Rokugan

" Looking to our people, I feel naught but the conviction to protect these lands from the catastrophes of war. I feel compassion for the commonfolk, the Kitsune and the other races in particular. We could learn from our neighbors and their ways, and them from us, I'm sure. This is the meaning of true prosperity. Even without our Shogun, we are still able to forge our own path in this life and the next. " - Yoshinaga Sugikawa

Rokugan is an archipelago consisting of many diverse islands and creatures who call the islands their home. Home to rare races such as the Kitsune, Tengu and Vanarans, Rokugan can appear like an alien world when compared to Asterra in the west. Those few who visit Rokugan are often amazed by it's lush beauty and diverse seasons. Cherry blossom trees are so common that spring in Rokugan is coated in light pink petals from North to south, where as it's fall sports all kinds of unique colors ranging from bright reds and yellows to dull browns and light greens. It's winters are bitterly cold, and the north is covered in a thick layer of nearly impassable snow every year. Each season feels like stepping into a new world for many outsiders not accustomed to Rokugan's climates. Rokugan is also home to the Samurai, a distinct warrior class not unlike a knight that is unique to Rokugan. The Samurai are the ruling class of Rokugan, and make up everything from the lords, law writers, guards, soldiers, and political officials. As far as the Rokuganians are aware, life for them has always been this way. The true uniqueness that comes from Rokugan, however, is their lack of knowledge of the Patrons. While Patrons are common knowledge throughout Asterra, they are a bizarre and often foreign concept to the Rokuganians who instead worship great spirits known as Kami. Outsiders believe a great Patron may be watching over the archipelago personally, perhaps in an effort to keep them far away from the troubles that often brew in Asterra.

Unique Diversity

" To the south sits the Sugikawa; a family renowned for their honor and peaceful virtues. To the west is the Kamigawa; those who could not stray further from this concept, resorting to dirty tactics in war and assassins to remove political leaders. Then to the north you have the glory hounds, the Torakai. They care nothing for peace, seeking only war with anyone they deem interesting to fight. Rokugan is anything but united. " -Nobunaga Kasai

Rokugan is governed by several mighty clans all under the rulership of a single Shogunate family. Though the lands are part of the same country, many of these lands act as wholly independent nations, sporting unique cultures within themselves. Though this adds to the charm of the islands, it also leads to great civil conflict every few hundred years. When a Shogun dies with no heir the country often breaks into civil war to decide a new Shogun who may rule Rokugan. In modern day ROkugan, this issue seems to be repeating itself once more, as war once again rears its ugly head across all of Rokugan. Each Great War leads to a heavy burden on the commonfolk who can barely support wars breaking out one after the other. When one man is declared Shogun, the war rarely ends, as the Daimyo of Rokugan rarely see eye to eye in all their current affairs and beliefs. It typically takes fifty years for one war to end, and then peace only lasts so long with the way Rokugan is. To some, the wars never really end. Many believe the Shogunate inevitably gets culled, slowly but surely until there are no family members left.

Geography

Rokugan's main Island is it's most diverse. Consisting of lush green fields, to rocky hard mountains, from the cold steppes to the swamp north of Kabedomo, there is somewhere on he mainland for everybody. The other major islands of Rokugan are Kyushu, Shikoku, and Kodori. Kyushu is by far the most temperate of the islands, even sporting it's own rainforest. It's one of the warmest areas in all of Rokugan, and houses a lot of agriculture. Shikoku runs along the western coast of the mainland and is a mostly rocky island with few places to really farm or build. Because of this however, the island is home to most of the iron and gold in all of Rokugan, making the people some of the wealthiest there as well. Kodori is a strange island, home to the only desert in all of Rokugan. It is for the most part, an vacant clanless piece of land unoccupied by civil folk. This isn't without reason, of course, it is considered by many to be the most inhospitable island in the archipelago, it's even home of the Oni.

Type

Archipelago

Included Locations

Characters in Location