Notable Personalities During the Reign Table of the Shining Prince ...... 46 Founding a Religion: Genji, Shinsei, & the Fortunes ...... 49 of Contents Alternate Branches of Development . . 50 Chapter Five: The Reign of the Clan Spells of the Early Empire . . . . 52 Steel Chrysanthemum ....105 Introduction ...... 4 Rokugan Under Tyranny ...... 106 Hantei Okucheo, the Early Years . 106 The Dark Times: The Madness of Hantei Okucheo ...... 107 Chapter Three: Clans and Factions in the Steel Chrysan- Chapter One: The Iron Empire ...... 55 themum’s Reign ...... 113 The Crab Clan ...... 113 The Togashi Dynasty ...... 7 An Iron Empire ...... 56 The Crane Clan ...... 114 The Timeline of Iron Rokugan . 57 Welcome to a Different Rokugan . . . . . 7 The Dragon Clan ...... 115 The State of the Clans ...... 67 A Recognizable History ...... 8 The Lion Clan ...... 115 The Crab Clan ...... 67 ...Or One Less Recognizable ...... 12 The Phoenix Clan ...... 116 The Crane Clan ...... 67 Clans and Factions The Scorpion Clan ...... 116 The Dragon Clan ...... 68 in the Togashi Dynasty ...... 15 The Imperial Families...... 117 The Lion Clan ...... 69 The Crab Clan ...... 16 The Minor Clans ...... 119 The Phoenix Clan...... 69 The Crane Clan ...... 16 Notable Personages of the Steel Chry- The Scorpion Clan ...... 70 The Lion Clan ...... 17 santhemum Era ...... 119 The Minor Clans ...... 71 The Mantis Clan ...... 18 The Golden Legion ...... 123 Major Figures in Iron Rokugan . . 72 The Phoenix Clan ...... 19 The Steel Magistrates ...... 123 Portrait of an Iron Empire ...... 75 The Scorpion Clan ...... 19 An Alternate Explanation of the Steel Social Impacts of The Unicorn Clan ...... 20 Chrysanthemum...... 124 Technological Progress ...... 75 Hantei’s Clan: The Owl Clan ..... 21 An Empire of Fear ...... 125 The Iron Dragon and The Spider Clan ...... 22 Resistance and Rebellion ...... 125 the Golden Road ...... 76 The Minor Clans ...... 22 Aftermath of Tyranny ...... 126 Woodblock Printing and The Imperial Families...... 23 New Mechanics ...... 126 the Spread of Literacy ...... 76 Imperial Histories 2 The Kolat ...... 23 The Restorationists ...... 77 Notable Personages of Samurai Firearms ...... 78 the Togashi Dynasty ...... 23 New Mechanics ...... 80 Storytelling in Mystic Rokugan ..... 25 Unique Firearms of the Great The People ...... 25 Clans ...... 81 The Tales ...... 26 Chapter Six: The Spirits ...... 26 The Eighth Century Crises 129 New Mechanics ...... 26 A Century of Peril ...... 130 Sample file Overview of the Clans and Factions 135 The Crab Clan ...... 135

TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE Chapter Four: The Crane Clan ...... 136 Heresy of the Five Rings . .83 The Dragon Clan ...... 136 The Lion Clan ...... 136 Chapter Two: Timeline of the Heresy ...... 84 The Phoenix Clan ...... 137 The Clans and Factions During the The Reign of the The Scorpion Clan ...... 138 Heresy Era ...... 89 The Minor Clans ...... 139 Shining Prince ...... 31 The Crab Clan ...... 89 The Imperial Families...... 140 The Crane Clan ...... 90 The World of the Shining Prince .... 32 The Shadowlands ...... 140 The Dragon Clan ...... 91 The Great Clans During the Reign of the Important Personages of the Eighth The Lion Clan ...... 91 Shining Prince ...... 38 Century ...... 140 The Phoenix Clan ...... 92 The Crab Clan ...... 38 The Political Climate Before and After The Scorpion Clan ...... 93 The Crane Clan ...... 39 Iuchiban ...... 143 The Minor Clans ...... 94 The Dragon Clan ...... 40 Alternate Paths: The Maw Success- The Imperial Families...... 95 The Lion Clan ...... 41 fully Conquers Crab Lands ...... 143 The Brotherhood ...... 95 The Phoenix Clan ...... 42 Alternate Paths: The Maw is Never Important Personages of the Heresy Era The Scorpion Clan ...... 