post for 19 February 2002

Kitsune Ryukan Question

The card is, however, bowed, and as per the AOF rulebook, you cannot target your bowed cards with actions. So, no, I don't believe you would be able to get the bonus.

The actual battle action is a part of Kitsune Ryukan though, so wouldnt it still work? I suppose the question is, does the action target Ryukan or the infantry.

Choosing which action to use is not a targeting decision. [AOF rulebook p. 46] Besides, it doesn't matter if Ryukan is targeting himself or not. If he were bowed, he couldn't use his action due to other rules.

post for 15 February 2002 (Jeff)

Shinjo's Breath is a speed military support card. Since Unicorn had a decent alternative (Shinjo Technique), they got that instead.

Dead Eyes is also speed military, but it has drawbacks instead of just benefits, plus Hida Technique is too weak to be a good alternative.

Shosuro Technique is not speed military.

You're kidding right? Shinjo tech is no where near being a useful card. And even if it was, Crane get both TDWWM and Kakita tech, both are miles better than Shinjo tech, and as useful for Crane as Shinjo's Breath is to Unicorn. And I'd sure as hell trade Shinjo tech for Shosuro tech in a heartbeat.

I didn't say Shinjo Technique is as good as Shosuro Tech or Shinjo's Breath. I said it's good enough that it can serve as the fixed Technique-or-Technique-like card in Unicorn Clan decks as a replacement for the dangerously powerful Breath. Shinjo Tech was chosen BECAUSE it's weaker than Breath. There was no perfect choice, and Gold was all about erring on the side of caution.

And TDWWM is as much a Crane card as Charge is a Lion card. Crane gets extra use out of it but anyone can use it and get tangible benefit. It's the cards that are free versus non-free or that require bowing for every Clan but one that I think of as Clan-specific.

It is pretty clear that Unicorn was hamstrung in Gold. Where is our Baiken clone? Or a Katta clone?

Baiken and Katta cost 7g. They'd be first-turn Personalities. We kept those to a minimum for everyone.

Why does Samurai Warriors make it into Gold, but Samurai Cavalry doesn't?

WotC Brand decision.

post for 15 February 2002

And then we have Hitomi Coaster Technique. Would it be possible to get any of the inside rationale behind that one, other than that it happened to fit the story at the time it was released?

I wasn't behind creating the card originally, sorry.

I suppose that Daisho Technique could have worked on Dragon Personalities without bowing, too ... ah, well.

You mean arbitrarily MRP it? I hope the answer to that is self-evident. We selected all the fixed Technique cards based on what existed, not what we could turn them into. That's why Crab got Dead Eyes.

post for 15 February 2002

You *have* seen An Oni's Fury, haven't you?

Yep, and Unicorn still has no personalities to compare with either Riake's or Sunetra's abilities.

My bad. See, this is what happens when you're the designer: you remember the wrong cards, you remember the wrong versions of cards, you remember cards that people haven't seen yet... Apparently Unicorn had more movement in the early days of Oni's Fury's design, and that's coloring my recollection.

Maneuverability, and not just during assignment, is still one of the areas we want Unicorn to excell in on the Big Board of Design. They're going to keep getting boons in that department.

Open action during battle

If Isawa Taeruko is in play, but not defending in a province which is being attacked (and no other Personalities are defending in that province), is it legal for her to use her Open action to fetch a Garrison fortification and attach it to that province? This would seem to satisfy the Rule of Presence requirement that you gain a unit in the battle as a result of the action. Am I interpreting this correctly?

Yes.

Personal Honor Question

Just for clarification sake.

When a personality receives a bonus to their personal honor, from say a Dragon's Claw Katana or Yoshi's Fan, this is not considered changing their "printed" personal honor?

It is not. Changes to printed numbers need to be explicitly worded as such. Most bonuses do not change the printed value.

Page 61 of An Oni's Fury rulebook states that players lose a personality's printed personal honor when they are destroyed while dishonored. So someone with a Dragon's Claw Katana would not lose the extra personal honor gained from having it attached.

Correct?

Correct. They would not.

Enlightenment is alive and well

I thought the Shadowlands could not win through enlightenment. Am I mistaken in this idea? Scholarmage

There is no prohibition against winning an Enlightenment Victory on any Stronghold currently in existence.

L5R-CCG-Digest V2002 #92

I've a few basic questions again.

1. Regarding the battle maidens, the card text says, "while this unit is cavalry and attacking battle maidens get 1f and you cannot target this unit with actions that would send it home."

Who does "you" refer to?

The card's controller.

Does it mean that only the maiden's unit's controller cannot send The battle maiden's unit home or does it mean that no one can send the battle maiden's unit home?

