Is that something FFG will keep or do you guys think its going to go away? I know in their post they wrote " The transition of Legend of the Five Rings from CCG to LCG impacts far more than just distribution model. As the game is reimagined and relaunched as an LCG, we will be implementing significant design changes, but we will ensure that the spirit and emotional impact of Legend of the Five Rings remains intact. By introducing a new mechanical design, we hope to open the game for a new generation of players to join the veteran samurai who still battle for Rokugan. Across the transition to LCG, our developers will ensure that the game maintains its pervasive themes of honor, nobility, magic, intrigue, duty, and warfare and that these themes continue to drive the game and the narrative forward." My friends think because of that post that they are going to continue with us shaping the story, but I am not exactly sure.

My friends think because of that post that they are going to continue with us shaping the story, but I am not exactly sure.

I don't think anyone is, and we're not likely to know for a while yet.

We can probably plan on about the level of player involvement that Netrunner gets, at minimum. (Fan designed cards as prizes, worldwide events allowing votes on which of a couple of cards to include, that kind of thing.)

As for deeper player interaction through the card game? The jury's still out.

Despite being firmly in the story-first crowd... this is a golden opportunity to do away with the insanity of having every regional sanctioned kotei have a friggin' story prize stapled to it.

There were just too many of them for any given win to feel meaningful above and beyond random happenstance.

To me, a lot of the story prizes have become bloated or nonsensical. I realize there was a drive to make every medium or big tournament matter, but the race to hose whichever clan or personality you hate most (or to save your own) got a little redundant. There were some gems in there, but a lot of story prizes lost their bite.

If it is still done it will be to a much lesser degree than AEG allowed.

I'd have no problem limiting it to things like Regional Championships and World Championships.

Despite being firmly in the story-first crowd... this is a golden opportunity to do away with the insanity of having every regional sanctioned kotei have a friggin' story prize stapled to it.

There were just too many of them for any given win to feel meaningful above and beyond random happenstance.

I am also in the story first crowd. And I do agree that it will be easier if kotei's don't all get a say all the **** time.

But We should at least acknowledge that an LCG format would be perfect to reflect story choices as getting 15 new cards every month is perfect for keeping up with the story.

As per my post in another thread, I feel that some interactivity is the heart of the game and FFG knows this. However, the level of interactivity that we had at the end of the AEG line was probably too much. This is how, I feel, FFG could implement some story interactivity without it being too insane.

1) Story-Driven Chapter Packs / Arcs - Have the Chapter Packs of L5R be centered around telling a single, cohesive narrative that moves the world of Rokugan forward. Have cards with flavor text and art which reflect that story, and put fiction into each Chapter pack. Make the story follow the game you are creating, and to do that? You need a team of writers. Probably 2 to 3, honestly. Use the game to tell the story of L5R.

2) Limited Interactivity with the Narrative through Tournaments - FFG already did this with the NetRunner series of tournaments over a summer, determining which faction would get a new Runner Identity. Set a clear, definitive story prize that can be won by the Faction who wins the most Kotei tournaments, or by the Faction with the most presence at Kotei tournaments. Similar to how AEG handled the Legacy of the Naga, but have that be the entire Kotei season. Make it clear that this is to impact the fiction of the setting, not the mechanics of the game.

3) Story Prize at GenCon and the European Championship - So, in your average year with one release per month of a Chapter Pack, we can created two solid story arcs per year. So, make the winner of each Story Arc be reflected by the winner of the GenCon tournament and the winner of the European Championship. If they get mechanical benefits in the game? Keep it small. But reflect the victory in the storyline of Rokugan.

As I've stated elsewhere, prize support for tournaments, and event the tournament structure will likely be very similar to all the other game FFG runs. Prizes for your standard tournaments in general are alternate art cards and supplies (tokens and the like), not any brand new card. You can expect that people who win store tournaments will get a trophy, something like a playmat saying they won a store championship and 1st round bye at a regional. A regional win gives you an bye at nationals (which is what occurs at Gen Con). A National win gives you guaranteed spot at Worlds (held in November in Roseville, MN at the FFG Game Center which is across the street from their HQ. The winner of worlds gets to design a card which will show up in a future set and state their name on it.

As far as the story goes, I see Netrunner as a good place to start as there have already been events that have influenced the game. Will FFG go further with the L5R LCG? Time will tell but I think it's safe to say it will be a lesser amount than many people may be expecting.

One of the big things about L5R has in the past been that Worlds includes championships overseas. There's a great bunch of players in Europe; a goodly population in South America and Asia. Limiting story choices too far alienates those unable to attend, reducing the audience for the game around the world.

There have been opportunities to participate in the story based on more than just the results of a card game. Attendance, costume contests, charity donations, trivia contests, roleplaying sessions (both in person at Gencon with 100+ people playing over the last three years with solid, avid attendance, and online forum based games that last multiple months and allow players to take on the roles of canon characters.)

Is trusting the players with the story of the game a risk? Yes. But the reward creates an avid group of players who share the story and game with others. The LCG model will hopefully open the game up to players who haven't been willing to jump into the deep end of the CCG world; one of the tight ropes Fantasy Flight gets to walk in the future is how any change in the interactivity between players and story will be a risk. Obviously anyone paying attention knows that it won't be the same; I would be cautious before looking to have the L5R LCG automatically mirror what Fantasy Flight has already done.

There is a great opportunity to continue a 20 year tradition of story; to shed new light and direction on a rich history that allows for veterans to share the spotlight they once held with new players as the game returns under FFG's guidance.

I would find the level at which FFG currently incorporates player input acceptable. It was always a case of "one more in the elevator" after a certain point in the old days.

I would be hesitant about using the two Netrunner events as evidence. They caused... problems. And they are unlikely to do something similar again for Netrunner.

If story chocies and influence are not going to be part of the LCG, this game will be a huge failure for FFG. This is a living, breathing game, where the players matter. It never gave monetary rewards, nor internet dork fame. It gave players the power to tell their own story.

Without this, it will be a soulless "Samurai game X" and it will fail and be cancelled by 2019.

The thing I hope personally for the story is that failure becomes a possibility and they go back to a "no individual character matters" mantra. I bet if you took a poll, many of the big victories would be up at the top, but just as high would be memorable character deaths.

I really hope they don't follow the AEG "a goblin killed the godbeast because a player with no respect for the setting chose this" philosophy.

I would love to keep players influencing the story - and tbh, not only CG players but also RPG fans. There has always been a bit of a conflict between CG and RPG players and I do think a large chunk of it may be related to the RPG having much fewer chances to exert storyline influence.... so maybe keeping some RPG influence and reducing a bit of the CCG's might be a way to remedy that.

That said, reducing the CCG's influence does not necessarily have to mean Koteis or other regional tournaments having no influence at all. Maybe just limit it to minor things, or adding points to something larger. The reason I say that is that if Koteis have no influence at all, it would be really frustrating for players in SOuth America or other areas far from the main events, as it's often hard for us to attend these major events.

If it is still done it will be to a much lesser degree than AEG allowed.

The degree to which AEG allowed it being ‘Mad Libs’, I certainly hope so.