EE Areas of the game
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. For implications of cards being in or out of play, see Physically marked card states, In play and out of play.
Some areas are created in the course of play, such as during an attack or when playing a Strategy card. 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.
The terms “enter” and “leave” refer respectively to all forms of going to and from an area.
Example: For a unit to “enter” an army, it can do so by movement, assignment, entering play there, or any other effect that causes it to go to the army from another location.
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.
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.
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.
If text allows an ability on a non-Strategy card in a deck to be used, follow the procedure for using an ability on a non-Strategy card in a hand (see "The hand," below.)
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 (see Refill).
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 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.
If a province is destroyed, any Dynasty cards in it and any Regions attached to it go to the discard pile. This is not considered “discarding” the card. Any remaining provinces, and the two decks, are pushed together to show the reduction of the player’s provinces.
If a Fate card would enter a province from play, it is discarded instead.
If a Fate card would enter a province from out of play, it goes to the top of its owner’s Fate deck instead.
Cards attached to a Province are not “in,” nor can be discarded “from,” that Province.
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.
The order of cards in the discard piles has no consequence for the game.
If a card you own is about to enter another player’s discard pile, it enters your corresponding discard pile instead.
“Discard,” when referring to cards, has several meanings, all involving the discard pile:
- By itself, referring to a Fate card: To put a card from one’s own hand into the discard pile.
- By itself, referring to a Dynasty card: To put a card from one's own Province into the discard pile.
- A card may also be discarded from other areas than one’s own hand or Provinces, going to the discard pile, but this must be stated explicitly.
By default, the phrase "discard a card” refers to discarding a Fate card from hand.
The Dead: Special rules cover Personality cards in the discard pile. A Personality who is destroyed is in the dead state while he remains in the discard pile; the card is turned 90° in the pile, or otherwise set apart from other discarded cards there. This is not bowing.
A dead Personality who was honorable when last destroyed remains honorable and is known as ‘’honorably dead’’ (turned 90° clockwise, or right side up if kept separately)
A dead Personality who was dishonorable when last destroyed remains dishonorable and is known as ‘’dishonorably dead’’ (turned 90° counterclockwise, or upside down if kept separately).
Personalities who are not dead in the discard pile, and all other cards in discard piles, are in the discarded state. There is no distinction between destroyed and discarded non-Personality cards while they are in the discard pile.
Rarely, a dishonorable Personality may become discarded. In this case, indicate the card’s dishonorable status in the discard pile by keeping it 180° upside down.
Hand (out of play)
Each player starts with six face-down Fate cards as a hand, drawn from the top of his or her Fate deck.
Cards become face-down when they enter the hand, and can not become face-up while in the hand.
EXCEPTION: See "Using abilities on non-Strategy cards from the hand" below.
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.
If a Dynasty card is about to enter the hand, it instead goes to the top of its owner’s Dynasty deck.
Using non-Strategy abilities from the hand
Sometimes, through card text, an ability is able to be used from the hand even though the card it's on is not a Strategy card.
Example: the "discard from hand" cost on a Ring's ability, or a Follower whose ability puts itself into play from the hand.
When such an ability is used, the action must be legal to take in Good Faith (see Good Faith Rule). If it is, then the player turns the card face up in his or her hand, then announces and takes the action. If, when the action ends, the card is still in the hand, it turns face down again.
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 will not 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 an unspecified "location" will not allow the home of a non-controller player to be chosen.
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. Cards outside the game will not enter other areas unless an effect specifically says it returns them from outside the game. Example: A card that is removed from the game by an effect, but is under a delayed effect that says “Discard this card at the end of the turn,” will not enter the discard pile at the end of the turn.
Battlefields (in play; communal; temporary)
Battlefields are areas created during an attack or by a card effect that creates a battle. Together with each player’s home, they are locations during the attack or battle. More information about battlefields is found under the Attack Phase section.
Battlefields associated with adjacent provinces are themselves adjacent. Battlefields not associated with a province are not adjacent to any other battlefield.
If multiple battlefields are associated with a single province, they are treated as battlefields arranged in a line between the flanking provinces, if any. The leftmost is adjacent to the province on the left, the rightmost to the province on the right, and each of the multiple battlefields is adjacent to its neighbor(s) within that province.
Regions attached to a battlefield’s associated Province, and Terrains in play for a battle, all are located at the relevant battlefield but are not in any army or side.
Effects that move units to, or create units at, a battlefield normally put the units into the unit’s controller’s own side and army there.
Battlefields associated with adjacent provinces are themselves adjacent. Battlefields not associated with a province are not adjacent to any other battlefield.
If a province is destroyed, for any reason, other than during battle resolution, its battlefield immediately ceases to exist.
Even though a subsequent attack or effect may create a battlefield associated with the same province as a battlefield that existed previously, the new battlefield is a different area from the old battlefield.
Side (of a battlefield)
Sides are sub-areas of battlefields that hold the armies 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.
The Attacker and Defender each have their own side. When a player assigns his or her Personalities and units to a battlefield, moves them to a battlefield, or brings them into play at a battlefield, they go to the player's own side there.
The allying rules (Attack Phase, Declaration Segment, C. Invite Allies) determine which side players other than the Attacker or Defender can have units in.
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.
The term “focused card” refers to a card currently in the focusing area. This is not necessarily restricted to cards that entered that area by being focused.
Resolution and entering-play areas (out of play; temporary)
When taking an action on a Strategy 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 a Strategy card or Event, and the entering-play area in the case of a card entering play.
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 area.
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.
Game knowledge
Each player is normally entitled to know the following things in the game without needing effects to do so:
- The title, stats, and text of any player’s face-up cards, including those in discard piles and overlaid cards; and of any cards in the player’s own hand or focus pool.
- The game state of all cards and other entities in the game, including current effects, and stat totals relevant to game procedures.
- The details of any game procedures using face-up cards followed by another player (for example, how they are assigning units, or how they are paying a Gold cost from multiple sources).
- Each player’s Family Honor and number of cards in hand.
Players are not normally entitled to know, without needing effects, the following things:
- The number of cards currently in a deck, even their own.
- The order or identity of face-down cards in decks or Provinces, even their own.
- The identity of face-down cards in other players’ hands or focusing areas.
The Floor Rules give more specific instructions on what these entitlements mean for the play of the game.
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