LEGEND OF THE FIVE RINGS

FAQ 3.4 & Errata - June 1997 by Jeff Alexander



A lot of things that used to be in the FAQ aren't here anymore. Unclear rules have been reworded and incorporated into the booklet you'll find in Crimson & Jade Clan Decks, and errata to particular cards have been moved either into the rulebook or onto the Emerald Edition cards themselves. Even if you're well-versed with earlier editions of the rulebook, it's recommended that you read through the new version to re-familiarize yourself, or if you have a question that this FAQ doesn't answer.
-- Jeff Alexander, Phoenix Clan Scribe



Q: Rings? Oh, boy! Frodo and Gandalf!

A: No, you want I.C.E., next door.

Q: Where did your rings come from, then?

A: _The_Book_Of_Five_Rings_, by Miyamoto Musashi. Imagine warring clans in feudal Japan, then throw in wizards, dragons, and all sorts of beasties. Some of our other influences were Sun Tzu's _The_Art_Of_War_, the _Tao_Te_Ching_, and a bookshelf of Japanese and Chinese history and mythology.

Q: You mean like _Shadowfist_(tm)?

A: Not exactly. If uShadowfistn is John Woo, uL5Rn is Akira Kurosawa.

Q: How can I get some?

A: You can get Legend of the Five Rings at most Adventure Game stores, some comic book stores, and some mass market outlets. The Emerald Edition of the Basic Set is still on sale in limited quantities. It will be replaced by the Obsidian Edition near the end of June. The first four expansion sets, Shadowlands, Forbidden Knowledge, Anvil of Despair, and Crimson & Jade, are available in limited quantities as well. Battle of Beiden Pass, a special two-player starter set with an expanded rulebook and Basic Training guide, is also still available.

Q: "Semi-sorted", huh? Sounds dangerous. I think I'll just go pick up a bunch of boost--uh, Destiny Packs instead.

A: Bad idea. You need at least one Clan Deck. First of all, the Clan Decks have a Stronghold on them, which you use in play to determine your clan affiliation and to generate gold and whatnot. Second, the semi- sorting is a good thing: 25 of the cards are predetermined in each Deck so that they'll play well right out of the box. You also get 35 random cards in each Clan Deck; your rares and most of your uncommons are random. Third, the Clan Decks have rulebooks in them. Finally, the only way to get the Ancestral Armors and other nifty Clan-specific cards is to pick up Clan Decks. These cards aren't in Destiny Packs.

Q: So does the semi-sorting mean you can play the game from just a Clan Deck?

A: Right. It's become a favorite method of play around the office. Break the seal, sort your cards, and have at it!

Q: What's the rarity distribution like?

A: In the Imperial Edition, there were five levels of rarity. There are 100 common cards, 100 uncommon cards, and 91 rare cards. There are also 6 "rarer" cards; the rare cards were printed 2 to a sheet, and the "rarer" cards were printed 1 to a sheet, making them twice as rare. Also, there is a special rarity level for the Ancestral Weapons. There is one Ancestral Weapon for each Basic Clan (Crane, Crab, Dragon, Lion, Phoenix, and Unicorn). These cards only appear in the decks of their appropriate Clan. In production quantities, the Ancestral Weapons are rarer than the "rarer" cards, but they are easy to get -- if you want the Dragon Clan Ancestral Sword, buy an Imperial Edition Dragon Clan deck. You'll get one. In the Emerald Edition, things are much simpler. There are 100 rare, 100 uncommon and 100 common cards. There are also six new Ancestral Items, the Ancestral Armors. These are sorted into the decks just like the Ancestral Swords were in the Emerald Edition. The Ancestral Swords are not in the Emerald Edition. Shadowlands is a bit more complex. There were 50 rare, 50 uncommon, and 50 common cards in Destiny Packs. Shadowlands contains two new Clans, the Naga and the Scorpion. There is a Clan Weapon in each of the new Clan Decks that only appears in those decks, just like the Ancestral Swords from the IE. Furthermore, there is a Scorpion Clan Personality, the Poison Master, who only appears in Scorpion Clan Decks (though it also appears as a normal rare in Emerald). Confusing matters further, there is one card, Defend Your Honor, which appears as both a common and a "rarer" uncommon, and another card, Levy Troops, which appears only as a "rarer" uncommon. Forbidden Knowledge is very simple. There are 50 rare, 50 uncommon, and 50 common cards. There are no variant rarities. Anvil of Despair follows the same 50/50/50 pattern, and introduces Toturi's Army and Yogo Junzo's Army. Clan Decks include deck-specific cards like Shadowlands did, although this time they're Personalities that already exist in the basic set rather than brand-new cards. Crimson & Jade has 50 rares, 50 uncommons, and 57 commons, 14 of which are only half as frequent as the others. There are yet two more new Clans: the Brotherhood of Shinsei, masters of Enlightenment, and Yoritomo's Alliance, a mercenary collection of minor Clans. The Deck-specific cards are once again never-seen-before surprises. Beiden Pass contains two standardized 80-card decks for the Crab and Dragon Clans. It includes two cards previously available only as promos: the inexperienced Dairya and the Monstrous War Machine of Fu Leng.

Q: Hey! I got a card in Crimson & Jade that has the wrong back!

A: Two of the regular commons, Chime of Harmony and Taro, each have one version with the wrong back color. These misprints are unplayable, so we've declared them to be worth 3 koku each.

Q: How many cards are in each set?

A: Imperial Edition: 303 cards, six strongholds. Shadowlands: 153 cards, two strongholds. Emerald Edition: 306 cards (2 from Shadowlands), six strongholds. Forbidden Knowledge: 150 cards, no strongholds. Anvil of Despair: 152 cards (2 from Emerald), two strongholds. Crimson & Jade: 159 cards, two strongholds.

Q: Does the Imperial Edition card total include the promo sheet cards?

A: No. We ran a 100-card sheet (with about eighty different cards) in early August of '95, so we'd have something to show at GenCon(tm). Almost all of the promo cards ended up in the Imperial Edition; some of them were changed (see Section Six). Promo cards were printed at a lower line screen than the Imperial Edition, so they're a bit fuzzier.

Q: "Almost all," huh? How can I get hold of the others?

A: Aside from bribery or violence perpetrated against a Five Rings Publishing employee, your sole recourse is to send us a self-addressed stamped envelope. Include a note telling us that you're participating in the Legend of the Five Rings Promo Card Giveaway. (And say "please.") We'll stuff the cards in whatever you send us, so if you want your promos protected from the depredations of the U.S. Postal Service, include a card holder or something for us to put your cards in. The address is: L5R Card Giveaway, 4045 Guasti Road, Suite 212, Ontario, California 91761. It's also on the back of the rulebook.

Q: Have you made any other promo or special cards since then?

A: Why, yes, we have. "The False Hoturi" was printed en masse and given away in card game magazines and at a few conventions during the initial release of uShadowlandsn; it is also available from the above address. A pre-release of "Seikua", a common Personality from Forbidden Knowledge, was given away at GenCon '96, among other places. And each mailing of the Imperial Herald includes a new card available exclusively to Imperial Assembly members. So far this includes "The Farther You Fall", "Seppun Baka", "Annexation", and "Otomo Sorai". Upcoming promo cards include The Tao of Shinsei, the Shadow Samurai Hida Sukune, Time of the Void, and Kachiko's Kiss.

Q: What's your release schedule?

A: All that remains for the Clan War storyline is Time of the Void, scheduled for release at GenCon '97. This is not an "Expansion Set," but rather a "Conclusion Set," in which the story begun last October in the Imperial Edition comes to an end.

Q: Will there be more L5R expansions after Time of the Void? I don't want to get involved in a game which is going to die in a few months.

A: Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Only the Clan War storyline will end at GenCon. L5R will go on, with further expansions covering other periods of Rokugan's vast history. These expansions will be fully compatible with the Clan War card backs and game mechanics. Section Two: Magic

Q: I'm a little fuzzy on this whole magic thing.

A: OK. It works like this. Only the Personalities which have the trait "Shugenja" get to do magic. Ordinary samurai and the like can't read the scrolls. You have to attach the spell scrolls (cards) out of your hand to the shugenja. The more spell scrolls they have, the more versatile they get. However, you can only give a shugenja as many spells as he has Chi. (For instance, Isawa Tadaka, the Phoenix Clan's Master of Earth, has a Chi of 3, so he only gets to carry three spells.) You can't cast a spell straight out of your hand. You have to bow the shugenja to produce any of those cool effects. However, the spells don't go away unless they say so. Most spells stick around the whole game, or at least the lifetime of the shugenja -- which is often short.

