Rules for 24 and 25 October 2004

Your Rules for Sunday, October 24 and Monday, October 25, 2004

There were no new Rules Questions on Sunday, October 24.

Yoma Sensei

Does the second action on Yoma Sensei require the shugenja with the spell to be unbowed to use the ability?

Not at all. The Shugenja doesn't have anything to do with the ability. He's just a just a hat rack.

Seppuku on Dark Ring with Voice.

If I use Voice of the Emperor to play a dark ring, and bow a courtier as the cost, can I seppuku the courtier

I have to ask Jeff just how many degrees of separate are necessary before Seppuku isn't a valid response.

I'll get back to you on it.

For now, if it comes up, I rule "no," because the Honor Loss is not part of the effect text of the Reaction on Voice of the Emperor.

I'm not particularly attached to that ruling, however, so don't get comfortable with it, OK? It is just a stop-gap until I get a better opinion from upstairs.

2 quick questions

Just to confirm, if I play Contested Holding and take control of a Daigotsu Dojo while playing House of Tao, does this count as "bringing a Shadowlands card into play"? My guess: NO, the Daigotsu Dojo is already in play.

Good guess. It is already in play, so they didn't bring it into play.

Tsuruko is a 3/3, so how often can you use her Maho Reaction with the Pit of Blood?

The cost of her Reaction is a permanent loss of 2 Chi. She only has 3 Chi. If she has less than 2 Chi, she can't successfully pay the cost by giving up 2 Chi. She doesn't have that much.

Sword of Spirit questions

<SNIP>

Sorry that I can't answer this question. I don't have a copy of that promo yet. I'd direct your question directly to Jeff Alexander, jalexander@alderac.com, and while you're at it, tell him to send Marty a reference copy of the latest promos so he can field these emails for him. ;-)

Followers and Chi bonuses

If one could give a follower a chi bonus, would that chi bonus transulate back to the personality to whom the follower is attached, as in the case of all followers with more than zero chi?

No. If you don't have a "+X" stat on an attached card, that card's stats aren't conferred to the Personality, just the Unit.

So giving "0" Chi Follower +2 Chi makes it a "2" Chi follower, adding 2 Chi to the unit total, but nothing to the Personality.

Giving a "1" Chi Follower +2 Chi makes a "3" Chi follower, and it won't add to the Personality either.

Giving a "+2" Chi Follower (Ninja Mentor) +1 Chi makes a "+3" Chi follower, and it will add to the Personality directly.

Yoritomo Utemaro

I just wanted to know if i can do a combined payment for Yoritomo Utemaro's open action. Meaning can i pay for example 3 gold in one time to make 3 followers or do i need to take 3 opens paying each time 1 gold.

Each use of the ability is a separate Action with a separate cost. After you pay the 1G cost of the first use of the Action, all excess gold produced is lost, as per page 70 of the Diamond Edition Rulebook.

Also, keep in mind that said section also says clearly that you can not pay more than one gold cost with the same gold production effect / source. If you bow a Jade Works to produce 3 gold, you can not use 2 gold to buy a Copper Mine and the other 1 gold to buy a Well-tended Farm.

If you want to break apart your gold production, there are holdings with special abilities that allow you to do so: Barley Farm and Glassblower are good examples of this.

Rules Questions

If Player A has a face-down card in one of his provinces, Player B uses Shosuro Toson to discard said card. It gets discarded and turns out to be a Bayushi Sharaku. Can Player A now use Sharaku's reaction to discard a card from Player B's province? The key here is that Sharaku is face-down and nobody knows he's Sharaku until he's discarded (don't know if that latter point matters)

Why couldn't you use the ability? It is played - AFTER - Sharaku hits the Discard Pile (is discarded), and cards in the Discard Pile are face-up. Sharaku is face-up by the time the window to use his Reaction opens up.

2) We already know that bowing for Kyuden Bayushi is considered a use of the favor, but is it also considered a lobbying attempt?

No. Nothing on the ability or rulebook classifies it as a lobbying attempt.

3) Player A has 2 Voitagis in Battle A, 2 Goblin Wizards in Battle B, and 1 Suiteiru no Oni in Battle C. Which of the following can Player A legally perform? a) Resolve Battle A, let Suiteiru eat one Voitagi and give the tokens to the other Voitagi.

Sure. You've got Presence and Relevance in the current Battle.

b) Resolve Battle A, let Suiteiru eat one Voitagi and give the tokens to a Goblin Wizard or to Suiteiru himself.

Sure. You've still got Presence and Relevance. Targeting someone to eat them is enough to meet Relevance.

c) Resolve Battle A, let Suiteiru eat one Goblin Wizard and give the tokens to a Voitagi.

Yes again. Targeting Voitagi to give him tokens meets Relevance, as does creating Tokens in the current battle.

d) Resolve Battle A, let Suiteiru eat one Voitagi and give the tokens to a Goblin Wizard or to Suiteiru himself.

Is this a trick question? It is the same as question "b." The answer is the same.

e) Resolve Battle C, eat anything and give the tokens to anybody.

Sure.

Way I see this as being illegal is when you try to use Suiteiru in a way that does not target or effect any cards or tokens in the Current Battle: for instance, Resolving Battle A and then eating the Goblin Wizard in B to make only tokens for Suiteiru in C is illegal because it fails Relevance.

4) Player A starts his event phase and reveals a Boastful Proclaimation (I still hate the timing on this card). He manages to get to 37 honor at the end of his turn. Player B attacks and fails to take the Boastful Proclaimation province. Does Player A start his turn on 40 and win the game? or does Player A get 3 honor, go to 40, not win, and allow Player B a supposed one more turn to try to win?

He chooses which effect to resolve first, since they have identical timing and can't resolve simultaneously. One would imagine he would choose to gain the 3 honor before he checks to see if he wins the game.

5) How long is a discarded or dead personality considered to be discarded or dead?

Until he leaves the Discard Pile. Once he leaves the Discard Pile, he is neither Dead nor Discarded until you kill him or discard him again. "Discarded" and "Dead" aren't traits - they are a state of being.

Note that Discarded and Dead Personalities are supposed to be stored distinctly from one another while in the Discard Pile as well. Dead Personalities should be kept at a 90 degree angle from Discarded Cards, and Dishonorable Dead Personalities should be kept upside down (effectively 270 degrees from the Discarded Cards).

That should cover everything from Sunday and Monday. If I missed your question unrelated to Dawn of the Empire, please repost it with the flag [RULES] as part of your Clear and Distinct subject line. I'll get back to you at the first opportunity.