(Message zen:27)
Subj: [L5RINFO] Rules for 22 March 2000
From: Zen Faulkes <zfaulkes@PLANET.NET.AU>

  To: L5RINFO@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 21:36:09 +1100
X-Accept-Language: en
-- /blue/homes/cowell/Mail/mhl.format --

Greetings,

Hida Technique + Come One At A Time

   "If there is only one defending Personality" is a *RESTRICTION*, not
an effect. It is not a targetting restriction, which is the *only* kind
of restriction that Hida Technique can override (card text).

   Come One At A Time goes one to say, "...the Personality gains the
ability..." Yes, that is an effect -- so why can't someone targetted by
Hida Technique benefit? Because the phrase specifically refers to the
*ONE Personality that met the preceding restriction.* Nobody else can
get the ability.

;;;;;

Rise From The Ashes + Seppun Sensei

   The question has been, "But how can I gain honor with Seppun Sensei
when Rise From the Ashes says I can't?"

   Rise From the Ashes says two things about honor gains. "Until your
next Events Phase, no player can gain Honor..." Once the spell has been
cast, you can't gain honor. Period. Seppun Sensei does not change this.

   Rise From the Ashes goes on to say, "Any Honor gains you have made
this turn are retroactively negated." *That's* changing an honor gain --
which Seppun Sensei *DOES* prevent.

   In other words, choose the order of your actions carefully.

;;;;;

From: Robert Ciccolini <madrigal@LARP.COM>
Subject: Rules Question: Come One At a Time

> If someone destroys the terrain, it appears to me that the ability to
> issue an unrefusable duel will still last until the end of the turn.

   Yes.

> If the terrain is destroyed and then the attacker loses the ability to
> remove a unit, since the *terrain* allows the player to take that
> action and makes no changes to the cards involved.

   No. Page 37, Fire & Shadow rules: "An effect wears when the turn it
was created ends, unless it is permanent." Whether the effect affects a
card in play or a player is not relevent.

;;;;;

From:    Repent Harlequin <tonguekisses@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: shiba technique

> One of my friends swears that if he plays more than one Shiba
> Technique in the same battle, the effects are cumulative - i.e., a
> shugenja can bow to give all samurai 2F or 3F (or 4 or 6 for phoenix).

   Andy Heckt got it right: "No. They would each gain multiple
abilities, so if you played three the shugenja gets."

;;;;;

   Several people have complained about the Wanker Rule, saying that it
is an excuse for bad card wording and insulting to players.

   For the edification of the list, here's one of Ryan Dancey's posts,
early May, 1998:

   "If you look at a card that is clear in its intent but due to a
vaguery in the english language could potentially be interpreted to
allow something clearly not intended by the designers, extremely
powerful or damaging to the play environment, or just plan nonsensical,
>don't play the card that way<."

   "If you think you've found a loophole, assume you haven't.  If you
think you've found a way to do something normally not allowed in the
game, assume you haven't. Even if you have, once it's brought to our
attention, we'll certainly clarify the card to remove that possibility
anyway.  So trying to justify such card action or actions is a waste of
everyone's time and shouldn't be allowed to clutter up the fun of
playing the game."

   To put it another way:

   The Wanker Rule says that rules arguments should not detract from the
*fun of playing the game*. (In my estimation, this happened with the
Seppun Sensei + Lies, Lies, Lies... combo.)

   The Wanker Rule says to err on the side of caution when it's not
clear how cards interact, rather than "abuse a combo for all it's worth
because there's no ruling yet" (pretty close to some quotes I've seen on
this forum regarding this combo).

   Me, I think these are good, worthwhile guidelines. Does anyone think
they are not?

   If the "Wanker Rule" offends folks, I suggest we call it the "Play
nice rule" or "Cautionary guidelines" or the "'Nobody like a rules
argument' principle." Something. Anything. But I say the underlying
ideas are too valuable to loose.


Zen Faulkes! * Crab Clan Scholar * Deputy Rules Historian

****************************************************************************

The L5R Home Page: http://www.wizards.com/L5R

To unsubscribe from this list send mail to listserv@oracle.wizards.com with
the line 'SIGNOFF L5RInfo' as the body of the message.

Contents (c)1999 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved.