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I have to say right now: This is a weird one.

The Tomb of Iuchiban is a full adventure for AEG's Legend of the Five Rings RPG, based on the popular CCG. For those of you not familiar with this game, it is set in Rokugan, a place very similar to feudal Japan and sets the players as members of one of the samurai clans that struggle for supremacy. The game was, in my opinion, the best new RPG of 1998. Good background, beautiful mechanics, and masterfully character-oriented.

Some background for the uninitiated: Several hundred years ago a powerful shugenja (or spellcaster) called Iuchiban rose up and attempted to overthrow the empire with the aid of his followers, calling themselves Bloodspeakers. He very nearly succeeded but was thwarted finally at the cost of many of the empire's finest samurai. Iuchiban was too powerful to actually kill, so he was imprisoned in a dungeon-tomb. A couple of centuries later, Iuchiban managed to escape the tomb and again almost wreaked total destruction. He was stopped and this time the greatest minds in Rokugan were brought together to build a tomb from which he could never escape. It was filled with traps, magical wards, and all manner of other nasties to prevent Iuchiban getting out and any of his followers from getting in. That was two hundred years ago.

The Tomb of Iuchiban concerns the PC's in a dark plot that could result in the releasing of the infamous sorcerer Iuchiban from his deadly tomb. It doesn't give away any secrets to say that this event might well spell ultimate disaster for Rokugan and the PCs are trying to stop it happening. So much is hinted at about this enigmatic super-villain in the main rulebook that I couldn't wait to get involved in an adventure that concerned him.

Anyway, so I bought the darned thing and opened it up. The adventure comes in a solid box, and contains quite a lot. There are a number of books, detailing the adventure, the background of Iuchiban and his Bloodspeakers and the dungeon itself. There is a map, and some nice-looking counters and tiles to use on the dungeon map itself. Everything looks good and has that all-too-important "well-made" feel which is often lacking in RPG products. My first impressions were that this was shaping up to be a cracker of an adventure.

I then began to read. Although, obviously, Iuchiban's actual tomb is the focus of the adventure, there's a lot that goes on before it appears. I read this bit of the adventure and I'm afraid to say it seemed like a glorified plot-hook; merely an excuse to get the PCs into the tomb. It is interesting enough, but not really too involving. This was the final verdict of my players. There are some good things going on, and it can be used as a follow-on from The Night of a Thousand Screams, (an earlier L5R adventure) but it just isn't what it could have been.

Never mind, I thought, the point of this thing is obviously the tomb itself, so that'll be where the action is. I read the tomb bit, and this is where it went very, very weird. The actual tomb part of the adventure seems like it was written by someone who played one too many D&D dungeon modules, is a raving lunatic, and really hates PCs. He wasn't trying to be original, he was mad!

I won't give much away, but I will say that going through the tomb is possibly the most deadly adventure for an RPG that I have ever seen, and I've played a lot of Call of Cthulhu! Room after room is filled with all manner of awful (but often original) traps and devices, both magical and mundane, which will probably leave your players in a sorry state or more likely, dead.

The dungeon is always good, at times ingenious, and shows occasional flashes of brilliance. It fits very well with the setting of Rokugan. It is interesting, well presented and suitably evil for the tomb of the most evil individual in Rokugan. It is also PC suicide.

After reading through the tomb section I had to go and have a rest, a strong drink, and a quiet cry to mourn for the characters who would surely die because of the pages that I held in my trembling fingers. "It's good", I thought, "It's very good. But it's so DANGEROUS!"

And that's The Tomb if Iuchiban in a nutshell: Average-to-Good adventure that climaxes in a really great dungeon that will almost definitely kill your PCs if run as presented.

The normal course of action for GM's when faced by something of this kind is to 'fudge' it slightly. Give the PC's a chance so that even if they do die they do it at a climactic moment, not in the first room of the damn thing (as might very well happen in this place). However, the background of the adventure makes so much of the tomb being created by the best in the business that to do so feels like a betrayal. The tomb is meant to be impenetrable, why are the PCs so special that they can get in? Then again, is it fair to run the PCs through this adventure knowing that destruction that awaits them?

In short, a true GM dilemma: Go for game playability or remain true to the setting? It is unfortunate that this dilemma must be faced, but in my opinion The Tomb of Iuchiban does not give you the option of going for both.

