Next sourcebook announcement

[Lifthrasir 11]

Announcement from Sam Steward, "new" RPG manager at the "new" Edge Studio.

"We are working on our next clan book, Writ of the Wilds, which will allow us to explore the wilderness and temples of Rokugan, and will feature the mysterious and powerful Dragon Clan."

 

Edited July 21 by Lifthrasir

[Magnus Grendel 11,673]

"Our first objective is to continue to make books to highlight each Clan"

So - Path of Waves aside, we're going to be getting Clan sourcebooks for the foreseeable.

"Beyond the Clan Books, let's just say we have some really big ideas and know what an exciting destiny we are leading the world of Rokugan to."

It'll be interesting to see what they do for this version's Day of Thunder.

[DSalazar 471]

2 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

It'll be interesting to see what they do for this version's Day of Thunder.

I would hope no Second Day of Thunder at all...

[sndwurks 1,257]

1 hour ago, Diogo Salazar said:

I would hope no Second Day of Thunder at all...

I think this is inevitable, all things considered. But it's still probably a ways off. November 2023 was my original guess, so I would put it at 2024 now.

3 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

"Our first objective is to continue to make books to highlight each Clan"

So - Path of Waves aside, we're going to be getting Clan sourcebooks for the foreseeable.

"Beyond the Clan Books, let's just say we have some really big ideas and know what an exciting destiny we are leading the world of Rokugan to."

It'll be interesting to see what they do for this version's Day of Thunder.

This is basically confirming the pattern we had so far. L5R RPG is following the Splat Book format, where you have Big Books (Emerald Empire, Path of Waves) which substantively expand the game, and then Splat Books (Shadowlands, Courts of Stone, Celestial Realms, Writ of the Wilds) which expand on one Great Clan, one Minor Clan, and one aspect of the setting. With Writ of the Wilds, we have the following layout:

• Shadowlands - Crab Clan, Falcon Clan, and the Shadowlands
• Courts of Stone - Crane Clan, Deer Clan, and courtly intrigue
• Celestial Realms - Phoenix Clan, Centipede Clan, and the spirit realms
• Writ of the Wilds - Dragon Clan, TBD (I'm just going to predict Moth Clan, since this creates the cycle of old Minor Clan - new Minor Clan), and wilderness regions
• TBD - Lion Clan, TBD, and TBD (probably Warfare / Mass Battle)
• TBD - Scorpion Clan, TBD, and TBD (probably Cities / Crime & Justice, with a focus on Ryoko Owari)
• TBD - Unicorn Clan, TBD, and TBD (no clue on this one)

[DSalazar 471]

56 minutes ago, sndwurks said:

• Shadowlands - Crab Clan, Falcon Clan, and the Shadowlands
• Courts of Stone - Crane Clan, Deer Clan, and courtly intrigue
• Celestial Realms - Phoenix Clan, Centipede Clan, and the spirit realms
• Writ of the Wilds - Dragon Clan, TBD (I'm just going to predict Moth Clan, since this creates the cycle of old Minor Clan - new Minor Clan), and wilderness regions
• TBD - Lion Clan, TBD, and TBD (probably Warfare / Mass Battle)
• TBD - Scorpion Clan, TBD, and TBD (probably Cities / Crime & Justice, with a focus on Ryoko Owari)
• TBD - Unicorn Clan, TBD, and TBD (no clue on this one)

If it wasn't for Celestial Realms, the order of the books would be following alphabetically with the Great Clan names. I honestly wouldn't mind at all if the Lion Clan Book came with revised rules for Mass Battle (as in, forget what is in the core book, use this instead).

I mean, after reading the book, I get it why Path of Waves wasn't an Unicorn book, but it wasn't just a rõnin book, it was a foreigner book as well, so I don't know what else we will have for a future Unicorn book either.

[Magnus Grendel 11,673]

Indeed. Path of Waves surprised me - I would have expected the Gaijin Cultures stuff to have been earmarked for the Unicorn book.

Dragon and Dragonfly seems quite likely, though I could see them not actually doing the Dragonfly and saying they're essentially just an adjunct to the Dragon. Moth Clan is one that I can see them wanting to put in given their sort-of-starring role in Mask of the Oni, and they do do prophecies and so on.

I suspect the Scorpion might well be paired with the Cat, given the description. I agree they're where you'd probably see crime, criminals and cities fleshed out.

