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, 31 May 2011
The Ring of the Void reads...
After you resolve your fourth or later non-Kiho action from Strategies in one phase: You may put his card into play from your hand. Open: Bow this card or discard it from your hand: If any player has more cards in his hand than you do, or if you bowed this card, draw a card.
If my opponent and I both have 5 cards in hand, can I discard the Ring to draw a card? After paying the cost of the ring, I will have less cards in hand than my opponent.
Or do I have to have to meet the requirements (having less cards in hand) before I pay the cost of discarding?
Alex Jones (rules official), 31 May 2011
The Ring of the Void reads...
After you resolve your fourth or later non-Kiho action from Strategies in one phase: You may put his card into play from your hand. Open: Bow this card or discard it from your hand: If any player has more cards in his hand than you do, or if you bowed this card, draw a card.
If my opponent and I both have 5 cards in hand, can I discard the Ring to draw a card? After paying the cost of the ring, I will have less cards in hand than my opponent.
Or do I have to have to meet the requirements (having less cards in hand) before I pay the cost of discarding?
There are no conditions to using the ability on Ring of the Void, and the only cost is to bow it or discard it: you may use the ability regardless of how many cards are in each hand. There is, however, a condition on the effect "draw a card": during the Resolution step of the action, you must have fewer cards in you hand than at least one other player.