The Book of Earth

Book of Earth Cover

The Book of Earth is the second in a series of sourcebooks for the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game, the Elemental Series, each of which focuses on one of the five iconic rings that give the game its name. From the quiet, stolid fortresses that stand quietly against the force of the Empire's enemies, to the crushing violence of a tetsubo, every aspect of the eternal essence of Earth will be examined. It was released on December 2013.

Credits

• Written by: Kevin Blake, Daniel Briscoe, Shawn Carman, Robert Denton, Robert Hobart, D.G. Laderoute, Yoon Ha Lee, Maxime Lemaire, Seth Mason, Ryan Reese, Nancy Sauer
• Edited by: Robert Hobart
• Art Director: Shawn Carman
• Cover Design: Robert Denton
• Cover Artist: Tony Foti
• Layout: Robert Denton
• Original Graphic Design: Edge Entertainment
• Artists: Aaron Acevedo, Steve Argyle, Matthew S. Armstrong, Drew Baker, Stefano Baldo, Julie Baroh, beet, Noah Bradley, Adam Bray, Manuel Calderon, Mike Capprotti, Luis Castro Torres, Brent Chumley, Miguel Coimbra, Storn Cook, Ed Cox, John Donahue, Cris Dornaus, Randy Elliot, Jason Engle, Esabra Studio, Shen Fei, Anthony Francisco, Garrie & Ifan, Genzoman, Thomas Gianni, Joachim Gmoser, Gong Studios, Troy Graham, Anthony Grabski, Paul (Prof.) Herbert, Hector Herrera, Bryan Heyboer, Jeff Hill, Jon Hodgson, David Horne, Llyn Hunter, Lisa Hunt, Sergio Camarena, Imaginary Friends Studio, Janine Johnston, Jason Juta, Michel Koch, Heather Kreiter, Brandon Leach, Eric Lofgren, Britt Martin, David Martin, Val Mayerik, Malcolm McClinton, Patrick McEvoy, Aaron Miller, John Moriarty, Tony Moseley, Carlos NCT, William O'Connor, Jim Pavelec, Joshua Pinkas, Alessandra Pisano, Mark Poole, Tony Foti, Chris Pritchard, Erich Schreiner, Chris Seaman, Eddie Sharam, Brian Snoddy, Charles Urbach, Gabriel Verdon, Alain Viesca, Franz Vohwinkel, Matt Wilson, Matt Zeilinger
• Artists - Uncreditred: Ben Peck, Randy Elliott, Jonathan Hunt, Nate Barnes, Jason Behnke, Drew Swift, Anna Christenson
• Production Manager: David Lepore
• Senior Brand Manager: Todd Rowland
• Chief Executive Officer: John Zinser
• Head Playtester: Brian Bates
• Playtesters: Team 1 (Dave Smith, Patrick Chen, Aien Elmi, Jason Kang, Ki Chang Kim, Roger Liang, Arthur Nguyen); Team 4 (Becca Hobart, Kevin Blake, Todd Stites, Daniel Briscoe); Team 6 (Timar Long, Erykah Fasset, Chad Kirby, Mike Brodu, Maxime Lemaire, Ray Rupp); Team 7 (Jason Shafer, Nathan Shafer, Matt Strout, Liza Strout, Joe White, Terry Moore, Eric Newlin); Team 8 (Edward Reynolds, Mathieu Brebouillet, David Whitney, Richard Whitney, Stuart Biggs, Robert Knight); Team 8b (Michael Hill, Phil Pheeny, Shane Pheeney, Chaedy Ritherdon, Tarl Cowley); Team 8c (Thomas Atwood, Ryan Castilla, Henry Joiner, Brandon Woodmen); Team 17 (Tom Lewis, Jamie Kipp, Gavin O’Hearn, Shawn MacLean, John Taylor); Team 18 (Dave Laderoute, Mike Clark, Chris Talarico, Chris Masdea, Lee Vollum, Richard Hewitt, Bill Hrenchuk); Team 19 (Charles Caswell, Vincent Stanton, Eddie Sweeden, Chuck Sweeden, Justin Cross, Fox Whitworth); Team 20 (Matt Tyler, Timothy Hill, Stephen Mumford, Matthew Linkswiler, Paul Casagrande, Robert Zapf); Team 21 (James Freeman-Harris, Sarah Koz, David Wright, James Mosingo); Team 22 (Scott Shepard, Dawn Dalton, Andrew Doud, Justin Davidson, Jon Huskey, Trista Lillis, Tim Murphy); Team 23 (James Wagner, Kevin Pason, Ryan Bataglia, Chris Foster, Jim Friedman, Jason Whiston, Phil Jenicek, Dan Sulin, Izzy Lombardi-Friedman); Team 24 (Tony Love, Kassandra Mullin, Brian Tieken, Kimberly Wajer-Scott, Phillip Scott, Nicholas Love, Jerry Fleenor, Patrick Wiliams) Jim Friedman, Izzy Friedman, Jay Becknell, Mandy Spice

