Hi everyone! I am a newcomer to L5R and just picked up the core rulebook. I am planning on being a GM and I want to learn more about the world of Rokugan before I start a campaign. Where should I look to learn more about the lore of this world? I have heard there are books/short stories and I see there is an upcoming source book (Emerald Empire). Is there a release date for EE? I can't seem to find one. Thanks!

If you go to the Living Card Game section of this forum, you'll find a lore section with a library of the collected short fiction for the opening political tensions between clans. It's also a good place to dig into lore questions. Reading the short fiction is a good way to get a feel for the nature of conflict in Rokugan. If you're looking for set piece locations, there are still older edition wiki's up that give detail on the major cities. L5R Wiki is also pretty useful for its codified presentation of the land's creation story.

Thanks @ExplodingJoe I will take a look there!

pick up the GM screen.

@Daeglan I have the GM screen and I don't see any lore mentioned on it...

34 minutes ago, beeperjh said:

I have the GM screen and I don't see any lore mentioned on it...

He could have meant in reference to rule shorthands and references, but I agree that the truncated response didn't explain it that well.

Welcome to Rokugan, beeper!

Thank you for the welcome @Hida Jitenno! I am excited to be a part of the community!

28 minutes ago, beeperjh said:

Thank you for the welcome @Hida Jitenno! I am excited to be a part of the community!

You know you now need to pick your allegiance

Can I invite you to the Clan that will provide you with all the knowledge that you need to be the best samurai? Join the Dragonfly

Might be worth giving shafows of the cabal a listen

On the other hand, I would invite you to defend the very Empire itself, from the legions of darkness that would corrupt your very essence, and drag down the soul of every samurai into the depths of Jigoku.

Thankless, your job will be. But without you on the line, the Empire would not even exist to play its games, write its poems, or host court in blooming gardens.

Just now, Hida Jitenno said:

On the other hand, I would invite you to defend the very Empire itself, from the legions of darkness that would corrupt your very essence, and drag down the soul of every samurai into the depths of Jigoku.

Thankless, your job will be. But without you on the line, the Empire would not even exist to play its games, write its poems, or host court in blooming gardens.

On the upside, if you get drawn into the depths of Jigoku, just imagine the number of beasties you get to kill RIGHT THERE.

1 hour ago, Hida Jitenno said:

Thankless, your job will be. But without you on the line, the Empire would not even exist to play its games, write its poems, or host court in blooming gardens.

It would, but all would be EVIL.

15 hours ago, AtoMaki said:

It would, but all would be EVIL.

Okay Kanpeki.

The lore for the LCG is a good place to start. Be careful when using lore/information from older editions of the game though. While the feel of the world will be the same, some of the information could be wrong. FFG reset the world back to the beginning (pre Clan Wars/Scorpion Clan Coup) and made some changes to the world from there. All the clans have internal issues going on that are more prominent I feel in this version, along with the larger things going on in the world.

FFG has released the First Scroll as an e-book off their site, which is the introductory lore for all the clans and as good a jumping off point as anything.