Legend of the Five Rings rules archive

Important: For Samurai Edition rules, please visit the Samurai Edition Comprehensive Rules page.

A large amount of this document is now obsolete, and has been superceded by the Comprehensive Rules. This document should only be used for cards printed prior to Khan's Defiance and players playing non-Samurai formats (e.g., Legacy). Last updated 23 February 2008.

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General Rules

Specific Cards and Strongholds

Rulings are for the non-Experienced version of a card unless otherwise specified. Rulings for cards that are the "Soul of.." an earlier card are often found under the earlier card name (i.e., the one listed behind "Soul of...").

Sources | Legend of the Five Rings Home Page

General Rules

Ancestors

• Ancestors able to attach to a Personality due to the Ancestor's text (e.g., Yokai no Junzo) are not destroyed if that Personality loses a trait that allowed the Ancestor to attach (e.g., loss of Shadowlands trait). [Summary of other rulings]
• For Shadowlands Ancestors, the Shadowlands trait acts like a Faction trait for the purpose of meeting the Ancestor's Faction restriction. [ZF, 24 August 2003]
• All Ancestors are Unique. [Erratum, JA, 6 August 2004]

Copying

• Cards that can copy abilities can repeatedly copy an ability that is usable only once per game, because at the end of the turn it forgets that it has used it. [RD, 7/8/96]
• A copied ability with a useage restriction (i.e., "once per turn / game)" can be used regardless of whether the original ability has already been used the set number of times, because each instance of an ability is separate. [ML, 14 November 2005]
• Abilities that copy abilities may not be copied. [JA, web, 12 July 2005]
• When a card performs an ability printed on another card (e.g., Masagaro Sensei, Scouting Party, Call Upon the Dead), it is not copying that ability. Therefore:
  • The text of the ability does not change in any way. In particular, references to card title do not change to match the title of the card using the ability.
  • The ability is subject to any usage limits and checks the state of the actual card it is printed on (even if two copies of the same card are involved). [ML, web, 15 August 2006]

Experienced cards

• If you overlay, the less Experienced card's title is lost. [DW, 25 February 1997]
• A less Experienced Personality need not be already in play when the Experienced version is first revealed in order to overlay. [FAQ]
• A non-Personality card that 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, 24 June 1998]
• Experienced Fortifications may be overlayed on an earlier version if the earlier version is in a different Province. [JA, 27 October 2000]
• An "Inexperienced" Personality is not "Experienced" [JA, 6 March 2002], nor is it "non-Experienced." [ZF, web, 20 December 2005]
• When paying the cost to overlay a card by more than one Experience level, you can use "specialty" Gold production and cost reductions (e.g., The Hiruma Dojo) that are appropriate to the new card. [JA, 30 July 2002]
• Experienced and Experienced^KYD cards are separate cards. Both may be in a deck, and neither impinges upon the other's uniqueness. (Only one Experience "path" may be in play at a time, however, just as only one copy of multiple Experience levels can be in play at at time.) For overlaying, ignore the ^KYD completely. [JA, 27 September 2002, 30 October 2002]
• An Experienced card can be overlaid on a less Experienced card even if the title of the less Experienced card does not match the trait on the Experienced card, as long as there is a chain along the experience levels. E.g., the Experienced 7 Shosuro can be overlaid on either Shosuro (whose trait reads, "Experienced Ninja Shapeshifter") or the Ninja Shapeshifter. [ZF, 10 April 2003]
• You must follow the rules for Singular cards when overlaying. I.e., you cannnot overlay a Experienced card if that would cause you to control two copies of a Singular card. [ML, 10 September 2004]
• References to card titles of an overlayed less-Experienced Personality are replaced by references to the overlaid top card in the stack. [ZF, web, 20 February 2005]
• Experienced cards with different titles do not cause a Uniqueness conflict with each other. [JA, web, 12 October 2005]

Faction affiliations

• The list of Factions does not change depending on the tournament format. I.e., a Faction defined in the rulebook is legal for all effects that look for a particular Faction, regardless of whether than Faction has a legal stronghold in a particular tournament format. [JA, 13 October 2000]
• "[Keyword] Personality" is synonymous with "[Keyword] Clan Personality." [ZF, 24 May 2001]
• A minor clan alignment (e.g., "Fox Clan") is seperable into individual words, because they are not Faction traits. [JA, netnews, 31 August 2001]

Family names

• The list of family names does not change with tournament format. I.e., a family can be named regardless of whether there are any Personalities who can be legally played in that tournament format. [JA, 13 October 2000]
• Family names are determined by card title. [JA, 9 December 2002] (Note that some cards use a name as a keyword, but do not require a "family name;" these may be fulfilled by traits.) [ZF, web, 17 Febraury 2005]
• A single name can be a family name (e.g., Yoritomo) if other Personalities have it as the first part of a two-part name. [JA, 9 December 2002]
• "Tsuno" is a family name. [JA, 7 November 2001]
• "Otaku" and "Utaku" family names are equivalent. [JA, email, 14 October 2004]

Fealty

• "Cannot swear fealty" prohibits the use of any card with "Fealty" in the title or that mentions "fealty" as one of its effects. [ZF, 7 June 2001]

Fear

• "Fear number" refers to the current strength of a Fear effect, not just the numeral printed on the card. [JA, 20 July 2000]
• Always targets a Personality (though it normally only affects Followers), because Fear targets a unit. [JA, 13 October 2000]

Formations

• If an action is used to play a formation other than that allowed by the rulebook (e.g., Complex Maneuvers, Superior Strategist), there is no extra Battle or Open action is allowed. [BK, email, 30 January 2006; ML, web, 24 February 2006]
• Effects that instruct you to play an action (e.g., Rage, Insight) cannot to play a Formation into play (because playing a Formation is a Battle action by rulebook definition, not card text) or use the action on it (because Formations must be in play before its action can be used). [Extension from Rage; JA, email, 30 May 2005]

Imperial Favor

• If a card or Stronghold is used to pay the cost of an Imperial Favor effect (e.g., Acquiring Favor), it is considered a use of the Favor in all ways. [VRD, 28 December 2001]
• 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." [DW, 5/7/97]
• For cards printed before Gold Edition: If the Imperial Favor must be discarded to pay for an action's cost, the action will always be Political, but the action's effects are not automatically Imperial Favor effects. [ZF, 1 August 2001]
• For cards printed before Gold Edition: Discarding the Favor to pay for an action's optional effect does not make the entire action Political. [JA, email, 7 September 2001]
• "This counts as a lobbying attempt" means an action counts against the number of lobbying attempts you can make in one turn, and may be responded to with Reactions to lobbying, but does not require you to have the single highest Family Honor and does not require that you bow an additional Personality with more than 0 Personal Honor to perform it. [JA, 1 December 2003]
• Removal of the Imperial Favor from the game does not:
  • Prevent lobbying to create other effects (e.g., Kyuden Otomo). [CF, web, 24 September 2005]
  • Prevent using other effects to pay the cost of using the Favor. [ZF, CF, web, 24 September 2005]
• If different actions allow lobbying, you must announce what you are lobbying for. [JA, web, 11 October 2005]

Ninjutsu

• You may not secretly rearrange face-down cards [ZF, web, 22 August 2005] or rearrange cards using a method that is deemed by the tournament judge to be likely to cause confusion. [ZF, web, 22 August 2005]
• A face down card has no printed stats; such stats are treated as zero for effects that look for printed stats. [ZF, web, 28 August 2005]
• Ninjutsu Personalities are treated as face-up for effects that allows you to search for Personalities (e.g., Experienced Yogo). [ZF, web, 27 August 2005]
• Face down Ninjutsu Personalities do not have titles. [ZF, web, 25 November 2005]
• Face down Ninjutsu Personalities are not considered copies of the same card. [ZF, web, 15 October 2005]

Political

• For cards printed before Gold Edition: An action that can alter an honor gain or loss is always Political, even if it doesn't always do so (e.g., Legendary Victory). [DW, email, 27 June 1997; JA, 13 May 2001].
• For cards printed before Gold Edition: An action that discards the Imperial Favor as a cost is always Political, even if discarding the Favor is an optional cost. [VRD]

Redirection

• An effect that has multiple targets can only have one target changed when it is redirected. [RD, 16 January 1997; JA, 13 May 2004]
• Non-action effects that are redirected the redirected effect to have targeted the card / token / etc., in the first place. [DW, 29 January 1998]
• Substituting a Personality in a duel after the challenge has been accepted is not "redirecting" the duel. The target has been picked and the action is partway through resolving. The substituted Personality is not now the target of the duel. [JA, 16 June 2003]
• Whether a card is a legal target for redirection is determined before any costs of the redirection are paid (e.g., bowing for Shiba Danjuro). [ZF, 13 November 2003, ML, 30 May 2004]
• Actions that target as an effect (i.e., after some other effects have occured) rather than before costs are paid can still be redirected. [JA, email, 13 May 2004]
• A card that has an option of which effect to use cannot have that chosen option changed if it is redirected. [ML, web, 7 March 2005]

Soul of...

• "Soul of (Name)" is one inseperable trait. [JA, 19 June 2001]
• When used as proxies in tournaments, previously printed Personalities listed in the "Soul of..." traits on more recent legal cards are played as the later "Soul of..." Personality in all ways. [Tournament rules]

Tactician

• For cards printed before Winds of Change:
  • An action that "counts as a use of Tactician" is a Tactical action. [JA, 31 July 2003]
  • An action with the "Tactical" keyword is not a Tactical action. [Erratum, JA, 4 August 2003]

Winds

• You may only have one Wind with your play deck. You may not switch Winds between rounds in a tournament. [AH, 10 July 2001; JA, 18 July 2001]
• You may play without a Wind. [JA, 18 July 2001]

Yu

• Destroying the card is not a cost of using its Yu. [JA, 18 September 2001]
• Because Yu is used sequentially, if a card effect (e.g., Ashura) destroys a card with Yu during resolution before the Yu effect is applied, the card does not get to use Yu. [JA, 11 February 2003]
• Using Yu to destroy a dishonored attacking Personality during resolution can make an attacker lose before the defender's last Province is destroyed. [Reversal, JA, 2 July 2003]
• The Yu trait consists of Yu and the given number. [ZF, web, 4 June 2005]

Specific Cards

Actions

• May be played in response to an unrefusable challenge. [JA, 2 June 2003]

• Reads, "Accessible Terrain 0G 1FV Immediate Terrain. You may play this card during a battle in which you have no units. Battle: The attacker and Defender each gain the ability "Battle: Move one of your units into this battle."" [MRP, An Oni's Fury, 10 December 2001]

• Reads, "Ambush 0G 2FV Limited: Target a unit you control and a unit controlled by another player. Declare an attack against the player. This attack has one battlefield, not associated with any Province. Assign your unit to attack there. You assign the other unit to defend there, even if illegal. No units other than these may assign or move there. After the attack ends, lose 5 Honor and resume the previous phase." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]
• Units may enter play in the battlefield (e.g., Shinjo Suboto, Essence of Gaki-Do). [ML, 6 January 2004]
• There is still and Infantry and Cavalry Maneuvers Segment, and controllers may choose in which phase to assign their Personalities. [ZF, web, 15 April 2005]

• The phrase, "an Ancestor... that the Personality could legally attach if you controlled the Personality," includes Uniqueness restrictions. [ZF, 6 August 2000]

• The ability is gained permanently. [Erratum, JA, 7 November 2000]
• Your Personality need not be in the battle containing the target Personality to send him or her home (though you must have units in the battle). [VRD, 8 November 2000]

• May not be played in a battle in which you have no units, because it does not move a unit into battle unconditionally; the unit moves in when a player makes a decision when Delayed Terrains resolve, which cannot be determined when it is played. [JA, 29 November 2004]

• Reads, "Another Time 0G 0FV When you reveal this card as a Focus card for a duel, cancel the duel and discard all Focus cards without effect." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Negates the effects of the duel. (Only actions can be canceled, not duels.) [ZF, 11 July 2002]
• Because it causes the duel to be negated as soon as it is revealed, it will nullify Kharmic Strike and prevent Poisoned Weapon or Judgement of Toshiken from being used. [Card text, DW, 11/8/96]
• Will not stop Shosuro Hametsu's poison token from giving -2C. [DW, 8/2/96] This penalty is applied when a strike is declared, which happens.
• If named by Hantei Sensei, it is considered to have a blank text box. [JA, 7 July 2000]

• If used to reveal an Item you cannot afford, your opponent may choose to let you attach it. If so, you must try to pay the full cost. If you cannot pay, the Item returns to your hand. [JA, 5 December 2002]

• The Face of Fear will cause Army of Jigoku's Fear to affect all relevant Personalities. [JA, 21 July 2004]

• May be used in a battle in which you have no units. [DW, 12/11/96]
• Once created, the Champion acts like any other Personality. [DW, 12/11/96]
• Can be duplicated by Doji Yosai (Experienced). [Reversal, RD, 12/1/97]
• Champion is discarded from play at the end of the battle, not destroyed during battle resolution. [Erratum]

• Does not affect units already assigned. [DW, 3/2/98] It cannot be played during battle because it does not target or affect anything in it.

