I only started playing L5R with Ivory Edition. While I've read a great deal of the fiction since I began, I haven't read all of it.

Is there anything from the AEG days that's still considered canon? Has FFG ruled on that at all, or would it just be soft canon?

There hasn't been anything one way or another from FFG yet. My guess would be that all of the fiction that appeared online for the CCG is non-canon as it's set in the future from where the game is starting, but some of the background fiction from the 1st Edition RPG may be useful.

12 hours ago, MonkeyClanMiko said:

I only started playing L5R with Ivory Edition. While I've read a great deal of the fiction since I began, I haven't read all of it.

Is there anything from the AEG days that's still considered canon? Has FFG ruled on that at all, or would it just be soft canon?

Officially, they've said nothing.

Unofficially, the fact that they're restarting the card game at a point in time just a few months before the original card game began shows they're pretty much interested in telling their own stories, and that none of the AEG stuff is canon. As they've said, they want to change everything around to make it their own.

Doesn't mean you can't read the old stories. The world is still equally imaginary.

11 minutes ago, Gaffa said:

Officially, they've said nothing.

Unofficially, the fact that they're restarting the card game at a point in time just a few months before the original card game began shows they're pretty much interested in telling their own stories, and that none of the AEG stuff is canon. As they've said, they want to change everything around to make it their own.

Doesn't mean you can't read the old stories. The world is still equally imaginary.

Also, the fact that they've already changed the world a little means that even the fiction providing backstory to the events isn't necessarily set. Though, I'm sure stuff about the Dawn of the Empire would still be rather close, even if some details get changed.

5 minutes ago, JJ48 said:

Though, I'm sure stuff about the Dawn of the Empire would still be rather close, even if some details get changed.

I wouldn't hold my breath for this.

This honestly reminds me of the RPG mentality of "making Rokugan your own," and retelling the story of Rokugan how you like, and in a cyclical fashion of the great stories repeating themselves.

So I don't mind the reset and FFG telling their own stories, as long as they still honour the themes of the stories: duty, sacrifice, loyalty, and the hard choices Bushido demands of its' adherents.

26 minutes ago, AsakoDaihmon said:

So I don't mind the reset and FFG telling their own stories, as long as they still honour the themes of the stories: duty, sacrifice, loyalty, and the hard choices Bushido demands of its' adherents.

I dunno about this either. In my opinion, these themes tend to ruin the stories because they are too hard to implement without cringe and/or edge.

1 minute ago, AtoMaki said:

I dunno about this either. In my opinion, these themes tend to ruin the stories because they are too hard to implement without cringe and/or edge.

Admittedly, I do agree. It does take a skilled writer. 47 ronin is a story in vein of vengeance vs. duty and who the samurai owe fealty too (emperor, dead lord, themselves). It is quite a powerful example. The entire Scorpion Clan Coup was a story line highlighting the conflict inherent in Chu: what was Shoju's higher duty, to the Emperor or the Empire?

It's possible, but I do agree @AtoMaki it can be easy to fall to the wrong side of cringe.

16 minutes ago, AsakoDaihmon said:

Admittedly, I do agree. It does take a skilled writer. 47 ronin is a story in vein of vengeance vs. duty and who the samurai owe fealty too (emperor, dead lord, themselves). It is quite a powerful example. The entire Scorpion Clan Coup was a story line highlighting the conflict inherent in Chu: what was Shoju's higher duty, to the Emperor or the Empire?

Wasn't this also the story of the Lion during this time frame? We know the emperor is evil, but he is the emperor. Do we follow him or fight against him? If I remember correctly that was why totori left in dishonor

27 minutes ago, JRosen9 said:

Wasn't this also the story of the Lion during this time frame? We know the emperor is evil, but he is the emperor. Do we follow him or fight against him? If I remember correctly that was why totori left in dishonor

It was the theme of the entire Second Day of Thunder for all the Clans, although it worked better for some -- Lion, Crab, Phoenix -- than others (Unicorn). The whole point of all their stories was that the return of Fu Leng was supposed to make all the Clans question their very philosophy of existence. It was the Apocalypse for Rokugan, and it worked well as a story because they thought the game line would end with Time of the Void.

Only the story and game proved to be hugely popular, and thus suddenly they were forced to continue a story in a world where they hadn't planned on dealing with what happens after the End Times? (Apparently in Rokugan, even more End Times after End Times after End Times). They weren't upset about making money with a successful game line, of course -- these are problems all game companies hope to have. But part of the reason so many of the later End of the World scenarios in Rokugan didn't resonate as well is that each of the Clans had just survived their major existential conflict in the Second Day of Thunder. Anything else was just more of the same.

I think it would be best to say that there's no canon at this point.

