This idea was sparked by another discussion, but it's just a cool idea. I'm going to set the following parameters, and you go crazy.

1) You have a substantial amount of resources; the "full weight" of your hypothetical L5R-IP-owning company. You don't need to worry about expense or personnel.

2) You've got full use of the L5R intellectual property - all of the art, art resources, clan identities, all of it.

3) You can make whatever you want with it - game, series of novels, comics, Tv show, feature films, whatever.

So what's your L5R dream project? Given any resource you'd need to succeed, what would you create? And if you want to go really crazy and drop some homebrewed rulesets or your outline for Season One, do it! Go as in-depth or not as you want!

Oh, and there's one final rule:

4) Whatever anyone else creates, please be open to critique and additions from the community. However, you are not allowed to tell anyone that their idea is terrible/unfeasible/or "the worst". Embrace positivity and enjoyment for enjoyment's sake!

Banzai!

Wuxia Style TV series, MOBA video game, 3x AAA video game, and the most important of them all, Android Smartphone games to ensure that the brand lives forever. And I guess some RPG and board games and whatever.

Rokugan: Total War (Strategy/Empire-building game for PC)

58 minutes ago, JJ48 said:

Rokugan: Total War (Strategy/Empire-building game for PC)

I should really boot up shogun again.

On topic, a franchise of feature films like the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be cool, getting stories from all across the different clans of Rokugan. And then all the characters would meet up in The Emerald Magistrates...

Or I could just show myself out.

The fact that L5R's vast history is a gobbeldy mess of scattered fiction and not a series of novels ala star wars EU or the warhammer books is MADNESS. theres SO MUCH good stuff in there, just begging to be enriched with a deeper pagecount. The clan wars novels, for all their (many, many) faults, demonstrate this. The scorpion clan book has a lot of issues, but it actually does a really fun job of giving a nuanced, interesting look at whats going on with Shoju. You don't get that kind of peek into an l5r character's head anywhere else in the fiction without spending YEARS practically across whole arcs. i think one reason people get attached to iconic characters like daigotsu is they have the best characterization over time. ANYWAY i'd go out and get the best novelists writing in the genre, and i'd give them their pick: turn their keyboards to the existing history, or work on filling out the blank spaces around it.

L5R is the setting. the cards, the rpg, they _absolutely_ matter, but i didn't keep coming back for another sound spider-rear-kicking cause the ccg was SO GOOD. i mean, it was fun, but i did it because i cared about the world. i think thats true for a lot of people, and i think that means the world could do really well on its own, outside of any kind of game.

12 hours ago, Ryoshun Higoka said:

2) You've got full use of the L5R intellectual property - all of the art, art resources, clan identities, all of it.

Do I have to actually use these things? Because if not, then I would start with a complete reboot to clean up the IP. That would, in turn, throw 90% of the art into the dumpster (as well as quite a lot of clan identities and the like) because of the changes and the consistent artistic representation I would enforce.

Reboot or not, I would make a Clone Wars / Samurai Jack style cartoon series in addition of the obvious RPG/CG/board game/novels releases.

I. I would create a Skirmish style/RPG miniatures game similar to Imperial Assault.

1. A cooperative RPG miniatures game that allows players to explore the world of Rokugan with a final battle like the 2nd Day of Thunder.

2. Players would be able face off in PvP matchups on thematic maps securing critical objectives for the Empire.

II. It would also be scalable into a larger battle system similar to Rune Wars.

1. Large Rank/Flank armies dueling on a 3x6 Pitch

2. For this, I would build a map based campaign utilizing maps of all of Rokugan with huge story arcs.

9 hours ago, cielago said:

The fact that L5R's vast history is a gobbeldy mess of scattered fiction and not a series of novels ala star wars EU or the warhammer books is MADNESS. theres SO MUCH good stuff in there, just begging to be enriched with a deeper pagecount. The clan wars novels, for all their (many, many) faults, demonstrate this. The scorpion clan book has a lot of issues, but it actually does a really fun job of giving a nuanced, interesting look at whats going on with Shoju. You don't get that kind of peek into an l5r character's head anywhere else in the fiction without spending YEARS practically across whole arcs. i think one reason people get attached to iconic characters like daigotsu is they have the best characterization over time. ANYWAY i'd go out and get the best novelists writing in the genre, and i'd give them their pick: turn their keyboards to the existing history, or work on filling out the blank spaces around it.

