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, 23 January 2012
This question came up in a game yesterday.
Ebisu's Honesty says that the 4 honor for blowing up a province will not be negated. Can that 4 honor gain still be reduced with cards like Deeds and Words and Shiro Chugo? Can it be transferred with Rhetoric?
Relevant card text:
Ebisu's Honesty Fortune • Unique Your provinces have +2 strength. Limited: Destroy your rightmost province and discard this card. Gain 4 Honor, this gain will not be negated.
Deeds and Words Bow this card: Produce 2 Gold. Reaction: Before the resolution of an action during the Action Phase, destroy this card: Choose one of the Honor gains or losses from its effects. Reduce it to 0.
Shiro Chugo Political Reaction: Before an action's resolution, choose your performing unbowed Courtier: Reduce any Honor gain or loss from the action's effects by 2. Battle: Choose your performing unbowed Personality: Melee 4 Attack, with +1 strength if he is Loyal.
Rhetoric Reaction: Before a player gains or loses Honor from an action's effects, bow your performing Courtier: Choose another player. If the Courtier's Chi is higher than or equal to the Honor gain or loss, the chosen player instead of the original player takes the gain or loss.
Alex Jones (rules official), 24 January 2012
This question came up in a game yesterday.
Ebisu's Honesty says that the 4 honor for blowing up a province will not be negated. Can that 4 honor gain still be reduced with cards like Deeds and Words and Shiro Chugo? Can it be transferred with Rhetoric?
Relevant card text:
Ebisu's Honesty Fortune • Unique Your provinces have +2 strength. Limited: Destroy your rightmost province and discard this card. Gain 4 Honor, this gain will not be negated.
Deeds and Words Bow this card: Produce 2 Gold. Reaction: Before the resolution of an action during the Action Phase, destroy this card: Choose one of the Honor gains or losses from its effects. Reduce it to 0.
Shiro Chugo Political Reaction: Before an action's resolution, choose your performing unbowed Courtier: Reduce any Honor gain or loss from the action's effects by 2. Battle: Choose your performing unbowed Personality: Melee 4 Attack, with +1 strength if he is Loyal.
Rhetoric Reaction: Before a player gains or loses Honor from an action's effects, bow your performing Courtier: Choose another player. If the Courtier's Chi is higher than or equal to the Honor gain or loss, the chosen player instead of the original player takes the gain or loss.
Reduction to 0 is not negation - see the comments in Timing Sequence.
Similarly, while substitution involves "making the occurrence not happen and something else happen instead," this is not negation either.