The first release in Fantasy Flight Games’ Legend of the Five Rings RPG line is the Beginner Box, a set designed to introduce the basic elements of the game to new players. This is a common strategy of FFG, given that they have done a similar release for each of their Star Wars lines. Not only does is allow a quick rundown of the rules and some basic scenarios, it also provides a pack of the specialized dice that the given game requires. Since their current slate of RPGs require non-standard dice, it provides an initial supply that allows play to begin.
And honestly, the inclusion of the dice helps to defray the cost of the boxed set otherwise. If you consider the dice as a flat $15 product, the $40 MSRP of the Beginner Box drops to $25 for the other product included within. Personally, I rarely buy in to the intro products in a given line, since my age and experience tend to assume that I only need the main game and relevant supplements. The fact that I specifically bought this set was an outlier for my buying habits.
So, what else do we have in the box? As noted, this is a quick and simple introduction to the game. To facilitate this, it has to be immediately playable, out of the box. Therefore, we get the standard “What is Roleplaying?” section, along with an example of play and a quick overview of the setting on a “Read this first” folio.
Next, we have a selection of four characters – a Tattooed Monk, a Shugenja, a Bushi and a Courtier – each representing one of the Great Clans. (Respectively a Dragon, a Phoenix, a Lion, and a Crane, if this detail is important.) There is also a note that further characters can be downloaded from the Fantasy Flight website – a Scorpion Courtier and two Bushi, Crab and Unicorn. The characters are solidly drawn, with backgrounds, motivations, and enough history to ground them in the setting. The character sheets are simplified, with footnotes and details, and complexity is added as the adventure proceeds. (In fact, each character folio has two distinct character sheets – one for the first half, and then a second when concepts like Void Points and Experience Points are introduced.)
Also included is a two-sided map, depicting Rokugan on one side, with the village of Tsuma (where the included adventure takes place) and the Castle of the Emerald Champion dividing the other side. Along with this is a set of heavy gauge cardboard tokens, depicting each of the characters and a variety of adversaries. There has been talk of miniatures for the game, but this sheet can suffice if that idea fails to take off or if the GM chooses not to go to extra expense.
Finally, there are two heavier books – the Adventure Book (Read this second) and the Rulebook (Read this last). The Rulebook is close to 50 pages, and it covers all the necessary rules for the Beginner Box and minor adventures spun off from the included modules. It’s divided into five sections covering basic concepts, skills, equipment, combat and basic NPC adversaries. What it does not cover, however, is any sort of character generation or advanced character concepts like special abilities or techniques. This is expected, of course, given that it’s a stripped-down version of the game that’s only meant to introduce the concepts, rather than fuel a full campaign. That said, it’s a pretty solid base to work from, so long as you’re willing to hold to the included characters for a couple of sessions.
So, what about the Adventure Book, the actual core product of this boxed set? This book is about a quarter smaller than the Rulebook, covering about 36 pages. It’s meant to teach the GM how to run the game as much as it’s supposed to teach the players. The adventure itself is a good starting scenario, in that it’s framed in the context of a “Gempukku” or Coming of Age competition that tests the characters and attempts to slowly introduce what’s important about Rokugan.
The characters have met on the road, on the way to the village of Tsuma. Their connection is initially established as travel companions, and they’re all coming to be tested for their passage into adulthood. There are greater intrigues awaiting, as the competition is being manipulated on multiple sides, but the basic ideas are pretty straightforward – the characters are expected to compete in the different areas of skill that are expected of Rokugani youth. While framed as simple skill tests, the characters have to pass such events as archery and horsemanship, as well as heraldry, etiquette, and poetry. Depending on the group and the GM, this can either be a quick, by-the-numbers set of rolls or careful detail about the world around them.
Among all of this, one of the previous year’s entrants is conspiring to disgrace the competition’s host by revealing unseemly aspects of his past. And to underscore the fantasy aspect of the setting, the main clue that the characters are given to what’s going on is provided by a ghostly ally.
The adventure is meant to be played in a single session, averaging about four hours from start to finish. There are enough details and extra hooks to allow longer play, but, more or less, this is expected to fill a standard convention slot or weeknight game. There are two distinct combat scenes that are included, just to give a taste of the system, but even the less martial characters are well-prepared for the scenes.
And as seems to be standard for Fantasy Flight, there is also a follow-up scenario that is available for download from their site, alongside the previously noted bonus characters. This scenario dovetails with the boxed set, as the characters are recruited to the next scenario at the conclusion of the adventure. The characters are taken to the Castle of the Emerald Champion (as depicted on the back of the included map) to delve into a murder mystery.
My impressions:
Honestly, this boxed set was a better purchase than I had anticipated. As I have said, this isn’t the sort of thing that’s geared to an experienced gamer, and my main reasons for picking it up were to lay hands on a set of dice and a convenient map of Rokugan for later use. (I have doubts that there will be any sort of separate product that covers this, so the box was the best avenue for this. At best, they’ll do like the earlier editions and put a map on the inside cover of the main book.)
That said, the characters and the adventure are top-notch. The intrigues are exactly what I had wanted for a scenario, and it’s a fun intro to the setting, even for people that aren’t otherwise geared for the depth of Rokugan’s history. The only real drawback, as far as I am concerned, is that these characters would have to be remade for a longer game with the full rules in hand.
And it’s worth noting that the included scenario – the Gempukku competition – is a callback to the adventure that was included in the first edition rulebook, a little something for the longtime fans.
Reuben Beattie
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- Legend of the Five Rings – Beginner Game - November 15, 2018
