RobHobart.com

Heroes of Rokugan I

Heroes of Rokugan II

L5R Homebrew

After the campaign departed from the RPGA, there was initially a considerable amount of concern that newer players would literally be unable to play any of the earlier modules. As it turned out, informal distribution kept all the mods in circulation, but initially we did not know this would be possible. Accordingly, Parvez and I decided to each write a new “Introductory” module, a pair of scenarios that would replace Satsume’s Tournament and Kitsuki Evidence as the campaign’s starting-point for new players. We also decided to premier these modules at the new GenCon SoCal convention in December 2003 to give the now-independent HoR as much national exposure as possible. (Anyone remember GenCon SoCal? It ran for a whole two years, 2003-2004, before giving up the ghost.)

This was Parvez’ third module and, in my opinion, probably the best one he wrote for HoR1. It was designed to both establish the current situation in Rokugan and to showcase unique aspects of L5R as an RPG – clan rivalries and enmities, the importance of social and artistic skills, the challenges of solving crimes in Rokugan, the role of duels, etc. The NPCs were a mix of new and recurring characters (I enjoyed bringing back the two Shinjo brothers) and the setting, Pale Oak Castle, was a cool location which the campaign had not yet visited. In fact, I liked this scenario so much that I later revised it for use as an introductory adventure in the L5R 4th Edition Core book.

Chronologically, this module was actually set about six months earlier in the campaign timeline (during the summer that coincided with Duty on the Wall) in order to accommodate its story. Later I would adjust the list of modules on the campaign website to show Proposal of Peace in its correct “timeline” location rather than its release date.

Rob Hobart

Heroes of Rokugan I

Heroes of Rokugan II

L5R Homebrew