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, 1 October 2010
I would like to have the official Rules standing on this card's effect:
Unmoving as the Mountain Heroic Open: Choose your performing Hero: While he is opposed at the current battlefield and no other units are in his army, negate his bowing and movements from other players' actions' effects.
The 'problem' as it were with this card is that it is an Open action. At the point the action is taken there is no "current battlefield". (Since "current is not defined as a special keyword as far as I could find, I'm using the English definition of "belonging to the present time". As per the definition of battlefield, during the Action phase; i.e. the 'current' or present time when the action is taken; there are not battlefields; thus there cannot be a current battlefield.) If the logic used in this example is correct, then the effects of this action would never occur as the performing Hero can never be in a non-existent battlefield.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 1 October 2010
Unmoving as the Mountain: At the point the action is taken there is no "current battlefield".
There is no requirement that conditions required for some effects must be present when the action is taken.
The effect applies whenever the condition is met.
A player, 1 October 2010
viewtopic.php?p=1145252#p1145252 In the above post, Zen says that effect applies whenever the condition is met.
My question is then, when is the condition met? It is my understanding that when an action refers to 'the current battlefield' it refers to the one currently being resolved (as explained by AkodoGilador in reference to Beginning Arbitration here: viewtopic.php?p=1132226#p1132226 ).
If the 'current battlefield' refers to "the one that was the current battlefield when [the action] was played", what is the current battlefield referred to in Unmoving as the Mountain's Open action? According to that same post by AkodoGilador, if the performing Hero later goes to any battlefield whose battle at that point is being resolved, he will not be in "the battlefield that was "the current battlefield" when [the action] was played." Thus the effect will never trigger.
If, however, "the current battlefield" here is meant to be something different than "the current battlefield" in Beginning Arbitration, how can such a conclusion be reached? In other words, what in the wording of Unmoving as the Mountain differentiates the phrase from the one in Beginning Arbitration and other similar Actions?
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 1 October 2010
viewtopic.php?p=1145252#p1145252 In the above post, Zen says that effect applies whenever the condition is met.
My question is then, when is the condition met? It is my understanding that when an action refers to 'the current battlefield' it refers to the one currently being resolved (as explained by AkodoGilador in reference to Beginning Arbitration here: viewtopic.php?p=1132226#p1132226 ).
If the 'current battlefield' refers to "the one that was the current battlefield when [the action] was played", what is the current battlefield referred to in Unmoving as the Mountain's Open action? According to that same post by AkodoGilador, if the performing Hero later goes to any battlefield whose battle at that point is being resolved, he will not be in "the battlefield that was "the current battlefield" when [the action] was played." Thus the effect will never trigger.
If, however, "the current battlefield" here is meant to be something different than "the current battlefield" in Beginning Arbitration, how can such a conclusion be reached? In other words, what in the wording of Unmoving as the Mountain differentiates the phrase from the one in Beginning Arbitration and other similar Actions?
Will kick this up to the rest of the Rules Junta.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 3 October 2010
The first ruling above is the one we're going with for now, notwithstanding Beginning Arbitration's similar wording.
Unmoving as the Mountain's effect refers to any current battlefield for its duration.
We may come back later with a slight tweak to wording somewhere, but not sure where that might be.
A player, 5 October 2010
Regarding to this post: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=86663 I think I understand the answer but wanted to be sure. Should I then interpret Unmoving as the Mountain as reading like this?
Open: Choose your performing Hero: While he is opposed at [a] battlefield [whose battle is being resolved] and no other units are in his army, negate his bowing and movements from other players' actions' effects.
Thus, if I target Hida Bob (a Hero) with this action in the Action phase. Later assign him to Province A, choosing to resolve it first. While the battle at province A's battlefield is being resolved my opponent cannot move/bow Hida Bob (assuming he is the only one there). If I somehow move Hida Bob to Province B's battlefield, finish resolving Battlefield A, then start resolving battlefield B; again, in this new battle, Hida Bob will not move/bow from my opponent's actions (assuming again that he is the only one there). Is that correct?
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 5 October 2010
Regarding to this post: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=86663 I think I understand the answer but wanted to be sure. Should I then interpret Unmoving as the Mountain as reading like this?
Open: Choose your performing Hero: While he is opposed at [a] battlefield [whose battle is being resolved] and no other units are in his army, negate his bowing and movements from other players' actions' effects.
Thus, if I target Hida Bob (a Hero) with this action in the Action phase. Later assign him to Province A, choosing to resolve it first. While the battle at province A's battlefield is being resolved my opponent cannot move/bow Hida Bob (assuming he is the only one there). If I somehow move Hida Bob to Province B's battlefield, finish resolving Battlefield A, then start resolving battlefield B; again, in this new battle, Hida Bob will not move/bow from my opponent's actions (assuming again that he is the only one there). Is that correct?
That all looks correct.