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Blood. Honor. Steel.

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elcome to the 4th Edition of the epic Role-Playing
Game Legend of the Five Rings! Join us for
the ultimate adventure of fantasy samurai, locked in
perpetual battles of honor and glory within the bonds of
the Code of Bushido.

The Emerald Empire of Rokugan demands much
of its samurai: service to one’s lord, service to one’s
Clan, and service to one’s Emperor. Bushido’s staunch
and unyielding code of conduct binds samurai to duty,
strengthening their character and defining their
choices. While some samurai serve the greater good,
others use the strictures of Bushido to manipulate the
lower ranks and advance their own power. Will you
follow honor or reject it? The choice is yours!
Eight Great Clans form the heart of Rokugan’s
culture. Each is defined by its own principles, values,
and agendas. Each sees the Code of Bushido in its own
way. Each seeks to serve the Emperor with its own
unique talents. Take up the soul of your ancestors —
the samurai’s daisho — and fight for the glory and
honor of your family and Clan. Now is the time for
heroes, in a world where Honor is a force more powerful
than Steel.
The Fourth Edition of L5R is the ultimate edition of
the award-winning role-playing game. Inside this tome
you will find:
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A game unlike any you’ve played elsewhere.
Honor and service are valued more than magic
swords taken from wandering ogres. Prepare for
the glorious life of the samurai!
A unique, comprehensive character sheet. Legend
of the Five Rings rules have never been more easy
to learn and to play. No more need to flip through
pages of rules while fighting your enemies!
A toolbox approach to role-playing in Rokugan.
Fourth Edition encourages gamemasters of
Legend of the Five Rings to customize their game,
adding or removing from their campaigns as they
see fit.
A broad history of the Emerald Empire and the
beliefs of all the Great Clans, with play options not
only the major clans but also for outlying groups
such as Imperials, Minor Clans, and the infamous
Spider Clan.

DRAW YOUR BLADE AND JOIN THE FIGHT
FOR ROKUGAN.

™

WWW.L5R.COM
LEGEND OF THE FIVE RINGS and all related marks are ™
and © Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc., All rights reserved.
US MSRP $59.99
Printed in the United States AEG 3300

™

AEG 3300

G13

U2

G24

I6

U4

U5

MC9

MC12

U3

U8

SH5

U1

U6

I7

G15

I17

U7

U9

I15

MC11

D5

G11

G16

D1

D9

SC11

SC3

SC1

SC10
SC9

G8

D8

SC2

SC7

L10

D10

G1

L5

L7

L2

G5

MC5

D7

D2

SC6

SC5

SC4

D6

D3

D4

L3

M5

MC13

G12

L6

L4

G7

G18

G20

G4

I8

P2

SH4

MC3

CN4

CN7

I13

I9

I3 I11

M3
I2 I4

I1

P3

P4

I5

P1

CN2

M11

CN9
CN1

CN3

L9

I16
[MC14]

L8

P6

P10

P7

CN10

P9

MC7

G22

MC10

P11

G9

P8
M1

P5

SH3

G2

SH7

G10

SH2

CB7

SH6

CB9

CB6

MC8

CB2

CB8

CB3

SH8

CB10

SH1

G3

CB5
CB4

G23

G6

CB1

MC1

I12

SC8

MC4

MC6

G11

G14

I10

G21

I14

I15

M8

CN8

CB11

G19

M7

G17

CN5

CN6

CN1
M11

M2

MC2

M6

CN4

M9

M10

M4

LEGEND
WRITTEN BY:

OF THE

FIVE RINGS RPG, 4TH EDITION

Shawn Carman, Robert Hobart,
jim pinto, & Brian Yoon

EDITED BY:

Robert Hobart, Todd Rowland

PROOFREADERS:

RPG RULES TEAM:

Dace, Mason Crawford,
Aaron Rubman

ART DIRECTOR:

Todd Rowland

COVER DESIGN:

