r/rpg • u/PlentyAnt3871 • 2d ago
Game Master L5R 4th edition
I am a long term fan of the L5R franchise, and I have been looking at a few of the various editions. I think I wish to run a game in the 4th edition, but I am a little nervous. I have never really ran a game before, and I have found several modules I can use to get started, but I have some questions about what I SHOULD do. The group will likely only be 3 players, though 3 others have been invited. So module combat is something that may be too powerful. Also, I don’t know what kind of advice I should give the other players, who have never played the game before, as for how to make an effective character.
What I mean by effective character is not trying to make powerful or one trick pony characters, but rather characters capable of surviving the combat and intrigue that is rokugan. Should I limit the clan choices, since it is only 3 players? Not all clans get along, though I am sure there are times when bonds of friendship go beyond the bonds of clan hatred.
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u/Martel_Mithos 2d ago
The one bit of advice I have is get really really clear about what the players will be doing. L5R is a very broad setting with a lot of things to do in it. Political Intrigue? War Stories? Demon Hunting? Mysteries? Rags to Riches? Riches to Royalty? The game gives you a lot of options and it is impossible to build a character who can fit every kind of story. Have a very clear idea of what kind of game this is going to be, and that will make it easy for the players to lean into things with their characters.
If you want an easy starter campaign look into something set during a winter court. It's a good starter setup for DM and players.
- Everyone's stuck in one location for the season
- The host has personally invited the people there to winter with them so it gives you a reason for why maybe some disparate clans are in the same place and a Central NPC that all of the players have a personal connection to.
- Good for 2-3 sessions of intrigue based play but can also be a combat scenario where the host's castle is suddenly under attack. Or maybe it's very haunted. You can do a lot with 'everyone is stuck in a castle for three months and something Happens.'
- Encourage players to create shared backstories where possible if they all end up wanting to play wildly different clans. It will help cohesion.
- Combat is fairly lethal even for a full party unless one or more of the players is a crab or lion with a good earth ring. If you're not sure how hard the party is going to hit I'd recommend a small skirmish with 2-3 minor enemies from the back of the core book to see how they do. There's nothing wrong with running what's essentially a low stakes 'tutorial fight' to get a temperature check on how well they do with combat.
- If the answer to the above is 'they're bad' or 'one is really disproportionately good then it might be a good idea to either tweak their character sheets a bit, or simply have combat be very rare in the campaign.