L5R is the setting. the cards, the rpg, they _absolutely_ matter, but i didn't keep coming back for another sound spider-rear-kicking cause the ccg was SO GOOD. i mean, it was fun, but i did it because i cared about the world. i think thats true for a lot of people, and i think that means the world could do really well on its own, outside of any kind of game.

This is a great idea! If I was the architect of this dream project, I'd recruit Guy Gavriel Kay to write an epic novel (or 2 or 3) spanning generations and tying together Rokugan's contrary history. While he tends to write more in low-fantasy settings, he has a unique ability to tell complicated, nuanced stories where one is never quite sure who is the hero and who is the villain.

Hire a Japanese anime or film company to do L5r. Especially if they had a history of samurai productions.

11 hours ago, FunTimeTeddy said:

This is a great idea! If I was the architect of this dream project, I'd recruit Guy Gavriel Kay to write an epic novel (or 2 or 3) spanning generations and tying together Rokugan's contrary history. While he tends to write more in low-fantasy settings, he has a unique ability to tell complicated, nuanced stories where one is never quite sure who is the hero and who is the villain.

Kay would be a great choice. He was involved in the compilation of The Silmarillion! he's got a great voice, and given his output, he's obviously well versed in eastern themes. I think he'd be hard to land, but if he'd do it it would be bonkers good.

I would bring back Strategic L5R as a big box board game with its own rules.

Think: L5R as Diplomacy, where you play games of the CCG to determine the outcome of the battle and conflicts between Clans.

Also? L5R Graphic Novels, like Death at Koten, but cover the Clan Wars, the Four Winds, etc. While I like the idea of an L5R Novel (like the one written by Rob Denton which should still get published), I think that L5R itself is more cinematic and would really benefit from the graphic novel approach.

Christopher Nolan movie about Matsu Nimuro.

I'm not sure what it says that the first thing I think of is not some big media project, but just more games. Some sort of euro-style game where the clans compete for military, political, religious, and economic influence (think Race for the Throne: The Euro Game). A civilization-style game where you control a Clan through the history of the Empire. Something akin in concept to Upper Deck's Legendary Encounters series, but with different scenarios for different periods in the game's history (similar to FFG's Rune Age, some scenarios would be cooperative, some competitive, some something in between). A horror exploration game delving into the Tomb of Iuchiban (or other sinister locations). A hack 'n' slash/skirmish level miniatures game (preferably one not needing a GM).

Also a published compilation of all existing fiction, a coherent "history of Rokugan," and a gorgeous presentation of whoever the feature characters are going to be (similar to the Investigators book for Arkham Horror Files, or the Netrunner one).

56 minutes ago, Daramere said:

Also a published compilation of all existing fiction, a coherent "history of Rokugan

yeah, i would pay good money for this, and it feels like it wouldn't be _ridiculously_ expensive for FFG to do. i mean, granted, i don't know what an Editor charges, and i suspect it would take a while, but can you imagine that being on sale beside the game at gencon? insert it_prints_money.gif

I made a full Civ 3 Rokugan scenario complete with edited techs so that each clan had a signature unit/building. Shadowlands were the barbarians. I changed the sprites of each unit and changed tech victory into enlightenment. I enjoyed playing it a bunch. I feel bad because it was many hard drives ago and is totally lost.

I'm not certain I have the skills/time to make such a mod for Civ 5 or Civ 6, but it sounds very fun.

On 2/4/2017 at 9:43 PM, cielago said:

Kay would be a great choice. He was involved in the compilation of The Silmarillion! he's got a great voice, and given his output, he's obviously well versed in eastern themes. I think he'd be hard to land, but if he'd do it it would be bonkers good.

Oh yeah, definitely a pipe dream. I was working within the "...You don't need to worry about expense or personnel..." parameters of the OP. But like you said, he's written a couple awesome novels set in Tang and Song Dynasty China (Under Heaven and River of Stars, respectively), as well as many others couched in historic/fantasy settings. Which includes the still-great Tigana.

A reskin of Twilight Imperium for Rokugan. (The most reasonable of my pipe dreams)

A collected- and edited-fiction compendium as a one-off before turning continuing fiction duties over to novels/novella-length web fiction/whatever. Since not every friggin' regional tournament would be promised some meaningful story choice (especially since it often proved impossible to deliver) the slower pace of results showing up in the story would be built into expectations.

A Ten to fifteen-minute film (animated, most likely) for each Clan or faction to show off why they kick butt. Nothing longer for these propaganda pieces- it'd be expensive enough as-is, after all. Use them as proof of concept for longer films based upon the story.

