Multiplayer Format

Multiplayer is an alternate format allowing more than two players to participate in a single game of Legend of the Five Rings. Only a few alterations/clarifications to the normal Rules are required.

The Players

Winning and losing the game

In Multiplayer, a player who loses the game is eliminated from the game, and the other players continue. A player for whom the last remaining other player is eliminated by a given means (such as Military or Dishonor), wins that kind of victory.

Player elimination

If a player is eliminated from the game:

• all cards from his or her play deck, including starting Holdings, are removed from the game;
• all created cards under his or her control are removed from the game;
• any of his or her remaining provinces leave the game (without literally being destroyed);
• and he or she leaves the game.

An eliminated player’s tokens that are still in play after this, as well as his or her created cards that are controlled by other players, remain in play.

Effects generated by eliminated players’ cards or actions persist for their normal duration. For effects that will end during some future turn of the eliminated player, end them after the previous remaining player’s turn and before the next remaining player’s turn.

Sequence of play

Turns and turn order

Beginning with the starting player, turn order proceeds around the table to his or her left (regardless of the other players' starting Family Honor), with each player taking a turn.

At any time after the start of the game, turn order starts with the active player and continues clockwise, to each player’s left.

Whenever an effect asks “each player” to do something, the default is to start with the active player and continue once in turn order, skipping any players who are not eligible to do that thing.

If an effect alters which player goes first in an action round (for example, taking battle actions in a battle), turn order proceeds leftwards from him or her.

Start of game

In 3-player multiplayer, the player who is going last is the only one who starts the game with a bowed Bamboo Harvesters. If there are four or more players, only the last two in turn order start with a bowed Bamboo Harvesters.

Action Phase

Each player in turn order, starting with the active player, has the opportunity to pass or take a legal action, continuing around the table any number of times until all players pass consecutively.

The active player can only take Limited and Open actions at these opportunities. All other players can only take Open actions at these opportunities.

After all players have passed consecutively, the Action Phase ends.

Attack Phase (optional)

Declaration Segment

In the Declaration Segment in Multiplayer, after the player creating the Attack Phase declares an attack and thus becomes the Attacker for that Attack Phase, he or she then chooses another player. That other player is then the Defender for this Attack Phase, and battlefields are created at only each of his or her provinces.

After battlefields are created, there is an additional step to the Declaration Segment, Invite Allies.

C. Invite Allies.

Players other than the Attacker or the Defender are known as third-party players. The Attacker may invite any number of third-party players to ally with him or her. The Defender then may invite any number of third-party players to ally with him or her.

Invited players do not need to do anything at this point. Being invited allows a third-party player to assign or move units to battlefields in the attack (see Maneuvers Segments, below.)

The Attacker and Defender may each choose not to invite anyone to ally.

During any one Attack Phase, a player other than the Attacker who was not invited by the Attacker may not assign his or her units to the attacking side, and his or her units will not move into the attacking side, or be brought into play on the attacking side. This prohibition includes the Defender and third-party players.

Likewise, a player other than the Defender who was not invited by the Defender may not assign his or her units to the defending side, and his or her units will not move into the defending side, or be brought into play on the defending side. This prohibition includes the Attacker and third-party players.

The first time each attack an invited player has one or more of his or her units assign to, move to, or enter play at an attacking or defending side, he or she becomes an ally of that side’s leader, and that side is his or her side. The invited player is now known as an attacking ally or a defending ally. The invited player’s units are allied units of the player whose army he joined, and that player is considered to be his allied leader. The other player involved in the attack is considered to be the enemy leader from the invited player’s point of view.

Once a third-party player’s status as an attacking or defending ally is established, he is no longer considered invited by his new enemy leader.

Effects that move, assign, or create units controlled by another player on a side at a battlefield can establish the other player's allying status, keeping in mind that he or she must currently br invited to ally by the appropriate leader for those effects to work in the first place.

A player who has been invited by both Attacker and Defender, and whose units move to, assign to, or are created at a battlefield without the effect specifying which side, chooses which side to appear on and ally with.

Effects will not have a third-party player’s units appear on both an attacking and defending side simultaneously. If this is about to happen, the third-party player must choose one set of movements or assignments to fail.

After the first time each attack an invited player assigns one or more units, he gains 2 Honor. Honor is not gained in this way for moving units or bringing them into play.

Invited and ally status does not persist from one Attack Phase to another.

Maneuvers Segments

During the Infantry Maneuvers Segment, after the Attacker assigns his units, the first player the Attacker invited to his left (and then each other player he invited, continuing in turn order) may assign, from his home, any number of his units led by an unbowed Personality to any battlefields, in any arrangement desired.

Then, likewise, after the Defender assigns his units, each player the Defender invited may assign units.

These same procedures are followed for the Cavalry Maneuvers Segment.

Battles

Combat Segment

Third-Party Players Without Presence: A third-party player without units at the battle may sometimes be able to take an action there anyway. When this happens, he takes it as if he were an attacking player if only the Attacker invited him, and as if he were a defending player if only the Defender invited him. If both players invited him, he chooses after announcing the action whether he will take it as an attacking player or a defending player, as long as this choice lets him take the action in good faith. This decision, by itself, has no implications for allying.

Final Steps

During the final steps after the Resolution Segment ends, when attacking units return home and bow, allied units also return home and bow, regardless of whether they were controlled by an attacking or defending ally.