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, 22 November 2010
Card Text:
Arrows Do Not Falter Text Focus Effect: If your Personality in this duel is the challenged, and has a base Ranged Attack ability, destroy a Follower, or Personality without Followers, with 4 or lower Force in the challenger's unit. Lose 3 Honor. Reaction: After a Ranged Attack targets a card: Give the Ranged Attack +2 strength.
Togashi Shintaro Clan Dragon Text Dragon Clan • Fire • Monk • Tattooed After Shintaro enters play: Give him three +1F Fire tokens. Battle: Destroy a Fire token on Shintaro: Ranged 3 Attack.
Is Togashi Shintaros ability considered a base ability for purposes of the Focus effect of Arrows do Not Falter?
What if he no longer has any fire tokens?
A player, 23 November 2010
A Personality has a base Ranged Attack ability if an ability is printed on him whose effects produce a Ranged Attack. Togashi Shintaro is such a Personality indeed, no matter if his controller can no longer pay the cost of this ability. As a consequence, the Focus Effect from Arrows Do Not Falter will always apply if Togashi Shintaro is the challenged.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 23 November 2010
Card Text:
Arrows Do Not Falter Text Focus Effect: If your Personality in this duel is the challenged, and has a base Ranged Attack ability, destroy a Follower, or Personality without Followers, with 4 or lower Force in the challenger's unit. Lose 3 Honor. Reaction: After a Ranged Attack targets a card: Give the Ranged Attack +2 strength.
Togashi Shintaro Clan Dragon Text Dragon Clan • Fire • Monk • Tattooed After Shintaro enters play: Give him three +1F Fire tokens. Battle: Destroy a Fire token on Shintaro: Ranged 3 Attack.
Is Togashi Shintaros ability considered a base ability for purposes of the Focus effect of Arrows do Not Falter?
What if he no longer has any fire tokens?
Some variation of this question has been asked enough now that it has been added to the FAQ:
http://rules.l5r.com/CE_FAQ#What_Ranged ... _affect.3F