David Ardila

GRAPHIC DESIGN:

David Ardila

LAYOUT:

Edge Studio

ARTISTS:

PRODUCTION MANAGER:
SENIOR BRAND MANAGER:

David Lepore
Todd Rowland

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER:

John Zinser

HEAD PLAYTESTER:

Brian Bates

PLAYTESTER:

Team 1 (Dave Smith, Patrick Chen,
Aien Elmi, Jason kang, Ki Chang Kim, Roger Liang,
Arthur Nguyen), Team 2 (Lucas Twyman, Lee Masheter,
Amanda Martyn, Chad Kirby, Andrew Flynn, Lauren Murray),
Team 3 (Kit LaHaise, Catherine Pickett, Bret David Hewes,
Francois Martineau), Team 4 (Becca Hobart, Todd Stites,
Will Stampley, Kevin Blake, Lewis Fleak, Daniel Briscoe),
Team 6 (Dace, Erykah Fassett, Tracy Pinkelton, Daniel Walters,
Laura Harvey), Team 7 (Jason Shafer, Nathan Shafer,

LEGEND OF THE FIVE RINGS

AND ALL RELATED MARKS ARE © AND ™ ALDERAC ENTERTAINMENT
INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

SPECIAL THANKS:
SHAWN THANKED everyone in the Foreward, but thanks again
anyway!

BRIAN WOULD LIKE TO THANK:
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My best friends, who’ve stayed by my side and fueled my
love of L5R and gaming for over ten years. Love you,
guys.
My family, who’ve always believed that I could do
everything I want.
The Fourth Edition team, writers and playtesters. We’ve
created something to be proud of.
Angela, who listens to me complain about esoteric gaming
issues.

ROB WOULD LIKE TO THANK:
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My wife Rebecca, who always believed I would get to write
for L5R someday.
My first L5R gaming group – Jaime, Allen, Keith, Jason,
and Tim – especially our GM Jaime, who introduced me to
L5R way back in 1997.
The players, writers, and GMs of Heroes of Rokugan, for
ten years of glorious samurai drama.
Shawn Carman and the rest of AEG, for giving me the
chance to work on this project.
John Wick, for creating such an amazing world and game
for all of us to play in.

JIM WOULD LIKE TO THANK

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you — the reader — for taking the time to read this part
of the book.

TODD WOULD LIKE TO THANK
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My wife Kathy, who still sits patiently as I talk about
magical samurai.
Mike Webb and the Mungbeasts who ran the first L5R RPG
game I ever played in back in 1st Edition.
Everyone on this credits page, you all went above and
beyond.

EDGE STUDIO WOULD LIKE TO THANK:
c

To Yayoi-san, for her help writing the Kanji.

GROUP
™

WWW.L5R.COM

1
CREDITS

Christopher Appel, Steve Argyle,
Gonzalo Ordonez Arias, Mathew S. Armstrong, Daren Bader,
Drew Baker, Jason Behnke, Tom Biondolillo, Leonardo Borazio,
Beet, Manuel Calderon, Mike Capprotti, Paul Carrick,
Miguel Coimbra, Audry Corman, Ed Cox, Edwin David,
Molly Denmark, Thomas Denmark, Randy Elliot, Steve Ellis,
Jason Engle, Anthony Francisco, Carl Frank, Randy Gallegos,
Joachim Gmoser, Anthony Grabski, Troy Graham,
Andrew Hep worth, Jeff Himmelman, Quinton Hoover,
David Horne, IFS, Paul Prof Herbert, Jonathan Hunt,
Llyn Hunter, Hugh Jamieson, Michael Kaluta, Michel Koch,
Michael Komarck, Heather Kreiter, Amandine Labarre,
Stephanie Law, April Lee, Monika Livingston, Eric Lofgren,
Anson Maddocks, Slawomir Maniak, Thomas Manning,
Britt Martin, David Martin, Malcolm McClinton, Patrick McEvoy,
Peter Mohrbacher, William O’Connor, Glen Osterberger,
Jim Pavelec, Ben Peck, Ramon Perez, Eric Polak, Mark Poole,
Angga Satriohadi, Erich Schreiner, Chris Seaman,
Douglas Shuler, Steve Snyder, Ron Spencer, Beth Trott,
Charles Urbach, Luis Vasquez, Diana Vick, Franz Vohwinkel,
Byron Wack witz, Corene Werhane, Mario Wibisono, Matt Wilson,
Jarreau Wimberly, Wack witz & Daily