Q: I have a spell card which doesn't say I need to bow the Shugenja it's attached to. Can I use it and then another spell on the same Shugenja?

A: No. Alln spells bow the Shugenja who's using them. Most of them say to do so, but a few don't say one way or the other, and some accidentally say to bow the scroll instead. There are official corrections against all of these, though, so unless the spell clearly says the shugenja doesn't need to bow, he does.

Q: Isawa Natsune can't bow to produce spell effects. What if something like Celestial Alignment is in play, which lets shugenja cast spells without bowing?

A: Then he can cast them. Natsune isn't completely incapable of casting spells, he's just out of practice and can only cast them if something makes it easier. Also, he's allowed to bow to assist Rituals, since the rulebook says only the primary shugenja is considered to be casting the spell. Section Three: Provinces

Q: OK, I've got magic. How about Provinces?

A: Such as?

Q: Well, first off, what are they?

A: A Province is an area on the table with a Dynasty card in it. You start the game with four of them. They represent the resources you can call upon as the Daimyo of your house. Provinces have been described as "resource windows," and that's not a bad way of looking at them. Assuming you live long enough, your entire Dynasty deck will eventually show up in one Province or another, but you can't always be sure that the card you want is going to be there at the right time.

Q: If my opponent attacks one of my Provinces, what effect does the card inn the Province have on the battle?

A: None at all. Cards in Provinces aren't "in play", and cards not in play don't have any effect on cards which are in play.

Q: When I bring out a card from a Province into play, does it stay associated with that Province?

A: No, not unless it's a Fortification or a Region, which the rules tell you to attach to the Province it came from (pp. 25 & 45). Personalities, and Holdings other than Fortifications, roam freely about your Fief, defending any of your Provinces, beholden to none. They are not automatically destroyed if the Province they originally came from is.

Q: I'm playing Dragon, and I've had a couple of my Provinces destroyed, so they're at a Province strength of 9. The event Crysanthemum Festival pops up, and everybody adds a Province. Does my new Province have a strength of 5 or 9?

A: Five. The Dragon ability refers to your "remaining Provinces." This new Province wasn't around when your other Provinces got the bonus to their strength, so it has the unadjusted Province strength of 5.

Q: What if one card gives me a bonus to my Province strength, then the base strength of all my Provinces gets changed? Do I lose the bonus?

A: No. If something grants you a permanent bonus or penalty to the strength of one or more of your Provinces, that change will stick around for the rest of the game, even if your base strength changes or the original source of the change is destroyed or altered.

Q: I'm being attacked. Am I required to defend my Provinces?

A: No. You may stand aside and let the attack through. (Just don't do it too often.) You are also free to defend unattacked Provinces. Section Four: Battles and Duels

Q: When can I do an Open or Battle Action?

A: Go get your Crimson & Jade rulebook and follow along. On pp. 37-38, we have the dissection of the Battle Action Segment. You'll want to keep these pages handy for this whole answer. "If a player does not have a unit in the battle, he cannot conduct any actions. The only exceptions are cards which specifically allow you to bring your own unit into the battle, such as Superior Tactics." A little further down, it adds: "While the battle at a particular Province is being resolved, all Open and Battle actions must either *) come from a card or token at that battle; ) move a card or token into that battle, or; n) target or affect one of the following: a card in the battle, a token in the battle, or the Province under attack". So the first thing you do is check whether you have any units in the active battle right this moment. If you don't, you can't do anything except bring one of your own units in. If you do, you can act much more freely, though you still have to directly affect the battle being resolved, in one of the ways listed. There are two exceptions to these restrictions. The first, of course, is any card or effect that says it's an exception, like the Castle of Water spell or giving up the Imperial Favor. The other is Reactions. It's always legal to use a Reaction if its trigger event happens, whether you have units in the battle or not.

Q: So I can't play a defensive Terrain card if I don't send any units?

A: No. Terrain cards are Battle Actions, too.

Q: What about an Open action?

A: Being an Open instead of a Battle action doesn't matter -- these two types of action follow identical rules during the Attack Phase. If you have no units in the battle, you can't use an Open action unless it brings one of your units into the battle or it's an explicit exception to the rules.

Q: What if the action is on a Fortification or Region?

A: Same answer as before. These card types don't get special breaks. Any Open or Battle actions on these cards suffer the same restrictions as those on other cards. Remember that you can always use Reactions, and that traits, such as "+4 Province strength", are always active.

Q: Does a Personality need to be in a battle to use a Battle action?

A: This is a very frequent question, and it's almost always answered incorrectly. The answer is "not necessarily". Any Battle or Open action only requires that its performer be in the battle if it calls for a target in the "opposing" army (which includes Ranged Attacks), or "this battle", or "another attacking Personality", or has some other phrase which clearly implies the user has to be there. Simply being a Battle action does not, by itself, require that the user always be present. (This doesn't override the rules in the past three answers, by the way. Take Kakita Yuri, for example. Yuri allows you, as a Battle action, to send home a unit that's attacking you. Since he doesn't affect an "opposing" unit, he doesn't have to be assigned to the battle himself. But you still need someonen in the battle to make taking this action legal. If Yuri is the only Personality you have in play, he's going to have to risk bodily harm and be assigned.)

Q: Let's say I've got a card that can move a unit from one Province to another. Can I use it to bring in a unit that I haven't assigned anywhere?

A: No. Units not committed to an attack or defense remain in your Fief, and are not at any particular Province. They cannot be moved "from a Province" or "to another Province". (They can switch places with committed Units, though -- your Fief is still a "place".)

Q: Let's say that two of my Provinces, A and B, were attacked. My defense at Province A was successful. The attacker is now resolving the battle at Province B. Can I use my unit-moving card to move a used defender from Province A into B?

A: Yes. Although all attacking and allied units bow and return to their controllers' Fiefs as soon as the battle they were assigned to is over, the defender's units do not bow at all, and do not leave their assigned Province until the entire Attack Phase is over.

Q: How about if I move a unit out of the battle at Province B into the battle at Province A, which has already been resolved?

A: It just sits there. You don't recompute Force totals just because somebody showed up too late to do anything but bury bodies. This isn a good way to save a valuable Personality whose army is about to become dogmeat, though. If an attacking or allied unit is moved into an already-resolved battle, it will still become bowed, though it will wait and bow along with cards in the last normal battle of the phase.

Q: Okay, we've finally resolved the battles at both Provinces A and B. My opponent wants to resolve a battle at Province C now, but none of us have any Units there. Is he allowed?

A: Yes. Each time you're attacked, there will be a battle at each Province, even ones with no Units at all. The attacker must resolve them all, although he can do them in any order he chooses.

Q: My opponent has played Accessible Terrain against me, and has already moved one Unit into the current battle. Now he wants to move another one in. Can he do that? The card says we can both only bring in one Unit.

A: As long as Accessible Terrain is in play, both the Attacker and the Defender have the ability to take a Battle action to move any Unit they control (except bowed Units -- see pp. 21-22) into the current battle. The word "one" refers to how many Units can be moved by this single action, not the final total. Both of you may perform this action multiple times if the terrain card is not destroyed.

Q: What happens if I put a Personal Standard on the leader of a Unit which can't be targetted by Ranged Attacks?

A: He remains untargettable. A Personal Standard only lets you ignore the rule that you can't shoot at a Personality if he has Followers. Something that just flat-out stops you from shooting at that Unit at all will take precedence.

Q: I've got a card that lets me make several consecutive ranged attacks. How does that work? Do I have to pick targets for all of them up front? Do my opponents get actions between them?

A: Making consecutive ranged attacks works much like taking several Battle actions in a row (even though it technically isn't). Each shot is targetted and fully resolved before you target the next one (so you can do something like kill the only Follower in a Unit with one shot, then kill the Personality with the next), but your opponents don't get actions between them.

Q: Can I play Ambush against a Personality who can't defend, or that can't defend by himself?

A: Yes.

Q: Since Feign Death doesn't make you bow the Personality you save anymore, if I use it to save someone who is killed by an action during battle, that Personality will still add to my army's Force at the end of the battle, right?

A: No. Feign Death returns Personalities to their controller's Fief, since that's where all newly-played Personalities start.

Q: Does Ikoma Tsanuri prevent terrains from being played in the battle she was originally assigned to or the one she's currently at?

A: The one she's at. If she moves away or dies, her opponents can start playing terrains again. She won't destroy an existing terrain if she's moved into a battle, either.

