If I haven’t had time to blog as much this month, it’s because my work as the Creative Director of Story & Setting at Asmodee has kept me busy! March saw the release of the first Legend of the Five Rings video game, the launch of a brand-new Arkham Horror website, as well as my guest appearance on a livestream of the newly released Arkham Horror Lovecraft Letter!

Another quick update rounding up some of the cool stuff I’ve been working on in my role as “loremaster” (not my official title) on the Asmodee Franchise Development team, this time focusing on Legend of the Five Rings!

At Gen Con this year, I spent four days working at the Legend of the Five Rings booth helping Palindrome Interactive show off the combat demo of the first-ever L5R video game, Shadowveil. You can watch the reveal trailer and learn more on the game’s Steam page, and if you weren’t able to try it out in person you can get a basic walkthrough of the demo at LegendoftheFiveRings.com. Over on Facebook, I interviewed game director Filip Andersson about the title’s design and development so far, and I also asked some fans about what they thought of the demo. I’m really proud of the work the Palindrome team has put into the game so far, both in terms of making something that’s great fun to play as well as capturing the essence of Legend of the Five Rings and the Crab Clan specifically. I hope you’ll check it out!

Also at Gen Con, Office Dog showed off the very first L5R Eurogame, River of Gold. Having played it several times, I think it’s a fun, lightweight, quick-and-easy play that will appeal to fans of euros more generally, not just Legend of the Five Rings fans. I also had the opportunity to talk to the game’s designer, Keith Piggott, about his work on the game and some of its design inspirations and goals. To help promote the game in the weeks leading up to its launch, I worked closely alongside Aconyte Books and author Robert Denton III as they created a series of short stories that brings the ports and markets along the River of Gold to life and introduces readers to four of the clan patrons included in the game. The short story series also included the first online story choice offered to L5R players since 2021. You can check out part one of the series here and either read or listen to it—Heather Jinmaku did a fabulous job narrating these stories and bringing the characters to life.

Over at L5R.com, we also shared updates on the upcoming Clan Wars novels and comics, roleplaying game supplements, board games, and more!

Earlier this month, Aconyte Books came out with Rokugan: The Art of Legend of the Five Rings, a celebration of the fantasy illustration from the franchise whose fictions, novellas, and RPGs I’ve had a large hand in over the last five years. Working alongside Visual Creative Director Andy Christensen, I was able to contribute to this fantastic art book by helping to curate the art as well as writing the lore in the final chapter, “Empire in Turmoil,” which showcases some of the storyline events from the Living Card Game era of L5R. Overall, I think Editor Matt Keefe did a fantastic job putting this art book together and laying out the gorgeous spreads, and I’m going to proudly display it on my shelves alongside other art books from my favorite fandoms.

You can check out several samples of the book, including this overview and excerpts from the Imperial Court and Shadowlands chapters of the book. If you’re looking to add this to your collection, head on over to the Aconyte Books website, where you can find links to purchase the book from your preferred retailer.

At Gen Con this year, I appeared with my company Asmodee to promote the return of Legend of the Five Rings in a big way. We announced new board games, novels, comic books, and the very first L5R video game, all of which I get to support in my work on the Franchise Development Team. (We also launched a brand-new website for L5R, featuring lots of lore to introduce new and returning fans to the setting.)

My colleagues and I had the opportunity to chat with Trevor Cuba from the Court Games Podcast (which I’ve appeared on in the past) all about the upcoming products and the return of the beloved Clan Wars storyline for Legend of the Five Rings. If you want to know more about the future of the franchise, listen to the episode below or find the Court Games podcast on your preferred podcast-listening app.

Image Source: Legend of the Five Rings Facebook Page

My debut novella, Ice and Snow, is included in one of today’s Deals of the Day from DriveThruRPG! Pick up the e-book edition of The Great Clans of Rokugan Vol 1 for only $8.97! The deal expires on Saturday, July 16, at 10:00 Central Daylight time, so don’t delay!

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