History TableTopGame / LegendOfTheFiveRings

* AppealToInherentNature: Thoroughly mocked. While this is a setting based on traditional Japanese ideals of cosmology (and thus, Advantages and Disadvantages tend to [[InTheBlood run in family lines]]), the fact that this isn't ''overall'' true causes a lot of unneeded misery in setting, since a lot of samurai believe it. For example, the first emperor of the [[TokenEvilTeammate Scorpion Clan]] told the clan founder the folktale of the scorpion and the frog...except he changed the ending. When the frog asks why the scorpion stung the frog in the middle of a river, drowning them both, [[ConsummateLiar the scorpion]] replied "[[IAmNotLeftHanded Little frog]], [[ForTheEvulz I can swim.]]" And indeed, the Clan as a whole is untrustworthy and dishonorable...as is their purpose, since their explicit title is "Underhand of the Emperor", the people who do the things Bushido prevents. Individual Scorpions are trained ''specifically'' how to spin this logical fallacy to their advantage; since everyone expects a Scorpion to be untrustworthy, [[SarcasticConfession they can lie by telling the truth]].
* ArcherArchetype: The Tsuruchi family of the Mantis Clan. Formerly the Wasp Minor Clan, they were drawn into the alliance of Minor Clans by Yoritomo during the Clan War that was eventually formed into the Mantis, when the leader of the clan snapped his katana in half in fealty. Since then, the Tsuruchi have focused on mastery of the bow over all other martial pursuits, though most of them still retain the katana and wakizashi that are symbols of the samurai caste. They most often work as [[BountyHunter bounty hunters]], either alone, or in small groups.

** As mentioned earlier, the Otaku family has been renamed Utaku. The [[{{Dojikko}} Doji and Daidoji]] families still have their original names (although it may be [[SpellMyNameWithAnS a matter of transliteration]] and both were intended to have "long o", pronounced "ou" like [[Manga/CardcaptorSakura Daidouji Tomoyo]]). There was once a ronin named [[PrecisionFStrike Kuso]], a courtier named Baka (although he ended up living to his name) and the Crab clan poster girl Hida O-Ushi (which means "Great Cow"). And some people refer to the pacifist healers of the [[{{Moe}} Asahina]] family as the [[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya SOS Brigade]].

** As mentioned earlier, the Otaku family has been renamed Utaku. The [[{{Dojikko}} Doji and Daidoji]] families still have their original names (although it may be [[SpellMyNameWithAnS a matter of transliteration]] and both were intended to have "long o", pronounced "ou" like [[Manga/CardcaptorSakura Daidouji Tomoyo]]). There was once a ronin named [[PrecisionFStrike Kuso]], a courtier named Baka (although he ended up living to his name) and the Crab clan poster girl Hida O-Ushi (which means "Great Cow"). And some people refer to the pacifist healers of the [[{{Moe}} Asahina]] family as the [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya SOS Brigade]].

* BladeOnAStick: Several families specialize in various forms of polearms rather than the katana.

Gameplay for the card game is pretty good, and is well-received. First off, you have to have two decks: your "Dynasty" deck comes with a black design on the back, and the "Fate" deck has green backing. Fate cards go to your hand, whereas Dynasty cards go to one of your four "Provinces" (IE a little patch of territory on your table), where you flip them right side up and then deploy them if you want to (or can). The main kinds of cards you'll find in your Dynasty deck are "Personalities" (characters, essentially) and "Holdings", whose Gold totals are used to deploy things. But there're also "Region" and "Event" cards; one modifies the province it popped up at, and the other modifying the ''game'' until the end of turn. Meanwhile, your Fate deck provides you with "Items", "[[PlayerMooks Followers]]", "[[VancianMagic Spells]]" and "[[SpiritAdvisor Ancestors]]", all of which which essentially {{Status Buff}}s that you deploy on a Personality. There are also "Action" cards that you play out of your ownself.

A series of tie-in novels, the ''Literature/TheDaidojiShinMysteries'', has its own trope page.

* UselessUsefulSpell: The CCG contained a ''lot'' of cards like this, particularly early on, with many cards designed as "magic bullets" that were devastatingly effective against specific targets like Shadowlands cards. The problem was, [[FakeBalance the developers majorly overestimated how influential Shadowlands cards would be]]- there was little reason to use Shadowlands cards if you weren't playing a Shadowlands deck, and while they could give you some neat advantages [[PowerAtAPrice if you were willing to pay a bit of honour]] (such as the corrupted gold-producing holdings, which were free), they were nothing game-breaking. Meanwhile anti-Shadowlands cards like Tomb of Jade were devastating against their targets, but [[CripplingOverspecialisation complete deadweight (or if they were personalities, very bad value) against everything else]]. This happened ''several times'' (with other subfactions like Ninja and Kolat) and led to a ''lot'' of dead-weight cards that never saw play.

