The Battleground City

“Violence Behind Courtliness City – if there was a place in all the Empire which had better earned its name, he did not know of it.” – Toturi the Rōnin in A Throne Betrayed by Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas

For centuries, one castle has traded hands more times than any other in Rokugan. Its history is written in blood, its fortifications are shaped by steel, and the ghosts of armies long forgotten still fight among its battle-scarred fields. It is called Violence Behind Courtliness City, or Toshi Ranbo wo Shien Shite Reigisaho in the Rokugani language, but most samurai know it simply as Toshi Ranbo, a name synonymous with conflict. Read on to learn more about the geography that makes the city so contested, and its evolution from a simple border fort to a resolutely guarded stronghold.

A Strategic Position

The legendary fortress of Toshi Ranbo watches Rokugan’s northern borderlands and the upper banks of the Drowned Merchant River, a manmade canal that connects Nikesake and the City of the Rich Frog. Since its founding in the fifth century, Toshi Ranbo has served as the northernmost keep of the Lion or Crane, depending on which clan holds it at the time. Its central position in northern Rokugan also makes it strategic to the Dragon and Phoenix clans’ defenses, and the far reach of the Unicorn Clan’s swift cavalry also threatens the city from the west. Even the distant Crab and Scorpion clans maintain economic interests in the city and its environs, making Toshi Ranbo a tempting target for all the Great Clans.

The city’s violent history is bound up with the unending feud between the Crane and Lion Clans, whose enmity dates back to the founding of the Emerald Empire. While the Lion are tasked with maintaining the emperor’s armies, the Crane are charged with keeping the emperor’s peace. Those opposing goals—coupled with grudges and territory disputes—have set the two clans against each other.

A Bloody History

After the Crane Clan gained a foothold in the nearby Golden Valley, the Lion Clan constructed what would become North Virtue Fortress in 437 IC (Imperial Calendar) to protect themselves. The first major assault came from the Crane Clan in 596 IC, who held the castle for eight days before the Lion reclaimed it. Another Crane attack four years later failed again, and the heavy casualties suffered left them open to a fierce Lion counterattack in the Golden Valley that they only barely repelled. Finally, the Crane succeeded in taking the keep, only to be driven out once again. The vicious cycle would continue for five hundred years.

In the early twelfth century, a belligerent Crane lord named Tsume Retsu captured Toshi Ranbo and slew the entire Goseki family, vassals of the Lion who garrisoned the castle. Though Retsu’s liege lords disagreed with his methods, they could not argue with his success, further inflaming tensions between the Crane and Lion. Years later, the young and brash Champion of the Lion Clan, Akodo Arasou, sought to avenge the massacred Goseki and drive the Crane from Toshi Ranbo. Fighting alongside him was his betrothed, the berserker Matsu Tsuko. The battle ended in tragedy for the couple when Arasou was slain, killed by an arrow loosed by the Crane Clan Champion herself, Doji Hotaru. Since then, the empire holds its breath for the moment that Matsu Tsuko seeks vengeance for her betrothed’s death—and Toshi Ranbo itself.

For those looking to delve deeper into the lore of Toshi Ranbo and include the battleground city in their roleplaying game campaigns, check out the Emerald Empire sourcebook for Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying, available from Edge Studio at local game stores and from DriveThruRPG. Besides covering Toshi Ranbo, the book also details some of Rokugan’s other famous strongholds. A lush, full-color map of the stronghold of Toshi Ranbo also features in the upcoming L5R Roleplaying sourcebook Hand of Secrets, the essential guide to cities, law, and subterfuge in Rokugan.

A New Battle Dawns

The fortress at Toshi Ranbo is the central focus of the eponymous board game Gunsen: The Battle for Toshi Ranbo, a fast-paced area-control game for 2 to 6 players. Each player controls one of the seven Great Clans as they battle and barter their way to victory over the fiercely contested city. Players will build and refine their clan tableau to unlock powerful synergies, outmaneuver rivals, and seize control at the perfect moment. Multiple clans, shifting strategies, and player-driven conflict ensure every battle for Toshi Ranbo plays out differently.

And for a limited time, if you pre-order your copy of Gunsen from a participating retailer, you’ll receive a premium, promotional wooden tile to represent Toshi Ranbo on the game board. Check out this list of participating stores to claim your premium wooden Toshi Ranbo tile.

At Toshi Ranbo, warlords seek glory and vengeance, and samurai fight to prove themselves worthy of their family names and swords. In the keep’s shadow, mercenaries trade their lives for coin, while rōnin pledge their blades to those who still uphold the warrior’s code. No matter how many lives are lost… no matter how many swords are shattered… the fighting continues. For whoever controls Toshi Ranbo will carve out the future of the Emerald Empire.