Accumulated Rulings

Last Updated February 8, 2000



What's What

This document is a list of rulings culled from various electronic forums. This document is quasi-official, being a compilation of direct statements from recognized FRPG rules-making staff, so it should suffice in settling disputes, being authoritative, objective, and (hopefully) unambiguous. I do miss things sometimes, plus rulings do change with each edition and depending on which member of the Rules Junta you talk to, so if you see something that looks wrong, take it with a grain of salt and drop me a note.

I've tried to minimize redundancy, too. If you're having problems with an obviously tricky or broken card that isn't listed here, chances are very good that it's already been covered in the latest rulebook, the FAQ, or the Text Change and Errata List. This document is a catch-all for everything that slips through their cracks.

Who's Who, Where's Where

DJ -- D.J. Trindle, rules editor and original FAQ maintainer
DW -- David Williams, lead designer
RD -- Ryan Dancey, original design team member
Mouse -- Mindy Sherwood-Lewis, resident rodent
ZF -- Zen Faulkes, Crab Clan Scholar and Official Deputy Rules Guru

netnews -- Usenet newsgroups, almost exclusively rec.games.trading-cards.misc
l5rinfo -- FRPG's own L5R mailing list
FAQ -- rulings in current or previous versions of the FAQ
MRP -- the Most Recent Printing of the card

What's New

At'Tok'Tuk Sensei
Kage Sensei
See At'Tok'Tuk Sensei.

Rise from the Ashes

Celestial Gift
Shooting Star Strike
See Celestial Gift.

Hirariko

Will of the Emperor
Yori Sensei
Evil Portents
At the beginning of the game, Sensei cards are chosen in secret and revealed simultaneously. [DW, l5rinfo, 2/2000]

Isawa Taeruko

Kyoso no Oni
False Tao
Roshungi
See The False Tao.

A Personality's Minimum Honor must be met both before and after his payment is produced. If it's not met to begin with, you cannot even start to pay for him. [partial REVERSAL]

Eternal Halls of the Shiba

Doom of the Alliance
A Personality technically enters play before any side-effects of her being played occur, such as honor gains/losses. [l5rinfo, 2/5/2000]

If a card lets you do something like "get an XXX card from your deck" but does not require that you reveal it, you do not need to. Your opponents may, however, call upon a neutral party to confirm its legality. [l5rinfo, 2/5/2000]

Bend Like a Reed

Strike with No-Thought
See Bend Like a Reed.

General Rulings

Actions/Abilities

"Action" and "ability" are synonymous, and refer to anything with a "Limited", "Battle", "Open", or "Reaction" keyword. Anything else printed on a card, except for flavor text, is a "trait" (although once you get past the boldface area, individual words don't count as traits by themselves -- only entire phrases do). Anything a card or Stronghold does, whether it be by trait or ability, is an "effect".

Decisions are typically not actions. [summary of other rulings]

Only an ability printed on a shugenja (or copied from another card) is as an "innate ability". Actions such as lobbying, performing an action via an attached card or a card from hand, or discarding for a Tactician bonus, are not innate. [DW, l5rinfo, 8/3/98, and person correspondence, 12/17/98]

If a player passes her action during the Action Phase or a Battle Action Segment, she is NOT locked into passing for the remainder of the phase/segment. She is free to either act or pass every time the turn sequence comes around to her. [netnews, 7/2/99]

Attaching and Moving Cards

"Attaching a card to a Personality is a Limited Action." [DW, l5rinfo, 5/10/97] When several cards are moved from one Personality to another, they are moved simultaneously, not sequentially. If some of those cards require that others be already attached to the new Personality for their own attachment to be legal (example: Traveling Poet), they cannot be moved at that time. [DW, personal correspondence]

The controller of a Personality is the controller of all cards attached to that Personality, regardless of who owns or attached them.

Battle

It is legal to play a terrain even if it would have no effect, or a detrimental effect on your army.

An ability which lets you replace an existing terrain can be used in a battle in which you have no units if the new terrain is one which can, itself, normally be played in such a situation. [DW, l5rinfo, 6/10/96]

Reactions which require you to destroy the opposing army may be played if the result of the battle is a tie. [DW, l5rinfo, 4/17/96]

Reactions which require you to "destroy an opposing army", "destroy an army in battle", or "win a battle" require that there actually be at least one opposing unit on the board during Battle Resolution. Eliminating all opposing cards during the Battle Action Segment doesn't count. [extension from Ring of Water, DW, l5rinfo, 9/3/96]

Cards which cause an honor gain or loss as a result of winning or losing a battle, or destroying a Province, cannot be played so as to affect allies. Only the Attacker and Defender can normally receive honor bonuses or penalties as a result of the outcome of a battle.

You are not allowed to assign or move troops into a battle unless you are the Attacker, the Defender, or an invited ally, or you use a card which specifically allows you to do so. [DW, email, 1/8/97]

If you are invited as an ally but commit no units during the Maneuvers Segment, you are still allowed to use actions which bring units into battle on that side during the Battle Action Segment. You will not gain 2 honor for doing so, however.

It is legal to aim a Ranged Attack at a target which is too large to be killed by that attack. [DW, l5rinfo, 10/29/96]

Attacking and allied units bow after the resolution of each individual battle they're present at, not all at once at the end of the Attack Phase. [l5rinfo]

All cards in allied and attacking units bow upon battle resolution, not just the Personalities.

