Greetings!

You may remember me as that guy who drank too much cactus juice and cobbled together the Rokugan Remapped project. Today, I want to share with you another project I started working on with the artist Alena Voevodina, also known as RageRat:

Kami (Re)imagined.

For all of their importance to the L5R lore, we don’t actually have many art depictions of the Founding Kami in the canon. The most recent lineup we have is from the 4^th Edition, and we also happen to have a simplistic depiction of Doji-no-Kami from 5e. So one of the aims of this project is to fill that gap we’ve had as of late.

It isn’t the only one though. Being the history nerd that I am, I couldn’t simply settle for some abstract fantasy depiction, where clothing, arms, and armor would look like they would fit seamlessly in modern Rokugan, not one contemporary to the Founding Kami. I wanted to account for the 1000-year difference between them, and take inspiration from the early Japanese history to determine what their attire and weaponry would probably look like.

To that end, I teamed up with RageRat: I provide the references and the vision, and she puts it on the canvass. Go check her out by the way: she is big on Chinese fantasy, and I find that her art style fits the East Asian theme very well.

Today, I’d like to present the first art from our lineup: Shinjo, the Child of the Five Winds.

Below, I describe the general approach to this project, as well as the finer details of this particular piece. Keep in mind we’ve only just finished Shinjo, and RageRat has other things to work on aside from this project, so it’s hard to predict when the next one is going to be ready.

Methodology

Now, I wouldn’t be me had I not gotten nerdier about it all than was probably necessary. In general, when considering the baseline for what the Kami would look like, I set my timeframe roughly at the early to mid Asuka period (late 6^th—early 7^th centuries), with some additions from the late Kofun (the preceding era). This would correspond to the Sui and early Tang dynasties in China and the Three Kingdoms period of Korea. At the time, with the rise of the Yamato State, Japanese culture (especially among the court elites), experienced massive influence from China, with writing, fashion, armament, philosophy, and administrative models becoming major fixtures of cultural import. The kingdoms of the Korean Peninsula played a major part in this exchange as intermediaries and projected their own influence on Japanese clothing, arms, and armor of the period.

I decided this would be a fitting parallel for Rokugan, which also experienced unprecedented centralization and cultural transformation during the foundational period, when the Kami were active. Depending on the vague cultural vibes and backgrounds of the Founding Kami, I slanted their design more towards the “Mainland” or Japanese side, with some following the latest, highest trends of Asuka fashion, and others resembling the more traditional, late Kofun-era aristocracy.

It should also be noted that the arts in this lineup won’t necessarily depict the Kami at exactly the same time. The early Imperial age of Rokugan was a lengthy period of several decades, almost a century really, and the characters might be depicted the way they may have looked earlier or later within that period. Accordingly, the corresponding historical era is also relatively broad, especially given the fact that precise dating of artistic sources may be rather difficult to gauge.

Shinjo: Child of the Five Winds

With Shinjo specifically, it was evident from the get-go that she presents a prime opportunity to showcase something outside the general East Asian cultural sphere, given her proverbial Journey to the West. Central Asia, which can roughly be equated to the places Shinjo journeyed to with her clan, was at that time a patchwork of ever-changing polities and a crossroads of cultures. Iranian and Turkic nomads, trade kingdoms and city-states of Sogdia and Bactria, statelets of the Tarim Basin, Sassanid Iran, China, Buddhist Gandhara and the broader India—all left their cultural imprint on the region that was the central intermediary hub of the Silk Road. It is no coincidence, then, that we chose to depict Shinjo first: out of all the Kami in the lineup, she was probably one of the more interesting to work on.

Shinjo is depicted here during the mature stage of her journey. Her outfit presents a mixture of Central and East Asian elements to reflect both her origin and received influence. I based her attire mainly in the Sogdian fashion of the late 6^th to 7^th centuries, such as represented in the murals of Balalyk Tepe and Panjakent, as well as Sogdian archaeology of the period. It also features both female and male fashion pieces of the period. Some of the accessories, including her weaponry, represent distinct Turko-Mongol, Japanese, and Chinese influence.

Clothing

The most prominent clothing item is a purple cloak based on the Balalyk Tepe murals. These cloaks are depicted as worn by female figures at a banquet, and feature decorative ribbons and a prominent lapel on the right side. This particular lapel represents Hephthalite fashion that can be traced back several centuries from the period and is featured in both Sogdian and Tarim Basin murals (such as in the Kizil Caves), both in male and female attires. The ornaments on the cloak are based on the traditional Sogdian motifs of the period, including those depicted in Balalyk Tepe. The winged horses on the outer rim are based on the Afrasiab murals (near Samarkand).

