Rules for July 20th

A quick note before I start into the rulings. I think it's a major mark in our favor that the L5R community is filled with people who are willing to step up and answer rules questions immediately. However, folks, if you're willing to answer the question, please take a little time to research the answer. Giving someone an answer that's slightly off the mark only makes my job harder. Slightly incorrect information is a lot harder to correct than completely incorrect info, and people usually remember the first answer they see, and then stop looking. The Archive, Websune, and Legendary are all excellent, quick tools that are easy to use. If you're willing to take five seconds to answer a question, be willing to take ten to make sure your answer is right.

Overconfidence now targets, correct (incidentally making it less than useful while Enemy of My Enemy is in effect). . . ?

Absolutely.

In Search of the Future does *not* target, because it's a "blanket" effect, right?

Also true.

Come One at a Time is still useful when a personality holding Kitsuki Kaagi's Journal is the sole defender, right?

No. 'While there is only one defending personality' does not exclude the action from targeting that defending personality. Rule 3 only applies when an action affects more than one card. A single card cannot be all of a group.

Please, I need some help. Could Bayushi Kachiko (exp.3) cancel the ranged of a Purusha on the opposing army? That's it.

Nope. Purusha's action is a Reaction, and Kachiko ex3 can only cancel Battle actions.

Hey, I have 3 questions today, first the rules. By the gold rulebook, who gets to take the first reaction is the person to the left of the person who caused the trigger, and if no person causes the trigger (eg. the start of a phase) it is played as if the active player caused the trigger (the person to the left of the active player has first chance). My question is this: Who triggers the end of a battle segment? a) Is it, the active player?

Yes.

b) Or is it the person who's attack phase (or the person who is the attacker) it is.

In the event of a Counterattack or similiar situation, the 'end of the battle segment' event will still be considered triggered by the active player, even though it's not his attack.

If a) during the first counter-attack, the person to the left of the active player will have the first chance to perform a reaction at the end of the last battle segment (eg. rallying cry).

Yes.

If b) no matter who counter-attacks who, counter-attack will always be able to be played before the rallying cry, because the person rallying will always have the last chance to react.

Nope.

so, Who triggers the end of a battle segment :)

The active player, always. Even when it's not his attack. It looks like a properly played Counterattack will always beat a Rally. Weird.

How does Kyuden Hitomi interact with Sacrifices for our Future? Sacrifices for our Future says:

Sacrifices For Our Future(Event) While this card is in play, you may choose not to draw a fate card during your end phase. Each turn in which you do not draw a Fate card you gain 2 honor. If you draw a Fate card for any reason, this card is discarded from play.

Wouldn't it be legal to use the SH ability of Kyuden Hitomi to take a card from underneath it, which wouldn't count as Drawing a fate card? I think so, because this is similar to the reason quoted that Doom of the Dark Lord won't blow up a province if your fate deck is empty but you pull a card out from under Kyuden Hitomi in your end phase...

Drawing is specifically taking the top card of your deck and putting it into your hand. Using Kyuden Hitomi instead of drawing will not destroy Sacrifices, and you'll gain 2 honor. Good combo.

Can I use the alliance event to name "shadowlands horde" as the allied clan?

Sure.

I know that there are no personalities that actually would see cost reduction due to the event but was wondering if this was a legal way to show storyline support of a clan/horde alliance.

Kinda like the opposite of 'Naming the True Evil'. Nifty.

If I am using the spwaning grounds it is legal to use alliance? But not legal for shadowlands horde correct?

You know, I had thought this ruling got reversed, but I can't find the reversal. I also can't find the ruling in the Archive. So, I'll stick with my instinct and say that SLH can use the Alliance event now. Jeff, am I wrong?

Lastly using shadowlands horde or spawning is it legal to make use of the events imperial funeral, or dealing with shadows? The wording on funeral has changed, and I was wondering if it affected the legality (ie if they have a bowed card, or shadowlands card is it an unconditional loss?)

Doesn't matter. Shadowlands only has to worry about *actions* that would cause an unconditional loss. Events are okay.

What if the personality has followers capable of creating ranged attacks, how do these combine with the dartgun?

As normal. You use the traits of the Ranged Attack from the card that initially created it, and the you can use other Ranged Attacks on cards in the same unit to increase the RA value.

So, if you've got, say, three ranged attacks with different traits in the same unit, and you combine them, you can choose which set of traits apply when the attack is made?