43 Freed ...... 144 96 The Ki-Rin Clan ...... 45 Alternate Paths: The Phoenix - Blood- Faith and Politics ...... 97 The Minor Clans ...... 45 speaker Alliance ...... 145 The All-Monk Campaign ...... 99 The Imperial Families...... 45 Nemuranai of the Eighth Century ...145 A Darker Heresy: Gorinno the Villain Threats ...... 46 Nightmares of Jigoku ...... 147 101 New Game Mechanics ...... 102 The Phoenix Clan ...... 211 The Black Scrolls and the Tao of Fu Chapter Seven: The Scorpion Clan ...... 211 Leng ...... 265 The Return of the Unicorn . . 151 The Unicorn Clan ...... 212 The Destroyers as a Military Threat 266 The Shadowlands ...... 212 The Ebon Daughter ...... 267 The History Behind the Unicorn Clan’s Major Figures of The Fate of Fu Leng ...... 267 Return ...... 152 the Four Winds Era ...... 213 The Politics of Total Warfare ...... 268 The Clans and Factions at the Dawn of The Onisu: Nightmares New Mechanics ...... 270 the Ninth Century ...... 158 of the Eight Clans ...... 216 The Crab Clan ...... 158 The Cursed Blade Chukandomo .... 217 The Crane Clan ...... 159 The Shadowed Tower ...... 218 The Dragon Clan ...... 160 New Mechanics ...... 220 The Lion Clan ...... 160 New Creatures: The Onisu ...... 220 The Phoenix Clan ...... 161 Chapter Twelve: The Scorpion Clan ...... 162 The Age of Exploration . . 273 The Unicorn Clan ...... 163 The Minor Clans ...... 164 A Time of Change ...... 273 The Imperial Families...... 164 The Clans and Factions in the Age of The Kolat ...... 165 Chapter Ten: Exploration ...... 276 The Crab Clan ...... 276 The Shadowlands ...... 165 The Shadowed Throne ... 227 Presenting the Return of the Unicorn 166 The Crane Clan ...... 276 The Unicorn Perspective ...... 166 History of a Different Shade ...... 228 The Dragon Clan ...... 277 The Defenders of the Empire . . . . 167 Year 1160: The Shadow of the Em- The Lion Clan ...... 278 New Mechanics ...... 168 press ...... 228 The Phoenix Clan ...... 278 Clans and Factions Under the Shadowed The Scorpion Clan ...... 279 Throne ...... 233 The Spider Clan ...... 279 The Crab Clan ...... 233 The Unicorn Clan ...... 280 The Crane Clan ...... 233 The Imperial Families...... 280 The Dragon Clan ...... 234 Notable Personages of the Age of Explo- Imperial Histories 2 Chapter Eight: The Lion Clan ...... 235 ration...... 281 The Shattered Empire . . . .171 The Mantis Clan ...... 235 The Dark Naga and the War of Serpents The Phoenix Clan ...... 236 283 An Alternate Rokugan ...... 172 The Scorpion Clan ...... 237 The Fudoism Heresy ...... 286 A Changed History ...... 172 The Unicorn Clan ...... 237 New Mechanics ...... 286 Timeline of the Shattered Empire 173 The Minor Clans ...... 238 The Clans and Factions The Imperial Families...... 238 in the Shattered Empire ...... 182 The Shadowlands ...... 239

The Crab Clan ...... 182 Notable Figures of the Shadowed Throne TABLE OF CONTENTS The Crane Clan ...... 184 239 The Dragon Clan ...... 185 What Happened to the Dark Covenant of Chapter Thirteen: Empire The Lion Clan ...... 186 Fire ...... 241 of the Emerald Stars .....289 The Mantis Clan ...... 187 The Tests of Enlightenment ...... 242 Rokugan In Space! ...... 290 The Phoenix Clan ...... 187 The Shadow Court .Sample ...... 242 file Timeline of the Emerald Stars ....291 The Scorpion Clan ...... 188 The Realm of Shadows ...... 244 Clans and Factions of The Unicorn Clan ...... 189 New Mechanics ...... 244 The Imperial Families...... 190 the Emerald Stars ...... 295 The Shadowlands ...... 191 The Crab Clan ...... 295 Prominent Figures The Crane Clan ...... 295 in the Shattered Empire ...... 191 The Dragon Clan ...... 296 An Unresolved Epic ...... 194 The Lion Clan ...... 296 Sengoku Jidai Rokugan ...... 194 Chapter Eleven: The Mantis Clan ...... 297 The Phoenix Clan ...... 