Legend of the Five Rings (often abbreviated "L5R") is a fictional setting created by the Five Rings Publishing Group in 1995, and now under the control of Alderac Entertainment Group. The setting covers in detail the fictional land of Rokugan, and briefly many other lands and nations in the same world. Rokugan is based on feudal Japan with influences from other east Asian cultures. The setting is the basis for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game as well as the Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game. Legend of the Five Rings was also the "featured campaign setting" of the Oriental Adventures expansion to the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons, but this book is now out of print. In 1996, Alderac Entertainment Group and ISOMEDIA divested themselves of their joint operating venture, and created Five Rings Publishing Group (FRPG). ... 1995 (MCMXCV in Roman) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is about the games publisher. ... Rokugan is the fictional empire which is the main power in the Legend of the Five Rings setting, the basis for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game and Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game, both from Alderac Entertainment Group. ... The Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game is a collectible card game created by the Five Rings Publishing Group in 1995. ... The Legend of the Five Rings is a role-playing game originally written by John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group, under license from Five Rings Publishing Group, in 1997. ... Oriental Adventures is one of two hardback books produced as supplements for Dungeons & Dragons. ... Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) published by Wizards of the Coast. ...

The deep, evolving story of Legend of the Five Rings is one of the things that set it apart from most game settings. Players of the collectible card game, and to a lesser extent the role-playing game, can influence this story as it progresses by participating in sanctioned tournaments. The winners of major tournaments make pivotal decisions that can influence the storyline for years to come, with winners of minor tournaments influencing the storyline in lesser ways. Collectible card games (CCGs), also called customizable card games or trading card games, are played using specially designed sets of cards. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ...

The Games

The Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game

The Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game is a collectible card game for two or more players (in tournaments, generally two), each with two decks of at least 40 cards each (formerly at least 30 cards each). The game continues until a player has reached one of several different victory conditions, at which point that player is declared the winner, and the Emperor of Rokugan. The Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game is a collectible card game created by the Five Rings Publishing Group in 1995. ... Collectible card games (CCGs), also called customizable card games or trading card games, are played using specially designed sets of cards. ...

The Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game

The Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game is a role-playing game that requires one person to be game master and any number of other people to play different characters. As with all role-playing games, there is no "winner" or "loser", and the players do not generally compete against each other. Instead, the players work together to find a solution to some problem which the game master has presented their characters. The Legend of the Five Rings is a role-playing game originally written by John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group, under license from Five Rings Publishing Group, in 1997. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ... In role-playing games, the game master or GM is the organizer, storyteller, and arbitrator. ...

To distinguish this game system from the d20 System mechanics (see below), it is often referred to as the "classic" system or the "Roll & Keep" (or simply "R&K") system. The d20 System logo The d20 System is a system of game mechanics for role-playing games published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast and based on the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons. ...

Oriental Adventures

Oriental Adventures was published originally in 1985 by TSR, Inc. as an expansion for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and was set in a land called Kara-Tur. In 2001, Wizards of the Coast re-released Oriental Adventures as an expansion for the prior year's re-release of Dungeons & Dragons after a decade-long lack of any official support for the Oriental Adventures product line. It was decided to make this new version of Oriental Adventures a showcase for their recently acquired Legend of the Five Rings. Oriental Adventures is one of two hardback books produced as supplements for Dungeons & Dragons. ... This article is about the year. ... TSR, Inc. ... For other uses, see Dungeons & Dragons (disambiguation). ... Kara-Tur is a fantasy world created by Gary Gygax, David Cook and François Marcela-Froideval detailed in 1985s Oriental Adventures for the First Edition Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is a publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes. ... Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) published by Wizards of the Coast. ...

For the entirety of its Second Edition, with the exception of the Player's Guide and Game Master's Guide, books published for the Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game had two different sets of game mechanics: the mechanics from the Legend of the Five Rings Second Edition Player's Guide and corresponding mechanics for d20 System, such as those presented in Oriental Adventures. It has recently been announced that with the upcoming Third Edition of the Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game, and because of the lack of availability of the now out of print Oriental Adventures, the d20 System rules will be dropped from future Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game books. The Legend of the Five Rings is a role-playing game originally written by John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group, under license from Five Rings Publishing Group, in 1997. ... The d20 System logo The d20 System is a system of game mechanics for role-playing games published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast and based on the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons. ...

Clan War

Clan War was a miniature based model strategy game produced by AEG, whose story line is derived from the Legend of the Five Rings setting. This game itself is no longer produced but the loyal fandom has a strong presence in its continued existance. Look up Miniature in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Things known as miniatures include: miniature — a small painting in an illuminated book or manuscript; portrait miniature — a small portrait painting. ... Strategy games are typically board games, video or computer games with the players decision-making skills having a high significance in determining the outcome. ...

