopefully Alderac will not repeat this habit after Way of the Phoenix (the most recent book in theseries). Ten pages go to waste on this tripe. Next is the section on military matters. Very well done, and handy to all whom seek to run any sort of military engagement in the RPG... and what's a good samurai tale without a war? Almost invaluable to anyone whom makes a war a centerpiece of their campaign. There's a section on famous battle thereafter. Remember what I said about tales of samurai sacrifice? Well, here's some more. To give them credit, none of the examples are poor, in fact they're quite good, but they take up quite a bit of space without adding much that's particularly substantial. Following that is a section on the Lion lands - rather handy, since going many places requires a trek through their provinces, and a good section on ghosts and Rokugani afterlife. Those gamemasters wanting to do anything with a character's soul post-death should take a peek at this. Overall, Way of the Lion is a good piece. Though there's nothing unexpected or exceptional (for the "Way of" series), it does deliver everything one needs to make the Lion roar. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Way of the Lion