• Reads, "The Arrow Knows the Way 0G 3FV Reaction: Play this card when one of your Personalities with over 2 Chi bows for, or as part of, a ranged attack. The Ranged Attack can target a Personality who has Followers." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• May affect kiho that create Ranged Attacks. [ZF, netnews, July 2000]

• You may not combine ranged attacks, because it must be "one Ranged Attack by one of your cards in play" [Card text].

• Reads, "Arrows from the Woods 0G 3FV Battle: Ranged 2 Attack. Reaction: When one of your units makes a ranged attack, raise the Ranged Attack strength by 2." [MRP, An Oni's Fury, 10 December 2001]
• Targets the Ranged Attack, not the card generating it. [JA, 11 June 2002]

• The force restriction is not a trait of the follower. It limits how big the follower can be made while being brought into play. Its force cannot be raised above the samurai's force as it is entering play (e.g., Kitsune Tsuke), but can be afterwards (e.g., Armory). [ZF, 18 June 2000]

• Should read, "All units at this battle may return to their fiefs..." [Erratum]
• Targets the units that stay and leave. A Test of Courage can cancel the terrain's effects when it resolves. [15 July 1999]
• The active player decides first which of his or her units leave the battle. The choice then goes clockwise around the table, once. [JA, 15 July 1999]

• Reads, "Avoid Fate 0G 3FV Reaction: Play before an Event resolves. The Event does not resolve. When the Events Phase ends, the Event's player shuffles it into his deck and refills the Province." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]
• Cannot be played in reaction to the second or later appearance of an Event that has already resolved [DW, 9/3/96], unless the Event can resolve more than once due to a card effect (e.g., Moon and Sun). [VRD, 26 January 2001]

• Should read, "Target any number of face-up Dynasty cards...". [JA, 7 April 2003]

• The defender's bowing is based on his gold-producing Holdings, not all Holdings. [ZF, 29 August 2003; JA, email, 30 August 2003]
• Effect must be applied as much as possible, but its effect ends if the only cards left cannot be bowed (e.g., Experienced Shadow Dragon). [JA, email, 24 May 2005]
• Using a voluntary effect (e.g., Hasaiki no Oni) repeatedly versus the bowing is stalling. [JA, email, 24 May 2005]

• Reads, "Battlefield of Shallow Graves 0G 1FV Immediate Terrain. Political Battle: If you are the Attacker or Defender: Until the battle ends, double the enemy leader’s Honor gains; destroying this card does not end this effect. When Delayed Terrains normally resolve, reduce the Force of each Personality in the enemy army to half his Force at that time, rounded up." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Reads, "Be Prepared to Dig Two Graves 0G 3FV Reaction:When a Personality from your Faction is destroyed while in an battle, target a Personality opposing him. For the rest of the game, Personalities from your Faction gain +2F/+2C while facing the target in a battle or duel. This does not target the destroyed Personality." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• Is not a focus (although its focus value is added normally). It may be played by a Personality who cannot focus. [DW, 11/4/96]
• When played for effect, the bonus of 2 is changed by effects that alter the focus values of cards played "in a duel" (e.g., the Double Chi trait, Toshimoko Sensei). The bonus of 2 is not altered by effects that have already changed the card's actual focus value (e.g., Touch of Amaterasu). [Partial Reversal, 2/6/2000]

• Reads, "Betrayal 2G 3FV Battle: Target a Dishonored Human Personality opposing a card you control. Lose 4 Honor. Discard the top card of your Fate deck. If its Focus value is greater than the target’s printed Personal Honor, gain control of the target and move him into your current army." [MRP, Khan's Defiance, 22 January 2007]

• Reads, "Blackened Sky 0G 1FV Battle: Take as many consecutive actions that make ranged attacks as you like, before the next player takes an Open or Battle action. You cannot take Reactions during this time unless they make ranged attacks." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• An action that produces a Ranged Attack and some other effect(s) is legal. [ZF, 2 August 2000]

• Reads, "Blackmail 8G 4FV Limited: Choose a Province and a holding of another player. Take control of that holding while Blackmail is in play. As an Open Action, the affected player may reveal the Blackmail, destroying it and the target Province. Also, the holding is returned, and you lose 10 Honor. If the Province is destroyed, Blackmail cannot be revealed." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]
• Revealing this card is an action taken by its original target, but the loss is caused by the Blackmail itself. [Card text] Thus, the blackmailer can avoid the loss with Defend Your Honor, and the revealer can double it with Court Jester. [DW, 31 October 1996]
• If you steal a Fortification, it stays attached to its original owner's Province, but you control its abilities. [Reversal, RD, email, 5/8/97]

• Reads, "Blazing Arrows *G 3FV Battle: Blazing Arrows adds two to the strength of each of your cards producing a Ranged Attack for this battle. The gold cost of a Blazing Arrows is 1G per card in your army that is capable of producing a Ranged Attack." [MRP, Obsidian Edition, August 1997]

• You may bow any Bloodspeaker in play. [Card text, DW, email]

• The honor loss for refusing the challenge is written on Blood Feud, so Defend Your Honor can be played against it. [DW, email, 14 April 1997]
• A dishonored personality may refuse the challenge. [ZF, 6 June 2000]

• Is considered swearing fealty. [DW, 12/9/96]

• If a unit leaves the battle after the terrain resolves, the force bonus to the army remains at the battle the province was in. [ZF, 20 August 2003]

• Reads, "Breach of Etiquette 0G 2FV Limited: The player (or players) with the most Family Honor commits a public breach of etiquette and loses 5 Honor." [MRP, Honor Bound]

• Reads, "Brilliant Victory 0G 2FV Reaction: Play this card immediately after destroying an opposing army or Province as the Attacker or Defender. Gain an extra +3 Honor. Only one copy of this card can be played per battle." [MRP, Soul of the Empire]
• Is Political. [Reversal; JA, email, 31 October 2000]

• Does not override the restriction of the Limited action creating a Raid Battle on Aramasu's Pride. [CF, web, 22 May 2006]
• Province destruction is an effect of Battle. [CF, web, 26 May 2006]

• Can be played when there are no opposing units. [ZF, August 2000; JA, 16 January 2001]

• Reads, "Burning Your Essence 0G 0FV This card has a Focus value of 6 when focused in a duel, discarded for a Tactician force bonus, or used for its Focus value with an ability on a Personality. The Personality permanently has -2C after the duel or ability resolves." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Chi loss also occurs after the use of Tactician. [DW, August 1999; JA, email, 1 July 2001]
• Treat the card's current focus value as a 6, when appropriate. This happens before any other changes. [JA, 19 November 2001]

• Is not a Wind action. [Keyword rule exception, erratum, JA, 11 September 2001]

• Reads, "Carrier Pigeon 0G 1FV Battle: If you are the Defender: Target a unit you control that has not been at the current battlefield at any time during this attack and was not prevented from assigning to it this attack by card or Stronghold effects. Straighten the unit. Move it to the current battlefield." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Feign Death will not save the original Personality, who will be unable to return to play because of Uniqueness conflicts. [DW, 24 April 1996]
• Cannot be used to destroy an existing Egg of Pan Ku-Personality in order to play a new Egg of P'an Ku. Can only be used to bring a Unique Personality into play [Card text], but until it's in play, the Egg is an Action card. It can be used to destroy an existing Egg if you're playing the False Hoturi, regardless of whom the Egg is copying. [DW, 6/5/96]
• If there are multiple conflicting Personalities with the same name and experience level (e.g., due to One Life, One Destiny), they are all destroyed. [DW, email, 13 February 1999]

• Renamed from Charge! [MRP, The Fall of Otosan Uchi, 9 December 2002]

Come One at a Time

• Reads, "Come One at a Time 0G 1FV Immediate Terrain. Battle: While there is exactly one defending Personality at this battlefield, each player may take the action, “Battle: Target an attacking unit you control. Move it home, bowed,” and the defending Personality may perform, “Battle: Target an opposing Personality. Issue him an unrefusable challenge.” This second action may be taken immediately (if legal). These actions may be used any number of times." [MRP, Drums of War, 22 May 2006]
• Hida Technique will not allow the attacker to benefit from this card. [JA, April 2000]

• Reads, "Command of the Kami 0G 3FV Political Open: The player with the Imperial Favor discards it and loses 2 Honor, to a minimum of his starting Family Honor." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• In a result such as "If duelist A wins, X happens to the loser," effect X is an "effect of duelist A winning" and not an "effect of the other duelist losing." It will still happen.
• Has no effect on reactions to winning or losing a duel unless those reactions specifically modify the effects of losing (e.g., Fatal Mistake).

• Reads, "Contentious Terrain 0G 1FV Delayed Terrain. Battle: Each Personality in your army gains +1F until the battle ends." [MRP, Winds of Change, July 2003]

• Reads, "Contested Holding 5G 2FV Limited: Target and bow a Personality you control: Target a Holding controlled by another player who controls a Personality. Your Personality issues a challenge that may be accepted by any Personality that player controls. If the player does not accept, or if he accepts and loses, bow the Holding and gain control of it. Do not destroy the other player’s Personality if he loses." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]
• If the duel is tied, the challenger is still the only Personality who dies. [Card text; DW, email, 5/4/99]
• If played for a fortification, it remains attached to its province, but you now control any abilities it may have. [Extension from Blackmail.]

