Results from the Battle of the Clans at Gen Con

Last week, players from around the globe gathered in Indianapolis for Gen Con, one of the world’s premiere tabletop gaming conventions. Office Dog brought early copies of their newest Legend of the Five Rings board game, Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo, to the show, where players fought over the battleground city of Toshi Ranbo in daily events. Each day, we tracked which clans had the most wins, awarding new lore to the clan with the most wins, as well as the clan that had improved the most improved its standing compared to the day prior. If you haven’t been following along on social media, or if you’d like to be able to see all of the results in one place, read on for a recap of the daily rankings and a collection of the Secrets of Toshi Ranbo.

Day 1

During Day 1 of the Battle of the Clans at Gen Con, the Dragon Clan scored the most victories to start, while the Lion Clan came in second place. The first two Secrets of Toshi Ranbo concerned the Dragon and the Lion:

• Dragon Clan: Scattered along the Way of Elements are shrines dedicated to each of the Five Rings, each arranged to encourage the traveler to stop and contemplate how the disparate elements of Air, Earth, Fire, Water nevertheless exist harmoniously in Void. The shrine closest to Toshi Ranbo is the shrine of Earth, built by Dragon Clan monks shortly after the Battle of the Great Climb. Its stone was quarried and delivered from Dragon, Lion, and Crane territories as a pointed message.
• Lion Clan: Before the completion of Northern Virtue Fortress in 437 IC, the land had to be defended from Crane Clan incursions. A lowly soldier named Goseki cut the heads off two dozen ashigaru spears in the process of driving the Crane back across the river. Those spear points were forged into the ancestral swords of the Goseki family and housed in the heart of the castle. When the Tsume finally took the city in the early 12th century, the daishō was nowhere to be found.

Day 2

After Day 2 of the Battle of the Clans at Gen Con, the leading clan was still the Dragon Clan, while the Unicorn Clan saw its standing improve the most since the day before. The third and fourth Secrets of Toshi Ranbo revealed were for the Dragon and the Unicorn:

• Dragon Clan: Years ago, a Dragon Clan samurai came to Toshi Ranbo to hunt a monster in the pool north of the castle. She sat in meditation on the shore of the moat until there came a night with no moon. In the morning, the samurai had vanished. The two swords of her daishō stood point down in the sand. None dared touch the swords, and none dare approach the water on any night with no moon. Mysteriously, the blades have never rusted.
• Unicorn Clan: The Bridge of Valor runs from the castle training grounds and Shrine of Mixed Ashes to the gates of the keep. During the Ki-Rin’s Return, thirty mounted warriors rushed the bridge, cutting down defenders as they charged, and seven reached the gates. They attempted to batter the gates down with the powerful hooves of their steeds and were nearly repulsed by Lion archers on the walls. One Unicorn warrior broke through, capturing a Lion battle standard before galloping back to friendly lines.

Day 3

After Day 3, the Dragon Clan remained in first place, but the Phoenix Clan was quickly catching up The next two Secrets of Toshi Ranbo pertained to the Dragon and the Phoenix:

• Dragon Clan: When times seem dark, and when the city feels threatened by forces beyond mere war, the townsfolk draw comfort from the pure tones of the bell that rings from the Shrine of Mixed Ashes. A gift from the Dragon Clan in 739 IC, the bell is inscribed with prayers against evil. Its silent attendant always seems to know when to ring the bell the ceremonial 108 times to drive back the darkness and invite good fortune.
• Phoenix Clan: The Bridge of Mercy might be the only place behind the city walls spared from bloodshed. The bridge’s timber was a gift from the Phoenix Clan in 923 IC after a flood swept through the river valley, carefully harvested from fallen trees in the enchanted groves of the Isawa Wood. Mysteriously, arrows miss their targets and blades seem to dull when wielded on this span, as if the spirits of the forest itself protest the senseless killing.

Day 4

On Day 4, the final day of the Battle of the Clans at Gen Con, the Dragon Clan clinched yet another day in the lead, while the Crab Clan saw its standing improve the most since the prior day. The final two Secrets of Toshi Ranbo were revealed, unveiling lore for the Dragon and the Crab:

• Dragon Clan: Each year, Dragonfly Clan officials in the City of the Rich Frog send a gift of fine glasswork to the steward of Toshi Ranbo, regardless of which clan holds the castle. Some years, the gift is both useful and beautiful, such as fine glassware cups. When relations are strained, the gift is sometimes pointed, as when warmongering steward Goseki Masahige was sent a black glass sword. It broke in transit.
• Crab Clan: North of the city lies a small shrine, shadowed by an evergreen sakaki tree. A small jade emblem lies inset into the shrine, the only memorial to the bravery of Kuni Purifiers and Damned Crab samurai, who defended Toshi Ranbo from great evil and the threat of the Shadowlands Taint. All other records of the incident, which was probably in the early 8th century IC, have been destroyed by the Asako Inquisitors.

In the Battle of the Clans at Gen Con, the Dragon Clan proved the ultimate victor! For the grand prize, we shared a previously unknown tale of tattooed monk Togashi Mitsu’s history with Toshi Ranbo, the battleground city:

Togashi Mitsu’s pilgrimage to Toshi Ranbo took even the castle steward by surprise, but the monk’s wanderings are often surprising. He was greeted with due ceremony and shown every courtesy, and the floorboards of the shrine were removed as he directed – an odd request, but Mitsu has made odder.

Beneath the floor, pressed into the stone of the bluff as if it were the mud of a riverbank, was a footprint. But not of a human foot. The talons give the print the seeming of a bird, or perhaps a dragon. In any case, Mitsu was not surprised, and murmured only that it was just as the old Abbot had said.

Mitsu meditated beside the footprint for five days. When he roused, he said, “A battle is coming to Toshi Ranbo. The black-furred wolf will find himself cornered.” He then left the castle.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Battle of the Clans. If you couldn’t make it to Gen Con, there are still chances to participate in organized play online and in-store: the organized play season titled “The Siege of Toshi Ranbo” has only just begun. For a limited time, you can play Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo for free on Board Game Arena and have your wins contribute to the starting positions of the clans during the siege. After the game’s physical release, select participating retailers will host events in stores. Stay tuned to LegendoftheFiveRings.com for more details about the upcoming in-store events, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for regular battle reports tracking your clan’s progress during the Siege of Toshi Ranbo.