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Iuchiban was not a nice person. Five hundred years ago this maho-tsukai (blood sorceror) almost toppled the emperor. He was defeated, but such was his magic that he could not be killed. So his remains were shackled and buried away in a jade-walled tomb as deeply-hidden and lethally-trapped as Rokugan's artificers could construct. The trouble is, some of his followers are now trying to get to him. To free him? Whatever, it means that an ancient evil may be unleashed upon Rokugan…and, needless to say, that is where the players come in.

The Tomb of Iuchiban is an adventure set for L5R RPG, up to AEG's top production standards. Inside the box are:

- The GM's Guide, with a wider adventure to get the players involved, building on developments in the earlier adventure, Night of a Thousand Screams (although it is not necessary to have played or own this). Murders, witch hunters, nightmares, monks, a pennaggolan (a woman's head, trailing her disembodied organs – charming), this is an excellent adventure in its own right, let along the prelude to the main event. There is also a useful guide to the maho-tsukai.

- The Journal of Kuni Visten, a little booklet giving Iuchiban's history – a useful prop and background for the GM.

- The Tomb Guide itself, with full details on the 'dungeon' itself – a deathtrap rendered all the more bizarre by the warping effects of Iuchiban's power and consciousness.

- The Illustrated Guide to the tomb – plans and pictures of all of the rooms, orienting players and GMs alike. It's been done before, but it's still well done.

- Map of the Tomb and Room Tiles. Part of the weirdness of the inner tomb is that the rooms shift about, and distances and directions are never quite what they seem. Thus, the tiles can be drawn randomly to simulate this, as the players negotiate one horror after another trying to get to Iuchiban. A very neat touch.

This is clearly not another big box full of too little. This is also no ordinary dungeon crawl. It is inventive, full of colour and atmosphere and very, very deadly. L5R RPG can be lethal enough at the best of times, but the Tomb is loaded with all the traps sneaky Crab artificers can devise, and also infused with Iuchiban's insane dreams and delusions. Characters will have to be powerful, but more to the point, the players will have to be clever to get through this without fatalities.

Ultimately, the value of The Tomb of Iuchiban depends very much on personal taste. There is some background material and the run-up adventure is good. However, this is a dungeon. If that's what you want (and if nothing else, it has a certain retro novelty feel: it certainly brought back old memories of cheery dungeon-crawling in pre-Advanced D&D days!), then this is a good prospect. Otherwise, it has little to offer – except an insight into how many nasty ideas Rob Vaux can pack into 28 rooms!

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Tomb of Iuchiban
Author: Rob Vaux Category: game Company/Publisher: AEG Line: L5R RPG Cost: $29.95 Page count: n/a ISBN: 29220 300126 Playtest Review by Mark Galeotti on 07/08/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Horror Asian/Far_East	Iuchiban was not a nice person. Five hundred years ago this maho-tsukai (blood sorceror) almost toppled the emperor. He was defeated, but such was his magic that he could not be killed. So his remains were shackled and buried away in a jade-walled tomb as deeply-hidden and lethally-trapped as Rokugan's artificers could construct. The trouble is, some of his followers are now trying to get to him. To free him? Whatever, it means that an ancient evil may be unleashed upon Rokugan…and, needless to say, that is where the players come in. The Tomb of Iuchiban is an adventure set for L5R RPG, up to AEG's top production standards. Inside the box are: - The GM's Guide, with a wider adventure to get the players involved, building on developments in the earlier adventure, Night of a Thousand Screams (although it is not necessary to have played or own this). Murders, witch hunters, nightmares, monks, a pennaggolan (a woman's head, trailing her disembodied organs – charming), this is an excellent adventure in its own right, let along the prelude to the main event. There is also a useful guide to the maho-tsukai. - The Journal of Kuni Visten, a little booklet giving Iuchiban's history – a useful prop and background for the GM. - The Tomb Guide itself, with full details on the 'dungeon' itself – a deathtrap rendered all the more bizarre by the warping effects of Iuchiban's power and consciousness. - The Illustrated Guide to the tomb – plans and pictures of all of the rooms, orienting players and GMs alike. It's been done before, but it's still well done. - Map of the Tomb and Room Tiles. Part of the weirdness of the inner tomb is that the rooms shift about, and distances and directions are never quite what they seem. Thus, the tiles can be drawn randomly to simulate this, as the players negotiate one horror after another trying to get to Iuchiban. A very neat touch. This is clearly not another big box full of too little. This is also no ordinary dungeon crawl. It is inventive, full of colour and atmosphere and very, very deadly. L5R RPG can be lethal enough at the best of times, but the Tomb is loaded with all the traps sneaky Crab artificers can devise, and also infused with Iuchiban's insane dreams and delusions. Characters will have to be powerful, but more to the point, the players will have to be clever to get through this without fatalities. Ultimately, the value of The Tomb of Iuchiban depends very much on personal taste. There is some background material and the run-up adventure is good. However, this is a dungeon. If that's what you want (and if nothing else, it has a certain retro novelty feel: it certainly brought back old memories of cheery dungeon-crawling in pre-Advanced D&D days!), then this is a good prospect. Otherwise, it has little to offer – except an insight into how many nasty ideas Rob Vaux can pack into 28 rooms! Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)