Way of the Samurai

Way of the Samurai is the first of AEG's dual stat books for the Legend of the Five Rings roleplaying game.  As you may recall, AEG put out Rokugan, an excellent companion to Oriental Adventures almost two years ago.  They came out with many RPG books for Legend of the Five Rings; many of them containing stats for both the L5R system and the d20 System.  Lately, Secrets of the Scorpion was recently reviewed, so this review is a bit late.  I had this book for a year, but because of some recent events (one of which is that I am currently writing for Necromancer Games), I could not review it until now.

First Impression
When I picked up the book, I joked how the Samurai-ko on the front cover looked like a camp follower to the owner of my -- then -- Friendly Local Game Shop (the shop closed for business last Feburary).  Still, the front cover is used to reflect the Subject inside, which is about Rokugani Samurai.  Still, I learned you can't judge a book by it's cover.  Inside, the Samurai of Rokugan are covered in great detail.

Introduction
The introduction begins with some fiction, set during the Five Winds Saga (Now, the Succession has been decided.  Hantei Naseru, the "Anvil" and Evil Mastermind, became the Emperor and has taken the name of Toturi III).  It also goes into the origins of the Samurai, it talks about the daisho, and the Katana itself.  It then talks about how Honor is perceived within the Emerald Empire, and how that perception has changed through the Empire's history.  After that, it talks about game mechanics.  This part of the Introduction is the most important part.

In Way of the Samurai, Game Mechanics are presented for two systems: the d20 System and the Legend of the Five Rings roleplaying game, 2nd Edition.  d20 mechanics are in black, and L5R RPG mechanics are in blue.  This is to easily distinguish the mechanics from both systems.  The book presents rules for the establishment of new techniques and dojo paths for the L5R system.  It also presents new paths for the Samurai for each and every Clan, including the Ronin, the Shadowlands, and the Minor clans.  In the D20 System, these new paths are presented as five level prestige classes.  Finally, new rules for Kata, which supercedes those in Time of the Void for L5R.  In L5R, you purchase the Kata with character points or Rank.  In the D20 System, you spend experience points for gaining a new Kata; plus you must also meet the requirements for the Kata as well.  The introduction also describes how Dojo works in both rules, and that being trained by that Dojo you gain a special Feat in the D20 System and a special Advantage --- know the school.  This reflects the training you had while attending that Dojo.

Next are the Chapters on Each of the Great Clans, and I must say that I play favorites.

Dojo of the <Insert Clan or Faction here>

Each chapter discusses the history, the tradition, and the techniques of each Dojo of the Great Clans: Crab, Crane, Dragon, and so forth.  Each dojo teaches techniques which fit the clan's personality in question.  Each chapter presents a new path for your Samurai; which is mostly translated into five level prestige classes for the D20 System.  At other times, you see it as a feat.  For personal preference, my favorite new paths in the book are Hoturi's Blade (Crane), Akodo Forward Sentry (Lion), and the Bayushi Elite Guard (Scorpion).  If you have picked up this book already, you probably already have your own personal favorites and have applied them to your Samurai appropriately.  Besides the new paths, there are also a training benefit and a social benefit (depending on the Dojo) that your Samurai gains for attending a particular clan or faction Dojo. Added to this are Kata common to every Great Clan or faction.

Finally . . .
There is the News of the Empire which updates the L5R Storyline when this book was published.  As of now, it's considered to be History of the Empire.  Further,  more up to date information about the Emerald Empire are found in The Secrets of the <Insert Clan or Faction Here> books or on the Legend of the Five Rings website.

ART

Art is mostly black-and-white pictures.  There is some reverse background sidebars to clarify information a bit, and the Fonts and backgrounds used for each Chapter produces a calming effect and are greatly tied to Rokugan.  The art in the book, over all, was well used and not overdone.

Final Thoughts
This book is a companion book for fleshing out the Samurai in the Empire.  Although most of the material is optional, and as I said, it contains history of the Emerald Empire that you already know; the information in the Introduction is invaluable.  The book isn't completely useless, however, as it does describe the rich history of the Dojo for each Clan and faction.  And with L5R stats within, it's not completely useless to those who use the native RPG game for the Emerald Empire.  I give it a 4 for style, and a 4 for substance.