The Show, The Game

Our show is designed to be friendly for everyone, requiring no prior knowledge of L5R or roleplaying games. We also seek to be inclusive to players and the audience, portraying the serious subject matters of the setting, game and show in a sensitive way. 

We try to curate our episodes with extensive content warnings and avoid recurring prejudices that often creep into similar spaces. If we ever fail your safety and comfort, please contact us and we will get sensitivity consulting on the issue! 

Every game master and their group is always going to create a different version of the same adventure or world based on the elements they choose to portray. There’s a spoiler-free list of the way we play Legends of the Five Rings in our setting guidelines.

the Emerald Lands

Crimson Gold Agonies uses the current setting published and owned by Fantasy Flight Games as its foundation. Historically, there are the three major events that are essential to the podcast’s plot:

• The Emerald Lands have been struck by a series of environmental disasters. The most recent was an unusual confluence of desert winds, causing a series of storms and deluges that is being called “the Great Hail”.

• The Emerald Champion has died at some point during Winter, and no replacement has been appointed. Their assassination was orchestrated by a cabal of high-ranking noble loyalists, which took this drastic action to prevent any possible coups after the death of the current Scion of Heaven.

• The Moth clan, a minor noble family, has its holdings in the remote but important town of Hirosaka. The ruling family of the Moth, the Kaikoga, are a mysterious sort, known only for their dreamweavers and explorers. They are considered the ultimate authority in the realms of thought and the beings within, but are poorly understood by their fellow nobles.

Our game begins in Winter 1122, and progresses through the seasons from there. Sometimes weeks will pass between arcs, while others will start the day after the previous one finished. It all depends on the actions the characters take and the events that they become entangled in.

Meet The Cast

Sakai-no-Doji Eiko

Courtier, cog in the Imperial Machine, analyst and manipulator.

From birth, Eiko held an unnatural talent in the study and observation of others around him. A fairly quiet child, he did not express himself much, preferring to wait and listen to others. Under the watchful eye of the finest tutors money could buy, Eiko excelled in his studies, holding a particular affinity for government studies and the records of cultural traditions throughout the empire. Upon completion of his gempukku, he was quickly picked up by a magistrate of the Bureau of Heavenly Tax, and soon worked his way through its ranks until he gained a position as yoriki of the Emerald Office. Eiko’s control, precision and grace serve his magistrate well in delicate negotiations, and he is always able to find an interesting bit of information to follow up on later, inevitably leading to a solution to a problem the group didn’t even know they had yet.

Played by: Evan

Art by: Melon at @melonkind

Soshi Yuzume

Illusionist, student of the law, and wannabe revolutionary.

Yuzume first joined the Emerald Office to consult on a case involving some misbehaving kami, but was kept on thanks to her keen interest in the academic side of the law. In time, she has also come to act as an advisor for her magistrate, an appointment that not everyone is happy with thanks to her years-long reputation for needless cruelty. Still, she’s not opposed to playing the long game, and she sees this newest assignment to Hirosaka as a chance to take back control of her own narrative. Aside from pursuing mass legal reform that could shake the very foundations of how justice is carried out in the Empire, there are few things that she could consider more important.

Played by: Charlie

Art by: Melon at @melonkind

Asahina Hajime

Duelist, trained legal champion, walked right out of a pillow book one day.

Hajime is a very young samurai whose primary passion is the art of the duel (though he also has a weakness for fine food). He was hired by the Emerald Office to act as a legal champion, but in truth, Hajime is primarily present to intimidate people: his towering build and skill with a blade mean people often think twice before contesting a ruling from his magistrate. In spite of these circumstances, Hajime is extremely easy-going, and he loves to meet new people and build genuine connections with them. The complex social dances involved in doing so aren’t always his favourite, but things always seem to work out in the end.

Played by: Sam

Art by: Melon at @melonkind

Bayushi Minoru

Deathdealer, local hero, and anxious young man.

Minoru is a samurai who is in over his head, even if he doesn’t know it yet. His desire to do right by the people of Hirosaka, combined with his new duties in the Emerald Office, make it imperative that he succeed in bringing prosperity to the region, even if he might need to resort to unorthodox methods to do so. Minoru is a man who likes to take a well-thought out approach to his work, and will happily change the role he plays depending on what outcome he desires. At court, he’s often seen making subtle commentary behind a fan, taking on the persona of a stereotypical Bayushi. When out in the field, however, he is all business; utilitarian, focused and unshakeable. Unless, of course, he hears the ringing of the bells...

Played by: Brad

Art by: Melon at @melonkind