Blood Upon the Nightingale Floor: Legend of the Five Rings
A tragic death; a power vacuum emerges perilously close to Otosan Uchi. You are a samurai sent into the viper's nest to secure your clan's interests.
TYPE
SYSTEM
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$15.00
/ Session
Details
2 players following this game
Weekly / Friday - 9:00 AM UTC
Jul 17 / Session 6
Session Duration / 2.5–4 hours
Campaign Length / 20–60 Sessions
4 / 5 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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Schedule
Meet your party members
4/5
About the adventure
Welcome to Rokugan, samurai. In Legend of the Five Rings, you take up the role of a samurai: society's elite, blessed by birth, ancestry, and fate to wield mortal and political power over the common folk. All serve the Emperor, but each of the Great Clans serves the Empire in their own way, upholding the tenets of Bushido as colored by their history and outlook. Endlessly, the Great Clans plot and scheme, vying with each other for the favor of the Emerald Throne. Although the Empire is at peace, unease pervades the land. Hantei XXXVII is old, and is yet to officially endorse an heir. His court is increasingly enshrouded in whispers of scandal and conspiracy. To the distant south, the Shadowlands stir, a threat to the empire that only the Crab Clan fully understands. And border conflicts between the Unicorn, Lion, and Crane clans threaten to plunge the heartlands of the Empire into full-scale war. After a cold and nervous winter, the spring thaw brings with it ominous news: Miya Maruyama, Lady of the Maruyama Province Imperial holdings, died of a fever without producing an heir. By the laws of Rokugan, her holdings are now forfeit, her servants all immediately branded ronin. Not only is this a massive loss of face for an important Imperial Family, but the Maruyama Province is one of vital importance neighboring the capital city itself. Something must be done. And from Otosan Uchi, the Hantei's voice remains eerily silent. The Great Clans gather around the benighted province, swirling like storm clouds. Into this dangerous situation, your character will be sent. You are samurai, trusted agents of your clan, and you have a duty to uphold. But when your duty conflicts with the desire in your too-human heart... the only result can be tragedy. **** If you are new to Rokugan and Legend of the Five Rings, this is a welcoming game and an excellent opportunity to learn. If you are a veteran of the system and setting, you are welcome to lend your enthusiasm, expertise, and to dive into a political powder-keg on the verge of ignition. L5R 5th edition is focused on character-based drama and conflicting desires. It is a setting of magic, violence, and beauty wrapped in a brutal caste system and codified rules of conduct. Will you adhere to the code of Bushido and sacrifice your ambitions, and even your life, for the greater glory of your clan? Or will you strike out as an iconoclast, to make waves in a society that values stability and tradition above all? Play a master duelist, a cunning shinobi, a contemplative monk, a brazen warrior, a silver-tongued courtier, or a magic-wielding wizard-priest. Magic is unpredictable but powerful. Combat is fast and extremely deadly. The fate of the Empire could change on the edge of a blade. Fortune and Glory await those that can rise above the challenges they will face, while ignominious dishonor and death await those who fail... for all samurai live three feet from death.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Theater of the Mind
Rules as Written (RaW)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(18)
1 year on StartPlaying
89 games hosted
Highly rated for: Knows the Rules, Teacher, Creativity
Average response time: 3 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
The name's Seth, but you can call me CTP! My goal is to provide the best gaming experience for you that I possibly can, and I have high standards! I've got over 20 years of TTRPG experience; at least 50% of that time was as a DM/GM running games for my friends. I consider myself an exceptional GM. I balance improv, acting, fun voices and accents, and thorough system knowledge with a sense of fairness, excitement, narrative development, and humor. I run pre-written material as well as creating my own adventures and campaigns. I also know what it's like from the players' POV. https://www.youtube.com/@CTP_GNG ^ check out my silly gaming YouTube channel if you want to hear some voices and SUCH; the Legend of Legaia playlist has a lot of voice acting nonsense I tell you what boy howdy.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Everyone will play the game of 20 Questions to generate their characters, as outlined in the L5R 5e core rulebook. Alternate family history tables from other sourcebooks will be allowed, as will any school, trait, and technique from any officially published source. Before the game begins, I will check in with all players for a free 'session zero' where we will hammer out your character details. In general, your character should be a samurai, ideally a member of one of the seven Great Clans, although it is possible to make a character from a Minor Clan, a ronin, or potentially one of the Imperial Families. While there will be an overarching plot, the action will also be heavily informed by your character's ambitions and desires.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
All you will need is a Discord account, a microphone, and a stable internet connection. We'll be using Foundry as our virtual table top, which has a nice L5R module that will handle dice rolling for us. If you have access to the L5R 5e core rules, it's a good idea to brush up on them, but I will be helping everyone learn the mechanics so we can get to the samurai drama!
What CockroachTeaParty brings to the table
I have over two decades of GMing experience across a variety of systems, including around 1.5 years with L5R 5e. I love this system; it's just crunchy enough to reward system mastery, but narrative-focused with a 'fail forward' philosophy. You are often rewarded for facing difficult situations, or at the very least compensated for disadvantages. Every decision matters, and your own honor and glory serve as a currency you can gamble. It's really fun, and everyone playing samurai bound under the same code of honor and conduct makes for really interesting roleplaying scenarios. I have excellent improvisational skills and I'm ready and willing to 'roll with the punches.' I'm here to make your characters the stars of the show. Expect custom music playlists to help set the scene, visual aids, and sufficient system mastery to keep the action moving without getting too bogged down in the rules.
Homebrew rules
If none of the published traits fully encapsulate your ideas, we can work together on custom ones. And if you are really ambitious, we can use the rules outlined in 'Path of Waves' to cook up a custom school, but there are dozens of options available.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How CockroachTeaParty creates a safe table
We'll discuss potential triggers and other issues in our one-on-one session zero. We will also respect everyone's boundaries and take breaks if need be. I'll also be contacting every player to evaluate after each session and adjust accordingly.
Content warnings
Safety tools used