I am not sure how "because it is part of the identity of L5R" is different from "comfort in the familiar" or "because it's always been that way."

I am not saying they should move away from R&K, I'm just saying that I am not married to it (there are other aspects of the system that I would specifically want to see changed, but off the top of my head none of that would require moving away from R&K, although I would lean towards removing the massive-power-boost Technique system and that might require other modifications to ensure appropriate incentives for balanced stats).

I imagine there could be a wonderful L5R game out there waiting to be brought into existence that uses your 5 Rings to create dice pools and various symbols for results and so on...

Roll and Keep is fine but I'd love a new system with 5 unique dice one tied to each ring etc...

r&k is a novel and simple system and would be fine with it staying. I'd also be fine with it going if the new system was as novel and simple. I will say that while I am fine with other FFG RPGs, the multiple dice types is something that can be annoying.

No matter the underlying system, some of the secondary systems they have in place could certainly be renovated wholesale or adapted in different ways. I'm looking at you "New Paths" and "Advanced Schools." Don't get me wrong, I love the broadened options, especially since these define your character so much in both mechanics and setting, but honestly, I think there are much better ways to handle them. Honestly, the school system completely might do well with some new people just playing around with new approaches. I'm not saying we need to go after ALL the sacred cows, but maybe culling the herd can be a good thing.

As always, I have faith in FFG to put out a quality product. It's in their best interest to strive to do so.

Roll and Keep is fine but I'd love a new system with 5 unique dice one tied to each ring etc...

They are called Fortunes and Winds dice...

And I would love to see an L5R game using these:

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/l5r/images/9/95/Fortunes_and_Winds.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110124101928

R&K might be the first RPG system I've tried (multiple D&Ds, other d20s, multiple editions of HERO, a shot at GURPS, WEG d6 Star Wars, WoD, many many homebrews) where I can't quickly "figure the odds" and determine if something is even roughly balanced, in my head, when looking at a power or skill or mechanic. The compounding variation of highly variable dice pools, exploding dice, a plethora of possible bonuses, highly variable target numbers, contested vs uncontested rolls, raises and free raises...

When I first looked at the concept of "roll X+Y dice, keep Y", I thought that would reduce the randomness by dropping low outliers from the results... wow was I wrong.

---- ----

Regarding character construction and progression in the L5R RPG, one of the things that I don't really care for is the deep integration and reliance on what comes down to "class and level", which to me is so... early 80s (I've been gaming for a long time). School Rank and Insight Rank are built into the mechanics of the powers. Characters are too defined by the Clan/Family/School archetypes.

As an example of a change, I'd much rather have the Techniques work like the Kata, purchaseable as discrete abilities with an XP cost and a set of prerequisites, and each associated more with some Schools than with others.

Maybe it's just not appropriate for the setting, but the inability to build, oh, for example, a jack of all trades character... leaves a hole, at least for me.

You can build a jack of all trades in 4th Edition. Like, really, Jack of All Trades is something that is almost a problem in it - any character with high traits that decided to either get a lot of 1ngle rank skills, or bought Phantom Rank advantages is a Jack of All Trades. Ability to basically bump your Trait one up by spending a Void Point or to be trained in a skill helps it even more. You don't need a fancy technique yelling "You are A Jack Of All Trades" to by a Jack of All Trades. In order tobe a Jack of All Trades you need to be one in game and gameplay.

And you can easily become one totally by accident.

I sent an e-mail to FFG asking about the RPG. This was their official response:

Alex,

Hi. Thank’s for your e-mail. I don’t know if you saw, but shortly after we made the announcement we posted a clarification about the RPG to Facebook and Twitter. Yes, are hoping to do some sort of roleplaying game within the L5R universe. Beyond that, we have no idea. Everything is still very, very early and new, and the big decisions are yet to be made.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Hornbeck
Marketing Content Coordinator
Fantasy Flight Games

So vague but there will be something. Any speculation at this point is moot (not that that will stop us. We're gamers).