Strength 0 Ranged Attacks and Fear effects are legal and will affect Force 0 cards as appropriate. [DW, 7/9/97]

The Force of a Follower that uses a "+X" notation instead of just "X" is still X, and requires at least a strength X Ranged or Fear attack to be affected (although Fear is pretty useless, since its +X bonus is still added to its Personality while bowed).

The honor gain from destroying cards at battle resolution is one single gain.

The phrase "this battle" is not synonymous with "current battle". "This battle" refers to the battle that the card with this phrase is in. [DW, l5rinfo, 2/13/98]

"Sending a unit home bowed" is one single effect. If a unit cannot be sent home, it does not become bowed in place. [DW, personal correspondence, 9/29/98]

References to "an opposing player" during battle mean "someone who has units in the opposing army". References to "the opposing player" or "your opponent in the battle" mean either the Attacker or the Defender, as appropriate, regardless of whether he has units present. [DW, personal correspondence, 10/22/98]

"Opposing army" is now defined as "one or more units involved in the attack or defense of a Province". Cards referring to the total Force or Chi of the opposing army, such as Crushing Attack and Flattery, can no longer be played if there are no opposing units. [DW, personal correspondence, 2/13/99] [REVERSAL]

The terms "assign" and "commit" are synonymous and refer only to unit placements made during a Maneuver Segment, or via Reactions that take place during or immediately after one. Cards that enter a battle via Battle or Open actions are never "assigning" or "committing", regardless of whether one of those terms is used on the card. [DW, email, 4/8/99]

Switching the positions of units counts as movement, with the explicit printed exception of Way of Deception.

All units being assigned by one player during one Maneuvers Segment enter the battle simultaneously. [DW, email, 4/8/99]

If, during battle, the Province under attack is somehow destroyed (the Defender reveals a Blackmail, for example, or brings Oni no Akuma into play with The People's Hero), the battle continues normally. The only difference is that the Province cannot be destroyed during resolution (obviously). [DW, l5rinfo, 7/10/97] Even effects that move cards into/out of/between "Provinces" are still legal until the battle ends. [netnews, 7/1/99]

The strength of a strengthless special ranged attack, such as Nogoten's Bow's chi-reducing token, is considered to be 0 by effects which refer to its strength, but effects which modify its strength have no effect on it. It will remain strengthless. [DW, personal email, 8/99]

You cannot destroy a Province by reducing its strength to zero. It will still require an attacking army with a total Force of at least 1 if undefended or 1 greater than the defending army's Force.

Bowing & Straightening

An effect which prevents cards from straightening "until" some future time prevents those cards from being straightened in any way during the meantime, even if they are only prevented from straightening "as normal". [DW, l5rinfo, 10/18/96] On the other hand, an effect which prevents cards from straightening "during" a particular period does not prevent those cards from being straightened during other periods. [ibid.]

As with Followers, abilities on Items which do not require the attached Personality to bow can still be used when he is bowed, provided the Item itself is not. [DW, email, 2/7/97]

The rule about bowed Personalities and Followers not contributing to the total unit/army Force is used any time that particular total is needed, not just during battle resolution.

The Force of a card is not affected by bowing -- only the Forces of units and armies are. Even if a unit is just a Personality with no other cards attached, an effect that refers to his Force must be double-checked to determine whether it refers to a "card's" or "Personality's" Force or whether it refers to a "unit's" Force. Only in the last case will the value always be zero.

There is no rule prohibiting Regions and Fortifications from bowing. They may be bowed as the cost or effect of other cards. [DW, email, 6/27/97]

Battle actions on Regions and Fortifications can only be used during the Battle Action Segment of a battle in that Province. [DW, personal correspondence, 12/2/98]

Cards in discard piles are never considered bowed. [l5rinfo, 7/14/99]

Cancelling

An effect which is cancelled in its entirety is considered not to have even been attempted. [DW, l5rinfo, 12/1/97] This is NOT true of an action which has "all its effects" cancelled but does not get cancelled itself.

When an action is cancelled, no costs are refunded. This includes, and is not necessarily limited to: gold, Fate cards, discarding the Favor, and bowing and/or destroying cards in play. If a card says "Do X to do Y", the X is probably a cost, though not always (example: honor loss is never a cost, except when necessary to prevent obvious infinites). And this should not be taken to imply there is never a cost if the card is phrased differently.

Copying

Cards cannot copy themselves. [DW/DJ, l5rinfo, 9/20/96]

Only the copied ability itself, tokens created by it, and effects whose durations depend on the originating card (for example, "until this card straightens") disappear at the end of the turn. Non-token changes with set durations (like "permanent" or "until your next Straighten Phase"), changes in state (bowing, destruction, etc.), and changes to Family Honor persist normally. [rulebook, and DW, l5rinfo, 3/11/97. also l5rinfo 2/99]

Destruction and Elimination

The destruction of a card does not remove any effects or alterations to that card that aren't marked with tokens. Such effects persist for their normal duration, and are fully active in the dead pile.