• May be used even if the battle which the target unit it leaving is not the current battle, because it's a Reaction. [DW, email, 23 April 1997]

• Can be used if there is no opposing army. [JA, 14 July 2000]

• Reads, "Corrupted Ground 0G 1FV Immediate Terrain. Battle: Each Shadowlands Personality and Shadowlands Follower in this battle gains +1F." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• Cannot be used if only one target is in play (i.e., cannot destroy a Shadowlands holding alone). [Rulebook, JA, 19 August 2002]

• Reads, "Counterattack 0G 4FV Reaction: Play this card after an Attack Phase in which another player was the Attacker and you were the Defender. Create an Attack Phase in which you are the Attacker and that player is the Defender." [MRP, The Fall of Otosan Uchi, 9 December 2002]
• Cannot be played in response to Fu Leng's Horde, because there is no attacker. [JA, 14 September 2000]
• Does not change who is the active player. [Card text, ZF, 11 July 2001]

• When used to destroy an item, the "cost of the item" is the cost to its player. E.g., the cost of the Ancestral Weapon of the Mantis includes the extra costs for any upgrades. [DW, email, 30 July 1997] Exception: an item brought into play "without gold cost" still has its full cost. [Partial Reversal]

• Is Political. [Rulebook]
• May not double honor loss from a refused Iaijutsu Challenge, because the loss is written on Iaijutsu Challenge. [FAQ]

• Opponent may focus or strike first, not just focus. [DW, 16 September 1996]
• The second Personality only contributes a Chi bonus and shares the consequences of losing. He or she is not a participant in the duel nor entering a duel, so effects that apply to duel participants or are triggered when "entering a duel" cannot be used on him or her. [DW, 21 March 1997]

• Although it self-destructs before any costs or effects occur, the Personality created is a valid target for actions, and locks in the targeting selection. [JA, 25 March 2003]

• Reads, "Crane Tattoo 0G 3FV Limited: Target one of your Personalities with the Tattooed trait and without a Crane Tattoo. For the rest of the game, the Personality has a Crane Tattoo, your actions cannot target the Personality, and the Personality gains the ability "Reaction: When this Personality is destroyed during a battle or duel, return the Personality to you play in your home, bowed, after discarding him or her." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2002]
• May be used any time a battle is occurring, whether the Personality is in it or not. [JA, 30 July 2002]
• Ability cannot be used when bowed. [JA, 30 July 2002]

• May not be played if there are no opposing units. [Reversal]

• A minor clan Champion may bow. [Card text]

• Reads, "Dark Lord's Favor 0G 1FV Shadowlands • You can play only one Dark Lord’s Favor per turn. You cannot play this card if another player has less Family Honor than you. Open: Target a Personality. Dishonor him. Lose 7 Honor. Limited: Target a player. He discards a card. Lose 7 Honor. Battle: Target a card. Reduce its Force to 0. Lose 7 Honor. Reaction: Before a player gains Honor: Negate the gain. Lose 7 Honor." [MRP, Tomorrow, 12 March 2007]

• A Personality in a Province affected by A Dark Moment is not a Shadowlands card until after it enters play. [ZF, 17 May 2000]
• Gives the Shadowlands trait to cards that were brought into play from that Province earlier that turn. [Card text]

• Reads, "Dead Eyes 5*G 1FV This card costs 5 less Gold if it targets a Crab Clan Personality. Limited: Permanently lower to 0 the Personal Honor of one of your Personalities without the Berserker trait and permanently give the Personality the Berserker trait and the ability, 'Battle: Once per turn, gain +3F. When the Resolution Segment ends, destroy this Personality unless his or her army had more than twice the opposing army's force if there was an opposing army when the Resolution Segment began.'" [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

Deathseeker Technique

• Renamed from Death-Seeker Technique. [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Reads, "Debt of Honor 0G 3FV Reaction: Put this card into play immediately after a battle in which you have sent allying units to aid the target player. Later, destroy this card before the Assignments Phase of a battle to request that this player must assign the unit you request to the specified battle, or lose 8 Honor. You may not request an illegal assignment of a unit." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]

• Prevents the playing of all non-terrain-destroying actions within the Battle Action Segment and Resolution Segments [card text], including Reactions played "when" or "after" a card is destroyed. Does not prevent Reactions played "after resolution" or "after the Attack Phase." [Partial Reversal, DW, email, 6/2/97]
• For an action to be legal, it must directly destroy Deadly Ground. Actions that destroy the terrain in a roundabout way (e.g., ending the battle without resolution) are not legal. [DW, 10 October 1996]

• Reads, "Deeds, Not Words 0G 2FV Political Open: Target another player and "call his or her virtue into question." Until the turn ends, the player gains 1 extra Honor for each duel his or her Personalities win and 1 extra Honor for each opposing card he or she destroys during the Resolution Segment of battle, and whenever the player would gain Honor in another way, the player loses the Honor instead." [MRP, Broken Blades, 8 August 2002]
• The honor loss retains its source and any restrictions against being canceled or redirected. [15 July 1999]
• The affected player gains 1 honor from winning duels with no stated honor gain. [ZF, May 2000]
• May be played against an opponent if you cannot cause your opponent honor losses. [JA, 9 July 2000]
• A redirected honor gain from one of your won duels will cause an opponent targeted by Deeds, Not Words to lose honor. [JA, 31 May 2002]

• Reads, "Defend Your Honor 0G 2FV Political Reaction: Play this card when another player's action makes you lose honor. Negate the Honor loss. One of your unbowed Samurai Personalities may then "challenge the player's honor." The player may either target one of his or her unbowed Personalities to accept the challenge, or refuse the challenge. If the player refuses the challenge or his or her Personality loses the duel, the player loses an amount of Honor equal to the amount you negated." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• If an opponent has no personalities in play, they cannot accept the challenge and must lose the honor you were about to lose. [FAQ]

• The Personality is discarded at the end of the battle regardless of where he or she is (e.g., in play). [Card text; JA, email, 4 December 2002]

• Reads, "Delicate Calculations 0G 3FV Limited: You may attack two players at once this turn. Each player may ally with only one other Player. Each Maneuvers Segment occurs only once. During each battle, only the Province's controller is the Defender. Effects that move cards into or out of battles may move them into or out of any battles in the attack." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Will not allow you to attack on someone else's turn when combined with Plans Within Plans. [DW, 25 September 1997]
• The two Defending players do not have adjacent Provinces. [JA, 8 January 2003]

• Reads, "Dispersive Terrain 0G 1FV Delayed Terrain. Battle: Each defending Personality in this battle gains +2F until the battle ends." [MRP, Winds of Change, July 2003]

• If the first challenge is refused, effects that change the decision after it is made may still be used (e.g., Kitsuki Kiyushichi). [JA, email, 13 October 2004]

• The action is retargeted as though you had played it. [DW, 28 July 1998]

• May freely duplicate challenges arising from actions that may only be used a limited number of times per turn/battle (e.g., Experienced 3 Hitomi). [Reversal, DW, email, 21 August 1998]
• Costs are also duplicated (e.g., Experienced Hitomi Kokujin). [DW, 26 August 1998]

• Reads, "Dragon Tattoo 0G 3FV Limited: Target one of your Personalities with the Tattooed trait and without a Dragon Tattoo. For the rest of the game, the Personality has a Dragon Tattoo and gains the ability "Open: Place one to three 1F/1C Fire tokens on this Personality. This Personality cannot have more than three Fire token and cannot straighten by any means if he or she has any Fire tokens. Remove a Fire token from this Personality instead of straightening him or her during the Straighten Phase." [MRP, An Oni's Fury, 10 December 2001]
• The effects, "cannot have more than three Fire tokens," "cannot straighten by any means if he or she has any Fire tokens," and "remove a Fire token... instead of straightening him or her during the Straighten Phase" are permanent side effects of making Fire tokens. They last for the rest of the game upon using the ability once, even if the ability to add Fire tokens is lost. (Treat Dragon Tattoo's ability as if it said, "For the rest of the game, this Personality cannot have more...") [Reversal, JA, 29 March 2002]

• Does not prevent targeting by actions that might send the personality home (e.g., Stand or Run). [24 July 1999]

• Should read, "Draw Them Out 0G 3FV Political Reaction: Play before a player who has already drawn Fate cards this turn draws one or more Fate cards due to that player's own card or Stronghold effects. The next five Fate cards that player draws this turn (including the ones about to be drawn) are discarded immediately after being drawn. Lose 1 Honor." [Erratum, JA, 20 August 2002]

• Reads, "Duty to the Clan 0G 3FV Reaction: Play this card after a battle Resolution Segment in which one of your Personalities of your Faction was destroyed. Permanently lower the Gold cost of one of your Faction's Personalities that is face up in one of your Provinces to 0." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Reads, "The Egg of P'an Ku 9G 4FV Unique. Limited: Target a Personality, including a Unique Personality or one who will not join you. This card enters play in your home. It becomes a copy of that Personality’s printed card plus all permanent changes in effect on it. None of the Personality’s costs need to be paid and no entering-play effects are produced." [Erratum, JA, web, 8 July 2005]
• Once played, it:
  • Is a Personality permanently [DW, netnews, 4/5/96].
  • Loses its status as a Unique action. [JA, email, 18 November 2003]
• If sent back to your Dynasty Deck, it actually goes in, despite being a Fate card. [DW, 14 November 1997]
• May copy a Singular card. [ML, 5 August 2004]
• If it copies Sentei no Oni, the removal of permanent effects occurs only to those that happened after the Egg of P'an Ku became Sentei no Oni. [ZF, web, April 2005]

• The loss of 7 honor is in addition to any other duel results. [DW, 19 December 1996]

• Reads, "Encircled Terrain 0G 1FV Terrain Battle: Before this battle's resolution, the Attacker and Defender, in the order of your choice, each choose one of his units at the current battlefield. Then, move all other units there home." [MRP, Tomorrow, 12 March 2007]
• Units that may not be sent home with your actions (e.g., Armor of the Mountain) will stay in the battle. [JA, 19 August 2002]

• Reads, "Endless Horde 0G 2G Center Formation. Formed by a Personality with a Follower and a Samurai or Bushi Personality with a Follower. Battle: Target and bow a Follower you control: Target a Follower, an Item, or a Personality with no Followers or Items opposing it. Destroy the opposing target." [MRP, Khan's Defiance, 22 January 2007]

• Last sentence should read, "This may not target an opposing Personality with attached unbowed cards." [JA, 8 July 2003]

• Renamed from "Enough Talk!" [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

Entrapping Terrain

• Reads, "Entrapping Terrain 0G 1FV Delayed Terrain. Battle: This battle ends without resolution. All units go home without bowing." [MRP, Dark Allies, 8 April 2002]

• Increasing the fortification's gold cost is an effect, not a cost. [ZF, 1 August 2000]
• Its Battle action can be used if you are the attacker or an ally. If a fortification is placed on another player's province, you control its abilities. [Reversal, JA, email, 30 August 2000]

• Cannot be played if the Event is not going to resolve. [JA, email, 29 June 2005]
• If the Event card did not physically come from the Province, it is not possible to replace it.[JA, email, 29 June 2005]

• Reads, "Evil Portents 0G 3FV Open: All Shadowlands Personalities and Followers currently in play gain a 1F/1C bonus until the end of the turn. All other Personalities suffer a -1F/-1C penalty." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]

• Reads, "Explosives 6G 2FV Limited: Target a Holding. Destroy it." [MRP, Tomorrow, 12 March 2007]

• Kills a Personality with zero Personal Honor entering the duel. [JA, 3 April 2002]
• Does not create a duel of Personal Honor; it resets Chi values to equal Personal Honor. [JA, 3 April 2002]

• Because it causes a Personality to be affected by Fear "as if he were a Follower," it will have no effect on a Personality belonging to a unit or Clan whose Followers are immune to Fear.
• Does not target the card causing the Fear effect. [JA, 9 January 2003]
• Is played when the Fear effects is created, and cannot be canceled by Reactions to targeting or the beginning of the action's resolution. [JA, 8 December 2003]

• Reads, "Faith in My Clan 0G 3FV Reaction: Cancel an action. Play this card only if a Clan Champion from your Faction is in your army in the current battle." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• Cancels Reactions played before the Defender's first normal Open or Battle action (e.g., Sneak Attack) [VRD, 6 November 2000], but not those occurring during or after the Resolution segment. [Card text]
• Cannot cancel Shiryo no Shoju's reaction, because it happens before the battle action segment. [VRD, 10 January 2001]
• Can cancel a Reaction on any card, not just an Action card. [JA, 24 July 2002]

• Reads, "False Alliance 0G 2FV You must be an ally invited by both the Attacker and the Defender to play this card. Battle: Move all of your units in this battle from the attacking army to the defending army, or vice versa. Lose 4 Honor." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Changes your role from attacking ally to defending ally (or vice versa) for the duration of the current battle only. You retain your original role in all other battles. Any of your units moved from the current battle to another will move into the army on your original side. [JA, 3 April 2002]

• Reads, "Familiar Surroundings 0G 1FV Reaction: Play this card after the last Maneuvers Segment of the Attack Phase. Until the Phase ends, the Defender selects the order in which battles resolve instead of the Attacker." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Kills Personalities who normally cannot be killed by a duel (e.g., Isawa Tsuke). [DW, email, 17 October 1997]

• Reads, "Feign Death 0G 2FV Reaction: Play after a Personality is destroyed to return the Personality to play, bowed, in his previous controller's home, ignoring all costs and restrictions. (Entering-play effects occur. Cards attached to the Personality are not returned to play.) Dishonor the Personality. Lose 2 Honor." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]
• The player who plays Feign Death is the one bringing the Personality intoplay, and is the recipient of entering-play effects. [JA, email, 9 August 2004]
• A Personality with 0 Chi who is returned to play will die, then be dishonored in the discard pile. [JA, email, 29 March 2005]

• Reads, "Feint 0G 0FV Play Feint as a Focus card in a duel. After Focus cards are revealed, you may choose any other card in you hand to add as a Focus." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]

• If an effect destroys multiple cards (e.g., the unit), only the Personality is saved, because the negation only refers to the destruction / penalty mentioned in the cost. [Reversal, JA, email, 7 July 2005]

• Creates additional Honor gains for destroying Regions and Fortifications. [JA, 19 August 2003]
• Only increases Honor gains for the player who put it into play.

