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, 1 September 2007
RE: This.
I'm not sure how to interpret the above answer in regards to my question, but I beg to differ with its assertion:
In the CR, Stats, Setting Stats to a Value, it says: "To set a stat to value, give an appropriate bonus or penalty."
Just above that section, still under Stats, we have: "To get a stat's current value at any given time, do steps A through C, below:
A: Apply all current bonuses and penalties. B: If the total is below 0, treat it as 0. (Does not apply to Family Honor, Honor Requirements, and stats with a + or – sign such as an Item’s Force and Chi stats.) C: If the total is less than a minimum or more than a maximum, treat it as the minimum or maximum."
As I see it, fairly plainly under Samurai rules, in order to set to 7 the current Force of a base 3F Personality with -8F worth of penalities currently upon him, the appropriate bonus would be +12F to satisfy steps A through C and arrive at the correct value.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 1 September 2007
In the CR, Stats, Setting Stats to a Value, it says: "To set a stat to value, give an appropriate bonus or penalty."
Which means you first have to determine the current value of the stat. And it also says to use the current value of a stat when a stat is called for.
Just above that section, still under Stats, we have: "To get a stat's current value at any given time, do steps A through C, below:
Which gives you a current value of 0F. So to get to 7F, you give +7F.
You're trying to use that quoted procedure to determine the value of the bonus -- not the value of the stat.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 1 September 2007
Fixed.
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=61125