Rokugan

Legend of the Five Rings is set primarily in the fictional land of Rokugan, based on feudal Japan with influences from other east Asian cultures, where samurai, shugenja, and trained courtiers vie for control of the noble courts. Rokugan itself is home to mostly humans, divided into a society based on clans, with eight Great Clans and various minor ones, all under the rule of Emperor Toturi III. They are regularly threatened by evil plots from within and gaijin threats from without, but the main threat still lies to the southwest of Rokugan: The deadly wastes of the Shadowlands, where demonic hordes roam. Rokugan is the fictional empire which is the main power in the Legend of the Five Rings setting, the basis for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game and Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game, both from Alderac Entertainment Group. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... Shugenja (修験者) were the 7th century practitioners of the Japanese religion of Shugendo. ... Courtiers follow an ancient profession. ... The characters for Gaikokujin, lit. ...

See the article on Rokugan for more information on Rokugan, the Great Clans, and other story aspects of Legend of the Five Rings. Rokugan is the fictional empire which is the main power in the Legend of the Five Rings setting, the basis for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game and Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game, both from Alderac Entertainment Group. ...

Ownership

The following is from D. J. Trindle's post to the L5R e-mail newsgroups regarding the future -- and the past -- of the role-playing game. It was entitled "Whither the L5R RPG?" and is archived in full at http://l5r.alderac.com/rpg/whither_l5rrpg.html

In 1997, FRPG was purchased by Wizards of the Coast. The existing licenses remained in place, so the same creative team continued work on Legend of the Five Rings, AEG continued publishing the RPG, and Wizards began publishing the card game (although AEG was still designing it). In 1999, Legend of the Five Rings changed hands once more when Wizards was purchased by toy making giant Hasbro. once again, the previous licenses were still in effect, so changes to the games and the development teams as a result were unnoticeable. 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is a publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The Hasbro logo uses a smile to indicate the carefree nature of its products. ...

In late 2000, however, speculation about the future of Legend of the Five Rings -- especially the RPG -- began to run rampant after Hasbro, during a string of decisions that greatly upset the leadership at Wizards, decided to sell Legend of the Five Rings, two years before AEG's long-standing license was due to expire. Any fears turned out to be unfounded when, less than half a year later, AEG won the bidding war for Legend of the Five Rings. This article is about the year 2000. ...

Today, AEG owns the intellectual property of Legend of the Five Rings and still designs and publishes the card game and the role-playing game. AEG released Lotus Edition for the CCG in late 2005, beginning the Age of Enlightenment story arc.

International Olympic Committee

One legal issue for Legend of the Five Rings involved the use of a symbol that consisted of five interlocking rings, arranged in essentially a star pattern. This symbol was used for several years in the role-playing game and featured prominently on the backings of the cards in the collectible card game. The United States Olympic Committee sued Wizards of the Coast, who at that time owned Legend of the Five Rings, over the logo, because a special Act of the U.S. Congress gave them the exclusive rights to any symbol consisting of five interlocking rings.

The only way to completely resolve the issue was to quit using the symbol. For the role-playing game this meant very little, but for the collectible card game it meant that the backing of the cards had to be redesigned, which left players with a mix of cards that essentially resulted in marked decks. In an attempt to appease the players, Wizards released the first set with the different backs – Spirit Wars – bundled with opaque sleeves that would obscure the designs on the backs of the cards, allowing players to use any mix of cards in their decks.

See also

• Alderac Entertainment Group
• Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game
• Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game
• Rokugan
• Clan War

See also Legend of the Five Rings (disambiguation) for other articles which share this name. This is about the games publisher. ... The Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game is a collectible card game created by the Five Rings Publishing Group in 1995. ... The Legend of the Five Rings is a role-playing game originally written by John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group, under license from Five Rings Publishing Group, in 1997. ... Rokugan is the fictional empire which is the main power in the Legend of the Five Rings setting, the basis for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectible Card Game and Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Game, both from Alderac Entertainment Group. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

External links

• Alderac Entertainment Group - The publishers of Legend of the Five Rings.
• L5R Wiki - The unofficial Legend of the Five Rings wiki.
• Legend of the Five Rings - The official Legend of the Five Rings home page.
• Kaze no Shiro - Castle of the Wind - A website dedicated to collecting all canon Fiction of L5R.
• The offical AEG Forums - The official AEG Forums for L5R (and their other games), which have recently superseded Tsuruchi's Arrow as the most used Forum.
• Tsuruchi's Arrow - A website focused on the Mantis Clan and home to The Kobune Port, a widely used Legend of the Five Rings discussion forum.