All cards controlled by an eliminated player are removed from the game completely and returned to their owners. [DW, l5rinfo, 8/29/96] [REVERSAL of an erroneous entry]

Tokens and effects caused by eliminated players persist for their normal duration. This includes effects which will wear off during some future turn of that player. Just pretend it's that player's turn for a brief moment. [DW, l5rinfo, 3/3/97]

A destroyed card goes in the discard pile of whoever controlled it at the time. If someone else owns it, the card does not change piles when the change-of-control effect would normally wear off. [DW, l5rinfo, 12/2/97]

An attachment card which grants you some bonus effect when destroyed (example: Lesser Oni) must be destroyed directly to collect the reward. Destroying it indirectly by destroying the Personality doesn't count. [DW & RD, personal email, 4/16/98]

Being discarded from play or removed from the game does not count as destruction. Reactions to destruction may not be used. [5/24/99]

Dishonor

Dishonor is a "permanent change", and will affect overlayed Experienced Personalities and the Egg of P'an Ku, among other things. [l5rinfo]

If several dishonored Personalities are involved in the same honor-gaining event, such as winning a battle, they are all restored to honor.

Dishonored Personalities in a tied battle are restored to honor before they die.

If a dishonored Personality gets reshuffled into your Dynasty Deck, he will still be dishonored when he reappears in one of your Provinces. If he's aligned with your Clan, paying full price will gain you 0 honor and not restore him to honor. [extension of Akodo Toturi ruling, netnews, 7/15/99]

Drawing

If you need to "draw and discard" a Fate card, you must discard the card drawn. [5/28/99]

A "draw" happens any time you take the top card(s) off a deck, regardless of whether the term "draw" is used. Going through your deck to retrieve a specific card is not "drawing". [DW, email]

Dueling

When one Personality steps in for another in a duel, the duel's results will apply to the new Personality as if he were the original. [DW, l5rinfo, 3/11/97]

You cannot, by any means, end up controlling both Personalities in a duel. [DW, personal correspondence, 10/22/98]

A challenge always preceeds the duel itself, timing-wise. Personalities with built-in reactions to "entering a duel" cannot use them if they had to bow to issue the challenge. [DW, personal correspondence, 12/2/98] [REVERSAL] (Built-in reactions to the challenge, such as Matsu Seijuro's, are still legal.)

Effects which put restrictions on or otherwise influence stat bonuses, such as Monsoon and the Ancestral Sword of the Hantei, do not affect focussing unless they specifically say so. [DW, email, 7/17/97] [REVERSAL of a short-lived ruling on the Naga Guard]

If there are multiple conflicting effects that change the values of focus cards (for example, Ninja Mystic and Lord Moon's Blood), the active player decides which effect applies first. [l5rinfo, 3/10/99]

Events

An Event which resolves but does nothing still counts as having happened for purposes of the optional "each Event can only happen once" rule. [DW, l5rinfo, 8/12/96]

Experienced Personalities

An Experienced Personality on top of an original only counts as two cards for the purposes of honor when killed during the resolution of a battle. It counts as one card for all other purposes. [RD, netnews, 1/25/97]

If you overlay, the original card's title is lost, just like traits and stats are. [DW, l5rinfo, 2/25/97]

A permanent change in Clan affiliation will apply to the overlayed Personality as well. [DW, l5rinfo, 2/28/97]

When you overlay, the Experienced Personality permanently gains the abilities of the card underneath. For example, an Egg of P'an Ku would copy both cards' abilities, and the Experienced Personality card would retain all abilities if it dies and is returned to play with the original version no longer underneath. [RD, l5rinfo, 2/26/97]

You may overlay a bowed Personality, since overlaying is not an action. [DW, l5rinfo, 5/15/97]

An inexperienced Personality need not be already in play when the Experienced version is first revealed in order to overlay. [old FAQ]

Restrictions against joining certain Clans are not checked when you overlay, just like minimum honor isn't checked. [RD/DW]

A card which is not a Personality but which counts as some Personality for purposes of Uniqueness will preclude all Unique versions of that Personality from the deck, regardless of their Experience level. [RD, l5rinfo, 6/24/98]

Gold

You cannot generate gold for no reason [RD, l5rinfo, 9/5/96], although you can deliberately generate more gold than is necessary for an actual purchase, including a card or action with a printed cost of 0. [DW, l5rinfo, 2/18/97]

You must generate the entire amount of gold for an action at the time you perform the action. You may not generate some gold, perform some Limited/Open/Battle actions, then generate the rest. [rulebook]

Non-variable costs cannot be paid multiple times to generate multiple effects in a single action. [extension from Gaijin Mercenaries, DW, netnews, 3/11/96]

Holdings which provide extra gold based on the number of a particular other type of Holding in play count all such Holdings, regardless of who controls them. [card text]

A "gold-producing Holding" is one which lets you do something "to produce (or, on one or two old cards, 'provide') X gold", even if X is sometimes zero or depends on outside factors. Holdings which "pay the entire cost", "reduce the cost", or "put a card into play without gold cost" are not gold-producers. [DW, l5rinfo, 9/2/98]

You may deliberately pay 2g less for an aligned Personality to avoid gaining honor even if you have produced enough to pay the full price [DW, l5rinfo, 5/19/97] -- unless the Personality costs 0g, or you're using a Holding that "pays the entire gold cost". [DW, email, 3/99]

An action or card with no printed gold cost, such as an Event, cannot have its gold cost raised. [DW, personal correspondence, 2/13/99] You also cannot produce gold to pay for using/playing it.

Putting a card into play "without gold cost" is not the same as reducing its cost to zero. The card still has its original cost -- you are simply not paying it. This means you will not gain honor for playing an aligned Personality in this way. [DW, email, 2/4/99] This ruling does NOT apply to Holdings which "pay the entire cost".

