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, 29 July 2007
Here is a copy of the text in the rulebook. I have emboldened the text most relevant.
Example: An ability on one of your Personalities says “Battle: Target another Personality. Move the target to this battlefield.” This action is legal even if the target is outside the current battlefield, because the action can move him there. However, your Personality must still be at the current battlefield due to the Rule of Location, because the action comes from him and does not move him there.
My question is why does the personality need to be at the current battlefield to move another personality to the battlefield. The Rule of Location is stated in the rulebook as:
RULE OF LOCATION Cards in units must be at the current battlefield to be legally targeted by a Battle Action; likewise, to legally take a Battle action from a card in a unit, the unit must be at the current battlefield. Exception: Actions that say they can move a unit to the current battlefield are legal if Presence and Location will be satisfied with the unit there. In this case, choices about movement effects must then be made to satisfy both Presence and Location, if possible.
This exception indicates that only the targeted personality would need to be moved to the battlefield to satisfy the Rule of Location. Please explain.
Martin Lund (rules official), 30 July 2007
Here is a copy of the text in the rulebook. I have emboldened the text most relevant.
Example: An ability on one of your Personalities says “Battle: Target another Personality. Move the target to this battlefield.” This action is legal even if the target is outside the current battlefield, because the action can move him there. However, your Personality must still be at the current battlefield due to the Rule of Location, because the action comes from him and does not move him there.
My question is why does the personality need to be at the current battlefield to move another personality to the battlefield. The Rule of Location is stated in the rulebook as:
RULE OF LOCATION Cards in units must be at the current battlefield to be legally targeted by a Battle Action; likewise, to legally take a Battle action from a card in a unit, the unit must be at the current battlefield. Exception: Actions that say they can move a unit to the current battlefield are legal if Presence and Location will be satisfied with the unit there. In this case, choices about movement effects must then be made to satisfy both Presence and Location, if possible.
This exception indicates that only the targeted personality would need to be moved to the battlefield to satisfy the Rule of Location. Please explain.
The Rule of Location applies to each and every card that falls under its purview.
Since the example in the Rulebook shows a Personality Card with a Battle ability, that Personality falls under the Rule of Location.
Since the example in the Rulebook shows a Personality Card has to be the target of the Battle ability, that Personality falls under the Rule of Location as well.
The targeted Personality moves into the Current Battlefield. This satisfies the Exception to the Rule of Location.
The Personality with the Battle ability itself does not move. That means he must be at the Current Battlefield because he doesn't qualify for the Exception.
Please, do not misunderstand the Exception to the Rule of Location to mean that if even one of the cards involved moves into the Current Battlefield suddenly everyone else is off the hook. I find the Comprehensive Rules make this a bit more explicit. I guess that's why they are there, after all.