I haz a book
Specifically, my order for the Legend of the Burning Sands by AEG was filled 2 days ago.
So, the first thing I noticed about it was the basic format; it's just like L5R in most ways. The whole thing is broken down with histories, excerpts from a journal, a bunch of little stuff to make the book feel more homey, contribute a little something that's relatively insubstantial.
The important stuff is tucked away after an absolutely bare-bones character creation and rules section. Seriously, the rules in here are lightweight to a detrimental point - anyone looking to run a deeper campaign is going to want to reference the 3rd ed L5R stuff, which is stated outright in the book. The rules are there as an overview and reminder, and they do that just fine. But once you get past them...
You get to the good stuff. This book has a lot of really valuable material in it. There's a new magic system that can be slashed into L5R without any kind of trouble, and just as important, there's information for the various organizations, families and the like. That's all to be expected. It comes complete with a new race of playable people called the Ashalan, a rack of new equipment and weapons, and brief examples of how rules/stuff from L5R crosses over to the sandier neighborhood up north.
All of that I expected.
What I didn't expect was the sheer breadth of the book. It's not a thin volume, and with so little space given to stuff and rules, I wondered what would fill it up. The answer is people. Mounds and mounds of new people, all with a 'gimmick'.
There are the Yodotai, who mimic the Romans. There are the Jackals, a nefarious people who are really only good at raising the dead into ghuls, but that's all they need. There's the Senpet (Egyptians), the Assassins, the Ra'Shari gypsies and the Ebonite order. The thing is, every one of these groups has a new school or three devoted to them, pages of description and cultural explanation, as well as a martial art style (resurrected from 2nd edition), two additional methods of magic for use by particular sects and a large portion of the book dedicated to the rise of Medinaat Al'Salaam, the jewel in the sands.
The book is nuts. It'll take me another couple of days to unpack, but expect a pickup or two once people are back.
Daniel
So, the first thing I noticed about it was the basic format; it's just like L5R in most ways. The whole thing is broken down with histories, excerpts from a journal, a bunch of little stuff to make the book feel more homey, contribute a little something that's relatively insubstantial.
The important stuff is tucked away after an absolutely bare-bones character creation and rules section. Seriously, the rules in here are lightweight to a detrimental point - anyone looking to run a deeper campaign is going to want to reference the 3rd ed L5R stuff, which is stated outright in the book. The rules are there as an overview and reminder, and they do that just fine. But once you get past them...
You get to the good stuff. This book has a lot of really valuable material in it. There's a new magic system that can be slashed into L5R without any kind of trouble, and just as important, there's information for the various organizations, families and the like. That's all to be expected. It comes complete with a new race of playable people called the Ashalan, a rack of new equipment and weapons, and brief examples of how rules/stuff from L5R crosses over to the sandier neighborhood up north.
All of that I expected.
What I didn't expect was the sheer breadth of the book. It's not a thin volume, and with so little space given to stuff and rules, I wondered what would fill it up. The answer is people. Mounds and mounds of new people, all with a 'gimmick'.
There are the Yodotai, who mimic the Romans. There are the Jackals, a nefarious people who are really only good at raising the dead into ghuls, but that's all they need. There's the Senpet (Egyptians), the Assassins, the Ra'Shari gypsies and the Ebonite order. The thing is, every one of these groups has a new school or three devoted to them, pages of description and cultural explanation, as well as a martial art style (resurrected from 2nd edition), two additional methods of magic for use by particular sects and a large portion of the book dedicated to the rise of Medinaat Al'Salaam, the jewel in the sands.
The book is nuts. It'll take me another couple of days to unpack, but expect a pickup or two once people are back.
Daniel