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, 25 June 2007
Hello Zen, this ruling from today and the previous Acc Rulings below seem to be in contradiction. Can you explain them please?
For cards printed before Gold Edition: If the Imperial Favor must be discarded to pay for an action's cost, the action will always be Political, but the action's effects are not automatically Imperial Favor effects. [ZF, 1 August 2001]
I have a whole list of similar effects I would rather have principle to apply than list over 50 cards for you to rule on.
Thanks again for your help.
Cheers
UK Ronin
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 25 June 2007
Hello Zen, this ruling from today and the previous Acc Rulings below seem to be in contradiction. Can you explain them please?
I have a whole list of similar effects I would rather have principle to apply than list over 50 cards for you to rule on.
Thanks again for your help.
Cheers
UK Ronin
You don't agree with the ruling. I understand. No further posts on this topic, please.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 25 June 2007
Had to run, and didn't adequately respond in earlier post. Sorry.
The original question that prompted these were Hantei Genji and Hantei the 38th. The ruling cited above specifically says, "For card printed before Gold Edition," which neither of those two cards are.
Ide Tadaji was written when costs and effects were far less structured than now, and the Imperial Favor rules were totally different than Gold and beyond. As I said previously, there are several ways the card could be treated, but none are going to be optimal.
One is to allow Tadaji to work in games using only the pre-Gold or Samurai Imperial Favor rules, and with cards printed during that time. This leaves out a lot of the card pool.
Another is the current ruling: that an effect generated by discarding the Imperial Favor will recognized by as Imperial Favor effects by Ide Tadaji. Looser rules wise, but in line with story simulation logic.