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, 8 July 2009
Can followers with the scout trait bow to pay the cost of recon strategies?
For example, can Untested Scouts pay the cost of Advance Position.
Advance Position Cost:
0 Focus:
3 Recon Open: Bow your target Scout: Target a province. During battles at this province, after each resolution of an enemy player's action from a card in a unit, he discards a random card from his hand.
Untested Scouts Force/Chi:
2 / 0 Ho/Co/PH:
1 / 3 / - Focus:
2 Scout Will only attach to a Samurai or Scout. This card has +1F while opposed. Recon Limited: Target a province. After engaging in a battle at the province's battlefield, you may take an additional Battle action to play a Terrain from your hand.
Mod edit: Thread title. Pretty sure there is no such word as "Sout," at least not in L5R. -ZF]
Alex Jones (rules official), 8 July 2009
Can followers with the scout trait bow to pay the cost of recon strategies?
For example, can Untested Scouts pay the cost of Advance Position.
Advance Position Cost:
0 Focus:
3 Recon Open: Bow your target Scout: Target a province. During battles at this province, after each resolution of an enemy player's action from a card in a unit, he discards a random card from his hand.
Untested Scouts Force/Chi:
2 / 0 Ho/Co/PH:
1 / 3 / - Focus:
2 Scout Will only attach to a Samurai or Scout. This card has +1F while opposed. Recon Limited: Target a province. After engaging in a battle at the province's battlefield, you may take an additional Battle action to play a Terrain from your hand.
Mod edit: Thread title. Pretty sure there is no such word as "Sout," at least not in L5R. -ZF]
That depends on the ability. Some abilities require a Scout Personality, such as Scour the Earth (from Enemy of My Enemy); most, including all those released with a Celestial Edition bug (so far), only require a Scout, which can be a Personality or Follower - it's unlikely that a Spell, Item, Region, etc with the Scout keyword would be printed.
Alex
Edit: As has been pointed out, there's Lion Scout from A Perfect Cut and Yoshi no Shiryo from Broken Blades, a Holding and an Ancestor which could be chosen whenever a "Scout" is required and not a "Scout Personality".