Core Book: Legend of the Five Rings: 3rd Edition: Revised

Honor and Steel Battle Resolution

The Battle resolution system as written in the core book is one of the best we've ever seen, but there are a some needs unique to a Live Action Environment with player characters on opposing sides of a battle. The rules below will be enforced in addition to and as a supplement to the rules provided in the core book.

Ending Battles

Battles will last until one side has won a number of consecutive rounds equal to the order of magnitude of total number of troops involved in the battle. A battle involving 2,000 troops will require three consecutive rounds won by one side; a battle involving 120,000 troops would require one side or the other to win five consecutive rounds.

Troop Losses

Each army involved in a battle will suffer a minimum of 10% of their troops killed and a further 20% wounded and unable to fight until healed. Wounded troops heal and return to active duty after a single month of rest. The loser of the battle may suffer greater losses; the difference between the final rolls of the opposing generals, if greater than 10, becomes the percentage of troops killed in the losing army. Double this percentage are wounded up to an obvious maximum of every surviving soldier. For example, if the winning army has rolled a 78 on the final battle turn and the losing army has rolled a 65, the losing army suffers 13% of their troops killed and a further 26% wounded.

Replenishing killed Troops

Every month, an army retrains new troops and replenishes 10% of their Province Garrison. A garrison of 6,000 troops would replenish 600 slain soldier per month until the army has returned to full strength. This rate of replenishment is unaffected by slaughtered Garrisons; it is a static measurement of the provinces capacity to recruit and train troops. Slain garrisons are replaced from the same replenishment rate.

Occupied and Contested Provinces

The Income, Information Networks, Available Artisans, and Troop replenishment provided by a Province will be adjusted by the Staff if the Province is contested by an invading army, occupied by enemy Troops, or razed and plundered. In extreme cases, all benefits of the card may be temporarily lost. Extensive damage, such as burned castles, may even require an investment of Koku to rebuild.

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learning a marked skill as high as level 5, the player may purchase the skill without further explanation.

When learning an unmarked skill, or a marked skill above level 5, the player must either be taught IC by another character or complete an appropriate quest.

When being taught by another character, that character must both have the skill at a level above what they are teaching and succeed at an Intelligence/Instruction pull TN 5x(level being taught). Failure on the pull means the student must continue tutelage for an additional month, at which point the pull may be reattempted at the same TN.

Please note that the teacher may or may not have the Instruction skill, but if he does not, his 10’s do not explode, as is normal for an unskilled roll, see pg. 93.

When questing to increase a skill, the player must inform the staff of their quest (raise their flag), and may only quest for one skill or trait at a time (one flag). Please do this through email, so that we may build a database of these flags.

Traits may be purchased to 5 without further explanation, and may not be taught. To raise a trait above 5, characters must quest.

3. Economics

Each character receives koku per month equal to their status rank (ignore boxes filled), that is their personal maintenance.

Characters possessing red cards that indicate “Free Cash Flow” receive the listed amount of koku per month from their estates, after all expenses for that estate are accounted for. This money is considered to belong to the estate, and not the individual, though it is entrusted to their care.

If the character receives the “Economic Bust” card, none of their estates produce any Free Cash Flow that month

If the character receives the “Economic Boom” card, their estates produce double the normal Free Cash Flow.

Characters consistently experiencing a boom or bust for an extended period will likely have their cards reviewed and altered by the staff, to reflect their long term slump or expansion.

4. Honor Codes

The staff is attempting to be better at communicating why character’s honor is changing over time. To this extent, we have numbered the 3rd Edition Revised honor chart from 1 to 31, from the top. Players will receive these codes, which will be written on their honor card (which is kept with their sheet). This is to help give a better idea why honor changes, and to serve as a reminder to the staff, if more details are needed. This is a work in progress.

5. Lies

“Lying” can be done through Deceit or Ettiquette(Sincerity). Each requires a different skill pull to detect. If a player declares a lie detection pull, they are to be told by the player whose lies they wish to detect “pull Courtier” or “pull Investigation.” Even if the “lying” player isn’t lying, the pull needs to occur, so that the detecting player can be kept in the dark about his fact if they fail.

