Legend of the Five Rings

[EltonJ]

I don’t know if this has been done before for Pathfinder, but surely it has been done before. This is a one page conversion for Oriental Adventures (3e) and the Rokugan Campaign Setting for Oriental Adventures. But surely this conversion will open a can of worms. This Conversion only requires you to have a copy of the Pathfinder RPG, APG, ARG, Oriental Adventures (3e), and the Rokugan Campaign Setting. The last two are available on DriveThruRPG. Legend of the Five Rings is now owned by Fantasy Flight Games.

Your First Samurai
Oriental Adventures includes a place for Samurai to be represented by different race/class combinations. The Rokugan Campaign Setting went further and said certain combinations of race/class doesn’t fit the setting of Legend of the Five Rings. This conversion takes a purist approach to the Legend of the Five Rings rather than one for setting. Therefore, this conversion takes the view that elven crane ninja are utterly wrong for the setting, and human Bayushi ninja are not.

Race:

Out of the races of Pathfinder, one human and three beast-like are acceptable. Fortunes and Winds, the Planescape of Legend of the Five Rings, provides more of the hengeyokai as shapechanging races, but tends to use different mechanics. The races of Legend of the Five Rings include, in order of how it fits the setting:
• Human
• Ratfolk (called Ratlings or Nezumi)
• Kitsune (one of the hengeyokai)
• Tengu
There are no elves, no dwarves, no halfings, no orcs, and especially no gnomes in this setting. Sorry gnome lovers. The next step are what classes are available.

Class:

The following classes fit the Legend of the Five Rings. Again, you may find Oriental Adventures and Rokugan very handy for the description of class. Again, Rokugan went the extra mile and listed by family, favored class. There are no favored classes in Pathfinder. This is important for the rules change.

• Bard: The courtier class actually fulfills the role of the bard, despite that the Ikoma courtiers are called bards.
  
• Barbarian. This is a class that represents the Yobanjin (foreign barbarians), the senpet of the Burning Sands, and Nezumi warriors. One can also take it to represent Matsu deathstalkers and Hida berserkers.
  
• Brawler: The first Ikoma was a brawler, no doubt about that. But he went on to found a family of Bards and Courtiers for the Lion Clan.
  
• Fighter: Rokugan actually has a place for the fighter. One may find that the archetypes that are represented in Rokugan include the Archer, Crossbowman, Freehand Fighter, Mobile Fighter (especially), Polearm Master, Rough Rider, and Weapon Master (the last being called Kensai).
  
• Monk: Monks fit the setting, no doubt about that. A Samurai, when he gets too old, would often shave his head and take up the monk class as a sort of retirement. But this is not often the case. Monk archetypes in Rokugan would include: Drunken Master, Ki mystic, Monk of the Empty Hand, Monk of the Four Winds, Monk of the Lotus, Monk of the Sacred Mountain, and Zen Archer.
  
• Ranger: A fitting class, especially for Shinjo Outriders. Ranger archetypes in found in Rokugan include: Beast Master, Guide, Horse Lord, Infiltrator, Skirmisher, and Spirit Ranger.
  
• Rogue: Rogues in Rokugan are unchanged, and are often the entry way to the Ninja Spy prestige class. Roguish archetypes include: Acrobat, Investigator, poisoner, Rake, Spy, Thug, and Trapsmith.
  
• Samurai: The samurai class in Ultimate Combat does not represent the Samurai class as a whole in Rokugan. The samurai of Ultimate Combat is a one trick pony. Probably based on Samurai epics and films. Although stage kenjutsu is probably what the writers of Ultimate Combat were exposed too, it’s not representive of kenjutsu as a whole. Therefore, the class found in Rokugan (page 31) with its Ancestral Diasho, bonus feats, and its good will saves and fortitude saves, better represent the Samurai of Rokugan. After all, there are many different schools of kenjutsu in Rokugan, and thousands of different styles of the same martial art.
  
• Shugenja: Shugenja are the pre-eminent spellcasters of Rokugan and displace wizards (and wu jen). They also displace clerics. Shugenja practice the ancient religion of Shugendo and are found throughout Rokugan. They are thee spellcasters of Rokugan and are represented by the Shugenja class (found in Rokugan, page 36). You do require Oriental Adventures to gain the school of your choice. The Isawa, however, learn from the four elemental schools in Rokugan. They are also the only ones that teach the magic of the fifth element: Void.
  
• Ninja: Ninja are not recommended for players to create characters with. However, if you have to have a ninja, the Shoshuro, Bayushi, and other ninja dojo exist in Rokugan. See Way of the Ninja (available on DriveThru) for more details. Either the Ninja class in Rokugan or Ultimate Combat are acceptable. The ninja spy prestige class in Oriental Adventures is also acceptable and recommended.
  
• Sorcerer: okay, second can of worms is opened. The Sorcerer represents those Rokugani who often seek power. Sorcery is often wielded by the Kitsune as well. Sorcerer bloodlines are divided by race:
  
• human: Abyssal, Accursed, Destined, Draconic (descendants of Togashi), Elemental (except Void), Shadow, and Undead (for the Iuchiban bloodspeakers).
  
• Nezumi (Ratfolk): Destined, Dreamspun, and Maestro.
  
• Kitsune: Destined, Dreamspun, Elemental, Shadow, and Maestro. They also gain access to the Nine-Tailed Heir sorcerer archetype discussed in Blood of the Beast.
  
• Tengu: Accursed, Destined, Dreamspun, and Shadow.
  

Classes not suited for Rokugan.
All the rest. Including the Oracle class, which is an NPC class.