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Emerald Empire, I feel, is a great buy. I do highly recommend it. But there are some minor, nagging issues that bother me. As such, I have divided the review to highlight the greatest strengths and weaknesses.
Content
Emerald Empire is, as its subtitle implies, a companion for the L5R RPG. Essentially, it serves as an Atlas, Compendium, and Guide to the setting, fleshing out and detailing the nuts and bolts one cannot get from the core book.
There is a fantastic wealth of information in this book. All of the various aspects of life and death in Rokugan, from war to court, to law to food are covered. The authors have exhaustively covered every topic, and consolidated over 10 years of Rokugan into a approachable, readable companion.
Mechanically, not much is offered; the most interesting thing to most L5R fans will be the Third edition updates for Vassal Families and Dojo. The vast majority of the material is on the background of the setting.
As a veteran of the setting, I was pleased. Much of the information was gathered from many sources, eliminating the need to constantly reference old books or argue about details. Confusing or contradictory information has been smoothed out and clarified. And best of all, the great detail put into the book offers tons of new adventure ideas, locations, ways to handle certain areas, and all the nitty gritty stuff it takes to make the world come alive.
For a beginner, the book is a greater boon. As some of you may know, there is something of a learning curve for getting into L5R. The passionate fan base, evolving metaplot, and detailed setting can be a little intimidating and hard to approach. This book, when paired with the core book, should give a new group of L5R players more than enough info to begin exploring Rokugan.
I feel very pleased with this aspect of the book. Given that this is also amongst the first information of any depth we are receiving on the mysterious Spider Clan, it is even more indispensable. The book is very pleasing in this regard.
The only drawback to such a great deal of information is that it can occasionally lead to a sort of sensory overload, where the extensive writing and detail can become so constant it may be hard to deal with. I suggest the book be read in sections, with energy, but not with and intent to put it away in as few sittings as possible. There is a lot of detail, so take your time and digest it all.
Layout and Presentation
The book is laid out in a manner like the other Third Edition books. The black and red cover is very attractive, and the art is fantastic. Those familiar with the CCG will recognize the re-used art, but it is good nonetheless. The layout is pleasant, easy to read, and attractive.
Were this all I had to say, it would have easily earned a 4 or 5. As it is, it barely achieves a 3, though. Here's why: copy editing.
The book's simple copy editing process appears to be very poor. Such a fantastic book is doomed by it.
The errors are not so constant and so horrible that it merits a firing or a boycott. But they are regular enough to disrupt your reading, make you scratch your head, and make you wonder what the hell happened.
What makes this even more tragic is that these persistent mistakes are so noticeable, that in comparison to the good material and the nice layout, they are even more starkly apparent in contrast. The fact that they are among the book's only flaws means they stand our even more noticeably than any other could.
For example: On Page 4, the very first intro story, we hear about how a character "rose and thanked hers lord." The personal pronoun of the character then changes to male, and then returns to female again by the end of the paragraph.
A chart on Page 66 spells Shugenja as "shugenga."
Two instances I can recall but cannot find the page reference include a mumble of letters interspersed in a word, and referring to female shugenja Isawa Taeruko as a male.
This is a fantastic game and book, but these kind of errors make the whole operation look a little bush league. There are legions of devoted fans, like myself, who would gladly proofread this stuff for free. Take advantage of it. Eliminating these kinds of mistakes would make the product look more professional. As it stands, they look great. This one step could make the setting even better.
Price and Value
While this book is outstanding, and I do believe it is worth all of its 40 dollar price tag, I think I am troubled by that price. $40 is a lot of money to ask for a roleplaying supplement. To be fair, it is a fine, well bound hardback. But That is a mighty high price tag to ask of a game buyer.
For the new player, for whom this item is most useful, that might be too high to risk. Why buy this companion and the core book when I can get another game book for cheaper. Perhaps this is more reasonable than I think, but it just seems a little steep to ask for an RPG book, in my mind. Worth it, but a little pricey. $35 seems a little more appropriate.
Overall
I give this book a 5 for substance. The material is great and useful.
I give it a 3 for style, though. The great layout and presentation is compromised by the poor proofreading, and the high price tag could be scary.
I highly recommend Emerald Empire to all players of the L5R RPG. It is a great book. If you are interested in learning or getting into Legend of the Five Rings, I suggest this book, and I cannot stress enough how useful it will be for you.
