Travel Papers

Journeys through Rokugan with the #L5RRPG An unofficial compilation of resources, recommendations, and fan creations inspired by the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game. Curated by Katrina Ostrander. Her opinions are her own.

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This Thursday in the Twin Cities, Max and I will be signing core books and running demos!

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In honor of the upcoming Scorpion Clan Pack, we at The Last Province present a Shinobi-themed episode! We talk at length about L5R Shinobi and ninja lore, including who Shinobi are in Rokugan, the disparity between the Shinobi lore presented in Way of the Scorpion and their depictions in... all other canonical sources (whoops!), real-world inspirations for L5R ninja, and a brief overview of Shinobi organizations in all of the Great Clans (including some obscure groups from old5r you may not have even known existed)! All that and more in the latest lore-filled episode of The Last Province Podcast!

– Robert Denton

[redkhezu]

Episode 7 - Kitsune Mori, Part 2

Don't you believe in fate?

You like awkward lesbian love between big butch warrior ladies and their tiny kitsune girlfriends, don’t you? Don’t you?????

[kakitaonimaru-blog]

Day 1: Poisonous

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We’re less than a week out from launch! Look for these in your FLGS on 10/11.

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Prompt #2: Comfort Foods

What foods does your character seek out in order to feel better? Do they have a preferred flavor for each season? Are they capable of preparing this dish themselves, or is there only one place where this type of food is served? What memories does your character associate with different dishes?

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In pictures: Okinawa, where people live the longest

Okinawa is home to many dojos (a room or a hall in which martial arts are practiced) where tourists can experience karate. Its bookstores se

[sitwl5r]

Shadows in the West - Now available on iTunes and Google Play!

Tensions are high between the clans of Lion and Crane. As other clans seek to tug their strings, courtiers whisper of dark magic, of bloodspeaker activity far to the west. The Togashi Empire has slipped into a time of great unrest, and it’s up to a group of unlikely samurai to band together and help restore the balance.

You can now find us on pinecast, iTunes, and Google Play!

Pinecast: https://sitwl5r.pinecast.co iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/shadows-in-the-west/id1363779413 Google Play: https://goo.gl/X6xMaa

Thank you all so much for your support so far! We’re immensely excited to bring this story to you and hope you enjoy it. You can also find us on Twitter @sitwl5r and on our blog at sitwl5r.blog

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Definitely check out Shadows in the West if you’re interested in an L5R “actual play” podcast that sounds more like an audio drama! Their take on Rokugan is more fantastical and progressive, and it’s amazing.

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If you’d like to follow along, join the Turquoise Championship Facebook group, or share your work on Tumblr and Twitter with the #Inktober #Inktober2018 and #L5R hashtags!

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SOTC Plays the L5R Beginner Box (Part 1 of 2)

The gang sits down to play through the Beginner Box of the new edition of L5R. A group of young samurai make their way to the Topaz Championship for their gempuku. What trials will await them? Follow us on twitter: @sotcpod Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/sotcpod Music: http://www.purple-planet.com Shadow of the Cabal is a proud member of the RPG Academy Podcast Network. If you're having fun, you're doing it right.

[castingcomets]

There are 3 brands of character songs, any song you associate with a character will fit one or more of these categories:

1. The lyrics fit

2. The song just carries those Character Vibes, often times inexplicably, regardless of lyrics

3. You really liked that song at the same time you liked the character

These are the facts

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How many of you have theme/image songs for your characters? I have entire playlists...

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More Swords, More Courts, More Imperial Edicts!

Hello! I’m here to tell you that the PBP L5R Discord server, Swords, Courts, and Imperial Edicts, is entering its second iteration. After a brief hiatus we have looked at the things that were great and the things that contributed to the slow down of the server and are making some changes including: Play at the beginning of the FFG timeline! Weekly scenarios and time progression! No more days going on for weeks and having to keep up with the different plot lines! Sign up for a story scenario each week with up to 4 other players and see how you resolve the scenario! We track the consequences may come up in the future, will you be the talk of Winter Court? Slice of Rokugan! If you want something more relaxed or personal we have a category for taking a peek into your character’s everyday life to post how much or how little you like! Soon to come: Clan goals and scenarios! Does your clan want to accomplish something? Have a great idea for scenario? Let us know! Major Events: Selecting the new Emerald Champion, new Minor Clan Alliance event, and some the magistrates are keeping behind closed doors. Please stop on by and play some L5R! We look forward to seeing you there!

There’s a chat-based L5R roleplay community starting back up soon! It looks to be pretty active, with fifty Discord members, and several characters already signed up to participate in GM-led scenarios.

[prinnay]

BF’s OC

[japanpix]

Amazing Waterfall with Torii Gate

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Prompt #1: In Your Study

Scrolls and bound books are relatively rare in Rokugan—literacy is generally restricted to the upper classes, paper and inksticks are laborious to create, and the time needed to transcribe a work can be measured in months, or longer.

What works, if any, does your character actually own? What scrolls, books, and treatises are kept in your character’s study for reference? What reports do they generate as part of their duties? Does your character keep a diary or pillow book, or do they have collections of letters from friends, lovers, and rivals? What decorations, paintings, hanging scrolls, or ukiyo-e prints decorate the walls of your character’s study?

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In preparation of Inktober and NaNoWriMo, Trevor Cuba/Kakita Onimaru of Home of the Crane Clan has made a FB group for L5R fans to gather and share their creations! If you want to participate in these events, share the projects you have been working on, or just want to check things out, feel free to join!

If Facebook is your thing, and you’d like a community of people to share your L5R fanworks with, you might be interested in joining!

[inuchihoe]

Hattori Hanzo’s weapon of choice is often times the needle. But, in truth, these needles are not needles as we traditionally think of them. They are actually a form of shuriken.  

Harigata Shuriken 針形手裏剣 or “needle-shaped shuriken” were as the name states; shuriken shaped as needles. Unlike the traditional ‘wheel-shaped’ shuriken (Shashuriken 車手裏剣) we are used to seeing and associating with shinobi, these belonged to the Bōshuriken 棒手裏剣 category of ‘stick shuriken’. 

Developed by Kadono Hirohide (1721-1795) who was nicknamed Shuriken no Kadono. He was employed in the Mito domain, same as his father and his relatives passed. He was a firm believer that there was never a need to fear a stronger opponent, so long as you could destroy their vision first. Thus, he began to develop the needle shuriken, starting with the thick kind of needle used to sew armor and horse-riding equipment. The first invention was called Fusatsuken 不殺剣 or “no-need-to-kill knife” and was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, perfect for concealment. 

Hirohide was said to never leave the house without shuriken, usually no less than 8. He would hide them in his hair, four on the left side and four on the right. This technique was called Zōhatsu no Jutsu (蔵髪之術 “the art of hiding [something] in the hair”). {perhaps this is why his character is designed with so much of it?} 

The method of attack with these weapons was referred to as a “strike,” never “throw.” The “striking” methods, called uchihō or dahō, depended on the distance to your opponent and the style of shuriken (straight vs. star, cross, or disc style). 

The movement of your arm was not the only component to perfecting your “striking” technique. Your posture (kamae), body movement (taisabaki), footwork (ashisabaki), hand movement (tesabaki), and breathing (kokyū) were all extremely important. All while maintaining an “unmoveable mind” – called Fudōshin 不動心 

Members of both the Date and Tokugawa families were said to have practiced or been quite skilled in the art of Shurikenjutsu.

(source)

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With Mari Murdock's Whispers of Shadow and Steel novella featuring the Scorpion Clan coming out soon, here's some shinobi-flavored lore to tide you over.