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Game Setup2. Create Token Pool and Ring PoolPlace all fate tokens, honor tokens, status tokens, andthe Imperial Favor card in a pile within reach of eachplayer. This area is known as the general token pool.Place the rings in a pile within reach of each player. Thisarea is known as the unclaimed ring pool.To set up the game, perform the following steps,in order:1. Select DecksFor the first game, each player selects one set of starterdecks described below. Each card’s collector number,which is used in the decklists below, is located in thelower right corner of the card. Crane Clan starter decks: This deck uses ShizukaToshi (2) as its stronghold, and the provinces TheArt of Peace (9), Entrenched Position (17), NightRaid (21), Rally to the Cause (23), and ShamefulDisplay (24).Imperial Favor1 The Crane dynasty deck uses all of the Cranedynasty cards (40–53), one copy each of the neutralcards Otomo Courtier (122), Miya Mystic (125),Favorable Ground (128), Imperial Storehouse (129),and two copies each of the neutral cards SeppunGuardsman (123) and Wandering Ronin (127). 2017 FFG 220A3. Determine First PlayerRandomly select a player to be the firstplayer. Place the first player token infront of this player. The other playergains 1 fate from the general tokenpool and adds it to their fate pool.The Crane conflict deck uses all of the Crane conflictcards (139–148), and one copy each of the neutralcards (200–213).4. Shuffle Dynasty and ConflictDecks Lion Clan starter decks: This deck uses Yōjin noShiro (4) as its stronghold, and the provinces TheArt of War (11), Ancestral Lands (15), ManicuredGarden (19), Meditations on the Tao (20), andPilgrimage (22).First PlayerTokenEach player shuffles both their dynasty and conflictdecks separately until the decks are sufficientlyrandomized and presents them to the opponentfor a final cut. Each player then places their dynastydeck to the left of their play area and their conflictdeck to the right.The Lion dynasty deck uses all of the Lion dynastycards (67–80), one copy each of the neutral cardsSeppun Guardsman (123), Wandering Ronin (127),Favorable Ground (128), Imperial Storehouse (129),and two copies each of the neutral cards OtomoCourtier (122) and Miya Mystic (125).5. Place Provinces and StrongholdEach player secretly selects one of their provinces,places it facedown above their dynasty deck, and placestheir stronghold card on top of it. Each player thenplaces their other four provinces facedown betweentheir dynasty and conflict decks, in any order. Eachplayer places one honor dial near their conflict deck.The Lion conflict deck uses all of the Lion conflictcards (160–169), and one copy each of the neutralcards (200–213).6. Fill ProvincesEach player places one card from thetop of their dynasty deck facedownonto each of their empty nonstronghold provinces. Players will havethe opportunity to play these cards fromtheir provinces during the game round.6Dynasty DeckCardback

2 Shizuka ToshiAfter placing these cards during setup, each playerhas one opportunity to look at their facedown cards,choose which ones they wish to keep, and replace therest (known as a mulligan). Set aside the cards to bereplaced and deal a new facedown card into each emptyprovince. Then shuffle the replaced cards back into thedynasty deck.After drawing these cards, each player has oneopportunity to look at the cards in their hand, choosewhich ones they wish to keep, and replace the rest(known as a mulligan). Set aside the cards to bereplaced and draw an equivalent number of new cardsfrom the conflict deck. Then shuffle the cards set asideback into the conflict deck.Note: After this point, players are not permitted to lookat facedown cards in their provinces.8. Gain Starting HonorSTRONGHOLDEach player gains honor tokensequal to the honor valueCity.indicated inthe Duringlowera leftcornertheirstronghold.Action: conflict,bowofthisstronghold.7. Draw Starting HandChoose a participating character with skill 2 or– bowthat character.The game loweris nowreadyto begin.Each player draws four cards from theirconflict deck to form their starting hand.These cards are typically used duringthe conflict phase to help playerswin conflicts.711Conflict DeckCardbackILLUS. ALAYNA LEMMER10 2017 FFG2Honor Valueon StrongholdSuggested Play Area (Crane Player, mid-game)First PlayerTokenOpponent’s Play AreaStrongholdFate Pool22 Shizuka ToshiSTRONGHOLD2Cautious ScoutSavvy PoliticianCHARACTERCHARACTER2012Honor Pool and Honor DialHome Area1Bushi. Scout.City.Action: During a conflict, bow this stronghold.Choose a participating character with skill 2 orlower – bow that character.Courtier.For each of her accomplishments,she deferred the praise to those around her,and in this manner their loyalty was secured.They told him to be careful,but there was only one way to know for sure.11ILLUS. ALAYNA LEMMER710 2017 FFGILLUS. SERGIO CAMARENA 2017 FFG1Reaction: After this character is honored, choose acharacter – honor that character.While this character is attacking alone, treat thedefending province as if its printed text box wereblank (except for Traits).D 43ILLUS. POLAR ENGINE 2017 FFGD 45223Brash SamuraiCHARACTERCHARACTER2133Doji Challenger2Bushi.Bushi. Duelist.Action: While this character is your only participatingcharacter in a conflict – honor this character.2Action: While this character is attacking, choosea character controlled by your opponent – movethat character to this conflict.A samurai lives at all times three feet from death.“I hope you are prepared to defendyour words with steel!”DynastyDiscardDynastyDeckILLUS. CALVIN CHUA 2017 FFGD 42ILLUS. ZEZHOU CHENNon-StrongholdProvinces7 2017 FFGD 47ConflictDeckConflictDiscard

