rules for 20 August 2002

post for 19 August 2002 (Re: Palm Strike)

With respect to Palm Strike, is bowing still an inherent cost of Ranged Attacks (eg Akasha, once per game, can gain the ability, Battle: Ranged 2 Attack)

Yes. That hasn't changed.

Dragon Puzzle Box Interactions...

I'm just trying to work this darn box out... :P

If it's attached to, say, Aikune w/ Happy Fun Ball, does this mean that Aikune can no longer use his HFB to incinerate the opposing army? IIRC any action printed on an item is assumed to be used by the personality to whom it's attached,

The action is "performed" by the Personality. This only matters when something uses the term "perform".

so Aikune would be prevented from targetting the HFB card so that he can utilize the Battle action printed on the Ball, right?

Deciding which card to play or activate is not a targeting decision. If you have a Personality with, say, a Jade Bow, Isawa's Last Wish, and Spearmen on him, you're not targeting the Wish when you decide to use it as your next Battle action. Putting the Puzzle Box on Aikune will not render him unable to use the Wish.

Sender: owner-l5r-ccg@alderac.com

Does ending the battle without resolution with satisfy the rule of relevance?

Yes. Ending a battle certainly "directly affects" it. [DA rulebook p. 53]

I.e. can I use Torrential Rain in the current battle if the shugenja who has it is in another province? Assuming I have Presence, of course

No, but not because you don't meet the Rule of Relevance. You can't do it because Torrential Rain ends "this battle", which means it has to be in the current battle for its action to be legal.

Rules Question (JEFF)

Now my question: "What is the difference between a personality PERFOMING an action and a personality TAKING an action?" If there is a difference could you explain it to me so that I understand your ruling? If there is no difference could you reverse your ruling?

The problem is that it's hard for there not to be a difference. Since almost Day 1, cards have been printed that refer to "performing" actions: Court Jester, the Shouts, "Enough Talk!"... But no formal definition was ever given. Confounding the issue is that, in most cases, the cards were written with the feel that something "living" was the performer -- a Personality, or a Follower, or a player, not something like a Region. In most cases.

The absolutely easiest rule to write, by far, is that the card the action is written on is what performs it, but that breaks down instantly under the assault of common sense. A Reaction to a Personality performing a ranged attack can't be used if the shot is due to a Jade Bow -- under this definition, it's the Bow performing the attack! Ha! Right away, about half the ranged attack-related Reactions in the game become unplayable, which is entirely unintuitive. Going further, who "performs" Meditate, the player or the Personality? Who "performs" Kolat Master? Wait, the action is written on an Action card...maybe Kolat Master is performing itself! What performs the action on Mirumoto House Guard?

Sorry to be so picky, but as I've said before I really like to understand what lies behind the rulings.

One of the old FAQs tried to answer the question of how to tell who or what "performs" an action, with no concrete success. It's still an issue, though, since those cards are still out there, so we finally pounded out a definition we felt covered all the cases (even though still producing unintuitive results sometimes -- we know it can never be perfect) and put it where players could see it. But it's only supposed to apply when the actual word "perform" appears in a card or rule, which is less often than people are using it. That's why I said "no" when you asked "Is the Personality who bows to pay the cost of the Scorpion Distractor taking a Political action?"

Question on Face-Down Cards

Hello.

Does the term 'face-down' also refer to cards in the Fate/Dynasty Decks for purposes of (example) Oracle of Wind?

Yes. [glossary, p. 71]

Fate Denial and Being Broken (ATTN: Jeff) As far as I can tell, you resolve the entire action as one part, not bit

by bit. If the card said to draw cards one at a time, I would agree with you.

Yeah, but you still draw cards one at a time. You do not pick a big stump of cards from the deck.

I've never seen a precedent that says you always draw cards one at a time. I have seen a ruling that states that you do that for the End Phase, but it's not universal.

Why should the End Phase be any different? I know what the archive says, but it probably says that because that's all it needed to say to answer whatever question that answer originally addressed. Draws happen singly during every Phase. That is the principle we've been working under.

That fate denial thread...

"A "draw" happens when you take the top card(s) off a deck, regardless of whether the term "draw" is used. [...] [DW, e-mail]"

As a side note, this means that you can use Draw Them Out on Sezaru's Strength.

No you can't. Those cards are not drawn since they don't go into your hand.

If I have 5 cards in my hand and I get hit by Stolen Records, which do I do?

A.) Shuffle my hand in the deck, then draw 5 cards. (one possible thing to trigger to)

B.) Shuffle my hand in my deck, then draw one card, then draw one card, then draw one card, then draw one card, then draw one card. (five possible triggers)

B.

3 best Broken Blades; old cards

How about the 0/4 -/5/2 Kuni Utagu? Is the extra 2 force really worth it when the shugenja will constantly be bowed from kiho/spells? I think Utagu has got to top Chieh as far as utility shugenja.

Maybe in Crab decks. Maybe even in Unicorn decks. But in Phoenix decks?

Draw Them Out + Naseru's Strength

If my opponent plays Naseru's Strength and reveals the first card of his fate deck, can I play Draw Them Out and cause the next five cards he reveals to go to his discard pile?

No. Your opponent is not drawing them.

Also, for New Year's Celebration, could you (i.e. Jeff, Zen, Vaughn or Shosho) please tell me a little about the timing for New Year's Celebration? It's my turn and I flip New Year's Celebration. The following things happen, but I don't know what order they happen in:

a) I discard my hand b) my opponent discards his hand c) I draw 5 cards (one at a time) d) my opponent draws 5 cards (one at a time)

Obviously, (a) must come before (c) and (b) must come before (d), but can I choose the order of effects outside of that? Can I choose to have the effects resolve (b), (d), (a), (c) - if I already have Draw Them Out in my hand or (a), (c), (b), (d) if I don't yet have Draw Them Out in my hand and I'm hoping that it's in my next 5 cards?

Or, perhaps, do both my opponent and I each discard our hands and then each of us alternates drawing one card at a time until we have drawn 5 cards?

One player discards then draws, then a second player discards then draws, then a third player, etc. The order is chosen by the active player.