The second battle report has arrived from Board Game Arena for the Siege of Toshi Ranbo, the ongoing organized play season for Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo. Since August 11 through today, September 1, the Crane and Dragon are tied for 1st place, with the Phoenix in 2nd place! You can help contribute to the rankings by playing Gunsen at participating retailers near you. The Office Dog blog has the current list of participating retailers in the United States. Don’t forget to purchase your copy of the fast-paced, area-control board game at your friendly local game store or preferred online retailer. https://www.officedoggames.com/uncategorized/the-siege-of-toshi-ranbo-escalates/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUD2FZwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTJvU0tsa0VXcms4VElCdlJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEebJTPzLNPk7IvijH7a8JtV-MmSgWDSLNgXYjgM5SYb74n86VRI5vWyMdPY_o_aem_H5_EcpuGQeDb0jll2x9EvA

One of my players suggested playing a blind shugenja. Is it playable? And what would your advice be regarding family choices?

We are using the 3rd Edition rules, but setting the campaign during the reign of Hantei XXXVIII (before the Scorpion Clan Coup)

Thanks for your help :)

Anyone know why I didn't get to score Village+2, or 2 Shrines?

It feels like I should have won the game, but it didn't let me. I was about to march on Toshi Ranbo next turn, but unfortunately Lion finished the game first.

What the title says, I was wondering what kind of unconventional character options y'all have found scattered throughout L5R 5e? Let me know down below, so far I've found the following:

Clan: Samurai from the Dragonfly Clan receive a pair of glass ornaments as part of their starting wealth.

Ronin: "Ronin" from the Ujik tribes receive an upgraded horse, and Fallen Nobles receive a bonus wakizashi (or gaijin equivalent).

Schools: Ishiken Initiates have an entire kind of technique that's unique to them (Inversions). The Mazoku's Enforcer and Matsu Beastmaster Schools both receive free advantages. Finally, Kitsune Imperonators and Kolat Saboteurs both receive the False Identity disadvantage.

Disadvantages: Having a false identity allows you to purchase a second school's ability at rank 1 and use it once per session.

The Matsu gempukku, raw, a failed gempukku (which is one of if not the hardest of the empire) equals death. This is also supported by some canon. I don't remember which male Matsu used maho to pass since he knew he wasn't gonna survive it, but I can swear I read this somewhere.

However, in later material and specially in at least the spanish translation of some of the books, it appears that both the Crab (non-Yasuki) gempukku (a famously hard one, too) and the Matsu gempukku got a bit softened, with Hiruma scouts following in secret the first ones and the second ones being able to take the gempukku next year after training more.

So, which version is the standard? Is it a "as the DM wishes" thing?

Can someone tell me what the wound thresholds are for each level?

I think they are meant to scale with your earth ring.

HEALTHY: This is the default condition of any character who has not suffered damage. Regardless of what Earth Ring multiplier is chosen for a campaign (see sidebar), this Wound Rank should utilize the character’s Earth x5 in order to create a buffer for normal activity.

So if you have Earth Ring 2, then you can take up to 10 wounds before not being classified as healthy.

And if I level up my stamina and willpower to 3, then my Earth Ring will be 3, meaning healthy can take 10 wounds.

But how are the wound thresholds calculated for:
Nicked
Grazed
Hurt
Injured
Crippled
Down
Out

Bulding a Shosuro Shinobi for L5R 3ed revised. Have a question about level 2 technique.

Game design encourage you to take Great Potential that costs really much (8pts). How does it work and is it worth it?

As a new player, I am trying to understand how different game mechanics work and affect each other.

One thing I am currently struggling to understand is Magic, particularly Maho.

What I understand from RAW:

1. Bushi can not learn magic
2. spells are more akin to a prayer with a cast length and spell TN
3. to cast the spell, you must have high enough school rank and enough spell slots left
4. spell slots are derived from your ring rank and any bonus slots from void rank
5. shugenja don't learn their spells; they read them from a scroll
6. if you don't have the scroll, you can't read the prayer
7. The exception is if the player has spent xp to memorise the spell; then they can cast it without the scroll
8. Once you decide to cast a spell, you roll to see if it was a success; if so, great, do the thing; if not, then the spell slot is still used

What I am struggling to understand is how Maho fits into this system in particular for Bushi

I think for a normal shugenja, the game mechanics are fairly straightforward

1. You have a Maho spell scroll; great, you can read it and cast the spell
2. The scrolls have elements and mastery, so you use the element and roll to see if it is a success
3. I see an additional part is that you have to pay blood to cast the spell, and that the blood paid is equal to 2 x the mastery of the spell
   • But where is this blood tracked
   • Is it considered a wound
   • What is the upper limit to the blood spent
   • The human body only has so much
   • So how do you know when to stop i.e. you have already spilt 7 out of the normal 8 pints the body holds?
4. I also see that you gain a taint point equal to 1 less than the spell's mastery, but a minimum of 1 point. So even if you cast a mastery 1 Maho spell, you still gain 1 point of taint

I think this is straightforward, and I understand it

What I'm confused about is whether a Bushi can learn Maho or not. lasthaiku and Google suggest that they can.