Nope. It was pointed out to me off-list that the rulings for Ranged Attacks have changed slightly in Gold, so here's the practical upshot of the section on combining Ranged Attacks in the GE rulebook: when you combine RA's, all of them must be able to target the target (in other words, Poison Dartgun can only be combined with other Ranged Attacks that can target a personality with followers attached), and a combined Ranged Attack will acquire the traits of *all* the seperate Ranged Attacks used to compose it.

I believe that OLOA targets the card it is reacting to, it falls under targeting rule #4. Agasha Hamanari can cancel an action which targets you, your cards etc. So you should be able to cancel OLOA, right?

Looks like it, yes.

Here's another one: Does The Wind's Truth target the player that is gaining/losing Honor in the first place? I know you target the player you are redirecting the gain/loss to, but it is the first I am doubting. Is this the same as OLOA where a Reaction's trigger event happens?

Wind's Truth will target the honor gain and the player that it gets redirected to, not the player that was originally gaining the honor.

One unrelated question to end my worries and start yours. :) Am I correct that you can no longer restore Dishonorable Dead Personalities to honorable status, when you are playing the Hantei Wind?

Correct. Hantei Naseru cares not for the dead, only for the living.

Taeruko : Wording

Elemental Open: Bow Taeruko to get a non-Unique Fortification from your deck and attach it to one of your Provinces, paying all costs.

GE Crossroads : Wording

Lower the Gold cost of Holdings in this Province by 3.

Since Taeruko 1st targets and attaches the holding then you pay the cost. I assume that the combo Can work. If it Cannot work then I would like to know why.

...and that's what I'm here for. The combo doesn't work, for a few reasons. For one, an attached Region/Holding isn't considered to be 'in' the province that it's attached to. For another, even if it were, payment for the holding occurs simultaneously with attachment, even though it's listed later in the text of the action. Taeruko's tagline about paying all costs is mostly just reminder text (as well as being a flagrant reminder that her ability has changed since her previous printing.

Also the wording on the card changed from the previous edition. So why did it change if it is only going to confuse?

The wording on what? Crossroads? Taeruko? In Taeruko's case, her wording was changed because she had become much more powerful than originally intended because of the advent of gold/honor producing Fortifications. As for Crossroads...I didn't realize it's wording had changed, and I don't really think the new wording is that confusing.

In a battle where the Attacker have a Scout ... he's the first allowed to play an action (in this case a terrain), right?

Well, in that specific case, he's *only* allowed to play a terrain, no other type of action.

If he plays a "Deadly Ground" could a Purusha do the ranged attack?

If the attacker has a Scout, and the defender has a Purusha, the defender will get to Purusha before the attacker can Scout. Due to the new timing rules, the start of the battle action segment is considered to be triggered by the active player (who is usually the attacker). So, the defender's gets the first shot at performing 'before first action' stuff, then the player to his left, and so on.

And If we have a Bayushi Shoju (inexp.) in the Battle ... may his controller switch hands?

Depends who controls him. In a multiplayer game, the player to the left of the active player will get the first chance to use any 'before first action' stuff. If that player is the one who controls Shoju/Purusha/Scout, then he's the one who's going to get to use it first. Then the player to the left of the one who just had a chance to React will get a chance, and so on, and so on.

Ok, nobody can play any actions under a "Deadly Ground" unless the action will destroy the terrain. But, when anybody have the opportunity to destroy the terrain, the "moment" to Shoju or Purusha to act will be gone.

True. A Scouted Deadly Ground will stop pretty much all of the other 'before first action' cards from being used.

Also since Crossroads says Lower the Gold cost of Holdings in this Province by 3 then I assume that the cost is permanently lowered until crossroads is removed. Since Fire Oni attaching a province with Crossroads would much Fortification reduced gold cost by 3. since it does not say printed Gold Cost.

Crossroads only lowers the cost of the holding while it is in the Crossroads province. Fortifications attached to the province are not 'in' the province, so their cost will not be lowered at all. Holdings that get brought into play from the province are also not 'in' the province anymore, so their cost is also not lowered.

Because Shoju's ability says it is done before anyone can take any action, I believe his action would go first. Next would be the Scout, as his is just before the defenders first battle action. Then would come Purusha as his happens immediately before the Defender's first action. Finally, the normal Battle action sequence would begin.

Incorrect. All 'before first action' stuff is considered to happen inside of the same timing window, regardless of tiny little differences of text. Shoju inexp, Scout, Purusha, Sneak Attack, Daikua, Sanado, and anything else that would be used after a battle has been chosen to resolve but before the defender gets to take his or her normal first battle action (gasp!) trigger off of the same timing window.