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, 11 November 2011
http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Glossary_B#Base ""Base" refers to a stat, keyword, ability, or trait that exists on a card or other entity as printed (following the most recent printing) or initially created, without modifications from effects. "
The Cost of Pride "Battle: Bow or straighten a target Personality whose Force is different from his base Force. "
Is a personality has a base Force of 5, an attachment with +2F, and an effect of -2F resulting in a current force of 5 able to be targeted by The Cost of Pride, since his current force includes modifications from effects? Or does different, when referring to stat values, only care about the actual value and not the reason for arriving at that value?
Jon Palmer (rules official), 11 November 2011
http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Glossary_B#Base ""Base" refers to a stat, keyword, ability, or trait that exists on a card or other entity as printed (following the most recent printing) or initially created, without modifications from effects. "
The Cost of Pride "Battle: Bow or straighten a target Personality whose Force is different from his base Force. "
Is a personality has a base Force of 5, an attachment with +2F, and an effect of -2F resulting in a current force of 5 able to be targeted by The Cost of Pride, since his current force includes modifications from effects? Or does different, when referring to stat values, only care about the actual value and not the reason for arriving at that value?
"Without modifications from effects" in this case determines how the base force value is arrived at, not whether it qualifies as base force for comparison purposes. Therefore, the fact that the base force is 5 and the current force is 5 means that The Cost of Pride cannot legally target the card in your example.