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 December 2011
First for clarification, is the -1C from Cursed Relic a penalty, a cost, or both? With that in mind, if the personality that has Cursed Relic also has Gift Armor equipped, can he legally announce either of Cursed Relic's abilities?
Relevent text
Gift Armor Negate all current and new Chi penalties on this Personality. Negate any destruction of this card, except for its Personality being destroyed.
Cursed Relic Battle: Any number of times per turn, give this Personality -1C: Ranged 3 Attack. Battle: Bow this card, give this Personality -1C, and target an enemy card without attachments: Remove it from the game.
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 22 December 2011
First for clarification, is the -1C from Cursed Relic a penalty, a cost, or both?
Both.
With that in mind, if the personality that has Cursed Relic also has Gift Armor equipped, can he legally announce either of Cursed Relic's abilities?
In fact, he cannot.