Legend of the Five Rings RPG, 4th Edition

Eoin Burke, Jim Chatham,
Mason Crawford, Daniel Dineen,
Erykah Fassett, Laura Harvey,
Daniel Jacobsen, John Merholtz,
Jen Oney-Hooven, Todd Stites,
Ralph Tropeano

Matt Strout, Liza Strout, Joe White, Terry “Dingo” Moore,
Eric Newlin), Team 8 (Robert Knight, Mathieu Brebouillet,
Aaron Rubman, David Whitney, Richard Whitney, Stuart Biggs,
Edward Reynolds, Ryan Gossens, Jean-Phillipe Lanfond),
Team 10 (Luke Martinez, Joseph Schuster, Andrew Snow,
Christopher Myers, Michael Neer, Paul Siebuhr, Ryan Flynn),
Team 11 (Cory Mills, Caitlin Mills, Molly Poole, Darren Walters,
Lynne Ahlgren, Jeremy Bullens, Albert Koenig), Team 12
(Don Eisele, Kate Adams, Matt Ussary, Janet Bozarth,
Nate Hedrick, Mike Shimek, Chester Decker), Team 13
(Howard Hooven, Jen Oney-Hooven, David Farmer, Scott Smith,
William Hart, Gentry Trimble, Kevin Witt), Team 14
(Stephanie Dane, Mikael Brodu, Greg Krywusha, Bob Martin,
Reginald Garth, Ryan Reese, Elliot Smorodinsky,
Randy Schneider), Team 15 (Mason Crawford, Allen Cantrell,
Julien Vallette, Kristof Parker, April Hamilton, Mark Butler,
Luis Fernando de Vasconcelos), Team 17 (Tom Lewis, Jamie Kipp,
Gavin O’Hearn, Shawn MacLean, John Taylor)

Table
of Contents

Introduction
Welcome to Rokugan . . . . . . . 7

Legend of the Five Rings RPG, 4th Edition

Welcome to the Emerald Empire . . . . . . 8
What is a Role-Playing Game? . . . . 8
But Why
is it Called “Role-Playing”? . . . . . . . . 9
Why Use Dice? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What is Rokugan? . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Why Play
Legend of the Five Rings? . . . . . . . . . 9
What is in This Book . . . . . . . . . . 10

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2

Book of Air
The Emerald Empire . . . . . . .13
The Birth of the Universe . . . . . . . . .
The Fall of the Kami . . . . . . . . . .
Pre-History of the Empire . . . . . . .
The History of an Empire . . . . . . .
The Geography of Rokugan . . . . . . . .
Social Classes
and the Celestial Order . . . . . . . . . .
Rituals of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Day-to-Day Etiquette . . . . . . . . .
Visiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gift-Giving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Time and the Seasons . . . . . . . . .
Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dwellings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Men and Women . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Religion and Philosophy . . . . . . . . . .
Kharma and the Celestial Wheel . .
The Spirit Realms . . . . . . . . . . . .

13
14
14
15
24
26
29
31
32
33
34
35
35
35
36
38
38
39
39
40

The Three Sacred Substances . . . . .
The Tenets of Bushido . . . . . . . . .
The Concept of Face (On) . . . . . . .
Shame and Disgrace . . . . . . . . . .
Seppuku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Crime and Punishment . . . . . . . . . .
Dueling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blood Feuds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
War in Rokugan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Armies and Tactics . . . . . . . . . . .
Sieges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Great Clans of Rokugan . . . . . . .
The Crab Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Crane Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Dragon Clan . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Lion Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Mantis Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Phoenix Clan . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Scorpion Clan . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Unicorn Clan . . . . . . . . . . . .