And the core rulebook seems to support this by saying that you use your insight rank instead of your shugenja school rank when it comes to casting Maho Spells.

Ok, so far so good.

I think the bit that I am getting hung up about is spell slots.

If my previous understanding of normal spells and Shugenja casting Maho is correct, and the spell takes that element's spell slot, then how does this work for a Bushi player

Are they considered to have spell slots regardless, and so if they were to cast Bleeding, a Fire 1, Maho spell, does that take up a spell slot?

What I think I am getting hung up about is that, in my head, Shugenja have spell slots and Bushi don't

Therefore, if a bushi were to cast a fire maho spell but not have spell slots, then how do they do it?

I just want to clarify some aspects of being a shugenja specify things to do with spells and key words

An example is the Yogo Wardmaster, they have an AFFINITY for the WARDS (KEYWORD) and a DEFICIENCY for the TRAVEL, CRAFT (KEYWORD)

When looking at a spell and trying to see if it has that key word is it and text in brackets next to the ring/mastery in the core rule book

Not a ward but an example
Blessed wind it has Ring/Mastery: Air 1 (Defense)

Is Defense a keyword meaning if anywhere else my character gains bonuses from defense key words that matches

I know this is a very niche situation and one that would narratively not make much sense but……

What happens if a school rank 1 Kuni shugenja with air rank 2 and a deficiency in air tries to cast a universal spell but picks air?

I am asking because of the deficiency the school rank becomes 0.

RAW says that if a school rank falls to 0 they can’t cast that element of spell.

I know the roll would be:
Roll school rank + ring
Keep ring

So in this case it would be 2k2

So does that mean that even though dice can be rolled the spell can’t be done.

I know this sounds like an odd and counter intuitive thing why would a shugenja pick air as the element if he is not “proficient” in it.

But that is exactly why I am wondering if it should be allowed or not

My friend finally decided to make it public on Inkarnate! There is just one very sad caveat, since he uploaded the pictures of clan's mon's himself inkarnate wont allow it to be published, so we are making a (worse) copyright friendly version public.

THE MAP ON INKARNATE https://inkarnate.com/m/ERrr72
THE MAP IMAGE (With the mon's) https://postimg.cc/jCmjdmhs

Since there were people who were asking to buy it before he is accepting any donations to the paypal "[donationsrokuganmap@outlook.com](mailto:donationsrokuganmap@outlook.com)"

“The Price of War” by Mari Murdock was originally released in 2017 to celebrate the release of Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game from Fantasy Flight Games.

After almost ten years, we are proud to re-release the short story, now featuring narration by Heather Jinmaku, Musician and available on the Aconyte Fiction podcast.

𝘈𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘪 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘣𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘳ō𝘯𝘪𝘯… 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳… 𝘈𝘬𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘈𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯.

Estaba viendo en el equipo que da cada escuela y me llamó la atención que algunas dicen "Ropas resistentes", pero en ningún lugar del manual (o al menos no lo he encontrado) explican qué son, si tienen algún bonificador o algo por el estilo.

Existe algo que aclare o simplemente lo tomo como algo estético al personaje?

Challenge : In late Autumn, Shiro Kyû, an old but strong castle located on the Lion-Scorpion border has declared its indepence. Its owner, Matsu Chôbyô declared founding the Pantera Clan, with the new Chôbyô familly as the leader. Starting fury inside the Lion Clan, but with Winter approaching, no siege can be started until Spring...

Focus : The players are sent to attend the Winter Court held by the Daimyo Matsu Chôbyô, alongside with representative of all the Major Clans, including the Imperial Famillies themselves! The Lion's diplomats expect to negociate the peaceful surender of Matsu Chôbyô, but everyone here seems to have its own goal regarding this peculiar situation.

Strike : The Bayushi Familly seems to plently supports the newly founded clan, offering ressource and millitary support in case of a war with the Lion. How far do their strings reach, is Matsu Chôbyô just a puppet of the Scorpion or does he have way out of all of this? Can the Lion really start a war in these conditions ? And what role will the player have in this situation ?

