Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition RPG [Hardcover]

Shawn Carman (Author), Robert Hobart (Author), Jim Pinto (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group (June 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594720525
• ISBN-13: 978-1594720529
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #442,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget previous editions - An excellent resource for fantasy samurai role-playing, July 2, 2010

By 

K. Elmore "Kuildeous" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition RPG (Hardcover)

Buyers who are familiar with the Revised 3rd Edition may be reluctant to buy the 4th Edition. That's understandable. I was wary myself, but I am grateful I took the plunge and purchased 4th Edition. This makes up for many of the mistakes of the past while forging a new future.

First, the book looks very nice. The artwork is exceptional, and the layout is professionally done. The type is on the small side, but the contrast is good. The fact that the type is so small in a book so large gives you an idea of just how full of information this book is. I'm not a fan of the section headings (Book of Water, et al.), but it's a stylistic decision that simply isn't my cup of tea. Others may disagree. Certainly, it's nothing I'd dock point off of. There have been a few typos, but they are mild; nothing like previous editions!

The book is very robust. The world of L5R has several years of stories crammed into it, and it's simply impossible to fit everything into one book. Still, this book has the most vital parts, while leaving some areas open for GM interpretation or sourcebooks. You have what you need to start a campaign, though the book intentionally makes some things vague so that it'll fit in almost any L5R campaign.

The rules are also well done. I understand this book has undergone some rigorous playtesting, and the hard work is apparent. A lot of the power differences between comparable Schools have been toned down so that while one school clearly has an advantage, it's usually not a runaway. The rules have been retooled so that success is based more on the dice than on what Advantages and Schools you have. Static bonuses are an endangered species; if a character receives a set numerical bonus or a "Raise," then it is indicative of how that character is supposed to be really good at what he does. L5R veterans may recall saying things like "7k3 +30." You're less likely to hear it in 4th Edition.

Veterans of L5R will also notice other changes, mostly for the better. The five stances make combat more dynamic and tactical--without resorting to battle mats with 5-foot squares. The Wounds distribution makes it likely that a character can withstand a solid hit and grit through the pain, rather than spiral down into ineffectiveness; I believe the idea I heard is that, "Combat should not be determined by who rolled the best initiative," and I think the book succeeds here. Also, the list of Advantages and Disadvantages has been expanded, including being blessed (or cursed) by a major Fortune, being positively or negatively influenced by one of the spirit realms, and even epitomizing or rejecting an aspect of bushido (or even its opposite, shourido).

There are still some things I do not like. While I praise the designers for balancing the rules, I am bemused by the Dragon tattoo, which seems to be considerably ahead in the power curve. I also did not like the maximum number of Raises being limited to your Void (I thought 3rd Edition was a step forward by eliminating that). These are very minor disagreements, which can be easily changed in a home game if you feel like it. They may make me roll my eyes, but I wouldn't reduce my score because of them.

Another down side is the price. Once you see and feel the book, you can see where the money has gone. This is obviously not a basement print job. Some may argue that no book should cost this much, but most RPG books nowadays are on the pricy side. At least you get excellent artwork, well-thought-out rules, and a fairly low typo-to-page-count ratio (page count is 400 FYI). Considering the hours of entertainment you can derive from this book, the price is actually rather reasonable.

Finally, this book has made me do something for the first time: Run my own L5R home game. That is high praise indeed if the shelves full of dusty game books are any indication. I've purchase and read many game books, but I never take the serious step in running a game based on them. L5R 4th Edition has gotten me excited enough to hunt down players and begin a new campaign.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for new players of L5R and previous players alike., July 25, 2010

By 

Stormson - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition RPG (Hardcover)

The book starts with the traditional foreword for people that don't play RPGs and this is their first one, with some other parts for returning players, fairly short and to the point.

The book is then separated into 5 "books", Air being Setting info, Earth being basic general mechanics, Fire being character creation, Water being optional advanced mechanics, and Void being the GM chapter.

This book has helped resolve one of my largest complaints in L5R, where the setting and culture fluff is overall spread through out the core book and some of the details and nuances can get lost without a thorough reading. The Air Chapter completely fixes that, being full of basic overarching info about how the society of Rokugan works with some history information. I honestly feel that I could have a new player read the book of air alone, and they would have a sufficient grasp of Rokugani customs and history and would not feel lost. This is important, because L5R chooses to focus on the social aspects of roleplaying and not so much the hack and slash of other settings, as in L5R combat by default is pretty lethal. It also paints the world in broad, full brushstrokes, which does mean some detail is lost, but this leaves the world open for individual interpretation without adhering to a canon storyline.

The Earth Book is straightforward explanation of the pure basics of the system and how it works, and is the shortest chapter in the book. This is a GOOD thing, as you have all the basic mechanic info in one concise and straightforward place. I feel it explains the process of Target Numbers and the Roll and Keep system thoroughly enough that minimal confusion would occur even with people who have never played an RPG before.