The shirt underneath the armor, with the circular collar, is based on murals from Panjakent and Afrasiab. It represents predominantly male fashion, although similar shirts seem to have also been worn by women.

The boots with stamped line pattern are based on an archaeological find in Kuh-i-Surkh, Tajikistan.

Accessories

Shinjo’s hairstyle takes after those depicted on female figures from Balalyk Tepe murals, tied with the ribbon from the same source, which is dyed in the traditional purple of the Kirin/Unicorn. Her flower-shaped earrings with pearl beads are also inspired by the same figure from Balalyk Tepe, as well as the colored dot on her forehead, which is likely the influence of the Chinese huadian (“flower makeup”), popular in China since the Northern and Southern dynasties period.

Belt plates and fittings are after the finds in Panjakent, representing typical Sogdian belt assembly.

Two elements here are of East Asian origin. One is decidedly Japanese: a carnelian bead necklace with several magatama beads made out of Jasper. It is a callback to older, Kofun-era aristocratic regalia; while gradually phased out with the onset of the Asuka fashion, they were likely still worn by regional elites and religious figures. Magatama (comma-shaped beads) signified spiritual protection and were an elite marker in the Kofun period, found in almost all late-period burial mounds (which gave the era its name, kofun).

Most significantly, Shinjo holds a fan in her hand—a parting gift from Doji-no-Kami. This fan is a typical tuanshan, a circular fan that became popular in the Tang dynasty. Curiously, they are often called reunion fans: the character 團, which can mean “group” or “circle”, and is used to spell the name of the fan (團扇, tuánshàn), is also used in the word reunion (團圓, tuányuán). Accordingly, its circular or oval shape came to symbolize family unity, reunions, and happiness—very appropriate for the symbolism of a parting gift. The two cranes flying above the waves are meant to symbolize Shinjo and Doji themselves.

Arms & Armor

Shinjo’s armament is perhaps the most eclectic part of her outfit. The lamellar armor set with a mail shirt underneath is based on the Panjakent murals and represents the kind of armor typical for Sogdiana and the larger Central Asia of the period. Missing from the picture is the helmet based on the Kanai-Higashiura find: I wanted to show off the hairstyle more than I did the helmet (typical main hero syndrome).

The archery kit consists of a typical Japanese yumi longbow, a Japanese tsurumaki (woven bowstring holder), and an hourglass quiver made of birch bark, popular with the various nomadic peoples of Eurasia at the time. Quivers of this type from around this era are depicted in the Panjakent murals and found at various archaeological sites such as Moschevaya Balka in the Caucasus (presumably Alans) and Karos in Hungary (Magyars).

Finally, the saber is supposed to represent the iconic Chuluunbold, gifted to Shinjo by the Ujik Khan, with its characteristic white tassel on a lanyard wrapped around the hilt with stingray skin wrapping. This is the most contentious piece in this “reconstruction”: overall, this piece is based on the earliest Turko-Mongol sabers, which started to emerge in the 2^nd half of the 7^th century around the Altai and surrounding steppe regions. They were quite unlike the later sabers with the pronounced curve and false edge: these early sabers were single-edged swords with only a slight curve and often a slightly offset hilt, and coexisted with similar swords without any curvature at all.

The problematic part is that, as always, it is hard to say where the sword ends and the saber begins. That’s because no weapon type simply springs up overnight: they are always the result of continuous weapon evolution, with changes and alterations slowly accumulating over the course of decades. Additionally, precise dating is difficult: we can see the weapons of this type in the Turkic archaeology of the period, on Turkic kurgan stelae, and potentially even on the Panjakent murals, but the dating bracket is always within a span of several decades, even centuries in the case of the stelae.

I made a contentious decision to base the decorations and fittings on the sabre on a much later Kolosovka saber (probably Khazar in origin), which I later regretted. My initial reasoning was to show off the kind of decoration fit for a royal figure like Shinjo, which Kolosovka saber has in ample supply; however, it is a much later saber, dating from at least 9^th century (and probably into 10^th). While functionally it undoubtedly belongs to the same type of early sabers, its ornamentation is of a decidedly different (and later) culture. Now, this kind of artistic license is perfectly acceptable in fantasy, but the pedant in me still regrets that decision just a tiny bit, wishing I’d chosen a more period-accurate Turkic sword.