• Reads, "Fight to the Setting Sun 0G 2FV Reaction: Play this card when a Resolution Segment in which you had units ends. All units in the battle will bow as if they were attacking units." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Does not bow units, but changes the rules governing if they bow. E.g., Rallying Cry can prevent bowing. [DW, 18 February 1997]

• Reads, "The Final Breath 0G 2G Reaction: After the end of a Resolution Segment during which a Personality you controlled was destroyed: Target a Personality who opposed yours at any time during that Segment and has less Chi than yours had when he was destroyed. Destroy the target." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Cannot save Followers from an effect that destroys the entire unit, because it gets played "when" the leader is destroyed, not immediately before. [DW, email, 2/7/97]

• When reacting to an innate ability, the -2C does not occur until after the ability is fully resolved. [DW, 20 February 1998]

• Will still force the opponent to focus again when played as a striking focus with a Garrote. [DW]
• Takes priority over Iaijutsu Art. [DW, 1/29/98]
• The random focus is picked only from those cards that can be legally focused. [FAQ 3.2]
• Does not fulfill the requirements for subsequent Shouts if used in some way besides its printed effects (e.g., discarded for Tactician). [ZF, 12 June 2001]

• Reads, "Flanking Maneuver 0G 2FV Battle: If your current army has more units than the current enemy army, target and bow one or more units you control at the current battlefield: Target a Personality in the enemy army with a Chi less than or equal to your units’ combined total unit Force, plus the Chi of each Lion Clan Personality in them. Bow the enemy Personality’s unit." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Reads, "Flattery 0G 3FV You must have cards in your hand with total Focus values greater than the opposing army's force to play this card. Battle: Discard cards from your hand one at a time until the total discarded Focus values exceed the opposing army's force, to end the battle without resolution and send all units home without bowing. You may take this action during a battle in which you have no units." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• To play this card without a unit in the battle, you must be either the Attacker, the Defender, or an invited ally. Allies may play it against either side if, and only if, they've been invited by both the Attacker and Defender and have not assigned any troops anywhere.
• You may not play this card if there are no opposing units. [Reversal]
• The total Focus values in hand excluding Flattery must be greater than the opposing army's. [ZF, 11 July 2001]

• Reads, "Flight of Dragons 0G 3FV Battle: All Dragons in this battle fly away (are destroyed). No Honor is lost or gained. This does not refer to Dragon Clan Personalities unless they are considered to be a Dragon." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]

• The player must choose "dishonored" or "not dishonored" for each Personality, regardless of their current status. Nevertheless, those that are already dishonored cannot be dishonored again by the action and will move. [JA, email, 12 April 2005]
• Personalities that were not dishonored can be moved to different battlefields. [Reversal, ZF, web, 29 January 2006]

• Reads, "For the Empire 0G 3FV Limited: One of your Samurai issues an unrefusable challenge to a Shadowlands Personality, or one of your Shadowlands Personalities issues an unrefusable challenge to a Samurai. If the Samurai wins he permanently gains +1 Personal Honor and his controller gains 3 Honor, and if the Shadowlands Personality wins he permanently gains +1F/+1C." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]
• A Shadowlands samurai may challenge either a samurai or a Shadowlands Personality, with the appropriate results. If the challenged Personality also has both traits, you decide who gets which bonus upon winning when you play the card.

• Bowing cannot be prevented by Rallying Cry, because it is an effect of Forced March, not battle. [Card text]

• The forest may belong to any player. [Card text]
• Destroying the forest is a cost. [Erratum]

• The two Personalities need not share the same trait. [ZF, web, 8 February 2005]

• The Stables you bow do not generate gold. You must produce the 3G by other means. [DW, 30 April 1997]

• Reads, "Frenzy 0G 1FV Battle: Target a Personality you control: Dishonor him. Lose 2 Honor. Give him +3F if he is Crab Clan, or +2F otherwise. When the turn ends, destroy all Followers attached to him." [MRP, Khan's Defiance, 22 January 2007]

• Because it is played before the battle action segment, it is always played before cards played "at the start of a battle" or "before the Defender's first action." [JA, 12 December 2001]

• Reads, "Fury of the Dark Lord 15G 4FV Limited: Target and destroy each Human Personality with a printed Gold cost less than his controller’s Stronghold’s Gold Production plus 3. Remove all Personalities in discard piles from the game." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• If 0-1G is spent, the 0 Chi Personality dies and the duel is aborted without resolution. [DW, 18 April 1998]
• If there is no challenge, the created Personality is immediately removed from the game. [ZF, web, 6 December 2005]

• Both players lose 1 honor in a tie. [RD, 15 January 1997]

• Reads, "Gift of Rice 0G 1FV Open: Straighten a target Holding. Until the beginning of your next turn, all Personalities controlled by other players have +1F. If you control the Holding, it can't straighten untill after your next straighten phase." [Erratum, web, 20 August 2006]

• Can be played during battle if the personality who survived the duels is in the battle. [JA, April 2000]

• May be put into play using Armor of Sun-Tao or Oracle of Earth, though you must still bow an appropriate shugenja. [DW, 17 October 1997]
• There must still be an army on both sides for the battle to be a tie. An unopposed army will not be destroyed. [DW, 4/8/98]

• Is played before armies' force totals are calculated. [JA, web, 10 March 2005]

• May not be performed by a Shadowlands Personality, because the cost of gaining the Shadowlands trait cannot be paid.

• Applies to extra actions granted by such cards (e.g., Sneak Attack, Kitsu Motso). [Card text, DW, email, 25 September 1997]

• Does not redirect the action causing the duel. [JA, 10 October 2001]

• Is legal in the current battle regardless of whether units are present, or whether they can be bowed. [ZF, web, 19 November 2005]

• The original player of this card loses the honor when the targeted Personality is destroyed. This may not be the controller of the Personality at that time. [RD, 22 September 1996]
• Causes no honor loss if the targeted Personality is removed from play without being destroyed (e.g., shuffled back into the deck). [JA, 16 October 2000]

• Reads, "Honorable Seppuku 0G 3FV Political Reaction: Play this card after one of your samurai creates, or is targeted by, or is affected by an effect that dishonors him or her or causes you to lose Honor. Lower the loss (if any) to 0, the Samurai commits seppuku, and then you gain Honor equal to the Samurai's Personal Honor." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Can be used in response to bringing a samurai into play who causes an honor loss. [DW, 25 October 1996]
• Cannot be triggered by an honor loss caused by the death of a dishonored samurai, because the samurai is already dead.

• "Target samurai's controller" in the second sentence should read, "Wanted Personality's controller." [JA, 21 March 2003]

• Renamed from I Believed in You... [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]
• Will work on Personalities whose honor requirements were ignored for purposes of coming into play (e.g., Toturi's Army stronghold) but not those ignored continually (e.g., Naga strongholds). [Reversal, DW, email, 4/7/99]

• First ability requires separate targets for each Ranged Attack. [ZF, web, 4 February 2006]

Iaijutsu Art

• Reads, "Iaijutsu Art 0G 1FV Limited: One of your Personalities issues an unrefusable challenge to a Personality with equal or higher Chi. Each Personality focuses exactly once, if possible, and Reactions taken "instead of focusing" cannot be taken. The winner's controller gains 4 Honor. Dishonor the loser." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• If your opponent must strike, the duel resolves immediately and you do not get to focus. If you never got a chance to focus, you weren't "able." [Card text, FAQ]
• You may not use a Reaction that gives you another focus if you have already focused. [Card text] Reactions that only add as though they were focused are legal (e.g., Bend Like a Reed).

• Reads, "Iaijutsu Challenge 0G 2FV Limited: One of your Personalities challenges another player's Personality. If the challenge is refused, Iaijutsu Challenge dishonors the other player's Personality and causes the other player to lose 7 Honor. The winner's controller gains 5 Honor." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• Reads, "Iaijutsu Duel 0G 2FV Battle: A Personality in your army issues an unrefusable challenge to an opposing Personality. You need not control either Personality. If the Personality in your army is not yours and the challenge gains a cost, the controller of the Personality may choose to not pay the cost and send this card back to your hand. The winner's controller gains 5 Honor." [MRP, Broken Blades, 8 August 2002]

• Although they create no effects, Items are still present and may be used to trigger effects that look for those items (e.g., Mirumoto Zenko, Unprepared). [JA, 22 October 2002]
• Effects of actions on items that give bonuses or penalties before a duel begins (e.g., Corrupted Jade Sliver) are not negated. [JA, email, 1 August 2003]

• You are not forced to discard cards to make up the difference if you have fewer than three unbowed Personalities or Followers in the battle and allow them all to become bowed. [DW, 29 May 1996]
• If you want to keep any of them unbowed, however, the number of cards you do bow, plus the number of cards you discard, must equal three. [DW, 26 July 1996]
• Starting with the active player, each player makes bowing/discarding decisions in turn, before the next player makes any.

• May be used on an honor loss redirected to its original player. [JA, 14 December 2001]

• Payment is not mandatory. The Holding's controller may destroy it even if he or she can afford the cost. [DW, 5/1/97]

• Reads, "In Search of the Future 0G 3FV Battle: Even if you control no units at the current battlefield: Reduce all existing Force bonuses applying to cards at the current battlefield to +0F until the turn ends. This does not affect bonuses applied by a card to itself or to another card in the same unit." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]
• See Bonuses and penalties.
• Is legal in the current battle if there is a card in it, regardless of whether there are opposing units or any force bonuses in the battle. [ZF, web, web 19 November 2005]

• Does not automatically cause Fear to bow Personalities. It overrides immunity, not the rule that Fear only affects Followers. [VRD, 16 November 2000]

• Reads, "Intersecting Highways 0G 1FV Battle Terrain: All allied Personalities in this Battle gain a 2F bonus until the end of the turn." [MRP, Scorpion Clan Coup]

• Reads, "Investigation 2G 3FV Reaction: When an Assassin action, Ninja action, or Kolat action targets you, your Stronghold, or any of your cards or tokens, negate all of the action's effects except Honor losses to the player taking the action and make the player lose 5 Honor." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Reads, "Judgement of Toshiken 0G 2FV Reaction: Play this card after players reveal Focus cards in a duel. Resolve the duel only by the Chi (or other stat noted on the card creating the duel) of the dueling Personalities before the challenge, plus the Focus cards' printed Focus values. The Double Chi trait works as usual. If either Personality has not focused, each can focus an extra time, starting with the challenged Personality." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Applies for the entire duration of the duel. Cards played after it are subject to its effects.
• Reactions and other card effects may still be legally played during a duel, and will have their full effect for their normal duration after the duel resolves (e.g., Poisoned Weapon). [VRD, 3 July 2001]
• Cannot prevent Another Time from taking effect, because it resolves as soon as it is revealed.
• Prevents automatic win from Unprepared, because revealing Focus cards is part of duel resolution. [JA, 30 July 2002]
• Applies to effects that change who wins/loses/ties a duel, not those that alter what happens when a Personality wins/loses/ties. [JA, 26 September 2000] Thus, it will not beat the "win instead of losing if tied" trait of Doji Reju and Hitomi Reju. [Reversal, JA, 23 September 2000]
• Neither Personality may strike in place of focusing again. [JA, 10 December 2001]
• Whether one Personality focuses does not affect whether the other may focus. [JA, 14 December 2001]
• There is a "reveal focus cards" step after any extra cards are focused. Cards that have an effect when revealed operate normally (e.g., Another Time). [JA, 2 May 2002]
• Restores the working of Double Chi if a card suppressed it (e.g., Shreiking Mujina). [JA, email, 16 September 2002]
• Restores the ability to focus if it was prevented. [JA, 15 July 2003]

Keen Eye: See General Rules, Duels.

