replies to 18 September 2001

replies to 17 September 2001

The ruling we used at GenCon is that the follower is discarded, because we were going on the assumption that Taeruko's retrieved Fortification went to the discard. Doesn't that make more sense as a blanket ruling? "If a card is being put into play from a deck, but for some reason cannot enter play, it is discarded"?

I'll take it up with the Rules Team. (L5R players are notorious for hating too much consistency, and since there is a very real place that Fate cards go when you get them from the deck -- your hand -- I ruled the Ancestors go there without considering that Dynasty cards couldn't work that way.)

Hametsu and Poisoned Weapon

I have some questions about the "poison effect" in duels. The poison token produced by Shosuro Hametsu reduces the chi of the personality before the bonus of the focus cards? I mean ... if a 1 chi personality challenges a 2 chi personality, and it's controller decides to focus (a 2 focus card), then the first personality strikes and uses the token, who dies?

The 2-Chi person goes to 4 Chi as soon as he focuses the 2. The token will bring his total Chi back to 2, which means he'll still win the duel against the 1-Chi person (which may or may not result in the 1-Chi person dying...it depends on the duel). Then the duel ends and the focus bonus wears off, but the -2Chi poison penalty is there for the rest of the turn. That 2-Chi person will now die.

And if was used a Poisoned Weapon instead of the poison token? Could you help me once more, please?

If a Personality dies -- from having 0 Chi or any other reason -- before a duel resolves, the duel ends prematurely and there is no winner or loser. Focusing adds to Chi immediately, even though only one player will know what the Personality's total Chi is, so it's harder for cards like Poisoned Weapon to kill someone during a duel than you might think. Quite often the person will still die after the duel, though, even if he still won it.

some questions

1) How works 'the purity of Kitsu' with Isawa Suma?

Very well. Suma won't lose Chi.

2) If a dishonored personality is restored to honorable status, what is his new personal honor? printed?

It's whatever his Personal Honor would be if he weren't dishonored. He may have received other bonuses and penalties in the meantime, like from Yoshi's Fan.

3) Zen, in the online rulebook says that you may spend the favor (under old rules) to restore an dishonored DEAD personality to honorable status, is this correct?

I'm not Zen, but it is correct.

Canceled actions ....

If the reaction of Kuwanan (exp. 2) can be used immediately after it's cancelled, so the same applies to any action that can be used again (like a tactician bonus or a Ranged without bowing). Am I wrong?

It can't be used IMMEDIATELY again unless it's a Reaction. Open, Limited, and Battle actions can be attempted again, but their player needs to wait for his next opportunity to take such an action.

And, finally, how does Bayushi Kachiko (exp. 3) work? She cannot cancel a Shosuro Nishiko ability unless her controller have so cards in hand that the Nishiko's controller desist to do his action? Or Kachiko's controller can cancel one time and plays an action?

Nishiko's action is a Battle action, so Kachiko can cancel it each time it's used. Since discarding Nishiko is an effect, not a cost, of her action, she stays in play and can attempt her action again later that battle.

For the Empire

Just a quick question Does the loser of the duel started by For the Empire die

Yes.

Response to Jeff's Rulings

That was not an official release for either card. Chiang-Tsu HAS been officially released -- he was part of the Welcome Home package -- and will be tournament-legal when A Perfect Cut is.

This isn't quite true, Jeff. The others went out with the Welcome Home package as well. I know this for a fact since I didn't get a Chiang-Tsu in my package. I got a Kuso instead.

Doesn't matter. Chiang-Tsu was the only card supposed to be in those packs. He's the only one formally released.

Personal Sacrifice

I've been looking at a card from Spirit Wars and I have a few questions about it that I need answered.

Personal Sacrifice Reaction: Play this card after one of your Personalities stikes in a duel during battle, if the Personality did not focus. If the Personality is destroyed during the duel, each of your Personalities permanently gains +1F/+1C.

First, I am trying to figure out which personalities get the bonus: those in the battle, those in play, or all in my deck as well.

Those in play.

Second, I need to know if I can play multiple copies in response to the same person striking and dying.

Multiple separate Reaction cards to the same trigger are legal.

Third, I need to know if this targets the personality striking in the duel, so that it cannot be played if that personality is bowed.

It does target.

Multiplayer - question/poll

I have a different question about Black Crane... how do you decide who the top two players are?

With Military it is easy: the last two players win. With Honor it is harder.

Possible options:

It's this one:

3. When a player wins through Honor the other players use tie-breaker points.

The tie-breaker point system works like this. Each player chooses one victory path (Honor, Military, or Enlightenment) and scores points according to the following formulas. Players cannot score points for victory paths they have renounced or are otherwise prohibited from achieving.

1 point per point of Family Honor you possess 10 points per Province destroyed while you were the Attacker 8 points per Elemental Ring you have in play

Each player (besides the winner) compares their highest-scoring path. The player with the highest score takes second place in the multiplayer game. In the case of a tie, compare second-highest paths, then third-highest.

(This would mean you would have to carefully track who took provinces etc.)

Yes, it would.