Lion clan uses to have a popular tradition amongst some samurai of dying their hair a sandy blond/rusty blond (like Lion fur). Alot of older art showcased that.

Prediction: changing the game mechanics or distribution system won't achieve much, because L5R's fundamental problem is that the strengths that made it a (reasonable) seller in the 90s continuing in the 00s just aren't there anymore:, and it never broke out of its niche enough to become the kind of nostalgia juggernaut that get  working remakes. 
 A game that was steeped in the katana-are-better, ninja-and-samurai Japanese exoticism of the 90s will necessarily struggle three decades later in a world where Japanese culture and entertainment are a click of the mouse away and where "katana are better" has long since been debunked (and where exoticism itself gets called into question a lot). And without that, L5R just becomes about a fantasy realm where noble houses feud and intrigue over a throne, while ignoring the threat of an evil horde on the other side of an immense wall. Which doesn't so much scream "selling point" as "Game of Thrones" (Yes, L5R is actually the older of the two, but the people you're trying to sell this to now don't know or care about that one-year difference). L5R, bluntly put, is the hybrid of a fad that has long since faded and a niche that is currently the private property of a media juggernaut franchise. There's not much room to sell between these two.

The other main selling point of old5R - the central place of the story - doesn't help much either because a)stories having a significant place in games is now fairly normal; b)FFG isn't actually using it as a selling point, and c)even if they did, the glacial pace of the story, while it may grant longevity to the story, also makes it hard to buy into the story. 
 

It does foster a different level of interaction and engagement in a game, one that I see regularly at the game shop.
People come in regularly to riffle through cards and packs and share joyful stories about their card hunts and feelings of accomplishment when picking up the last piece of the puzzle.
If it isn't something you can see or like I would wager you never did or preferred not to play card games before the LCG model.
It is a big divide between the type of gamer and fan of a game line, and I really do feel (and observe) that the LCG model is serving one type of gamer over the health and growth of the game line (and it's potential).
Time wil tell. Atleast at the dozen and a half game shops within travel distance all evidence is pointing to decent numbers and growth in old ccgs and new ones (Flesh and Blood is a prime example) and little engagement in ang LCG's (even the really good or dead ones).

Lion clan uses to have a popular tradition amongst some samurai of dying their hair a sandy blond/rusty blond (like Lion fur). Alot of older art showcased that.

I applaud the effort you went to in coming up with that manner of handling it. Thanks for sharing.
However it goes to my original point of being so much of a hassle and effort to enable the Range band system. With the perfect group of fast thinking like minded individuals it could work.
a beautiful elegant and cinematic system that works in the abstract is what I think most want, with enough slight rules to help implement and explain in very quickly and very easily.
The issue with using a grid is the same, a break from the narrative if the game and more mechanical tactics being used, constraining the imagination and the creativity of the players because everything has been reduced to a battlemat with figures and tokens.
Enough people get bogged down by the micromanaging and the analysis paralysis of what to do when using either method.
I will continue to use theatre of the mind, no matter how many issues or slow downs in a game to redescribe, elabourate, and work out a combat scene. The worst thing about a game that is mostly narrative in nature is when it slows down for game mechanics instead of working them into the fold.
One day I hope a beautiful and elegant system is made the reflects the setting and can be used intuitively with no disagreement and very little anal retentive "best tactical plays" considerations, counting of squares to determine distances, or the constant need to use templates.
it's a pipe dream really, but I definitely want to hear it when someone gets close or has a good idea to work towards it.
 

Undoubtedly.
Its mostly just a theme hangup for me.
For fast off the cuff basic D&D style games I use something like the UDT as shown by Professor Dungeon Master on Dungeoncraft.
When we played it battle map tactics where fairly fun in 3.0/3.5/PF where that facet of the game was at the forefront.
Same with Iron Kingdoms/Hordes rpg line for Warmachine which is built with the miniatures in mind, resolution of actions was very fast in it, though the system wasn't robust in other areas.

