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The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan

by Rob Vaux, with some text by Edward Bolme and Andrew Heckt

for Legend of the Five Rings

Alderac Entertainment Group

$19.95

118 pages, perfect bound

Grade: A-

Reviewed by Lisa Padol

SPOILER WARNING: In the second to last paragraph of this review, I discuss a problem with City of Lies that gives away some details.

It is impossible to write a gaming supplement detailing THE secret conspiracy of the game world in such a way that it answers every objection of the critical reader. The conspiracy will be either incapable of working as written or too powerful to defeat. If the PCs can actually threaten it, it's a pathetic conspiracy, but if they can't, the players will be frustrated. It is impossible to create a conspiracy that avoids all of these problems. But, The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan comes close to succeeding.

The book is called The Merchant's Guide as a piece of misdirection. After all, the authors explain, you can hardly announce from the rooftops that it's about the Kolat, right? The Kolat wouldn't like that. I suspect the misdirection is also intended to increase the odds that players won't read it. How likely is it that a player of L5R will want a book that claims to be about merchants?

Well, there are some folks who grab everything that comes out for a game, and the generally high quality of AEG products encourages this. And there are people like me, who, while not all that interested in the idea of a merchant's guide, will still flip through the book in the store. The art is not only excellent, but is also partly designed to mislead someone just skimming the book. However, unless one completely ignores the text, even a cursory perusal will reveal that this is the book about the Kolat.

The Kolat is THE secret conspiracy of Rokugan, a land already full of secret conspiracies. Its history, goals, resources, and methodology are detailed in The Merchant's Guide. Everything makes sense: When I finished the book, I understood how the Kolat could remain as untouchable as they are, yet still be unable to succeed in its goals. The Kolat has a couple of advantages over the rest of Rokugan, but it is not a large organization, nor an omnipotent one. I can believe that the Kolat as presented could exist and function in Rokugan.

Nevertheless, if the PCs decide to go crusading against the Kolat, GMs will face a classic problem: If the PCs ever become any kind of a threat, the Kolat probably can and certainly should crush them. Otherwise, it loses credibility as an efficient conspiracy. But, if PCs are crushed when they make progress, the players will understandably get discouraged. The author has some suggestions for dealing with this, reminding readers that L5R is not GURPS Illuminati, even with the Kolat. Perhaps the PCs are part of a larger scheme of the Kolat, unknown to even them. Perhaps they have a powerful patron, although that can lead to some problems. After all, you don't want the NPC doing all of the work. Perhaps one or more of them work for the Kolat in some capacity. There are guidelines for that.

Many conspiracy sourcebooks stat out one low level dupe, one higher level manipulator, and one inner circle member. Not this book. There are ten leaders of the Kolat, and every single one of them is described and statted out. None of this "We'll be giving you more details in a later supplement"; all of the information a GM needs to run the Kolat is in one book. I like this. I do not need a sample dupe of the conspiracy; I need to know who runs it, even if the PCs never meet them.

The Merchant's Guide is rounded out with eight templates of sample Kolat agents, one from each clan, and one ronin. These are intended as NPCs, although some of them could work as PCs in a Kolat campaign. The layout is clean and the art up to the usual high standards, although there is, as usual, no index.

I do have one nitpick: the Kolat, it is explained, absolutely do not deal with the Shadowlands. Yet, in City of Lies, Kolat servants--not dupes, but people who know that they work for the Kolat--give their names to Oni, at their masters' command. The author of City of Lies was kept in the dark about the Kolat, and he produced a damn fine product. There ought to be some explanation of the contradiction. Allowing the appearance of sloppiness does both The Merchant's Guide and City of Lies a great disservice.

That aside, any GMs wanting to use the Kolat as a major faction should buy The Merchant's Guide. GMs who do not plan to use the Kolat or who plan to keep them in the shadows without worrying about exactly how they fit into the pattern of Rokugan do not need this book. However, I recommend it to GMs and authors who want to see how to create a believable powerful, but not omnipotent, conspiracy, one that poses a credible threat, but whose ultimate victory is far from assured.