Q: My opponent has played a Deadly Ground against me, so now I can only take an action which would destroy it. Superior Strategist doesn't destroy anything, but it lets me get a card from my Fate deck and play it immediately. Can I use it to fetch and play a terrain- destroying card?

A: Yes. Playing the card you pull is part of Superior Strategist's effect. It's all one action and it destroys Deadly Ground, so it's OK. (And since it's all one action, you can't use another Battle or Open action, like the Oracle of Earth, to put it into play.)

Q: Another terrain question, this time with A Samurai's Fury, which lets me take one action between terrain effects and resolving the battle. Can I use it to play a second terrain? If I can, does it take effect too?

A: Terrains stay in play until the end of the battle, so you can't play a new one straight from your hand. You could use something like the Go Master to destroy the old terrain and play your new one at the same time, but the new terrain still won't have any effect since the time for terrain resolution has passed.

Q: Let me mix those two questions now! Can I play A Samurai's Fury after Deadly Ground?

A: No, for two reasons. The first is that A Samurai's Fury can only be used if there is a terrain in play that resolves at the end of the battle, but Deadly Ground goes into effect right away and doesn't wait until the end. The second is that Deadly Ground prohibits alln actions for that battle except actions that would destroy it, from the time the terrain is played up to the destruction of cards on the losing side. A Samurai's Fury does not, by itself, destroy a terrain.

Q: My opponent's Personality just killed one of mine in a duel. Shouldn't he bow now?

A: Only if the action he used to issue the challenge says so. Issuing a challenge doesn't necessarily bow the challenger, nor do fighting or winning a duel. These are the rules governing duels, unless a card says otherwise: * The challenge may be refused. If it is, nothing happens. * If it's accepted, the loser dies, and nothing at all happens to the winner.

Q: If someone focusses with the First Shout against me in a duel, I have to focus again. What if I can't?

A: The answer is on the First Shout card! You only have to focus if you can. Any time you can't focus, you must strike. Sometimes, you can only focus with some of the cards in your hand. When this happens, you pick randomly from just those.

Q: If I've only played one First Shout, does that let me play as many Second Shouts as I want?

A: Yes. Ditto with the Second and Third.

Q: Do I have to play all my Shouts on one Personality as either focusses or Battle Actions, or can I play some one way and some the other?

A: You can mix them.

Q: Can I ignore the special requirements on the Second and Third Shout by playing them face-down as regular focusses?

A: No. You can play them face-down as regular focusses if you want, but you still can't focus them out of order. These cards cann be used freely for their focus values outside of duels, like a Tactician's Force bonus, for example.

Q: Do the focus values of The First Shout and Moving the Shadow get added like normal?

A: Yes (we ran out of space to be clear about this).

Q: A couple cards, like The Second Shout, say their focus adds to your duelist's Chi "as normal". What if the duel isn't a duel of Chi?

A: Then it adds to whatever the duel is based on. This is true of anything that "counts as a Focus" or "adds to Chi as normal". Some Chi-changing, duel-related effects don't have one of these two magic phrases in them. Togashi Yoshi is a common example. These always affect Chi.

Q: How does The Coward's Way work with Poisoned Weapon or poison tokens? Do these affect both Personalities?

A: These effects aren't duel results, so they only affect your original participant. The extra Personality bring in with The Coward's Way doesn't get involved in the duel except for adding a Chi bonus and sharing the consequences of losing.

Q: Speaking of poison tokens, could you explain how Shosuro Hametsu, the Poison Master, works? Why would I want to poison my own people?

A: The poison tokens aren't -2C tokens. They cause no ill effects to the person holding them. If a Personality with a poison token enters a duel, you can destroy the token in response, and this will cause your opponentn in the duel to suffer -2C until the end of the turn as soon as either of you strikes. Like Poisoned Weapon, if this kills your opponent immediately, the duel is cancelled without a winner or loser. Unlike Poisoned Weapon, Another Time won't prevent the penalty.

Q: I just played Iaijutsu Challenge on my opponent's Personality, and he refused the duel. Can I play Court Jester to double his honor loss to 14? It was his refusal that made him lose honor.

A: It may have been his decision to refuse the duel, but the action causing the loss is your own Iaijutsu Challenge, so you cannot use Court Jester to double the loss. The word "action" has a strict definition in L5R, and only applies to effects that start with one of the four action types: Limited, Open, Battle, or Reaction. For the same reason, your opponent can use Defend Your Honor against the honor loss, too.

Q: Speaking of Defend Your Honor, what if I play it and step forward a samurai when my opponent has no Personalities? Is he forced to refuse the challenge, since he has no one to accept it?

A: Yup.

Q: The Ring of Fire says I can only play it if I win a duel against an opponent who had a higher Chi before being challenged. Does that mean I can't play the ring unless my Personality is the challenger?

A: No. You can play the Ring of Fire no matter who issued the challenge. Section Five: Rules Clarifications "Who makes the rules? Someonen *else!*" "No Spill Blood," [Oingo] Boingo Our crack squad of rules lawyers is perpetually busy hammering out general applications of rules under which entire classes of questions can be answered. These general rulings will make it into the next edition Rulebook, but until then they'll be here. If you have a question, check to see whether the same question about a similar card is here. -DJT

Q: When a player calls for allies, does he have to invite either everyone or no one, or can he invite only who he wants?

A: He can just invite a few, and deny the privilege to the others.

Q: Junzo's Army can't have allies. Does that mean he can still be an ally to someone else?

A: No. Junzo can't have allies in any way, and no one can ever take an action which would make him an ally, like playing Tides of Battle. He also can't make use of the Alliance or Unexpected Allies events.

Q: If Junzo's Army can't lose honor, how can he use all those Shadowlands cards that cost honor to use? And what about the Dark Oracles? Their honor losses can't be changed.

A: Honor loss is never a cost for playing a card. It's more like a side effect. And Junzo's Army doesn't change honor losses, it outright ignores them. The Dark Oracles work just fine for him.

Q: I'm not sure how to figure out what cards Junzo can't use, or why he's allowed to use the ones listed in the Anvil of Despair rulebook.

A: For one, he can't do anything Political. Besides actions which say "Political" right on them, the Glossary tells us that anything that alters an honor loss or gain is Political, as are both lobbying for the Favor and giving it up to play an action or a card. Note that actions which causen an honor loss or gain aren't necessarily Political, nor are Reactions which involve the Favor. Junzo also can't perform any actions which immediately and consistantly cause an honor loss to another player. He's allowed to use effects which aren't actions (Dragon Sword is Broken), which don't cause an immediate loss (Utter Defeat), or that don't always cause a loss (Iaijutsu Challenge).

Q: What happens if I spend full price for the inexperienced Toturi in a Toturi's Army deck?

A: You waste 2 gold. Since Toturi enters play dishonored, his effective Personal Honor is 0. You gain no honor, and he remains dishonored with his lower Force and Chi.

Q: Can Toturi's Army play Alliance and pick Dragon Clan, and get dual- Clan Personalities for 4g less or 2g less plus honor?

A: Yes. Vice-versa, too.

Q: Can I use the Monk Stronghold to play the Ring of the Void from my Fate deck if my hand is completely empty?

A: Yes. You can also use it in conjunction with cards that let you play a Ring by satisfying some other conditions. The idea behind the Brotherhood is that they can play a Ring from their Fate Deck as though it were in their hand, and this overrides phrasing that refers to a Ring being "in your hand" or being played "from your hand".

Q: Do Kihos played by Monks count towards the Ring of Air? The rulebook says Kihos are spell effects, but the Ring says you must produce three spell effects by using Shugenja.

A: Kihos count even when Monks use them. The Ring of Air will be reworded in future printings to avoid this conflict. Monks' built-in abilities don't count, since they're not "innate".

Q: Why aren't there any Personalities with the "Brotherhood of Shinsei" trait? I can't purchase anyone cheaply or for honor!

A: Personalities with the "Monk" trait are aligned with the Brotherhood, and work just like native Personalities do for any other Clan. There is no separate "Brotherhood of Shinsei" trait.

Q: So if I play Oath of Fealty in a Brotherhood deck, all my non-monks gain the Monk trait?

A: Exactly. And to answer your next question, yes, this means they can start doing monkly things like using Kihos.

Q: But what about the opposite case: I play an Oath on some Monks in a non-Brotherhood deck. Do they LOSE the Monk trait? That doesn't seem right. "Monk" is a profession, like "Shugenja".

A: With the release of Crimson & Jade, "Monk" works like a Clan Affiliation, so it will be stripped by swearing the Oath. Think of it as forsaking their ascetic ways to embrace their new Clan's philosophies.

