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So After seeing the Bushido thread and having a brief side mention of Lot5r with Plataun4th, it struck me, are there any other Lot5r fans here on Dakka.
I starting playing at the tail end of Imperial edition , the first expansion after I got into it was Time of the Void, and quickly moved into Jade edition as a hardened fan.



My fave clan was probably Scorpion, in general I just liked the imagery of the Clan, although I'll be honest a lot of my intial fandom came from the interweaving story of..



Some of the later Characters where interesting though, and I'd have never have guessed Paneki would make Clan Champion considering his first card.





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The Crab Clan was pretty close second mind, glad to see that some characters I liked at the start of Diamond kept on going for a fair while..



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Dragon and Shadowlands where just after that, was a big fan of Hitomi when she wasn't the Moon goddess, and the Clan in general I had a soft spot for. Shadowlands where just nice villians, and their threat was always a looming shadow no matter which Clan was battling whom.








Of course thanks to the amazing evolving story, on the cards and the heroes advances there where characters I liked from all over the place.










My boom era of the game was in the late nineties, when myself, Aurelia and around six other friends got into the game, and we'd often plan seven or eight player games, sometimes pairing off into twos or just the mad all against all games.
Let me tell you taking an early lead in that size of game can lead to a quick downfall.

In general however it is one of my fave 'fantasy' depictions of the far east region, and although since moving across the country in 2004 has pretty much killed my CCG gaming dead, and I've not picked up any cards for Lot5r since Diamond edition, its still one of my fave CCG's and I still have a 'lot' of cards. I think my Lot5r box has around eighteen booster boxes crammed with cards from where I brought many boxes over the years. I have somewhere in the region of twenty decks, all of which I consider very competive. So aye a big fan.

Also played the RPG a fair few times, tried the Alderac version, D20 and the new one as well. All great fun, and once again a sure sign I am enjoying the setting.

So anyone else fans of Lot5r?

Besides GW games, L5R has had the next biggest impact in my life, in terms of gaming. At one point all my friends, even guys who would never get into a "nerdy hobby" were playing. Great memories. Even a decade in a half later a random reference will draw a knowing eye and a smile--"you touch that again and you'd better be prepared to dig two graves!" or "how's work?"..."you know...burning my essence", etc.

I started in imperial edition, played the feth out of it, cherished the story development, and the years of enjoyment it brought.

I have had this symbol tattooed on my shoulder for the past 13 years:

http://l5r.wikia.com/wiki/Ancient_Armor_of_the_Qamar

I stopped playing years ago and to hear it's still going made me LOL. We had all decided to see it though to it's conclusion at the Day of Thunder!

Played the CCG in second and third year of uni, and loved it. One of my better gaming buddies is really into it.
My favourite aspects were the setting as a whole (Taint and Shadowlands were great bogeymen) and the mindset of the people in it. I think I played during Diamond and maybe some Jade? Not sure. Definitely Diamond and there was an edition change while I was there. I've heard they've come back now with a proper clan of Tainted Samurai and so on, who are perverting the bushido for thie own use. Sounds good!
Sad to see the Nezumi gone as a faction, I guess they were always the joke faction of the game. I used to play them, I liked their worldview. Love the pragmatism of Crab, too.

Wanted to roleplay in the setting, too, but never got round to getting a group together. None of us wanted to GM, all of us wanted to play .

Was there ever a decent wargame based on it?

Clan War was the Lot5r game, it was short lived, but did a fair range of models with interesting mechanics.





I had some Scorpion figs and Naga.

Interestingly Chris Fitzpatrick did some of the figures for the range, and I actually praised him for a couple of figures at Games Day UK in around 98.

He appreciated the comments, but suggested we stopped talking about it, and a fellow designer asked him what I was talking about and he whispered to him, to which the other designer just smiled with a nod.

Obviously worried a GW overlord would see them daring to chat about another company.

I picked up L5R right after Crimson and Jade came out and played it all through the Hidden Emporer. I won the local sword tournament for the Morikage castle tournament in January 1999 with an Iron Crane deck (a timely Superior Tactics won me the tournament). I was also a playtester for the original Clan War game that came out in 1998. I got rid of all my cards a few years ago when everyone had moved on and the stores stopped carrying it.

I do miss it.

It is a game I always wanted to play (rpg, mini, or card game) but I have never met anyone that played it. I would see people at conventions but that is the only time. I'm still not sure it isn't some elaborate hoax.

At my flgs there is a fairly small player-base, most of whom are friends. I myself like the game mechanics and have a rough working knowledge of the rules but haven't been inspired enough to actually buy a starter as the only ones stocke dare £30, for just now i'll stick with the WoW tcg

Ahtman wrote:It is a game I always wanted to play (rpg, mini, or card game) but I have never met anyone that played it. I would see people at conventions but that is the only time. I'm still not sure it isn't some elaborate hoax.

same here. only ever say it at the game store.

