Customer Reviews

Sengoku: Revised Edition (Sengoku Roleplaying)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of all the Japanese style rpg's done over the years this one is the best by far. But with all the talk of Legends of the five rings and about how good it is meant to be. It can become hard to find an alternative.
But there is an alternative to the corperate heavy and rigid L5R. And that alternative offers you something that L5R does not...choice.
Sengoku is all about choice. It gives pages and pages about the Sengoku era. It gives you the choice of playing Ninja characters. Something L5R treats with distain. It gives you the choice of realistic to flying through the air styles of game. It talks about having a mixed party of Samurai and Ninja and how each style of game is different with that in mind.
The information is very well defined and laid out. Some of the rules are a little harder to understand. A little more clarity would not have gone astray here and there. But that does not ruin how good a game this is. This game is all about role play and not about having to fit within the designers idea of what is good.
Of them all I strongly recommend Sengoku. And if you find that you just can't tear yourself away from L5R then you will even find converstion notes in the back of the Sengoku book. This book is worth the money.

This is a role-playing game but the depth of the background material is such that it could nearly be a history book on ancient and medieval Japan. The material is well organized and I have found myself reading this book simply for the enjoyment of learning the background. As a role-playing game I think Sengoku has few equals. I own dozens of RPGs and this volume is among the best in my collection.

Somewhere in this great history book there's a game. The authors have definitely done their homework in studying the culture of late 16th century Japan. They've also got a great filmography and bibliography at the back. As far as content is concerned, Sengoku sets the bar quite high for historical RPGs. The actual conversion of this historical information into a playable game is, however, a bit awkward. The book is also seriously hampered by the amateurish artwork and layout reminiscent of RPGs of 30 years ago. Still, I've worn the cover off my copy of the book so its obviously a worthwhile read.