Kharmic Strike

• Renamed from Karmic Strike. [MRP, Reign of Blood, 8 December 2003]
• Doesn't necessarily kill both duelists; it makes both suffer whatever would normally happen to the loser. [Card text]
• Changing one duelist's Chi (e.g., Poisoned Weapon) will not break the tie (although it could kill one of them prematurely). [Card text]
• If named by Hantei Sensei, it is considered to have a blank text box. [JA, 7 July 2000]

• Reads, "Kiss of the Scorpion 0G 2FV Reserve Formation. Formed by 2 Samurai Personalities and 1 Ninja Personality. You may use these actions two times, combined, per battle. Battle: Target and bow a Personality you control at the current battlefield: Target a Personality opposing him. Bow the opposing Personality. Battle: Target a Personality in the enemy army with no cards attached. Bow him." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• May cancel any Action card with a Battle action on it, even if the Battle action was not used. [JA, email, 22 March 2002]

• Reads, "Kolat Assassin 10G 3FV Limited: Destroy a Personality with under 5 Chi. Lose 4 Honor. Limited: Destroy a Retainer. Lose 4 Honor." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Reads, "Kolat Master 10G 2FV Limited: Take control of another player's Personality with under 4 Chi for the rest of the game. Destroy each of the Personality's Followers with an Honor requirement over 0. Lose 4 Honor." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• You are bound by all restrictions and requirements of the Personality, including minimum honor. [DW, email, 18 March 1999]
  • The honor loss caused by Kolat Recruiter itself does not occur until after the Personality is in play. [Card text]
• Coming into play effects are not waived. E.g., Oni no Akuma destroys its Province. [Card text]
• You do not gain honor if the Personality belongs to your clan. [6/9/99]
• When used on a face-up card, targets a particular card type. Thus, a response to targeting a card type (e.g., Way of Shadow) can be played (provided that the response does not require the targeted card be in play; e.g., you could not use a response that triggers when one of "your" cards is targeted). [9/10/99]

• If used with a Jade Arrow or Crystal Arrow, the strength of the second attack is based on the ranged attack you selected to enable the use of the Arrow. [DW, 5/6/98]
• Allows two Jade Arrows and/or Crystal Arrows to be fired. [DW, 18 May 1998]

• Reads, "Legendary Victory 0G 2FV Battle: Play Legendary Victory as the Attacker or Defender when your opponent's army has a higher total Force than your army. Double your total Honor Award if you win this battle (after other bonuses). You may only play one Legendary Victory per battle." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]
• Is Political. [Rulebook]

• Should read, "Lessons from the Past 0G 4FV Limited: If you have a later version of a Personality in play and an earlier version face-up in your Province, play the earlier version under the later version as if the later version were brought outto 'update' the earlier version." [Fire & Shadow rulebook erratum to MRP, Ambition's Debt foil]

• Causes an unconditional honor loss until certain events happen. Thus, cannot be used by Shadowlands players. [JA, 21 July 2000]

• Reads, "Let Your Spirit Guide You 0G 0FV When you play this card as a Focus card in a duel or use its Focus value for a Tactical action performed by a Personality, set its Focus value to the Personality's Personal Honor plus 3." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]
• The card's text resets its Focus value, which applies after other changes if it is the latest one. [Reversal, JA, email, 6 December 2001]

• The Ashigaru tokens' Gold cost cannot be lowered. [Erratum, Fire & Shadow rulebook]
• You only lose 1 honor the first time a token is removed. [DW, 29 May 1996]

• Reads, "Lies, Lies, Lies... 0G 2FV Political Limited: If you have less than your starting Family Honor and you control no Kolat, Ninja, or Shadowlands cards, or cards that cause you an Honor loss when played, either gain 8 Honor or raise your Family Honor to your starting Family Honor, whichever gains you less honor." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Once the size of the honor gain is determined, it is not recalculated if it is redirected to another player.

• Reads, "Low Morale 0G 1FV Open: Target a unit. Bow all Followers in it." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Reads, "Loyal Yojimbo 0G 4FV Reaction: Play before one of your bowed or unbowed Personalities is destroyed by a duel or by another player's card effect to negate the destruction. Bow the Personality. Dishonor the Personality if the destruction was the result of a duel. You cannot play this Reaction during battle." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• You may not add new copies to replace destroyed ones during a tournament. [JA, 26 March 2003]
• If you take control of another player's copy, you cannot destroy it to pay its cost without that player's permission. [JA, 17 July 2003]

• Ability it grants may be used any number of times per turn. [Erratum, Lotus Edition rulebook, 31 October 2005]

• If only one personality is bowed, nobody gains honor. [Card text, JA]
• You may only bow your own personalities. [ZF, 20 May 2000]

• Reads, "Martyr 0G 3FV Reaction: Play this card after the death of your Personality, targeting the card that destroyed him, or her. That card's controller loses 5 Honor. In a battle, the target may be any Personality in the opposing army." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]
• May not be played against an opposing Personality after a tied battle or duel, because it is played after your Personality dies, at which point the card that killed him is no longer in play either. [DW, 26 February 1997, 3/11/97]
• If your Personality died as a result of a battle or duel, Martyr's only legal target is an opposing Personality. [DW, email, 14 July 1997]
• In the case of a Spell or Item, this is generally the Personality holding that card and not the card itself. [Reversal, DW, email, 1/10/98]
• May not be used if the action killed the Personality by generating a Chi penalty (or other stat change). [JA, 30 November 2000]

• The phrase "this card" in the second-to-last sentence refers to the terrain card, not Master's Tactics.
• Will not override an effect that prohibits you from playing terrains (e.g., Secluded Ravine). [DW, 28 July 1998]
• Will make the terrain uncounterable by generic card-countering effects (e.g., Mujina Tricks). Master's Tactics can usually be countered instead, however.

• Can be played as long as no other player controls a Courtier with an equal or greater total Chi + Personal Honor than the Courtier you bowed. [ML, 24 April 2004]

• If Mists of Illusion has been used, nothing can be "spared" for Mercy because nothing is going to be destroyed. [DW, netnews, 3/11/96]
• Attacker has the option of sparing the defending Province.
• Multiples are not cumulative. [DW, 12/2/97]
• Is not Political. [Reversal, DW]

• May redirect any one Ranged Attack in a series of consecutive Ranged Attacks. [JA, email, 7 December 2004]

• Is distinct from the Anvil of Despair card of the same name. [DW, 16 September 1997]
• Cannot be played along with another card with an illegally low focus value to make it legal. [Reversal, DW, email, 10 October 1997]

• If played during a duel of Force, your Moto Personality may not straighten if the opposing Personality has played any face-down focus cards. [VD, email, 18 April 2003]

• Is not a Creature card. [ZF, 11 June 2000]

• Reads, "Mushin 0G 2FV Battle: Take two consecutive Open or Battle actions after this one." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Bowed cards provide their full Force because Musubi refers to "Personality," not "unit," Force.
• May target any appropriate Personality, not just your own. [Reversal, JA, email, 30 August 2000]

• Hand size is checked once, when revealed. [ZF, web, 20 November 2005]

• Reads, "Nemesis 0G 2FV Limited: Target one of your Personalities without a "nemesis" and another player's Personality. The other Personality is your Personality's nemesis until the other Personality leaves play. While your Personality faces the nemesis in battle or a duel, your Personality gains +2F/+3C." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Is not a Formation. [JA, 31 March 2003]

• Does not automatically cause Fear to bow Personalities. It overrides immunity, not the rule that Fear only affects Followers. [VRD, 8 November 2000]

• Can steal item tokens. [DJ; RD, 21 April 1996]

• May not be used to force a focus from anywhere except the player's Fate hand, even if the player has a card effect that would allow him or her to do so. [JA, 29 October 2002]

• Reads, "No Victory 3G 4FV You may play only one No Victory per duel. Iaijutsu Reaction: After a duel ends that you won against the most expensive Personality another player controlled (including ties): Create a 5F/4C Samurai Duelist Personality with 3 Personal Honor in your home or at the current battlefield. Remove him from the game at the end of your next turn." [MRP, Drums of War, 22 May 2006]

• Reads, "Oath of Fealty 0G 3FV Limited: Your Personalities "swear fealty" to you. Each of your Personalities without your Faction's trait permanently gains +1F/+1C and your Faction's trait and permanently loses any other Faction traits (except Monk, Naga, Ninja, Ratling or Spirit) and the Unaligned trait." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• If a more Experienced Personality is overlaid over a less Experienced version that has been affected by Oath of Fealty, any Faction traits possessed by the earlier version that were removed by Oath of Fealty are still gone. Any new Faction traits of the more Experienced version are kept. [ZF, netnews, 8 March 2001]

• Reads, "Occupied Terrain 0G 1FV Battle: Terrain During the resolution phase, if the Defender's Province is being destroyed, the Attacking Player may select one of the Defender's holdings which is destroyed instead of the Province." [MRP, Scorpion Clan Coup]

• "A duel where the loser is killed" refers to the actual outcome of the duel, not the normal outcome. Cards such as Fatal Mistake, e.g., will affect whether this card can be played. [DW, email, 17 October 1997]

• Reads, "Officers' Council 0G 2FV Limited: Target and bow a Personality you control; he must be a Tactician unless you control the Right Hand of the Emperor: Target a number of other Personalities you control up to the performing Personality’s Chi. Give them the ability, “Battle: Bow this card: Target an opposing card with no unbowed cards attached. Bow it.”" [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• "Any copy" includes the original card, should it be recycled somehow. [JA, 22 August 1999]
• Will not prevent the attaching of a kiho to a Personality by Blessings of Isawa, nor its use once attached, because that does not involve "playing" the kiho again. [JA, January 2000]
• Does not target the Action card. [JA, email, 26 August 2002]
• May be triggered by an Action card when an effect due to its trait resolves (e.g., Kharmic Strike). [ZF, 1 January 2003]
• Second sentence should read, "cannot play any copy of that Action card for effect." [ZF, 1 January 2003]

• Does not destroy any Personalities in play. It just makes them all Unique. [DW, email, 11/3/98]
• "(Players may not bring a Personality with that name into play)" is just a reminder of the effects of Uniqueness. If all copies of the now-Unique Personality leave play, a new one may be brought in. [DW, email, 11/3/98]
• Multiple Unique Personalities may not be overlayed independently with different Experienced versions. [Reversal, JA, 31 August 2000]

• Raises the requirements for an Honor Victory for all players. [JA, 25 June 2002]

• Reads, "Outmaneuvered by Tactics 3G 3FV Tactical Battle: Target a Tactician you control at the current battlefield: Create two 2F/1C 2 Personal Honor Personalities aligned with your Faction at the current battlefield." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Reads, "Outer Walls 0G 3FV Battle: Even if you control no units at the current battlefield: Give its Province +3 Strength. Reaction: After a Ranged Attack is targeted: Give it -2 Strength." [MRP, Tomorrow, 12 March 2007]

• Reads, "Overconfidence 0G 2FV Reaction: After a Personality gains a Force bonus greater than or equal to his printed Chi, bow that Personality. The Personality cannot straighten during his controller's next Straighten Phase." [MRP, The Hidden City, 26 April 2004]
• May be played if the force bonus has no net effect (e.g., Matsu Domotai). [JA, 21 February 2002]
• May be played during a duel of force if it is known that a focus is sufficiently large enough to be a legal trigger. [JA, 21 February 2002]

• Reads, "Overwhelmed 0G 2 FV Battle: Target and destroy an unbowed Personality you control at the current battlefield with the highest Force (including ties) of all Personalities you control there: The enemy leader may target and move home exactly 2 units in his current army. If he does not or cannot, he targets and destroys a Personality in his army with the highest Force (including ties) of all Personalities in his army." [MRP, Khan's Defiance, 22 January 2007]

• Only Personalities in play receive the bonus.