Phase SequencePlaying a Character from a ProvinceIn order to play a character from a province, a playermust first pay that card’s cost (indicated in the upperleft corner of the card) by spending that much fate fromtheir fate pool to the general token pool. Next, movethat card from the province into that player’s home area– the part of the play area in front of their provinces. Allcharacters enter play in a ready position.Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game is playedover a series of rounds. During a round, players bringnew characters into play from their provinces, decidehow honorably they will act in the coming conflicts,declare military and political conflicts against oneanother’s provinces, check the fate of their characters,and regroup in preparation for the next round. Eachround is divided into the following five phases:After a character is played, its controller has the optionof placing any number of fate tokens from their pool onthat character. Placing fate on a character will keep thatcharacter in play for additional game rounds.1. Dynasty2. Draw3. ConflictCard cost5 Akodo ToturiCHARACTER634. Fate5. RegroupEach phase is described in detail, below.Phase 1: DynastyBushi. Champion.3Reaction: After you claim a ring during a conflictin which this character is participating – resolve thatring’s effect.The dynasty phase represents the clans’ attempts tomarshal their forces and allocate resources fromtheir provinces.A lion is more than his roar, his mane, his teeth, his heart.A lion is all of these.ILLUS. SHAWN IGNATIUS TANThe dynasty phase consists of three steps: 2017 FFGAdditional fatemay be placed ona character afterpaying its cost.D 79Once the option to place fate tokens on a character hasbeen completed or passed, the province from whichthe character was played is refilled by taking a cardfrom the dynasty deck and, without looking at the card,placing it facedown on the province.Step 1. Reveal Facedown Cards in ProvincesEach player, in player order, turns all facedown dynastycards in their provinces faceup. This process starts froma player’s leftmost province that has a facedown card onit and proceeds to the right. Note: Character cards inprovinces are not yet in play, and players will not be ableto use those characters until they are played during step3, below.Strategy: Placing Additional FatePlacing additional fate on a character is aninvestment in that character’s future impactupon the game. The best way to leverage thisimpact is to invest in your most powerful andimportant characters. Placing three fate on acharacter with a cost of one grants you threeadditional turns of one-cost impact, whileplacing the same three fate on a character witha cost of four grants you three additional turnsof four-cost impact. Being able to maximizethe impact of each additional fate that is spentis an important strategic concept in the game.Step 2. Collect FateEach player collects fate equal to the fate value on theirstronghold card. Other cards may also modify the amountof fate a player collects each turn.Step 3. Play Characters from ProvincesIn player order, players alternate opportunities to doone of the following: play a character card from theirprovinces, trigger an appropriate card ability (see page30), or pass. Note: At this time, a player cannot playattachment or character cards from their hand.Also keep in mind: any fate a player does notspend remains in that player’s pool from roundto round. So, if you have extra fate that youdon’t have an immediate use for, hold on to it,as it could prove useful later in the game.The first player to pass gains 1 fate. This player forfeitsthe opportunity to play characters from provinces ortrigger actions for the remainder of the phase. Theremaining player continues to play characters andtrigger actions alone until they also pass. Once bothplayers have passed, play proceeds to the draw phase.8

