Abilities and actions
From Legend of the Five Rings Rules
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[edit] Abilities and actions
As defined in Card features, abilities are pieces of text on a card, or applying to a player, that may be used to take actions.
[edit] Designators
An ability may be used when its designator indicates:
- At an opportunity to act in the ability’s player’s Action Phase if it is Limited;
- At an opportunity to act in any player’s Action Phase if it is Open;
- At an opportunity to act in the Combat Segment if it is Battle;
- At its specific trigger if it is a Reaction.
An action has the keywords and designator of its ability. The difference is that an ability refers to the static text on a card, while an action is a process that starts at a particular point in time.
EXCEPTION: Abilities with two designators, such as “Open/Battle,” count as having both individual designators, but can be used either as one action or the other. The following rules use the common "Open/Battle" as an exmaple but apply to any other combination of designators.
An Open/Battle ability creates an action with only one designator, as appropriate to the phase of the game it is announced. If used as a Battle action, it follows the rules governing legality of Battle actions (see Battles).
When it is considered as an ability (a static element possessed by a card or a player) rather than an action (a process in the game that takes place at a given time), an ability counts as having both its designators.
Example: An Action card with an Open/Battle ability can be searched for by effects that look for cards with Open actions as well as by effects that look for cards with Battle actions. However, when it comes time to use the ability, the action it creates only has one designator; Open if used in the Action Phase, or Battle if used in the Combat Segment.
[CLARIFICATION Feb 15 2008]
[edit] Using abilities
Each instance of an ability on a given card, granted to a given player, or granted by a different effect to the same card, is a different ability.
Each time an action is taken from an ability, it is a different action.
Each separate ability can only be used once per turn by default. The once per turn default is overridden by phrases specifying a different limit on usage.
Example: “Twice per turn” or “once per game.”
Abilities on bowed cards can not be used.
When a player uses an ability and creates an action at the appropriate timing point, follow the sequence in A through E.
Note: This sequence is not the same thing as playing an Action card, but is part of it (see Using Action Cards).
[edit] A. Announce the action
At this step, the player says which ability he or she is using, indicating its source and, if that source has multiple abilities appropriate for that point in time, which ability is being used.
If a player takes a Reaction timed to "before" an action is announced, and this action becomes illegal to take before it is announced, the player must announce an alternate legal action for the point at which the original action would have been announced. If the player has no legal action left to announce, the Reaction does not affect any action. A judge may be called in a tournament situation to verify the absence of legal actions in the hand. [CHANGED February 11 2008; the Reaction now has no effect, instead of being a play mistake, simply because there is nothing to affect]
Reactions triggered “before an action is taken” happen after the action is announced.
The only time an action’s conditions are normally checked is when it is announced.
If one or more of an action's effects will be negated or otherwise fail to occur (for example, bowing an already bowed Personality, or moving him to a location he is already in), the action is still legal to take. Effects are not required to happen in the same way that costs and targeting are. [ADDED Oct 17 2007]
[edit] Good Faith Rule
Good Faith Rule: When an action is announced, the player must be able to target all required targets, meet all conditions of the action, and pay all mandatory costs, to the best of his or her knowledge.
Additionally, if the action involves putting one or more cards into play as a non-optional effect, the player must be able to bring those cards into play legally to meet the good faith rule, including being able to pay any costs of bringing them into play. A player must make choices about which cards to bring into play in line with the good faith rule; he or she cannot announce an action on the basis of a legal card to play, but then choose an illegal card for the actual play choice. [Clarified 2 Dec 2007; again 9 Dec 2007]
If the action involves attaching any cards as a non-optional effect, there must exist a Personality for each card who would be able to legally attach it, according to the known state of the game. [ADDED February 5 2008]
Aspects of the game state should be considered under the good faith rule, such as effects that reduce costs, prevent costs from being paid, or relax requirements.
A player is not assumed to have complete knowledge of the face-down contents of his or her decks, for purposes of the Good Faith Rule. [ADDED February 5 2008]
The intent of the Good Faith Rule is to prevent players from abusively attempting actions whose costs and requirements they know they cannot fulfill (for example, in order to exploit a Reaction to announcing the action), while at the same time allowing players to take actions whose costs and requirements they know they can fulfill. It should be interpreted in this spirit, and not as a way to block legal actions because of a technicality.
If any required targets do not exist or any costs cannot be paid at this point, or if a required condition is not met, the announcement of the action is a play mistake. In that case, if the action’s ability was on an Action card, return that card to the area it came from (usually, the player's hand). The timing point after the action is announced is not reached. The action does not count against the player’s chance to take an action, nor is its ability considered used.
Any new game states or effects that interfere after this point with costs, targeting or requirements of an action announced in good faith can lead to the action’s effects never happening - see the relevant subsections, below.
