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The Way of the Clans: Book Ten: The Way of the Wolf

for Legend of the Five Rings

by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman with additional material by Ree Soesbee

128 pages, perfect bound

$19.95

ISBN 1-887953-11-6

Grade: A-

Reviewed by Lisa Padol

The timing of this book was excellent. Way of the Wolf has the high quality I have come to expect from the L5R line, and it answers a question I have often pondered: Why would someone want to play a ronin?

I get the impression from material in other L5R books that there are many folks who love playing ronin, and that a sizeable percentage of these play obnoxious ronin. Even before Way of the Wolf came out, there was plenty of advice on bringing unruly ronin PCs to a better understanding of their precarious position in Rokugan. But I still did not understand why so many people wanted to play a ronin. Why play a dull lone wolf who doesn't fit into the group when you can play a PC from one of the Great Clans, complete with cool abilities and hooks for the complicated political intrigues I enjoy so much?

Well, ronin need not be limited to the dull and the boorish. No two ronin are alike. Easy to say, but difficult to grasp without concrete examples. Way of the Wolf provides many such examples, from the heroic to the dastardly. There are heimin who pretend to be ronin to escape the life of a farmer. There are samurai who pretend to be ronin to carry out delicate missions for their lords. There are those who are ronin only temporarily, whether because of an error on their part or because of a desire to go on an odd pilgrimage. A ronin may be born to his status or maneuvered into it, or he may choose it, with pride, contempt, or shame, depending on the circumstance.

All of these possibilities and more are explored in Way of the Wolf. It is organized like the other clan books, with an opening vignette, followed by five chapters, several appendices, a map of a small settlement, and blank character sheets. The art, as usual, is excellent. There is no bimbo art, and a reasonable percentage of ronin are women. There is no index, but neither is there a useless (to me) section on a ronin CCG deck.

If all this book provided were a history of the origins of the ronin, an overview of the variety of ronin, character templates, and new abilities and ancestor tables, it would still be a solid product. But the timing of its publication is what truly allows Way of the Wolf to shine.

I do not like the trend of creating canonical timelines, where players and GMs are left with the unappealing choice of updating their campaign or of not being able to use much of the material they purchased. However, L5R almost got it right, albeit by accident. Because the CCG preceded the RPG, it was possible for GMs to look at the "official" timeline for the game months before the Scorpion coup. This is not to say L5R is a perfect model of how to do a canonical timeline, far from it. Various recent sourcebooks are unclear about how much material applies to pre- and post-coup Rokugan, and even after reading Otosan Uchi, I am confused about details like exactly what happened to Toturi after he was poisoned and why Kachiko ordered the death of the geisha who poisoned him.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that the timeline created a rich world. And two events from that timeline "occurred" with the publication of Otosan Uchi: the destruction of the Scorpion clan and the fall of Akodo Toturi. It is not until after these events "occurred" that Way of the Wolf was published.

The timing of its publication allowed the authors to give a rich overview of the ronin population of Rokugan -- and then to show how recent events have changed the world of the ronin. There has been a sudden dramatic increase in the number of ronin, many with a complex agenda. And the most complex ronin of all may be Akodo Toturi. He has given many ronin a higher purpose and has given all ronin -- indeed, all Rokugan -- something to think about.

It is in at this point that Way of the Wolf appears, and the book is richer for it. This is not to say it couldn't have been improved. The authors presume that readers know the full Scorpion Coup background, which is not necessarily the case. One or two extra pages in the history section explaining about the new Scorpion and Akodo ronin would have helped. Yes, the material can, mostly, be pieced together as it is, but readers should not have to do this.

That complaint aside, Way of the Wolf is a fine addition to the line. It is not necessary for running L5R, but to my mind, this is a point in its favor. I recommend this to any GM who wants to understand the complex paradox of the place of the ronin in Rokugan, regardless of when the campaign is set or whether any of the PCs are ronin.

