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, 9 September 2009
I'm a bit confused by some of the Terrains' wording. It says "Battle: Before this battle's resolution..." Does that mean I play the terrain as a Battle action, just putting it into play, then it's my opponent's turn, then when it comes back to me I can play the Battle ability printed on the Terrain card (note that I could play it anytime I have an opportunity for a Battle Action until the end of that Battle, following the same rules as a Battle ability printed on a Personality at the Battle, as long as the terrain is in play). Or is it different, and playing the terrain and using its ability happen at the same time during the same action?
The "before this battle's resolution" is confusing, since all battle action, by nature, can only be played before the battle's resolution, not only terrain...
Mike
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 9 September 2009
I'm a bit confused by some of the Terrains' wording. It says "Battle: Before this battle's resolution..." Does that mean I play the terrain as a Battle action, just putting it into play, then it's my opponent's turn, then when it comes back to me I can play the Battle ability printed on the Terrain card (note that I could play it anytime I have an opportunity for a Battle Action until the end of that Battle, following the same rules as a Battle ability printed on a Personality at the Battle, as long as the terrain is in play). Or is it different, and playing the terrain and using its ability happen at the same time during the same action?
The "before this battle's resolution" is confusing, since all battle action, by nature, can only be played before the battle's resolution, not only terrain...
Mike
Taking a Terrain action puts it into play and resolves its effects right away all in one go.
But, if the effect says, "Before this battle's resolution", that text delays the application of the effect until that time point, immediately before the battle's Resolution Segment begins.