297 A Potential Savior: Kaneka ...... 195 The Destroyer War ...... 247 GM’s Toolbox: Using Kaneka in a The Scorpion Clan ...... 297 Shattered Empire ...... 196 Timeline of the Destroyer War ..... 248 The Spider Clan ...... 298 New Mechanics ...... 196 The Clans and Factions in the Destroyer The Unicorn Clan ...... 298 Wa r ...... 255 The Minor Clans ...... 299 The Crab Clan ...... 255 Notable Personalities of The Crane Clan ...... 256 the Emerald Stars ...... 299 The Dragon Clan ...... 256 The State of the Galaxy ...... 301 The Lion Clan ...... 257 Personal Technology in the Era of the Chapter Nine: The Mantis Clan ...... 257 Emerald Stars ...... 304 The Four Winds Era . . . . . 199 The Phoenix Clan ...... 258 The Age of Space Exploration ..... 305 The Scorpion Clan ...... 258 Rokugan in Space: Game Mechanics 306 The Time of the Four Winds ...... 200 The Spider Clan ...... 259 Clans and Factions in The Unicorn Clan ...... 260 the Four Winds Era ...... 208 The Imperial Families...... 260 The Crab Clan ...... 208 The Minor Clans ...... 260 The Crane Clan ...... 209 The Ronin...... 261 Index ...... 308 The Dragon Clan ...... 209 Notable Figures of the Destroyer War . . The Lion Clan ...... 210 262 The Mantis Clan ...... 210 The halls of the Ikoma libraries echo as the young Ikoma scribe hauls yet another armful of scrolls out to the low table in the central chamber. His hair and kimono are gray-white with the accumulated dust of the day’s work, and sweat turns the smudges on his forehead into dark blotches. He wipes his forehead with his sleeve and belatedly realizes he has made things even worse, staring with dismay at the dark stains on the golden-tan silk. His voice quavers as he asks, “Master, have we found everything now?” “We can never find everything, boy.” His master does not look up from the scrolls he is perusing by candlelight. “Even here in the Ikoma libraries, some records are incomplete.” The boy shivers uncontrollably for a moment. The idea that the Ikoma histories, the most ancient and comprehensive records of the Empire, could be ‘incomplete’ seems almost… blasphemous. “Don’t distract yourself with idle thoughts,” the old man snaps. “Bring those scrolls to me. We are very close to our goal, very close.” He sets aside the scroll he has been reading and grabs for the new pile the boy has just delivered. “Ah, yes. Here we are. The reign of Hantei XX.” The boy blinks. “Was not that an uneventful time? Why would that be useful to our clashes with the Phoenix, master?” “Uneventful?” The old Ikoma laughs, his voice echoing through the halls of the library. “Oh no, boy, not at all. The Otomo may say it was now, but we…” He waves his hand at the vast library around them. “We know the truth, boy. That is our duty, to know the truth, no matter what comforting lies others may tell.”

Welcome to Imperial Histories 2, the latest sourcebook The eras detailed in this sourcebook include the following: release for the Legend of the Five Rings Role-Playing Imperial Histories 2 Game, 4th Edition! Like its predecessor, this book is The Togashi DynasTy designed to help you shape and develop your L5R RPG An alternate version of Rokugan itself, written by one of 4 experience and to realize the full potential of the latest L5R’s many fans and based on a simple question: what if edition of the game. one of the other Kami had defeated Hantei and become the first Emperor of Rokugan? In this case, the victor is Togashi, and the Empire he creates is a place of mystical wonders, rife with nonhumans and creatures from other spirit realms. The chapter also presents mechanics for a IntroductIon Sample file What Is This Book? potential Clan of Hantei: the Owl Clan, charged with han- dling Rokugan’s dealings with its nonhuman neighbors.

