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Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Beginner Game
Enter the realm of Rokugan with the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying — Beginner Game, a new roleplaying experience in the land of honor and steel.
The Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying – Beginner Game allows anyone to take on the role of a samurai in Rokugan. With a full range of four character folios, a fully realized adventure book, a set of custom dice, a map of Rokugan, a variety of tokens, and a complete set of rules, the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying – Beginner Game gives new players and veterans alike the perfect door to the Emerald Empire.
The Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying – Beginner Game allows anyone to take on the role of a samurai in Rokugan. With a full range of four character folios, a fully realized adventure book, a set of custom dice, a map of Rokugan, a variety of tokens, and a complete set of rules, the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying – Beginner Game gives new players and veterans alike the perfect door to the Emerald Empire.
120 pages, Unknown Binding
Published August 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 22, 2019
For its purpose of presenting the new Fantasy Flight's 5th edition version of the Legend of the Five Rings role-playing game, this beginning box set does it quite well. Inside you'll find a beautiful two-sided map with the empire of Rokugan on one side and a cut-away view of the Palace of the Emerald Champion and the village of Tsuma on the other. There is a basic introductory adventure and four pre-generated Player Characters folios (with a few more available on Fantasy Flight's website). A set of the custom narrative dice needed to play and a 48-page basic rulebook. I actually found this basic rulebook to be better organized than the main rulebook and thought that the rules were presented in an easier to understand format as well. Of course the book does not have all of the rules, and perhaps this was why it seemed less cluttered and convoluted, but I think that it serves as a real good primer for prospective players (and Game Masters) on the basics of the game mechanics.
September 23, 2020
An excellent introduction to the samurai drama that is the Legend of the Five Rings, one of my favorite parts of this beginner's box is the "explain as you play" approach to the rules, where important facets of the game are laid out in text blocks for the GM to refer to as they run the adventure. A well-prepped GM should definitely still try to read the entire thing beforehand, but this is a much better way to present an adventure than most RPG books take.
As for the campaign, it's a gempukku (samurai coming-of-age ceremony) tale where the PCs compete against each other and investigate some behind-the-scenes shenanigans with corrupt judges and an assassination attempt. Portfolios for pre-generated Lion Clan, Dragon Clan, Crane Clan and Phoenix Clan characters are provided, and there are additional Unicorn, Scorpion and Crab characters that you can download on Fantasy Flight's website.
Your mileage of the new Legend of the Five Rings 5e system and its specialized dice may vary (the dude who GMed it for us says he prefers 4e, but is still keen to check out a little more of this edition before reverting back), but I got super into it, and the finale of our adventure climaxed in a SUPER dramatic duel between our Dragon and a Crane NPC that ended, totally by coincidence due to the luck of the dice, in a DRAW. It was one of the most epic roleplaying moments I've been a part of, and I can't wait to play more L5R.
As for the campaign, it's a gempukku (samurai coming-of-age ceremony) tale where the PCs compete against each other and investigate some behind-the-scenes shenanigans with corrupt judges and an assassination attempt. Portfolios for pre-generated Lion Clan, Dragon Clan, Crane Clan and Phoenix Clan characters are provided, and there are additional Unicorn, Scorpion and Crab characters that you can download on Fantasy Flight's website.
Your mileage of the new Legend of the Five Rings 5e system and its specialized dice may vary (the dude who GMed it for us says he prefers 4e, but is still keen to check out a little more of this edition before reverting back), but I got super into it, and the finale of our adventure climaxed in a SUPER dramatic duel between our Dragon and a Crane NPC that ended, totally by coincidence due to the luck of the dice, in a DRAW. It was one of the most epic roleplaying moments I've been a part of, and I can't wait to play more L5R.
April 29, 2019
Nuevo producto de FFG para introducir a la gente en los juegos de rol y en la ambientación de La leyenda de los cinco anillos. Al igual que sucedió con las Cajas de inicio para Star Wars, tienes todo lo que necesitas para jugar (salvo lápices y goma de borrar): un libreto con una aventura para probar el juego (y aprender jugando), un libreto de reglas para ampliar las vistas en la aventura, cuatro personajes listos para jugar, unos mapas, contadores y dados. La calidad de los componentes es muy buena, como la de los demás productos de esta editorial. Además, en la web de la editorial puedes descargar tres personajes adicionales y una aventura que continúa lo sucedido en el libreto de aventura de la caja.