Q: So I guess "Yoritomo's Alliance" and "Mantis Clan" are equivalent too?

A: Correct. Notice this works both ways. It's legal to do something like attach a "Mantis Clan only" card to a "Fox Clan * Yoritomo's Alliance" Personality, for example.

Q: About this new "Foo Rule" on p. 30... Does this really mean there aren't any more Fu Leng cards? They're all titled "Something Something Something of Fu Leng", but we're supposed to ignore everything after the "of" now.

A: Consider this official errata to the rulebook: the new rule that you ignore words in the second half of a "Foo of Bar" phrase only applies when that phrase appears in the boldface traits area of a card. If it's in the title, every word counts, just like before.

Q: Is it really legal to use the Dark Oracle of Water to do something like sending a single card-heavy Unit on a suicide attack against yourself, so that you gain lots of honor by killing it?

A: Okay. This question strikes a common chord with a lot of other questions, and that chord is this: when, exactly, does card text really override the game's general rules? The answer is, "not as often as you might think". Let's read that Dark Oracle: "Bow the Oracle after Cavalry have been assigned in the battle phase. You may now assign any of your unassigned units to attack or defend any of the Defender's Provinces." At first glance this card lets you commit your own Units into any battle, even on both sides, and regardless of whether you've been invited by either side as an ally. But nothing on the card specificallyn allows this. Any rules the card doesn't clearly allow you to break must still be obeyed, and it's against the rules to attack yourself, help both sides, or commit or move in uninvited troops. So, all the Oracle lets you do is assign the troops that you could have assigned normally, just after everyone else's.
Here are some other examples: o The Imperial Edition Wyrm Riders didn't say that they needed to bow to make their Ranged Attack. But unlike Togashi Rinjin, the Riders didn't say they could make it without bowing, either. Since the Rulebook says that Ranged Attacks bow the shooting card, the Riders still needed to bow. o Kaiu Suman allows you to attach a new Fortification to any of your Provinces. However, you cannot use Suman to attach the Moat that just appeared in one Province to another Province which already has one. Suman only overrides the rule that Fortifications are always attached to the Province they appear in -- he doesn't override the rule that Provinces can't have duplicate Fortifications. o The Kaiu Pass Region allows you to attach one weapon or armor to Personalities that enter play from its Province, for 4g less. But this doesn't let you attach an item to someone who can't have one, like a Dragon. o Many cards allow you to challenge "any Personality", or "any Shadowlands Personality", or whatever. But the Glossary defines a "challenge" as always happening between one Personality which you control and another which you do not, so none of these cards allow you to challenge your own Personalities, despite the word "any".

Q: The rulebook says token Followers also count as cards for purposes of being transferred or bowed, figuring honor at the end of battle, and being affected by other cards. Are there some obscure situations where they only count as tokens?

A: No. Token Followers -- and only token Followers -- always count as both tokens and cards.

Q: What happens if more than one Event comes up in a turn? Do I get to pick the order they happen in?

A: No, you don't. You turn over Dynasty cards one at a time, from left to right. Each Event is resolved as soon as it's revealed, before you even turn over the next card.

Q: When do Dynasty cards normally get replaced?

A: You refill a Province with your next Dynasty card as soon as it becomes empty, no matter what emptied it. If it's empty due to revealing an Event, refill it after resolving the Event [p. 15]. "Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)" -Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"

Q: Which Personalities are Unique? They all seem to have particular names. Can I really have three of all of them?

A: Unique cards have the word "Unique" in their traits area. Though almost all Personality cards depict specific individuals, most are merely representative of their particular station in Rokugan and have many peers, thus allowing you to put three in your deck. It'd also be much less fun if you had to play cards like "Young Lion Samurai" or "Mysterious Phoenix Shugenja."

Q: Can I overlay a Unique version of a Personality with a Unique, Experienced version?

A: Yes. In fact, that's they only way you can put the Experienced one into play if the original is already out. You can't play it separately because of the Uniqueness Rule, and you can't "underlay" Experienced cards with the original version.

Q: Can I overlay a Personality with the Experienced version if my Family Honor is below the Experienced version's minimum honor?

A: Yes, you can do this. Overlaying an Experienced Personality represents that Personality going through some personal change. Since you're not bringing someone new into play, you don't need to meet that person's approval.

Q: What if the original is bowed?

A: Overlaying isn't an "action", so you can still do it.

Q: Do I get honor for overlaying a Personality with her Experienced version? I'm paying the full price, which is zero.

A: No. You're not hiring someone new. This means you won't lose honor, either, should the Experienced version normally cause a loss.

Q: The rules say I can overlay a normal card with the Experienced one "if I have an earlier version...already in play when the Experienced Personality appears". Does this mean "just if", or "if AND ONLY if"?

A: Just "if". Any time you have the original version of a Personality in play and the Experienced version face-up during your Dynasty Phase, you can overlay it, even if the Experienced one appeared first.

Q: Can Otaku Kamoko attach any of the Unicorn Clan Ancestors? She says she can't have infantry Followers, and none of the Ancestors have the Cavalry trait. But the rulebook says Ancestors don't act like real Followers most of the time. What's the answer?

A: Kamoko cannot attach them. Although Ancestors do break a lot of the Follower rules, attachment restrictions aren't one of them. Ancestors may not change the Cavalry status of their unit, but they are not Cavalry themselves, and Kamoko will not attach infantry.

Q: What if I put Mounts on her first?

A: It won't help. Ancestors aren't affected by cards that affect Followers, so the Mounts will not give them the Cavalry trait. Kamoko's attachment requirement isn't neutralized because it affects Kamoko, not the Ancestor.

Q: Can I give one of my Personalities multiple bonuses in a turn? For instance, can I play Meditation on a Personality and then give him +2F with the Retired General? What about 2 Meditations?

A: Sure. These are all legal.

Q: What about responding to an event with more than one Reaction?

A: That's also legal, though remember, you cannot play your second Reaction until you've given everyone else a chance to play a Reaction of their own. One of their Reactions (or even yourn first one!) could make your second Reaction illegal or much less effective.

Q: I've used some actions to give my army Force bonuses in battle. How long do they keep these plusses?

A: All card effects last until the end of the turn unless they say otherwise [p. 30]. This includes bonuses from Terrains.

Q: You mean if, say, I'm defending, and I play Dispersive Terrain to give every Personality in my army +2F, and then I play Counterattack and attack my opponent back on that same turn, I still have +2F on everyone?

A: Exactly. Dispersive Terrain doesn't say the bonus wears off at the end of the battle, so it lasts for the rest of the turn.

Q: And the Matsu Gohei that attacked me originally ("Gains a 2F bonus when attacking.") which my opponent played Charge on ("Add a 3F bonus to one attacking Lion Personality") still has +5F in his defense?

A: Only +3F actually. Gohei's built-in bonus is only active "when attacking". It continually checks whether Gohei is attacking and automatically turns itself on or off, depending. Charge, on the other hand, can only be played on someone who is attacking *right that moment*, but like Dispersive Terrain, it then lasts the whole turn.

Q: Can I use an Open action at the start of someone else's turn, before he does anything? I thought Open actions were usable anytime.

A: You can't do this. Re-read pp. 33-34. The active player has the first option to either perform one legal act (a Limited or Open action, attaching or exchanging Fate cards, or lobbying for the Favor) or pass during his or her own Action phases. This option then travels clockwise, though every other player can only use Open actions. Everyone has to wait his turn, and no one can perform more than one action at a time. This means that whoever's turn just ended must always wait for everyone else to get "first digs" before he can do anything himself. Also, Open actions aren't usable at any time, just during any player's Action Phase and during battle. You can't use them during the Events Phase, for instance.

Q: Do Personality cards which I've discarded from my hand count as Honorable or Dishonorable dead?

A: Neither one. They're discarded, not dead.

Q: I just discarded a Follower card. Can I use Animate the Dead to attach him to a Personality?

A: Nope. Animate the Dead specifically says "...back into play," and discarded Followers never made it into play in the first place. You only get to Animate those cards which are authentically Dead.

Q: Does this mean I also can't use Enlightenment to "return" a Ring "to my hand" that went straight from my Fate Deck to my discard pile?

A: Uh...actually, that's allowed. It's one of the things Enlightenment was designed to do.

Q: What if I have a dishonored Personality and I do something to increase his Personal Honor?

A: It still counts as 0, because the Personality is still dishonored and you always apply the "dishonored means Personal Honor = 0" rule last. If you restore the Personality to honorable status, you'll see your increase.

Q: What happens if a Personality has some cards attached and then something happens that makes it illegal for her to have them? Are they destroyed?

