RobHobart.com

Heroes of Rokugan I

Heroes of Rokugan II

L5R Homebrew

The second of the two “intro” mods for GenCon SoCal, written by me. These two modules were my first experiment with scenarios which would be specifically limited to Rank One characters and would thus force veteran players to create a second character – an idea I would explore much more thoroughly in HoR2.

This module was actually a sequel to the mini-mission in the Chrysanthemum Festival interactive in which Yasuki Taka sent the PCs to foil a Kolat-arranged kidnapping. (Since Taka was both a member of the Kolat and a dedicated enemy of the conspiracy, his interactive mini-missions were all over the map – some were helping the Kolat, some were opposing it, some were his own personal agenda.) Since I only got to run that mini-mission once for a table of 4 players, I decided to write Way of Deception as a larger-scale sequel. Also, since Way was limited to Rank One characters, I didn’t have to worry that any of those four PCs would accidentally play it again.

This module was heavily influenced by my interest in “samurai noir” stories such as the Zatoichi films and the manga Lone Wolf & Cub. The visit to the gambling house, for example, was a direct tribute to those types of stories. I liked these themes a lot, but in the context of the Clan Wars era there was only so much I could do with them; as a result, I would construct the HoR2 campaign’s storyline in such a way that I could play with these ideas much more extensively.

Rob Hobart

Heroes of Rokugan I

Heroes of Rokugan II

L5R Homebrew