• Reads, "The Path of Wisdom 0G 3FV Before your End Phase begins, if this card is in your discard pile, you may place it in your hand." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Reads, "Peasant Vengeance 0G 1FV Battle: Target and bow a Follower you control: Target a Personality opposing it who has no Followers or Items. Destroy him." [MRP, Khan's Defiance, 22 January 2007]

• Is not Political. [Rulebook]

• The reduction of honor to 39 is an ordinary, preventable honor loss. [DW]
• The reduction of honor occurs after any honor-gaining Reactions played during the duel.
• Can be used by Shadowlands players because it only causes an honor loss if the challenge is refused or lost.

• If an effect cancels the movement of a unit into the battle, the chosen Personality is shuffled back into the Dynasty deck. [DW, 22 June 1998]
• Is not restricted to the current battle. [27 July 1999]

• Only Personalities in play receive the bonus. [JA, 20 September 2001]

• The one Personality destroyed is destroyed by the battle, not by Pick Your Battles. [ZF, 3 September 2003]

• Personality may not take actions causing an honor gain for any player. [VRD, 4 December 2000]
• Personality may take actions that might cause an honor gain (e.g., Iaijutsu Challenges) [VRD, 4 December 2000]

• Reads, "Poisoned Weapon 0G 2FV Reaction: Play this card during a duel after players reveal Focus cards (if any) and before the duel resolves. Lower the Chi of the other player's Personality by 3. (If a Personality in a duel is destroyed before the duel resolves, the duel ends without resolution.) Lose 4 Honor. This action does not target the Personality." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Is not an action taken by the Personality in the duel. E.g., you cannot react with Honorable Seppuku. [DW, 24 September 1996]
• The player clockwise from the active player has the first chance to play this card, because "after players reveal focus cards" is not triggered by any one player's decision or action. [JA, 27 September 2002]

• Effects in which honor loss is a cost cannot be used while Political Distraction is in play, unless the effect says the loss can't be canceled or changed. [DW, 13 February 1998]

• Affects actions as they are announced, and thus affects actions on cards that are not in play. [Reversal, ZF, web, 9 June 2005]

• Negates costs of refusing (e.g., the discard to refuse Facing Your Devils). [DW, email, 3 August 1999]
• Does not force players to accept challenges (e.g., Defend Your Honor). [ZF, 6 August 2000]

• If the Weapon is providing any bonus beyond what's printed at the top of the card, A Pure Stroke has no effect.

• Bowing a Courtier is a cost. [ZF, web, 7 May 2005]

• Reads, "Rain of Death 0G 4FV Center Formation. Formed by two Personalities with the printed Tactician trait. Tactical Battle: Target a Tactician you control at the current battlefield: He produces two consecutive Ranged 3 Attacks. Tactical Battle: Bow and destroy a Tactician you control at the current battlefield: Target two cards opposing him that have no unbowed cards attached. Destroy them." [MRP, Drums of War, 22 May 2006]

• Rally Troops can respond to any effect that would kill the leader, even one that would kill the Followers as well (e.g., Heart of the Inferno). All Followers moved to a surviving Personality are saved. [Netnews, 25 February 1996]
• Ignore the "this turn" restriction on the card. You can move the Followers to any unbowed unit(s) not currently assigned to a battle. [DW, email, 25 April 1997]

• Does not straighten cards bowed before battle resolution (e.g., from using an ability, being sent home bowed).

• Is not a Creature card. [ZF, 17 June 2000]

• Reads, "Refugees 0G 2FV Battle: If you are the Defender, you may take this action even if you control no units at the current battlefield: Move home a target Personality without Followers. Bow him if he moved. His controller may pay 1 Gold as a cost to create a 1F Ashigaru Follower card to him and attach it to him." [MRP, Tomorrow, 12 March 2007]

• Reads, "Refuse Advantage 0G 3FV Battle: You may only play this card as the Attacker or Defender when your army is facing an army (with units) with a lower total Force than your army's total Force. Apply a penalty until the end of the battle to your Army's Force sufficient to reduce the Force total of your Army to equal that of the opposing army. You gain 8 additional Honor if you win the battle." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]
• Is not Political. [Rulebook]

• Reads, "Reinforce the Gates 0G 2FV Reaction: After a player announces a Battle action before the Defender's first normal opportunity to act or pass: Negate the action's effects. Battle: Even if you control no units in at the current battlefield. Target an appropriate unit there. Move the unit to a target battlefield where it would be opposed." [MRP, Tomorrow, 12 March 2007]

• If targeting your own opposing Ninube Ogoku, units replacing her cannot move into the opposing army, because that would be illegal for them. Relief says units go into / out of "this battle," and nothing about which army. [ZF, May 2000]

• Should read, "Rend the Soul 0G 0FV If this card is focused in a duel, raise its Focus value by 5. If your Personality wins, the duel is considered a tie instead. Battle: Give one of your Personalities in this battle +5F. If that Personality is in your army when it wins this battle, this battle is tied instead. Your army cannot destroy Provinces this battle." [Erratum, JA, 27 August 2004]
• If used with a Personality who wins ties (e.g., Doji Reju):
  • If the Personality is ahead in Chi (or whatever stat is used in the duel), Rend the Soul makes it a tie, then the Personality turns it back into a win.
  • If, however, it's truly a tie, then the Personality turns it into a win, then Rend the Soul turns it back into a tie. [JA, 31 March 2003]

• Reads, "Retreat 0G 2FV Battle: Any one of your units is removed from this battle bowed. The Personality is Dishonored if your army had a higher total Force when this card was played. This action can target a bowed Personality." [MRP, Pearl Edition]

• Causes an Attack to be declared. [JA, email, 11 June 2004]

• If a Personality with Double Chi is substituted for the challenging Personality, the new Personality may use Double Chi. [Reversal, JA, 14 March 2003]

• Reads, "Rhetoric 0G 3FV Political Reaction: Before any player gains or loses Honor, bow one of your Courtiers with Chi greater than or equal to the gain or loss to redirect the gain or loss to a different player." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• Should read, "is not currently assigned." [DW, 18 February 1997]

• Is Political. [Rulebook]

• Reads, "A Samurai's Fury 0G 1FV Reaction: After resolving Delayed Terrains (if any), target a Samurai you control at the current battlefield with more than 2 Chi: Take an Open or Battle action." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]
• If used to take a terrain-replacing action (e.g., Go Master), the new terrain will not resolve since the time for terrain resolution has passed. [RD, email, 31 May 1997] It counts as playing a terrain for that battle, however. [FAQ 3.5]
• If you take an action that gives you extra actions (e.g., Mushin), you get those too. [26 May 1999]

• Does not return a Region that was destroyed back into play when the battle ends. [JA, email, 7 December 2004]

• Is Political. [Rulebook]

• Multiples played on one unit are not cumulative, because all result in the controller being allowed to cancel an action exactly once. [ZF, 20 April 2003]

• Cost reduction only applies to Spells put into play with Scroll Cache. [JA, 2 June 2003]

• If redirected, you can attempt to remove any trait allowed (even if the new target Personality has none of them). [ML, 27 May 2004]

• Any number may be played after just one First Shout. [FAQ 3.2]
• May not be played even as a face-down normal focus if the First Shout requirement is not met. [FAQ 3.2]
• Does not have to be played the same way the First Shout was. [FAQ 3.2]
• Does not fulfil the requirements for subsequent Shout if used in some way besides its printed effects (e.g., discarded for Tactician). [ZF, 12 June 2001]

• Targets you and not your Personality. [JA, 6 February 2003]
• Is a Reaction taken instead of focusing. [Erratum, JA, 19 March 2003]
• Does not allow you to add to your focus or to focus two cards. [JA, email, 10 February 2003, 20 March 2003]
• The focus from the top of the deck it creates can be responded to with a Reaction triggered by focusing (provided the Reaction does not have other limitations, e.g., responding only to focusing from your hand; e.g., Tsuma Dojo). [ML, web, 18 March 2005; web, 24 March 2005]

• Reads, "Shadowed Path to Victory 0G 3FV Battle: If you are the Attacker in a battle at a Province: Create two 1F/1C Personalities under the Defender's control in the Defender's army. Remove them from the game after two more Battle or Open actions have resolved." [Erratum, BK, web, 13 March 2007, effective 12 April 2007]

• Reads, "Shadowlands Sickness 0G 2FV This is not considered a Shadowlands card. Open: Bow a Shadowlands Personality." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• You may bow any Shadowlands personality. [ZF, 20 May 2000]

• Can only pay for the cost in the Fate card's center gold coin / grey diamond. [ZF, January 2000]

• Is Political. [Rulebook]

• Reads, "Shame 0G 3FV Political Limited: Target a Dishonored Personality. The Personality's controller lose 7 Honor. No more copies of Shame may target that Personality until he is restored to honor and dishonored again." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• You gain honor even if no card is destroyed. [ML, 6 November 2004]

• Its effect ends when the ninja action begins. [DW, email, 16 September 1998]
• Because targeting precedes taking the action, a ninja affected by Shinobi can target a personality that could normally not be targeted by ninja (e.g., Experienced 2 Bayushi Kachiko). [ZF, netnews, 4 September 2000]

• First ability allows all followers attached to the relevant Personality type to straighten. [ZF, web, 28 August 2005]

• Targets your Personality but not the opponent's Personality when used in a duel. [JA, 5 February 2003]

• Reads, "Show Me Your Stance 0G 1FV Iaijutsu Battle: One of your Human Personalities issues an unrefusable challenge to an opposing Human Personality to a duel of Personal Honor. The winner gains 2 Honor. Dishonor the loser and send him home bowed." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• The prohibition on declaring an attack, and attaching cards, remains if you take control of the Personality permanently (e.g., Loyalty Renewed). [JA, 12 May 2003]
• "While he or she is under your control" is a duration, not a condition. Restrictions so described end when the Personality leaves play (even if he or she returns to play; e.g., Feign Death, Suitengu's Surge). (Note that the end of this these restrictions is specific to Show of Good Faith, not an application of any general rule on effect durations.) [JA, 26 February 2004]
• If a later effect gives you control of the Personality, that duration takes precedent over the one listed. [JA, 26 February 2004]

• Read, "Slaughter the Scout 0G 2FV Reaction: After a target unit moves into a Province opposing one of your target Personalities, bow your Personality to destroy that unit." MRP, Web of Lies, 7 December 2004]
• If two units move into a battle together (e.g., with Luring Tactics), neither one counts as moving into the other's battle. [JA, 12 December 2001]

• Reads, "Sneak Attack 0G 3FV Reaction: After a Battle Action Segment begins: The Attacker has the first opportunity to take an action or pass during this battle. Play proceeds in turn order from him after that." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]
• Changes who gets the first normal Battle or Open action. Other players may still use Reactions that occur before the first Battle or Open action (e.g., Purusha). [FAQ 3.10]

• If a Personality has focused with more than one card, Smoke and Mirrors removes only the top one. [Card text]

