Heroes of Rokugan
A Legend of the Five Rings Campaign
Latest Revised Version, December 13th, 2003
Rules of the Campaign
All Heroes must conform to the most recently printed
Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) rules, as amended
here. Characters are limited to those rules published
in the 2nd Edition Players Guide and GMs Guide,
the Way of the Clans books, the Gold-era Clan
Secrets books, Way of the Samurai, Way of the
Shugenja, Way of the Ninja, and the three Winter
Court books. Other books may be added later. Note
also that some of the Gold-era rules do not apply to
the Heroes of Rokugan (HR) campaign, which takes
place in the Clan War era. Check the House Rules
section of the Heroes of Rokugan web-page
(www.living-rokugan.com) for the latest details and
updates.
You are responsible for bringing to the table
any of the sourcebooks (other than the main
rulebook) needed to run your Hero.
Character Creation
All characters must be humans and samurai of the
Emerald Empire (no gaijin, peasants, Naga, or
ratlings). Ninja and Kolat characters are also
forbidden.
You may play a character from any of the
Families and Schools in published L5R products,
except as limited below.
Rings and Traits
As in the standard L5R rules, all Heroes begin with
Rank 2 in each of their Rings and Traits. These will
be modified by Family, School, and by spending
Character Points during character creation.
Choose a Clan
You may choose from any of the seven Great Clans:
Crab, Crane, Dragon, Lion, Phoenix, Scorpion, or
Unicorn. You may also choose to be from one of the
active Minor Clans (as described in Way of the Minor
Clans, and excluding the extinct clans of the Boar,
Hare, and Snake), or to be Ronin (including a Hare
Clan ronin), although this will make your career
much less pleasant. You may also opt to forego a
Clan and belong to one of the three Imperial families
(Seppun, Otomo, or Miya), although you must
purchase the Social Position advantage to belong to
the Seppun or Otomo. Monk and Naga characters
are not allowed, although that may change in future.
Choose a Family
Heroes may choose to belong to any of the following
major families and vassal families from their Clan.
Belonging to a family awards a +1 bonus to a
particular Trait, as defined in the L5R rules. A family
or vassal family which is not listed here is not legal
for characters in the campaign.
Crab: Hida (vassal families Kakeguchi and
Moshibaru), Hiruma (vassal family Raikuto), Kaiu
(vassal families Fundai and Maisuna), Kuni (vassal
families Meishozo and Ugawari), Yasuki (vassal
family Kano).
Crane: Asahina, Daidoji (vassal families
Hiramori and Miramichi), Doji (vassal families Tsume
and Katogama), Kakita.
Dragon: Agasha, Kitsuki, Mirumoto, Togashi
(Ise Zumi only). No vassal families until Secrets of
the Dragon is published.
Lion: Ikoma (vassal family Hosokawa), Kitsu
(vassal family Ise), Matsu (vassal families Ikeda and
Koritome).
Phoenix: Asako (vassal families Nani and
Chukan), Isawa, Shiba (vassal families Nasu and
Sodona).
Scorpion: Bayushi, Shosuro (vassal families
Kochako and Tokagure), Soshi (vassal family
Nanbu), Yogo (vassal family Tansaku).
Unicorn: Ide (vassal family Suio), Iuchi
(vassal family Battue), Moto (vassal family
Onshigawa), Otaku (vassal families Hyuga and
Naoko), Shinjo (vassal family Marta).
Minor Clans: Ichiro (Badger), Kitsune (Fox),
Moshi (Centipede), Suzume (Sparrow), Tonbo
(Dragonfly).
Imperial: Miya, Otomo, Seppun.
The Akodo family (and all associated vassal
families) from the Lion Clan has been shamed and
lost its name. You may choose to be a Lion
character who is from the shamed Akodo, in which
case you have no family name and no family Trait
bonus, although you are still considered part of the
Lion Clan and not a ronin.
Heroes who belong to a Minor Clan may
choose whether or not to take their Clans family
name (if there is one). Please note that in this era,
the Mantis, Wasp, Tortoise, and Falcon do not yet
have recognized family names.
A Hero who wishes to belong to one of the two
greater Imperial Families (Seppun or Otomo) must
spend 5 Character Points on the Social Position
advantage.
Choose a School
A starting Clan Hero (or Clan ronin) may choose to
attend any of the following schools. Any schools
which are not on this list are currently prohibited in
the campaign.
