At first glance, you might mistake AEG’s Rokugan for a WotC product. Indeed, comparing this book side-by-side with WotC’s earlier release of Oriental Adventures, the layout and structure of the two books is nearly identical. This is not altogether surprising, since OA contained a considerable amount of information taken from AEG’s Legend of the Five Rings setting. The degree of coordination between the two companies is striking.
The purpose of the book is to describe the Legend of the Five Rings setting in d20 terms. While Oriental Adventures contained references to Lot5R, it also contained a lot of material from outside that setting. Rokugan focuses specifically on Lot5R and provides the background necessary for running a campaign there. Note that you’ll need Oriental Adventures, in addition to the D&D3e books, to have the full rule set.
The organization of the early part of Rokugan closely follows that of the WotC book: Classes, Skills, Feats, Prestige Classes, Magic. Some of this information, specifically the descriptions of the Samurai and Shugenja classes, is taken from OA. Some new classes, Courtiers, Ninja and Inkyo (a kind of Monk) are added.
One of the first major differences between Rokugan and Oriental Adventures is that the standard D&D classes are of limited value and availability. Some of the classes found in Oriental Adventures, like the wu jen, are missing from the Rokugan setting. Likewise, most of the usual player-character races, elves, dwarves, halflings, are not present. Instead, players may be human, nezumi (rat creatures) or naga (half-snake, half-human).
Honor, a characteristic described briefly in OA, is expanded upon in Rokugan. Alignment is of less importance, since Rokugan society is so heavily weighted in favor of Lawfulness.
The bulk of the book is a description of Rokugan itself. Much of this is about the Clans, their lands, leaders and interaction with each other. Life in Rokugan and the land’s history are described in considerable detail. Rokugan is in most respects very similar to 15th century Japan in terms of culture, language and technology. Religion and politics differ from their historical models somewhat, possibly to avoid giving offense and to provide more playable options. In particular, no equivalent to Japan's shogunate appears in Rokugan. Instead, the Clans are engaged in an ongoing struggle to improve their positions, offering many opportunities for player adventures.
The setting described by Rokugan is very much for role-players, rather than hack-and-slash freebooters. Loyalty to patrons and service to the Clan is rewarded with honor and prestige. Adventuring and the pursuit of wealth are considered a lowly goals, and are more likely to bring ruinous dishonor than glory. Rokugan explains this quite well in a section called "The First Party." A typical D&D party of fighter, magic-user and thief simply doesn’t fit in with the setting. Instead, players will have to carefully consider what Clans they wish to serve, and put together a group that would logically work together.
Rokugan is a good campaign setting and this book does a thorough job of describing it. The rigid structure of Rokugan society, however, will not set well with players looking forward to fighting monsters and hauling treasure, or who would rankle at taking orders from superiors or working towards the betterment of their Clans rather than themselves.
One thing largely missing from the Rokugan book is a section on monsters. A few creatures are described, but most of this material has been allocated to the upcoming Creatures of Rokugan book. Until this comes out, DMs will have to rely on the creatures presented in Oriental Adventures, or on their own imaginations.
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