El método de aprender de forma progresiva con el libreto de aventuras es ideal, ya que hay una serie de situaciones donde te explican cómo funcionan una serie de mecánicas del juego. En esta caja de inicio los personajes de los jugadores irán al Campeonato Topacio a demostrar su valía y que deben ser reconocidos como samuráis de pleno derecho. Creo que cumple perfectamente este propósito de aprender de forma gradual y amena las reglas de este juego de rol.
Podéis leer una reseña con mayor profundidad en mi blog: La Leyenda de los Cinco Anillos: Caja de inicio.
El método de aprender de forma progresiva con el libreto de aventuras es ideal, ya que hay una serie de situaciones donde te explican cómo funcionan una serie de mecánicas del juego. En esta caja de inicio los personajes de los jugadores irán al Campeonato Topacio a demostrar su valía y que deben ser reconocidos como samuráis de pleno derecho. Creo que cumple perfectamente este propósito de aprender de forma gradual y amena las reglas de este juego de rol.
Podéis leer una reseña con mayor profundidad en mi blog: La Leyenda de los Cinco Anillos: Caja de inicio.
April 25, 2019
This Beginner game is the 5th edition version of the Topaz Championship, an event like the samurai coming-of-age Olympics. This version of the Topaz Championship is a strong introduction to the mechanics, regulations, and mysteries of Rokugan. This game introduces players to Legend of the Five Rings in the most intuitive and straightforward way yet made.
The accessories that come with the Beginner Game are worth the cost of purchase by themselves, as players are given beautiful character sheets that have the rules laid out efficiently on them to teach the players the most important rules intuitively as they play. Alongside these character sheets are beautiful maps of Rokugan and the town of Tsuma where the players will be staying for the majority of their journey. This convenience comes at a small cost, the story is more linear, focused, and easier to run than previous editions. This is taken to an extreme in several scenes which strongly railroad players if they don't do as the story intends. Yet, the story gives the players plenty of moments to do as they want, which gives GM plenty of room to insert their own flavor and gives the PCs plenty of time to be paranoid and make preparations which can potentially ruin the main plot.
The new, linear storytelling style for the Beginner Game stands in contrast to the older style of Topaz Championships in 4th edition or 3rd edition, which focused on a cast of interesting opponents who were all causing chaos to pursue their own agendas. GMs who want to develop the personalities of many competitors will need to look outside this book. The Beginner Game is focused on its own focused story with a small cast. I recommend looking into the events from the 4th edition, and 3rd edition Topaz Championship games and incorporating them into this edition if you can find them, or including your favorite L5R characters into the event. Yet the Beginner Game's main story is strong enough to serve as the backbone for the crux of the story.
The adventure focuses on teaching players their social roles along with their mechanics. Players will learn the appropriate etiquette to take with a peasant or a minor clan samurai based on the power relationships these characters give to the players. These social roles are introduced at the same time as the mechanical systems that are core to the system; skill checks, chase, intrigues, duels, and skirmishes. An investigation could be substituted for several events, such as discovering the villain, or hunting, but it is never required. If the GM wants, they can easily shift the skirmish into mass combat to introduce the players to those rules if they want to transition into a campaign with a lot of mass combat.
This adventure can have two effect climaxes depending on player interest. Catching the main criminal, who has been manipulating several events in the tournament, is built up in the story is written to be the climax, in fact, the adventure even suggests the players stop competing after this point. Whereas if the players have invested in their character motivations, the final battle of the Topaz Championship can feel like the culmination of a character arc. Both climaxes can work together, If the players care about their characters personal goals and are immersed in their character's reasons for fighting, then the characters could actively despise the main antagonist for manipulating and interrupting their tournament. Yet, this relies on players who have taken the time during the game to develop an opinion about their characters, and ask questions of the other competitors to give a personality and a sense of weight to this competition. The written climax works if the players do not put the work in for their character, the end of the tournament is an appropriate climax if they care about their character, and have been using their opportunities to build details of the world, the town, and the competitors.
The Beginner Game comes up a little short in introducing the characters to the world. It focuses on a few of the factions throughout its story, which leaves some of the clans with very little representation. Players hoping to get a strong impression from all the clans may be somewhat disappointed in this adventure unless the GM is good at playing the player's judges and competitors with little prompting or background provided by the Beginning Adventure.