You can build a jack of all trades in 4th Edition. Like, really, Jack of All Trades is something that is almost a problem in it - any character with high traits that decided to either get a lot of 1ngle rank skills, or bought Phantom Rank advantages is a Jack of All Trades. Ability to basically bump your Trait one up by spending a Void Point or to be trained in a skill helps it even more. You don't need a fancy technique yelling "You are A Jack Of All Trades" to by a Jack of All Trades. In order tobe a Jack of All Trades you need to be one in game and gameplay.

And you can easily become one totally by accident.

Who said anything about literally a "jack of all trades" technique? This is more basic than that. Bushi are Bushi, Shugenja are Shugenja, etc, and never the twain shall meet.

That said, too much is tied up in the Techniques, and fixed to a single School in a single Clan. Or, if I'm missing it... where are the "can combat dangerous spirits, fight possession, combat evil magics, etc" abilities in the RPG that aren't tied up in a couple of Crab specialist schools?

Have you actually tried to play a Jack of All Trades?

And these abilities are in "you can hit things with your weapon skill, investigate with your Investigation skill, and know about stuff with your Lore skills".

R&K might be the first RPG system I've tried (multiple D&Ds, other d20s, multiple editions of HERO, a shot at GURPS, WEG d6 Star Wars, WoD, many many homebrews) where I can't quickly "figure the odds" and determine if something is even roughly balanced, in my head, when looking at a power or skill or mechanic. The compounding variation of highly variable dice pools, exploding dice, a plethora of possible bonuses, highly variable target numbers, contested vs uncontested rolls, raises and free raises...

When I first looked at the concept of "roll X+Y dice, keep Y", I thought that would reduce the randomness by dropping low outliers from the results... wow was I wrong.

---- ----

Regarding character construction and progression in the L5R RPG, one of the things that I don't really care for is the deep integration and reliance on what comes down to "class and level", which to me is so... early 80s (I've been gaming for a long time). School Rank and Insight Rank are built into the mechanics of the powers. Characters are too defined by the Clan/Family/School archetypes.

As an example of a change, I'd much rather have the Techniques work like the Kata, purchaseable as discrete abilities with an XP cost and a set of prerequisites, and each associated more with some Schools than with others.

Maybe it's just not appropriate for the setting, but the inability to build, oh, for example, a jack of all trades character... leaves a hole, at least for me.

I agree with this on many levels. The things I would like to see changed in the RPG is the reliance on math for gameplay. I know many players who have basically reduced the game to a spreadsheet of probabilities, and once the game reaches IR3 or beyond it is really difficult to integrate new players unless they twinked the hell out of their characters, which isn't fun to be around. And once you get to 10k10 the math for keep bonuses is just confusing, especially in conjunction with the effects of different schools and techniques, and this could really benefit from simplification. I tend to think that the R&K system is just too friendly in general to twerk builds and math over setting and character.

I would also like to see a bit more variance in the dueling. Unless you are a Kakita, or to a lesser extent Mirumoto or Shiba, who own practically everybody nearly all the time, by consequence you end up with Unicorns, Mantis, etc.. taking out of school builds to buy dueling classes. While there are good rules for it in game this most always leads to wackiness and the setting obligations taken to buy the school not really being played up enough, making it a painless penalty. I would love to see the designers explore new avenues to allow all clans to have options to excel in all parts of the game, while paying the appropriate prices to do so while still retaining clan and school flavor. Not all Mantis should be confined to bully/pirate stereotypes, or all Daidoji being dishonorable gunpowder ninjas. In general I think that is my biggest beef with the setting in general is that if you are say a minor clan, you are confined to that one school, and somehow that minor clan has no official way to train anyone in there ENTIRE CLAN how to be a courtier, which is a basic expected part of samurai life. Some more flexibility could change that.

where are the "can combat dangerous spirits, fight possession, combat evil magics, etc" abilities in the RPG that aren't tied up in a couple of Crab specialist schools?

Anyone can do any of those things. Take combat skills, and the relevant Lore skills. Toritaka are better at it, yes, but that's because they're specialists, and I see no issue with that.

They are better at it by the virtue of "I gain equivalent of +1 Skill Rank in my weapon skill to attack outsiders, at Rank 2 I get a unique ability to Radar Detect them, and later I get ability to damage them slightly more". Nothing that is vital, crucial, or cannot be replicated by simply having better weapon or more skills; only thing that is unique here is the Spid---Toritaka Sense, and that you probably can replicate with Raises if you made it clear to your GM that I WANT TO HUNT MONSTERS OK I TRAINED FOR THAT HOW MANY RAISES.

