L5R's "Zero, zero" ad

If it wasn't L5R's most successful ad, it was certainly the one that caused the most discussion. People remembered it, quoted it, and misquoted it, for years after it ran.

The ad was running around the time Crimson & Jade was released (which brought to card pool to about 900). The ad below was scanned from InQuest #28 (cover dated August 1997), but was also running in The Duelist, Scrye, and so on.

Here's what Ryan Dancey, the ad's creator, had to say about it in 2002 on the l5r-ccg list:

From: "Ryan S. Dancey" <ryand@organizedplay.com>
Date: Wed Dec 18, 2002 8:58 am
Subject: RE: [L5R-CCG] L5R's most famous ad
> From: Zen Faulkes [mailto:zfaulkes@sbcglobal.net] > This ad is so (in)famous, gets used to support so many arguments, > and is *misquoted* so often, I'm going to scan it right now > and post it > on my website. You should be able to see it later today. Most men sooner or later say things that they later come to regret. Most men can apologize to the handful of people affected by those comments and the matter blows over. I, on the other hand, have to live with that darn ad for the rest of my life. Ryan - Contents Copyright (C) 1998-2002 by ALDERAC ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, INC.

Oh, about those "Nationwide Professional Tournaments"? They never happened. They were to have been much like the Magic Pro Tour, with big prize money, only cooler.

The plan was first announced in a small Crimson & Jade advertising booklet that was distributed in The Duelist #16 (I think). It was not a small little thing buried in the text; it was prominently announced on the back cover, with a "Pro Tour" logo, the whole deal. Here's what it said:

This year Legend of the Five Rings players from across the United States will have the opportunity to compete for cash prizes at a series of Professional Tournaments. These events will be exciting gatherings of expert players who will bring the best and most innovative strategies to the contest. Local stores in each region will host tournament events leading to a Regional Professional Tournament in your area!

The Regionals will feature other events in addition to the Professional Tournament, including sealed deck events, a chance to see and purchase fantastic Legend of the Five Rings art, previews of new products amd seminars from the Design Team and master class players.

The announcement was, of course, greeted with panicked protests: "You're going to turn this game into Magic!"

The idea was dropped for various reasons. I bet it turned out to be too big an organizational problem. Ryan Dancey posted one email about it after the plans were scuttled where he described what he had planned.

Basically, every event would be an L5R mini-con, with things like costume contests, LARPs, art show, and lots of L5R related stuff besides just playing the CCG. The finals would have been a big event held at the Imperial Palace Casino in Las Vegas. (Yep, Ryan even had the site for the finals picked!) There was a lot more too it than that, but those are the details I remember.

Interestingly, after Ryan posted just what he had in mind, even some people who had first decried it as a stupid idea grudgingly said, "That... sounds... sort of... cool..."

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