To conclude, this adventure box has a lot going for it, and I really wanted to like it. There's quite a lot of info in it about Iuchiban, and the adventure is quite a lot of fun. However, there isn't enough info on the Bloodspeakers to use it as source material for later adventures, and you can't run this with beginning PC's. If you already own earlier products like City of Lies and Night of a Thousand Screams, then buy this box if you can afford it. Otherwise, buy them first and even then think twice about spending money on this.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 3 (Average)

The Tomb of Iuchiban
Author: Rob Vaux Category: game Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group Cost: $29.95 Page count: 2 x 96 Playtest Review by Mao Chapman on 01/28/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Historical Asian/Far_East	I have to say right now: This is a weird one. The Tomb of Iuchiban is a full adventure for AEG's Legend of the Five Rings RPG, based on the popular CCG. For those of you not familiar with this game, it is set in Rokugan, a place very similar to feudal Japan and sets the players as members of one of the samurai clans that struggle for supremacy. The game was, in my opinion, the best new RPG of 1998. Good background, beautiful mechanics, and masterfully character-oriented. Some background for the uninitiated: Several hundred years ago a powerful shugenja (or spellcaster) called Iuchiban rose up and attempted to overthrow the empire with the aid of his followers, calling themselves Bloodspeakers. He very nearly succeeded but was thwarted finally at the cost of many of the empire's finest samurai. Iuchiban was too powerful to actually kill, so he was imprisoned in a dungeon-tomb. A couple of centuries later, Iuchiban managed to escape the tomb and again almost wreaked total destruction. He was stopped and this time the greatest minds in Rokugan were brought together to build a tomb from which he could never escape. It was filled with traps, magical wards, and all manner of other nasties to prevent Iuchiban getting out and any of his followers from getting in. That was two hundred years ago. The Tomb of Iuchiban concerns the PC's in a dark plot that could result in the releasing of the infamous sorcerer Iuchiban from his deadly tomb. It doesn't give away any secrets to say that this event might well spell ultimate disaster for Rokugan and the PCs are trying to stop it happening. So much is hinted at about this enigmatic super-villain in the main rulebook that I couldn't wait to get involved in an adventure that concerned him. Anyway, so I bought the darned thing and opened it up. The adventure comes in a solid box, and contains quite a lot. There are a number of books, detailing the adventure, the background of Iuchiban and his Bloodspeakers and the dungeon itself. There is a map, and some nice-looking counters and tiles to use on the dungeon map itself. Everything looks good and has that all-too-important "well-made" feel which is often lacking in RPG products. My first impressions were that this was shaping up to be a cracker of an adventure. I then began to read. Although, obviously, Iuchiban's actual tomb is the focus of the adventure, there's a lot that goes on before it appears. I read this bit of the adventure and I'm afraid to say it seemed like a glorified plot-hook; merely an excuse to get the PCs into the tomb. It is interesting enough, but not really too involving. This was the final verdict of my players. There are some good things going on, and it can be used as a follow-on from The Night of a Thousand Screams, (an earlier L5R adventure) but it just isn't what it could have been. Never mind, I thought, the point of this thing is obviously the tomb itself, so that'll be where the action is. I read the tomb bit, and this is where it went very, very weird. The actual tomb part of the adventure seems like it was written by someone who played one too many D&D dungeon modules, is a raving lunatic, and really hates PCs. He wasn't trying to be original, he was mad! I won't give much away, but I will say that going through the tomb is possibly the most deadly adventure for an RPG that I have ever seen, and I've played a lot of Call of Cthulhu! Room after room is filled with all manner of awful (but often original) traps and devices, both magical and mundane, which will probably leave your players in a sorry state or more likely, dead. The dungeon is always good, at times ingenious, and shows occasional flashes of brilliance. It fits very well with the setting of Rokugan. It is interesting, well presented and suitably evil for the tomb of the most evil individual in Rokugan. It is also PC suicide. After reading through the tomb section I had to go and have a rest, a strong drink, and a quiet cry to mourn for the characters who would surely die because of the pages that I held in my trembling fingers. "It's good", I thought, "It's very good. But it's so DANGEROUS!" And that's The Tomb if Iuchiban in a nutshell: Average-to-Good adventure that climaxes in a really great dungeon that will almost definitely kill your PCs if run as presented. The normal course of action for GM's when faced by something of this kind is to 'fudge' it slightly. Give the PC's a chance so that even if they do die they do it at a climactic moment, not in the first room of the damn thing (as might very well happen in this place). However, the background of the adventure makes so much of the tomb being created by the best in the business that to do so feels like a betrayal. The tomb is meant to be impenetrable, why are the PCs so special that they can get in? Then again, is it fair to run the PCs through this adventure knowing that destruction that awaits them? In short, a true GM dilemma: Go for game playability or remain true to the setting? It is unfortunate that this dilemma must be faced, but in my opinion The Tomb of Iuchiban does not give you the option of going for both. To conclude, this adventure box has a lot going for it, and I really wanted to like it. There's quite a lot of info in it about Iuchiban, and the adventure is quite a lot of fun. However, there isn't enough info on the Bloodspeakers to use it as source material for later adventures, and you can't run this with beginning PC's. If you already own earlier products like City of Lies and Night of a Thousand Screams, then buy this box if you can afford it. Otherwise, buy them first and even then think twice about spending money on this. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 3 (Average)