A: No. Once any sort of card or token has been legally attached to a Personality, it stays there until something specifically destroys it [p. 25]. This is true even if the Personality becomes unable to use the card. For example, if a shugenja with spells loses the Shugenja trait, she can no longer cast them or attach any more, but the ones she already has stay on her. They can still be moved to other Shugenja, too.

Q: I've got a Personality with a Master Smith weapon token. Can I bow him and another Personality to move the token between them?

A: No. The Moving rules on pp. 23-24 only allow you to exchange cards, and Follower tokens are the only tokens which count as cards.

Q: I'm targeting a 1F Personality with an effect that makes him lose 2F until the end of the turn. Does he have a 0F or a -1F?

A: 0F. The only thing in the game that goes into negative numbers is Family Honor. You will have to compensate for the leftover -1F if you want to increase his Force later this turn, though. Setting the effective value of a stat to a minimum of 0 is always done after adding together all current bonuses and penalties.

Q: Explosives says "Destroy any one Holding." Does this include Retainers?

A: Yes. (Splat.) Retainers are a class of Holding -- look at the border -- and are affected by anything that affects Holdings in general as well as by things which only affect Retainers. This also means they come into play bowed, and so won't typically be usable until your next turn.

Q: Can I use Alliance on the Unaligned Personalities?

A: No. "Unaligned" isn't a clan.

Q: Say I'm holding the Ring of the Void and some other cards, and I'm forced to discard my entire hand. Can I discard them one at a time, holding the Ring for last so I can play it?

A: No. You discard your entire hand at once. It is also illegal to use a discard-and-redraw effect, such as the Mempo of the Void, to discard your entire hand except the Ring and then play the Ring before drawing your replacement cards.

Q: Why isn't the Phoenix Clan Champion "Unique"?

A: This is semi-intentional, based partly in story reasons and partly in the original rush to get the cards to the printers. According to our story continuity folks, there are tales that the Phoenix Clan Champion has been seen talking to himself. Some people have been concerned that there are play-balance considerations, but so far nothing abusive has been achieved, so play him as written.

Q: The Event Rise of the Phoenix just came up, and two players both want to bring back the same Unique Personality. Who wins?

A: It goes around the table clockwise from the active player (the one who just turned up the Event). This is also true for Unexpected Allies.

Q: My opponent has a Personality in play that won't normally join my Clan. Can I play Kolat Master on it and steal it?

A: No. Coming under your control from someone else's still involves joining your Clan, which that Personality cannot do.

Q: Can I copy him with the Egg of P'an Ku, too? Or can I put him in my Dynasty Deck anyway and hope for a lucky Unexpected Allies to bring him out? What about Return of the Fallen Lord?

A: The Egg will work, as you're not asking the real person to join you, you're creating a copy which enters play already in your service. Unexpected Allies won't, since the Personality would still be joining your clan (he's just not asking for compensation). Return of the Fallen Lord won't work either, for the same reason.

Q: My Crab Clan Oni gains a +1F/+1C for every Crab in play. Does this include itself?

A: Yes. Cards may gain bonuses from themselves. It's a Crab, so it gives itself a +1F/+1C.

Q: What happens if I play Oath of Fealty in a non-Naga deck and convert some Naga Personalities to my clan? Do they stop receiving Naga card bonuses?

A: It depends. Remember, "any card with 'Foo' in the title or trait area is considered to be a 'Foo' card" (p. 30). The Nagan trait acts like a Clan affiliation (p. 31), so it gets added/removed by Oath of Fealty, but card titles don't change. A card with the word "Naga" in its title will always be a "Naga card", no matter what Clan it is.

Q: So if I'm playing a Naga deck, and I Oath some two-leggers, they now get Naga card bonuses?

A: They have the Nagan trait now, so they fully count as Naga cards.

Q: How can a Naga deck use Dashmar to win a game through honor? Their Stronghold says they're not allowed to do that!

A: Using Dashmar isn't an Honor Victory, it's a special victory generated by a card. The Naga can win this way, as can other Clans which manage to steal him, or copy him or his ability.

Q: Now that Follower tokens also count as cards, things like the Naga Shugenja will give the Stronghold's tokens Force bonuses, right?

A: Wrong. Those Followers can't get Force bonuses because the Stronghold says so. It has nothing to do with whether they're cards.

Q: Can I use Sympathetic Energies to move Togashi Mitsu's +1F/+1C fire tokens onto any other Personality, or only onto another Mitsu? The spell says the new recipient has to be legal, and only Mitsu creates fire tokens.

A: Here's the deal. Unless there is specific text to the contrary somewhere, any token may be placed on any Personality. This means that tokens which are always created on one particular card, such as Togashi Mitsu's and Shuten Doji's, can generally be moved to anyone, while tokens that give you a choice of where to put them, such as the Revered Sensei's and the Naga Stronghold's, can only be moved onto someone who could have been given them in the first place.

Q: Since I can move fire tokens onto anyone, what happens if I move one onto a bowed Personality? Does he have to remove the token instead of straightening?

A: Only if he's another Togashi Mitsu. You see, the only things written on Mitsu's fire tokens are the +1F/+1C bonus and the word "fire". If a token with the word "fire" winds up on a Personality who has special text regarding fire tokens, then the two interact. Otherwise, all the token does is bestow its +1F/+1C bonus. For example, you could not move a sixth fire token onto a fully-loaded Mitsu, since his card says he "may not have more than five fire tokens". On the other hand, you can move as many as you like onto someone who doesn't say this (which is everyone else). Likewise, fire tokens will not cause anyone but Togashi Mitsu to stay bowed during the Straighten Phase, or to bow even after defending in a battle. Note that if the token is something universally meaningful, such as a Follower or Item rather than a "fire" token, you're more likely to run across a rule in the rulebook or on the cards that makes moving the token illegal. You can't move a Master Smith token onto someone who already has a weapon, for example, nor could you move a Follower token onto an Ogre Bushi, or a non-Cavalry Follower token onto Otaku Kamoko.

Q: Speaking of Togashi Mitsu, what happens if I somehow manage to get some Mantis Samurai on him, and he becomes bowed with fire tokens? Will he lose one token during every players' Straighten Phase?

A: Yes. This works.

Q: Just ooooone more question on this fellow... The Experienced Togashi Mitsu has no fancy bowing restrictions, unlike the original. What if I overlay him? Those seem to be traits, and you don't copy traits when you overlay.

A: Those "traits" are part of the original ability to gain fire tokens, and they all come with it (if you'll notice, it's all one sentence). An overlayed Experienced Mitsu will bow and stay bowed just like the old one if he has anyn fire tokens, whether they're +1/+1 tokens from the old ability or 0/0 tokens from the new one.

Q: If I end up with zero Personalities with plague tokens while Rampant Plague is out, can I become immune by killing "all" of them?

A: You sure can. Destroying all your plague-bearing Personalities is easy when you don't have any. (Point of interest: there are other cards, such as Plague Zombies, which generate plague tokens too. You'd need to destroy anyone with these tokens as well if you want to become immune to Rampant Plague. On the other hand, once you do, those other plague-bearing cards won't give you plague tokens anymore either!)

Q: Can I use Bayushi Goshiu to duplicate an honor loss at an opponent, then use another reaction to reduce my own loss?

A: That would be nice, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, you can't. Read Goshiu's card carefully. His ability can only be used "after you have lost Family Honor". After you've actually taken a loss, you can't change the amount.

Q: My opponent is at -18 honor. I have one Province left, and no one to defend it. He attacks and destroys it. Can I play Plea of the Peasants so he loses 5 honor and the game ends in a tie?

A: This question is actually quite similar to the one we just had, and like it, the answer lies in carefully reading the Reaction to see whether it gets played before or after the event it's reacting to. In this case, Plea of the Peasants gets played "when another player has destroyed" one of your Provinces. "Has destroyed" is past-tense -- this Reaction gets played after the event. Unfortunately, you were eliminated from the game the moment you lost your last Province, and you can't play anything after being eliminated. Looks like your opponent is victorious. The moral is this: read your Reactions closely! Most of them don't happen at the same time as the occasion they're reacting to.

Q: The Marsh Troll says it "destroys one card in its unit". Since it doesn't say "one othern card", can I have it destroy itself?

A: No.

Q: An opponent keeps using Kolat Infiltrator to cancel my purchases. Is this right?

