Path of Waves

Path of Waves cover

Path of Waves was the fourth source book for Fifth Edition of the Legend of the Five Rings roleplaying game under Fantasy Flight Games.

Synopsis

Path of Waves is a 256-page sourcebook that offers players a comprehensive guide to the rōnin, commoners, and gaijin who live on the fringes of Rokugani society. Inspired by the year-long period where some new samurai choose to travel the land as rōnin with the goal of renewing their allegiance to the security of their clan, this book gives the chance to experience the Emerald Empire through new eyes, whether they be those of a renegade peasant, a bitter rōnin, or a curious gaijin.

Credits

• Expansion Design and Development: Alexis Dykema with Max Brooke
• Additional Development: Robert Denton III, Lisa Farrell, Josiah “Duke” Harrist, James Mendez Hodes, Ian Houlihan, D.G. Laderoute, Monte Lin, and Amudha Venugopalan
• Editing: Christine Crabb
• Proofreading: Dixie Cochran and Riley Miller
• RPG Manager: Sam Gregor-Stewart
• Legend of the Five Rings Story Review: Tyler Parrott
• Expansion Graphic Design: Sebastian Koziner
• Graphic Design Coordinator: Joseph D. Olson with WiL Springer
• Graphic Design Manager: Christopher Hosch
• Front Cover Art: Haibin Wu
• Back Cover Art: Nele Diel
• Interior Art: Shelia Amajida, Piotr Arendzikowski, Francesca Baerald, Lukas Banas, Sergio Camarena Bernabeu, Mike Capprotti, Marius Bota, Joshua Cairos, Leanna Crossan, Carlos Palma Cruchaga, John Anthony DiGiovanni, Stanislav Dikolenko, Derek D. Edgell, Polar Engine, Tropa Entertainment, Shen Fei, Tawny Fritzinger, Felipe Gaona, Kevin Goeke, Quintin Gleim, Aurelien H., Jeff Himmelman, Hai Hoang, Lin Hsiang, Amelie Hutt, Wen Juinn, Jason Juta, Romana Kendelic, Daria Khlebnikova, Mu Young Kim, Ruwen Liu, Francisco Martin, Jorge Matar, Joyce Maureira, Francisco Miyara, Tomas Muir, Jake Murray, Chris Ostrowski, Borja Pindado, Eli Ring, Yudong Shen, Jazz Siy, Kathryn Steele, Filip Storch, Gong Studios, Albert Tavira, Alex Tooth, Max Tran, Andreia Ugrai, Jokubas Uogintas, Halil Ural, and Le Vuong
• Art Direction: Jeff Lee Johnson
• Managing Art Director: Tony Bradt
• Quality Assurance Coordinator: Andrew Janeba and Zach Tewalthomas
• Production Management: Justin Anger and Jason Glawe
• Visual Creative Director: Brian Schomburg
• Senior Project Manager: John Franz-Wichlacz
• Senior Manager of Product Development: Chris Gerber
• Executive Game Designer: Corey Konieczka
• Head of Studio: Andrew Navaro
• Playtesters: Benjamin Ainsworth, Jake Ames, Finbarr Goode Begley, Michael Bernabo, Cady Bielecki, Joe Bielecki, Alexander Botts, Trevor Boulter, Kara Centell-Dunk, Lucinda Charles, Steven Charpentier, Tim Cox, Charlotte Dickenson, Emeric Dwyer, Jonathan Ferenczy, Christopher Fishburn, Benjamin Fribley, Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt, Kyle Gennrich, James Gibson, Laura Heilman, Sean Holland, Tim Huckelbery, Jon King, Brian Lewis, Jamie Lewis, Daniel Mossman, Russ Needham, Jeff Neppl, Matt Newman, Tom Nys, Tom Ornsby, Luke Richards, David Robotham, Joshua Spotts, Erik Strijbos, Max Stringer, Nathan Stringer, Nate Sullivan, Kimichi Tran, Kris Weavill, and Joris Van der Vorst

Contents

Rokugan

Table of Contents (page 3)

• Story fiction with Junko and Eijiro

Introduction (page 5)

• Welcome to the Fringes Rokugan

Chapter 1: The Life of the Rōnin (Page 8)

• Story fiction with Hideki and a noblewoman
• Without a Lord
  • Born a samurai
  • Lowly Born
  • Born a Rōnin
  • Life on the Road
• Rōnin and the Celestial Order
  • Rōnin and the Tenets of Bushidō
• Rōnin and Work
  • Mercenaries
  • Guard
  • Ranger
  • Spies and Saboteur
  • Shadow Warrior
  • Tutor
  • Wandering Priest

Hige, leader of the Perfect Land Sect

• Rōnin and the Clans
• Rōnin and Peasants
  • Rōnin and Farmers
  • Rōnin and Merchants
  • Rōnin and Artisans
  • Rōnin and Hinin
  • Rōnin and Foreigners
• The Perfect Land Sect
  • Spreading the Word
  • The Perfect Land and Outsiders
  • The Three Sutras

Chapter 2: Creating a Character (Page 30)

Khulan and Sayaka

• Story fiction with Sayaka and Khulan
• A Revised Game of Twenty Questions
• Part I: Core Identity (Region and Upbringing)
• Part II: Role and School
  • The Wandering Blade
  • Student of the Talon
  • Treasure Hunter
  • School of Leaves
  • Voice of the Wilds
  • Artisan of the Roads
  • Mystic of the Mountain
  • Ujik Diviner School
  • Qamarist Shield Bearer Tradition
  • Qamarist Alchemist Tradition
  • Ivory Kingdoms Sage Tradition
  • Ivory Kingdoms Dancing Blades Tradition