Table of Contents

Introduction (page 6)

• Fiction with sensei Kaiu Ino and his student.
• What Is In This Book?
• Skills of Earth
• Earth and Advantages/Disadvantages
  • Advantages
  • Disadvantages
  • The Full Defense Stance
• Earth-Based L5R Campaigns

Chapter One: Stone and Blood (Page 14)

Matsu Fukiki

• Fiction with Shiba Gyukuro before a battle begins.
• Heavy Weapons in Rokugan
  • Groups Dedicated to Heavy Weapons
  • Types of Heavy Weapons and Their Usage
• The Protection of Earth: Armor
  • A Brief History of Rokugani Armor
  • What About Shields?
  • Components of Samurai Armor
  • Types of Armor in Use
  • Donning Armor
  • Social Implications of Armor
  • The Craft of Armorsmithing
  • Clans and Families with Armor Traditions
    • The Crab Clan
    • The Phoenix Clan: The Shiba
    • The Tsi/The Oriole Clan
  • The Quartermaster Families
    • Crab: The Kenru family
    • Crab: The Ishi family
    • Crane: The Fujihiro family
    • Dragon: The Remiki family
    • Lion: The Itagawa family
    • Mantis: The Chirichi family
    • Phoenix: The Koganshi family
    • Scorpion: The Ugawa family
    • Unicorn: The Shiko family
    • Unicorn: The Zeshi family

A siege

• Fortresses of Earth: Rokugani Castles
  • Kyuden versus Shiro
  • Construction of Castles
  • Elements of Rokugani Castles
  • Famous Rokugani Castles
    • Kyuden Hida
    • Kosaten Shiro
    • Kyuden Ashinagabachi
    • The Palace of the Breaking Dawn
  • Sieges in Rokugan
    • The Battle for the Shell
    • The Castle of the Swift Sword and Akodo Keiichi
    • The Fall of Shiro Hiruma
    • The Razing of Shiro Sano Kakita
    • The Fall of Shiro Usagi
• Sumai: The Martial Art of Earth
  • Sumai: Rituals and Practices
  • Groups with Sumai Traditions

Chapter Two: Stone and Power (Page 54)

Moto Kushi

• Fiction with Hida Bakuro in the Kaiu Wall
• Earth Magic as Endurance
  • The Tamori family
• Earth as the Element of Defense
  • The Isawa family
  • The Yogo Wardmasters
• Earth Magic as the Element of Nature
  • The Kitsune family
  • The Iuchi and Horiuchi
• Earth Magic as Purity
  • The Kuni family
  • The Original Chuda family
  • The Moto Death Priests
  • The Asako Inquisitors
• Notable Uses of Earth Spells
• Secrets in the Stone: The Nature of the Earth Kami
  • Earth and Elemental Imbalances
• The Earth Kami
  • Communing with Earth Kami
  • Enticing Earth Kami
  • Earth Kami and Other Spirits
• The Price of Purity: Fighting the Taint
  • Clan Attitudes Toward the Taint
  • Fighting the Taint: Infiltrators and Unmasking Them

