In the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game (L5R), players take on the role of individual heroes whose honor and loyalty will be put to the test. These heroes are members of the noble class called “samurai” and carry out their duty as warriors, courtiers, priests, or monks defending the Emperor’s interests. Bushidō, a code that demands that samurai ignore their own desires in favor of duty and honor, is the centerpiece of L5R. It is, ultimately, what sets this game apart from every other RPG. Bushido is the moral code, the “way of the warrior,” that informs the behavior of every samurai. It is a double-sided blade of conviction and narrow-mindedness. It is a culture of obedience and tradition. It is the path of the honorable and courageous. It should be noted that L5R is not about playing a real-world samurai, but rather about the romanticized vision of samurai found in stories and film, a vision in which Honor and Bushido have real meaning and force. Players are creating the mythical and legendary tales of samurai who excel in their station.
The primary struggle that samurai face in the game is an internal one: what do you do when your personal feelings conflict with your duty? What desires will your character sacrifice to uphold their ideals? What do you do when two tenets of Bushidō are in opposition, or when your loyalty to the Emperor demands that you commit a dishonorable act? A samurai must choose. Adventures in the Legend of the Five Rings take their cue from eastern storytelling, which valorizes individuals sacrificing themselves to maintain societal harmony, as opposed to western narratives that reward heroes for defying society; however, ideals and human emotions cannot easily be put aside even by the greatest of samurai, and this inner conflict drives the samurai drama that is the Legend of the Five Rings.
Legend of the Five Rings is set in the world of Rokugan. The territories of Rokugan that are controlled by the seven Great Clans are collectively referred to as the Emerald Empire, where long-simmering rivalries and fresh betrayals between the Great Clans ripple through the courts and on the battlefield, in a constant struggle for power. Each clan serves the Emperor in different ways, from the diplomatic machinations of the Crane Clan, the devious manipulations of the Scorpion Clan, to the militant vigilance of the Lion. But the Emerald Empire is beset by threats from without as well as within. The Shadowlands is host to an unimaginable evil beyond the Empire’s Southern wall that is tenuously held by the Crab Clan through great sacrifice. There are those few in Rokugan who have ability to harness magic, a rare gift, which can make it a dangerous threat or a powerful weapon.
The Emerald Magistrates serve the Emperor across Rokugan as investigators, judges, and executioners. You will begin this new chapter of life as a noble samurai who previously served your Clan with distinction, and was recently commissioned into the service of the Emerald Magistrates to dispense the Emperor’s justice across the land.
It is this world that you are tasked to bring order and justice, while maintaining your honor.