The Reign of The shining PRince Imperial Histories 2 provides GMs and players with the Rokugan’s second Emperor reigned for nearly two hundred information necessary to create campaigns and play years, and it was during that time that most of the Em- characters in a variety of different eras from Rokugan’s pire’s social customs and beliefs solidified and the scattered history and from alternate timelines and might-have- clans came together into a united and prosperous coun- been versions of Rokugan. Some of the eras presented try. A campaign set in this era can evoke the spirit of the here are part of the established “canon” of L5R history, Tale of Genji, a world where the refinements of court in the while others are newly-revealed parts of that history or Imperial Capital contrast with the rough-and-ready, almost alternative settings. Each chapters gives GMs a host of frontier-like world of the outlying clan territories. background and detail for planning and running a new campaign in one such era, and also includes mechanical iRon Rokugan options to enhance the experience of running a game in A “what-if” alternate setting that examines the question of those time periods. And of course each chapter is also a how Rokugan might have been changed by more extensive guideline to how to create your own era and to offer your contact with gaijin after the Battle of White Stag. Welcome own interpretation of L5R. We have deliberately designed to an Empire where samurai carry ancestral matchlock Imperial Histories 2 to offer more variety and encourage pistols, and the construction of a railroad threatens to tear more creative freedom than the previous supplement Rokugan’s crumbling social system asunder. Imperial Histories, so as to inspire the maximum options and fun for your own gaming group. The heResy of The five Rings Created by submission from our fans, this era presents a forgotten incident in the Empire’s history: a religious schism that threatened to tear the Empire asunder. In addi- tion to outlining the (previously unknown) historical events Imperial Histories 2 of the Heresy, this chapter also presents options for GMs The fouR WinDs who want to escalate things into a full-fledged civil war An iconic era from the L5R card game, this chapter out- between samurai and monks. lines the struggle for power between the four children of Emperor Toturi I, and the rising threat of the man known The sTeel chRysanThemum simply as Daigotsu. 5 Rokugan’s worst and most evil Emperor, Hantei XVI, has IntroductIon been mentioned many times in L5R. Now at last we detail The shaDoWeD ThRone the full horrors of his twisted reign. GMs seeking a cam- Our third fan-written submission, this chapter offers a paign built around themes of tyranny, paranoia, and fear ‘what if’ setting based on the aftermath of the Four Winds should look no further! Sampleera. Instead of Naseru file becoming Toturi III, his older sister Tsudao becomes Toturi II – but an idealistic young wom- The eighTh cenTuRy cRises an, it turns out, may not be the best choice for Emperor in Rokugan’s eighth century was almost as catastrophic as an unsettled and dangerous age. the more iconic twelfth century. Between the attack of the Oni Lord known as the Maw and the second rise of The DesTRoyeR WaR Iuchiban the Bloodspeaker, this was a time of epic conflict The epic struggle for survival which afflicted Rokugan af- in which heroes and villains can change the history of the ter the ascension of the Iweko Dynasty, the Destroyer War Empire for the better… or the worse. – also known as the Kali-Ma Invasion – presents a truly epic-scale story in which the Empire must fight for its very The ReTuRn of The unicoRn existence against the invading hordes of a gaijin death- The early ninth century saw one of the most convulsive goddess. The narrow and troubled victory over Kali-Ma events in Rokugan’s history: the return of the former Ki- led to Rokugan the next era... Rin Clan, now known as the Unicorn, after an 800 year absence. This chapter presents a detailed account of this The age of exPloRaTion era, allowing the GM to present it from either the Unicorn The current setting of the L5R card game, and the back- viewpoint or that of the Empire. ground for our recent boxed set The Second City. This chapter details both the Empire’s exploration of the Colo- The shaTTeReD emPiRe nies and the problems which Rokugan faces at home, most A ‘what if’ era created by one of our own Design Team, the notable the threat posed by the Dark Naga Shattered Empire looks at a Rokugan where the Second Day of Thunder turned out much like the First: Fu Leng The emeRalD sTaRs defeated, but the Thunders dead, leaving no one to claim Our most radical experiment in this book, this chapter the Throne. With the Hantei Dynasty gone for good and is designed to encourage GMs in expanding their L5R no hero to unite the clans, Rokugan enters an era very campaigns into radically different settings. What will much like historical Japan’s sengoku jidai – a war of all Rokugan look like in the far future? What happens when against all. And all the while the Lying Darkness develops samurai take to the stars? Read this chapter and find out! its plans… The TOgashi DynasTy