• Only affects Focus values during duels. [VRD, 18 November 2000; JA, 8 June 2001]

• Is performed by the Personality. [JA, 9 June 2001]

• Only the Personality adds to the force of the unit when the Personality is bowed; unbowed Followers do not. [Reversal, JA, 1 August 2003]

• The attacker / defender may bow allied units. [FAQ]
• Initially targets another player, not their cards (Card text). May be played if you are a Yodin Sensei player, but if played against you in a multi-player game, you may not bow allied Personalities. [JA, 4 December 2001]
• The first effect always occurs (or attempts to) and always targets Personalities (i.e., Reactions to an action targeting a Personality are always playable). It does not sometimes skip to the second, untargeted effect. [JA, 18 December 2001]

• Reads, "Stand Or Run 0G 2FV Iaijutsu Battle: One of your Samurai Personalities issues a challenge to an opposing Personality. If the challenge is refused, send the opponent home bowed. A bowed Personality cannot refuse this challenge." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• If it targets a token follower, the Follower's controller can opt to have Stern Reprimand try to send it into his or her hand, which removes it from the game instead. [Reversal, JA, 23 October 2003]

• Can increase the strength of ranged attacks that do not target cards (e.g., Burn it Down). [ZF, April 2000]

• The additional bowing is not a cost of the action to be performed. E.g., Steep Terrain will not prevent it. [DW, email, 18 March 1999]
• The additional bowing is done prior to any aspect of the action it precedes, including targeting. [Card text]
• Multiples are not cumulative. [JA, December 1999]

• Only counters one use of Fear. [DW, 20 May 1996]

• Reads, "Immediate Terrain. Battle: Other players' Personalities who moved into your army with an action gain +2F while at this battle. While Strategic Crossroad is in play, all players may take the action, "Battle: Move one of your units into this battle from any other location." [MRP, Wrath of the Emperor, 23 August 2004]
• Action cannot be used during Ambush because it is not an action of the card; it is an action which is given to players. [JA, 20 February 2004]

• Reads, "Street to Street 0G 1FV Immediate Terrain. Battle: All Followers at this battle detach and are no longer in units. When this Battle Action Segment ends or this Terrain is destroyed, each Follower's controller must attach the Follower to one of his or her Personalities in this battle. Destroy any Follower that any player cannot legally attach." [MRP, An Oni's Fury, 10 December 2001]
• Lone Followers do not contribute to your army's total Force. [15 July 1999]
• A Personality who cannot be targeted with actions (e.g., Kitsuki Kaagi's Journal) cannot re-attach Followers. [JA, 29 October 2001]
• Bowed Personalities controlled by the player who put Street to Street into play cannot re-attach Followers; bowed Personalities controlled by other players can re-attach Followers. [JA, 29 October 2001]
• Followers in units entering a battle with the terrain already in play do not detach. [JA, 22 February 2002]

• May not be played during Test of the Jade Champion. [Netnews, 16 July 1999]

• Reads, "Strike at the Tail 0G 2FV Battle: Bow one of your units to destroy a number of opposing Followers with total Force less than or equal to the Force your unit had before bowing. If a Unicorn Clan Personality leads your unit, the unit gains +2F for this effect." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Reads, "Strike of Flowing Water 0G 3FV When you focus this card, double the Focus value of the next card you focus in this duel. Reaction: When one of your Personalities would focus, instead discard all cards focused by both Personality's controllers for the duel and negate the discarded cards' effects." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Is cumulative with the Double Chi trait. [DW, email, 5/7/97]

• To shuffle this card into your deck after you play it, the extra 2 Gold cost must be added while the card is being paid for. [JA, 5 October 2004]

• You can only return cards that came from your hand. [DW, October 1997]
• You cannot retrieve cards that only add as though focused. [Netnews, 24 June 1999]

• Its effects end if the targeted personality dies. [ZF, 2 June 2000]

• Reads, "Superior Strategist 0G 3FV Tactical Battle: Target a Tactician you control: Search your Fate deck for an Action card with a Battle or Open action or for a Formation card. If you find a card, take a Battle or Open action to play it." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Reads, "Surrender 0G 3FV Reaction: Play this card during the Resolution Segment of a battle you have lost. Your opponent loses 1 Honor instead of gaining 2 Honor for each card he or she destroys this segment. Your opponent may "spare" and not destroy any of your units to gain 2 Honor for each card in those units as if he or she destroyed them." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• Cannot be played during a tied battle. [JA, 14 June 2002]

• Units that leave during the Resolution Segment (e.g., Pick Your Battles) are not affected. [JA, 12 May 2003]

• Allows complete rearranging of all your assigned Tacticians. [DW, 27 November 1999]
• Moves units into and out of battles. [ZF, 19 June 2001]

• If you need to know whether you have units in the battle (a yes/no question between "zero" and "more than zero"), ignore a unit led by a Personality with a Void Tattoo. If a particular number of units matters (e.g., "one" for Come One at a Time), do not ignore the unit. [JA, 30 May 2003]

• If the second ability is used, a combined Ranged Attack cannot mix Battle actions and Reactions. [ML, 8 January 2005]

• Reads, "A Test of Courage 0G 2FV Reaction: Before an action moves a Personality you control from a battlefield: Target the Personality. Negate all the action’s remaining effects. You cannot target the Personality with actions or bow him to pay action costs until the turn ends." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]
• May not be used when a Personality is removed from a Maneuvers Segment (e.g., Daidoji Ekiken) [JA, 20 January 2003]

• Reads, "Test of Honor 6G 2FV Political Limited: Target a Human Personality. Discard the top card of his controller’s Fate deck. If that card’s Focus value is greater than the target’s Personal Honor, Dishonor and destroy the target." [MRP, Tomorrow, 12 March 2007]

• Any number may be played after just one Second Shout. [FAQ 3.2]
• May not be used as a face-down normal focus if the Second Shout requirement is not met. [FAQ 3.2]
• Does not have to be played the same way the Second Shout was. [FAQ 3.2]

• Is Political. [Rulebook]
• Doubles all honor gains and losses that occur during, or are triggered by, resolution (e.g., Kakita Shijin). [DW, 12/2/97]

• Reads, "To Do What We Must 0G 3FV Battle: Target and destroy a unit you control led by an unbowed Personality: Target a unit opposing it with total Force less than or equal to your unit’s total Force, plus your Personality’s Personal Honor, plus 2 if your Personality is Crane Clan. Destroy the opposing unit." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]
• If the unit's Followers are moved away (e.g., Rally Troops, Hardy Infantry), they won't count towards the strength of the effect since they're removed before the leader is destroyed. [DW, email, 2/7/97]

• Requires the winning player to destroy cards and tokens with a total Force no less than half that of the defeated army, not every individual card / token with that Force or higher. [DW, 19 June 1997]
• Allies' cards and tokens may be destroyed. [Card text]
• Does not force any destruction if the losing army's total Force was 0, because half of 0 is 0.

• Reads, "Today We Die 0G 1FV Limited: Target a Samurai Personality. For the rest of the game, that Samurai cannot lobby, and at the end of each of his controller's Action Phases, if he is able to attack, his controller must declare an attack and assign him. The Samurai permanently gains +1F/+1C after each time he is in a battle during its resolution. Only one Today We Die may be played on a Personality per game." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• If a Personality with this tattoo uses it during a duel he or she entered via He's Mine!, He's Mine! is canceled, causing the Personality not to enter the duel or bow, while the Personality originally in the duel stays bowed. [JA, 13 March 2002]

• Reads, "Touching the Void 0G 2FV Limited: If you have no cards in your hand after playing this card, permanently lower your maximum hand size by one, and draw four extra cards during your End Phase this turn." [MRP, Web of Lies, 7 December 2004]

• Reads, "Traversable Terrain 0G 1FV You can only play this card if you have one or more units in this battle.Battle Terrain: Move one of your units into this battle from the Province it is attacking or defending." [MRP, Soul of the Empire]

• Effects that give a bonus based on how many of a certain type of card is in play gives its full bonus under this Terrain (e.g., Ancestral Sword, Crab Clan Oni). All that matters is that the card providing the bonus is in the unit; the cards that the bonus is based on may be anywhere. [DW, email, 4/9/97]

• Reads, "Tribute to Your House 0G 1FV Political Limited: As a cost, destroy your rightmost Province. Until the beginning of your next turn, the player or players with the highest Family Honor are considered to have Family Honor equal to their starting Family Honor. This is not considered an Honor loss. Honor gains and losses occur as usual during this period and affect the player's true Family Honor." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]
• Checks for what player(s) has the highest Honor only when first played. [JA, email, 10 November 2003]

• Units led by bowed Personalities do not contribute force to their army's total Force, regardless of what stat the Personality would add to the army's Force total if he or she were unbowed. [JA, 15 October 2001]
• Should say, "Unit's force," not "army force." [JA, 27 September 2002]

• You may not attach cards from your Fate hand using an action on a card in play, unless it waives attachment restrictions (e.g., Kitsu). [ZF, netnews, 28 February 2001]

• Is Political. [Rulebook]

• Reads, "Unexpected Find 0G 1FV Reaction: After you overpay a Gold cost by 1 or more Gold: Put this card into play in your home bowed. Draw a card during your next End Phase. Reaction: When bowing a Holding to produce gold, bow and discard this card from your home. Produce 1 Gold." [Erratum, web, 20 August 2006]
• First ability cannot be used while the card is in play. [ZF, web, 31 July 2006]

• Bowing is a one-time effect when played, rather than recurring every time while the terrain is in play. [JA, email, 18 April 2005]

• Reads, "Unrequited Love 0G 2FV Political Open: If it is the Action Phase: Target an unbowed Human Personality controlled by the active player. That player decides whether this card bows the Personality and gives the player 1 Honor, or whether it Dishonors the Personality and makes the player lose Honor equal to the target’s printed Personal Honor." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Players are limited to one of each Ring in their deck but not to one of each in play, so you may play A Vision of Truth if a player satisfies a Ring condition an additional time after playing the Ring earlier.

• A player does not need to have a unit in the battle to destroy a Personality or Follower. [ZF, 20 April 2003]

• If played on a Personality only straightens during your straighten phase (e.g., Kukojin (Experienced 2 Hitomi Kukojin), a Personality with Spider Tatoo), he or she can only straighten during the target player's straighten phase. [JA, 31 January 2003]

• Each of these cards can counter the playing of further instances of itself since each contains its own target keyword in its text. [RD, email, 6/11/97]
• When a Personality is performing an action via an action card, the words on the action card are the only ones that matter. [DW, email, 5/6/98]
• The Personality gains the "Adept of (Element)" trait.