Note that your family does not necessarily
dictate your destiny; you can, for instance, be a bushi
who was born in the Isawa family. However,
characters almost always attend a school within their
own Clan. If you choose to attend a school from a
different Clan, you must purchase the Different
School Advantage (see Character Points, below).
Also, non-Imperial characters who wish to attend the
Imperial Schools must also spend 5 points on the
Social Position advantage.
Crab: Berserker (original version, not
Damned berserker), Hida Bushi, Hiruma Scout, Kaiu
Engineer (paths of War and Destruction only), Kuni
Shugenja, Kuni Witch-Hunter, Yasuki Merchant.
Crane: Asahina Shugenja, Doji Courtier, Doji
Magistrate, Daidoji Bodyguard, Kakita Artisan,
Kakita Bushi.
Dragon: Agasha Shugenja, Kitsuki
Magistrate, Mirumoto Bushi, Mirumoto
Swordmaster, Togashi Ise Zumi.
Lion: Akodo Bushi, Akodo Tactician, Ikoma
Omoidasu (Bard), Ikoma Tactical, Kitsu Shugenja,
Kitsu Sodan-Senzo, Matsu Bushi.
Phoenix: Asako Courtier, Isawa Shugenja,
Isawa Tensai, Shiba Bushi, Shiba Tejina, Shiba
Yojimbo.
Scorpion: Bayushi Bushi, Bayushi Courtier,
Soshi Shugenja, Yogo Shugenja.
Unicorn: Ide Emissary, Iuchi Shugenja,
Moto Bushi, Otaku Battle Maiden, Shinjo Bushi,
Shinjo Scout.
Minor Clans: Falcon Bushi, Ichiro (Badger)
Bushi, Kitsune (Fox) Shugenja, Mantis Bushi,
Mantis Courtier, Moshi (Centipede) Shugenja,
Suzume (Sparrow) Bushi, Tonbo (Dragonfly)
Shugenja, Tortoise Bushi, Wasp Bushi.
Imperial: Miya Shisha (Herald), Otomo
Seiyaku (Courtier), Seppun Miharu (Bodyguard),
Seppun Shugenja.
Belonging to a school grants your Champion
an additional Trait bonus, several free Skills, and a
Rank 1 School ability of some sort. Record this
information on your character sheet under the
appropriate sections (Traits, Skills, and
Techniques).
Schools generally conform to their most recent
printing in any L5R product. There are certain
exceptions to this, as follows:
The Moto family of the Unicorn are still using
their original bushi school (published in Way of
the Unicorn).
The Falcon, Centipede, and Wasp schools still
conform to their original three-rank versions
published in Way of the Minor Clans.
The Badger, Sparrow, Fox, and Dragonfly
schools are limited to their first three ranks.
The Mantis bushi school is limited to its first
four school ranks. The Mantis courtier school
is limited to its first three ranks.
Choose a Dojo
Heroes may opt to attend a specific dojo from their
Clan, if they wish. Campaign-legal dojos are listed
on the House Rules sections of the Heroes of
Rokugan website.
Shugenja Heroes
Heroes who choose a shugenja school must
choose their starting spells from the selection
available to their school. Each school shows the
number of spell scrolls of each element that are
available to the shugenja. The shugenja may only
select spells from the 1st Edition rulebook, the 2nd
Edition Players Guide, Way of the Shugenja, or their
Clan books (excluding any spells prohibited in the
House Rules).
Shugenja cannot pick spells which exceed their
current Mastery Level. Spells published solely in
Walking the Way are not available, nor are Maho
(black magic) spells, multi-element spells (except for
the Fox Clan secret spell Kitsunes Touch), or crystal
spells. The Imperial family spells from Winter Court:
Kyuden Asako are only available to Imperial family
PCs. Updated Mastery Levels for spells published
only in 1st Edition may be found in the 2nd Edition
GMs Guide and on the Living Rokugan web-site.
Character Points
All Clan characters start with 25 Character Points
with which to customize their characters. True Ronin
characters start with 45 points, but do not get the
benefits of belonging to a Family or School. You
may gain up to 10 additional Character Points by
taking Disadvantages.
You may spend your points any way that you
wish, within the following restrictions: you cannot
raise a Trait by more than 2 Ranks, or a Skill by
more than 3 Ranks. (Thus, if you start without a free
rank in a Skill, you cannot raise it to higher than 3.)
Also, you may not raise any of a beginning
character's Traits or Rings above 4 regardless of
where they started. Finally, you cannot take more
than 10 points of Disadvantages.