If the lie is done through Deceit, the liar should declare “pull Investigation.” The pull is Awareness/Deceit(Lying) vs. Perception/Investigation(Interrogation).

If the lie is done through Etiquette, the liar should declare “pull Courtier.” the pull is Awareness/Etiquette(Sincerity) vs. Awareness/Courtier(Manipulation). To perform a “lie” through Etiquette, the statement given must be technically true, as explained on pg 98 of Legend of the Five Rings Revised.

If the “liar” isn’t lying, either rule may be invoked by the “liar.”

6. Medicine

Some clarifications:
Antidotes Emphasis is required to cure poisons. Pg. 100
Disease Emphasis is require to cure diseases. Pg. 100

7. Static Initiative

Our initiative is static, meaning your “roll” for initiative is the same every time. This can be calculated for you by the staff. If you prefer to calculate your own, the formula is XkY+Z => 5Y+X+Z. For example, 6k3+2 becomes 5x3 + 6 + 2 = 23. If you prefer us to do the math, we are more than happy to.

Tides of Battle: If, at the end of a round, you were not struck by any effect during the course of that round, you may add 6 to your initiative. This is cumulative, and can cause your initiative to slowly climb over a combat that your side is winning. This rule replaces the normal tides of battle rules. You may not use Tides of Battle to lower anyones initiative.

8. Maneuvers

The Raises(Maneuvers) found on pg. 171-172 are mutually exclusive. You may select only one. You may not, therefore, call both “Extra Attack” and “Increased Damage”

The Feint maneuver is capped at 5 raises, called or free. This is significantly higher than in the non-Revised 3rd Edition, which allowed only 1.

9. Iajutsu

We are adding the following Mastery Ability to Iajutsu:

Rank 3: If you are suffering from no penalties to your actions, from wounds or any other source, you may be assumed to automatically succeed on rolls to use the normal quick-draw ability of Iajutsu to pull a katana and/or wakazashi without using an action as explained in the first paragraph on the right hand column of pg. 105. If you are allowed to substitute another ability for Iajutsu due to a school technique, kata, or other source, you receive this mastery ability as long as you are substituting alevel 3 or higher ability/trait/skill.

This ability may not be used in a Iajutsu duel as part of the Strike declaration.

Honor and Steel Battle Resolution

The Battle resolution system as written in the core book is one of the best we've ever seen, but there are a some needs unique to a Live Action Environment with player characters on opposing sides of a battle. The rules below will be enforced in addition to and as a supplement to the rules provided in the core book.

Ending Battles

Battles will last until one side has won a number of consecutive rounds equal to the order of magnitude of total number of troops involved in the battle. A battle involving 2,000 troops will require three consecutive rounds won by one side; a battle involving 120,000 troops would require one side or the other to win five consecutive rounds.

Troop Losses

Each army involved in a battle will suffer a minimum of 10% of their troops killed and a further 20% wounded and unable to fight until healed. Wounded troops heal and return to active duty after a single month of rest. The loser of the battle may suffer greater losses; the difference between the final rolls of the opposing generals, if greater than 10, becomes the percentage of troops killed in the losing army. Double this percentage are wounded up to an obvious maximum of every surviving soldier. For example, if the winning army has rolled a 78 on the final battle turn and the losing army has rolled a 65, the losing army suffers 13% of their troops killed and a further 26% wounded.

Replenishing killed Troops

Every month, an army retrains new troops and replenishes 10% of their Province Garrison. A garrison of 6,000 troops would replenish 600 slain soldier per month until the army has returned to full strength. This rate of replenishment is unaffected by slaughtered Garrisons; it is a static measurement of the provinces capacity to recruit and train troops. Slain garrisons are replaced from the same replenishment rate.

Occupied and Contested Provinces

The Income, Information Networks, Available Artisans, and Troop replenishment provided by a Province will be adjusted by the Staff if the Province is contested by an invading army, occupied by enemy Troops, or razed and plundered. In extreme cases, all benefits of the card may be temporarily lost. Extensive damage, such as burned castles, may even require an investment of Koku to rebuild.

Last Update: