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, 5 May 2015
1) In this ruling, nothing is told about what happens to the Follower (a Hidden Reserves that fails to attach). This post would suggest that it is discarded, like a Holding with a "wrong" Gold Cost would be after being selected with Second City Market. However, I didn't find this explicitly in the Comprehensive Rules... is my interpretation correct?
2) If the answer is yes, does it mean that it is legal to pay 0 Gold for Second City Market's action, just to discard a Market or Port Holding directly from one's Dynasty Deck?
Other points that are not very clear to me: when a Battle Recruit/Equip action for a Reserve card is paid for, but negated by The Sun Returns... 3) is the Gold considered "spent" (i.e. "lost") or does it go into the pool? 4) is the Reserve card discarded or does it stay where it is? (province/hand) 5) if the Reserve card had an Invest trait that was activated before paying costs (e.g. Susumu Mizuki or Spider Elite Sohei), is its Gold Cost increased permanently? (I know that the investment's effect will not happen)
Alex Jones (rules official), 12 May 2015
1) In this ruling, nothing is told about what happens to the Follower (a Hidden Reserves that fails to attach). This post would suggest that it is discarded, like a Holding with a "wrong" Gold Cost would be after being selected with Second City Market. However, I didn't find this explicitly in the Comprehensive Rules... is my interpretation correct?
2) If the answer is yes, does it mean that it is legal to pay 0 Gold for Second City Market's action, just to discard a Market or Port Holding directly from one's Dynasty Deck?
Other points that are not very clear to me: when a Battle Recruit/Equip action for a Reserve card is paid for, but negated by The Sun Returns... 3) is the Gold considered "spent" (i.e. "lost") or does it go into the pool? 4) is the Reserve card discarded or does it stay where it is? (province/hand) 5) if the Reserve card had an Invest trait that was activated before paying costs (e.g. Susumu Mizuki or Spider Elite Sohei), is its Gold Cost increased permanently? (I know that the investment's effect will not happen)
1. If you want to use an ability on a card in your hand (eg, a Strategy, a Ring, or an attachment with a suitable ability, such as Hidden Reserves), you place it in a Resolution Area when you announce the action. If the card does not enter play, it is discarded after the action ends.
2. If you pay 0g for Second City Market's action, you may only search for a 0g Market or Port. You cannot search for and discard a Holding with a different cost to the amount of gold you spent on the action.
3. Paying gold is a cost, not an effect. The gold does not go to the pool.
4. Reserve cards enter play by the rulebook Equip action, not by their own text, so point 1, above, does not apply to them. They stay in hand if the action is negated.
5. The cost of the card is not affected (because of the timing of Invest is "before paying for" the card, and that happens during effects when you validate targets and make the final comparison of cost paid for the action and the cost of the card chosen). Regardless of that, as it remains face down and out of play in your hand, it would immediately forget any such increase.
A player, 12 May 2015
I would like to continue this discussion because I need several clarifications.
2) I think that your answer contradicts your post here where you wrote: In Step D, Resolve Effects, you search your deck for a Market or Port. If it has gold cost equal to the gold you paid in Step B, Recruit it; otherwise, discard it.
5) If it concerns a Reserve Personality, I understand that all the gold paid disappears, but the Gold Cost stat does not change, and the Personality stays in the Province. Am I right?
Additional question: is it possible to use Plain Library's Interrupt when recruiting it via Building Contract? I would say no, because the Interrupt would have to be declared in response to BC's Dynasty action, and at that time PL is not "visible". But I am confused.
Alex Jones (rules official), 13 May 2015
I would like to continue this discussion because I need several clarifications.
2) I think that your answer contradicts your post here where you wrote: In Step D, Resolve Effects, you search your deck for a Market or Port. If it has gold cost equal to the gold you paid in Step B, Recruit it; otherwise, discard it.
5) If it concerns a Reserve Personality, I understand that all the gold paid disappears, but the Gold Cost stat does not change, and the Personality stays in the Province. Am I right?
Additional question: is it possible to use Plain Library's Interrupt when recruiting it via Building Contract? I would say no, because the Interrupt would have to be declared in response to BC's Dynasty action, and at that time PL is not "visible". But I am confused.
2. That ruling was made with the Ivory Edition rules, which did not target the Holding, so you could get any Port or Market. With Twenty Festivals, all Recruit and Equip actions target the card entering play, so you may only search for a card which meets the targeting requirement.
5. The Recruit effect is negated, so you never "pay for" the Personality, so the Invest cost increase does not happen.
Note that during the Pay Costs step, it is known that you will be paying for a Personality, which may affect the amount of gold produced. However, this does not mean that you are at that point paying for the Personality, which happens later - in the Resolution step of the action.
6. Correct. You cannot use an Interrupt on a face-down card.