Legend of the Five Rings


Legend of the Five Rings is a fictional setting created by John Zinser, Dave Seay, Ryan Dancey, Dave Williams, DJ Trindle, Matt Wilson and John Wick and first published by a joint venture between Alderac Entertainment Group and ISOMEDIA in 1995. The setting primarily involves the fictional empire of Rokugan, though some additional areas and cultures have been discussed. Rokugan is based roughly on feudal Japan with influences from other East Asian cultures such as China, Mongolia and Korea. This setting is the basis for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game as well as the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game. Legend of the Five Rings was also the "featured campaign setting" of the Oriental Adventures expansion to the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons, though this book is now out of print.
The timeline of the Legends of the Five Rings setting can be influenced by players of the collectible card game, and to a lesser extent the role-playing game, with the winners of major tournaments making pivotal decisions that become canonical history in future products. The most significant example of this was the Race for the Throne event, which took place through 2007 and 2008, which allowed players of both the collectible card game and the role-playing game to affect the storyline of their Clan by earning points in various Spheres of influence.
L5R was acquired by Fantasy Flight Games in 2015. In 2020, FFG's parent company Asmodee transferred L5R to another subsidiary, Edge Studio.

Products

Card games

Collectible card game

The Legend of the Five Rings collectible card game is played by two or more players, each with two decks of at least 40 cards each. The game continues until a player has reached one of several different victory conditions, at which point that player is declared the winner. Victory conditions include winning militarily, by honour, dishonour, through enlightenment or via a couple of special cards which essentially mean "game won".
In the game's tournaments players can affect the storyline of the game, their deck construction directly contributing to the lives of the characters involved. This is in turn reflected in future expansions of the game, and the mechanics of the cards therein. The full current rules of the collectible card game can be found at the Comprehensive Rules Site. The Kotei Season runs generally February through June of each year, where regional tournaments occur around the world. Each season incorporates a major event currently going on in the Emerald Empire, with each event determining at least one factor of the larger story. Kotei winners are pre-qualified into major events such as Gen Con and the European Championships, allowing them to skip the qualifying rounds.
Legend of the Five Rings has many cards that are directly influenced by players and their actions. These cards often feature an attribution on the vertical right side of the card, which includes the name of the player, the event, and the date involved in the creation of the card or theme behind the card. Having your name on a card is a goal of many players of Legend of the Five Rings.
The CCG ended its run in 2015.

Living card game

After Legend of the Five Rings was purchased by Fantasy Flight Games, in 2015, they released a new version of the card game. Fantasy Flight's version is distributed as an introductory core set with periodical Clan Packs and Dynasty Packs. Unlike the collectible card game version, the cards in the core set and packs are non-random.
The game is played by two players, each with two decks of 40–45 cards each. The game continues until a player has reached one of several different victory conditions, at which point that player is declared the winner. Victory conditions include breaking the province which holds their opponent's stronghold, accumulating 25 honor, or having their opponent run out of honor. In the game's tournaments players can affect the storyline of the game.
The living card game was discontinued in 2021.

Role-playing game

The Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game is a role-playing game that requires one person to be game master and any number of other people to play different characters. There is no "winner" or "loser", and the players do not generally compete against each other. Instead, the players work together to find a solution to some problem which the game master has presented their characters. The setting allows for stories which are oriented around action, courtly diplomacy or a mix of the two.
The Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game is currently in its fifth edition. The first four editions used an original ruleset designed specifically for the setting. To distinguish this game system from the d20 System mechanics, it is often referred to as the d10, "classic", or the "Roll & Keep" system.
In September 2017, after Legend of the Five Rings was purchased by Fantasy Flight, they announced a fifth edition of the RPG, which was released on October 11, 2018. It features an alternate version of the Roll and Keep system using special dice.
In 2020, FFG's parent company Asmodee transferred FFG's RPG lines, including Legend of the Five Rings, to Edge Studio, another subsidiary of Asmodee.
In August 2022, Edge Studio released Adventures in Rokugan, a roleplaying game set in Rokugan but utilizing a system compatible with the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

Live-action roleplaying

In 2004 a live-action roleplay version of the game was released. Live-Action roleplaying has long been a major part of Legend of the Five Rings at events such as Gen Con. Heroes of Rokugan, a fan-run group, organizes yearly LARPs as part of their own storyline.

