A topic from AEG's L5R CCG Rules forum, copied for Oracle of the Void from a copy of the forum saved in October 2015, so pages it didn't save are missing. Players' names are left out; the rules officials are named. Rulings are as they stood on these dates; later rulings, the rulebooks and the Rules Archive may differ.
A player, 12 February 2013
As a followup to this: viewtopic.php?p=1298921#p1298921 to which I got the following private answer back then:
Alex Jones wrote:Well, the answer would currently appear to be "Use the cost of the Personality when he's in the discard pile - unless he's a created card, in which case use the cost before he leaves play (ie including the Coin Pouch)."
We're discussing whether or not to iron out this discrepancy.
Alex
and to the new: Spiritual Coalescence
Strategy 0GC FV3 Battle/Open: Destroy your performing Spirit Personnality and target another Spirit Personnality: Give it a permanent Force bonus equal to the performer's Force. It permanently copies the performer's abilities which do not themselves copy abilities. You may take an additional action.
What is the answer now?
Jon Palmer (rules official), 12 February 2013
As a followup to this: viewtopic.php?p=1298921#p1298921 to which I got the following private answer back then:
and to the new: Spiritual Coalescence
What is the answer now?
The answer would be the same.
Per the rules on created cards, "If a sequence of effects from the same action or trait first puts a created card out of play, and subsequently refers to any aspect of that card, the state of the created card just before it left play is checked."
If the spirit being destroyed is a created card, check its force and abilities immediately before it leaves play.