I applaud the effort you went to in coming up with that manner of handling it. Thanks for sharing.
However it goes to my original point of being so much of a hassle and effort to enable the Range band system. With the perfect group of fast thinking like minded individuals it could work.
a beautiful elegant and cinematic system that works in the abstract is what I think most want, with enough slight rules to help implement and explain in very quickly and very easily.
The issue with using a grid is the same, a break from the narrative if the game and more mechanical tactics being used, constraining the imagination and the creativity of the players because everything has been reduced to a battlemat with figures and tokens.
Enough people get bogged down by the micromanaging and the analysis paralysis of what to do when using either method.
I will continue to use theatre of the mind, no matter how many issues or slow downs in a game to redescribe, elabourate, and work out a combat scene. The worst thing about a game that is mostly narrative in nature is when it slows down for game mechanics instead of working them into the fold.
One day I hope a beautiful and elegant system is made the reflects the setting and can be used intuitively with no disagreement and very little anal retentive "best tactical plays" considerations, counting of squares to determine distances, or the constant need to use templates.
it's a pipe dream really, but I definitely want to hear it when someone gets close or has a good idea to work towards it.
 

I think grid fights have a strong appeal to those who love miniatures. I like that I can turn an RPG into a board game. But yeah, miniatures and grids do hinder theater of the mind somewhat.
BUT they are best when trying to resolve complex combat situations involving lots of combatants in a skirmish format.
I as a GM will tend to auto-resolve a lot of NPC attacks to help speed things up in an RPG. Or if my players outmatch an enemy sooo much that they would most likely kill them in a single strike, I will just let them remove the target without rolling. I don't do this for higher tier enemies or boss creatures though.
Some players I've encountered also respond really well to grids. If its done right it can be a pretty fun tactical experience.

Exactly why I made this:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1TaiTvyHXM3QI7Cv-kwqrbzu9oeB_zLfEyzb9o42zNGs/edit?usp=sharing
You can move the bands as a unit to the active character, then move the character to the spot on the appropriate band for movement, then move the bands back to that character and you have everyone else's relevant distances.
You can reproduce this on the tabletop by drawing on paper and placing that over the miniature, or using a thick string that you put marks on to denote where each ring is. String goes to the model and then in the direction they want to move like a ray. You then use the string to measure respective distances.
If you're just theater-of-the-mind-ing it, then may Lord Bayushi have mercy on your soul. But I can't imagine that using squares helps in the mind either.
Edit to add: is there a reason you don't like the suggested "Range Bands in Squares" on page 266? If so, then adjust your string/ring measurements according to your preference. I used the default and a 30x30 mat to create my rings template.

Tim "I move to Range 5."
GM "Bad Guy Ninja 1 Closes to Range 1 of you Tim"
Steve "Im at Range 2 with my spear of Ninja 2, so what Range am I to Ninja 1. If he is Range 5 from me, does that mean Ninja 1 is Range 4. Okay I'll move to Range 2 of each with my Naginata"
Eustace "I return to the combat after rescuing the old man. I enter at Range 6, does that mean I am Range 0 or Range 2 of the Ninja 1 guy, the one attacking Tim ?"
*the rpg table explodes*
Maybe I'm just being hyperbolic, but that is always the situation I see, for L5R and Star Wars
I haven't seen a system it really works in.
if someone does, please share !
 

Sengoku RPG and the old Bushido RPG as well.
For the OP @robothedino one of the biggest caveats about L5R is that it is the fantastical idealised version of the Samurai and fuedal Japan. It's not meant to be representative of anything factual or accurate. So you won't find that accuracy or realism in the game.
I hack the crap out of the setting to make it more "realistic" in some senses. Changes it quite alot though.

Tim "I move to Range 5."
GM "Bad Guy Ninja 1 Closes to Range 1 of you Tim"
Steve "Im at Range 2 with my spear of Ninja 2, so what Range am I to Ninja 1. If he is Range 5 from me, does that mean Ninja 1 is Range 4. Okay I'll move to Range 2 of each with my Naginata"
Eustace "I return to the combat after rescuing the old man. I enter at Range 6, does that mean I am Range 0 or Range 2 of the Ninja 1 guy, the one attacking Tim ?"
*the rpg table explodes*
Maybe I'm just being hyperbolic, but that is always the situation I see, for L5R and Star Wars
I haven't seen a system it really works in.
if someone does, please share !
 