The Way of the Clans: Book Ten: The Way of the Wolf Lisa Padol
Item type: RPG Product Name: The Way of the Clans: Book Ten: The Way of the Wolf Author: Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman with additional material by Ree Soesbee Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group Line: Legend of the Five Rings SKU: Cost: 128 pages, perfect bound Page count: $19.95 ISBN: 1-887953-11-6 Ratings: Style 4 (Classy and well done) Substance 5 (Excellent!) Review type: Capsule Review	The Way of the Clans: Book Ten: The Way of the Wolf for Legend of the Five Rings by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman with additional material by Ree Soesbee 128 pages, perfect bound $19.95 ISBN 1-887953-11-6 Grade: A- Reviewed by Lisa Padol The timing of this book was excellent. Way of the Wolf has the high quality I have come to expect from the L5R line, and it answers a question I have often pondered: Why would someone want to play a ronin? I get the impression from material in other L5R books that there are many folks who love playing ronin, and that a sizeable percentage of these play obnoxious ronin. Even before Way of the Wolf came out, there was plenty of advice on bringing unruly ronin PCs to a better understanding of their precarious position in Rokugan. But I still did not understand why so many people wanted to play a ronin. Why play a dull lone wolf who doesn't fit into the group when you can play a PC from one of the Great Clans, complete with cool abilities and hooks for the complicated political intrigues I enjoy so much? Well, ronin need not be limited to the dull and the boorish. No two ronin are alike. Easy to say, but difficult to grasp without concrete examples. Way of the Wolf provides many such examples, from the heroic to the dastardly. There are heimin who pretend to be ronin to escape the life of a farmer. There are samurai who pretend to be ronin to carry out delicate missions for their lords. There are those who are ronin only temporarily, whether because of an error on their part or because of a desire to go on an odd pilgrimage. A ronin may be born to his status or maneuvered into it, or he may choose it, with pride, contempt, or shame, depending on the circumstance. All of these possibilities and more are explored in Way of the Wolf. It is organized like the other clan books, with an opening vignette, followed by five chapters, several appendices, a map of a small settlement, and blank character sheets. The art, as usual, is excellent. There is no bimbo art, and a reasonable percentage of ronin are women. There is no index, but neither is there a useless (to me) section on a ronin CCG deck. If all this book provided were a history of the origins of the ronin, an overview of the variety of ronin, character templates, and new abilities and ancestor tables, it would still be a solid product. But the timing of its publication is what truly allows Way of the Wolf to shine. I do not like the trend of creating canonical timelines, where players and GMs are left with the unappealing choice of updating their campaign or of not being able to use much of the material they purchased. However, L5R almost got it right, albeit by accident. Because the CCG preceded the RPG, it was possible for GMs to look at the "official" timeline for the game months before the Scorpion coup. This is not to say L5R is a perfect model of how to do a canonical timeline, far from it. Various recent sourcebooks are unclear about how much material applies to pre- and post-coup Rokugan, and even after reading Otosan Uchi, I am confused about details like exactly what happened to Toturi after he was poisoned and why Kachiko ordered the death of the geisha who poisoned him. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the timeline created a rich world. And two events from that timeline "occurred" with the publication of Otosan Uchi: the destruction of the Scorpion clan and the fall of Akodo Toturi. It is not until after these events "occurred" that Way of the Wolf was published. The timing of its publication allowed the authors to give a rich overview of the ronin population of Rokugan -- and then to show how recent events have changed the world of the ronin. There has been a sudden dramatic increase in the number of ronin, many with a complex agenda. And the most complex ronin of all may be Akodo Toturi. He has given many ronin a higher purpose and has given all ronin -- indeed, all Rokugan -- something to think about. It is in at this point that Way of the Wolf appears, and the book is richer for it. This is not to say it couldn't have been improved. The authors presume that readers know the full Scorpion Coup background, which is not necessarily the case. One or two extra pages in the history section explaining about the new Scorpion and Akodo ronin would have helped. Yes, the material can, mostly, be pieced together as it is, but readers should not have to do this. That complaint aside, Way of the Wolf is a fine addition to the line. It is not necessary for running L5R, but to my mind, this is a point in its favor. I recommend this to any GM who wants to understand the complex paradox of the place of the ronin in Rokugan, regardless of when the campaign is set or whether any of the PCs are ronin.