Kotei Season 2009 - A Shred of Doubt

A new year has dawned for Legend of the Five Rings, and 2009 will be like no other you have taken part in. At AEG, we’ve been scrutinizing what we do, and most of all at what we believe we could do better. Looking back over the last fourteen years, and as we look forward to many more, we saw that we had convinced ourselves of certain things, of sacrosanct themes and traditions and tropes that we felt could never change, or even be allowed to change. The Crab will always defend the Wall. The Phoenix will always be the guardians of knowledge. The major families will always be there. The samurai will always win.

The Empire, in the end, will always be the same.

Boring.

We’d fallen into predictable patterns, entirely without meaning to do so. At the center, at the core, at the very heart of drama is change, and those sacred axioms we cleaved to as the very foundations upon which Rokugan was built had powdered invisibly to sand. What we felt were the unique and special things about L5R had become the greatest threats to its continued vibrancy. To its being alive.

2009 sees a radical shift in the storytelling of Legend of the Five Rings. Nothing is safe. Your actions, your scope - and we will be affording you more of each - will expand to encompass victory or defeat in ways that may alter Rokugan forever.

The Kotei Season begins in a little over two weeks, and it will set the scene for Celestial Edition and a completely new take on the Mega Game. As sporadic attacks in northern Rokugan explode into full-scale war, you will bear witness to the unthinkable: the first external invasion of the Empire in its history.

But the War of Dark Fire is just the beginning. Of something darker. Of something worse.

In August, at GenCon Indy, Kotei winners and other qualifiers will vie for the Empress’s favor in undertaking a mission essential to the survival of the Empire. But it won’t be anything like you imagine. The Burden of Duty is heavy, and even the worthy may bow beneath it.

Nothing is sacrosanct. Nothing is safe.

The Army of Fire forges southward, sweeping aside all resistance as the Empire attempts to marshal its defenses. With each day, reports of new calamities reach the ears of the Divine Empress, of ancestral homes burned to their foundations, of armies reduced to ash, of her people starving amid cinders and scorched earth.

Each second is now vital, every indecision a potentially disastrous shift in the line between survival and extinction. As the Empire staggers under the onslaught, the stories of its greatest heroes – of you – will change the face and outcome of the war in a way never before experienced in Legend of the Five Rings.

At this year’s Kotei, you will have a chance to put your mark on the beginning of a new interactive arc for Legend of the Five Rings. As the War of Dark Fire rages, you will win victories and perform great deeds in service of the Empire. These victories and deeds will, in turn, be reflected and honored in upcoming card and fiction releases as L5R daily closes in on its 15th Anniversary.

Every week during the 2009 Kotei Season, the Story Team will incorporate each competition result into official fiction before the next weekend’s tournaments, creating a vivid and up-to-the-minute chronicle of the events unfolding in the north.

In addition, as process allows, the Design Team will preview each and every card that derives from a Kotei victory, singling out the efforts of those triumphant as the war takes course, and heroes are born.

But the War of Dark Fire is just the beginning. Of a greater story. Of a greater game.

Every decision is vital. Every decision counts.

As we stand on the threshold of the 2009 Kotei Season, there is a new reason to attend each tournament within reach. The Celestial Edition Mega Game commences this October, and the results of this year’s Kotei tournaments will impact how the Mega Game plays out in subtle and various ways. Each victory for your clan may move you one step closer to surviving the trials ahead, if you are canny. Each opportunity lost may cost you dearly if compounded by foolish choice.

But now the 2009 Kotei Season is here. The time for doubt is over.

The struggle to save the Empire has begun.