12 hours ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

A Ten to fifteen-minute film (animated, most likely) for each Clan or faction to show off why they kick butt. Nothing longer for these propaganda pieces- it'd be expensive enough as-is, after all. Use them as proof of concept for longer films based upon the story.

I don't know if you could stretch it out to 10-15 minutes, BUT.... that seems entirely doable. At least in stages.

I think I would start with seeing if you can do a 10-15 minute talk on why each of the 10 clans is "the best". I mean just the typical, write out the script, do it as a basic talk on YouTube.

Then maybe you could get someone to write a very basic story based on those sorts of ideas. Various scenarios where a member of that clan could shine. Then do them as basic little independent movies. Probably no more than 5 minute actual scripted movie, even if you are just using actual L5R players in the roles and the costumes and sets are no better than college theater club/cosplay level and the special effects are all done in After Effects.

Just something low budget, but if you can make it compelling enough perhaps someone with a bigger budget and more experience might decide they can do something a bit more with the concept.

I have certainly seen other fan communities manage this sort of thing on YouTube.

RWBY style anime.

1: Consolidate all the fiction to a full books/novels or a 'History of Rokugan' type thing. Do some Novels of the major story arcs and the like.

2: Get a consistent art style for the artwork, and keep Genzoman away from it all.

3: Some form of video media, either Animated or Live Action. Preference for Animated. I think someone made mention of a Clone Wars type series for it. Totes down with that idea.

4: Rewrite the timeline from the end of the Coup going forward. No Mantis Great Clan (at the least none of this absorbing and destroying the Fox, Centipede and Wasp) Keep the Spider Clan as a twisted mockery in the Shadowlands.

5: Get CD Project Red to helm a Video Game adaptation (Can you imagine Witcher 3 in Rokugan?)

6: Launch of a Series of L5R Themed Pogs. They died before their time and we should bring them back.

50 minutes ago, DojiZanza said:

4: Rewrite the timeline from the end of the Coup going forward. No Mantis Great Clan (at the least none of this absorbing and destroying the Fox, Centipede and Wasp) Keep the Spider Clan as a twisted mockery in the Shadowlands.

Well, if one is going to rewrite the history of the minor clans, the first thing that ought to be done is to get rid of all the lazily made name is just whatever animal they happen to have as their totem-- i.e. "Kitsune", "Usagi", "Tonbo", "Toritaka", "Suzume", "Hotaru", "Komori" and, of course, also the one that has uses the most common pre-gempukku name as their family name "Ichiro". Give them proper names, its not like L5R even began to scratch the surface of legitimate names they could borrow from real samurai clans.

It was an extraordinarily lazy way to go about coming up with names, inspired every insipid homebrew minor clan to be equally inane and lazy and always sounds so very wrong.

Somehow Chuuda (忠田), Kasuga (春日), Morita (森田), Heichi (平地) are all fine names. Ironically half of those were invented as dead clans.

Tsuruchi and Moshi (the best kanji for it would make their name "Takeshi") are not so good, but... well... still better than just making the family name the animal. Yoritomo （頼朝) is fine, though the vassal family of "Watanabe" would have been a much better name for a main family.

I don't think there are many, if any, main clan families that have really bad names. It is weird that there is both a "Doji" and a "Daidoji" in the same clan as well as a "Iuchi" and "Horiuchi" in another clan, but not the point where it seems thematically-breaking. So the really crappy family name problem seems limited to the Minor Clans.

If I remember correctly, the Wasp Family was Originally Ashinagabachi before absorption into the Mantis (Something I disdain heavily).

But now that I think on it yeah, most of them are just "Animal Clan" Right out of the gate. In my games so far I've only ever made 1 Minor Clan, the Tiger Clan and it was a end of game reward for my players who had busted ass for 18 months as Magistrates juggling a lot of stuff. Was a Kitsu Samurai-ko trained as a Matsu and a Hida, trained as a Hiruma, who did Hida stuff who got married and in lieu of their services and proactive nature against the minions of Jigoku were granted leave to form a clan. They chose to be the Tiger Clan, family of Kenzo (as that was the Hida's first name).

I'd like to see an ongoing TV series in a similar manner to Game of Thrones. By that I mean having several important characters/factions and the story going between them.

A video game would be nice. I'd like to see a game like The Way of the Samurai done in the L5R setting.

A miniatures game would be great but I would want them pre-painted and assembled. My hands are not steady enough for games that require assembling and painting.

A lot more novels. I'd like to see it hit the Star Wars level in which every few months we would get a new novel.

Of course I'd also like to see a good card game to.