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 August 2014
A huge debate is stirring in our community over whether or not you can actually put Ring of the Void into play if you have no cards to discard.
It is my understanding you must possess at least one card other than Ring of the Void to discard for it to enter play, and that if you have no cards to discard, it cannot enter play.
Whereas one player is quoting the comprehensive rules stating it would still go into play as the discard is a separate sentence and is not a cost, and no targeting fails that it should still be allowed to enter play, even if you have no hand to discard.
Can you clear this up?
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 13 August 2014
A huge debate is stirring in our community over whether or not you can actually put Ring of the Void into play if you have no cards to discard.
It is my understanding you must possess at least one card other than Ring of the Void to discard for it to enter play, and that if you have no cards to discard, it cannot enter play.
Whereas one player is quoting the comprehensive rules stating it would still go into play as the discard is a separate sentence and is not a cost, and no targeting fails that it should still be allowed to enter play, even if you have no hand to discard.
Can you clear this up?
I can!
The one player is correct. Even if Ring of the Void is the only card in your hand, you can play it. The discarding of your hand is a separate effect, in no way interdependent with putting the Ring in play.