Honor

If you suffer multiple losses or gains of honor simultaneously, you do not merge them into one big change. Each change must be dealt with individually. [summary of other rulings]

Exception: the honor gain from winning or tying in a battle is a single amount. [rulebook]

Preventing or cancelling an honor loss or gain does NOT count as reducing it to zero. [REVERSAL] [l5rinfo/netnews, 1/99] The loss/gain no longer exists and cannot be further modified.

The reverse is also true: reducing a loss or gain completely to zero does not eliminate it completely. It still exists as a 0-point loss/gain, which can be increased by other reactions.

Take heed, though, of these two Common Sense rulings:

As the rulebook doesn't use the word "base" or "printed", you only need to pay the full current gold cost of a Personality from your Clan to gain his Personal Honor. If you reduce his cost, you only need to pay the reduced amount. This is true even if his cost is reduced to (or is naturally) zero.

Honor gains/losses for players which cannot gain or lose honor (or gain or lose further honor) do not happen in the first place and so cannot be redirected to another player.

Imperial Favor

May be given up to prevent a loss of honor to any player, not just to the one holding the Favor. [RD, l5rinfo, 10/17/96]

Giving up the Favor to play a card is a non-gold cost and must still be done if you're playing the card "without gold cost". [extension of Hida Yakamo (Hero)(Exp), DW, l5rinfo, 5/7/97]

Giving up the Favor to play a special card can also be countered. If it is, the playing of the card is countered, and it returns to where it came from, with no refund of other costs. [extension of specific rulings, DW, l5rinfo, 9/30/96]

The rulebook implies you must always either give a gift or bow at least one additional Personality to gain the Favor if you lobby for it in a situation where you do not automatically gain it. This is not true. You will gain the Favor if your effective family honor is sufficiently high at the end of the lobby attempt, regardless of whether you took any measures to raise it.

Neither giving a gift nor bowing to add Personal Honor once a lobbying attempt has started are actions. [rulebook]

Provinces

Any face-up Dynasty card can be purchased during your Dynasty Phase, including cards which weren't exposed until after your Events Phase. [DW, l5rinfo, 10/25/96]

Rings

An Elemental Victory requires at least one of each Ring, not five Rings total. [DW, l5rinfo, 1/29/98]

Elemental Rings are no longer actions in any way. The cards themselves are not Action cards and neither playing nor using them are Reactions anymore (though they work with the same timing as before). [FAQ 3.10, errata]

An Elemental Victory is achieved by having all five Elemental Rings in play at once, not necessarily by "playing" all five or having all five in play at some point during the game. [FAQ 3.10]

Seppuku

A Samurai may be ordered to commit seppuku in any instance where he is involved in a loss of honor to your family (for example, refusing an Iaijutsu Challenge). It is not limited only to losses which arise from actions that you initiated.

It's not a Reaction, so it's not an ability. [RD, l5rinfo, 1/15/97] It is, therefore:

All seppuku effects restore the Personality to honor before killing him.

Targetting

An effect which has more than one target can have any one of its targets changed by a single retargetting effect. [RD, l5rinfo, 1/16/97]

When you redirect an effect, you are only bound by the effect's original controller's targetting requirements. [RD & DW, email, 6/27/97] [REVERSAL]

If a non-action effect requires you to destroy a Personality you control as part of its usage or play cost, you may select a bowed Personality. [extension from other rulings, 7/1/97] [REVERSAL of an out-of-date ruling]

Reactions that get played after one of your Personalities dies can be played even if that Personality was bowed when he died, since he is actually in your dead pile when the reaction is played and dead cards are not considered bowed. [DW, email, 3/18/97]

An action is targetted if there is ever a time when you need to choose what it will affect. Actions don't flip between "targetted" and "untargetted" based on the current situation. [DW, l5rinfo, 8/5/97]
Example: Block Supply Lines can only be played against one attacking unit, so it is a targetted action, even in a battle where there is only one attacking unit.

All targetting decisions are made before any cards are bowed or gold is generated. Thus a Personality with a targetted ability that requires bowing may use that ability on himself.

The rulebook says that when redirecting an action, consider the action to have been targetted there in the first place. This is true for non-actions as well. [DW, l5rinfo, 1/29/98]

All effects which target face-down cards are exceptions to the rule that you may only target cards in play. You may target any face-down cards in any player's Provinces, hand, and both decks. [Glossary] You are not limited to just the top card when targetting cards in decks.

Action cards, including Kiho, which require you to "bow a (foo) you control" target that card. [DW, l5rinfo, 1/99] This is a cost, though, not an effect, so it cannot be redirected with the Ring of Air.

Reactions that cancel other actions typically do not target. Since there are no simultaneous actions in L5R, there is never a choice of which action to cancel.

Timing (ugh)

Whenever there is any contention over who gets to act or make a decision first after a particular event, start with the current player -- or the player to the left of the one who just acted, if that action is the trigger event [rulebook] -- and go around the table in turn order. Each player may make one action or pass. (Examples: Rallying Cry vs. Counterattack after the last battle, multiple Poisoned Weapons after a duel, Unexpected Allies and multiple Unique Personalities.)

If some effect is supposed to happen "during" one of your Phases, you can have it happen any time in the Phase that you want. [DW, l5rinfo, 12/9/96]

During battle resolution, you do not get honor for cards whose destructions are prevented, or for cards which pre-emptively destroy themselves to prevent the destruction of other cards. [RD, l5rinfo, 12/27/96]

"Permanent" just means "until end of game", not "irreversible". Permanent changes simply do not wear off at the end of the turn. They can be undone or further altered by later effects.

