Briefing

This is a play-by-e-mail (PBeM) game is set in Rokugan, the Legends of the Five Rings universe.  The time is the reign of Hantei the Fourth, almost a thousand years before the "current" L5R setting, and several of the Great Kami and family founders are still around.  The story centers around the Dragon Clan.  However, because this is a PBeM game, I am using the Feng Shui system.  There is nothing wrong with the L5R system that a few houserules can't fix (I'm a fan of the first edition version), but Feng Shui has three advantages: (1) it's extremely simple, and so lends itself well to PBeM; (2) it gives much more flavour to both armed and unarmed martial arts; (3) it makes the characters more heroic in stature, which is fitting for this early setting.

Page last updated 6 March 2002
 
Setting System
Rokugan, the Emerald Empire
Links and Sources - 25 February 2002
Glossary
Place Names
Maps of Rokugan
Creatures of Rokugan
Feng Shui Sites and Rokugan
People of Rokugan - 15 January 2002
Player Characters
Other Characters
Story - 31 January 2002		 Game Mechanics
Conversion Notes
Posting and Combat Scenes
House Rules
Special Weapons Manoeuvres
Experience
Example of Combat
Character Creation
Templates Available
Transformed Animal Packages Available
Non-Standard Sorcery Schticks
Tattoo Magic
Weapons and Armour

 

A note on verisimilitude: (No, we're not playing Og 2nd ed.!) I am convinced that many of the Japanese words and especially names used in these pages are full of mistakes.  I hate that, but since I don't speak Japanese I rely on what sources I have, often not very authoritative (i.e., gaming books!)  In addition, there is a lot of simplification, usually intentional, to custom, vocabulary, etc., not to mention many anachronisms.  It's a cinematic game in a fantasy setting, so too much emphasis on "realism" would be misplaced.  However, I do welcome corrections from persons more knowledgeable than I, so just write!  (Note that to use the above address link you need to remove the "SPAMMERSMUSTDIE." section, including the dot.)

Joining this game: I do accept lurkers and even new players, although you may be asked to run an NPC for a while.  Also, one character whose player dropped the game is currently available (see link.)  If you want to join this PBeM, write to me  (again, to use the above address link you need to remove the "SPAMMERSMUSTDIE." section, including the dot.)

Format: This site is designed for display in Netscape 4.7X but should work with most browsers, including (hopefully) text-only browsers.  It has been tested in Microsoft Internet bloody Explorer 5 and seems to work fine.  The most complex elements you should find are clickable maps, and the number of graphics per page is strictly limited (except for this front page, I got carried away.)
 

Rokugan, the Emerald Empire

Creation Myth
The Kami
Now
Clans and Families
 

 Creation Myth

In Rokugani mythology, the world was formed when the void felt fear, longing, and regret, one third of the world for each emotion.  Then much later Lady Sun (Amaterasu Omi-Kami) and her husband Lord Moon were born.  Lord Moon endlessly pursues Lady Sun and occasionally he catches her.  They had nine children, the Great Kami: Hida, Doji, Togashi, Akodo, Shiba, Bayushi, Shinjo, Hantei, and Fu Leng.  Lord Moon feared that his children would one day defeat him and devoured them in a pre-emptive strike.  But Lady Sun managed to hide Hantei from him.  Hantei bid his time until he could free his siblings (a messy business).  They all fell from the sky to earth, but the last, Fu Leng, fell in a deep crevice where he would get stuck for a long time, long enough to be corrupted.

The kami, by falling to earth, had become mortal.  They gathered followers from the humans there and founded the great clans.  Through a series of contests among themselves, they agreed that Hantei would be the Emperor.  From among their early followers came the founders of the great families, the Matsu, Hiruma, Shosuro, Mirumoto, etc.  Then after a time Fu Leng emerged and ravaged the young empire.  When things looked bleak, a little man who called himself Shinsei came and taught Rokugan his path of war and honour.

At Shinsei's demand, the seven greatest of the mortal followers, the Seven Thunders, were sent to the dark lands of the south where Fu Leng dwelt, the Shadowlands.  Only one came back, the Scorpion Shosuro, Bayushi's love, with a bag of black scrolls she said had been used to bind the Dark Lord.  She died instants later, and Bayushi hid the scrolls.