The cost for purchasing or raising a Skill is 1
Character Point per Rank.
The cost for raising a Trait is 8 Character
Points per Rank.
The cost for raising the Void Ring is 12
Character Points per Rank.
Raising a character's Honor Rank by one costs
3 Character Points. Lowering a character's
Honor Rank by one gains the character 2
Character Points. The Honor Rank can not be
raised or lowered by more than one.
The cost for raising beginning Glory is 5 points
(one rank of Social Position) per Rank.
Starting Glory cannot be raised above 3.
Heroes may choose, if they wish, to make ONE
roll on their Clans Heritage table (from the
Way of the Clans sourcebooks) during
character creation, but this roll must be
witnessed by the GM at their first playing
session. The GM must sign the character
sheet next to the result. Also, if the roll results
in something which would otherwise be
prohibited (such as a Maho spell or extra
Insight), it is wasted. Rolls on the Fortune
Tables are prohibited.
The Dragon Kagaku and Crane Tsangusuri
skills may be purchased normally; however,
they may only be used ONCE per adventure to
create a single item (potion or fetish) from the
lists in their respective Clan books.
The following skills are forbidden in the Heroes
of Rokugan campaign: Explosives, Ninjutsu,
and Spell Research.
Advantages, Disadvantages, and Ancestors
are limited to those printed in the official rules
of the campaign (as outlined earlier and
updated on the Heroes of Rokugan web-site).
The costs and effects of these Advantages,
Disadvantages and Ancestors conform to their
most recent printing in those books.
Advantages and Disadvantages from the 1st
Edition rules which were not reprinted in the 2nd
Edition rules are still available, unless
specifically prohibited here.
The following Advantages and Disadvantages
are prohibited in the campaign: Bad Fortune,
Blackmail, Blissful/Bitter Betrothal, Bounty,
Correspondance, Dark Fate, Darling of the
Court, Dependent, Doubt, Elemental
Convergence, Forbidden Knowledge, Gentry,
Great Destiny, Hohei, Inheiritance, Ishiken-do,
Kakita Blade, Multiple Schools, Nemesis,
Patron, Standing Invitation, and Servant.
The following Ancestors are prohibited: Asako
Ingen, Doji Hotei, Shiba Toriiko, and Miya.
Also, any ancestors from the Clan War era (in
the Gold-era books) are not yet available. See
the website for details.
The Crane Tattoo is prohibited.
The Kaiu Blade advantage is restricted to
characters from the Crab Clan.
Ronin
There are two types of Ronin: Clan Ronin and True
Ronin. Clan Ronin are Samurai that once belonged
to a clan, but lost their master. True Ronin never had
a master. Ronin of either type may use Low Skills
without losing Honor.
Clan Ronin Characters
Must take a 3-point Social Disadvantage:
Ronin.
Clan Ronin gain the starting bonuses and Rank
1 Technique of their Family and School, but
may not gain any further Ranks in their School.
A Clan ronin can choose to be from the now-
extinct Hare Clan.
True Ronin Characters
No Clan or Family bonuses or School abilities.
Must take the 3-point Social Disadvantage:
Ronin.
Receive 45 Character Points rather than 25.
True Ronin Shugenja start with Sense,
Commune, and Summon, plus any seven other
spells with Mastery Levels less than or equal to
their Insight Rank plus one.
Wounds
All Heroes have Wound Ranks listed on their
character sheets. The number of Wounds on each
Rank is equal to the Heros Earth x 2 (unless the
character belongs to a School which modifies this,
such as the Daidoji School). Heroes will naturally
heal their Stamina in Wounds each day (more if they
have Quick Healer).
Honor
A Heros beginning Honor Rank depends on Clan
and Family (see the appropriate rules in the Players
Guide and the Clan sourcebooks). This number can
be increased or decreased during character
generation. Your characters Honor will also change
during play, rising or falling depending on your
actions.
Insight and School Rank
Your characters Insight represents how powerful
and well-known they are in their Clan and school
and, consequently, whether they can learn their
schools more advanced techniques, represented by
School Rank abilities.
Insight
All characters have a total of Insight Points. A
Heros Insight is equal to the total of (all Skill Ranks
above 1) plus (ten times total Ring Ranks). NO
CHARACTER MAY START PLAY WITH AN
INSIGHT HIGHER THAN 149.
Gaining Insight
Whenever a Hero gains a Rank in a Ring, he or she
also gains 10 points of Insight. Likewise, each
additional Rank in a Skill past Rank 1 earns an
additional point of Insight.
