I hear the talking of the DJ- Can't understand just what does he say?"
--Mexican Radio, Wall of Voodoo

This issue, D.J. promised me 'The Most Mind-Boggling Timing Example Ever." Meek readers (such as myself should read the following timing example and caution!

There is a three-player game, with turn order Allen, Bob, Cindy. Allen has the Imperial Edition Isawa Tsuke (the Phoenix Clan Master of Fire) and a Togashi Yoshi in play. Bob has the Imperial Edition Doji Hoturi (the Crane Clan Champion), a Toku, and a shugenja with an Elemental Ward, while Cindy has a shugenja with a Counterspell.

It's Allen's turn, and he uses the Isawa Tsuke's innate ability to play a focus card and challenge Bob's Toku. The face-down focus card is Focus, with a focus value of 5, but only Allen knows this. All players, starting with Bob, may now react to Tsuke, but Bob had something up his sleeve and passes. It is now Cindy's turn to react to the duel-producing effect. Cindy has the Counterspell in pley, which could cancel the duel, but since it isn't her Personality in the duel, she's satisfied, and passes. It is now Allen's turn to react to Tsuke's duel, and he passes. All players having passed consecutively, the duel begins.

The Master of Fire and Toku are now considered to be on their way into a duel, and reactions which trigger on "entering a duel" effects may be played now. Since Reactions always start with the opponent the active: player's left, Bob gets to produce the first reaction, and Bob Reacts with a He's Mine! This allows him to replace Toku (who becomes bowed) with his Doji Hoturi, a more fitting opponent for the Master. Nobody has any reactions to Bob's He's Mine!

Since Cindy,Allen and Bob all let this reaction pass, it becomes Cindy's turn to react to the start of the duel. She passes, and Allen uses his Togashi Yoshi to draw and discard the top card of his Fate Deck and add the Focus Value to Tsuke's Chi. It's the Ring of Earth, with a Focus Value of 4! Bob may react first to Yoshi, and passes with a beseeching look at Cindy. Cindy gets the hint, and uses her Counterspell to prevent Yoshi's card from adding to the Master of Fire's Chi.

Allen, Bob, and Cindy all elect not to react to Cindy's Counterspell, and it becomes Allen's turn to react to Yoshi's now canceled Fate draw. He passes, as do Bob and Cindy. Yoshi's effect having resolved and been passed out, it becomes Bob's turn to react to the start of the duel. He uses Hoturi's ability to change the duel to a test of Personal Honor.

This means that even if Yoshi's ability hadn't been canceled, the card drawn wouldn't have affected the Personal Honor duel, as Yoshi's cards add to the Personality's Chi.) Nobody wishes to react to this change, and nobody has any more "entering the duel" reactions to play. It is now time for the combatants to start playing Focus cards.

Hoturi is the challenged Personality, and may play the first Focus card. He does so, and it's Tsuke's turn to focus. In this kind of duel, though, the Master of Fire may not focus, so he strikes. Both players turn over their focused cards; Isawa Tsuke had played a card with a 5 focus, and Hoturi a 1 focus. It looks as if Hoturi's going to lose Äthis one....

But wait! Bob plays a Poison Weapon, after the Focus - cards' turned up but before they're added up, to reduce Tsuke's Chi by three. Bob immediately loses 4 Honor, but doesn't care. Nobody has any reactions to this, and Tsuke dies, his reduced below zero. With no opponent left in the duel, Hoturi gets away unscathed; all of the focused cards are discarded, and Bob gloats over the Crane Clan Champion's treacherous victory as Hoturi becomes bowed by the He's Mine! Allen's Limited Action has been fully resolved. Bob may now play an Open action as the game continues. . .

As many of you might know, I've retired from full-time L5R FAQ duties, due to more pressing problems, (i.e. getting the actual game out). I've passed the torch to Jeff Alexander, who has revised and extended the FAQ to deal with the questions engendered by the Shadowlands expansion as well as questions arising from the core set. Most of the following Q&A exchanges are his, and they answer the most pressing questions left unanswered by the newly- revised-yet-again Emerald Edition rulebook.

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

A: Unique cards have the word "Unique" in tbeir traits line. Though almost all Personality cards depict specific individuals, most are merely representative of their particular station in Rokugan and have many peers, thus allowing you to put three in your deck. It'd also be much less fun if you had to play things like "Lion Samurai #1" or "Phoenix Shugenja B."

Q: Can I replace a Unique version of a Personality yit~ a Unique, Experienced version?

A: Yes.

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

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

Q: If I use Animate the Dead to bring back a dead Follower, do I still have to meet honor requirements?

A: I'm afraid so. I'd love to be able to answer "no," but I can't justify it from the card text. Someday maybe an errata to the card will be issue, but until then, dead Followers have the same high standards as living ones.

Q: What if I'm using a special ability to my followers around?

A: The answer is the same: the new recipient must be legally able to attach the Followers normally or else he can't receive them, no matter how they're being moved.

Q: What's the deal with Doji Hoturti? How can the ever lose a duel? No one else has a personal honor as high as his, and focusing is useless because it adds to your Chi!

A: If Hoturi's controller makes a duel a duel of honor, focus cards will add their values to personal honor, not Chi, since that's what the duel is based on. Note that only applies to Fate cards played as focus cards, not to any other duel-related, Chi-changing effects. Also note the Double Chi ability, because of how it's defined, will work normally in duel of honor.

Q: Speaking of unkillable duellists, what about the Master of Fire?

A: He's not unkillable. He's only immune to death due to losing a duel started with his own innate ability. If he is challenged, or if he starts a duel using some other ability, he's as mortal as anyone else. He can also die from a Poisoned Weapon, which lasts beyond the duel.

Q: He? I thought the Fire Master was female!

A: Maybe. Maybe not. The Phoenix are very good at misinformation.

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

A: No. Kolat Master says the Personality "rejoins your family." Someone who did not join your Clan could never have been in your family to begin with, and so cannot "rejoin" it.

Night Medallion: The Night Medallion only adds +2 to numbers expressed using digits, not numeric words. It also adds to the actual value, not to the magnitude. "-2" would become "0" for example, not "-4" Finally, it will not change the text of abilities copied from other cards (this overrides the rule on p. 28 under "Copying Abilities').

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From the FAQ maintained by Jeff Alexander (jwa@zot.iipo.gtegsc.com).

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