In this story, the Storyteller can really chose the true reason behind the declaration, originally, it was a plot of the Bayushi to secure the border for a military incursion in the Lion's lands. But you can make the Kolat the ultimate masterminds, or a variaton where Matsu Chôbyô is linked to a Dark Cult of Lord Moon.

Depending of their clan, the Players can have varied objectives, be rivals a day and allies the next. As a Winter Court, it is a setting where you can add your own subplots into it.

Hello all,

I've been exploring solo ttrpg play recently through DnD and the Obvious Mimic modules. It got me wondering if there is an solo play modules for L5R?

I've only ever played 4e so that would be my main interest but if there are other versions out there that are reasonably accessible I'd be open to trying them.

Going to start this by saying i have never played any form or version of a ttrpg, been invited in by a friend. i have been told it is 4e, city of lies campaign (no spoilers please).

this post was to ask what a player new to rokugan should know just so i am not fumbling around completely. i have tried to do my own research but there is a lot to take in.

also i was wondering if i could get some charecter advice. right now the idea of a spider monk (sohei) is looking pretty good, i love the idea of a staunch defender of the faith kind of build (although i may not have got the right character combo for it)

if the idea of me playing a monk as a first time player makes you physically recoil as some of the posts i have seen seems to suggest, then i welcome suggestions for a first time character.

thank you in advance for any tips for advice

Edit: Just want to thank everyone for their input so far. has given me a lot to build off of and think about. as one comment pointed out spider clan didnt exist at this point in time and i found out everyone else is going scorpion, so going back to drawing board. friend (who knows the game) suggested i go some form of magic user so he could act as bodyguard / champion

I am wondering this because my players are about to attend a wedding at Benten Seido. They gathered with some NPC and they'll go together to the sanctuary next session. One of those NPC is a maho tsukai.

I'm not a lore expert but I remember reading somewhere that maho tsukai would feel terrible physical pain when entering a sanctuary. But besides that I don't find anything specific. I assume Benten would not be very pleased about that, which is not convenient for me because I'm using the Benten Seido wedding hook from the Emerald Empire book and I feel like the presence of the maho tsukai would distract too much from the main event.

I'm ok making the NPC leave before (and raise some suspicion) but I'm curious about how it would go if the NPC do enter the sancturay. I'm also open for ideas to spice things up.

Not that I actually want to play a character like this, but if I were a min-maxer (or a particularly cruel GM), what would be the most efficient way to build a rokugani samurai using all the rules from the official 4th edition books?

I’m curious what the absolute most broken/optimized character you can come up with would look like.

I’ve been looking into the rules for taking multiple schools in L5R 4e, and I want to make sure I understand how everything works. Here’s what I know so far:

• Taking a second school requires the Multiple Schools advantage (10 points).
• Taking a school from a different clan also requires the Different School advantage (5 points).

I have a few questions about how switching or adding schools actually functions:

1. Switching schools before an Insight rank‑up
Is it allowed to take on a second school before your Insight Rank increases, effectively starting at School Rank 0 in the new school until your Insight goes up?

I understand the rule preventing your combined School Ranks from exceeding your Insight Rank, but does anything stop you from switching early while you’re partway to the next Insight Rank?

2. Trait bonuses from the new school
When you switch schools, do you gain the new school’s trait bonus?
Example:

• Kakita Bushi gives +1 Reflexes
• Daidoji Iron Warrior gives +1 Agility. If a Kakita Bushi switches to Daidoji Iron Warrior, does the character gain the +1 Agility?

3. School skill lists when switching
Does switching schools add the new school’s skill list to your character?
Using the same example:

• Kakita Bushi skills include Etiquette, Iaijutsu (Focus), Kenjutsu, Kyujutsu, Sincerity, Tea Ceremony, and one Bugei/High Skill.
• Daidoji Iron Warrior skills include Battle, Defense rank 2, Iaijutsu, Kenjutsu (Katana), Kyujutsu, and one Skill.

Does the character automatically gain Battle, Defense rank 2, and the Kenjutsu (Katana) emphasis?

4. If skills must be purchased instead of granted
If you have to buy the new skills with XP, do they count as school skills for the new school?
This matters for advantages like Prodigy (+1k0 on School Skill rolls).

5. Previously purchased skills
If you already had a skill before switching (e.g., Battle), does it become a school skill after switching?
Again, this affects things like Prodigy.