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Chapter One Sample file Chapter One Chapter one

The mountain’s stone wall cannot stop the restless wind Welcome to a Different 7 from moving onward. Rokugan The Togashi DynasTy

Blinded by anger, a beast will attack its own SampleBefore the Kami file agreed to hold a tournament to reflection, and drown. choose a ruler from among themselves, Togashi recited a series of seven poems. At first their meaning was incomprehensible to his siblings, and they simply Protective colors regarded it as more of their brother’s strange behavior. do not save the insect from Togashi declined to participate in the tournament itself; the other Kami proceeded with their duels, and all went the swallow’s keen eye. as it did in a more familiar world. But when Akodo finally bowed to Hantei, Shiba The perfect blossom remembered the poems and suddenly understood their among ten thousand others: meaning: Togashi’s foresight had shown him the exact it alone endures. flaws that would lead each of the Kami to fail. Before the others could follow Akodo’s example, Shiba declared their brother had defeated them all without striking a Water cannot stop single blow. And once he spoke, the others – even Hantei the beaver who shapes it with – realized he spoke the truth. mere sticks, mud, and stone. And so all the Kami bowed to Togashi instead. In the canonical history of Rokugan, Togashi’s The hawk stoops in flight determination to control events led him to go on ruling the Dragon for more than a thousand years, changing but halts before its talons his identity every few decades. But as the winner of the sink into its prey. tournament, he had no need to hide: he was simply the immortal Dragon Emperor, a reclusive and mysterious What strength is there in figure, the true power behind a throne later occupied by his mortal descendants. the mightiest stone, if it crumbles at a touch A Recognizable History…

Movement in the trees ahead made Komori Jikei pause, “The Togashi Dynasty” is not a conventional alternate stilling her breath to give no sign of her presence. There history in the manner of some of the other chapters in should be no one here... but the Island of Shifting Winds this book, such as Chapter Ten (the Shattered Empire) or hid many secrets. Chapter Twelve (the Shadowed Throne). Those chapters The figures she glimpsed through the eternal twilight depict timelines in which the changes to the canonical seemed human enough. Jikei frowned, studying them history ripple outward from a single specific point – the more closely. Human, yes... but not ordinary. Their Second Day of Thunder, or the climax of the Four Winds armor was archaic, and they had a nimbus around them saga. Instead, this chapter shows Rokugan completely as if they were not truly creatures of Ningen-do. re-imagined into a different mode. It is not a specific Jikei’s skin jumped as if lightning had struck nearby. timeline but rather a set of suggestions for how the Spirits, she thought, returned through the gate. She had Empire might look if it were ruled by a Kami who focused heard of such, but had never seen any before now. on spiritual and supernatural concerns. The clans and the world they live in are generally recognizable but She needed to warn the others. This was clearly a war- not at all the same. Further, the degree of change from party, bent on some dangerous end. If she moved away, canonical Rokugan can be magnified or reduced to suit though, they might hear her; it was pure luck they had not your own campaign’s needs. already. They almost certainly would if she called on the kami to bear her message. Intuition and enlightenment, ancient secrets and future visions are the core of Togashi’s Rokugan. It is a But she could finish her incantation before the strangers place where the mind and spirit rule over the body, where reached her. Then, at least, she could be sure her warning there is no human limit to what exceptional individuals made it through. can achieve. Gathering her focus, Jikei began to chant under her breath. The TOgashi DynasTy

