I'm new to this section so forgive me if I've missed it, but could someone lead me to where I could start reading the story behind these games from the beginning to now? I don't know if there is a full story somewhere or just side stories that fill in parts of the game, but I'd love to learn all I can about this story. Thanks in advance for the help!

If you go to https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/forum/545-l5r-lcg-lore-discussion/ , you can then check out the threads entitled "Fiction Library", and "All Fiction in PDF in Chronological Reading Order" to get access to essentially all of the story so far. The major exceptions are the two novellas, one for the Phoenix Clan and one for the Scorpion Clan; you have to buy those (they may actually be available in PDF format on DriveThruRPG or one of its related sites...I'm not entirely sure and haven't recently checked). I highly recommend that, anyway, as the novellas are terrific stories. There are also a few other bits and pieces of fiction scattered among the RPG books, and many of the cards have "Flavor Text" on them...but the two threads above on the "LCG Lore Discussion Forum" will give you basically everything you need.

It's a LOT of reading, but well worth it!

Thanks man! I'll be sure to check it out. I really want to get into this rpg but I wanted to learn more about the setting and the characters first and that looks like it'll be all the info I could need!

4 hours ago, Takrah9009 said:

Thanks man! I'll be sure to check it out. I really want to get into this rpg but I wanted to learn more about the setting and the characters first and that looks like it'll be all the info I could need!

The RPG books themselves are a great source of information. Emerald Empire is, in fact, pretty much designed to be just that--a repository of information about Rokugan itself. That will give you a good, overall description of much of the setting. As for the characters...the fictions I mentioned is their story. Whatever happens in them, involving these characters, is canonically correct for the story of the Empire being told by FFG. BUT...one of the cool things about the RPG is that, in your games, you can use the exact canon setting described in the fictions, or make changes to it, or dump it entirely and replace it with something else!

all that is good, if the rules where a bit tighter and less convoluted.

but good job on the story/setting guys, it is pure awesomeness, have read everything so far and am waiting for more.

10 hours ago, DGLaderoute said:

The RPG books themselves are a great source of information. Emerald Empire is, in fact, pretty much designed to be just that--a repository of information about Rokugan itself. That will give you a good, overall description of much of the setting. As for the characters...the fictions I mentioned is their story. Whatever happens in them, involving these characters, is canonically correct for the story of the Empire being told by FFG. BUT...one of the cool things about the RPG is that, in your games, you can use the exact canon setting described in the fictions, or make changes to it, or dump it entirely and replace it with something else!

Also worth noting; the 'official' adventures do show the characters from the LCG/fictions dropping in and out of the RPG and interacting with your players, Having a chance to read the various fictions then walk into a situation where you're interacting with those characters is kind of awesome.

Or painful, to a degree, if you're reading the fiction about the Crane Clan's internalised anguish about whether Doji Satsume's death was from natural causes or not.

Off the top of my head, Doji Hotaru, Agasha Sumiko and, Hida Tonomatsu have all appeared 'on camera' in both RPG adventures and FFG fiction, and you do interact with quite a few other high ranking characters who are referred to in those fictions even if not seen directly (Bayushi Kachiko's brother, Doji Hotaru's father and uncle), and it's implied that Winters Embrace will have you interacting with Yoritomo, the Mantis Clan champion.