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, 7 May 2008
Ok, my opponent has played a Hidden Scandal on my turn and later my card effects have made him lose 5 honor this turn. There's also a Denounced on Stage effect going on this turn.
Question A: Then one of his dishonored personalities is destroyed, and he's going to lose honor equal to the personality's base Personal Honor (suppose it's 3). I react to this loss with Yogo Honami because I want to increase the loss by 1. Will he lose 3 (the base personal honor), 4 (because of Honami or Denounced on Stage) or 5 (because of both)?
Question B: I decide to play a Determination , then Unfortunate Incident. Will he lose 0 (Determination doesn't work here!), 5 (Unfortunate Incident isn't negated by Hidden Scandal because of Determination, but other card effects can't increase the loss) or 6 (Denounced on Stage works regardless)?
Question C: If the honor loss of 5 happened before Hidden Scandal, does that previous loss count towards the maximum of five?
A player, 7 May 2008
Question A: Will he lose 3 (the base personal honor), 4 (because of Honami or Denounced on Stage) or 5 (because of both)?
Please use the search function before posting : see "Hidden Scandal" and "Yogo Honami's reaction and Denounced on Stage" (just two posts below).
He loses 5 Honor. Yogo Honami and Denounced on Stage increases existing Honor losses, they don't create new ones. Moreover losing Honor for the destruction of a dishonorable Personality comes from the rulebook, not from other players' card effects, so Hidden Scandal never negates it.
Question B: Will he lose 0 (Determination doesn't work here!), 5 (Unfortunate Incident isn't negated by Hidden Scandal because of Determination, but other card effects can't increase the loss) or 6 (Denounced on Stage works regardless)?
6. Denounced on Stage increases by one the amount of Honor lost from Unfortunate Incident before Hidden Scandal attempts to negate it and fails because of Determination.
Question C: If the honor loss of 5 happened before Hidden Scandal, does that previous loss count towards the maximum of five?
No. When Hidden Scandal resolves, it starts counting total Honor gains and losses "from now until the turn ends" (card text) so it ignores what happened earlier this turn.