A Yodha

• Part III: The Past and the Future
• Part IV: Strengths and Weaknesses
• Part V: Personality and Behavior
• Part VI: Ancestry and Bonds
• Part VII: Death
• New Advantages
  • Specific Distinctions
  • Specific Passions
• New Disadvantages
  • Specific Anxieties
  • Specific Adversities
• Creating a Gaijin Culture
• Building a School

Chapter 3: New Player Options (Page 85)

Rokuro

• Story fiction with Rokuro and a peasant
• Techniques
• New Kata
• New Shūji
• New Rituals
• Celestial Implements of the Ivory Kingdoms
  • Divine Secrets
  • Using Celestial Implements
• Profile of a Celestial Implement
  • Blessing Source
  • Form
  • Boons
• Introducing Celestial Implements into a Campaign
  • Sample Celestial Implements

Urumi

• Hand to Mouth
  • Trade in Rokugan
  • Making Money
  • Wandering Rōnin
• New Gear and Items
  • Ivory Kingdoms Weaponry
  • Improvised Weapons
  • Personal Effects
  • Forbidden Effects
• New Item Patterns

Chapter 4: Twin Blessings Village (Page 118)

Twin Blessings Village

• Story fiction
• How to Use This Village
  • Locating the Village in Different Territories
• Geography
  • Koden Mori
  • The Cursed Stone
  • Pearl-Shine River
  • The Land
  • Seasons
• Resources
  • Trade
  • Honest Work

Kokoro, peasant of Twin Blessings Village

• Locations and People
  • Villager Leader's House - Setsuo, Village Leader
  • Sake Brewery - Hiroto, Sake Brewer
  • Hot Springs - Kami of the Hot Spring
  • Kura - Reo, the Dōshin
  • Plum Tree Groove
  • Shrine to Inari and the Village Founder
  • Rundown House
  • Hen House
  • Unofficial Way Station - Otoha, Waystop Propietor
  • Hinin Hut - Haru, the Thief
  • Forest Hermitage - Michi, the Monk
• Local Legends
  • Kijimuna
  • Osamu, Malicious Peddler
  • Nekomata
• Perfect Land Sect

Chapter 5: Hirosaka (Page 143)

Hirosaka

Story fiction with Saiua and Koji

• How to Use This Town
  • An Imperial Holding
• Geography
  • Local Geography
  • Variant Geography
• Resources and Trade
  • The Regional Economy
  • The Local Economy
  • The Underground Economy

Dwindling Fortunes

• Locations and People
  • Important Locations
    • The Governor's Estate
    • The Municipal Court
    • The Magistrate's Station
    • The Temple Square
    • The Market
    • The House of the Winding Path and Other Inns
    • Dwindling Fortunes (Gambling House)
    • The Granaries
    • The Sake Works
    • The Barracks
    • The Hinin Encampment
  • Important People
    • The Townspeople
    • The Town Luminaries
    • Seppun Sora, Ambitipus Governor
    • Otomo Kazuko, Scheming Chancellor
    • Seppun Ishima, Conflicted Magistrate
    • Hinata, Enigmatic Abbot of the Temple
  • Firefighters in Hirosaka
  • Crime
  • Other Sects and Cults
    • Yuuto, Leader of the Commoners
    • Tamiko, Criminal Overlord
• Local Legends
  • Strange Tales
  • Encounters with the Supernatural
    • Watchful, the Penanggalan
    • The Warai Puppet Troupe and its Possessed Puppets

Chapter 6: Untold Stories (Page 173)

A gaijin playing shōgi

• Story Fiction
• Running Games for Outcasts
• Games with Rōnin
  • The Hard Life of Waves
  • The Way of the Rōnin
  • The Color of Money
• Designing a Rōnin's Personal Code
  • A Rōnin's View of Bushidō
  • The Rōnin Unmasking
  • Tactical Unmasking
  • Intrigues: New Social Objectives
• Additional Titles
• Bonds
  • What Makes a Good Bond?
  • Forcing and Advancing a Bond
  • Calling Upon a Bond
  • Types of Bonds
• The World Outside of Rokugan
  • Gijin and the Empire
  • Why Play a Gaijn Character?
  • Game Master and Master Guidance
  • Why is the Gaijin Character in Rokugan?

The Ivory Kingdoms (TCG)

• Ivory Kingdoms
  • Geography
  • Culture and Politics
  • Important Factions
  • Specific Regions
  • Bhavyatapura, the City of Splendor
  • The Ghostlands
• The Three-Act Structure
  • Elements of the Three-Act Structure
  • Act 1: Hook
  • Act 2: Rising Action and Tension
  • Act 3: Resolution
• Running Rōnin Campaigns
  • Campaign: The Redeptiom
  • Act 1: For Coin or Honor
  • Act 2: Spoils of War
  • Act 3: The master's Watchful Eye

Camels

• Getting Inspired
  • Films and Plays
  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Comics and Fiction
  • Folklore and Fairy Tales
  • Philosophy
• Themes and Tones for Rōnin Games
  • Friendship and Loyalty
  • Camaraderie Between Warriors
  • Justice
  • Haunted Past
  • Redemption
  • Revenge
  • Troublemaker
• Trinkets and Name Tables

Chapter 7: Non-player characters (Page 227)

A basan fighting a snake

• New NPC Templates
• New NPCs
  • City and Village Dwellers
  • Animals
  • Spirit and Strange Beings