A War in L5R

[Afool]

I'm GMing for a L5R 4e game for the first time for my martial arts association with a planned focus on alternative conflict resolution. I don't have a lot of experience with GMing and was hoping for some advice and possibly some help with making the campaign. I've read some of the core book and the starting session isn't until at least a month or two so there's plenty of time to take care of the details. I've been reading around on the forums looking for L5R threads, so I have a bit of an idea of what I'm getting into.

I'm planning on starting with the Legacy of Disaster module to introduce the players to the setting using either the pre-made characters or player made characters. After that the plan is to have them go on some more adventures (which I'm not sure how to make or where to find ready made ones) which will end with some sort of war situation.

I've narrowed that down to Inter-Clan conflict, Invasion from the Shadowlands, or something else. I've heard a little bit about the book Enemies of the Empire and was wondering if it had some sort of outside group that may be able to wage war.

I don't have any players yet, but I can guarantee that there will be enough for at least one group. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Oh, and I am well aware of the game's reputation for lethality and it's one of the reasons that I decided to use this system.

[IdleMuse]

First of all, let me say good luck! I love L5R, there's a brilliant community feeling built around it. With its emphasis on honesty to setting, and roleplay, it's just so much more rewarding (to me) than other, more famous fantasy RPGs, from a storytelling perspective.

In terms of where to find further assistance with finding prewritten adventures, the AEG forums are a lot better for that kind of thing than here, more L5R specific. Make sure you find the RPG section though, rather than getting lost in all the CCG content.

My best advice for first-time GMs is to firstly; Learn the setting; the 4E core book is good for this, really, the first chapters, about the world, just make sure you read them through. And secondly, although this should really apply to any game; treat it like a story! You're the storyteller, just go with what seems funnest. L5R shouldn't be a competitive, players vs. the GM's things experience, nor should be a be a power trip for the GM in terms of controlling the universe. One of the main reasons new people enjoy coming to L5R is because frankly, it's cool to be a samurai! Take that, and roll with it.

The plan you have so far seems good! Legacy of Disaster is a good adventure, but I would let players make their own characters, especially taking in mind the Samurai Are Cool factor. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you need a varied party, most new players will want to play Bushi, and that's absolutely fine, Shugenja are hard to play and require a greater understanding of the setting, and new players might find the limitations of Courtiers frustrating unless they really know what they're doing. Again, if you're a veteran of more traditional fantasy RPGs, don't fall into the trap of thinking Shugenja are Sorcerers or Mages; sure, they can cast fireballs, but the key thing is that generally, they don't. Shugenja are more like priests, invoking the blessings of the kami over newborns and crops, rather than being 'magic-users'.

Right, regards other books, Enemies of the Empire is great if you're looking to get some more concrete 'enemies' into the game, rather than just other samurai. There's chapters on Ronin, Oni (demons), Naga, the Kolat, all kinds of beasts and whatnot, Ratlings, take your pick. Many of these are suitable for 'external war' with Rokugan.

If you have any more questions or problems, ask away!

[houlio]

An important question to figure out is when exactly in the timeline do you plan on running the game? You could set the game at the start of the Clan War, the Four Winds Era, the return of the Unicorn, the White Stag Era, and the list goes on. Figuring this out will help you hone in on what sort of war is going to happen, and it will also help a few other things, like what kind of characters should be running out on adventures. Enemies of the Empire is essentially a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the various factions, entities, and encounters that will be inimical to samurai in most games (things like oni, ronin, bloodspeakers, the nothing, and the kolat). Each chapter tries to give advice on how each different category of enemies should be used in the game, as well as giving some extra rules and information on them all.

If you want additional help, I'd also recommend the book Imperial Histories, because it does a year-by-year breakdown of a number of canon historical eras and even other non-canon possibilities. It can really help you figure out how adventures can be strung together in any era that gets coverage.

For general advice, I'd recommend not pulling any punches for your players. Rokugan has a really strong flavor, and trying to exempt players from any part of it can diminish that. Make it clear to bushi that wearing armor and most weapons outside of a battlefield is rather inappropriate. If a courtier's iaijutsu champion loses a duel, they are still expected to face the same punishment their champion did.

[Afool]

Thanks :smallbiggrin: I knew there was an established time line, but I didn't know where to find it, so I'll have to get the Histories then.
@IdleMuse, thanks for the GM advice and while I have DMed a couple games (none long lasting so far), from what I've already read around the forums here, Shugenja are much more balanced with the martial classes than D&D magic users are. I'm going to check out the AEG forums and see what they've got.

[IdleMuse]

I'd actually suggest, that unless you can borrow a copy of Imperial Histories or something, the timeline in the front of he core book is fine for picking an era for your game; Imperial Histories is a great read, lots of fluff about the various eras, but not necessarily essential.

Just an overview of the other 4E books, other thanthose that have been mentioned already;

- Emerald Empire; a big fluff book, very useful for just getting to understand more about the world, about every aspect of rokugani life.
- Great Clans; a breakdown of the history and peculiarities of each clan, including a lot of new mechanical content.
- Book of Air; more detailed overview of courtly situations, and air-focussed martial skills like Iaijutsu and archery.
- Strongholds of the Empire; drivethrurpg only, details a complete court setting for each clan, more or less.

Out of these, I'd suggest that Emerald Empire is probably the most important one to read for a GM. Great Clans is good, also.

[Afool]

I thought I'd post what I decided to do for the campaign.

Timeline wise it is some time after the defeat of the Gozoku but the Gaijin invasion won't happen for some years.

First I'm either going to use the Tournament of the Samurai Adventure followed by the Legacy of Disaster or just start with the LoD. After that, LoD provides a very interesting hint of things to come with the released spirit with a small re-fluff. In this case the Blood-speakers have tried a first "covert" attack by raising the dead. The PCs will be drafted into a investigation/strike force (possibly the Jade Magistrates or the Legion)to deal with the new threat because of their recent experience with fighting the dead. Having some ancestor interaction will provide some interesting role-play moments :smallwink:.

After dealing with the final Blood-speaker necro group, the group may be kept on as a general investigation force (or adsorbed into the Imperial Legion) to deal with more minor threats to Rokugan.

After some time the first Gaijin will appear potentially accumulating into the Battle of the White Stag if the PCs don't get involved. If they don't then instead of beating the Gaijin off, more will arrive at a critical moment forcing the gathered samurai to retreat with significant loses.

If the PCs are involved then the battle could go either way with the reinforcements for the Gaijin will still arrive but they might be beaten off. If they aren't, this would cause a larger invasion situation to occur in which a beachhead will be formed which the Emperor/es and the PCs will have to find a new way to deal with their invaders which could go in a few different directions.

So tell me what you think and if you can recommend any books or homebrew that would cover the Gaijin that would be awesome.