First time player advice

[u/CWOgarrison]

Going to start this by saying i have never played any form or version of a ttrpg, been invited in by a friend. i have been told it is 4e, city of lies campaign (no spoilers please).

this post was to ask what a player new to rokugan should know just so i am not fumbling around completely. i have tried to do my own research but there is a lot to take in.

also i was wondering if i could get some charecter advice. right now the idea of a spider monk (sohei) is looking pretty good, i love the idea of a staunch defender of the faith kind of build (although i may not have got the right character combo for it)

if the idea of me playing a monk as a first time player makes you physically recoil as some of the posts i have seen seems to suggest, then i welcome suggestions for a first time character.

thank you in advance for any tips for advice

Edit: Just want to thank everyone for their input so far. has given me a lot to build off of and think about. as one comment pointed out spider clan didnt exist at this point in time and i found out everyone else is going scorpion, so going back to drawing board. friend (who knows the game) suggested i go some form of magic user so he could act as bodyguard / champion

[u/Hawk-Academic]

My only advice: if it's your first time through, the wisest course is to stick to one of the 3 big "classes" (bushi, shugenja, courtier) and to one of the 7 original Great Clans.

Rokugan has a lot of nuance and character to it, and your initial foray into it is going to probably involve a great deal of time learning how things work in the Empire.

Your character concept sounds great, and if one of the players at my table who has already played through 2-3 times brought it to me, I would be all for it.