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Chapter One Sample file GMs who wish to play in a more mystical Rokugan while still keeping things somewhat familiar (and without The Dragon Veil having to forget all the canonical Rokugani history they’ve learned) may prefer to depict the Togashi Dynasty Isawa Kusaeri, the wife of Togashi Hoshi, gives her as retaining all the major events of the Empire’s normal life to create a mystical barrier shielding Rokugan from timeline, albeit somewhat altered. Of course, it would the disruptive effects of gaijin influence. A radiant mist traces the borders of Rokugan, through the Great Wall be impossible to print a complete revised history here of the North, past the Shinomen Mori, along the edge – it would take up an entire book on its own! Instead, of Crab lands, and into the waters beyond the Islands we present several different sections here that serve as of Spice and Silk. Any mortal who attempts to pass illustrative examples of how the canon timeline might through becomes lost in the mist, eventually stumbling keep its general shape while still accounting for the effects back out where they began. of Emperor Togashi and his heirs. The focus here is on Unfortunately, even Kusaeri’s powerful magic events affecting the whole of Rokugan, events where the cannot stand forever against the corrupting influence Hantei Emperors or samurai of the Dragon Clan played a of the Taint. The Veil is weaker along the Crab border, pivotal role in the canon, and showing how such events allowing the forces of the Shadowlands to continue can be retained even in the absence of those groups. to stage assaults and eventually necessitating the construction of the Kaiu Wall. This also means samurai The gozoku consPiRacy can pass through in the other direction as well – albeit never without good reason. In the late fourth century, Togashi issues an unexpected This weakening has one beneficial effect: it makes command for the dissolution of an order of Brotherhood possible the return of the Unicorn. Shinjo’s followers monks affiliated with the Crane Clan, the Shrine of the become lost in the mist after their passage through the Perfect Lotus. The fallout from this command leads to Shadowlands, but the travel-focused magic of the Iuchi strife among the clans, causing many to question the ultimately shows them the way through the weakened

Emperor’s wisdom. barrier. Those Unicorn with largely gaijin ancestry – Chapter one A few, however, do more than question. Bayushi Atsuki the Moto in particular – have more difficulty. Finally a investigates and learns a secret at the heart of Rokugan: nightingale appears, the bird associated with the Togashi Togashi has been in seclusion, unseen by any of his Dynasty, and leads them through to the other side. The followers, for more than a hundred years. The government nightingale’s guidance is taken (grudgingly) by other is being run by those Mirumoto who serve as the Voice Rokugani as proof of their right to enter the Empire. 9 of the Emperor. The order to dissolve the Perfect Lotus is The weakened Dragon Veil stands until the Emerald The Togashi DynasTy one of dozens Togashi wrote out before retreating into Throne is damaged by the Bloodsword Ambition during meditation, each with instructions as to when it should be the Scorpion Clan Coup. Because Kusaeri tied her spell opened and executed. This one, unfortunately, was carried to the throne of her husband Togashi Hoshi, Bayushi out at the wrong time. Shoju’s actions shatter not only his sword but also Samplethe Veil, leaving file Rokugan open once more to outside Atsuki sees a chance for power in the void left by influence. If the GM chooses not to depict the Clan Coup Togashi’s inattention. Joined by Shiba Gaijushiko and in this timeline, however, the Veil endures despite being Doji Raigu, he forms the Gozoku conspiracy, and they weakened along the Shadowlands border – unless the acquire political power in much the same fashion as in GM decides otherwise. Hantei’s history – though in this timeline they manipulate and control the successive Voices of the Emperor, since Togashi himself lies beyond their reach. Over the course of sixty years they fundamentally reshape the nature of government in Rokugan, laying a framework for social and secular power, using a series of Mirumoto Voices as their puppet figureheads. focus his attention where he wishes – on the distant threat of Fu Leng and other such long-term matters – while They meet their downfall in the year 435, when they leaving the daily affairs of Rokugan to someone more appoint Mirumoto Gaira as the new Voice of the Emperor. engaged with human concerns. A stranger appears at Gaira’s investiture and claims to be the Emperor’s son: Togashi Hoshi. He challenges Gaira to a Although the conspiracy itself is shattered, Hoshi duel and kills him with a single blow, then claims Imperial permits much of the bureaucratic machinery