41
42
44
44
45
46
47
48
49
52
52
53
53
55
56
58
60
62
64
66
68
70

Book of Earth
General Mechanics . . . . . . . . 75
Basic Mechanics:
The Roll & Keep System . . . . . . . . . .
Target Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rings & Traits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Raises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Types of Rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Skill Rolls, Expanded . . . . . . . . . . .
The Combat Round . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Definition of Terms . . . . . . . . . . .
Sequence of Events . . . . . . . . . . .
Attack & Defense . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Maneuvers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Iaijutsu Dueling . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Grappling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conditional Effects . . . . . . . . . . .
Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Honor, Glory, & Status . . . . . . . .

75
76
76
79
79
79
80
81
81
81
82
82
84
85
85
87
88
89
90
90

Honor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Glory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Book of Fire
Character Creation . . . . . . . . 99
Character Creation
Quick Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Character Creation, Expanded . . . . . 100
The Game of Twenty Questions . . 100
Example of Character Creation . . . .103
Improving Your Character . . . . . . . 104
The Great Clans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
The Crab Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
The Crane Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
The Dragon Clan . . . . . . . . . . . 112
The Lion Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
The Mantis Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
The Phoenix Clan . . . . . . . . . . . 123
The Scorpion Clan . . . . . . . . . . . 126
The Unicorn Clan . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Emphases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Mastery Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Skill List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

High Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Bugei Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Merchant Skills . . . . . . . . . . 143
Low Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Advantages & Disadvantages . . . . . . 145
Subtypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Disadvantages . . . . . . . . . . 156

Magic & Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Spell Casting Rolls
& Spell Target Numbers . . . . . . . . . .163
Actions & Casting Time . . . . . . . .163
Affinities & Deficiencies . . . . . . .164

Spell Descriptions. . . . . . . . . 164
Universal Spells . . . . . . . . . . 164
Air Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Earth Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Fire Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Water Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Void Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198
Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198
Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198

Bows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Chain Weapons . . . . . . . . . . 200
Heavy Weapons . . . . . . . . . . 200
Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Ninjutsu Weapons. . . . . . . . . 201
Polearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Spears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Staves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Swords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
War Fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Miscellaneous Equipment . . . . . . .205
Clothing & Accessories . . . . . . . . 207

Book of Water
Advanced Mechanics . . . . . . 211

Ronin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233
Clan Ronin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234
True Ronin, Option 1 . . . . . . . . . .234
True Ronin, Option 2 . . . . . . . . . .234
Optional Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
The Mass Battle System . . . . . . . 236

Heroic Opportunities . . . . . . 238

Ancestors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Crab Ancestors . . . . . . . . . . 242
Crane Ancestors . . . . . . . . . . 242
Dragon Ancestors . . . . . . . . 242
Lion Ancestors . . . . . . . . . . 242
Mantis Ancestors . . . . . . . . . 243
Phoenix Ancestors . . . . . . . . 243
Scorpion Ancestors. . . . . . . . 243
Spider/Shadowlands
Ancestors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Unicorn Ancestors . . . . . . . . 244
Alternate Means
of Rank Progression . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Advanced Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Alternate Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Great Clan Advanced Schools . . . .247
Great Clan Alternate Paths . . . . . . 251
Miscellaneous Alternate Paths . . . 256
Basic Crafting Rules . . . . . . . . . . . .258

Anime Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Cinematic Style . . . . . . . . . . 317
Grim Realism Style . . . . . . . 317

The GM’s Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
Creatures of Rokugan . . . . . . . . . .318

Creature Statistics . . . . . . . . 318
Special Abilities: . . . . . . . . . 319
Standard Special Abilities . . . 319