[edit] B. Required targeting
At this step, an action’s required targets must be targeted. Optional targeting described in the constraints block is not required, but takes place at this step if it is chosen. All targets are designated in the order described, including simultaneously if a number of targets are indicated by a number (such as, “target two Holdings.”) Targeting in the constraints block happens before targeting described in the effects block.
An action’s required targets consist of anything that is targeted by the player taking the action in the action's constraints or effects, unless the targeting is shown to be optional by terms such as “may target,” or “lose 2 Honor or target a Personality you control.”
Targeting of a number of things you choose that can include zero is also optional.
Example: "Target up to three Personalities" is optional targeting, because you can choose to target zero Personalities. [ADDED Feb 25 2008]
Targeting can be shown either by the verb “target” or the adjective “target” before the object of targeting. For example, “target one of your Samurai” is functionally equivalent to “one of your target Samurai” for purposes of targeting.
EXCEPTION: When the adjective "target" is used to refer to a target that has been selected in the sequence of targeting, using a definite article such as "the target Personality" or "that target Holding," it does not imply an additional instance of targeting. [ADDED Oct 3 2007]
EXCEPTION: Targeting that is part of a delayed effect (for example, “before the battle resolves, bow a target Personality”) is not required.
Targeting shared by two alternatives in a choice is required.
Example: “Target two of your Personalities, or target one of your Personalities and one of your Holdings” requires you to target one of your Personalities.
If an action specifies a variable number of targets, the minimum number allowed is the required targeting.
Example: “Target one to three Personalities” requires you to target at least one Personality.
If targeting varies according to a known condition, the required targeting depends on whether the condition is met.
Example: “Target 1 Holding, or 2 Holdings if it is not your turn”, so the required targeting would be 1 Holding on your turn, and 2 Holdings on any other players’ turns.
The main functional difference between targeting in the constraints block and targeting in effects is that targeting in the constraints block can indicate performing.
From the point when an action is announced legally, to the point after reactions to a particular targeting have taken place, if anything interferes so that the particular required targeting can no longer be met (including reactions to the targeting itself), the action fails. Its effects do not resolve, further targeting does not take place, and its costs are waived. It is still considered taken, but not resolved. If it was on an Action card, the card is discarded normally. [CLARIFIED Feb 5 2008; each piece of targeting is considered separately]
If any of an action's targeting becomes illegal at any point after the particular targeting and reactions to it have occurred, the action still proceeds, subject only to interference with paying costs. [CLARIFIED Feb 5 2008; each piece of targeting is considered separately]
In judging interference with targeting, if it happens after the target has been finally chosen (that is, after the point in time "when targeting would happen" and everything triggered by it has occurred), only the legality of the chosen target is considered; the player who finally chose the target may not choose an alternate target at this point in time. [CLARIFIED Feb 5 2008]
Targeting that is done by another player happens when it is described - usually, as effects resolve. Targeting that is delayed happens at the time it is delayed to.
For more rules on targeting, see Target.
[edit] C. Pay costs
At this step, an action’s mandatory costs, and optional costs in the constraints block, are paid.
From the point when the action is announced legally to the point where the costs are required, if payment of an action’s mandatory costs is interfered with, and the player taking the action cannot pay the costs another way, or chooses not to:
- No effects of the action resolve;
- The ability is considered to have been used;
- The action is considered to have been taken, but not resolved;
- No remaining costs need be paid, but costs already paid are not refunded.
- If the cost was for a card to enter play, it is discarded.
If a mandatory variable cost depends on the action's targeting, and the targeting is interfered with (while still being legal) such that the cost also changes, this counts as interfering with the payment of a mandatory cost. [ADDED 30 January 2008]
See the section on mandatory costs.
[edit] D. Action resolves
If mandatory costs and required targeting have been met, activate the action’s effects in order (see Effects, Order of Effects). If not, the action does not resolve.
Effects of an action are independent. If any effect is negated, does not happen, or fails to occur (for example, bowing an already bowed Personality, or moving him to a location he was already in), the other effects still happen, and the action is still legal. [ADDED Oct 17 2007]
Effects are usually applied immediately after they are activated, except in the case of delayed effects.
An action resolves even if all its effects are negated or otherwise do not occur. Negation only determines whether an action is successful (see Glossary, Successful).
Once the action has begun to resolve, effects that influence its ability to have been played in the first place do not influence the activation of its own effects.
Example: Required targeting becoming illegal, or the card leaving play.
An action resolving refers specifically to a whole period of time, not just to the end of this period of time. This means that "the next time an action resolves" can not refer to an action in the process of resolving. See "Next". [ADDED August 14 2007]
See also Resolve.
[edit] E. Action ends
An action ends after its last effect is applied, if that effect is not a delayed effect. If an action's last effect is delayed, then the action ends instead after that effect is activated. [CHANGED 17 Oct 2007]
The trigger “after the action resolves” is the same point in time as “after the action ends.” The difference is that the action ends even if the costs or effects of an action announced in good faith are interfered with.
Triggers "after an action is taken" happen at the same time as triggers after an action ends.
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