The list as a whole looks very different, maybe to the point where some might be disappointed. The entire special section is new, and there are large changes to both core and rare as well.
The book as a whole has been given a lot more emphasis on its source material, Legend of the Five Rings, and as such, each Greater Clan now have their own unique unit, and you can buy Clan Mon to your characters which gives them a special ability and influences how you build your army to a small degree.
A summary of what has been added, removed and replaced:
Death before Dishonour - new army special rule
Hatamoto -> hero character, BSB
Ashigaru -> 3 different unit choices
The Damned -> replaces Sumo Warriors
Doji's Fan - elite horse archers
Mirumoto Mountaineers - samurai scouts
Lion's Pride -> replaces Hatamoto
Yoritomo Marines - ambushing samurai
Legion of Flame - samurai with ward save, improves in large numbers
Scorpion Claws -> replaces Kabuki Dolls
Battle Maidens -> replaces Red Devils
Ninja -> moved to rare, have gotten a stat boost, can now Infiltrate
Shinobi -> replaces Shadow Eye
Shrine of the Kami -> completely new Blessing effects
Flaming Arrow - Cannon/Bolt Thrower
Mangonel - stone thrower
Oni -> moved to rare
Kitsune -> can be taken in units, no longer casts bound spells
Hida Kisada - new SC
Doji Hoturi - new SC
Togashi Mitsu - new SC
Akodo Setai -> new SC, replaces the Red Ronin
Yoritomo Kumiko - new SC
Isawa Ochiai -> new SC, replaces Agasha Chieh
Shosuro Nodage - new SC
Otaku Komoko -> new SC, replaces Utaku Yu-Pan
Well, that should be it, I think. Some sacrifices had to be made to ensure that all units still fill their own role to avoid overlap (had 11 special units for a while there). Hopefully you'll like it, though I'm sure it's not to everyone's tastes.
I probably won't be out with any new rules before November (unless Regiments of Renown are finished by then), but sometime next month you should see the release of either Pirates of Sartosa or Cathay.
Edit: uploaded a new version which fixes a small bug (as always), rewrites part of the Warrior Monk background, and gives Samurai Cavalry their own page.
Dear Anonymous (whose comments doesn't show up here for some reason?):
ReplyDeleteChaos Dwarfs are currently #4 on the to-do list, as can be seen on the left side of the blog. Seeing as I am working on Pirates of Sartosa and Regiments of Renown at the same time as Cathay, this means I'll likely keep working on Chaos Dwarfs after Cathay are done. I can probably have the book out sometime in November or December.
@ Anonymous - Yeah, I know Chaos Dwarfs have taken quite a long time, but I'm just working on what I feel most inspired to work on, yields a lot better results. The Chaos Dwarf book is about halfway done at the moment, so it shouldn't take that long to finish it once I go back to working on it.
ReplyDeletehiho,
ReplyDeletethe movement of the warhorses of the doji' fan is really 9?
and the warhorse from the characters can't have barding?
and eventually you can list the utaku battle horse profile in the bestiary section below the warhorse profile please. only for accuracy. thanks^^
greez günni
Yes, they are unicorn warhorses (as in the fluff), have added that in.
DeleteCharacters cannot have barding no, that was concious decision.
The Utaku warhorse can only be taken by the battle maidens though, the warhorse bestiary entry is for for characters only. Likewise, Empire Demigryphs are only listed under the Demigryph entry.
The artworks were simply amazing... can I find the artists on Deviantart?
ReplyDeleteSome of them yes, but I don't know what nick each name corresponds to. I simply included the names of every artist involved in the latest L5R book, hopefully I didn't miss anyone. But if you search for "L5R" on deviantart (or indeed just google), you should be able to find plenty more.
DeleteThanks, your books are awesome, keep on this way!
DeleteThanks for the work on the Nippon book. Sad to see Ronin go, but its still fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Ronin might appear in an expansion instead as a mercenary unit though ;)
Delete