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, 15 June 2011
I was looking at Swift Sword Cut and an issue came to mind. Swift Sword Cut reads: Target and bow your Kensai or bow one of his weapons: destroy an enemy attachment, or personality without attachments and force less than or equal to your kensai's chi.
My question deals with weapon bonuses. Do weapons have any force themselves? I know they contribute to the personality, but is that the weapon's true force? Does a force bonus, such as from a weapon have it's own force at all?
One other question in regards to this. If the personality with a weapon has their force set to zero, does the weapon also become a zero force bonus?
Thank you for your consideration.
Zen Faulkes (rules official), 15 June 2011
Do weapons have any force themselves?
http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Card_types#Items: "If something in the game needs to check an Item’s Force or Chi separately from its Personality’s stats, use the value of its modifier (minimum zero)."
If the personality with a weapon has their force set to zero, does the weapon also become a zero force bonus?
No. http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Card_features#S ... to_a_value: "To set a stat to a value, give it the smallest possible appropriate bonus or penalty... such that it reaches that value."
If a 3F Personality with a +3F item has force set to zero, you give the Personality a -6F penalty. Anything that looks at the Item will still count it as 3F, because nothing happened to the Item.