Overall the Topaz Championship does everything it should do. It gives players a concise story to follow. It introduces players to the essential mechanics. It gives them characters who have a reason to be there, and who have a reason to care, and the story only gets better if the players invest more of themselves into it and make it their own. I recommend this rulebook to anyone who wants to have the rules of L5R explained intuitively or anyone who wants to try running an L5R session that requires minimal work to get set up but is a safe bet for some fun.
The accessories that come with the Beginner Game are worth the cost of purchase by themselves, as players are given beautiful character sheets that have the rules laid out efficiently on them to teach the players the most important rules intuitively as they play. Alongside these character sheets are beautiful maps of Rokugan and the town of Tsuma where the players will be staying for the majority of their journey. This convenience comes at a small cost, the story is more linear, focused, and easier to run than previous editions. This is taken to an extreme in several scenes which strongly railroad players if they don't do as the story intends. Yet, the story gives the players plenty of moments to do as they want, which gives GM plenty of room to insert their own flavor and gives the PCs plenty of time to be paranoid and make preparations which can potentially ruin the main plot.
The new, linear storytelling style for the Beginner Game stands in contrast to the older style of Topaz Championships in 4th edition or 3rd edition, which focused on a cast of interesting opponents who were all causing chaos to pursue their own agendas. GMs who want to develop the personalities of many competitors will need to look outside this book. The Beginner Game is focused on its own focused story with a small cast. I recommend looking into the events from the 4th edition, and 3rd edition Topaz Championship games and incorporating them into this edition if you can find them, or including your favorite L5R characters into the event. Yet the Beginner Game's main story is strong enough to serve as the backbone for the crux of the story.
The adventure focuses on teaching players their social roles along with their mechanics. Players will learn the appropriate etiquette to take with a peasant or a minor clan samurai based on the power relationships these characters give to the players. These social roles are introduced at the same time as the mechanical systems that are core to the system; skill checks, chase, intrigues, duels, and skirmishes. An investigation could be substituted for several events, such as discovering the villain, or hunting, but it is never required. If the GM wants, they can easily shift the skirmish into mass combat to introduce the players to those rules if they want to transition into a campaign with a lot of mass combat.
This adventure can have two effect climaxes depending on player interest. Catching the main criminal, who has been manipulating several events in the tournament, is built up in the story is written to be the climax, in fact, the adventure even suggests the players stop competing after this point. Whereas if the players have invested in their character motivations, the final battle of the Topaz Championship can feel like the culmination of a character arc. Both climaxes can work together, If the players care about their characters personal goals and are immersed in their character's reasons for fighting, then the characters could actively despise the main antagonist for manipulating and interrupting their tournament. Yet, this relies on players who have taken the time during the game to develop an opinion about their characters, and ask questions of the other competitors to give a personality and a sense of weight to this competition. The written climax works if the players do not put the work in for their character, the end of the tournament is an appropriate climax if they care about their character, and have been using their opportunities to build details of the world, the town, and the competitors.
The Beginner Game comes up a little short in introducing the characters to the world. It focuses on a few of the factions throughout its story, which leaves some of the clans with very little representation. Players hoping to get a strong impression from all the clans may be somewhat disappointed in this adventure unless the GM is good at playing the player's judges and competitors with little prompting or background provided by the Beginning Adventure.
Overall the Topaz Championship does everything it should do. It gives players a concise story to follow. It introduces players to the essential mechanics. It gives them characters who have a reason to be there, and who have a reason to care, and the story only gets better if the players invest more of themselves into it and make it their own. I recommend this rulebook to anyone who wants to have the rules of L5R explained intuitively or anyone who wants to try running an L5R session that requires minimal work to get set up but is a safe bet for some fun.
July 11, 2019
Very good beginner box for a trpg
January 25, 2020
good intro to l5r roleplay
July 21, 2025
très bon scénario d'introduction malgré une boîte peu qualitative en comparaison d'autres produits du même genre.
February 7, 2023
This is an excellent Beginner Box set for 5th Edition Legend of the Five Rings.
I personally don't care for the rules set, but this is a good introduction to them. It comes with a proprietary dice set which, alone, are worth the price of the whole thing, especially if you are going to play in person (and would need those dice).
I personally don't care for the rules set, but this is a good introduction to them. It comes with a proprietary dice set which, alone, are worth the price of the whole thing, especially if you are going to play in person (and would need those dice).
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews