Physically marked card states
From Legend of the Five Rings Rules
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[edit] Physically marked card states
[edit] In play and out of play
Whether a card is in or out of play is determined by the game area it is in.
For a card to enter play, its conditions and requirements of play must first be met, and its costs of entering play must then be paid. See the procedures under Card types.
When a card leaves play and enters the discard pile, this change in game area is only considered to be destruction if the effect that made it leave play destroyed it. Otherwise, the change in game area is considered to be discarding. [CLARIFICATIONS added 16 March 2008]
Destroyed personalities are treated differently in the discard pile. No distinction between destroyed and discarded non-Personality cards is made while they are in the discard pile; all such cards have the state "discarded." [CLARIFICATIONS added 16 March 2008]
Implications of in and out of play
Cards that are not in play or in a resolution, entering-play or focusing area have the following limitations:
- They cannot be targeted.
- Their continuous traits do not produce effects.
- EXCEPTION: Continuous effects on cards out of play affect only the card itself.
- They are not affected by effects.
- Abilities on them cannot be used, and triggered traits on them are not triggered.
[CLARIFICATION March 16 2008]
Cards that are not in play also may not be used or changed to pay costs, even ones in a resolution, entering-play or focusing area.
The above limitations are overridden when a reference is made to cards in an out-of-play area, or an effect that would normally put a card in an out-of-play area.
Examples: “Target a discarded card”; “After one of your cards is destroyed”; “All Samurai in and out of play.”
Each of the limitations must be overridden separately, and is overridden only for the specific area or areas mentioned or implied.
Example: “After a target card is discarded: Return it to your hand” specifically targets a discarded card, and specifically tells you to return it to your hand, so both effects work. It does not allow you to use an ability on the card while it is out of play, or to have it produce effects. Nor does it allow you to target a card that was removed from the game, for example.
In Samurai Edition a reference to a card you “own” does not automatically override the above considerations.
See also Effects, Effects in and out of play and Timing, Leaving and entering play.
[edit] Bowed and unbowed
Some effects and costs turn a card 90 degrees clockwise to indicate a state of unreadiness. This state is known as “bowed” and cards not in this state are “unbowed.” See also “may remain bowed”, Rules Glossary.
When a card goes from unbowed to bowed, the card “bows”. When a card goes from bowed to unbowed, the card “straightens.” Only cards in play can bow, straighten, or be bowed.
Abilities on a bowed card can not be used, bowed Personalities can not assign, and bowed cards in a unit affect the calculation of total unit Force.
Cards normally enter play in the unbowed state.
When a card enters play bowed, it is not considered to bow, because it was not in play as an unbowed card.
[edit] Honorable and dishonorable
A Personality card is sometimes turned 180 degrees upside down to indicate a state of disgrace (or exposure, in the case of Personalities with no concept of honor). This state is known as “dishonorable” and Personalities not in this state are “honorable.” A personality who is both dishonorable and bowed should have the top of his or her card facing left instead of right, indicating the 90 degree turn of bowing plus the 180 degree turn of dishonorable status.
When a personality goes from honorable to dishonorable, he or she is “dishonored.” When a personality goes from dishonorable to honorable, he or she is “rehonored.”
A Personality out of play can be dishonorable if he or she is face-up. Leaving or entering play does not change a Personality’s dishonorable or honorable status.
Personalities are normally honorable unless a cost or effect has made them dishonorable.
Dishonorable Personalities have a maximum Personal Honor of zero. After a dishonorable Personality is destroyed, the player who controlled him or her loses Honor equal to the Personality's base Personal Honor.
There are a number of ways to rehonor a dishonorable Personality.
- Before a player gains Honor from an action or trait that targeted, came from, or was performed by one or more of his or her dishonorable Personalities, the Personality is rehonored and the Honor is not gained.
- Before a player gains Honor from attaching a card to one of his or her dishonorable Personalities, the Personality is rehonored and the Honor is not gained.
- Before a player with one or more dishonorable Personalities in his or her army gains Honor from allying with that army (see Invite Allies) or from destroying opposing cards in battle resolution, all such dishonorable Personalities are rehonored and the Honor is not gained. In a tied battle, all dishonorable Personalities in an army are rehonored before being destroyed, and their army’s leader gains no Honor.
If, during one of these effects, the rehonoring is negated (for example, by "can not be rehonored" wording), the Honor is still not gained.
If, during one of these effects, the rehonoring simply does not happen (for example, through "does not rehonor" wording that applies to the Honor gain), the Honor is gained normally. [ADDED Oct 11 2007]
[edit] Card locations
Cards in play have a location – the home or a battlefield. Areas out of play are not locations. Cards enter play in their controller’s home.
EXCEPTION: Terrains enter play at the battlefield where they are played.
Cards that are not in a unit can only be in a player’s home while in play.
EXCEPTION: Terrains, and Regions attached to a battlefield’s associated province, are in play at their battlefield.
When a unit goes from one location to another, it moves.
EXCEPTION: The following changes of location are not movement: Assigning to a battlefield, entering a player’s home (or other area) due to change of control, returning home after a battle, and returning home due to a battlefield ceasing to exist.
When a unit “moves home” it moves to its controller’s home.
View the section on the Combat Segment for rules on whether a given unit can move into a battlefield and what army it moves into.
[edit] Control
Cards in play are controlled by the player who brought them into play.
EXCEPTIONS: An attached card in a unit is controlled by the unit’s Personality’s controller. A Region or other card attached to a Province is controlled by the player whose province it is.
A card’s text (such as, “Lose 3 Honor” or “You can not take Political actions”) is to be read from the perspective of its controller while the card is in play. (See also Your.)
Only the controller of a card can use its abilities or use it to pay costs.
When a card changes control, it goes to its new controller’s home. This is not considered movement.
EXCEPTION: If a region should change control while being attached to the same Province, it remains in the home of the player whose province it is attached to.
Like all other instantaneous effects, changing control does not have a duration.
Control of a unit is determined by who controls its Personality, even if cards in the unit have different controllers.
[edit] Ownership
A card is owned by the player whose play deck it was originally in, or the player who brought it into play if the card was created or brought in from outside the play deck. A card’s ownership can not change. A card’s text is to be read from the perspective of its owner while the card is out of play. (See also Your.)
[edit] Overlaying
Some effects, most commonly the rule for Experienced Personalities, may overlay one card (the overlaying card) on top of another (the underlying card). To reflect the process of the same Personality changing in stats, traits and abilities, special rules are needed.
An underlying card merges with the card that overlays it, creating a card represented by a stack of two or more physical cards, and a number of special situations.
The underlying card is out of play, but does not leave play. For instance, it does not benefit from effects that would give it abilities if it was in play, another player would not gain Honor for destroying it in battle resolution, and Reactions to its leaving play can not be taken.
Created cards do not cease to exist when overlaid, because they do not leave play. [ADDED March 23 2008]
If the overlaying card is somehow lost, the underlying card reappears but does not enter play. There has only been a change to the same card. Likewise, an overlaying card is not entering play even if it comes from an out-of-play area, and if it is somehow put in an out of play area while the underlying card remains, this is not leaving play.
The stack has the overlaying card’s title, stats, keywords, traits, and abilities, and any other feature the game needs to check is based on the overlaying card. The stack also inherits the underlying card’s base abilities, including ones that have been removed in the course of play. This is not considered an ability gain.
Additionally, the stack also inherits any abilities of the underlying card that were themselves inherited from a card that it overlaid. [ADDED May 6 2008]
The inherited ability on the new card is the same copy, and remembers whether it has been used. However, in the process of inheriting, if the overlaying card has a different title than the underlying one, references in abilities to the card’s own title are changed to the new title, similar to what happens when an ability is copied.
The underlying card’s attachments, tokens, and game state, including ongoing effects, also apply to the new stack, but this does not transfer or attach anything, or begin or end any game state on a card. Specifically, existing bonuses and penalties to the underlying card’s stats will transfer to the overlaying card.
Ongoing effects generated by the underlying card continue normally, even if generated by a trait that is lost by overlaying. For purposes of effects that track whether a card remains in play, the overlaid card is considered to be the same card as the underlying card. [ADDED 28 December 2007]
Likewise, delayed effects originally activated upon a card, when that card is later overlaid, will affect the overlaying card when they are applied. [ADDED 23 March 2008]
An stack of two or more cards may be overlaid again.
When a stack containing overlaying cards leaves play, all underlying cards in it are removed from the game.
Only Personalities can overlay or be overlaid. Effects that loosen the rules about what card can overlay another do not break this rule unless explicitly stated (for example, a Personality who "can overlay any Monk" cannot overlay a Monk Follower).
[edit] Face up and face down
A card, in or out of play, is either face up or face down. Rules for how and when cards normally turn face up or face down depend on which game area they are in.
A player may look at his or her face-down cards in play at any time. Whether a face-down card out of play can be looked at depends on the game area it is in. [ADDED March 1 2008]
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