Only the unit's controller.

2. what's the mrp for shinjo technique? Mine says, "reaction: play this card when another player targets one of your personalities with an action card. Redirect the action to one of the player's personalities whom the player could have targeted with the action."

That's it.

I'm pretty confused. The way I understood it, supposing I am the attacker and if, during the battle action phase, the defender targets one of my units with a refugees, I can use shinjo technique to redirect it to one of HIS units but if he does not have any units, then I cannot use the shinjo tech To redirect it to another unit in MY army.

That is exactly correct. (That is the same way the old printing worked, only some of the effect was from the card and some was from the rulebook, so it was far more confusing.)

Also, word's going around that the mrp for shijo tech is that now I can only use it to redirect an opponent's action to one of MY personalities. Any clarifications please?

You quoted the MRP. There is no errata.

3. during the battle action phase, supposing my entire army gets bowed but not sent home, do I still have units in the battle?

Yes.

I ask because I'm wondering if I still can play actions e.g play block supply on an opposing unit even if all my units are bowed but not sent home.

You can.

Honor Loss

Can use use Nagori to increase the honor loss caused by Tjeki past the players starting honor?

No. Regardless of the amount, it still carries the "this can't lower someone below starting honor" restriction with it. Since Nagori increases the loss instead of creating a new one, that restriction still applies.

L5R-CCG-Digest V2002 #92

I believe this confusion stems from cards that reference to "opponent" or "another player" since the new target chosen by Shinjo technique has to be a target your opponent could have legally chosen already. Hence, if your opponent plays a card that specifies "an opponent's personality" you could only redirect that card to personalities not controled by its player (just yourself in 1-on-1, or any player other than that guy in multiplayer).

Such an action is (and always was) unredirectable by Shinjo Technique.

Word of the Sword Question

Can hataki be sent home by Word of the Sword?

Preliminary answer: No. I'm checking if the Rules Team has a problem with this.

Shinjo Technique Question

... Does Overconfidence work?

Shinjo Technique cannot redirect Overconfidence. No redirection effect can ever work on something which specifies only one possible target. [AOF rulebook p. 47]

2 rules questions

A couple of quick questions for the rule guys....

First, Strike of Flowing Water. The part of the card this question involves reads: "When you focus this card, double to Focus value of the next card you focus in this duel." My question is this: SoFW has a printed Focus value of 3. When focused, do you end up adding this Focus value as well as doubling the next card's value?

Yes.

Second, Matsu Domotai (non-exp). The text in question: "Domotai's Force cannot exceed his Chi." With a Force of 1 and a Chi of 3, can you play a Charge on him, knowing that he cannot gain the full bonus, or can he not even be targeted by anything that would normally bring his Force higher than his Chi.

Treat him as having a maximum value to his Force of whatever his Chi is at the moment.

Maximums and mimimums are applied last, after all bonuses and penalties are added. [AOF rulebook pp. 31-32] Domotai with a Charge played on him is a 3/3. Domotai with a second Charge played on him (which is legal) is still a 3/3. If, somehow, he finds himself with a brand new Wakizashi (+1C) during the battle, he'll become a 4/4.

Shinjo Technique Question

And What about Arrows From The Woods ? Can you redirect the ranged attack to his own personnality ?

Not with Shinjo Technique, because he could not have played Arrows From the Woods on his own Personality.

Shinjo Technique Question

how many detrimental actions can this card redirect legally in the Gold Environment?

Refugees, Uncertanity, and Marries a Barbarian Kolat Assassin, Complications (?? are you sure ??),

Yes, it can.

Word of the Sword, Remorseful Seppuku (dishonored)

Dishonored *Samurai*, but, yes.

Shame (dishonored), Frenzy (avoid dishonor/follower kill), Dark Secrets,

And Last Gift. How could you get Dark Secrets but not Last Gift????? :)

I Believed in You..., Return for Training (well...sometimes), Shadowlands Sickness, Ninja Thief (think about it, it's a puzzle combo ;)),

Only if they're moving the item ONTO one of your Personalities, which is rare. If I'm moving your Naginata from your Toku to my Sanzo, you can't change Toku as a target because it's forced by my selection of his Naginata. (Think about it: I can't legally play Ninja Thief to move the Naginata attached to your Toku from my Yogo Junzo to my Sanzo, ergo it's an illegal redirection.)

A 'Shirasu Sensei' question

Do you lose the personal honor of the personality being dishonored or commiting seppukku cancels the honor lose?

Committing seppuku in any way restores the Personality to honor before he or she dies. There is no honor loss because the Personality does not die dishonorably.