* AluminumChristmasTrees:
** One may be forgiven for thinking that, due to frequently going for TheThemeParkVersion of feudal samurai culture, the majority of samurai family names are [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign faux-Japanese hackjobs.]] Well, several are, but the game gives us a good number of legit surnames as well: Shiba, Matsu, Yoritomo, Asahina, Isawa, Togashi, Ujina, etc. A few others aren't proper PEOPLE'S names, exactly, but do reference things that were actually in Japan. Hida was the name of one of the old feudal provinces on Honshu Island, and Ikoma is the name of a mountain.
** Most of the place names are technically Japanese, as well. At least, they use real Japanese words that make sense and were probably intentional... Just not in the right order. A notable example (which is both common and understandable, among novice speakers) is the usage of "no" as equal to the English word "of" rather than the possessive "'s" (it took them a while to stop naming the various oni, who were named after their summoner, as "Oni no [name]" and instead reprinting them as "[name] no Oni", except, for some reason, Kyoso no Oni, who was always named correctly).

* GloveSlap: Insulting someone's honor in Rokugan is something not to be done lightly - this may end up in a duel, or even a generations-long blood feud.

* TheSavageSouth: The Crab Clan who occupy Rokugan's Southernmost Provinces are considered by most Samurai to be crude and vulgar. This is justified however by the fact that, for nearly their entire history, they have been at war with [[{{Mordor}} the Shadowlands]] just south of them, and courtesy tends to take a backseat to survival.
** The Shadowlands, themselves, are arguably an even better example of this trope, since they are ''literally'' Hell on Earth.

* ScrewTheRulesIHavePlot: The Story Team will put aside established rules of the setting for the sake of the Story, (or to give the CCG players a story prize). For example, if the Empire followed the Thousand years of custom,tradition, law and precedent that existed at the time, Otomo Banu would have become Hantei XL after the Second Day of Thunder, but the Lion won the Tournament so we have the Toturi dynasty.

* StarCrossedLovers: In a society that frowns upon emotional displays, and where all samurai are expected to enter arranged marriages to benefit their family, lord, and/or clan, love is a very dangerous and often fatal thing. Notably, [[FemmeFatale Bayushi Kachiko]] and [[TheCasanova Doji Hoturi's]] romance nearly caused the destruction of the Crane Clan as a result of Kachiko's revenge. Tamori Shaitung and Isawa Nakamuro's romance also nearly fell under this, if it wasn't for the intervention of the literal Goddess of Love.

** {{Justified|Trope}} in Hida O-Ushi's case as her birth name was Hida Yoritoko. Her two brothers nicknamed her O-Ushi ("Ox") because of her great strength and stubborness.

* UselessUsefulSpell: The CCG contained a ''lot'' of cards like this, particularly early on, with many cards designed as "magic bullets" that were devastatingly effective against specific targets like Shadowlands cards. The problem was, [[FakeBalance the developers majorly overestimated how influential Shadowlands cards would be]]- there was little reason to use Shadowlands cards if you weren't playing a Shadowlands deck, and while they could give you some neat advantages [[PowerAtAPrice if you were willing to pay a bit of honour]] (such as the corrupted gold-producing holdings, which were free), they were nothing game-breaking. Meanwhile anti-Shadowlands cards like Tomb of Jade were devastating against their targets, but [[CripplingOverspecialisation complete dead-weight (or if they were personalities, very bad value) against everything else]]. This happened ''several times'' (with other subfactions like Ninja and Kolat) and led to a ''lot'' of dead-weight cards that never saw play.

** As mentioned earlier, the Otaku family has been renamed Utaku. The [[{{Dojikko}} Doji and Daidoji]] families still have their original names (although it may be [[SpellMyNameWithAnS a matter of transliteration]] and both were intended to have "long o", pronounced "ou" like [[Manga/CardcaptorSakura Daidouji Tomoyo]]). There was once a ronin named [[PrecisionFStrike Kuso]], a courtier named Baka (although [[WhatAnIdiot he ended up living to his name]]) and the Crab clan poster girl Hida O-Ushi (which means "Great Cow"). And some people refer to the pacifist healers of the [[{{Moe}} Asahina]] family as the [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya SOS Brigade]].

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Most of whom appear in at least two of following: the CCG, the RPG, and the official fictions.

* SandBridgeAtLowTide: It includes a location in Crab Clan lands called the "Tidal Landbridge" which... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin is what you'd expect]]. Inevitably, it is best known for an incident in which a Crab Clan army and reinforcements from their Crane Clan rivals fought a group of Shadowlands invaders until the tide came back in [[KillEmAll with inevitable results]].

* MysticalJade: Being a generically FarEast setting, the trope makes heavy use of this, with jade being [[SupernaturalRepellent the most effective weapon]] against creatures tainted by the Shadowlands. In fact, in its ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' conversion ''Oriental Adventures'', effects based on CharacterAlignment were translated so that Good became jade and Evil became taint (e.g. ''[[HolyHandGrenade holy smite]]'' becoming an [[DishingOutDirt earth-based spell]] called ''jade smite'').

* BaldWomen: A common trait among women who join a monastery, such as the Togashi Monk School or the Brotherhood of Shinsei.

* LoveHurts: In Rokugan, it's essentially a given that love will conflict with duty and thus lead to tragedy. Thus, Rokugan has a very ambivalent attitude towards love; love of an abstract ideal of beauty is honored, but love of a specific person is often considered dishonorable (and the point of true love is to blur the lines until they're indistinguishable).

** The old Lion Clan-Crane clan rivalry (at least until Doji Kurohito and Matsu Nimuro had their NotSoDifferent epiphany).