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, 21 May 2012
Hello. Issues like these have been discussed before, but not without the new rules, specifically the in-clan-ignore-honor-requirement rule. Would appreciate some new rulings.
1.) I am at 4 honor and would like to purchase an 8 gold personality with an honor requirement of 5. My only available holding is my 4 gold from my stronghold and my unbowed personality. Would i be able to purchase the personality? 2.) Same as 1, but i have plenty of gold. Can i declare that i am paying 2 extra gold to ignore the honor requirement, but as i bow the holding, i gain the 1 honor, then i can opt not to pay the additional 2 gold for ignoring honor requirement.
Temple Fortress Castle • Temple After the first time each turn you bow this card: Gain 1 Honor. Bow this card: Produce 2 Gold.
Brook Cunningham (rules official), 22 May 2012
Hello. Issues like these have been discussed before, but not without the new rules, specifically the in-clan-ignore-honor-requirement rule. Would appreciate some new rulings.
1.) I am at 4 honor and would like to purchase an 8 gold personality with an honor requirement of 5. My only available holding is my 4 gold from my stronghold and my unbowed personality. Would i be able to purchase the personality? 2.) Same as 1, but i have plenty of gold. Can i declare that i am paying 2 extra gold to ignore the honor requirement, but as i bow the holding, i gain the 1 honor, then i can opt not to pay the additional 2 gold for ignoring honor requirement.
Temple Fortress Castle • Temple After the first time each turn you bow this card: Gain 1 Honor. Bow this card: Produce 2 Gold.
For question "1)", I assume you mean "unbowed Temple Fortress" rather than "unbowed Personality".
But the answer to both questions is, "No, you cannot do that."
The sequence to bring a Personality into play has not changed, and is still thus (from here):
"A. The personality enters a specially created entering-play area.
B. The personality’s Honor Requirement and other restrictions on its entering play are checked at this point and at no other time. Whether or not to apply Clan Allegiance (see below) is chosen at this time. If these conditions are not met, the Personality card returns to where it came from (shuffling the deck if it came directly from a deck search) and the sequence ends.
C. If requirements and restrictions were met in step B, the player pays the Personality’s Gold cost. Whether or not to apply Clan discount (see below) is chosen at this time. The player then pays any other costs of bringing the Personality into play. If costs are interfered with and not fully paid, the Personality card returns to where it came from and the sequence ends.
D. The entering-play area ceases to exist."
Checking Requirements and choosing to use Clan allegiance occur in Step B. Paying is in Step C. The Honor you gain from paying with Temple Fortress cannot and will not have any bearing upon the Requirements of the Personality for whom you are wishing to use it to pay.