A: Yes. Kolat Infiltrator counters the "effect" of a Holding. This includes gold-gathering as well as normal abilities. How it works is like this: when you play a card, announce what it is and indicate everything you're doing to generate the money for it. If any reactions stop you from getting enough gold, you can generate more to make up the loss if you're willing and able. Otherwise, the insufficient amount is completely taxed, and the card you tried to play goes back to where it came from. You can't spend the money you've already made on something else, though you can change how you're trying to play the original card if that changes how much it'll cost (for instance, paying for a less-skilled Geisha Assassin, or deciding not to gain 2 honor from an aligned Personality).

Q: Speaking of Kolats, can I put the Night Medallion on the Experienced Lion Sensei? What happens if I do?

A: The Experienced Sensei has the Kolatn trait, so he can wear the Medallion. If you've played him over an original Sensei, the Medallion modifies all his abilities and lets him place +3/+3 sensei tokens, up to 4 on each Personality. Existing sensei tokens don't change to +3/+3, though, and any normal Sensei still produce +1/+1 tokens and can only place a first or second token on a card.

Q: Since the Medallion adds +2 to the real mathematical value of numbers, if I put it on a card whose ability makes me "lose 1 honor", would I actually start gaining 1 honor? After all, "lose 1 honor" means I adjust my honor by -1, and -1 + 2 = +1.

A: You're reading too much into that ruling. The number printed on the card is "1", and 1 + 2 = 3. You would "lose 3 honor".

Q: What if I have just enough Family Honor to bring a Personality out, but I lose some honor while gathering gold for her? Can I still hire her with the money?

A: No way. She will turn her nose up at your filthy lucre (though the Emperor's tax collectors won't). You must meet all minimum honor requirements after gathering your money for a card. However, you no longer have to meet those requirements when you START gathering your payment. All that matters is how you stand when you approach her with the money. (This rule only applies to purchasing cards, by the way. Anything else you try to do has to be legal before you can start it.)

Q: Can I pay 7 gold for a really expensive shugenja with the Phoenix Stronghold, then take advantage of its new Shadowlands trait with something like the Kuni Wastelands, which makes Shadowlands cards cheaper?

A: No. The shugenja doesn't gain the Shadowlands trait until she's in play.

Q: I want to do something to one card, but I'm not allowed to target it. Can I aim my effect at another card, then use something like the Ring of Air to redirect it to the card I really want it to hit?

A: No. You can only redirect actions to things they could have been aimed at in the first place. (This also means you can't redirect Ranged Attacks back to a card in the firer's army, unless your redirection card says you can.) Redirection effects are only useful in deflecting your opponents' actions or neutralizing their own redirections. They can't give your own actions a wider range of targets.

Q: What if the spell always affects one thing, like, say, the player casting it? Can I use the Ring of Air to make it affect someone else?

A: Go back and read p. 22 of the C&J rulebook. If you never have a choice as to what gets affected, then the spell doesn't have a target and you can't change what it will affect.

Q: Can I lobby for the Imperial Favor on the same turn that I use it?

A: Sure. You can even use it twice in one turn if you start with it from the turn before: use it once, lobby for it to get it back, then use it again. The only thing you can't do in one turn is lobby twice.

Q: Can I lobby for the Favor if I don't have the highest honor, or if my Family Honor is below zero?

A: Yes, and yes. If you haven't already lobbied this turn, and you can bow a Personality with a Personaln Honor above zero (and you don't already have the Favor, of course), you are allowed to lobby.

Q: Kakita Ichiro can lobby "even if you have already lobbied for the Favor once this turn". Does "once" mean "exactly once" or "at least once"?

A: "Exactly once." Ichiro can only give you a second lobby attempt. And the order is important. You can't use Ichiro first and then someone else second.

Q: The Experienced Hooded Ronin lets me bring out the Seven Thunders for free. Who are the Seven Thunders?

A: Story-wise, the Seven Thunders are the spiritual descendents of the original seven Clan founders who imprisoned Fu Leng the first time he manifested. Game-wise, there aren't any...yet.

Q: If I use my Ninja Shapeshifter's copy-ability to copy the Uniquen ability, are all my opponents' Shapeshifters destroyed?

A: Check out the definitions on p. 30. "Unique" is not an ability, it is a trait, and the Shapeshifter cannot copy traits. Only Limited, Open, Battle, and Reaction actions are "abilities".

Q: But the Emerald Edition NSS says he can copy traits too.

A: Yeah, we know. That was a MISTAKE. He can't copy traits. This is Very, Very Official. Spread the word!

Q: So I can't copy the Crab Oni's ability to gain +1/+1 per Crab Personality I control?

A: Again, that isn't an "ability". The NSS can't copy it.

Q: I have a Ninja Shapeshifter, initially 2F/2C with a +2/+2 weapon token, and I want him to copy an Ogre Bushi's Force of 6. That means the Ninja becomes a total 8F/4C creature, right? Six Force from the Ogre, plus two from the weapon?

A: Actually, no. Check out p. 31 again: "If a card copies a value from another card, the current value of the card being copied replaces the current value of the copying card." The important phrase is "current value", which is the base value plus all modifiers. The current value of your Ninja's Force before the shapechange is 4: a base of 2 plus 2 for the weapon. After the change it's 6, since that's what the Ogre's current Force is. Since this 6 is now the Ninja's current Force, we don't add anything to it -- "current value" already includes all bonuses and penalties. If your NSS has any kind of a weapon, you'll almost always end up in a situation where The Whole Is Not Equal to The Sum of the Parts if you copy someone else's Force or Chi. In our example above, the +2F from his own sword apparently disappears. The sword doesn't change from a +2/+2 weapon into something else, nor does the NSS's base Force of 2 change. What does happen when you copy a stat is that you stop using basic math to figure his total and just use the copied value on faith (plus or minus any further changes that happen aftern the shapeshift, of course). That's ninja trickery for you.

Q: What other cards work with current stat values like this?

A: Most of them. Every card that refers to or alters another card's stat and doesn't mention "printed" or "base value" works with the total current value. For example, Energy Transference "switches the current Chi and Force of any one Personality". A base 1F/4C Personality with a Wakizashi (+0/+1) who has Meditated (+1/+2) would become 7F/2C, not the 5F/4C you'd get if only her base stats were swapped.

Q: Is there anything else I should know about the 'Shifter?

A: Two things. The first is that using another card's ability is a two-step process, since you have to take one action to copy the ability first, then another to actually use it. You can't just duplicate an effect cold-turkey -- it takes planning and forethought in some situations to use it right. The other thing is that the NSS's ability is a targettedn action, since you have to pick which card to copy. This means your opponents can use Mamoru or Investigation to counter an attempt to copy their cards, and it means you can't copy anything from your own bowed Personalities.

Q: Can I use Mamoru or Investigation to stop a ninja from being assigned to attack me?

A: No. These cards can only stop an action which targets you, your Stronghold, or one of your cards (which includes your opponent's own Mamoru trying to cancel one of yourn ninja actions). Being assigned to attack is not an action.

Q: When is Hoseki, the Ninja Mystic, treated as a ninja, and when is she treated as a shugenja?

A: When she "casts" her spell, she performs a ninja action instead, but the spell is always a spell, and anything it does to "this shugenja" will affect her. Doom of the Phoenix destroys the spell, Black Scrolls corrupt her, spells that destroy their caster destroy her, and so on. She also needs to use actual shugenja, not other Mystics, if she wants help casting Rituals. "Those darn ninjas. They're wacky." - The Tick, issue #3 Section Six: Cards. "Oops." I've taken the bulk of this section out and combined it with the Text Change & Errata List, which should be available from the same site where you got this FAQ (if it's not, please ask the site's maintainer to add it). I'll only mention the latest errata here. Emerald Edition cards: Hida KisadA: Is no longer immune to the effects of untargetted spells and innate abilities. Naka Kuro: He can only copy Elemental actions, not any Elemental effect. Forbidden Knowledge cards: Ancestral Sword of Hantei: Its stat-switching effect does not apply to focussing. Shadowlands cards:

Q: I've noticed a lot of minor differences between the semi-sorted Personalities in my Shadowlands Clan Decks and the ones I got in Destiny Packs. Do these all get played as written?

A: Sigh... Yes. However, two of these cards have since been reprinted in later sets and no longer have variants. The Mountain Goblin always has a Personal Honor of 1. Shosuro Taberu always has a gold cost of <8> and a clear reminder that his ability is Politicaln. Corrupted Iron Mine: this card does not count as an "Iron Mine" card with respect to increasing the gold production of Blacksmiths. It will just give a -1g penalty, and not a +1g bonus as well. It also no longer reduces the Blacksmith's second value of 4g for weapons and armor.
Forbidden Knowledge cards: Seiku
A: now only gains +1/+1 per Ring.

