Rules for 22 June 2004

Your Rules for Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Sume + Heart of a hero

If I play Heart of a Hero in a battle, win this battle and use Ikoma Sume's reaction, will my personalities gain +4F/+1C permanently

No. Sume's Reaction is played after the battle has ended, as per page 85 of the Diamond Edition Rulebook. Heart of a Hero only refers to "actions you take between now and the end of the battle" - which will not include Sume's Reaction.

Decisions about how to use Actions (Latomu and Scrutiny's Sweet Sting)

I just wanted to pass on the summary of a discussion I had with Jeff:

Latomu -

You have to choose which option to use (Range 2 without bowing vs. Ranged 4 with bowing) when you announce the Action.

Scrutiny's Sweet Sting -

You have to choose which trait to remove when you announce the Action. The target Personality need not have that Action to be a legal target - but if he does, then Scrutiny's Sweet Sting will remove it on resolution.

Fun Questions with L5R

Question 1: Seppun Isei Unaligned Imperial Bodyguard Reaction : Bow Isei to redirect another player's action targeting one of your Courtiers to him. Isei is automatically a legal target for the action.

Does the change the targeting requirements of the action or does he make himself a legal target.

It waives the Targeting requirements as the card applies to Isei when he can't meet them, rather than actually modifying Isei's card in any way. So he can save a Courtier from A Samurai's Anger.

I never saw an answer to my Prophet's Tower/Right Hand of the Emperor question. To refresh:

Prophet's Tower's effect is the same as that of the Rulebook's one returning attacking units home bowed at the end of Battle Resolution. Neither effect is considered "movement" or "moving." Right Hand of the Emperor is no help against it.

What about with essance of gaki-do or any other token generator that's not considered moving or assigning. Will the prophet's tower wording cause the effect/spell that creates the tokens to fail?

Due to the "may not have" clause, I'll rule that Essence of Gaki-do will fail to produce any Personalities that put you over the limit. So if you have 2 rings and 1 attacker, you can only get 2 Personalities out of Gaki-do.

Question 6: Can someone use the temple of the ninth kami's abliity on a bowed personality?

Yes, but since it is not a Personalities controlled by the player taking that Action, that Personality can't be "Performing" the Action. Being bowed will not stop him from issuing the challenge.

Hiruma Ashihei

Comments Below:

How do you decide what you are actually "choosing" when an action gives you a choice? Apparently, in the case of Iaijutsu Challenge, you're choosing to accept or refuse the duel ("If the challenge is refused...") but what about "Unrequited Love"? Based upon "If he does not" I'm assuming you're choosing to bow or not.

[MARTY] Judging by past precident, the choice is usually as simple as possible. In general, the template should work in one of two ways:

Template #1

"Choose either to do X or do Y."

And that's the whole decision. Any further sentences like, "If you choose X, effect Z happens," on that card or any other card or Stronghold are not part of the decision.

Template #2

"You may do X."

And that's the whole decision. You either choose to do X, or choose not to do X. Any further sentences like, "If you choose X, effect Z happens," on that card or any other card or Stronghold are not part of the decision.

Overwhelmed is very clear example of Template #1: "The opposing player chooses either to destroy one Personality with the highest Force in his army or send two units in his army home without bowing."

Outmaneuvered in Court is a very clear example of Template #2: "That unit's controller may bow his Stronghold."

Challenges are stickier because they don't operate on full card text, but instead have rulebook explanations. Any challenge is, by default an either / or choice between accept and refuse.

Or, in the case of "Temple of the 9th Kami", you're choosing to challenge or not. The rest of the effects (including the dishonoring) are merely consequences of the original choice. Am I right?

[MARTY] You're on target with that example. "Consequences" may be the best way of looking at it.

rules question: Shinsei's Shrine and refilling

how do regions which prohibit refilling interact with effects that directly put a card into the province?

Well, most of the modern ones (like Shinsei's Shrine) specifically state that the Province does not hold Dynasty cards, in which case they would Negate such an effect trying to put a card there.

Ikoma Sume

I've heard conflicting reports on this:

If Ikoma Sume is in a army which destroys another army or province during resolution, can he bow to use his ability? Or does he bow as an attacker first?

He'd bow as an attacker first. You can't play Reactions to the end or resolution of the battle until after all terrains for that battle would be destroyed, which comes after all attacking and allied units are sent home bowed (Diamond Edition Rulebook, pages 84-84)

Ruby of Iuchiban Experienced...

Is the effect of attaching the Ruby XP (not allowing the personality to straighten) considered an action (because it's an action to play the Ruby) or not (because it's really just an effect of attachment?) Moreover, can I redirect the effect with Shiba Danjuro or cancel it with Balance in Nothingness?

Targeting a bowed Personality, other than the one Ruby of Iuchiban is attached to, is an additional cost to play the Ruby.

Keeping the Personality from straightening is an effect of the Ruby's Trait. It has nothing to do with the Action of attaching the Ruby.

You normally couldn't redirect the effect with Danjuro, because he wouldn't be bowed when you announced his ability, thus an illegal target.

You could redirect the targeting to another bowed Personality you control with say, Turn of Fortune.

You could Cancel the action of attaching Ruby of Iuchiban XP. with Balance in Nothingness. The Ruby would be returned to the player's hand (Diamond Edition Rulebook, page 72).

<anarchosyndicalistclasswarrior@y...>

Shinden Horiuchi

Simply put, can a bowed shugenja cast a spell, and if the shugenja's items has already cast a spell this turn can another item still cast a spell attached to the shugenja.

Bowed Shugenja can't cast spells. It says so on page 54 of the Diamond Edition Rulebook.

Items don't cast a Shugenja's Spells. The Shugenja still casts, even if you bow the Item to pay the cost instead of the Shugenja.

Beyond that, Shinden Horiuchi's text says specifically that you can only use its trait to substitute bowing an item for bowing a Shugenja "once per turn."

That should cover all of Tuesday. If I missed your question, please repost it with the flag [RULES] in a clear and distinct subject line and I'll get back to you at the first opportunity.