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Now then, I initially approached the 4th edition of the Legend of the Five Rings Role Playing Game with skepticism. The new story arc of the card game is something that I personally have a very strong distaste for, and I was worried that the new edition of the game would be so steeped in this story, that there would be very little room to make the world my own - to tell the stories that I wanted to tell.
Then I read the designer diaries. The way the design team has approached this edition of the game is in a word, perfect. They’ve managed to strike a very delicate balance that provides support for those players who would like to run a game along the current lines of the story arc, and yet have given ample tools and opportunity to run games along far different settings as well. They refer to this practice as “L5R YOUR way,” and I am not disappointed. The wealth of setting material for all eras of Rokugan allows one to draw selectively from the myriad of mechanics, stories, and political relationships in such a way as to take the setting and run with it.
Speaking of the setting, Legend of the Five Rings takes place in a world of mythic samurai fantasy and elemental magic. Players take on the rolls of samurai serving a feudal lord vying for honor and glory whilst fighting off incursions from the evil shadowlands and treading the dangerous waters of court. It is a world defined by the samurai code of bushido. Though the setting does offer a great degree of flexibility, it is not what I would call a traditional gygaxian dungeon crawler. Most often the players do the things they do not out of desire for wealth or riches, but because they follow a warrior’s code; the adherence of which can actually make them stronger. At the same time, the enemies of the empire are not bound by the same code. As players take steps to address these same evils, they often take steps away from the code, which in turn brings them closer to evil themselves. It is a game with the potential to test the mettle and spirit of your players as they are forced to think of reasons other than, “because the old man in the tavern promised there were untold riches in the tower” to face down the darkness of the world.
From a mechanical perspective, the game runs on Alderac Entertainment’s Roll and Keep system, popularized by earlier editions of the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game, as well as the 7th Sea franchise. At the core of the mechanics, players combine a skill rating with a trait (attribute) rating to form die pools. The players roll these dice and “keep” a number of dice equal to the rating of the character’s trait to form a final total. This does mean that newer players will face a bit of a mechanical learning curve due to the unintuitive nature of the system. I’ve seen it take as many as 4-5 sessions to have players really understand the mechanical under-pinning of the game. In terms of overall game balance, the design team has done quite well with keeping things well-rounded and balanced for the most part. There are very few builds that I would consider to be vastly under or over powered, but as with other robust systems, there are a few that have slipped through the cracks.
If there is one aspect of the game that seems strained from a mechanical standpoint it is combat. Combat in Legend of the Five Rings can take an hour to progress through even as few as 3 rounds. This is due in part to the fact that rather than counting simple successes or adding 1d20 to a static number, players must add as many as 10d10 plus add rolls from exploding 10’s. This increases overall combat resolution time as the mental math abilities of players are tested and tried. The saving grace of the game’s combat system is strangely enough, it’s deadliness. Average players are hard pressed to survive more than 1 or 2 hits from a katana before they go down. This does add an element of excitement in earlier stages of play, as characters realize that it is very possible to die in a single hit. Game Masters must take special care to ensure that encounters are as balanced as they can be before unleashing combat on players.
However, the shortfalls of the system pale in comparison to the package that Rokugan is wrapped in. Not only is there a wealth of fluff to support the world, the art and overall presentation of the New Edition is simply unparalleled by any game that I’ve ever picked up. The books are simply beautiful, and are set out in a rational, understandable manner. The game is worth picking up for the art alone.
Overall, if you are looking for a hack and slash dungeon runner, this game is not for you. The combat mechanics, while entertaining would be hard pressed to hold up to multiple or over-long combat encounters. Thankfully, combat is not what is on offer here. Legend of the Five Rings, is and has always been, about the world of Rokugan. For the simulationist or immersionist, it is simply crack dipped in candy. The mythology of the world surrounds and supports the game and makes for a truly unique opportunity to experience a world alien from our own. In many ways it stands in staunch opposition to the new wave of dolled up minis games pretending to be Roleplaying Games, and makes for a very satisfying storytelling experience. This is why this game has been, and will continue to be, very close to my heart.