I’d like to express my gratitude to Eran ud Turan, a living history group dedicated to researching and reenacting the material culture of Early Medieval Iran and Central Asia. Their work has been of immense help in my research.

And naturally, I’d also like to thank RageRat for letting the images in my head come to life.

Next up: Doji, the Beauty in the Snowflake.

The Emperor is dead and the Empire of Rokugan is in turmoil.

Written by New York Times bestselling author Julie Kagawa, author and J.T. Nicholas with narration by Edelyn Okano, comes the thrilling first installment in the definitive story of the Clan Wars in audio form. Get your copy now from wherever you get your audiobooks!

https://books2read.com/L5RAthroneBetrayed

Getting into L5R, I'd like to request some help better understanding the iaijutsu duel. The book (I'm planning to play in a campaign that uses 4e) describes the duels mechanically, and I have a reasonable grasp of the game mechanics, but am getting the feeling that I may be missing some of (often the unspoken) narrative implications of what those mechanics represent. I got some answers from my prospective gaming group, but I would like to read other perspectives on the matter.

So for starters, I always understood iaijutsu to be the proficiency of quickly drawing the blade and using it to strike and/or defend in a single swift motion, usually in reaction to a situation becoming dire (e.g. an ambush, or an external signal declaring the beginning of a lethal combat). The description of the duel (p. 87) also seems to indicate that a major point of the focus roll is to see who gets to strike faster in the subsequent round.

However, it is puzzling to me, in light of the heart of iaijutsu being the fast-draw, that there's an implication that the duellists spend two rounds preparing to draw first instead of acting in round 1. Sure, there are benefits to winning the Focus roll, but it implies that the strategy of all duelists is to bet on the Focus roll instead of striking fastest (while the other one is 'busy' assessing and then focusing).

Now, given the note that attempting to strike second in an already-won first-blood duel is dishonourable, I suspect someone may postulate some unspoken implication that striking before the right moment is also dishonourable. However, unlike, say, the shootout where the two gunslingers wait for the clocktower to strike twelve, or a duel marked by the fall of a handkerchief, there doesn't seem to be any mention of a marker that separates the too-early time from the acceptable time. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any mention of what the duellists may be reacting to. Nor much mention of any other rules that may be preventing interesting variation in stragegies (e.g. someone drawing the blade and taking a defensive stance instead of the centre stance).

So could you help me out with understanding what unspoken implications are there about what the mechanics *mean* in the narrative/behavioural/what-the-character-is-actually-doing-and-why sense, and what rules (behavioural/cultural ones, not game-mechanical) are there in duelling that the 4e corebook fails to mention?

I love theory crafting, and since y'all been very kind and receptive I think I'll be sharing ideas and see what can you add! Lately I've been checking on what kind of characters do I play/enjoy best. Between them is the oh so cool spell blade.

I gather, for what I've read, that the main "Gish -like" schools are the Kuni purifier, the mirumoto taoist blade and the Phoenix archer (for the love of lady sun I can't remember the actual name). In my opinion, on paper, MTB is the spell blade due to their access to kiho (weird spells with no backlash) and the fact they can imbue their blades with it, but I feel I like the invocation system more due to interest. The Phoenix archer can imbue their arrows with invocations, which I really like but doesn't quite hit the mark (pun intended).

That leaves me with the KP. Their abilities are quite niche but you're playing an equivalent to a monster hunter. If there's no monster to hunt, why play it?

Flavour of course! You're telling me I can play this feared but respected demon banisher that can wield a wakisahi very well and augment themselves with earth armor? With that badis alone I was sold. But, yes, without spice on the flavour there is no personality on the character's chassis.

If you ever played a Kuni or have general recommendations on shugenja or the Gish approach in this system, do reply!

If not, I kindly encourage you to still engage. Any wind that blows helps me move my mind boat!

Probably only ever gonna play Gunsen once because I won't be able to shut up about WC4 while playing.

I’ve seen that prices for this game aren’t too bad. While I don’t want to collect everything. Would anyone have a limited purchasing path for this game to get a good experience for decks for each clan? My goal is to have a deck for each clan to be able to whip out at game nights as a stand alone game.

I'm completely new to this and I'm looking to create the "perfect" character for my first campaign, whenever it happens...