Chapter Three: Stone and Peace (Page 88)

Hitomi Chishou

• Fiction with Kakita Seiki and his meeting with the Imperial Nakodo Otomo Hisashi
• Courtly Philosophy of Earth
  • The Crab Clan
  • The Mantis Clan
  • The Otomo family
  • The Minor Clans
  • Ronin and Monastic Orders
• Courtly Organizations of Earth
  • The Otomo Bureaucracy
  • Crab Clan: The Yasuki Extortionists
  • Crab Clan: The Severed Hand
  • Mantis Clan: The Yoritomo Sculptors
  • Mantis Clan: The Yoritomo Emissaries
  • Brotherhood of Shinsei: The Defenders of the Brotherhood
• Courts of the Earth
  • Kyuden Gotei
  • Face of the East Castle
  • Shiro Mirumoto

Chapter Four: Stone Within (Page 108)

Legion of Toshigoku

• Fiction with the monks Taka and Mokku
• Monastic Orders: The Ways of Earth
  • Shrine of the Seven Thunders
  • The The Temples of Kaimetsu-uo
  • The Order of the Nameless Gift
  • The Temple of Persistence
• Earth and the Power of the Kami
• The Keeper of Earth
  • The Book of Earth

Chapter Five: The World of Earth (Page 120)

Asahina Keitaro

• Fiction with Akodo Kakihara and Togashi Hizumi
• Earth in the Natural World
  • The Mountains of Rokugan
    • The Great Wall of the North
    • The Spine of the World Mountains
    • The Twilight Mountains
    • Other Mountain Regions of Note
  • Wrath of the Earth: Earthquakes, Landslides, and Volcanic Activity
  • Earth and Life: The Forests of Rokugan
    • The Shinomen Mori
    • The Isawa Mori
    • The Kitsune Mori
• Earth in the World of Men
  • Farming
    • Rice Farming
  • Mining
  • Masonry
  • Carpentry
  • Sculpture
  • Pottery

Nagataka

• Creatures and Otherworldly Beings of Earth
• Denizens of the Heavens
  • The Dragon of Earth
  • Inari, Fortune of Rice
  • Kenro-ji-jin, Fortune of Soil
  • Kuroshin, Fortune of Agriculture
  • Toyouke-Omikami, Fortune of Grain
  • Tsi Xing Guo, Fortune of Steel
  • Ryu of the Earth
• Supernatural Beings Associated with Earth
  • Kodama
  • Myobu
  • Zokujin
  • Yobuko
  • Jinmenju
  • Greater Terror of Earth
  • Lesser Elemental Terrors of Earth
• Legendary Races of Earth
  • The Daidarabochi
  • The Hibagon
• Mundane Creatures of Earth
  • Cougar
  • Panda
  • Komodo Dragons

Armor of Light

• Earth Awakened: Nemuranai of the Earth
  • Agasha Kitsuki's Armor
  • Ancestral Armor of the Ki-Rin
  • Armor of Earth
  • Armor of the Five
  • Armor of the Golden Samurai
  • Armor of the Shadow Warrior
  • Chousen, the Ancestral Armor of the Gusai family
  • Destiny's Anvil, the Armor of Goju Kyoden
  • Ikoma's Anvil
  • Indomitable, Mutsuhito's Armor
  • Kaiu's Smithing Tools
  • Kote of the Daidoji Daimyo
  • Machimasu, The Ancestral Armor of the Mirumoto family
  • Ouno's Heart
  • Sasageru, Ancestral Armor of the Crane Clan
  • Shosuro's Blackened Armor
  • Sting, Tsuruchi's Kabuto
  • The Shield of Moto Gaheris
  • The Toturi Armor
  • Tsunetomo's Dai Tsuchi
• GM's Toolbox: Mechanical Themes of Earth
  • Earth spells
  • Earth Nemuranai
  • Earth Kata
  • Earth Schools and Techniques