Lion might well be the Hare. They're the militarily strongest minor clan and we have a story that suggests that in this version of history they might have a nasty little knot of maho festering away in the Usagi - I don't want to see the old-style Spider Clan in the previous version (I don't mind it as a generic label for the lost), but a 'proper' Rokugani clan which is secretly corrupt and trying to hide the fact might be an interesting one.

Just given their proximity, the Unicorn kind of pair with the Badger, but they're very different clans.

 

 

59 minutes ago, sndwurks said:

I think this is inevitable, all things considered. But it's still probably a ways off. November 2023 was my original guess, so I would put it at 2024 now.

Oh, indeed. I didn't say it was soon. But it'll be interesting to see whether/when the Regency and Clan War start popping up in future sourcebooks. Some published adventures are emphatically tied to the current timeline - Kyotei Castle and Satsume's death are huge things in the current story, though as yet nothing explicitely ties Path of the Oni to the current events other than the suggestion a Black Scroll was opened.

1 minute ago, Diogo Salazar said:

I honestly wouldn't mind at all if the Lion Clan Book came with revised rules for Mass Battle (as in, forget what is in the core book, use this instead).

Sins of Regret already has some slight deltas from the 'core' version of mass battles - having multiple armies on one side, and a bunch of other unique cohort abilities, so I'd suggest your odds are good here.

The mass battle rules are almost unusable but don't need huge tweaks to work, and a few additional elements bolted on top (akin to the Courts of Stone 'formal duels') could make it a lot better.

 

 

Edited July 21 by Magnus Grendel

[Myrion 528]

The Unicorn book could have a bit more on travel and trade, along with a more mobile minor clan (I mean, I'd love the Salamander for other reasons, but they live on the rivers, which could fit) or something like wandering monks could work.

Or more stuff on the Qamarists and adventures along the sand road (iirc).

For the Dragon book, I think a clan that also focuses on a different road to enlightenment could work. The Moth, maybe, especially since the connection to Yume-dō has been teased already, so they seem somewhat likely.
Alternatively, it could be a clan that deals more with the wilderness theme: The Boar clan, living in the mountains of the North, f.ex.

[DSalazar 471]

2 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Sins of Regret already has some slight deltas from the 'core' version of mass battles - having multiple armies on one side, and a bunch of other unique cohort abilities, so I'd suggest your odds are good here.

The mass battle rules are almost unusable but don't need huge tweaks to work, and a few additional elements bolted on top (akin to the Courts of Stone 'formal duels') could make it a lot better.

Thanks, I honestly don't like it that an adventure module would have new rules or revised rules for stuff on the core, but I guess I'll grab Sins of Regret eventually just to get an idea.

I guess it depends on how much you are willing to tweak as well, but I feel that Mass Battles of the previous editions were way more epic than the current rules.

[Magnus Grendel 11,673]

3 hours ago, Diogo Salazar said:

Thanks, I honestly don't like it that an adventure module would have new rules or revised rules for stuff on the core, but I guess I'll grab Sins of Regret eventually just to get an idea.

I guess it depends on how much you are willing to tweak as well, but I feel that Mass Battles of the previous editions were way more epic than the current rules.

I wouldn't get it just for that - it's not like it's dramatically changing the mechanics, but because it's a touch more scripted it arguably flows better: the story flows from a mass battle into a skirmish, with guidance on what effects different mass battle results have on the terrain and participants. 

It is a great story, though, and I'd recommend it.

[neilcell 252]

7 hours ago, sndwurks said:

• Shadowlands - Crab Clan, Falcon Clan, and the Shadowlands
• Courts of Stone - Crane Clan, Deer Clan, and courtly intrigue
• Celestial Realms - Phoenix Clan, Centipede Clan, and the spirit realms
• Writ of the Wilds - Dragon Clan, TBD (I'm just going to predict Moth Clan, since this creates the cycle of old Minor Clan - new Minor Clan), and wilderness regions
• TBD - Lion Clan, TBD, and TBD (probably Warfare / Mass Battle)
• TBD - Scorpion Clan, TBD, and TBD (probably Cities / Crime & Justice, with a focus on Ryoko Owari)
• TBD - Unicorn Clan, TBD, and TBD (no clue on this one)

Remains to be seen if it is the Moth or Dragonfly.  In old AEG canon, DF were Shugenja, but in the new FFG canon, they seem to be more bushi trading in the joint spiritualism trains of both Dragon and Phoenix for simply being the gatekeepers to the Dragon Clan.  i do hope they greatly flesh out the Kitsuki, Agasha, and Mirumoto families in the new book.   While the tatooed monks are that clan's shtick, I am rather taken with the other three families, particularly the unusual methodologies which confound the rest of the empire.

