post for 9 May 2003

Eternal Halls of the Shiba

Just a few questions regarding the timing of this card, and the timing of reactions.

Basically, trying to determine exactly when a Kiho is in the discard pile to set off the Eternal Halls of the Shiba reaction to bring it back.

It goes to the discard pile as soon as you play it. But notice that you have to wait until it's in the discard pile AND it has been successfully cast.

Is it in the discard pile immediately after being played, or after it's effects have resolved? If it's the former, I can play Facing Your Devils on someone (and if they accept) bring it back to my hand and in theory have it available to focus with if I so desire? If it's the latter it would not come back to my hand until after the duel's effects resolve.

By past rulings, the entire duel is an effect of Facing Your Devils, so you'd have to wait until it ended.

Wind's Truth is another scenario.

Say I'm involved in a Mirror match with another Shiba Halls player. Both SHs are unbowed. Player 1 gains honor. Player 2 plays Wind's Truth to steal it. Player 1 plays his own Wind's Truth to steal it back. If player 2 uses his SH reaction, does his Wind's Truth come back to his hand in time to play again and steal the honor back from Player 1 again?

Yes.

A couple rulings needed

1) Can a dishonored personality choose not to challange anyone when targetted by The Temple of The Ninth Kami.

Yes.

2) Can you play Bend Like a Reed during an Iaijutsu Art after both personalities have already focused once? It says it counts as a focus, but does not say that it is played as a focus, so we weren't sure.

You can play it. It is not a focus.

Official Street Dates

What was the official street date for Heaven & Earth?

April 21st.

Question for Jeff

When using the spell " I give you my name " can you target one of your bowed peeps for destruction, like with Tsuburu no Oni?

You can do it with Tsuburu no Oni because playing a Personality from one of your Provinces is not an action. You cannot do it with I Give You My Name.

Enlightenment Question

OK, I would like to know if, in the following situation, one would be considered to win by enlightenment.

My opponent is at 44 honor. I have the Rings of Earth, Water, and Fire in play. I have 2 Asahina Sekawa in play, and an Asahina Handen in my province. I bow both of my Asahina Sekawas, ditching two cards, to pay for Asahina Handen. I now have only the Ring of the Void in my hand, so I play it. As a Reaction, once I have brought handen out, I bow him and a holding to pay for a holding in one of my provinces and bring it into play. I draw my five cards, one of which is Ring of Air. Can I play the Ring of Air, as it is still my turn, and I have previously this turn produced three innate abilities?

The Ring of Air must be used immediately after the third (not fourth, not fifth, not sixth...) innate ability and/or spell effect you create in a turn. You cannot wait until later that turn.

Wholeness of Self

Open: Bow this Shugenja to target a unit. For the rest of the turn, negate all Force and Chi modifiers on cards in that unit except those from cards in that unit.

The card says "for the rest of the turn". Does this mean that all future force and chi modifiers given that turn are negated as well, or are only current force and chi modifiers negated for the rest of the turn?

All current and future modifiers for the rest of the turn.

We are aware of the problem this causes with duels and are looking into the situation.

Wholeness of Self

also..... when it says "negate" all bonuses, does that mean that the personality get, for example -2 Force insead of +2 Force ?

"Negate" means "prevent the effects of" in L5R. [GE p. 45] It does not have a separate definition for stat modifiers.

Money Lender?

Can you pay no gold for money lender or do you have to at least pay 1 gold.

"You may pay any amount of Gold when paying for Moneylender." [card text] Zero is "any amount". You may pay zero. The Holding will get zero Coin tokens.

Also hoes dose KS Stronghold for the Crane work with Money lender?

No. It gains one Coin token per Gold paid. Even if it *really* cost six, for example, if you pay five for it, you get five tokens.

Noh vs TWT

Noh Theater Troupe: Political Reaction: Bow Noh Theater Troupe after another gains Honor or resolves a Political action to gain 2 Honor.