it created to authority for himself. continue. Indeed, those who formerly questioned Togashi’s wisdom now speculate that the Emperor’s foresight led Togashi emerges from seclusion to acknowledge him not only to permit the error of his order being opened Hoshi as his son. He goes on to institute a tradition of too soon, but indeed to orchestrate it so as to spur the “cloistered rule”: the Kami officially steps down from the development of a government that could keep Rokugan throne, leaving his descendants to govern Rokugan, but from fragmenting into independent fiefdoms. he continues to exert considerable influence from behind the scenes as the Retired Emperor. This shift allows him to The BaTTle of WhiTe sTag Uikku suggest to him that a nearly-forgotten threat is returning to Rokugan, and only when the Emperor himself anD The ReTuRn of The unicoRn has been sacrificed will the Empire be armed against it. Killing the son of a Kami takes more than a simple By now Togashi has faded so far from the public eye cannonball. that most people believe the “Retired Emperor” is nothing The gaijin weapons employed at White Stag do, more than a polite fiction and the Kami actually left for however, inflict terrible damage on Togashi Hoshi, leaving Tengoku centuries ago. Shoju therefore believes he must him with injuries even the greatest shugenja in the Empire kill only the current ruler, Togashi Massuri, precipitating cannot heal. He becomes known as the Wounded Emperor, the Scorpion Clan Coup. and although he is un-aging, the lingering consequences In truth, the prophecy refers to the twelfth Black Scroll, of Garen Hawthorne’s attack contribute to his decision to hidden inside Togashi’s own body. At the end of the step down from the throne sixty years later. He ascends Clan War, he emerges from seclusion and allows Bayushi to the Heavens and is succeeded by his only son, Togashi Kachiko, who has taken up the Obsidian Hand, to tear Satsu. open his body and remove the scroll. The sacrifice of the The shock of this encounter with gaijin leads the Empire immortal Dragon Emperor makes possible the final defeat to isolate itself from all foreign influence. Hoshi’s wife, of Fu Leng, and with the loss of the imperial line, Akodo Isawa Kusaeri, gives her life to create what becomes Toturi steps forward to become the first Emperor of a new known as the Dragon Veil: a spell that conceals and dynasty. protects Rokugan from outsiders. Nearly three hundred years later, the Dragon Veil creates The sun anD The moon great difficulties for the returning Ki-Rin (now Unicorn) The timeline begins to diverge more strongly after Clan – particularly the Moto family, because of their the fall of the Togashi Dynasty, since many of the key largely gaijin ancestry. However, the ultimate success of individual conflicts and stories of the Seven Thunders the Unicorn in traversing the Dragon Veil forces the other have turned out radically differently. Great Clans to accept them as Shinjo’s missing followers despite their foreign ways. The Obsidian Hand soon begins to corrupt Bayushi Kachiko, the Scorpion Thunder and Clan Champion. Her The TOgashi DynasTy contact with Togashi at the time of his death, moreover, The scoRPion clan couP anD leaves a dangerous fragment of his knowledge in her 10 The seconD Day of ThunDeR mind. She journeys into the Great Wall of the North and frees Shosuro from the crystal prison in which Togashi It is at least possible that a descendant of Togashi contained her ten centuries earlier. might become the vessel of Fu Leng, as Hantei XXXIX Following this, Kachiko begins to gather various did in canonical history, thus creating the prophecy Chapter One artifacts of Lord Moon, which she uses to challenge and that led Bayushi Shoju to precipitate the Scorpion Clan destroy Onnotangu. Before she can ascend to take his Coup. Given the different role Sample Togashi occupies asfile the place, however, the influence of his power, combined with Retired Emperor, however, it may be useful to create a the taint of the Lying Darkness within her, sends Kachiko slightly different motivation for Shoju’s attack against the completely mad. She brings calamity upon her clan until Imperial line. Perhaps the Prophecies of an unnamed Brotherhood monk infiltrates her castle and attacks her. He dies, but his final strike bestows clarity upon her conflicted mind. Kachiko cuts the Obsidian Hand from her body, arms the Scorpion with crystal weapons against the Lying Darkness, renounces her position as Clan Champion, and leaves to hunt Shosuro. Meanwhile, the death of Onnotangu has led to Amaterasu’s suicide, plunging Rokugan into darkness. Unfortunately for the Empire, not only did Kachiko fail to ascend as the new Lady Moon but in this timeline