"Battle resolution" includes only the destruction of the losing army and, if necessary, the Province. The bowing of attacking and allied units happens immediately after resolution, in a separate step. [DW, netnews, 7/3/97, and l5rinfo, 7/11/97]

Each card draw during your End Phase is separate. You may take actions between them or give up individual cards that are part of multiple-card draws to pay for abilities such as Kyuden Hitomi. [DW, email, 8/18/98] [REVERSAL]

"After" and "immediately after" are equivalent. Reactions played merely "after" something occurs cannot be held and played at an arbitrary time later that turn. [DW, personal correspondence, 2/99] [REVERSAL of some specific rulings]

Timing-wise, a reaction will always go after a continuous effect. (Examples: Tetsubo vs. Kakita Technique, Kolat Geisha vs. The Wind's Truth.) [ZF, l5rinfo, 11/23/99]

Tokens

An action which targets something like "a token on a Personality" targets only the token and not the card it's currently on. You may target tokens on your own bowed Personalities. [DW, l5rinfo, 10/8/96] On the other hand, an action which affects "all tokens (or 'all tokens of a particular type') on a Personality" does target the Personality.

A Plague token is a Plague token. Anything that refers to them refers to all of them, regardless of their original source. [DW, l5rinfo, 1/3/97] [This extends to all token traits, not just "plague". -- jwa]

Follower and Item tokens are considered to be "on" the Personality they're attached to.

Traits and Bonuses

A card either has a trait or it doesn't. You cannot have a card with the same trait multiple times. An effect which would give an existing trait to a card is still legal, though. Just ignore the extra instance. [summary of other rulings]
This ruling does not apply to abilities.

Traits are always active, even if a card is bowed. [DW, l5rinfo, 9/12/96] This also applies to the stat bonuses provided by all Items, and by those Followers that use the "+X" notation.

Unlike Followers, Items always add their stat bonuses directly to the attached Personality, regardless of whether they say "X" or "+X". [rulebook]

A Personality with an attached card that boosts his stats only "receives a bonus" from that card when he attached it and if its bonus increases. He is not continually "receiving a bonus".

The singular, plural, and possessive forms of traits are equivalent. "Deep Forest", "Deeper Forests", and "Forest's Deepness" are all "Forest" cards. [RD, l5rinfo, 12/27/96, and ZF, netnews, 10/99]

"Corrupt" and "corrupted" are equivalent. [DW, personal correspondence, 12/17/98]

"Emperor" and "Imperial" are not equivalent. [DW, personal correspondence, 2/13/99]

Individual abilities carry their cards' traits as well as their own. Casting "Elemental Ward" is an Elemental action, for instance. [DW, l5rinfo, 2/18/97]

Any card which can alter an honor gain or loss is Political, even if it doesn't always do so. [DW, email, 6/27/97] Example: Legendary Victory.

There is nothing special about effects that multiply, divide, or swap stats. These are still "increases", "bonuses", "penalties", etc. [summary of other rulings]

Hyphenated traits are single words. You don't count the halves separately. [DW, l5rinfo, 11/4/97]

Clan alignments are inseparable, too. A member of the "Dragon Clan" is not necessarily a Dragon, and a member of the "Shadowlands Horde" (there are ways of accomplishing this) is not necessarily a Shadowlands card. [DW, private email, 6/5/98]

Swearing fealty is a permanent change. [HE4 rulebook]

Losing former alignments is a special effect of cards such as Oath of Fealty, not a result of swearing fealty in general. [DW, email, 2/17/99]

Anything with the Creature trait is not human, and therefore Nonhuman as well. [DW, personal correspondence, 12/2/98] (This does not work both ways.)

Clan Champion status is separate from clan affiliation. It is based on the original printed traits of the card and cannot be changed by changing alignment. You also cannot acquire a Clan Champion by changing alignment. Example: if a Crab Clan Champion swears fealty to Phoenix, her traits will change to Phoenix Clan * Clan Champion. She will be a Phoenix Clan Personality and a Clan Champion, but not a Phoenix Clan Champion. [DW, personal correspondence, 2/99]

Besides words in their titles and traits areas, Action Cards also share all the traits of the individual actions printed on them. This rule does not apply to any other type of card. [DW, personal correspondence, 2/99]

There is no rule against having multiple cards in play or in your deck with the same honorific title, such as "Crab Clan Champion" or "Oracle of Earth". [5/26/99]

Undead cards are not automatically Nonhuman. [FAQ 3.10]

Only the card on which the action is printed determines the traits of the action. For instance, if a Ninja Personality plays an Iaijutsu Challenge, that is not a "ninja action". [l5rinfo, 7/20/99] Furthermore, if an action is not actually on a card, it does not acquire any traits from any cards involved in performing it. [REVERSAL] This includes actions such as attaching a card from your hand or lobbying for the Favor. Actions added to a card via copying or by an effect such as The Yogo Towers count as being "on the card". [FAQ 3.10]

Personal Honor is not, as a general rule, limited to a maximum of 5. [DW, personal correspondence, 1/9/99]

Any effect that uses a "+" or "-" sign or uses a word such as "bonus", "penalty", "extra", "reduced", "additional", or "further" is cumulative. [l5rinfo, 8/5/99]

Versions

Cards which have multiple versions in their most recent printing are played according to the actual version played.

