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 May 2013
Tomorrow's Hourglass: (Oracle Text) Will only attach to a Ratling Personality. Limited: Search your Dynasty deck and provinces and remove from the game all Ratling Personalities you find. If you removed three or more Ratlings from your deck, choose and remove a Personality in play from the game.
How does the limited action on this card interact with the rules on "search"?
A) Can I choose to use the action but "fail" to find any Ratlings? B) can I Use the action, and "successfully" find only 3 ratlings to remove, even if I have 20 left in the searchable areas?
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 12 May 2013
Tomorrow's Hourglass: (Oracle Text) Will only attach to a Ratling Personality. Limited: Search your Dynasty deck and provinces and remove from the game all Ratling Personalities you find. If you removed three or more Ratlings from your deck, choose and remove a Personality in play from the game.
How does the limited action on this card interact with the rules on "search"?
A) Can I choose to use the action but "fail" to find any Ratlings? B) can I Use the action, and "successfully" find only 3 ratlings to remove, even if I have 20 left in the searchable areas?
Search: "The player may choose to have a search fail; he or she need not retrieve a suitable card even if found. [ADDED 6 April 2012]"
It seems the original text on the Hourglass doesn't work properly now, in light of the new rule above. Will amend. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.