Was digging around last night and found my Gold and Diamond decks, after looking at them I thought I'd go see who had made it to current edition. As I suspected very few, but I must say I love the redesign of the cards.

Not sure which edition brought the change, but I am half tempted to pick some up just for this new look.

Seems my surprise over Paneki was justified.







Good Old (old being the operative word sadly) Kuon is still going.



Glad to see the Crab have a new jade Champion.



Domatai is still going, and thanks to the natural white hair of the Doji still looks about the same age as my Damond equivilent.



Enjoyed the story between Shiba Ninjen and Tamori Shaitung that was running during Diamond, good to see he was still around, if only briefly.



Stunned Satsu stood down to become an advisor for the new Empress.



However I like his replacement.



Also, wait, Naizen is in charge of the Mantis.. mind blown.



Finally, love the idea of the Spider Clan, finally gives Shadowlands fans an equivilent Clan to play.

I used to play back in Diamond (just after Gold was finishing), but stopped just as Lotus was starting (stopped playing CCGs altogether).

Played Dragon, and did mostly enlightenment and sometimes watermonk though I wanted to make a duelling/swordsman deck. I think my favourite character card was Mirumoto Narumi.

There was something really special about the older editions though, which were before my time. I don't know if it's because it seems more legendary.

I've played the RPG and LARP(!) in the setting too. The 1st edition RPG had something that seemed missing from the later ones; I have Secrets of the Dragon and Way of the Dragon and I much prefer the older book of the two, despite lack of colour and 'worse' (on technical prowess) art. There was something more haunting and oriental about it, while the later books seem like western fantasy with an oriental skin.

I haven't tried 4th edition though, I heard it was better and goes back to the old design school; has anyone got it and can give an overview?

I Loved this game I stopped playing when work etc meant I couldn't attend my club at the weekends and then I went to Uni, I loved the Lion and unicorn Clans and I still have all my decks and spares at my parents house, would be great to pick up again but fell away from the story line, I stopped playing around the Hidden Emperor expansion when Toturi came back as a Ninja

My favourite was managing to get an all Ratling deck before they got their own Stronghold

You should checkout LO5R search link: http://l5rshop.com/db/main_frame.cgi?ftarget=L5R+Search

Has all the cards with images from past editions. thanks for reminding me about this loved the game to pieces,

I play the RPG, though I used to play the CCG (found my old Spawning Pit deck the other day!).

If you all are interested, the RPG campaign that I play is a worldwide living campaign called Heroes of Rokugan III.

http://heroes-of-rokugan.com/

Basically, it's a series of linked modules that are fan-generated and run. Once you play through a mod as your cahracter, you can run a mod for your friends. Results get sent in, and may change the overall campaign world. There are some games being held at Gencon, including a Court interactive. They even play by Skype if you're too remote.

I'm playing a Daidoji Iron Warrior named Daidoji Tagekatsu. The mods aren't purely combat, or are they purely court-based, so they reward the balanced character. Being that I am a yojimbo, it's important for me to know courtly manners and the background. YMMV depending on the GM, but it's been fun so far.

I've played everything L5R related at one point or another.

Started the CCG when the Shadowlands expansion came out. Crab was my first clan, but I quickly switched to Shadowlands and Phoenix. Stopped playing right when Pearl came out. I had a Phoenix dueling deck that could out-duel a similar themed crane deck. Also came the closest I ever did at a ring victory with that deck.

Played Clan War for a while. Had a Phoenix army that was actually pretty fun and then a crap ton of random minis. Tried to start a shadowlands army but then everyone else quit playing before it got finished.

Have played the RPG about five times. Its a little complicated so playing with new people can be frustrating, but once you get it down it's a lot of fun.

Lookin' forward to Bushido and this L5R boardgame. Anyone know if they've posted some sample rules yet? (yes I'm too lazy to google)

Never quite got into the CCG. Had friends try and drag me, but the games seemed to take forever so I never picked it up.

Have played the 1st edition of the RPG a lot and love it.

Skriker

I love L5R. I wish more people would play this game. It is the best and only CCG that I will ever play. Its story driven and well thought out. Magic wishes it was half as good as this game.

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

Yes, was a big fan of L5R. Played all the original games from the CCG to Clan War. My user name is derived from the game, properly being a title, "The Ancestral Hamster of the Hantei", which is a joke which only makes sense to people who started the CCG with Imperial Edition. The official L5R forum was my first experience of fora and so "Ancestral Hamster" was my first user name and has remained so through the years, even when it doesn't really fit.