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

The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan
Author: by Rob Vaux, with some text by Edward Bolme and Andrew Heckt Category: game Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group Line: Legend of the Five Rings Cost: $19.95 Page count: 118 pages, perfect bound Capsule Review by Lisa Padol on 05/21/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Conspiracy Asian/Far_East	The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan by Rob Vaux, with some text by Edward Bolme and Andrew Heckt for Legend of the Five Rings Alderac Entertainment Group $19.95 118 pages, perfect bound Grade: A- Reviewed by Lisa Padol SPOILER WARNING: In the second to last paragraph of this review, I discuss a problem with City of Lies that gives away some details. It is impossible to write a gaming supplement detailing THE secret conspiracy of the game world in such a way that it answers every objection of the critical reader. The conspiracy will be either incapable of working as written or too powerful to defeat. If the PCs can actually threaten it, it's a pathetic conspiracy, but if they can't, the players will be frustrated. It is impossible to create a conspiracy that avoids all of these problems. But, The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan comes close to succeeding. The book is called The Merchant's Guide as a piece of misdirection. After all, the authors explain, you can hardly announce from the rooftops that it's about the Kolat, right? The Kolat wouldn't like that. I suspect the misdirection is also intended to increase the odds that players won't read it. How likely is it that a player of L5R will want a book that claims to be about merchants? Well, there are some folks who grab everything that comes out for a game, and the generally high quality of AEG products encourages this. And there are people like me, who, while not all that interested in the idea of a merchant's guide, will still flip through the book in the store. The art is not only excellent, but is also partly designed to mislead someone just skimming the book. However, unless one completely ignores the text, even a cursory perusal will reveal that this is the book about the Kolat. The Kolat is THE secret conspiracy of Rokugan, a land already full of secret conspiracies. Its history, goals, resources, and methodology are detailed in The Merchant's Guide. Everything makes sense: When I finished the book, I understood how the Kolat could remain as untouchable as they are, yet still be unable to succeed in its goals. The Kolat has a couple of advantages over the rest of Rokugan, but it is not a large organization, nor an omnipotent one. I can believe that the Kolat as presented could exist and function in Rokugan. Nevertheless, if the PCs decide to go crusading against the Kolat, GMs will face a classic problem: If the PCs ever become any kind of a threat, the Kolat probably can and certainly should crush them. Otherwise, it loses credibility as an efficient conspiracy. But, if PCs are crushed when they make progress, the players will understandably get discouraged. The author has some suggestions for dealing with this, reminding readers that L5R is not GURPS Illuminati, even with the Kolat. Perhaps the PCs are part of a larger scheme of the Kolat, unknown to even them. Perhaps they have a powerful patron, although that can lead to some problems. After all, you don't want the NPC doing all of the work. Perhaps one or more of them work for the Kolat in some capacity. There are guidelines for that. Many conspiracy sourcebooks stat out one low level dupe, one higher level manipulator, and one inner circle member. Not this book. There are ten leaders of the Kolat, and every single one of them is described and statted out. None of this "We'll be giving you more details in a later supplement"; all of the information a GM needs to run the Kolat is in one book. I like this. I do not need a sample dupe of the conspiracy; I need to know who runs it, even if the PCs never meet them. The Merchant's Guide is rounded out with eight templates of sample Kolat agents, one from each clan, and one ronin. These are intended as NPCs, although some of them could work as PCs in a Kolat campaign. The layout is clean and the art up to the usual high standards, although there is, as usual, no index. I do have one nitpick: the Kolat, it is explained, absolutely do not deal with the Shadowlands. Yet, in City of Lies, Kolat servants--not dupes, but people who know that they work for the Kolat--give their names to Oni, at their masters' command. The author of City of Lies was kept in the dark about the Kolat, and he produced a damn fine product. There ought to be some explanation of the contradiction. Allowing the appearance of sloppiness does both The Merchant's Guide and City of Lies a great disservice. That aside, any GMs wanting to use the Kolat as a major faction should buy The Merchant's Guide. GMs who do not plan to use the Kolat or who plan to keep them in the shadows without worrying about exactly how they fit into the pattern of Rokugan do not need this book. However, I recommend it to GMs and authors who want to see how to create a believable powerful, but not omnipotent, conspiracy, one that poses a credible threat, but whose ultimate victory is far from assured. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)