"How Many Raises" was the 4th Edition answer to most of these, really.

Have you actually tried to play a Jack of All Trades?

And these abilities are in "you can hit things with your weapon skill, investigate with your Investigation skill, and know about stuff with your Lore skills".

I wasn't aware that most spirits could be driven out with a sword, or seen with a plain old skill role, or defended against with intentions and hopes.

But don't get caught up on the phrase "jack of all trades" as it's used in RPG jargon, or as a specific thing that needs to be built here.

If you want some extra ability to resist spells, that's over here in one of the Bushi schools, or you can take an Advantage that ONLY helps against Rokugani kami magic.

If you want "simple action attack" at some point on your character, you've just elimated over half the schools you might otherwise take.

And then there's the approach to individual character personality -- constantly hitting the "archetype" button and talking about what members of each Clan are like, which to some players might make it seem like they have a choice between the character personality they want, or the character abilities they want.

They are better at it by the virtue of "I gain equivalent of +1 Skill Rank in my weapon skill to attack outsiders, at Rank 2 I get a unique ability to Radar Detect them, and later I get ability to damage them slightly more". Nothing that is vital, crucial, or cannot be replicated by simply having better weapon or more skills; only thing that is unique here is the Spid---Toritaka Sense, and that you probably can replicate with Raises if you made it clear to your GM that I WANT TO HUNT MONSTERS OK I TRAINED FOR THAT HOW MANY RAISES.

"How Many Raises" was the 4th Edition answer to most of these, really.

"How many raises to _______" as a blanket solution for everything strikes me as a bit of a copout, and leaves way to much to chance and whim.

Have you actually tried playing the game?

And yes, most of the stuff that can be defeated by combat, can be hit with a sword. If you can't defeat a ghost by it, then you probably can't defeat it by any specialist ability either and need to solve specific ghost challenge. If you want to play a Demon Hunter who is a non-Crab, all you need is literally some skills and powdered jade to aplly on your sword when deciding that "OK, I'm going to kill that Invulnerable demon".

You can have a courtly bushi, because what makes you a social character is having proper skills and traits, not techniques. Techniques help you do some signature tricks like "I can arrange gifts for people!".

And books are talking about how typical member of a clan looks like because, you know, book needs to communicate what typical member of a clan might look like so you can complete a mental picture of how a given clan looks and works. For many people, core rulebook is their first meeting with the setting, and you need to make clear how the setting looks like.

You don't need them to write "most of Lions are honorable, but some are not!" in order to have option of having non-honorable lion character. Or elegant crab. Or brutish Crane.

Have you actually tried playing the game?

And yes, most of the stuff that can be defeated by combat, can be hit with a sword. If you can't defeat a ghost by it, then you probably can't defeat it by any specialist ability either and need to solve specific ghost challenge. If you want to play a Demon Hunter who is a non-Crab, all you need is literally some skills and powdered jade to aplly on your sword when deciding that "OK, I'm going to kill that Invulnerable demon".

You can have a courtly bushi, because what makes you a social character is having proper skills and traits, not techniques. Techniques help you do some signature tricks like "I can arrange gifts for people!".

And books are talking about how typical member of a clan looks like because, you know, book needs to communicate what typical member of a clan might look like so you can complete a mental picture of how a given clan looks and works. For many people, core rulebook is their first meeting with the setting, and you need to make clear how the setting looks like.

You don't need them to write "most of Lions are honorable, but some are not!" in order to have option of having non-honorable lion character. Or elegant crab. Or brutish Crane.

I ended up with a stack of the books by "misadventure" -- with no gaming group at present, all my gamer friends having moved away or "grown busy". I've read the main book, Great Clans, Enemies of the Empire, Emerald Empire, The Book of Void, and Secrets of the Empire cover to cover and back again.

An RPG should not play significantly differently than it reads.

By printing a Technique that allows characters to perceive spirits and ghosts, and saying nothing else about the subject, the strong impication is that said "special ability" is necessary to perceive those entities, and that others cannot.

All Shugenja can perceive spirits. The Binding Spells in the core book are all about binding and sending spirits from other realms back home.