Sengoku RPG and the old Bushido RPG as well.
For the OP @robothedino one of the biggest caveats about L5R is that it is the fantastical idealised version of the Samurai and fuedal Japan. It's not meant to be representative of anything factual or accurate. So you won't find that accuracy or realism in the game.
I hack the crap out of the setting to make it more "realistic" in some senses. Changes it quite alot though.

Be careful mate, the suggestion might just cause Original Timeline Matsu Hiroru to jump over and beat up Chagatai and anyone who suggest he marries Shizue.
True love crosses dimensions neh ?

FYI, we don't call them "bushido fanatic" but Loud Obnoxious Ignorant Nutcase, or LION for short.

Exactly, range bands only work in duels and hey, per rules, duels ignore range bands...
But you are totally correct, I prefer to ignore range bands completely and accept that people can move two grid spaces per move action (or more if more successes in the maneuver action)

Whilst Shiro Hiruma and the bulk of Hiruma ancestral lands are gone, the Hiruma do still have lands, too, given them to administer by the clan champion. In previous editions, Maemikake - the town just outside the Shinomen - is the primary Hiruma territory, for example (though the Hiruma strenuously resist any suggestion of making it 'the new Shiro Hiruma').
Their lands aren't spiritually barren - they're 'artificially maintained':
"Dōkutsu no Majo’s invasion shaped the Kuni’s lifestyle forever when the attack poisoned their home with Taint. The family had no choice but to purge all spiritual energy from their land, leaving it desolate. To this day, a method of complete restoration has yet to be discovered, and still-unknown tunnels weave through the underground network left behind, providing havens in which shadowy creatures are said to lurk. A temporary solution has come in the form of hundreds of small shrines. These structures lure kami and direct them through Kuni lands like a form of spiritual irrigation. "
So maintaining the spiritual viability of their lands is exactly the sort of job you could use to employ a shujenga's students.
 

Greetings from the Sands, Evil-Smelling Brother-in-Law of a Camel!
1. The Hiruma have no lands whatsoever.
2. The Kuni have lost most of their lands but they still have significat holdings such as the Kuni Castle and some farmable lands. They are probably supported by the yasuki endeavor but they still have some lands.
I find important to remind you that the Kuni Wastelands are not a neat incident that blasted the Kuni lands and stop conviently at the border of their province. It happened in the Kuni territories and blasted most of them but that still leaves them some.
Last but not Least
3. "realistically" has nothing to do with it. Your point are perfectly reasonable, it is just that rokugani culture does not care about "realistically" or "truth". All that matters is keeping alive their social charade. Rokugani cares about keeping their on/face, about honor, about tradition.
"realistically" a Shoji screen has never prevented anyone to hear what happen on the other side. Yet rokugani pretend otherwise, and openly doing differently is to invite social censure.
Back to the Hiruma, you are right about their inability to perform the basic duties of a feudal lord. However, to demote them to vassal family of the Hida you would have to find an emperor that makes a Huge finger to tradition and countermand the decision of a two Kami: Hantei and Hida. To my knowledge that has never happened. Quite simply, Emperors are supposed to have the blessings of heavens and so always being right. To go against a edict of the very first emperor and his brother, both divine sons of the Sun would severely undermine the rokugani social and power structure.
Also of note is the fact that most rokugani sleep quietly at night secure in the knowledge that the Crab keeps the darkness at bay. They may not be appreciative of it, considering it a distastful task, and the Crab little better than guard dogs, yet they also enjoy the fact that tomorrow will be as today and tradition will be upheld. They want to keep that illusion alive.
See you in the Sands.