I assume that because the wording on this is similar to Kaukatsu, you can't steal an honour gain with TWT and react to the same gain with a NTT?

Correct. Noh Theater Troupe must be used "after" the Honor is actually gained.

Shosuru Technique + ISotF

I have a question which most certainly has already been adressed, but I can't find any references. My question is:

My opponent plays a 'Shosuru Technique' to copy my big guys strength. Does playing 'In Search of the Future' negate the effect of the 'Shosuru Technique'?

Yes. The change in Force from one number to another, higher number counts as a bonus. [GE p. 31]

Attached cards, Honor Loss and Seppuku

I would like to adress the following question to the list:

Is it possible for a Samurai to commit seppuku due to a honor loss generated by an attached card?

Maybe. Normal samurai seppuku requires that the samurai "take an action, get targeted by an action, or make a decision". [GE p. 65] An action on a card attached to him might fall into one of those categories, or it might not.

To be a little more precise, here's the situation:

My opponent takes control of my Samurai with 'Show of Good Faith', attaches an Ikiryo. Then I get him back and he makes me lose honor with Sochi Eiji. Is there a possibility to react with seppuku to this honor loss?

No. The samurai is not targeted (Eiji's action only targets the Ikiryo), the samurai is not taking any actions, and no decisions are being made by him. The samurai may not seppuku.

Enlightment Victory?

WC: I was going to say "No, this does not work. Why you ask? Because a ruling once said "to play the ring of Air again you would have to do three more spell effects or Kihos." I then checked the rulings and found that the ruling is not in the accumulated rulings. So guess what? It does work, until I see a ruling in the accumulated rulings that says otherwise.

That ruling has been removed because the Ring of Air has been reworded in Gold Edition. It can now only be played one time per turn: after exactly the third spell effect and/or innate ability.

Also, is a Rings Elemental Benefit: an action can somthing that cancels an Elemental action cancel a Rings Effect?

Neither Rings nor their benefits are Reactions. Thus they are not actions. Cards that cancel actions or Reactions do not affect them.

Combo legality?

After you play Show of Good Faith on a personality, can you permanently steal that personality with Loyalty renewed?

Yes.

If you are running Hantei Naseru as your wind and take a dishonored personality with Show of Good Faith for a turn. Can you use Bane of the Anvil to take permanent control of that personality?

Yes.

Tricky Question

Tireless Assaut brings another question from one of my local players.

If I move an attacking personality in a resolved battle, when is she going home?

a) Immediatly. b) At the end of the Battle phase, as any defending personality c) You're not Leon but get off my list

At the same time as attacking units in the last battle go home. [GE p. 58]

Jeff :) / question

A Dishonored Personality plays Iaijutsu Art against one of my personalities, he wins the duel, can I Stole the gain with Wind's Truth before he becomes rehonored?

No.

;;;;;

Ok this one I might see from time to time. Why is this not possible (so i can explain it if i have to rule on it at somepoint)

Because one cannot gain Honor from a situation involving one's own dishonored Personalities. There is no gain to redirect.

Enlightenment Question

OK, so, an addition to this question:

I can produce gold at any time for any reason, right?

Wrong. "You cannot produce Gold unless you are paying a cost." [GE p. 38] You MAY deliberately overpay a cost, even a cost of 0, [p. 39] but you cannot pay for nothing.

Enlightenment Question

If that is the case, then in the situation described in my original question, I could simply wait until I had drawn all five cards in to my hand, then before the End phase is over, bow a holding and Handen to increase the gold production to 5, completing my third innate ability and fulfilling the requirement for the Ring of Air.

No because the sequence of the game is: Dynasty - buy stuff from provinces; discard face-up (optional) End Phase - draw a card, formally end your turn.

Untrue. Your turn ends when you tell your opponent you're done, not when you take your normal draw. [GE p. 59] It is legal to do things in your End Phase after that draw (although bowing a Holding to produce Gold just because you want to is not one of them).