But I'm not sure you would enjoy the game.

L5R is not Oriental Adventures. Making a character too different from the mold which is a very standard thing to do in RPGs, since we all like our maverick outsider hero that bucks the system... guess what? This game rewards players that behave according to their clan, that take the school their family chose for them, and to do their duty despite what they feel.

The world doesn't reward western-style heroes. This is why the Mantis which are the closes to our concept of a hero are lowest on the totem pole in Rokugan.

So... if a Matsu started research ghosts; she might be shamed if anyone found out; even forced to commit seppuku. ( Rokugan believe that knowing about something invites that something into your life, so knowing about ghosts is why you will get haunted.)

Fantasy Flight might not do an RPG or if they do it either will not sell well because they make it too "nice" for new players, or it caters to the core crowd and its too "harsh" for new players.

If L5R RPG sold well at AEG they wouldn't have sold it to fantasy flight.

I just hope at the very least they continue to sell 4th edition and earlier materials at drive thru.

Actually from what I understand 4th Edition was very succesful, but the CCG was hemmaroghing money for AEG so the IP wasn't worht it.

All Shugenja can perceive spirits. The Binding Spells in the core book are all about binding and sending spirits from other realms back home.

But I'm not sure you would enjoy the game.

L5R is not Oriental Adventures. Making a character too different from the mold which is a very standard thing to do in RPGs, since we all like our maverick outsider hero that bucks the system... guess what? This game rewards players that behave according to their clan, that take the school their family chose for them, and to do their duty despite what they feel.

The world doesn't reward western-style heroes. This is why the Mantis which are the closes to our concept of a hero are lowest on the totem pole in Rokugan.

So... if a Matsu started research ghosts; she might be shamed if anyone found out; even forced to commit seppuku. ( Rokugan believe that knowing about something invites that something into your life, so knowing about ghosts is why you will get haunted.)

And yet the fictions appear to be full of oddballs and snowflakes...

Roll and Keep is fine but I'd love a new system with 5 unique dice one tied to each ring etc...

They are called Fortunes and Winds dice...

And I would love to see an L5R game using these:

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/l5r/images/9/95/Fortunes_and_Winds.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110124101928

It would give that majong feel...

I'm looking at Edge of the Empire right now, and I really like idea of Raises being translated into willingly upgrading Difficulty into Challenge or adding special Raise dices to the pool.

All Shugenja can perceive spirits. The Binding Spells in the core book are all about binding and sending spirits from other realms back home.

But I'm not sure you would enjoy the game.

L5R is not Oriental Adventures. Making a character too different from the mold which is a very standard thing to do in RPGs, since we all like our maverick outsider hero that bucks the system... guess what? This game rewards players that behave according to their clan, that take the school their family chose for them, and to do their duty despite what they feel.

The world doesn't reward western-style heroes. This is why the Mantis which are the closes to our concept of a hero are lowest on the totem pole in Rokugan.

So... if a Matsu started research ghosts; she might be shamed if anyone found out; even forced to commit seppuku. ( Rokugan believe that knowing about something invites that something into your life, so knowing about ghosts is why you will get haunted.)

nods*

Rokugan is a closed society wherein doing something outside the norm even very little has very devastating effects. A simple misstep or accident can cause one's station, like simply entering a sake bar or the mere possession of a gaijin item in your possession.

Any deviations from the accepted roles would result to a decrease in personal honor ( simply put, a honor code system with grades), or at the extremes your death by your own clan members, and after that, theirs as well.

Oh, trust me, if I ever get a chance to play L5R RPG, I'm not playing anything but Mantis or Tortoise.

There's a group of us L5R Winter Court IV alumni who are beginning to take a look at running an unofficial Winter Court 5 during the hiatus of the game, to help keep the RPG community alive. We have reached out to FFG to make them aware of this, but have not heard anything solid back yet regarding it.

Just in case there are people who want to become involved with keeping the RPG alive. I also recommend Heroes of Rokugan and Legend of the Five Rings Online if you are looking to get your feet wet in a game of L5R RPG.

I can't imagine FFG having an issue with it, as long as there are no promises of contributing to canon. It would just be like any other home game, writ large.