Phase 2: DrawHoldingsHoldings are a cardtype that represents the lands,structures, fortifications, and other locations that may befound in a player’s provinces.The draw phase represents the plotting and scheming ofthe Clans as they prepare for the conflicts ahead.Holding cards in a player’s provinces are not played.A holding modifies the defense strength of a provincewhen it is attacked, and is active as long as it remainsfaceup in the province.5In this phase, each player determines how honorablythey intend to act during the upcoming phases of theround: essentially, they are bidding their honor in orderto draw more cards from their conflict deck. Thesecards, kept in a player’s hand, represent secret agendas,surprising tactics, tricks, schemes, andhidden information.PilgrimagePROVINCEThe draw phase consists of 4 steps:During conflicts at this province, cancel all ringeffects. (If this province breaks, resolve ringeffects as normal.)1Imperial.Action: Sacrifice this holding – draw1 card.2. Each player reveals their selection.3. The player who selected the higher number givestheir opponent an amount of honor equal to thedifference between the two selected numbers. Ifboth players selected the same number, no honoris given.Imperial StorehouseHOLDING1. Each player secretly selects a number between 1 and5 on their honor dial. ILLUS. NELE DIELILLUS. CHARLES URBACH 2017 FFG4. Each player draws a number of cards from theirconflict deck equal to the number they selected ontheir honor dial.22 2017 FFGOnce the above steps are complete, proceed to theconflict phase.D 129For example: Kristina, playing the Crane, secretlyselects the number 2 on her honor dial. Tom, playingthe Lion, also secretly selects a number on his dial. Onceboth players are ready, they simultaneously reveal theirdials. Kristina reveals her bid of 2, and Tom reveals abid of 5. Tom’s bid is 3 higher than Kristina’s, so he mustgive her 3 honor from his pool. Kristina then draws 2cards from her conflict deck (equal to her bid), and Tomdraws 5 cards from his conflict deck (equal to his bid).The Imperial Storehouse holding increases thedefense strength of the Pilgrimage province from5 to 6.Draw and RefillDuring a game, players are frequently instructedto “draw cards” and to “refill” provinces. Cardsare always drawn from a player’s conflict deck andadded to that players hand. Provinces are alwaysrefilled facedown from a player’s dynasty deck.Running Out of CardsIf a player attempts to refill a card onto a province fromtheir dynasty deck or draw a card from their conflictdeck and no cards remain in the deck, that player loses5 honor, then shuffles the corresponding discard pileand places it facedown to form a new dynasty or conflictdeck. That player then continues to refill the province ordraw a conflict card.9

Each conflict is identified in two ways: by element andby type.Strategy: Honor BidsThere are several things to consider whendetermining how best to bid.ElementThere are five different elements in Legend of the FiveRings: The Card Game - Air, Earth, Fire, Water, andVoid. If the attacker wins the conflict they will gain areward, known as a ring effect, based on the conflict’selement. Each element provides a different ring effect,which will be described later.First, are you happy with the cards in yourhand? Do they seem that they will be usefulin the upcoming round? If you like your hand,you might consider bidding low to preserve oracquire more honor. If you feel that you needmore options, you might consider biddinghigh to draw more cards.TypeThere are two types of conflicts: military and political.A conflict’s type determines whether characters usetheir military or political skill value when resolvingthat conflict (see image, below).Second, consider how much honor you andyour opponent each have, and be wary ofhigh bids that could push your opponent tooclose to winning the game.Each player is permitted to declare one conflict of eachtype during the conflict phase.Third, try to anticipate your opponent’s mostlikely bid, and think about whether you’dlike to match that bid (to prevent honorfrom changing hands) or bid differently (tocreate more of an imbalance between youand your opponent in terms of honor or cardadvantage).Conflict OpportunitiesStarting with the first player and alternating back andforth, each player has the opportunity to declare aconflict against one of their opponent’s provinces. Eachplayer is permitted two such opportunities during thisphase, in the order listed below:Finally, think about whether you (and youropponent) are in a position from which youcould leverage more cards to influence thedirection of the game.1. The first player has the first opportunity to declareand resolve a conflict.2. The second player has the next opportunity todeclare and resolve a conflict.After considering all of the factors, make yourbid with confidence and see what happens— you can never know for sure what theopponent is going to do, and trying to bestnavigate this decision is one of the uniquestrategic moments of the game.3. The first player has another opportunity to declareand resolve a conflict.4. The second player has another opportunity todeclare and resolve a conflict.A player always has the option to pass on declaring aconflict during a conflict oppportunity, but doing sorelinquishes that conflict opportunity this phase.5Phase 3: ConflictCHARACTER63The conflict phase represents a series of military andpolitical confrontations between the two clans. A militaryconflict represents a military battle or a physical fight. Apolitical conflict could represent a trial, an argument ordebate, or a contest of court intrigue and scheming.In this phase, each player will have a chance to initiateconflicts against their opponent. After these conflictshave resolved, the players will compare glory in anattempt to earn the Imperial Favor.Military Skill (top) andPolitical Skill (bottom). Akodo Toturi5 Akodo ToturiCHARACTER63Bushi. Champion.3Reaction: After you claim a ring during a conflictin which this character is participating – resolve thatring’s effect.A lion is more than his roar, his mane, his teeth, his heart.A lion is all of these.ILLUS. SHAWN IGNATIUS TAN10 2017 FFGBushi. Champion.D 793Reaction: After you claim a ring during a conflictin which this character is participating – resolve that