For more information, read author John Wick's summary of the history of Rokugan.

Return to top
 

The Kami

The Great Kami include Lady Sun (Amaterasu omi-Kami), Lord Moon (Onnotangu - generally not invoked by name), and their nine children:
 


In addition, the major kami include the Seven Fortunes:
 


Other kami often invoked include:

Minor kami inhabit every grove, every river, every mountain.  Finally, the spirits of ancestors are also revered.

Return to top
 

Now

It is the beginning of the reign of Hantei the Fourth.  Some of the Great Kami still walk the earth.  A few decades ago most of Shinjo's clan, the Ki-Rin, followed their founder into the Burning Sands to the west, in search of something they couldn't or wouldn't explain.  Only a few of the Ki-Rin are left (no actual Unicorns -- sorry.)  The story revolves around the efforts of the Dragon to launch a series of exploratory expeditions to pacify and chart Rokugan, and bring order to the chaos.  Instead of being a nicely mapped empire with well known roads, Rokugan is largely a dark enigma full of supernatural creatures, self-appointed warlords, and lawless sorcerers.

Return to top
 

The Clans

Crab
Crane
Dragon
Lion
Phoenix
Scorpion
Ki-Rin
Others


For more information, read author John Wick's summary of the clans, taking into account that it describes the clans some eight hundred years later.

Crab.  The Crab are the rampart of Rokugan against Fu Leng's reach; their lands border the Shadowlands.  They spend much of their time battling horrors best left untold, and they tend to be direct and blunt, unsubtle, and unrefined.  The clan produces great warriors but has little time for more aesthetic or theoretical pursuits.  Colours: dark grey and dark blue with red and black touches.

Families: Hida - Known for their strength and courage . Kuni - Famous for fighting dark magic, produces many shugenja and Witch Hunters. Kaiu - Engineers and tacticians, creators of siege engines and fortifications. Hiruma - Scouts and archers.

Suggested Templates: Big Bruiser (Hida bushi), Monster Hunter (Kuni witch hunter), Techie (Kaiu engineer)
 

Crane.  The Crane are refined courtiers and artists, and tightly intertwined with the imperial family because the emperor always marries a Crane. They also have many alliances with minor clans.  They practice war as an art, and have a knack for commerce.  Colours: light blue and white.

Families: Doji - Produces courtiers, generals, diplomats, and merchants.  Daidoji - The Crab call them the "Iron Cranes" - they are the most martial and stoic of the Cranes.  Kakita - dedicated artists, artisans, and duelists.  Asahina - the most pacifist and contemplative of Cranes, produce talented shugenja. Yasuki - merchants, politicians, and courtiers.

Suggested Templates: Martial Artist (Kakita duelist), Medic (Asahina shugenja)
 

Dragon.  Mysterious, adaptable, secretive, and multi-faceted.  The Dragon try to mesh the arts of the warrior and the sorcerer, and resemble monks more than nobles.  They are rumored to have unique sorcery lore that they use to create magical tattoos.  Colours: green and yellow.

Families: Togashi - not actually a family but a monastic order founded by the Great Kami Togashi himself; they practice tattoo magic to master strange powers.  Mirumoto - the most adaptable and resourceful of the Dragon families; their warriors fight with both blades (wakizashi and katana.)  Agasha - sorcerers and scholars. Kitsuki: Diplomats and magistrates.

Suggested Templates: Magic Cop (Mirumoto bushi), Ise Zumi warrior-monk, Private Investigator (Kitsuki magistrate)
 

Lion.  The foremost generals, tacticians, and historians of Rokugan are of the Lion clan.  The Lion are brave and prize honour above all else.  All Lion have to fight a ritual duel with their daimyo when they go through their rite of passage, to show their bravery to their leader.  Colours: tan, brown, and yellow.

Families: Akodo - Strategists and tacticians, battle masters. Ikoma - Historians, scholars, the theorists of strategy and war. Matsu - Fierce, passionate and fearless.  The daimyo of the Matsu is always a woman.  Kitsu - their shugenja specialize in battle magic.