Chapter Six: The Lair (Page 154)

Tsuruchi Isunori

• Fiction with Matsu Goji becoming an unwilling guest of the Lair
• The Story of the Boar Clan
• The History of the Lair
  • The Lair in Isolation
  • The Price of Isolation
    • The Jomei and The Emperor
• The Lair: Physical Description
  • The River of Three Horses
  • The Boar's Tusks
  • Travelers' Road (The Path to Jigoku)
  • Eiko no Mori
    • The Grove of Games
  • Priests' Point
  • The Three Brothers' Mines
  • Shrine to Shinsei
  • The Lonely Monastery
  • Shrines of the Dead
  • The Boar's Flanks
  • The Seven Dragons Inn
  • Heichi Dojo
• The Lair of the Boar Heichi sano Negura

Yasuki Takai

• The Lair and the Seasons
• Threats:
  • The Lying Darkness and the Lair
  • The Kolat and the Lair
  • The Shadowlands Taint in the Lair
  • The Bloodspeaker Cult and the Lair
• Running Campaigns in the Lair
  • A Campaign Concept: The Nine Days of Blood

Kitsu Yosaku

• Sagas of the Boar
• Notable Personages in the Lair
  • Heichi Jomei, “the Jomei,” Lord of the Lair
  • Hida Onako, Furious Berserker
  • Daidoji Tsuka, Hesitant Iron Crane
  • Mirumoto Rokai, Curious Bushi
  • Matsu Goji, Redeemed Lion
  • Yoritomo Ichiro, Ambitious Warrior
  • Isawa Rohitsu, Disappointed Scholar
  • Bayushi Nanjiro, Disgruntled Courtier
  • Shinjo Byungchul, Concerned Father
  • Ichiro Ryoku, Star-Crossed Bushi
  • Miya Kaishako, Herald in Distress
  • Okuso, Sohei Teacher
  • Osho, Unrepentant Killer

Appendix: New Mechanics (Page 190)

Tsuruchi Chion

• Chapter One: Stone and Blood
  • Alternate Paths and schools
    • The Hiruma Slayers
    • Crab Sumai Wrestlers
    • Kaiu Siegemaster
    • Daidoji Heavy Regular
    • Akodo Siege Strategist
    • The Shiba Armorsmiths
    • Unicorn Bariqu Wrestler
  • GM's Toolbox: Siege Specialists and Mass Battle
  • GM's Toolbox: Grappling Options
  • New Kata
• Chapter Two: Stone and Power
  • Alternate Paths and schools
    • Kuni Crystal Masters
    • Tamori Weaponsmiths
    • The Children of Chikushudo
    • The Isawa Temple Guardians
    • The Iuchi Couriers (The Lords of the Plains)
  • New Earth Spells
• Chapter Three: Stone and Peace
  • Alternate Paths and schools
    • Yasuki Extortionist
    • The Severed Hand
    • The Yoritomo Sculptors
    • The Yoritomo Emissaries
    • The Otomo Bureaucrats
    • Defender of the Brotherhood

Tashiki

• Chapter Four: Stone Within
  • New school: The Order of the Nameless Gift
  • New Earth Kiho
  • New Tattoo: Bear tattoo
• Chapter Five: The World of Earth
  • New Supernatural Creatures
    • Kodama
    • Myobu
    • Yobuko
  • New Shadowlands Creatures
    • Jinmenju
    • Elemental Terrors of Earth (Jimen no Oni)
    • Lesser Terror of Earth (Toichi no Kansen)
  • Legendary Creatures of Earth
    • Daidarabochi
    • Hibagon
  • New Mundane Animals
    • Cougar
    • Komodo Dragons
    • Mongoose
    • Panda
    • Rhinoceros