Attack and Defense (Terminology)When a conflict is declared, if the province that is beingattacked is facedown, turn the province card faceup.This may trigger effects that have an impact on theconflict and could influence the result ofthe conflict.When a player declares a conflict against an opponent’sprovince, that player is the attacking player and thecharacters that are committed to the conflict on thatplayer’s side are participating as attacking characters(also referred to as attackers).Step 2. Declare DefendersThe defending player now has the option to declarecharacters as defenders.The opponent whose province is being attacked is theand the characters that are committedto the conflict on that player’s side are participating asdefending characters (also referred to as defenders).defending playerThis player declares which ready characters(under the defending player’s control) arebeing committed as defenders and slides themforward, separate from their non-committedcharacters. The defending player may declare nocharacters if that player so desires.hhDeclaring and Resolving a ConflictTo declare and resolve a conflict, perform the followingsteps, in order:Note: A character with a dash (–) for a skill value cannotparticipate in a conflict of that type.1. Conflict Declaration – The attacking playerdetermines which characters are attacking, wherethey are attacking, and how they are attacking.2. Declare Defenders – The defending playerdetermines which characters are defending.2Savvy PoliticianCHARACTER123. Conflict Actions – The players alternate using cardabilities in an attempt to gain the upper hand in theconflict.Courtier.4. Conflict Resolution – A conflict result is determined,and the consequences of that result are applied tothe game.1Reaction: After this character is honored, choose acharacter – honor that character.For each of her accomplishments,she deferred the praise to those around her,and in this manner their loyalty was secured.ILLUS. POLAR ENGINE 2017 FFGD 45Each of these steps is described in detail below.Step 1. Conflict Declaration2In order to declare a conflict, the attacking player must:hhhhhhDeclare the type and element of the conflict tobe initiated. (For example: “I declare a politicalFire conflict.”)2Cautious ScoutCHARACTERCHARACTER201233Bushi. Scout.1While this character is attacking alone, treat thedefending province as if its printed text box wereblank (except for Traits).Take the unclaimed ring token of the declaredelement and place it on an opponent’s provincewith the declared type faceup. This indicateswhich province is being attacked. A player isnot permitted to declare an element type if thatring is not in the unclaimed ring pool. A playercannot declare a conflict against an opponent’sstronghold province unless three or more of thatopponent’s other provinces are broken.3Savvy PoliticianCHARACTERThey told him to be careful,but there was only one way to know for sure.ILLUS. SERGIO CAMARENA 2017 FFGD 43Courtier.1Reaction: After this character is honored, choose acharacter – honor that character.For each of her accomplishments,she deferred the praise to those around her,and in this manner their loyalty was secured.ILLUS. POLAR ENGINE 2017 FFGDoji ChallengerBushi. Duelist.“I hope you are prepared to defendyour words with steel!”D 45ILLUS. ZEZHOU CHENSlide a character forward from your homearea to indicate it is being declared as anattacker or defender.Declare which ready characters (under theattacking player’s control) are being committedas attackers and slide them forward, separatefrom their non-committed characters. At leastone character must be declared at this time inorder to initiate a conflict.The above items are considered to be performedsimultaneously. If any of the above cannot becompleted, the conflict cannot be initiated.112Action: While this character is attacking, choosea character controlled by your opponent – movethat character to this conflict. 2017 FFGD 47

Step 3. Conflict ActionsStrategy: Conflict ActionsD

Using this Book This Learn to Play book is written as an introduction to Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game. It should be used as a guide for new players while learning and playing the first game. The first part of this book takes players through an entire game round, teaching the rule