• Renamed from The Way of Death. [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

Way of Deception

• Reads, "Way of Deception 0G 2FV Battle: Switch the locations of two of your units led by unbowed Personalities. These units are not considered to be moving." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Cancels actions, and negates non-action effects. [ZF, 6 August 2000]

• Reads, "Wedge 0G 2FV Battle: Battle: Target a unit you control at the current battlefield. You cannot target cards in the unit with actions until after the battle ends. Destroy the unit when the battle ends. If the unit is still at the battlefield at the beginning of the Resolution Segment, double the Force of the Personality and each Follower in the unit." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]
• Multiples are not cumulative.
• A defending Personality may be saved by Explored Territory, because defending Personalities remain at the battlefield and the terrain is still in play at the battlefield when the Personality starts to get destroyed. [ML, 17 May 2004; JA, 25 June 2004]

Well-Laid Plans

• Reads, "Well-Laid Plans 2G 3FV Limited: Target and bow a Courtier Personality you control and discard 3 Political Action cards: Draw 3 cards. Limited: Target and bow a Samurai Personality you control and discard 3 Battle Action cards: Draw 3 cards. Limited: Target a Courtier Personality you control and a Samurai Personality you control, and discard 2 cards: Draw 3 cards." [Erratum, web, 17 February 2006]
• Renamed from Well-Laid Plains. [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]
• Two different Personalities must be targeted for the third ability. [ML, 15 December 2004; JA, web, 14 March 2005]

• Reads, "When Darkness Draws Near 0G 3FV Battle: Send an allying unit home from this battle, bowed. If the unit's controller no longer has any units in any battle and has had no units in armies during any Resolution Segment this turn, he or she loses 2 Honor." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
• May not be played by a Shadowlands player if the ally has no other units in any battle, because it would cause an unconditional honor loss. [JA, email, 5 July 2001]

• Reads, "White Shore Plain 0G 1FV Delayed Terrain. Battle: Each Tactician in this battle who has not performed a Tactical action this battle gains Force equal to his Chi. This is considered a Force bonus from a Tactical action." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• Once played, destroying it does not undo any of its resolved effects. [VRD, 18 December 2000]

• The "if able" clause applies to both assigning a unit and declaring the attack. [JA, 27 January 2000]

• You may pay gold to increase your honor as often as you wish during the lobby attempt. [DW, 6/3/97]

• A player loses honor equal to the Personal Honor of the Shugenja immediately before he or she is dishonored. [JA, email, 7 November 2002]

• Reads, "Wounded in Battle 0G 2FV Battle: A target Personality in this battle has -2C until the end of the turn. If the Personality is reduced below 1C and is a Samurai, he or she does not die unless his or her Chi is still below 1 at the end of the Resolution Segment. Only one Wounded in Battle can be played on a Personality per turn." [MRP, Fire & Shadow]
• A 3C+ Samurai survives until the end of battle if Wounded in Battle is used first, then some other action reduces his Chi below 1.[DW]

• Reads, "You Walk With Evil 0G 3G Battle: Target a Samurai in an army that contains a Shadowlands card. Bow the Samurai. Dishonor him. Permanently give him the Shadowlands trait." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

Ancestors

• May not repeatedly target the same Personality of the same player. [JA, email, 8 March 2002]

• Does not require bowing the Personality he moves onto using his ability. [JA, 12 December 2001]
• Does not gain stat and trait bonuses from Tattoos, because he may not "use" Tattoos. [JA, 12 December 2002]
• Cannot be targeted by a Tattoo action that requires a particular type of Personality (e.g., monk or shugenja for Moth Tattoo). [JA, 13 December 2002]

• Only once a Spell is on his Personality will Natsune no Shiryo reduce the costs of all your Spells with that title. [JA, 10 January 2002]

• Is Unaligned; thus, is not destroyed if its Personality loses the Toturi's Army or Imperial trait. [Reversal, ZF, netnews, 2 May 2001]

• The honor requirement of the Personality is waived, not of the Ancestor. [DW, 2/3/98]

• Does not override non-Chi limits Shugenja have for attaching Spells (e.g., Isawa Osugi). [DW, 12/9/96]

• Effects that depend upon the order of focusing (e.g., Strike of Flowing Water) will not benefit from this ancestor, because both cards are focused simultaneously. [VRD, 15 November 2000]

• Ability may not be used if any cards in the unit are bowed, because the cost requires you bow the entire unit. [VRD, 3 July 2001]

• Does not count as Hida Osano-Wo for purposes of Uniqueness.
• A Personality with an item that counts as Weapon and Armor (e.g., Armor of the Monkey Clan) gains +1F/+1C. [JA, 2 June 2001]

• May name any card with an Open or Battle action, but prevents any use of the card described in the text, not just the Open or Battle action itself. [ZF, 12 June 2001]
• The named card may be used for its focus value (e.g., for duels, Tactician). [ZF, 11 June 2001]
• Action happens before the entire Battle Action Segment, so is not affected by anything that:
  • Refers to "this battle." [JA, 8 March 2002]
  • Prevents Reactions "before the first normal Battle or Open action" (e.g., Naval invasion) [JA, 5 December 2002]

• Cannot cancel actions that occur before the Battle Action Segment (e.g., Shiryo no Shoju's ability). [JA, 11 September 2001]
• If you are the attacker, ability can cancel actions taken by the Defender before the first normal Battle or Open action. [JA, 30 April 2002]

• If the attached Personality issues a challenge to a player rather than to a Personality, that player must accept the challenge with one of his legal Personalities if he has any. [DW, 1/3/97]
• Makes the challenge a "normal" unrefusable challenge. [January 2000]

• If a battle created by Shiryo no Tsuko is Counterattacked before the original battles are completed, players can reassign their units. Once Counterattack resolves, the original attack resumes where it left off. Surviving units return to the battles they were in when the series of Reactions started. Bowed cards are not straightened. [JA, 14 February 2001]

• Counts as Yogo Junzo for Uniqueness. [Erratum]

Followers

• Reads, "Apprentice 0F/+1*C 0HR 0G -PH 2FV Apprentice adds an additional two to the Chi of this Shugenja for the purposes of bringing spells into play or when bowing to use a spell or innate ability." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]

• Does not give a Force bonus to cards with a variable strength ranged attack. [VRD, 21 October 2000]
• Gives a Force bonus to items capable of ranged attacks (e.g., Jade Bow). [VRD, 27 October 2000]

• Reads, "Ashigaru *F/0C 0HR 0G -PH 3FV Ashigaru gain +1F for each of your Farms in play. If Ashigaru are destroyed, lose 2 Honor." [MRP, Fire & Shadow; ZF, 1 June 2000]

• Reads, "Ashigaru Archers 0F/0C 1HR 2G -PH 1FV You may draw an additional Fate card during your next End Phase after bringing this card into play from your hand. Battle: Bow this card: Ranged 2 Attack." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Reads, "Ashigaru Spearmen 1F/0C 1HR 2G -PH 1FV You may draw an additional Fate card during your next End Phase after bringing this card into play from your hand. Battle: Bow this card: Ranged 1 Attack." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Reads, "Bayushi House Guard 2F/+1C 0HR 5G -PH 4FV Unique. Only a Scorpion Clan Personality can attach the Bayushi House Guard. All cards in this unit are immune to Fear. Effects that last until the turn ends or shorter do no lower the Chi of the Bayushi House Guard's Personality." [MRP, Gold Edition; 1 July 2001]

• Reads, "Brothers in Arms 2F/0C 1HR 3G -PH 3FV Can only attach to a Samurai or Bushi. Reaction: After this card enters play from your hand: Search your Fate discard pile, then deck, for a Brothers in Arms. Show it. Put it in your hand." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Renamed from "Oni no Byoki." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• Has the Nonhuman trait. [Erratum, JA, email, 7 November 2000]

• Reads, "Courier 0F/0C 1HR 0G -PH 2FV Limited: If this Personality is unbowed, bow Courier to move Courier and any number of unbowed Items and/or Spells from this Personality to another of your unbowed Personalities. (All new attachments must be legal.)" [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003]

• Will make a Ritual they bow to participate in Maho. [JA, 8/3/99]

• Reads, "The Damned 3F/0C 1HR 7*G -PH 3FV Shadowlands. A Crab Clan player may ignore Stronghold restrictions against bringing the Damned into play. A Crab Clan Personality can attach the Damned for 2 less Gold. Battle: Once per Battle, if opposed by one or more Shadowlands cards, the Damned gain +2F. Battle: Destroy the Damned to give their Personality +5F." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]

• Cannot bow to pay costs other than bowing its Personality. [JA, 14 December 2001]

• Has the Nonhuman trait. [Erratum]

• Reads, "Emerald Magistrates 4F/0C 2HR 8G -PH 3FV Cavalry. Battle: Target a player who controls a card opposing this card. He discards two cards. Reduce this card’s Force to 0." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Overrides restrictions on Personalities who may not refuse duels (e.g., Kakita Toshimoko). [DW, email, 17 February 1999]

• Reads, "Fire Breather 2F/0C 0HR 8G -PH 3FV Battle: Bow for a Ranged 4 Attack. Battle: Bow to destroy a Fortification attached to the Province that Fire Breather is attacking." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]

• Reads, "Foxwife +1F/+1C 0HR 5G -PH 1FV Nonhuman. Creature. Raises the Personal Honor of the attached Personality to five (and restores to honor if dishonored). Foxwife is destroyed if the Personality performs any dishonorable act (either causing a loss of family honor, or if the Personality becomes dishonored)." [MRP, Obsidian Edition]

• May return to play if they have ever been previously destroyed in the game. [VRD, 22 August 2001]

• Reads, "Heavy Infantry 5F/0C 0HR 7G -PH 2FV" [MRP, Drums of War, 22 May 2006]

• May be used when a new Province is created to place the new Dynasty card in it face up. [JA, 26 March 2004]

• If an action allows another action to be played as part of its effect (e.g., Superior Strategist), the imposed cost must be paid for each action. [Reversal, JA, 14 June 2002]

• Should read, "Inkyo *F/+2C 1HR 2G -PH 2FV Monk. Inkyo's Force equals the number of Elemental Rings in play. Inkyo cannot cast Kihos." [Erratum, JA, 26 October 2000]

• "All players may use this ability" only allows players other than the controller to use it, and does not override any other restriction. [JA, 10 January 2003]

• Reads, "Kenku Teacher 0F/0C 1HR 1G -PH 1FV Creature. Open: Bow the Kenku Teacher. Give this Personality a 1F bonus. Open: Bow the Kenku Teacher. Give this Personality a 1C bonus. Open: Bow the Kenku Teacher. Raise the Personal Honor of this Personality by 1." [MRP, Pearl Edition]

• When more than one is placed on the same Personality, the most recent one takes priority. [DW, email, 10/6/98]
• Her Personality must be involved in the creation of an honor gain. [JA, 10 June 1999]

• May bow instead of his current Personality to move himself onto another. (The second Personality must still bow.) [29 May 1999]
• May not bow instead of his Personality if the entire unit is being bowed. [29 May 1999]

• Is a distinct card from the event (in Dark Allies) of the same name. [JA, email, 17 December 2002]

• Reads, "Mantis Bushi 2F/0C 2HR 6G -PH 3FV Naval. Battle: Bow Mantis Bushi to bow an opposing Follower or opposing Personality without Followers." [MRP, Web of Lies, 7 December 2004]

• Reads, "Marsh Troll 4F/0C 0HR 5G -PH 3FV Shadowlands. Creature. During your endphase, Marsh Troll destroys (devours) one other card in its unit (your choice). If the Troll devours the attached Personality, the player to your right may attach him to one of his Personalities. If declined, the next player to the right may attach the Troll, and so on. If no player wants the Troll, it is destroyed." [MRP, Obsidian Edition, August 1997]

• You must lose honor when attaching spells to its shugenja. [DW, 31 May 1996]

• Reads, "Minor Shugenja 1F/0C 1HR 3G -PH 1FV Minor Shugenja have +1C while participating in a Ritual that this Personality also participates in. (Followers cannot cast Kihos.) Battle: Bow Minor Shugenja for a Ranged 1 Attack." [MRP, Web of Lies, 7 December 2003]

• Reads, "Mounts 0F/0F 0HR 2G -PH 2FV Creature. Cavalry. All Followers attached or being attached to the Mounts' Personality gain the Cavalry trait while Mounts are attached." [MRP, Fire & Shadow]

• Must be in the current battle to use their reaction. [ZF]
• May be used to perform Ranged Attacks from kiho. [ZF, April 2000]

• "He" refers to "this Personality", not "other players". [JA, 8 November 2004]

• Reads, "Ogre Warriors 7F/0C 0HR 9G -PH 3FV Nonhuman. Shadowlands. May attach to Ogre Personalities regardless of restrictions on the Ogre. Ranged Attacks cannot target this card." [MRP, Lotus Edition, 31 October 2005]

• Has the Ratling trait. [Erratum]

• Ability may be used before units bow from battle. [ZF, 29 November 2002]

• Has the Ashigaru trait. [Erratum]

• Reads, "Personal Champion 0F/+2C 2HR 6G -PH 4FV