Tim "I move to Range 5."
GM "Bad Guy Ninja 1 Closes to Range 1 of you Tim"
Steve "Im at Range 2 with my spear of Ninja 2, so what Range am I to Ninja 1. If he is Range 5 from me, does that mean Ninja 1 is Range 4. Okay I'll move to Range 2 of each with my Naginata"
Eustace "I return to the combat after rescuing the old man. I enter at Range 6, does that mean I am Range 0 or Range 2 of the Ninja 1 guy, the one attacking Tim ?"
*the rpg table explodes*
Maybe I'm just being hyperbolic, but that is always the situation I see, for L5R and Star Wars
I haven't seen a system it really works in.
if someone does, please share !
 

This has nothing to do with the practical realities of the lost Hiruma lands, or the spiritually-barren Kuni lands. This is all about history. Hiruma and Kuni, along with Kaiu, were foremost among the followers of the Kami, Hida, and were granted full family status when they ventured into the Shadowlands together, and fought and destroyed the Oni of the First Battle. And that's it. They were allowed to found families by Hida then; who among "modern" Crab would gainsay the decision of their founding Kami to do so?
In fact, anyone even hinting at diminishing the standing of the Hiruma or Kuni because of the state of their lands would immediately find themselves on the wrong end of duel or, depending on the circumstances, just very badly injured.

Can't really say I'm a huge fan of range bands.
The idea looks elegant, but IME it becomes rather clunky in practice.

There is a difference between learning a language and pronouncing specific words presented in English letters.  Japanesse is "difficult" to learn because of their sentence structure and kanji.  But actual pronunciation is actually very straightforward.

Just because FFG/Asmodee states that as a reason does not mean that it is the actual reason. I put very little faith in any honesty and truth in their statements.
I still strongly feel its more of a rights of art licensing and royalties. Why isn't LotR up there, it surely sells as well or better than other lines, but alot of the artists (the good ones) get a big cut and then there is the IP being a Tolkien Estate holding, not to mention Star Wars which has a ton of new art via FFG that would be awesome in a book. All comes down to what they own and not being willing to split any profits. 
Alot of the artists that I see making L5R art are creators I've got a very strong feeling negotiated properly when selling to FFG/Asmodee.
And Japanese-esque names being difficult to pronounce, I have to say bull$&@£ to that. It is one of the easiest to pronounce languages on the planet due to it being highly phonetic and having very few weird rules for pronunciation or emphasis. Everyday English speakers have more pedantic arguments on how to pronounce something, names included in English then fumbling around with a Japanese name. It is a very straight forward language, unlike English. I don't know what the Westerners are like were you live, but I can walk up to any geezer and show him ten words in Japanese and ten in English and there will always be more of an issue with correctly speaking some of the words in English over Japanese.
Just as Daigotsu Arashi states regarding anything Lovecraft related. Tsathoggua Yog-sothoth al-Hazred to to Togashi, Akodo, Toturi.

I tried some games of Skirmish. I felt it lacks any of the things I want out of an L5R card game. Way to fast, way to swingy. Takes away the entire pount of the game in my mind.
Got a huge laugh from the article. It's effectively, "We made a game that very few people like. Maybe if we unmake the game and dumb it down real good we can find five more people to buy it.... please buy it don't let Asmodee divest yet another thing to make us more tasty for a buy out."
Sadly everyone in town has been dropping L5R lcg, the game is pretty simple and easy to play and teach but we have been having strong issues with the limited card pool of a LCG, bad card design, repeated bannings/unbannings and no good ongoing story that makes any attempt (no matter how small) makes you feel a part of or to interact with. And prize kits thaf are just..... hey here is box, and a plastic dial. Plus almost every game starts to feel like a mirror match because of limited choices (there is no incentive to play with cards that aren the best and there are only so many of those cards).
We'vr all played card gamea, and L5R from the start back in the mid 90's, but i think this is it for us.
Most of us have started to play Classic L5R again, cresting decks from one legal block at a time. Alot more variation and ability to interact with situations in game. Plus alot of interest has been generated by the new Old L5R fan edition being worked on.
I'll stick it out awhile longer though and buy the LCG, and keep on playing, no point in quitting now, may as well stay to the end.

Yeah, sure....
It's very annoying to pronounce Asako Kenji but Shub Niggurath or Nyarlathotep are easy.