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, 30 April 2012
Spirit of the Berserker: Limited: Choose your performing unbowed Personality: If he is a Berserker, permanently give him +2F and the ability, "Reaction: After another player's action targets this Personality: Delay his destruction from the action's effects until before this turn ends." Otherwise, permanently give him Berserker.
Now this situation came up in a game at my local tourney. I attacked with a pile of ranged attack units (backed by Koshin Keep) and my opponent defended with several 8f berserkers. Now I threw a ranged 6 attack at a Berserker, obviously not killing him. Now it was brought up after the game that he could have used the reaction on SotB on that ranged attack even though it didn't kill him. That struck me as REAL odd as my ranged attack obviously had no ability to kill said berserker. Was the person who brought this up crazy? Or am I quite quite wrong? Thanks ahead of time for the help
Alex Jones (rules official), 1 May 2012
Spirit of the Berserker: Limited: Choose your performing unbowed Personality: If he is a Berserker, permanently give him +2F and the ability, "Reaction: After another player's action targets this Personality: Delay his destruction from the action's effects until before this turn ends." Otherwise, permanently give him Berserker.
Now this situation came up in a game at my local tourney. I attacked with a pile of ranged attack units (backed by Koshin Keep) and my opponent defended with several 8f berserkers. Now I threw a ranged 6 attack at a Berserker, obviously not killing him. Now it was brought up after the game that he could have used the reaction on SotB on that ranged attack even though it didn't kill him. That struck me as REAL odd as my ranged attack obviously had no ability to kill said berserker. Was the person who brought this up crazy? Or am I quite quite wrong? Thanks ahead of time for the help
The trigger for the ability granted by Spirit of the Berserker, and its only condition, is "After another player's action targets this Personality." When the trigger occurs, the ability may be used regardless of the pending effects of the action to which you are reacting.