Areas of the game
From Legend of the Five Rings Rules
[edit] Areas of the game
A game of L5R involves a number of areas in which cards can exist.
All cards in any given area are either in play or out of play, and a card’s existence in an area determines whether it is in play or out of play.
Some areas are created in the course of play, such as during a duel or an attack. These are known as temporary areas because they are created for a specific purpose and cease to exist after they have served that purpose.
Most of these areas are associated with players, so that each player has his or her own such area, normally containing his or her own cards. Only a few areas are communal, potentially containing cards belonging to more than one player.
[edit] The Fate and Dynasty decks (out of play)
The decks are placed with the Dynasty deck on the left, the Fate deck on the right, and the Provinces (see below) in between.
All cards in decks begin face-down. All cards that enter decks turn face-down before doing so. Before a deck is shuffled, any face-up cards in it turn face-down.
If a card you own is about to enter another player’s deck, it enters your deck instead in the same manner.
If a card is about to enter the wrong deck (Dynasty vs. Fate) it goes into the correct deck instead.
A player can not look at face-down cards in his or her decks except through specific costs or effects that allow it.
An effect that lets a player “look” at cards in a deck does not by itself allow the player to change their order.
Nothing special happens if either deck contains no cards.
[edit] The provinces (out of play)
These areas are arranged in a row from left to right between the two decks. A player starts with four provinces, created after first shuffling the decks. The provinces are indicated by filling each one with a face-down Dynasty card from the top of the player’s deck, left to right.
Each province normally holds a maximum of one Dynasty card.
When a card leaves a province and the province then holds fewer than its maximum number of cards, effects triggered by the card leaving the Province or entering play resolve first (including effects of Events that resolved from that Province). Then, if the Province still holds fewer than its maximum number of cards, it is refilled with a face-down Dynasty card from the top of the Province’s owner’s deck, unless something else has refilled it.
Some effects may make it possible for a province to hold more than one Dynasty card. If that happens, effects that happen to “the Dynasty card” in a province happen to a Dynasty card chosen by the province’s owner.
EXCEPTION: During the Events phase, multiple Dynasty cards in a province are each revealed, in an order chosen by the active player.
If the Dynasty deck becomes empty or otherwise cannot refill provinces, empty provinces do not disappear, but are indicated by markers of some kind. If it then becomes possible again to fill empty provinces, immediately refill the provinces face down, from left to right and from the top of the deck.
Cards in provinces may be face-up or face-down.
A player may not freely look at face-down cards in provinces, even his or her own, unless an effect allows it.
When a province is destroyed, any Dynasty cards in it go to the discard pile. This is not considered “discarding” the card.
If a Fate card would enter a province from play, it is discarded instead. [ADDED 12 May 2008]
If a Fate card would enter a province from out of play, it goes to the top of its owner’s Fate deck instead.
[edit] The discard piles (out of play)
The Fate and Dynasty decks each have an associated discard pile. The Dynasty discard pile is to its left, and the Fate discard pile is to its deck’s right.
Cards enter discard piles face-up.
If a card you own is about to enter another player’s discard pile, it enters your corresponding discard pile instead.
Special rules cover Personality cards in the discard pile. A Personality who is destroyed in play enters the discard pile as dead; the card is turned 90 degrees in the pile and remains that way while there. This is not bowing.
A dead Personality who was honorable when last destroyed remains that way and is known as honorably dead (turned 90 degrees clockwise)
A dead Personality who was dishonorable when last destroyed remains that way and is known as dishonorably dead (turned 90 degrees counterclockwise).
Personalities who are not dead in the discard pile, and all other cards in discard piles, are in the discarded state.
Rarely, a dishonorable Personality may become discarded. In this case, indicate his or her dishonorable status in the discard pile by keeping him 180 degrees upside down.
The order of cards in the discard piles should be preserved. If multiple cards enter the discard pile at the same time, their owner determines the order they go in.
[edit] The hand (out of play)
The hand is a selection of Fate cards available to a player that is normally kept secret from other players.
Each player starts with five face-down Fate cards as a hand, drawn from the top of his or her Fate deck.
Only the player may normally look at his or her hand, and may do this at any time.
Cards become face-down when they enter the hand, and can not become face-up while in the hand.
A player may rearrange any number of cards in his or her hand that have the same owner at any time, except when this will cause a sequence of effects on the same card to become unverifiable.
Example: When an action asks the player to show a card in his or her hand, then shuffle it back into the deck, the cards may not be rearranged between the two effects.
Cards owned by other players may sometimes enter the hand. If these are not distinguishable from the player’s own cards (i.e., with distinctive sleeves) they should be kept apart from the player’s own cards in hand. Effects calling for random selection of cards from a mixed-ownership hand should be resolved by a method other than another player selecting a card, such as rolling a die.
If a Dynasty card is about to enter the Fate hand, it instead goes to the top of its owner’s Dynasty deck.
[edit] The home (in play)
The home is the area where a player’s Stronghold is located and where cards usually enter play. It is represented by the area in front of the Provinces and decks. It is also a location.
A Personality cannot move to, enter play in, or otherwise change location to the home of a player who does not control the Personality, unless card text specifically mentions another player's home, or unless the Personality is also changing control to the new player. An effect that moves a Personality or unit to "any location" is not enough to overcome this prohibition.[ADDED Oct 15 2007]
[edit] Outside the game (out of play; communal)
“Outside the game” is an area set aside where both players, in separate piles, put cards they own that have been removed from the game. Cards removed from the game become face-up when they enter this area.
Some effects may allow players to bring non-created cards in from outside the game. If this happens, the player must produce an actual copy of that card in a timely fashion.
[edit] Battlefields (in play; communal; temporary)
Battlefields are areas created during an attack. Together with each player’s home, they are classified as locations during the attack. More information about battlefields is found under the Attack Phase section.
Sides are sub-areas of battlefields that hold the armies, or collections of units, belonging to the opposing players. Some non-unit cards (for example, a Terrain) may be in play at a battlefield but not exist in either side or army.
[edit] Focus pool area (out of play; temporary)
During a duel, each player maintains face-down cards in a separate, individual focus pool area from which the player may focus. This area is separate from the hand, but like the hand, a player may look at his or her own focus pool area at any time. The focus pool area follows the rules regarding the hand, except for the rule defining the starting hand.
[edit] Focusing area (out of play; temporary)
During a duel, each player focuses cards in his or her own focusing area. Cards in a focusing area are normally focused face down and then turned face up after a strike is called.
[edit] Resolution and entering-play areas (out of play; temporary)
When taking an action on an Action card, resolving the effects of an Event, or checking conditions and costs of a card entering play, the card in question exists in a special temporary area; face-up but out of play. This is known as the resolution area in the case of an Action card or Event, and the entering-play area in the case of a card entering play.
[edit] Under another card (out of play)
Some effects may put cards under another card. Each group of cards under a separate card is a separate location.
Cards under another card are face-down unless otherwise specified.
The owner of cards under another card can look at them at any time.
If a card leaves play, all cards under it leave play in the same manner.
This location is different than the status of overlaid cards (see Overlaying).
[edit] Game knowledge
Any face-up cards, including discard piles, partially obscured Regions and attachments, and overlaid cards, can be inspected by any player at any time.
Players must reveal their Family Honor or number of cards in hand when asked.
Players can not manually count the cards remaining in any deck.
Players can count the total of any numbers on cards or other things in the game that are visible to them, even when not required by the rules. [ADDED August 2 07]
Players can not look at face-down cards in decks or Provinces, even their own, but can look at their own face-down cards in other locations.
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