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, 5 June 2010
Scenario: Player A has gained 8 or more Honor during his turn (excluding gains from battle resolution). At the end of A's turn, Player B plays Proper Deference to set A's Honor to its starting value when the turn began. In reaction, Player A plays The Thriving Light to reduce the Honor loss by 5.
Setting a Personality's stats to a number involves giving it a bonus or penalty to its current value to reach the set number. Does setting Family Honor to a number similarly involve a bonus or penalty? If so, wouldn't The Thriving Light reduce the Honor loss?
Proper Deference Political Reaction: Before a turn ends, if the active player has gained 8 or more Honor this turn, excluding gains from battle resolution: Set his Family Honor equal to its value when the turn began. Draw a card.
The Thriving Light Political * Unique Reaction: Before an action's resolution: Until that resolution ends, reduce the next Honor gain or loss by 5 (minimum zero).
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 5 June 2010
Setting a Personality's stats to a number involves giving it a bonus or penalty to its current value to reach the set number. Does setting Family Honor to a number similarly involve a bonus or penalty?
Let's be clear about something up front:
http://rules.l5r.com/CE_The_Player#Family_Honor: "Family Honor... follows different rules than card stats." Emphasis added.
If so, wouldn't The Thriving Light reduce the Honor loss?
The premise isn't valid. I'm looking for, but can't find, any relevant rules on setting Honor to a value, so will check with the Rules Junta.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 7 June 2010
The Rules Wiki now specifically includes honor in the "Setting stats to a value" section. So yes, setting honor stats to a value means there is a bonus or penalty, which can in turn be increased or decreased.
A player, 8 June 2010
The rules wiki has been updated, and now setting family honor to a value is now considered a gain or loss. I understand it is more filling a vacuum than a clarification. However, I'd like to point out this is a rules decision that clashes with precedent such as Tortoise Ambassador, where setting family honor was explicitly not an honor loss (and therefore it couldn't be copied, modified or redirected).
Alex Jones (rules official), 8 June 2010
The rules wiki has been updated, and now setting family honor to a value is now considered a gain or loss. I understand it is more filling a vacuum than a clarification. However, I'd like to point out this is a rules decision that clashes with precedent such as Tortoise Ambassador, where setting family honor was explicitly not an honor loss (and therefore it couldn't be copied, modified or redirected).
Tortoise Ambassador has explicit text stating that the reduction of honour is not treated as an honour loss: it sets no precedent for cards without such text.
Proper Deference has no such text. The reduction of the player's honour is an honour loss.