Legend of the Five Rings

Big news scoop regarding the Legend of the Five Rings card game: Fantasy Flight Games has agreed to buy L5R from Alderac Entertainment Group:

www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/...a-new-emperor-rises/

Isn't there also an rpg they could publish under this setting?

I wonder if they'll now retheme Age of War?
www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2014/2/24/age-of-war/

There is a decent rpg for the L5R setting, except that they have gone back and forth on a couple of core mechanics over the course of four editions. In every edition, the combat system is quite lethal, which encourages role-playing. The mechanics are generally comparable to the ones used in the old White Wolf rpgs, only without the added hassle of the soak rolls. The first edition supplements were great, especially the clan books. Most of the first edition adventures weren't very good, but The Night of 1,000 Screams was one of my all-time favorite modules in any system. The boxed set City of Lies is one of the greatest urban settings I've ever seen in rpgs.

Re-theming Art of War would be an easy slam dunk for FFG, once they get the new product line up and rolling. I've played the current version and would buy a Rokugan edition in a heartbeat.

Oh man L5R in an LCG setting would be terrible news for me except I am almost certain to not have a regular gaming partner for it. Absolutely my favorite CCG, even more than Magic. Winning a story tourney is one of my all time favorite gaming memories. If ever a game were screaming for chapter treatment this is it.

It would be even better if they actually adhered to the idea that player results determined the story and the cards that were released to some degree.

I wonder if this bodes well for Legend of the Burning Sands or if that is forever forgotten...

iguanaDitty wrote: I wonder if this bodes well for Legend of the Burning Sands or if that is forever forgotten...

I hadn't even dared to think that thought until just now. Burning Sands was actually a better game than Five Rings, except for the crappy rolling thunder release schedule that doomed it. Yeah, maybe FFG can give enough of a boost to L5R to make it popular again, like they did with Netrunner. And then re-introduce LBS to an eager fanbase. It's possible.

Shellhead wrote:

iguanaDitty wrote: I wonder if this bodes well for Legend of the Burning Sands or if that is forever forgotten...

I hadn't even dared to think that thought until just now. Burning Sands was actually a better game than Five Rings, except for the crappy rolling thunder release schedule that doomed it. Yeah, maybe FFG can give enough of a boost to L5R to make it popular again, like they did with Netrunner. And then re-introduce LBS to an eager fanbase. It's possible.

The core game was better but I don't know if I was a big fan of the factions that were just coming out when the game died (the Jackals and the ... Paladin-y sort?). But the game certainly didn't need them to shine.

Sounds like you missed out on The Awakening. Alderac finally abandoned the gradual release schedule and did a huge set for LBS. Twelve starter decks, counting seven new versions for the existing factions, plus the debut of five new factions. The new factions included Yodotai (basically the Roman Empire plus manipulation of spirits), the Celestial Alliance (emancipated djinn), the Ivory Kingdom (Deceiver-style strangler cult from India), the Ra'Shari (story-telling gypsies), and the Dahab merchants, who connect to a conspiracy involving Rokugan.

Alderac had just been bought up by Wizards of the Coast, and WotC decided to cancel LBS. They didn't ship a lot of the Awakening cards and instead chose to shred them. It was like they were taking a page right out of the Fox Broadcasting playbook. A few years ago, Alderac released a new game using the LBS mechanics, Romance of the Nine Empires. I haven't tried it.

Call me shelfish, but I'm worried by these news. Most serious Netrunner players in my area used to play L5R and have said that they'll probably make the jump to it if the new version is good