Tournaments

If there is a tie in a tournament even after going to the point method, the round is considered a loss for both players. [DW, l5rinfo, 11/24/97]

Goblin Sneaks are Jade-legal. Apparently, they made it into Pearl Edition Shadowlands Horde clan decks without getting the Jade kanji added.

All Siege of Sleeping Mountain cards and Strongholds are Jade-legal, although the SSM version of a card is never considered the Most Recent Printing unless it's the only printing.

Miscellaneous

You may play Reactions which do nothing so long as they are otherwise legal (for example, Rallying Cry after losing the battle and having your army destroyed, or even if you never had any units in the battle in the first place). [DW, l5rinfo, 12/3/96]

"In the unlikely event that a non-Shugenja Personality somehow manages to get a legally attached spell, the spell cannot be used but has no other unusual effect. It can be destroyed, stolen, Scribed, moved, etc." [RD, l5rinfo, 1/15/97]

If an effect requires the destruction of a card as part of its cost and that destruction is prevented, the same thing happens as in any other situation when a cost is interfered with: if the cost cannot be satisfied some other way, no effect is generated, the card being paid for (if any) is returned to where it came from, and all other costs get consumed with no return. [DW, personal correspondence]

Kiho are a subset of Action Cards, just like Weapons are a subset of Items, Black Scrolls are a subset of Spells, etc. [rulebook]

Any single card or action which brings a card into play and gives it the Shadowlands trait is considered to be "bringing a Shadowlands card into play" regardless of the exact relative timing of the two effects.

The term family name does not include races or professions, such as "Ninja", "Naga", "Ratling", "Mujina", or "Oni".

A name is not a family name if it is possessed by only a single Personality with a one-word name ("Sanzo", "Suana"). On the other hand, if a name is made a family name by other cards, a Personality with only that name as a one-word name is considered part of that family ("Hitomi", "Yoritomo").

Dishonor is still an immediate loss. The Ambition's Debt rulebook is incorrect. [FAQ 3.10]

Playing a card from your hand counts as "bringing a card into play", even if that card just has an immediate effect and goes straight into your discard pile. [l5rinfo, 1/2000]


Specific Cards

Abandoning the Fortunes
Accessible Terrain
Agasha Gennai
The Agasha Join the Phoenix
Air Dragon
Akiyoshi (Exp)
Akodo Dagger
Akodo Hall of Ancestors
Akodo's "Leadership"
Alhundro Cornejo
Ambush
Ancient Sage
Ancient Spear of the Naga
Ancestral Sword of the Hantei
Ancestral Swords
Ancestral Weapon of the Mantis
Animate the Dead
Annexation
Another Time
Architects of the Wall
Armor of the Golden Samurai
Armor of Earth
Armor of Osano-Wo
Armor of Sun-Tao
Arrival of the Emerald Champion
Arrival of the Unicorns
The Arrow Knows the Way
Arrows From the Ranks
Asahina Dorai (Exp)
Asako Hosigeru Asako Togama Ashigaru Archers Awakening Shakoki Dogu Avoid Fate Bakeneko
Basher's Club Battlefield of Shallow Graves Battlements of Matsu Castle Bayushi Aramoro
Bayushi Baku
Bayushi Goshiu
Bayushi Goshiu (Exp)
Bayushi Goshiu (Exp2)
Bayushi Kachiko (Exp 2)
Bayushi Kyoto
Bayushi Shoju (Inexp)
Bayushi Shoju
Bayushi Tangen
Bayushi Tomaru
Bayushi Yokuan
Bayushi's Labyrinth
Berzerkers
Betrayal
A Black Scroll is Opened
Blackmail
Bleeding the Elements
Blessings of Isawa
The Blood Feud
Blood Oath
Bo Stick
Bog Hag
Breach of Etiquette
Brilliant Victory
The Bronze Gong of the Hantei
Burning Your Essence
Call to Arms
Catching the Wind's Favor
The Celestial Pattern
Change of Loyalty
Climbing Gear
Cloak of Night
Code of Bushido
Concealed Archers
Concede Defeat
Confusion at Court
Contemplate the Void
Contested Holding
Cornered
Counterattack
Counterfeit
Courier
The Coward's Way
Crane Tattoo
Creating the Monkey Clan
Crushing Attack
Crystal Arrow
Cultists
Daikua
See Sanado.

The Daimyo's Command

Damesh
Dark Lord's Favor
A Dark Moment
Dark Oracle of Water
Dead Eyes
Deadly Ground
Death of the Ki-Rin
Deeds, Not Words
Defend Your Honor
Delicate Calculations
Desperate Measures
Doji Hoturi
Doji Hoturi (Exp)
The Doji Plains
Doji Reju
Doji Satsume
Doji Yosai
Doom of the Brotherhood
Doom of the Dark Lord
Double Agent
Dragon Clan Charter
The Dragon's Heart
The Dragon Pearl
Dragonfly Tattoo
Dripping Poison
The Edge of Shinomen Forest
Egg of P'an Ku
Elemental Ward
Emergence of the Masters
Emperor's Protection
Encircled Terrain
Enlightened Tutor
Essence of Air
Exile's Road
The Eye of Shorihotsu
The Face of Fear
Facing Your Devils
Fallen Lion Fortress
Farmlands
Fatal Mistake
Feign Death
Festival of the River of Stars
Fight to the Setting Sun
Final Charge
Finding the Balance
Finding the Harmony
Fires of Retribution
The First Scroll is Opened
The First Shout
Flatlands
Flattery
For the Empire
Force of Will
Forced March
Forest Fire
Forgotten Tomb
Freezing the Lifeblood
Fresh Horses
Frenzy
Fu Leng's Horde
Fury of the Earth
Gaijin Mercenaries
see Gold Payments