Crimson & Jade cards: Peasant Levies, Tokiuji: These cards should have the Ashigarun trait. Mounts: This card should have the Cavalryn and Creaturen traits. Oni no Genso: This card should have the Nonhumann trait. Genzo: Should not refer to himself as "Norio". Also, the following three Personalities have lost the Unaligned trait and acquired the Yoritomo's Alliance trait: Kemmei Moshi Wakiza Tsuruchi

Promotional cards: Promotional cards, like all cards, get played by their most recent wording (p. 65). Any promo card which underwent a spelling fix or minor title change is considered the same card as its Emerald Edition counterpart. For the most part, the correlation will be obvious. Two that might not be are Inversion of Energies, which is considered the same card as Energy Transference, and Motto Seiki, who is considered the same as Yotsu Seiki. Matsu Turi is not a distinct card. He is played as Matsu Gohei.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Text Change & Errata List Version 2.0 / June 3rd, 1997
This list summarizes all play-affecting changes due to the Most- Recent-Version Rule and all errata which have been issued over the course of the various expansions. Those differences listed as "Clarified:" are not actual changes in function, but rulings which have been incorprated into the cards themselves.

-- Jeff Alexander, Phoenix Clan Scribe and FAQ-Keeper

FATE CARDS ACTIONS

Ambush Clarified: battle actions may be played as normal. Added: Units may not be moved from this battle to a Province.

Arrival of the Emerald Champion ErratA: Champion is discarded from play at the end of the battle, not destroyed during battle resolution.

Be Prepared to Dig Two Graves Clarified: may be played on behalf of any Personality aligned with your Clan, regardless of ownership.

Blackmail Clarified: this is a Limited action.

Blazing Arrows Clarified: cost depends only on cards in your army.

Breach of Etiquette Clarified: in a tie, all tied players lose honor.

Brilliant Victory Clarified: can only be played if you were the Attacker or Defender.

Debt of Honor Clarified: You must request the Unit prior to the Assignments Phase. Clarified: You may not request an illegal assignment

Egg of P'an Ku Clarified: may copy a Unique Personality. Clarified: now has an Action card border.

Encircled Terrain Clarified: selected units must belong to the Attacker and Defender (matches Shadowlands version).

Entrapping Terrain Clarified: there is no battle resolution. Clarified: units return home "without bowing", not "unbowed".

Evil Portents Changed: Shadowlands Personalities and Followers get the bonus, always.

Feign Death Added: may target a bowed Personality. Changed: may only target one of your Personalities. Changed: Personality now fully dies and is then returned to play, rather than surviving and losing only Followers. Changed: Personality is returned to play dishonored, rather than being dishonored while in play. Removed: Personality no longer becomes bowed.

Feint Clarified: may add an additional card as a general focus, not just a Chi focus.

The Final Breath ErratA: is played immediately after battle resolution, not during.

Flight of Dragons Clarified: does apply to Dragon Clan dragons.

Frenzy Clarified: dishonoring is immediate. Clarified: playing player loses 2 honor.

Iaijutsu Challenge Clarified: target Personality must not be controlled by you.

Iaijutsu Duel Clarified: if one selected Personality is controlled by you, it must be unbowed. ErratA: this card creates a challenge which cannot be refused.

Intersecting Highways Changed: bonus is +2F instead of +1F (matches Shadowlands version). Clarified: bonus lasts until the end of the turn. Clarified: only allies in the current battle gain the bonus.

Investigation Clarified: can only cancel an action which targets you, your Stronghold, or your cards or tokens.

Kolat Master Clarified: Personality gains the Kolat trait.

Legendary Victory Clarified: doubling takes place after all other bonuses. Added: can't play more than one per battle.

Levy Troops ErratA: The gold cost per Follower cannot be reduced.

Martyr Changed: when used after battle resolution, may now target any Personality in the opposing, rather than the victorious, army.

Mercy Changed: Attacker has the option of sparing the defending Province.

Occupied Terrain Changed: no longer playable only by the Attacker. Changed: destruction of a Holding instead of the Province is now optional.

Poisoned Weapon Clarified: duel is abandoned if a participant dies before resolution.

Refuse Advantage Added: may not be played if there are no opposing units. Changed: penalty is now applied directly to your army's total, rather than to specific cards you control.

Retreat Added: may target a bowed Personality.

Shame Added: no more than one may be played each time a Personality is dishonored.

Sneak Attack Clarified: the Defender takes the second action, not the player to the Attacker's left.

Superior Tactics Clarified: you may only move the unit to another of the Defender's Provinces.

Test of Honor Changed: if the Personality loses, he is dishonored and then destroyed.

Traversable Terrain Clarified: may be played if you have no units in the battle.

Way of Deception Clarified: may switch a committed and an uncommitted unit. Clarified: both must be unbowed.

ITEMS

Ancestral Sword of Hantei ErratA: Its stat-switching effect does not apply to focussing.

Climbing Gear Clarified: all effects of Fortifications are negated, not just those that affect the attacking army.

Crystal Arrow Clarified: may target any opposing Shadowlands card, including a Personality with Followers. Its status as a Ranged Attack is only to allow it to be affected by traits and Reactions.

Crystal Katana Clarified: gives an extra +2C when opposed by one or more Shadowlands cards in a battle or duel (matches Shadowlands version).

Dragon Helm Clarified: does affect Dragon Clan dragons. Clarified: you bow the Helm to produce the effect.

Fan of Command Changed: gold cost is always <4>.

Jade Arrow Clarified: may target any opposing card, including a Personality with Followers. Its status as a Ranged Attack is only to allow it to be affected by traits and Reactions.

Jade Hand Added: cannot be moved.

Night Medallion Clarified: +2 only applies to numerals. Added: does not apply to copied abilities. ErratA: adds to the actual value. "-2" would become "0", not "-4".

Porcelain Mask of Fu Leng ErratA: porcelain tokens go on the Mask. ErratA: tokens are only placed when the Mask is played. They are not part of the Fear ability. ErratA: only porcelain tokens are counted in determining when the Mask destroys itself.

Terrible Standard of Fu Leng Changed: gold cost from <5> to <7>. Added: Shadowlands trait. Added: Once per game, Limited: destroy any Hida Sukune to give +4F to Standard until end of turn. Clarified: only gains a +1F token per unit destroyed in battle resolution. (This card is identical to the Shadowlands version EXCEPT it still has Fear:2, not Fear:3.)

SPELLS

Animate the Dead Changed: Follower can come from any player's dead pile. Added: animated Follower also gains the Shadowlands trait.

Cloak of Night Clarified: played card must follow the normal rules governing attaching. Clarified: played card must be attached to one of your Personalities. Clarified: unrevealed cards are considered in play.

Earthquake Clarified: Shugenja must bow to cast this spell.

Elemental Ward Clarified: negates an action, not an "effect".

Energy Transference Clarified: effect lasts until the end of the current turn.

Heart of the Inferno Added: is now destroyed when cast. Clarified: targets all destroyed cards.

Immortal Steel Added: no weapon can be affected by more than one.

Mists of Illusion Clarified: must be cast on one of your Personalities. Clarified: opposing Units and Provinces are only undestroyable if Mist's target is in the army.

Return of the Fallen Lord ErratA: this is a Ritual.

Secrets on the Wind Added: Scorpion Shugenja need not destroy a token when casting this spell.

Summon Undead Champion Changed: the created Personality counts as a card.

Sympathetic Energies ErratA: the shugenja must bow to cast this spell.

Torrential Rain Clarified: there is no battle resolution. Changed: the shugenja must be at the battle.

Wind Born Speed Clarified: Cavalry trait only lasts until the end of the turn.

FOLLOWERS

Apprentice Added: additional +2C also applies when bringing spells into play and when using innate abilities.

Elemental Vortex ErratA: has the Nonhuman trait.

Fire Breather Clarified: must be in the attacking army to destroy a Fortification.

Foxwife Clarified: is destroyed if the attached Personality is dishonored in any way, not just if he dishonors himself.

Mounts ErratA: Has the Creature and Cavalry traits.

Peasant Levies ErratA: Has the Ashigaru trait.

Personal Champion Clarified: Champion may focus.

Scribe Clarified: each Scribe can save each spell once.

Wyrm Riders Clarified: must bow to make their ranged attack.

RINGS

Ring of Earth Clarified: may be played if the attacking army's Force exceeded your Province strength at any point during the battle.

Ring of Fire Clarified: your Personality must win the duel. Changed: you must have had a lower Chi immediately prior to the challenge, not at the beginning of the duel.

