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, 10 July 2011
This is a question inspired by a Forgotten Legacy card, but I believe a similar situation could come up in Legacy: can a non-targeting trait negate or prevent the effects of a Stronghold's ability?
Palace of Crimson Shadows Political Limited: Bow your target Courtier or Magistrate Personality: Dishonor another player's target non-Unique Personality.
Moto Chen Unicorn Clan • Clan Champion • Samurai • Cavalry • Tactician • Commander • Experienced 3 • Loyal • Unique After another player's Political action targets Chen: Its effects do not happen. Battle: Target an enemy unit with lower total Force than Chen's unit. Chen tramples it. Destroy it. You may target and destroy a Kolat card in the enemy army.
Dark Harmony Limited: Bow a Ring you control or discard a Ring from your hand: Permanently remove a boldface non-faction trait from a target Personality.
If Dark Harmony was used to remove "Unique" (if I understand correctly, "boldface traits" is the old way of referring to "keywords") from Moto Chen exp3, so that he could be targeted by Palace of Crimson Shadows' ability, would his trait make the effects not happen if he was subsequently targeted?
PS: I'll post the text of the FL card that prompted the question, as it makes the situation simpler and more likely to happen (only the stronghold and a personality are involved).
Utaku Ji-Yun Unicorn Clan • Samurai • Battle Maiden • Cavalry • Paragon Negate Ji-Yun's dishonoring from other players' cards' effects.
Edit: thanks a lot for that very fast answer
Alex Jones (rules official), 10 July 2011
This is a question inspired by a Forgotten Legacy card, but I believe a similar situation could come up in Legacy: can a non-targeting trait negate or prevent the effects of a Stronghold's ability?
Palace of Crimson Shadows Political Limited: Bow your target Courtier or Magistrate Personality: Dishonor another player's target non-Unique Personality.
Moto Chen Unicorn Clan • Clan Champion • Samurai • Cavalry • Tactician • Commander • Experienced 3 • Loyal • Unique After another player's Political action targets Chen: Its effects do not happen. Battle: Target an enemy unit with lower total Force than Chen's unit. Chen tramples it. Destroy it. You may target and destroy a Kolat card in the enemy army.
Dark Harmony Limited: Bow a Ring you control or discard a Ring from your hand: Permanently remove a boldface non-faction trait from a target Personality.
If Dark Harmony was used to remove "Unique" (if I understand correctly, "boldface traits" is the old way of referring to "keywords") from Moto Chen exp3, so that he could be targeted by Palace of Crimson Shadows' ability, would his trait make the effects not happen if he was subsequently targeted?
PS: I'll post the text of the FL card that prompted the question, as it makes the situation simpler and more likely to happen (only the stronghold and a personality are involved).
Utaku Ji-Yun Unicorn Clan • Samurai • Battle Maiden • Cavalry • Paragon Negate Ji-Yun's dishonoring from other players' cards' effects.
Edit: thanks a lot for that very fast answer
Stronghold immunity: Effects and costs will not change the game state of a Stronghold, and actions and traits may not target a Stronghold, unless they specifically mention the word "Stronghold," or come from the Stronghold itself.
Negating the effects of an action taken using an ability on a Stronghold does not change the game state of the Stronghold, nor does it (necessarily) target the Stronghold - the negation could theoretically be an effect of an action or trait that did target the Stronghold, but neither Chen's trait nor Utaku Ji-Yun's trait does so.