Board games

Clan War was a miniature based model strategy game produced by AEG, whose story line is derived from the Legend of the Five Rings setting. This game is currently out of print; in 2010, however, a limited selection of the metal miniatures used to play the game was released by Valiant Enterprises Ltd. A second Legend of the Five Rings board game titled Art of War has been demonstrated several times but never released.
In 2011 AEG released a board game titled War of Honor, which utilized the same cards as the collectible card game in a simplified game. Four complete decks were included with the game, making it self-contained, however additional cards can also be included. A second game, titled Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan, was released the same year. This is a board game for 2–4 players in which one player takes the role of a Scorpion Clan ninja attempting to infiltrate a Lion Clan compound, with the other players defending it.
In 2013 a Legend of the Five Rings themed version of the card game Love Letter was released. Using a deck of 16 cards and taking roughly an hour to play, the game simulates the courtly intrigue surrounding the attempts of several players to court a princess.
In 2017, Fantasy Flight Games released Battle for Rokugan, an L5R-themed area-control strategy board game in which the clans fight to conquer regions on a map of Rokugan.
In 2024, Office Dog Games released River of Gold, an economic board game in which the players take the role of river merchants aligned with one of six clans from Rokugan, developing ports, trading resources, and accumulating local influence.
In 2025, Monolith Board Games announced Champions of Rokugan.

Video game

In 2023, Swedish game development studio Palindrome Interactive announced that they had partnered with publisher Asmodee to bring the franchise to the video game genre for the first time, with the game Shadowveil: Legend of the Five Rings.

Novels

Clan War series

  • The Scorpion by Stephen D. Sullivan
  • The Unicorn by Allison Lassieur
  • The Crane by Ree Soesbee
  • The Phoenix by Stephen D. Sullivan
  • The Crab by Stan Brown
  • The Dragon by Ree Soesbee
  • The Lion by Stephen D. Sullivan

    The Four Winds Saga

  • The Steel Throne by Edward Bolme
  • Wind of Honor by Ree Soesbee
  • Wind of War by Jess Lebow, Ree Soesbee
  • Wind of Justice by Rich Wulf
  • Wind of Truth by Ree Soesbee

    Death at Koten

In May 2009, Death at Koten was published, a graphic novel written by Shawn Carman which takes place in the Legend of the Five Rings setting. It revolves around the death of Hida Kisada and the events that take place as a result of his assassination.

Aconyte Books

  • Curse of Honor by David Annadale
  • Poison River The Daidoji Shin Mysteries by Josh Reynolds
  • The Night Parade of 100 Demons by Marie Brennan
  • Death's Kiss The Daidoji Shin Mysteries by Josh Reynolds
  • The Great Clans of Rokugan - Volume 1 by Various
  • * Ice and Snow by Katrina Ostrander
  • * The Sword and the Spirits by Robert Denton III
  • * Whispers of Shadow and Steel by Mari Murdock
  • * Across the Burning Sands by Daniel Lovat Clark
  • To Chart the Clouds by Evan Dicken
  • The Great Clans of Rokugan - Volume 2 by Various
  • * Deathseeker by Robert Denton III
  • * Trail of Shadows by D.G. Laderoute
  • * The Eternal Knot by Marie Brennan
  • The Flower Path The Daidoji Shin Mysteries by Josh Reynolds
  • The Game of 100 Candles by Marie Brennan
  • Three Oaths The Daidoji Shin Mysteries by Josh Reynolds
  • The Soul of Iuchiban by Evan Dicken
  • The Market of 100 Fortunes by Marie Brennan
  • A Bitter Taste The Daidoji Shin Mysteries by Josh Reynolds
  • A Throne Betrayed by Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas

    Setting

Legend of the Five Rings is set primarily in the fictional land of Rokugan, based on feudal Japan with influences from other East Asian cultures, where samurai, shugenja, and trained courtiers vie for control of the noble courts. Rokugan itself is home to mostly humans, divided into a society based on clans, with eight Great Clans and various minor ones, though at the moment they are all in confusion, and are vying for one of their members to be the new Emperor. They are regularly threatened by evil plots from within, but the main threat still lies to the southwest of Rokugan: the deadly wastes of the Shadowlands, where demonic hordes roam.
The world of L5R, which contains Rokugan, also contains the nations of the Burning Sands as well as the Ivory Kingdoms. A few foreign visitors from these lands have been featured in Legend of the Five Rings, but have not played a major role in the storyline. Much is unknown of these lands, mostly due to the extreme xenophobia of the Rokugani, shown in the story by an Imperial mandate of non-interaction with gaijin.