L5R: Iron Empire
Iron Empire presents an alternate Rokugan set in the late eighth and early ninth centuries, long after a different Battle of White Stag. It depicts a Rokugan where certain aspects of foreign cultures have been embraced, where the use of foreign technology is endorsed by the Emerald Throne and the wheels of progress have ignited an early age of proto-industry. Trade with foreign nations and exposure to new technology, combined with the ingenuity of the Great Clans, leads to advancements in metallurgy, engineering, farming, and the development of unique firearms.
But even as the Empire marches forward, the samurai do not forget the ways of their ancestors, and the distrust of gaijin permeates all responses to change and progress. As more technology is developed and incorporated into daily life, the face of the Empire begins to change. Widespread use of firearms renders the old ways of warfare obsolete, and new technologies bring the lower classes much closer to the elevated samurai class. This culminates in a new project undertaken by the Imperial families: a railroad and steam engine named the “Iron Dragon” that will unite every province by Imperial decree. In the face of these changes, many samurai begin to wonder if their traditional ways are still relevant. A cultural schism develops in the Empire between those who have embraced this new path and others who warn these new ways are not endorsed by Heaven.
A charismatic leader rises with the goal of preserving the old way of life, in a movement the Kuge nobility interpret as a revolt. As a wave of disenfranchised samurai and traditional monks seek to break away from the Empire to form their own nation, forces loyal to the Throne and the New Way try to end the uprising, unaware that their greatest foe comes not from the ranks of the disenfranchised Buke, but from among themselves...
I'm curious whether anyone is interested in running a game with this particular chapter of Imperial Histories 2; something like a mix of classic L5R and Tai Chi Hero or Jade Empire.
