Blue Rose vs Legend of the Five Rings
Compare Blue Rose and Legend of the Five Rings side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Blue Rose | Legend of the Five Rings | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Character-Driven, Corruption, Tactical, Crunchy, Social Intrigue, Strong GM Support, High-Fantasy, Lore-Heavy, Heroic, Roleplay-Heavy | Social Combat, Social Intrigue, Character-Driven, Drama, Character Building, Narrative, Tactical, Crunchy, Lore-Heavy, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 and add the relevant ability, skill, or arcanum modifier against a Difficulty set by the Narrator. Attacks use the same procedure against Defense. Successful damage forces a Toughness save that moves the target along an injury track instead of reducing hit points. | Choose a skill and elemental approach. Roll custom d6s equal to the ring value and custom d12s equal to the skill rank. Keep up to the ring's value in dice. Count successes on kept dice against a target number. Explosive successes can add rolls. Spend opportunity symbols for extra effects. Strife symbols on kept dice build emotional pressure. The core includes a conversion table for ordinary d6s and d12s. |
| Dice | d20 | d6 + d12 custom dice |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Paid | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Open Game License Version 1.0a | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open Game License v1.0a | Noncommercial only — Fan content policy |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Green Ronin Publishing, LLC | Edge Studio |
| Year | 2005 | 2018 |
| Languages | English, Italian | English, French, Italian, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups who want hopeful romantic fantasy campaigns where personal motivations, political intrigue, and heroic service matter alongside tactical conflict. | Groups who want samurai campaigns where personal desires clash with sworn duties, with detailed court intrigue and tactical duels. |
| Highlights | Acting on a Calling and either nature restores Conviction, turning personal motives into a renewable resource. Reputation and Influence give past deeds and changing attitudes mechanical weight in social scenes. Sorcery risks Corruption that erodes abilities and can culminate in madness or unlife, making forbidden magic a sustained consequence rather than a binary choice. | Choosing an elemental approach changes how a skill tackles a problem and which opportunities a player can spend. Strife turns emotional pressure into a mechanical limit, inviting characters to reveal desires they are expected to conceal. Intrigues and duels give courtiers and warriors distinct tools for pursuing their goals. |
| Considerations | Character creation combines a background and role with several layers of customization, requiring choices across multiple chapters. Combat tracks actions, modifiers, saving throws, and damage conditions instead of a single hit-point total. Sorcery's Corruption rules attach moral consequences to forbidden magic, so groups must engage with the setting's Light and Shadow framework. | Players track emotional pressure and social standing alongside the action. Keeping dice and choosing opportunities can slow checks until the group knows its options. Clan duties and Bushidō shape character creation and consequences, so campaigns in other settings require adapting those assumptions. |