My favorite CCG clan was Unicorn, as I preferred the tactical advantage of the Cavalry trait. Strangely enough, I actually played Dragon more, possibly due to the flexibility of the Clan. Dragon was 2nd place in just about everything, but that flexibility gave you a lot of deck-building options and kept your opponents guessing. Even though I enjoyed the CCG, I've been away too long, and I don't really want to get sucked into the money pit again. Having a storyline and storyline tournaments were cool though. Kaze no Shiro has the story info for anyone who is interested.

Only got to play the 1st edition RPG from AEG once, but enjoyed it greatly. The transparency of the game mechanics has become my standard for RPGs. I would gladly play the RPG again if there was a local group. (I'll check out the link Valhallan42nd posted later.)

As for Clan War, I have lots of minis for it, very few painted. However, in the brief time Clan War lasted, I ran my figures as: Crab, Phoenix, and Shadowlands. While I can't prove it, my Shadowlands army was the reason Ken Carpenter changed the spell Draining the Life and spell targeting in the Daimyo edition rulebook. A number of us had tried to convince Mr. Carpenter on the forums that the spell as worded was broken. He didn't believe us. Knowing that Mr. Carpenter would be at at the next major LA-area tournament, I showed up with a Shadowlands army which took advantage of this broken spell. (Although I could have pushed it even harder: not every shugenja I fielded had this spell, just most.) The demonstration convinced Mr. Carpenter and he posted the rules changes for the spell the Tuesday after the tournament. (Spell targeting was not changed until the Daimyo edition rulebook.) Clan War is another game I'd play again, if I could get opponents.

The Ancestral Hamster of the Hantei
Annoying Bushi Clan Default Daimyo

Glad to see folks still raising banners for Lot5r, and thanks for the site link, will go and take a look once home.

Haven't picked up any cards yet, but I think I will do at some point.

You're welcome. Need to read up on 1000 Years of Darkness. Alternate "histories" interest me.

This is making me very nostalgic. Started looking through my Daimyo edition rulebook. So many armies I haven't tried. I wonder if I have enough to supply two sides if I can get someone to try the game? [At a 2000 koku standard game: can go 2 1000pt armies for an intro easily.]

Edit:
While not L5R sites, these two sites are useful for inspiration and in the case of the first, terrain building.

http://muraminiatures.com/ has tutorials on making Japanese houses (both simple and with interior walls) and thatched roofs.

The second is a fansite for a board/miniatures game called Okko, after a French comic series about a band of Demon Hunters in the Empire of Pajan. (Like Rokugan in L5R, feudal Japan viewed through a fantasy lens). It's in French, but pictures need no translation, and this fellow has made some great modular terrain.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MazDKLE7_o0/SWCpicvsS4I/AAAAAAAAAYU/oFBapx5iVVQ/s1600-h/plateauyiu1.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MazDKLE7_o0/SjVppogwb8I/AAAAAAAAAw8/NHgwja5nf8Y/s1600-h/lille2.jpg

Big L5R fan here!

I try to play at least one Kotei a season, although I think I've done as many as 4. This past year has been CCG light for me because my playgroup has disbanded and I am busy with grad school. Hopefully I will find a new group soon.

I have a near complete collection of 1st edition RPG books. 4th is good, but I like the source books for 1st ed so much more. I have a Heroes of Rokugan season III character (Suzume Sadamoto, if you ever have the opportunity to meet me!) whom I played at Origins this summer.

I have a giant box of Clan War figures that I am very slowly working on painting up. I hope to have armies that I can con my friends into playing with.

My favorite Clans are Crab, Sparrow, Fox, and Hare. I am an unabashed nerd for the little guys.

After seeing those cards, I wish they made more minis for it.

malfred wrote:After seeing those cards, I wish they made more minis for it.

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

Valiant Miniatures is reissuing some of the Clan War miniatures. You can see if there is anything you like.

http://www.mystara.org/~awu/clanwar/ has a gallery page where he tries to track what Personality and Unit figures were produced by AEG before it got out of the miniatures business. Additionally, some of the Clans have pictures of the figures.

Ancestral Hamster wrote:

malfred wrote:After seeing those cards, I wish they made more minis for it.

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

Valiant Miniatures is reissuing some of the Clan War miniatures. You can see if there is anything you like.

http://www.mystara.org/~awu/clanwar/ has a gallery page where he tries to track what Personality and Unit figures were produced by AEG before it got out of the miniatures business. Additionally, some of the Clans have pictures of the figures.

I wasn't such a big fan of the miniatures when they were released. I
want to see what sculptors would do with the concepts today.

Aye, I'd love to see what some one like Felix Paniagua would do with the art, translating it to model form.

A lot of the Clan War models are nice, but they are of that time, sculpting seems to have generally improved all across the board over the last ten years.