Suggested Templates: Ex-Special Forces (Kitsu veteran), Karate Cop (Akodo gunso), Maverick Cop (Matsu nikutai)
 

Phoenix.  Although they also produce worthy bushi, the Phoenix are known for their unparalleled mastery of sorcery.  They practice elemental magic, and know many spells that are kept hidden from the other clans.  Colours: orange and flame red.

Families: Shiba - Although they are descended from a Great Kami, the Shiba do not lead the clan.  That position is reserved for the Isawa.  The Shiba are the warriors, bodyguards, and protectors of the clan.  Isawa - the wielders of power both temporal and arcane, the Isawa are the most gifted shugenja in the empire.  Asako - they can be mystical, isolationist, or outgoing, but the Asako are all dedicated followers of the Way of Shinsei.

Suggested Templates: Magic Cop (Shiba bodyguard), Sorcerer (Isawa shugenja)
 

Scorpion.  Guardians of the Black Scrolls that bind Fu-Leng to his resting place in the Shadowlands, the Scorpion are the spies, negotiators, plotters and schemers of Rokugan.  They have their hands in every blackmail threat, black market deal, and black deed of the empire, and so are the blackguards of Rokugan.  The clan is also the most united of all.  Colours: dark red and black.

Families: Bayushi - politicians, machinators, courtiers. Shosuro - actors, geisha, spies.  Soshi - shugenja, black marketers, blackmailers.  Yogo - shugenja specializing in binding magics, guardians of the Black Scrolls, and bearers of bad luck.

Suggested Templates: Killer, Ninja, Spy
 

Ki-Rin.  These scattered descendants of Shinjo chose to remain in Rokugan when she left for the Western Deserts.  Their only claim to being a great clan is having been founded by a Great Kami; but since she's left, they have receded in power to being a minor clan in actuality.  Colours: purple with touches of yellow, white, and red.

Family: Shinjo - the few scattered descendant of the ki-rin kami herself.

Suggested Templates: Everyman Hero (struggling Shinjo retainer), Maverick Cop (Shinjo hired sword)
 

Others.  There are a few minor clans around.  Some are remnants of the original bloodlines and structure predating the arrival of the Great Kami.  Other are small side bloodlines descended from the major families and are vassals of the great clans.  All have built some system of alliances with the great clans to ensure their continued existence.  Not all the minor clans from the L5R timeline are available, as some (e.g., Sparrow, Dragonfly, Hare) have not yet come to be created.

The Fox.  They are a splinter of the Ki-Rin clan who stayed in Rokugan, and are pretty well-off since their lands are rich.  They are known for their cunning.

Families: Kitsune - The Kitsune were chief among the families of the Ki-rin clan that stayed behind.  Known for their shrewdness. Shika - devoted to the healing arts.

Suggested Templates: Thief, Private Investigator, Medic

The Mantis (no family name).  A splinter of the Crab clan.  Successful merchants, sailors, and smugglers, based off the islands along the southeast coast of Rokugan.  The main islands are the Islands of Silk and Spice (Shima no Kinu and Shima no Koshinryo), and the entire archipelago is loosely called the "Mantis Islands".

The Badger.  Another offshoot of the Crab clan, hardy defenders of the Wild Lands.  They have strong and fearsome bushi, although they are weak on sorcery.  They claim territories in the northwest crags and hills of Rokugan.

Family: Ichiro - Hunters, mountaineers, warriors; known for their tenacity and stubbornness.

(Possibly a few more minor clans to come)

There are also ronin, masterless samurai who roam the land.  Finally, I'm happy to let anyone who wants to try create a character who is not of samurai class: merchant, farmer, scholar, monk, artisan, entertainer, etc., but remember that you have to be of value to a party of adventurers sent to explore the land and protect Rokugan from strange monsters.

Suggested Templates: Everyman Hero (Ronin), Old Master (Ronin), Gambler, Thief, Scrappy Kid

Return to top
 

Webrings
Return to top
 

Sign the Guest Book

Return to top

More Feng Shui tidbits
Return to Ed & Sophie's Home Page