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, 8 March 2013
Mumoku no Oni (Nonhuman Personality) has the trait "While Mumoku is attacking at a battlefield, its province has a maximum strength equal to its base strength."
Earth's Protections (Spell) has the ability "Battle: Bow this card and give the current battlefield's province a bonus, or a penalty if you are defending, from 1 up to its current strength: Give this Shugenja an equal Force bonus. Negate his next bowing or movement from other players' cards' effects if he is Earth."
My question is this: if Mumoku no Oni and a Shugenja with Earth's Protection attached are attacking at the same battlefield, can the bonus be given to the province without increasing its strength?
For example: Mumoku and 3F/2C Shugenja are attacking a province with a base strength of 7. I use Earth's Protection to give the Shugenja +4F, which I must also give the province, taking its strength to 11. Does Mumoku's trait prevent the bonus from applying to the province? Or would his trait negate the cost of Earth's Protection?
Thanks!
Jon Palmer (rules official), 8 March 2013
Mumoku no Oni (Nonhuman Personality) has the trait "While Mumoku is attacking at a battlefield, its province has a maximum strength equal to its base strength."
Earth's Protections (Spell) has the ability "Battle: Bow this card and give the current battlefield's province a bonus, or a penalty if you are defending, from 1 up to its current strength: Give this Shugenja an equal Force bonus. Negate his next bowing or movement from other players' cards' effects if he is Earth."
My question is this: if Mumoku no Oni and a Shugenja with Earth's Protection attached are attacking at the same battlefield, can the bonus be given to the province without increasing its strength?
For example: Mumoku and 3F/2C Shugenja are attacking a province with a base strength of 7. I use Earth's Protection to give the Shugenja +4F, which I must also give the province, taking its strength to 11. Does Mumoku's trait prevent the bonus from applying to the province? Or would his trait negate the cost of Earth's Protection?
Thanks!
In order to give a bonus or penalty (the cost for Earth's Protection), the stat must actually change its value. Since Mumoko will prevent the province strength from going higher than its base strength, you cannot give the province a bonus (and pay the cost of Earth's Protection) unless the province's strength is already below its base strength.