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
Regarding this post http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=67780
What happens if there are no personalities in play on either side? Would a province be gained?
I guess, to put it another way, is the targeting for the event Required Targeting? Neither the entry for events nor the rules for Required Targeting seem to indicate so.
Test of the Emerald Champion "Target one of your Personalities. Each other player, in turn order, may target one of his Personalities; your Personality challenges each of them immediately after they are targeted. Each duel’s winner gains 3 Honor; destroy the loser. If you lost none of these duels, remove your Personality from the game and gain a province to the left of your leftmost province."
A player, 7 May 2008
What happens if there are no personalities in play on either side?
The Event's owner gains a province to the left of his leftmost province. He lost no duel since none occurred.
is the targeting for the event Required Targeting?
Failing to find a legal mandatory target for a trait doesn't prevent it from resolving.
Glossary, Target: "However, sometimes targeting may happen in a trait. In that case, targeting must be carried out if possible, but there are no special implications if the targeting fails, other than the non-availability of any target for further effects that refer back to it."
Roger Giner-Sorolla (rules official), 8 May 2008
Regarding this post http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=67780
What happens if there are no personalities in play on either side? Would a province be gained?
I guess, to put it another way, is the targeting for the event Required Targeting? Neither the entry for events nor the rules for Required Targeting seem to indicate so.
Test of the Emerald Champion "Target one of your Personalities. Each other player, in turn order, may target one of his Personalities; your Personality challenges each of them immediately after they are targeted. Each duel’s winner gains 3 Honor; destroy the loser. If you lost none of these duels, remove your Personality from the game and gain a province to the left of your leftmost province."
Actually, don't take this as the final word. We are still debating whether this card warrants a special clarification. In particular, due to the implications of the phrase "if you lost none of these duels."
Roger Giner-Sorolla (rules official), 14 May 2008
Technical errata have been issued that alters this ruling.
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=67964
Test of the Emerald Champion (Samurai Edition)
Target one of your Personalities. Each other player, in turn order, may target one of his Personalities; your Personality challenges each of them immediately after they are targeted. Each duel’s winner gains 3 Honor; destroy the loser. If you lost none of these duels, or if there were no duels, remove your Personality from the game; if you removed him, gain a province to the left of your leftmost province.
This means that: * If you have a Personality in play, and nobody else does, you remove him from the game and gain a province. * If you have no Personality in play, nothing happens. * If all other players refuse to target any Personality to be challenged, you remove your Personality from the game and gain a province.
A poll of playtesters showed that most of them believed that is the way the card worked anyway.