Ring of Water Clarified: you may destroy a terrain and later play a terrain to satisfy the requirements -- these need not both be done in one action. Clarified: may not be played if you were an ally. Changed: Benefit is now a Reaction (and hence an "ability").


DYNASTY CARDS

EVENTS

Chrysanthemum Festival Clarified: the extra Province is added on the left.

Dead Walk the Earth Changed: only Personalities and Followers get the bonus, not all Shadowlands cards. Changed: cards are destroyed at the beginning of your next Events Phase, not during it.

Hurricane Changed: each player now picks a Holding of the player to his right.

Inheritance Clarified: extra gold must be used the turn it's revealed, or it's lost.

Peasant Revolt Clarified: bowed cards do not straighten immediately when the Revolt ends, but must wait for their normal Straighten Phases.

Test of Stone Added: your challenger must be unbowed.

Unexpected Allies Clarified: no effects are generated by Personalities brought into play.

HOLDINGS

Famous Poet Clarified: may only be used if you were the Attacker or Defender.

Forest Clarified: changed the wording so that it's clear that both Personalities and Followers must have the Nonhuman or Creature trait for it to generate extra gold.

Forgotten Tomb Clarified: all cards go under it face up. Changed: cards need not come out the first available turn. Clarified: you must still meet all non-gold costs when playing a card from it.

Fort on a Hill Clarified: only affects Personalities in the current battle. Clarified: no longer incorrectly implies its modifications only apply during battle resolution.

Master Smith Clarified: the weapon token is also an Item. Changed: Personalities may now have no more than one Weapon token, not Master Smith token.

Moat Clarified: -1F penalty only lasts while the attack is in progress.

Oracle of Earth Clarified: consistantly uses the term "destroy" to refer to eliminating terrains.

Oracle of Fire Changed: now has the effect of the Imperial Oracle of Water. ErratA: Imperial Edition version should be treated as having the title "Oracle of Water" for play and deck construction purposes.

Oracle of Water Changed: now has the effect of the Imperial Oracle of Fire. Clarified: no longer implies the added unit can be freely assigned to either side of the battle. ErratA: Imperial Edition version should be treated as having the title "Oracle of Fire" for play and deck construction purposes.

School of Wizardry Clarified: can only be used when you are playing the shugenja.

PERSONALITIES

Agasha Tamori Added: +3C bonus also applies when bringing spells into play.

Alhundro Cornejo Changed: ability to reduce explosives cards to zero gold is now a Reaction, not Open. Clarified: cannot reduce a Province strength below 0.

Asako Yasu ErratA: Treat beginning the duel as issuing a challenge which cannot be refused.

Ashlim ErratA: The removal of the Shadowlands trait is permanent.

Bayushi Kachiko Clarified: seduction tokens are also removed if she dies.

Bayushi Togai Added: is not affected by poison tokens either. ErratA: may attach any Poison card regardless of that card's restrictions.

Dairya Changed: now has the Unique trait.

Doji Hoturi Clarified: focussing adds to Personal Honor if he makes a duel a Duel of Honor.

Dragon of Fire Changed: its single strength 10 and double strength 5 ranged attacks are now two separate abilities.

Earth Dragon Clarified: ability is usable only once per turn.

Genzo ErratA: Should not refer to himself as "Norio".

Ginawa Added: Toturi's Army trait.

Hida Kisada Changed: Minimum Honor from 10 to 6. Changed: gold cost from <14> to <16>. Changed: Now only immune to targetting by spells and innate abilities. No longer unaffected by untargetted such effects.

Hida Yakamo (Hero) Clarified: counts as a separate card from the Crab Clan Oni.

Hida Yakamo (Oni) Clarified: may not Focus at all.

Horiuchi Shoan Added: Cavalry trait. Ide Tadaji Added: special ability now has the Political trait. Changed: now may only not be assigned to attack or defend, rather than not being allowed to attack or defend at all. Clarified: only negates the effects of one use of the Favor, not all uses for the rest of the turn.

Ikoma Ujiaki Changed: Minimum Honor from 15 to 10. Added: special ability now has the Political trait.

Isawa Tomo Clarified: moves units between battles (i.e., Defender's Provinces only).

Isawa Tsuke ErratA: Treat beginning the duel as issuing a challenge which cannot be refused.

Iuchi Karasu Clarified: must obey attaching rules when moving a Follower.

Iuchi Takaai Clarified: Cavalry bonus only lasts until the end of the turn.

Kakita Yinobu Added: special ability now has the Political trait.

Kakita Yoshi Added: special ability now has the Political trait. Changed: now may not be assigned to defend, rather than not being allowed to defend at all.

Kakita Yuri Added: special ability now has the Political trait.

Kaiu Kenru Clarified: Followers are limited to one bonus total, not one per Kenru.

Kemmei Changed: is now Yoritomo's Alliance, not Unaligned.

Kitsuki Yasu Clarified: must be bowed when the challenge is issued. Added: special ability now has the Political trait.

Kolat Servant Clarified: may target a bowed Stronghold. Changed: bows a target Stronghold instead of a target player's Stronghold.

Kusatte Iru ErratA: has the Nonhuman trait.

Mikaru Errata/Changed: does not count as a Naga card.

Mirumoto Hitomi Added: Toturi's Army trait.

Monstrous War Machine of Fu Leng Changed: now has the Shadowlands trait. Changed: Minimum Honor from 0 to "-".

Morito Tokei Added: Toturi's Army trait.

Moshi Wakiza Changed: is now Yoritomo's Alliance, not Unaligned.

Mountain Goblin Changed: Personal Honor is always 1, not printed value.

Naga Abomination Added: Unique trait. Added: must bow to issue its challenge.

Naga Warlord Clarified: he is now a base 3F, and only gives +1F to othern Naga cards in his unit.

Naka Kuro Added: Toturi's Army trait. Changed: ability to duplicate an Elemental effect is now a Reaction (and hence an "ability"). ErratA: His first ability can only copy Elemental actions, not all Elemental effects.

Ninja Shapeshifter Clarified: all effects of the copied ability wear off at the end of the turn. ErratA: can notn copy traits.

Otaku Kamoko Changed: her +1F bonus when attacking is now a trait, not a Reaction.

Seikua Changed: now gets +1/+1 per Ring, not +1/+2.

Shashakar ErratA: counts as the Naga Shugenja for purposes of being Experienced, not Unique.

Shiba Tsukune Clarified: gains +3C when entering a duel.

Shiba Ujimitsu Clarified: he keeps all tokens and cards attached to the Personality he reincarnates into.

Shosuro Hametsu Changed: Personal Honor from 0 to 1.

Togashi Hoshi Clarified: restriction against assignment only applies during the Maneuvers Segment. Clarified: is affected by cards which affect dragons.

Togashi Mitsu Clarified: only becomes bowed after a battle with tokens as though he were an attacking unit. Clarified: all references to "tokens" changed to "fire tokens". Added: Toturi's Army trait.

Togashi Yoshi Clarified: exactly when his ability is used. Clarified: revealed card is not treated as a focus. Clarified: revealed card is discarded.

Tokiuji ErratA: has the Ashigaru trait.

Toku Added: Toturi's Army trait.

Toturi Changed: name. Added: Toturi's Army trait. Added: will not join Scorpion players either. Clarified: stat bonus and honor gain only happen the first time he is re-honored. Changed: gaining of honor and stats is now a Reaction (and hence an "ability").

Tsuruchi Changed: is now Yoritomo's Alliance, not Unaligned.

Water Dragon Changed: ability to duplicate an innate ability is now a Reaction (and hence an "ability").

Yogo Junzo Changed: always has the Undead trait

. STRONGHOLDS

Phoenix Changed: now produces 5g when paying for a shugenja or spell, rather than reducing that card's cost by 5 until end of turn. Added: can also produce 7g when paying for a shugenja or spell, and permanently give the shugenja involved the Shadowlands trait.


NON-ERRATA

Ancestral Sword of Hantei: Truly is not a Weapon.

HisA: This card does not get played as Bayushi Hisa. The wording on the latter only prevents you from including more than three "Hisa"-type cards, total, in your deck.

Shiba Ujimitsu: Truly is not Unique.

Stifling Wind: Truly is not missing the word "opposing" from its second ability.



Legend of the Five Rings, Empire of Rokugan, Fu'Leng, Shadowlands, graphic design elements and all character names and their distinctive likenesses are TM and (C) 1995-1997 by Five Rings Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.


EMail: nelsonox (yahoo.fr)

back to homepage