Natural Creatures . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Dog (Inu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Dog, Unicorn War Dog . . . . . 321
Falcon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Horse, Rokugani Pony . . . . . 322
Horse, Unicorn Riding Horse . 322
Horse, Utaku Battle Steed . . . 323
Lion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Ox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Wolf (Ookami) . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Monsters and Nonhuman Races . . .324

Book of Void
the Game Master’s Chapter
Running an L5R Campaign. . . . . . . .285
Playing a Samurai . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
Types of Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Magistrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Imperial Legionnaires . . . . . . . . 286
The Shadowlands Campaign . . . . 286
Arbiters/Regents (Shikken) . . . . . 287
Imperial Cartographers/Scouts . . . 287
Otokodate (Band of Brothers) . . . 288
The Restricted Campaign . . . . . . 288
The Rank 0 Campaign . . . . . . . . 289
Two-Player Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
The Sun and Moon: Balancing
Characters and Campaigns . . . . . . . .291
Adventures and Structure . . . . . . . .291
Writing Your O wn Adventure . . . . . .293
Types of Adventures . . . . . . . . . . .293
Starting the Adventure . . . . . . . . 297
Adventure Structure: Act Two . . . 297
Plot Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Rewards for Success:
Experience Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Building Stories:
The 36 Writer Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . .301
Asian Versus
Western Storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . 309
The Hero in Asian Stories . . . . . 309
Death and the Samurai. . . . . . . . .310
The Role of Tragedy . . . . . . . . . . .310
Making Villains:
Black and White in Rokugan . . . . . .311
Honor, Glory,
Infamy, and Status . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
The Art of Being
a Good Game Master . . . . . . . . . . . .313

Bog Hag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Gaki (Shozai-Gaki) . . . . . . . 325
Ghost (Yorei) . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Goblin (Bakemono) . . . . . . . 327
Kappa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Ogre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Oni (Ugulu no Oni) . . . . . . . 328
Ratling (Nezumi) . . . . . . . . . 329
Tsuno (Tsuno Warrior) . . . . . 330
Undead Revenant . . . . . . . . 330
Zombie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Poison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .332
Dripping Poison . . . . . . . . . . . . .332
Fire Biter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333
Night Milk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333
Venom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333
Emerald Empire Location Guide . . . .334
Provinces of the Crab Clan . . . . . .334
Provinces of the Crane Clan . . . . . .337
Provinces of the Dragon Clan . . . 340
The Provinces of the Lion Clan . . .343
Provinces of the Mantis Clan . . . . 346
Provinces of the Phoenix Clan . . . 348
Provinces of the Scorpion Clan . . . . 351
The Shadowlands and the
Provinces of the Spider Clan . . . . . . .354
Provinces of the Unicorn Clan . . . .357
Minor Clan Holdings . . . . . . . . . .359
Unaligned / Imperial Holdings . . . 363
Geographical Features . . . . . . . . . 366
Sample Adventure Seeds:
Challenge, Focus, Strike . . . . . . . . 369
A Complete Sample Adventure:
Tournament of the Samurai. . . . . . . .372
Resources and Inspirations . . . . . . . .384
Non-Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
Fiction and Stories . . . . . . . . . . .384
Film and Television . . . . . . . . . . .384
Character Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .394

3
TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Four Temples Monk . . . . . 231
The Order of Heroes Monk. . . 232
The Shrine
of the Seven Thunders Monk . . . . . 232
The Temple
of Kaimetsu-uo Monk . . . . . . . . . 232
The Temple
of Osano-Wo Monk . . . . . . . . . . . 233
The Temples
of the Thousand Fortunes Monk . . 233

Myths: The GM as Entertainer
/ The GM as Adversary . . . . . . . . . .313
Actions Have Consequences . . . . . 314
The Rules as a Toolbox. . . . . . . . . . . 314
Changing the Rules . . . . . . . . . . .315
Alternate Playstyles . . . . . . . . . .315

