The world of Rokugan is brought to life through the story of Legend of the Five Rings, and almost every year, players have the chance to shape the ongoing narrative with the choices made at key Organized Play events throughout the year. Unfortunately due to COVID-19, we've been unable to host these events, and so Legend of the Five Rings players have had little opportunity to shape the ongoing story… until now!

Today, we're proud to present "An Impossible Task," a new piece of interactive twine fiction that gives every player the chance to weigh in and affect the ongoing story! For more information on the story so far, and how this fiction will work, read on.

The Story So Far

The Lion and Unicorn clans are unofficially at war, fueled by a broken marriage treaty, decades of political resentment, and dwindling harvests. The legendary General Akodo Kyōsuke recently repelled a Unicorn offensive against Four Roads Village and Fallen Oak Village, while the young General Ikoma Tsanuri has recently found success capturing Unicorn villages despite the growing desperation of her soldiers. With noble samurai and trained peasant soldiers in limited supply, either side may call upon lordless rōnin to bolster their numbers. For more on this backstory, you can read the Shinjo Clan Letter 2020 and Cold Autumn Harvests by Mari Murdock.

As a samurai on a warrior pilgrimage, the protagonist of this story is considered to be a rōnin, and thus is eligible to serve General Tsanuri as a soldier in her army. They can come from any clan or background, for their pilgrimage is dedicated to expanding their worldly knowledge through travel and service. You never know what you might be called upon to do!

What Is "An Impossible Task"?

“An Impossible Task” is an interactive short story in which you play as a rōnin undertaking a warrior’s pilgrimage, or musha shugyō, who is serving with Ikoma Tsanuri's army.

Throughout the story, words will appear highlighted in blue: these words can be clicked to advance the plot. Often, multiple words will be highlighted within the same page, providing a menu of different options to be clicked on. Each time you click on a highlighted word, the protagonist is taking an action in the story.

Sometimes, these available actions are inquiries, such as asking a character about a topic or investigating a particular location. Each action drives the story forward, even if investigating a subject results in a return to the previous page (and its menu of options). Additionally, each choice advances the timeline of the story, meaning that a player who wishes to investigate multiple subjects will spend valuable time doing so.

Time is not on your side. Make your choices judiciously, lest critical options become unavailable as the story progresses without you. Taking the same action multiple times will not produce a different result.

You may encounter direct obstacles to your progress. Overcoming these obstacles will require choosing a tactic that plays to your character's strengths—strengths which are determined by the choices you have made previously in the story. Each choice builds your character's personality and skills, so consider who you want to be, and how that character would overcome adversity!

Should you reach one of the story's many endings, you can register your outcome to be tabulated by the Legend of the Five Rings Story Team. Based on which outcomes are registered before the end of November 16, 2020, a single result will be integrated into the ongoing Legend of the Five Rings LCG storyline.

If your story ends in failure—or you wish to pursue a different outcome—you can restart your progress in “An Impossible Task” by using the link supplied by the ending you have reached. Which of your choices will be different next time?

You are now ready to begin.