Like the game mechanics, I think the setting will be familiar but not compatible.

17 minutes ago, Gaffa said:

The whole point of all their stories was that the return of Fu Leng was supposed to make all the Clans question their very philosophy of existence. It was the Apocalypse for Rokugan, and it worked well as a story because they thought the game line would end with Time of the Void.

To be honest here, I think the Second Day of Thunder and the stories leading up to it couldn't have a proper continuation because they were rather sketchy to begin with, and did not establish a strong foundation for the future. Also, the characters the story had at that point were somewhat... strangely written, so to speak. Like, I still don't know what was Isawa Tadaka's deal with the whole Maho-to-Thunder progression then the dead silence that followed.

1 hour ago, JRosen9 said:

Wasn't this also the story of the Lion during this time frame? We know the emperor is evil, but he is the emperor. Do we follow him or fight against him? If I remember correctly that was why totori left in dishonor

That was the theme exactly. I mean FuLemperor didn't kill anyone specifically but do we rebel and fight against the empire anyway, and the Akodo clan followed due to their lord's dishonour (rather than death).

Toturi's dishonour was also theme of the conflict between duty and love. He wasn't there when Hantei 38th was killed because he was pulled away due to love, and so the Matsu became the new primary family.

There is a rich tapestry of themes to work with, but writers need to be respectful of the material.

26 minutes ago, SlackerHacker said:

I think it would be best to say that there's no canon at this point.

Like the game mechanics, I think the setting will be familiar but not compatible.

It also presents a great opportunity for them to move in a familiar but unique direction with these stories. What happens if FuLeng wins? What happens the Dragon Champion defeats FuLeng rather than Toturi?

Do there even need to be Thunders, or if we do, do they write them up as different characters who have a stronger story, as @AtoMaki hinted at the weakness of some.

26 minutes ago, AsakoDaihmon said:

It also presents a great opportunity for them to move in a familiar but unique direction with these stories. What happens if FuLeng wins? What happens the Dragon Champion defeats FuLeng rather than Toturi?

Do there even need to be Thunders, or if we do, do they write them up as different characters who have a stronger story, as @AtoMaki hinted at the weakness of some.

I see a lot of people assuming things from O5R will carry over to the LCG. The fact is we have no indication that any particular story line or characters will be carried over to the LCG.

Hopefully people aren't disappointed when all of these things they assume will be the same aren't.

Maybe when we start getting some articles about the clans or some fiction we'll have something to go on.

I say this as someone exhaustively versed in the old canon: Wave goodbye to your old home. Your new house may have some of the same structural beams, and you may recognize the architectural details, but the floorplan is a new one, and the kitchen may not be where you expect it to be...

Also, that girl next door may now be a boy.

There are certain things I might push for that line up with the old story, but I hope to see some characters zag when I expected them to zig. That'll be fun and exciting.

I have no issue with them changing the story or anything. I survived the great Star Wars shakeup when Disney bought out Lucas, I'll survive this. And as an avid fan of the RPG, you certainly do have to make it your own story!

I was mostly wanting to be able to compile some resources for friends to get them into the fluff. Some of them are more... Anal about canon than others. Ah well.

I'm tentatively hoping we see some new novels if the line does well enough.

5 hours ago, AtoMaki said:

I wouldn't hold my breath for this.

How much could they diverge? While I do not mind big changes, I would not expect huge butterfly effects. Not that it would matter in the end as this is a reboot, so anything goes.

16 minutes ago, Wintersong said:

How much could they diverge? While I do not mind big changes, I would not expect huge butterfly effects. Not that it would matter in the end as this is a reboot, so anything goes.

If they never do the Scorpion coup in the first place, then they would have already changed everything. I mean they could directly go to a land that tries to establish a shogunate, or a group similar to the Spider already trying to gain control (with or without Daigotsu, who might be not even been to Jigoku).

Sorry, I was just refering to Dawn of the Empire. Once the LCG ball starts rolling, all new.

9 minutes ago, Wintersong said:

Sorry, I was just refering to Dawn of the Empire. Once the LCG ball starts rolling, all new.

But even at the dawn of the empire I would not take everything as given. I mean, what if Kami Togashi has not the same visions of the future and thus never made the prophecy about the last Hantei? What if Fu Leng build from the start a shadow empire in the shadowlands thus there is a City of Bones for a thousand years already? And don't get me started on the Lying Darkness or the Kolat and all those things which might be very different or not even a thing now.

I think it's still canon in its own timeline. Daidoji Uji proved the existence of the multiverse after all.

Just a clarification, the current FFG time period is more them likely between 1098-1100 IC (Isawa calander)give or take a year or two. that would place it before the scorpion clan coup. More in line with the start of the RPG.

The original CCG game started a year or two after the coup.