Garrison

Geisha Assassin
Genzo
A Gift of Honor
A Good Day to Die
Gust of Wind
Hammer of Earth
Hasagawa
Hate's Heart
Hazardous Ground
Heart of the Inferno
Heartbeat Drummers
The Heavy Shadow of Fear
Hida Amoro
Hida Amoro (Exp2)
Hida O-Ushi (Exp 2)
Hida O-Ushi (Exp 3)
Hida Technique
Hida Yakamo (Hero) (Exp 2)
Hida Yakamo (Hero) (Exp 3)
Hida Yakamo (Oni)
The Hidden Emperor
The Hidden Heart of Iuchiban
Hirariko (Exp)
His Most Favored
Hisa
Hitomi (Exp 3)
Hitomi Kazaq
Hitomi Tashima
See Sanado.

Hizuka

Hojatsu's Blade
Honorable Seppuku
The Hooded Ronin (Exp)
Hoseki
Hoshi Eisai
Hoshi Wayan
Hoshi Wayan (Exp)
See Hoshi Wayan.

Hyobe

I Believed in You...
Iaijutsu Art
Ikoma Kaoku
Ikoma Ken'o
Ikoma Ryozo
Ikoma Tsanuri
Ikoma Tsanuri (Exp)
Ikoma Ujiaki
Immortal Steel
Impassable Terrain
Imperial Funeral
Imperial Quest
Imperial Standard
See Imperial Favor.

Imperial Taxation

In Search of the Future
In Time of War
Investigation
The Iron Citadel
Isawa Norikazu
Isawa Norikazu (Exp2)
Isawa Osugi
Isawa Suma
Isawa Tadaka (Exp 2)
Isawa Tsuke
Isha (Exp)
Island Wharf
Issut
Iuchi Katta
Jade Arrow
see Crystal Arrow

Jurojin's Touch

Judgement of Toshiken
Kachiko's Kiss
Kage (Exp3)
The Kaiu Forge
Kaiu Pass
Kaiu Suman
Kakita Ichiro
Kakita Shijin
Kakita Technique
Kakita Yinobu
Kakita Yoshi
The Kami Watch Over Me
Kamoto
Kappa
Kemmei
Kharmic Strike
Ki-Rin's Shrine
Kisada's Funeral
Kitsu Motso
Kitsuki Iyekao
Kitsuki Kaagi
Kitsuki Kaagi's Journal
Kitsuki Yasu
Kitsune Diro
Know the School
Koichi
Kolat Geisha
Kolat Master
Kolat Recruiter
Kuni Utaga
Kuni Wastelands
Kusatte Iru
Kyojin
Kyudo
Lady Kitsune
Let Your Spirit Guide You
Levy Troops
Lies, Lies, Lies...
Lieutenant Sukune
Lieutenant _____
Lions Attack the Crane
The Longest Night
Lord Moon's Blood
Makashi
Mamoru
Mantis Fleet
Mantis Shugenja
Mara
Martyr
Mask of the Oni
The Master of Five
Master's Tactics
Matsu Hiroru
Matsu Seijuro
Mercy
Mikio
Mikio (Exp)
Minor Oni Servant
Minor Shugenja
Mirumoto Daini (Experienced)
The Daini
Mirumoto Satsu
Mists of Illusion
Mizu-do
A Moment of Truth (TotV)
The Monstrous War Machine of Fu' Leng
Moto Sada
Moto Soro
Moto Tsume
Moto Tsume (Exp)
Moto Tsume (Exp2)
Mountain Goblin
Mounts
Musubi
Mystic Ground
Mystical Terrain
Naga Abomination
Naga Spies
Naka Kuro (Exp)
Nemesis
Night Battle
Night Medallion
Ninja Kidnapper
Ninja Questioner
Ninja Shapeshifter
Ninja Stronghold
Ninja Thief
Ninube Ogoku
Nishiko (Exp)
Nogoten's Bow
Norikazu's Ravings
Norio
see Path to Inner Peace

Not this Day!

Oath of Fealty
Offer of Fealty
One Koku
One Life, One Action
One Life, One Destiny
Oni no Chi
Oni no Mizu
Oni no Ogon (Uncommon/Jewels)

Oni no Kamu/Oni no Ogon (Rare/Headless)
Oni no Shikibu
Oni no Ugulu
Oracle of Fire
Oracle of Water
Osari Plains
Oseuth
Otaku Kamoko (Exp 2)
Out of the Shadows
Overconfidence
The Path Not Taken
The Path to Inner Peace
Peasant Revolt
The People's Champion
The People's Hero
Personal Champion
The Phoenix Is Reborn
Plague of Locusts
Plague Skulls
Plains of Desperate Evil
Plains of Otosan Uchi
Plains of the Emerald Champion
Poison Dartgun
Poisoned Weapon
Political Distraction
Possession
Pressure
A Pure Stroke
The Purity of Shinsei
see Path to Inner Peace