Hida Yakamo was never resurrected by the Naga. The sky is left empty of all but stars. In the moment of Lady Sun’s suicide, however, a group of ise zumi – all bearing the Centipede tattoo – appear at Amaterasu Seido in the lands of the Centipede Clan. They carry shugenja of the Moshi family to all corners of the Empire, and instruct them to do what they can for the people of Rokugan. The Moshi beseech the kami for aid and are able to create pale shadows of the true Sun – enough to permit plants to grow. These are not replacements, of course, and so Rokugan exists in a state of uneasy twilight, havens of half-light separated from one another by regions of terror-filled darkness. This lasts throughout the War of the Spirits (which becomes a protracted affair, as Oblivion’s Gate has not been closed, and ghosts find their way through continually), the Rain of Blood, and subsequent events. Many blame this catastrophic state of affairs on the loss of the Togashi Dynasty. Resolution does not come for many years. The Nothing’s infiltration of the Toturi Dynasty proceeds more slowly, and in the meantime Kachiko wanders the Empire, suffering intermittent periods of lucidity and madness, until she at last she finds Shosuro at the Sleeping Lake. Kachiko’s intent is to kill both Shosuro and herself, by luring the first Scorpion Thunder into possessing her body and then committing jigai with a shard of crystal. The Geography of But although her actions succeed, their results are not Chapter one what she expects: instead of killing them, the crystal Togashi’s Empire allows them both to resist the control of the Nothing. By and large, the clans in the Togashi Empire control Their souls merge into one, and she rallies the armies the same territory as they do in canonical history, but of Rokugan to battle at Oblivion’s Gate. There she uses there are three major exceptions: Onnotangu’s power to impose the name “Akodo” on the Otosan Uchi – The place where the Kami descended 11

Lying Darkness, destroying all but a remnant of its power. into the mortal realm becomes the greatest religious The Togashi DynasTy Then, with Yoshun Chiryo as her second, she commits complex in all of Rokugan. In addition to major temples seppuku so that the Nothing will never again be able to honoring each of the founding Kami and the Seven use her as its agent. Great Fortunes, there are countless smaller shrines to lesser Fortunes, ancestors, minor kami, and more. Some Her death frees the stolen power of Lord Moon, making Sampleare official institutions, file with monks and priests to tend a successor possible. The Jade and Obsidian Dragons them; others are ad hoc things, set up by a visitor in some ascend to become the Jade Sun and Obsidian Moon, and unused corner, and afterward forgotten. the twilight ends at last. Imperial Lands – Togashi’s preference for solitude causes him to take up residence in the lands that belong The Race foR The ThRone to the Dragon Clan in canonical history. Apart from one accessible palace at the foot of the mountains, this Just as in the canon, the Toturi Dynasty is doomed territory is largely trackless and inhospitable to anyone not to last long, and indeed meets its end not long after not guided by a member of the Imperial families. the first rise of the Jade Sun. Rokugani widely agree the Owl Clan lands – The great forest of the Shinomen dynasty was cursed, and will not accept any ruler who Mori and its surrounding territory are the home of the cannot demonstrate the favor of Heaven. Owl Clan, the clan of Hantei. Which is not to say they Seppun Narako, a young prophetess, foretells the have total control of their lands, or even know what appearance of two strangers at the High House of Light lurks in the depths of their domain; rather, they are the custodians of the forest, protecting it against threats where Togashi spent centuries in seclusion. Many leaders from both without and within. Their strongholds are for of the Empire journey there, where they encounter the the most part located at the forest’s edge. This uneasy Voices of the Jade Sun and Obsidian Moon. The Voices situation makes the Owl easily the poorest Great Clan decree a Celestial Tournament, to seek out the samurai in Rokugan. Their resources are few, and they refuse to who best demonstrates the spiritual wisdom and fully exploit the potential wealth of the Shinomen – for enlightenment necessary to rule well. they know all too well what powers might take offense The participants include not only Clan Champions if they did. and daimyo also but lesser-ranking shugenja and even a handful of monks. In the end, however, the Voices bestow their favor upon an unexpected victor: a low-ranking courtier of the Owl Clan, a woman named Hantei Kiku.