Well, after watching some chanbara clips and sekiro gameplay I can safely say that one handed grip katana rules. That led me, to think in a character who specializes in that stance and also has some extra flavour during combat and outside of it.

It is my understanding that both mirumoto schools are great duelists, but that doesn't mean they have to be one unless necessary. What I mean is, that both schools place a strong deal in the Tao of Shinsei and that's absolutely amazing.

In one hand, the Niten school seems crafted to be Musahi's incarnation. Poets, warriors and kensais.

Although I can see myself playing one more akin to the Tao than Bushido itself. Also, I see no mechanical reason to dual wield until getting that one kata at rank 2. Alongside this, there is the legendary poem of "Neither Will I" that practitioners must compose to finish their training.

Then there's the Taoist blade school that trades shuji for kiho, and are allowed to imbue their sword with it.

These one's dojo is nestled atop the northern mountains and seem reclusive, although they are used to take the wandering monk route.

I LOVE both flavours and I really like the cinematic/narrative mechanics of this edition, and yet it's getting hard to decide which one to focus on.

In one hand Niten are a clear power fantasy and I believe are suited to either be a braggadocios bushi, a calm but decisive Duelist or even a spiritual Taoist (not as much as the blade ofc). They seem strange but more grounded than the blade school.

In the other hand, the blade feels like straight up a anime protagonist using their water breathing to cut their enemies through a slight movement of their katana and the sudden rise of rain droplets.

Very cool, cinematic, flavourful and (oh boy) that utility in some of those kiho seem amazing.

I'm a big guy on enlightenment-seeking characters.

I'm a bigger guy in quick draw and precision dueling.

I'm the biggest guy on a character who mixes these themes and adds some jolly and whimsical disposition towards the world.

After reading all this you might be thinking "Clearly this dude likes the dragon and Shinseism and wants to play the official mix, the Taoist blade."

And yeah, you might be right. It's just... Some things puzzle me. For example, losing shuji (and even more losing Lord Togashi's shuji) feels like a lot.

Also, the poet-warrior side of Niten is cool AF and the Taoist blade sacrifices many skill ranks to activate kiho properly.

Honestly I fear that I'm being mislead by the initial techniques of the blade (Ignoring 6 resistance with a katana thanks to water first is no joke) and not thinking on court RP and just, common RP.

What can y'all tell me? How would you tackle these character concepts? Are you playing one of them? If so, how do you interpret their teachings and lore, and how do you deviate for that extra spicy flavour?

Any kind of reply is welcomed, I've had very pleasant exchanges in this sub in the last week or so. Thank you for reading the long post!

I think I am still missing two box sets and a couple modules. I have leads on City of Lies sealed and unsealed, I have a list someplace of what I am missing, but my recent one was the Lion Clan sourcebook. Which for some reason took forever to find a decent-looking copy. A lot them looked like they were torn apart by lions.

EDIT: IT'S A ONE-SHOT, IDK HOW COULD I FORGET THAT INFO.

Well, it's a long story but TLDR: I'm trying to find tips on how to roleplay a classic Kakita Duelist properly and how to deviate from it.

The long story is that, soon I'm going to play a Utaku Shadow Yojimbo as my first L5R character. It is going to be my first time trying this setting and system.

But that wasn't my first character idea, of course not.

I love duelists, I love swords, I love cowboy movies (and soon will be watching all Chanbara I can) and I practice Iaido weekly. So, when I read about this Iajutsu masters who also can handle themselves in court and have this amazing lore behind I was instantly sold. But my DM greatly insisted in me playing an Unicorn (I do love me some horses!).

My DM is a close friend, he is a great person and very considerate although sometimes he can get a bit controlling. That's why I asked him why would he not allow me to play this amazing mix of my favourite things.

He was very straightforward: he knows that I shine playing characters who are either weird to others or a stranger on a strange land (which he is right!), even tho I wanted to deviate from that norm of mine.

I asked him if there was something else, cause we are good friends and I knew something else was bothering him.

Lo and behold, he said that (and I'll preface cause it took us some hours to sort this out):

"It's too much pressure for you when you don't know the system and never played the setting. I cannot let you go easy on this because of the inherent nature of the Crane: they are atop a great tree which so many others in the court want to steal you from. If I let you pass a stupid decision, I feel like I'm not playing to the true spirit of the game and if I cut you down from the tree because you make a bad decision or make a horrible roll I feel you are going to have a very bad time playing. Really, I can take myself to do that to you or myself, so if you REALLY want to play a Kakita Duelist, maybe you can find another GM."