Purity of the Seven Thunders

Qamar
Qamar (Exp)
Rally Troops
Rallying Cry
Rampant Plague
Ratling Thief
Reflective Pool
The Return of Fu Leng
Ride Until Dawn
Ring of Air
Ring of Earth
Ring of Fire
Ring of the Void
Ring of Water
Rise Again!
River Delta
Ronin Dojo
Ruined Keep of Fu Leng
Sacrifices For Our Futures
Sacrificial Altar
A Samurai's Fury
Sanado
Scout
Scribe
The Second Shout
Selection of the Chancellor
Seer
Seikua (Exp)
Seppun Baka
Seppun Hotaitaka
Seppun Mashita
Severed from the Emperor
Shadow Beast
Shady Dealings
Shiba Odoshi
Shiba Tetsu
Shiba Ujimitsu
Shinjo House Guard
Shinjo Morito
Shinjo Mosaku
Shinjo Sanetama
Shinjo Technique
Shinjo Yasoma
Shinobi
Shinsei's Shrine
Shireikan
Shiryo no Ikoma
Shiryo no Isawa
Shiryo no Togashi
Shosuro
Shosuro Chian
Shosuro Hametsu
Shosuro Hametsu (Exp)
Shosuro Ikawa
Shosuro Nishiko
Shosuro Taberu
Shotai
Shrine of Osano-Wo
See Asako Hosigeru.

Shuriken of Serpents

Shurin Storms
The Sight of Death
Solar Eclipse
Sorrow's Path
Soshi Bantaro
Soshi Jamyako
Soshi Taoshi
A Soul of Thunder
Stars Scatter
Stifling Wind
Storehouses
Storms of War
A Stout Heart
Street to Street
Stress
Strike of Flowing Water
Strike Without Striking
Suana (Exp)
Sunken City
Superior Strategist
Suzume Yugoki
Sympathetic Energies
Tactical Maneuvers
Takuan
Taquar
Tchickchuk
Temple Guard
The Temples of Shinsei
A Test of Courage
Test of the Emerald Champion
Test of the Jade Champion
The Third Shout
Time of the Void
To Avenge Our Ancestors
To Do What We Must
To The Last Man
Today We Die
Togashi Gaijutsu
Togashi Mikoto
Togashi Mitsu
Togashi Mitsu (Exp)
Togashi Yama
Togashi Yokuni (Exp2)
Togashi Yoshi
Togashi's Daisho
Token of Jade Toku (Exp) Tomb of Iuchiban Toturi Toturi (Exp) Toturi (Exp 2)
See Toturi (Exp).

Touching the Void

The Towers of Isawa Castle
Trading Port
Treacherous Terrain
Tribute to Your House
The True Lands
Tutor
The 12th Black Scroll
Twenty-Seven Days of Darkness
Unexpected Allies
Unrequited Love
The Unquiet Grave of Hida Amoro
Utter Defeat
Valley of Shadow
A Vision of Truth
Void Strike
Walk Through the Mountains
Warstained Fields
Wasp Archers
Water Dragon
The Wave Men
Way of Air/Earth/Fire/Water
Way of Death
Way of Deception
Wedge
West Wall of Otosan-Uchi
When Darkness Draws Near
The Wind's Truth
Winning Kachiko's Favor
Wounded in Battle
Writings of Kuni Yori
Yasuki Taka
Yasuki Taka (Exp)
Yasuki Taka (Exp 2)
Yogo Asami
Yoritomo (Exp)
Yoritomo (Exp2)
Yoritomo Chujitsu
Yoritomo Furikae
Yoritomo's Armor
Yoshun
Yuki no Onna
Zokujin

Sensei

The list of allowable Clans on Sensei cards is not a list of traits. The Foo Rule does not apply to it. [DW]

The Sepulcher of Bone and The Spawning Grounds may use Shadowlands Sensei.

You may not voluntarily discard a Sensei or play a Sensei without a card effect except at the beginning of the game. [FAQ 3.10]

Sensei cannot reduce Starting Honor below -19 or reduce Gold Production or Province Strength below 0. Strongholds with a -19 Starting Honor may begin the game with an Honor-reducing Sensei without immediately losing. Once the game begins, they may still freely play such Sensei because changes to Starting Honor do not affect current Honor. [FAQ 3.10] The reduction in Starting Honor is not considered an honor loss. [REVERSAL]

Specific Sensei

Hiruma Sensei
Ikoma Sensei
Kaede Sensei
Nio Sensei
Norikazu Sensei
Shoju Sensei
Yokuni Sensei
Yoritomo Sensei
Yoshi Sensei

Strongholds

Strongholds are not Holdings. They're not even cards. Consider this errata to the Pearl Edition Strongholds and rulebooks.

Stronghold abilities are not usable when bowed unless they say otherwise.

Specific Strongholds

The Ancient Halls of the Akodo
Ancient Temples of the Naga
The Dark Path of Shadow
Heart of the Shinomen Forest
House of Tao
The Iron Fortress of the Daidoji
The Kitsu Tombs
Kyuden Hitomi
Kyuden Yoritomo
Mountain Keep of the Dragon
The New Akasha
Ruins of Isawa Castle
Sacred Temples of the Phoenix
Sepulcher of Bone
The Spawning Grounds
The Walls of Kaiu Castle
Yogo Junzo's Army / The Shadowlands Horde
Yoritomo's Alliance

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