Legend of the Five Rings RPG, 4th Edition

The Spider Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
The Minor Clans . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
The Badger Clan. . . . . . . . . . . . .215
The Bat Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216
The Boar Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217
The Dragonfly Clan . . . . . . . . . . .218
The Falcon Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . .218
The Fox Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219
The Hare Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
The Monkey Clan . . . . . . . . . . . .221
The Oriole Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . .222
The Ox Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223
The Snake Clan . . . . . . . . . . . . .224
The Sparrow Clan . . . . . . . . . . . .224
The Tortoise Clan . . . . . . . . . . . .225
The Imperial Families . . . . . . . . . . 227
The Miya Family. . . . . . . . . . . . 227
The Otomo Family . . . . . . . . . . 227
The Seppun Family . . . . . . . . . . 227
The Brotherhood of Shinsei . . . . . . . .231
Monk Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231

Kata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259
Kiho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261
Utilizing Kiho . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261
Air Kiho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262
Earth Kiho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263
Fire Kiho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Water Kiho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
Void Kiho. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
Maho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Learning Maho. . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Using Maho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Maho Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
The Shadowlands Taint . . . . . . . . . . 274
Living with the Taint . . . . . . . . . . 276
Gaining the Taint
– Active Infection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Protection From the Taint . . . . . . .277
Effects of the Taint . . . . . . . . . . . .277
Levels of Taint Infection . . . . . . . .277
Calling on the Power of Jigoku . . . .279
Shadowlands
Powers and Mutations . . . . . . . . . . .279

A

Obviously, for me to miss working on the book
already, you can infer that this has been an amazing
experience. I have been blessed in the past to work
with amazingly talented professionals, people who
were not only my coworkers but my friends as well,
but this has been altogether different. The team I put
together for this book has been nothing short of phenomenal, and I count myself lucky to have been able
to work with such incredibly gifted designers. Todd
likes to call this my magnum opus, and I’d love to
confirm that, but in all honesty I cannot. Too many
other good men and women have poured their heart
and soul into this game for it to ever belong to just
one person. I’m just happy to have been a part of it,
and there are so many people without whom it never
could have happened.
I’m always grateful to my family, who have supported me and encouraged me over the years. Julie
and my parents, foremost, but my brothers, both
biological and other, as well. And of course my little
man, Dalton, with whom I hope I can one day play
this amazing game. I love all you guys.
I’m grateful to my friends and coworkers on the
Design Team, Rob and Brian. They have been there
every step of the way and taken and improved upon
ideas I’ve had in ways I never thought possible. It
has been truly a pleasure. Not just the designers,
though, but jim and Todd as well, and the many others at the office who have given this project their
unwavering support.
I don’t know how I could ever say enough to
thank the playtesters of this edition. It could not have
happened without them, not in any form. Thank you
all so much for your hard work and dedication.
And thank you for reading and playing the game.
I hope that you have every bit as much fun playing
it as I have had in working on it.

SHAWN CARMAN
L5R Lead Writer
Alderac Entertainment Group

FOREWARD

s I write this, the final files for the Legend of
the Five Rings Role-playing Game, 4th Edition are being prepared and sent to our partners
for layout. Writing and playtesting has been done
for a little while now, and editing just wrapped
up. We’re going to run them through a secondary
proofreading once the PDFs are done, but all the
grunt work is finished. It’s been almost two years
since we started it, and now the finish line is in
sight. For the most part, my work is done. And in
its wake I find myself oddly missing it. Normally
when I finish a big project I’m hugely relieved.
This time, it’s something that’s been a part of my
life virtually every day for nearly two years, and
I’m kind of at a loss what to do now. Oh, there are
plenty of follow-up projects: web support, the GM
screen, the first couple of sourcebooks… but nothing quite like that basic book.

The scout races in and drops to one knee, fist to ground.
“Kazumi-sama,” he pants, “the ploy has worked!”

-THE TAISA