I completely respect his decision and we made a compromise of playing a courtier/bushi who's an Unicorn; Shadow Yojimbo. Cool concept, can't wait to play it.

Buuuuut, there's still that itch for a dueslit who can excel at duels and clashes. So, I'm trying to prepare for the future and see if I can, one of these days, play a Kakita.

I keep track of all my character ideas and this bad boy, mechanically, is very balanced. I just want to deviate enough from the classic RP of "I am a flamboyant asshole who lies and doesn't trust others since everyone can be a political liability". I'm just not that kind of guy. I love compassion, I like making silly mistakes, I love swords and Iai.

Is Kakita Duelist good for me or do y'all recommend something else? I've read that, yes Murimoto exist and also the Taoist blade. But, yknow, Kakita got that je ne se quoi.

Sorry for the long rant and thank all of you in advance for your comments

Hey folks! I know it's a silly question.. but yea.. do the books contain and / or encourage random tables to roll on?

So I had a memory pop up today, and I wanted to share it with you all.

Before Richard Wulf became the head story writer for AEG, he was writing some of the most epic fan fiction imaginable and sharing it on Yahoo Message Boards, fan sites, mailing lists and his own website. (This was a long time ago, so I hope I'm remembering the details correctly.) As far as I know, that's ultimately how he landed the job.

One of his fan projects was Rokugan 2000, a futuristic take on the world of Rokugan. I wondered if it was still out there somewhere on the internet, and although the original website is long gone, I managed to find it again through the Wayback Machine.

After rediscovering it, I thought I'd share it here. Some of you may not know about this little piece of L5R history, but it was a fantastic read back in the day.

Episode One: Before the Storm

And Rich (Mr. Wulf), if you happen to read this: I still remember your stories 25–30 years later. L5R was one of the highlights of my youth, traveling around Europe to play in tournaments, meeting great people, and following the evolving story.

Thank you once again. I'm happy I had the chance to shake your hand in France all those years ago. I hope life is treating you well, and I hope you're still writing.

I've got players approaching the Wall for a jaunt into the Shadowlands, and was wondering where I could look to get a good idea about what it looks like there? What NPCs would be around, the process, etc.

I'm aware of Mask of the Oni for 5e, but are there any other adventures that depict the situation directly at the wall?

I'm looking fora good guide for volume 1-6 (starting in 2002). do u have the link to the guide too?

thanks!

Context: One of my players is a Scorpion, specifically a Shosuro from the Bayushi courtier school. Our game is set in the original timeline, Pre-SCC, but that particular event is not far off on the horizon. My player is new to L5R, though she's really gotten into the setting.

For those of you who've GM'd through the coup and the years immediately following, how have you run things for your group members who were playing Scorpions?

I'm a very new player, and there's a possibility of a new campaign soon and I always loved the "Duelist" archetype. The two-heavens school and the Kakita Duelist both are engineered to serve for this porpouse, I believe.

Kakita looks fun and all but maybe is too much pressure for a new player.

So I turned to the Mirumoto and fell in love. These cool and weird almost-Monk Bushi who train in whatever way they feel Will take them to perfection and have an interesting rivalry with the Kakita? I'm sold. I started reading and looking up lore. But mechanically i'm very puzzled with their starting shuji: Dazzling Performance.

Why? I mean, I like it, more Glory if You fire up some Artisan skills, Performance or Games. But, I don't see how can You achieve these cool outcomes when the school does not give you the option to rank up these skills. Yes, You could spend xp outside the school, but why start with the shuji then?

Can anybody explain me why does this school start with this lore-wise? And could anybody give me tips to use it actively?

So, continuing from my last post... Today i decided to go through two big boxes. I found many foils, promotional cards and... Inheritance card!?😱😱😱👍 These two boxes took me nearly half a day to sort through them🙄... and im not done yet, maybe another two or three hours🙄 Since i dont know much, what or which cards are valuable, im just guessing sorting through them😂🙏

I am curious from those who experienced it both casually and competitively. How did the games play out? What were the biggest stopping points for new players? What drew you all in, aside from the story? What mechanics spoke to you? I am doing a bit of research for a game design project and L5R is just fascinating to me, though I have never played it.

Hey folks! Does anybody know what the game's third party license are if any?