I agree that the Scorpion is most likely to be paired with the Maneki-neko clan.  And the Unicorn could be tagged with either the badger or even the Fox clan.  In fact, since the new book is suppose to be about wild places, they may have chosen the Fox to pair with the Dragon.

Other minor clans that could eventually make an appearance include:
Boar,
Snake,
Wasp,
Ox(retconning that the Kolat creating them soon after the first Minor clan was created) 
Monkey(with Toku's elevation to minor clan Daimyo occur MUCH sooner in the new canon) 

Edited July 21 by neilcell

[MonCalamariAgainstDrunkDriving 133]

Dang, thinking about my hopes for what they do with the Minor Clans makes me really want to go back and play a 4th edition game.

[sndwurks 1,257]

10 hours ago, MonCalamariAgainstDrunkDriving said:

Dang, thinking about my hopes for what they do with the Minor Clans makes me really want to go back and play a 4th edition game.

I'm hoping for FFG to get off its duff, and give us the L5R RPG Foundry, so we (the community) can start producing content for their game in a semi-official capacity, and create some amazing Minor Clans.

[KakitaKaori 280]

Sparrow Please....

[Magnus Grendel 11,673]

20 hours ago, sndwurks said:

I'm hoping for FFG to get off its duff, and give us the L5R RPG Foundry, so we (the community) can start producing content for their game in a semi-official capacity, and create some amazing Minor Clans.

I guess they're being a bit more cautious because it's a setting rather than a system (unlike Genesys) and they have a storyline going with the LCG.

That said I don't inherently see that being a reason they couldn't have an 'official' foundry imprint. They're not beholden to anyone on the IP, after all, and just including a set of restrictions about what you are and aren't allowed to include story-wise could easily work. Make it so that 'foundry' material is officially speaking considered something from either the Imperial Storyteller's repertoire or the Realm of Dreams, and it means it's sort-of-real-but-not and they can pick and choose any of it in 'official' stuff if they ever say "hey, that's a cool idea".

Regardless, with the transfer to EDGE, it's not really FFG making the decision at this point.

[Daeglan 5,950]

looks like Dragonfly for the minor clan in Writ of the Wild

[DidntFallAsleep66 175]

On 7/21/2020 at 5:29 PM, Myrion said:

The Unicorn book could have a bit more on travel and trade, along with a more mobile minor clan (I mean, I'd love the Salamander for other reasons, but they live on the rivers, which could fit) or something like wandering monks could work.

Or more stuff on the Qamarists and adventures along the sand road (iirc).

For the Dragon book, I think a clan that also focuses on a different road to enlightenment could work. The Moth, maybe, especially since the connection to Yume-dō has been teased already, so they seem somewhat likely.
Alternatively, it could be a clan that deals more with the wilderness theme: The Boar clan, living in the mountains of the North, f.ex.

Hopefully they'll chuck in some Legend of The Burning Sand stuff too but there is enough pre-FFG splat available to steal stuff from

Edited August 30 by DidntFallAsleep66

[Tonbo Karasu 2,606]

31 minutes ago, DidntFallAsleep66 said:

Hopefully they'll chuck in some Legend of The Burning Sand stuff too but there is enough pre-FFG splat available to steal stuff from

They can't do Legend of the Burning Sands stuff -the IP they bought was only L5R.  So the names of the places referenced in the Unicorn books are fine, but the contents of the LBS card game or RPG supplement aren't covered.  This is why we have quite different gaijin cultures covered in the Unicorn novella and Path of Waves.

[DidntFallAsleep66 175]

On 8/30/2020 at 7:20 PM, Tonbo Karasu said:

They can't do Legend of the Burning Sands stuff -the IP they bought was only L5R.  So the names of the places referenced in the Unicorn books are fine, but the contents of the LBS card game or RPG supplement aren't covered.  This is why we have quite different gaijin cultures covered in the Unicorn novella and Path of Waves.

Legend of the Surnin' Bands? I'm pretty sure FFG would win the court case... 😏

[Daeglan 5,950]

47 minutes ago, DidntFallAsleep66 said:

Legend of the Surnin' Bands? I'm pretty sure FFG would win the court case... 😏

is that an openning band for Wild Stallions?

 

[Utaku Ryukko 3]

Before Writ of the Wild, there will be Fields of Victory (sourcebook) and Blood of the Lioness (adventure) that will be focused on the Lion Clan.