The Fire Book is the character creation chapter, and is fairly robust. It includes the basic info on how many points compose a character, how to spend initial points, and how to spend XP gained later. It also holds the 8 basic clans of L5R, and 4 schools (or classes) for each clan. Each clan is given one melee (bushi), one Magic (Shugenja), and one diplomat (Courtier) school, and a fourth school that helps further expand the flavor of the clan. In -most- cases this is a melee variant, with the Lion, Crab, Unicorn, and Crane getting additional bushi schools that fit the theme overall of the clan. The Mantis gets the game's only dedicated archer school, the Scorpion get a Ninja school, the Dragon get their tattoo monks, and the Phoenix get another magic school. The book then details the various skills of the setting, seperated into seperate categories based on how the typical rokugani views them. IE, Calligraphy, being viewed as a cultural skill, is a "High" skill, athletics is a "Bugei" or warrior skill, Craft being a "Merchant" skill, and Poison being a "Low" (or criminal) skill. There is then a list of Advantages and Disadvantages, which are basically perks or penalties you can choose to help flesh out your character. Advantages give a benefit and cost creation points, Disadvantages cause a penalty and give you extra points to use. There's finally a list of spells for each element and an explanation of the magic system, and an equipment list.

The Water Book includes additional character creation and system options. It includes additional "Minor" Clans with one school each and a brief fluff section explaining the clan's founding and purpose, 4 "Imperial" schools for characters that may be tied to the emperor, rules for playing a Ronin, or clanless character, or a monk character, and an explanation of a possible "Mass Battle" system. It adds further details to the 8 basic clans with advanced schools and alternate "Rank" paths, where you essentially choose a different ability for a "Rank" (or level, in more common RPG terms) than what your school would normally allow. It also includes systems for Maho, (or Blood Magic something that's a huge no-no in Rokugan), Kiho which are a hybrid of the spells of the magic classes and abilities of the melee classes that are primarily used by monks, and rules for Shadowlands taint infection.

Finally, the Void Book includes things for the Game Master including how to create adventures, lists of basic plot possibilities, an atlas of geographic locations, and a few basic creatures to threaten your Player Characters with. L5R being a social game foremost, the list of creatures is fairly small, and there's going to be a new supplement book with more options in the near future.

I could honestly say I could play multiple campaigns and not just sessions out of the core book alone, without the need for additional supplements, and it also does not contradict or devalue any previous books I have purchased for previous editions fluff wise, due to the decision to paint the story with broad strokes. Sure, the clans do suffer a extremely short explanation of their own individual histories and view points, but I feel I can still use my 1st Edition clan specific books for more info without major retooling or history rewriting. The mechanics however, would need to be retooled, which is natural for changes in RPG editions.

The layout of the book is well done, the editing is well done to the point there's no memorable mistakes (for those who have purchased L5R books in the past, this is a huge improvement), and the page quality seems fairly nice, with glossy full color pages. It's construction honestly reminds me of a high quality high school yearbook. I only say this as I do not buy a -lot- of books, and this is meant as a compliment, the yearbooks I'd be comparing it to are still intact and in good condition 15 years later, so it gives me hope the book won't just fall apart in a few months.

Overall, I think it's a great book and well worth the price.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jaded Veteran Falls in Love Again, July 15, 2010

By 

William T. Mendoza "Mad Willy" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition RPG (Hardcover)

I've been playing L5R since 1st edition. I love the world, and the core mechanics. I've played it more than any other RPG, and I've played my share. I have to admit, the previous edition of L5R was a jumbled mess. Poor layout, bad editing, and ludicrously unbalanced mechanics. I found myself apologizing for the poor appearance and behavior of my beloved game, and made hybrid versions of 1st, 2nd and 3rd just to make it playable. Well, no longer.

The first thing that struck me was the art. I was blown away. The traditional japanese-style paintings that open the chapters and set the theme for the ensuing pages are gorgeous. The illustrations are great, and so is the layout, for the most part. It's inspired me to take up graphic design again. My elderly father, who doesn't even game, spent an hour looking through it page by page, admiring it and asking questions about the world presented in the art.

Gone are the insanely unbalanced mechanics and nigh-incalculable piles of bonuses and modifiers. Gone are the contradictory paragraphs and sloppy typos. The Schools are balanced and simple while maintaining their flavor. Power gamers may be upset at toned down abilities, but I view that as a good thing. You can still make very powerful characters, that are much easier to play and much more flavorful, rather than mechanical. One school that needed nerfing was the Mirumoto Bushi, though they might have been a little too hard on them. We'll see. My least favorite technique from 3rd Edition, due to sheer complexity, was the Akodo Bushi Rank 1. Sadly, it's still just as complicated and conditional, but virtually all the other techniques are streamlined and simplified beautifully.

AEG achieved their goal of getting back to basics; back to the essence of L5R. Something, as a fan of 1st Edition, I can really appreciate. But all the stuff from 2nd and 3rd are still there! You can run in any era or make up your own. I can hardly believe how much stuff they crammed into this book.

The Advantages and Disadvantages are worth noting. Many of the new ones are awesome. Bursting with flavor. Paragon, and Dark Paragon, Consumed, Touched/Cursed by the Realm, Lord Moon's Curse, etc. are really great. All the classics are there, reworked to be simpler and more sensible and with added flavor. A couple of the mechanics are a little too similar, but the flavor differences are enough to encourage taking one over the other. A couple of the point values seem a little out of whack, but for the most part are very fair. This game was clearly playtested heavily, and is well-edited.

I can't say enough about this game, but I'll stop now. This is my favorite RPG release of the past 5 years, and the best edition of L5R to date, in my not so humble opinion. It's pricey, but buy it. You get what you pay for and then some!