School Rank
A Hero who gains Insight is bringing glory and fame
to their school. The more famous they become, the
more secrets the School's sensei is willing to teach
them. This is represented by School Rank. All
characters (except True Ronin) begin at School
Rank 1. Whenever they gain enough Insight to
advance a School Rank, they return to their School
and learn their new School Technique. Shugenja
Heroes instead gain 2 new spells, in any element or
elements they wish, provided they are within the
Shugenjas Mastery Level.
Increases in School Rank take place
automatically between adventures.
Rank 1 0 - 150 pts
Rank 2 151 - 175 pts
Rank 3 176 - 200 pts
Rank 4 201 - 225 pts
Rank 5 226 + pts
Experience Points
At the end of each session, the GM will award your
Hero a number of Experience Points (typically about
4 per session). These points can be used to
increase your character's Traits and Skills, to make
spells into Innate Abilities, or to get rid of
Disadvantages.
It costs 1 Experience Point to learn a new skill
at Rank 1.
To increase a Skill to the next Rank, spend a
number of EPs equal to the new Rank. Thus,
raising a Skill from Rank 2 to Rank 3 costs 3
EPs.
To raise a Trait to the next Rank, spend a
number of EPs equal to three times the Rank
to which you are raising the Trait.
To raise the Void Ring to the next Rank, spend
a number of EPs equal to five times the new
Rank of the Ring.
To make a spell your character knows into an
Innate Ability (meaning you wont need the
scroll to cast it), spend 2 EP.
 To buy off a Disadvantage, spend a number
of EPs equal to the original point value of the
Disadvantage.
Glory
Characters begin the game with a Glory Rank of 1.
This can be raised with Character Points (to a
starting maximum of 3). Glory represents how well
known and respected your character is in Rokugan.
Ronin never have a starting Glory greater than 0,
and while they can accumulate Glory points, cannot
rise in Rank while they are Ronin.
Glory can be increased or decreased
during play as a result of your actions, much like
your Honor. However, a Heros Glory can never rise
above 5.9 (rank 5, 9 points).
The Darkside
Heroes may become Tainted by the power of
Fu Leng during play. This is recorded on the
Shadowlands Taint section of your character sheet.
You may call on the power of your Taint during play,
gaining an additional die to roll and keep on any
physical action (just like spending a Void point);
however, you gain an additional point of Taint every
time you do this. If your Taint Rank ever becomes
higher than your highest Ring, your character
becomes a servant of Fu Leng and must be handed
over to the GM. The GM will send your character into
Campaign Headquarters, and you may see him again
later...as an official villain.

Outfit
Each character begins with a different "Outfit" of
equipment and money, depending on their School
and Clan, as listed in the L5R Rules and the various
other sourcebooks. A Heros outfit refreshes
(returns to starting levels and conditions) at the
beginning of each adventure. Extra equipment and
money which a Hero acquires during play does not
refresh and, once used, is gone for good.
Equipment comes in four categories: Poor,
Average, Fine, and Excellent. Average equipment
has the stats and traits listed in the L5R Rulebook.
Fine or Excellent items have a Point Value (1 for
Fine items, 2 for Excellent items) which may be
spent to purchase qualities from the following list:

Weapon does +1 kept damage die 2 PV

Item is near-unbreakable 2 PV
Heavy armor inflicts no TN penalty 2 PV
Weapon does +1 unkept damage die 1 PV
Item grants +1 skill die in one skill 1 PV
Item is waterproof 1 PV
Item is ornamental 1 PV
Item is unique 1 PV
Armor adds +2 TN 1 PV

Poor quality items are considered to have a

Point Value of -1.
A Fine steed can be given an Advantage (up to
2 CP value) in place of one of the above qualities.
An Excellent steed may be given an Advantage of up
to 5 CP value.

Obtaining Wealth
During play, Heroes may obtain wealth, positions of
authority, gifts, curses, and -- in very rare cases --
nemuranai (magical items). For every extraordinary
item, position of authority, special gift, grant of land,
and nemuranai a certificate will be provided
proclaiming the validity of such claims. These
certificates can NEVER be traded or transferred to
another Hero. If a certificate is lost, then so is the
item or position it represented.
If a character gains an annual income (through
a land grant or Advantage), the income is paid on
January 1st of each calendar year. As mentioned
above, money and equipment gained in this fashion
does not refresh like a characters starting outfit.