Timing

From Legend of the Five Rings Rules

[edit] Timing

Actions and triggered traits each have a distinct time they start; two actions or triggered traits will never start at the same time.

Once an action or triggered trait starts, apply all its costs, targeting, and effects in sequence before proceeding, even if another action or triggered trait is under way.

EXCEPTION: Some effects may be delayed (see Delayed effects) and are applied at a later time in the game than they resolve.

Limited, Open, and Battle actions each have a time they are taken in the sequence of play for the Action Phase or Combat Segment.

Reactions and triggered traits have a trigger – an occurrence in the game they respond to. Triggers are usually written as happening “before” or “after” something else.

A phrase such as "before X would happen" is equivalent to "before X happens." The conditional mood indicated by "would" is irrelevant to the function of the "before" timing point. [ADDED March 23 2008]

If you have one timing trigger of "after" something ends in a sequence and another timing trigger of "before" the next thing in a sequence begins, the "after" trigger to the first thing in the sequence comes first.

Example: A triggered trait that has a timing condition of "after your Dynasty Phase ends," always gets played before any anything with a timing condition of "before your End Phase begins," is applicable. [Added 28 Nov 2007]

Timing "when" a trigger occurs comes later than "before" but prior to "after" the trigger. "When" timing usually only comes up in specific cases:

1. Effects that produce Gold and are triggered by a Gold payment are written as “when.” All Gold production for a single payment is simultaneous.

2. Effects that alter a player’s choice, such as targeting or assignment, are written as “when (the player) would.” The timing of such a "when... would" effect occurs after the player indicates his or her initial choice, but before the targeting (or other outcome of the choice) actually happens.

Example: “When another player would assign a unit to attack one of your provinces: You may assign it to a different province.”

3. Effects of conditional continuous traits, if the triggering occurrence means that their condition becomes true, begin at the "when" point. Effects of such traits that no longer apply because their condition is now false, also end at the "when" point. See Duration of effects.

Example: "This card has +2F while bowed." The Force bonus is gained "when" the card bows and lost "when" the card straightens.

4. Delayed effects that are triggered by an occurrence with no indication of "before" or "after" happen at the "when" point.

Example: "The next time he straightens, dishonor him" happens "when" the card straightens.

Timing conflicts for the "when" trigger are resolved as any other timing conflict would be resolved.

Some triggers refer to a time point in the game by what normally happens at that point, using the indefinite plural.
Examples: “After Focus Effects resolve in a duel:”; “After armies engage:”.
These timings do not require that anything happens at that time point. Compare this to triggers worded using more definite language, such as, “After a Focus Effect resolves:” or “After one or more armies engage,” which trigger to the actual occurrence rather than the mere time point.

If two or more reactions, triggered traits, or rules procedures are triggered at the same point in time, follow this sequence from A through F to resolve their order.

A. Apply any ongoing or continuous effects, such as "can not" wording, that negate or otherwise modify the occurrence that defines the trigger. For example, "can not move home" negation happens at this point prior to a unit moving home, so that no other triggered effects, traits or actions can respond to the unit's movement. The active player decides the order in which more than one of these effects apply.

B. If the point in time is a "when" timing, continuous conditional effects that depend on the triggering occurrence take effect now. [ADDED July 30 2007]

C. Apply any triggered rulebook effects that are not part of actions, such as rehonoring Personalities instead of Honor gain. The active player decides the order in which more than one of these effects apply.

EXCEPTION: Assignment that happens at a non-standard point in time follows special rules; see “assign,” Glossary.

D. Apply any delayed effects or indefinite conditional effects that resolved previously and are timed to the trigger (such as, “After the next time this turn he assigns…” or "After each time this turn a Personality assigns...") The active player decides the order in which more than one of these effects apply. If different sources each give multiple delayed or indefinite conditional effects to the same trigger, the active player decides which source's effects apply first, but multiple such effects from the same source all happen before such effects from the next source happen.

Example: If two delayed effects on the same personality say "After he assigns, dishonor him, and his controller loses 2 Honor," the effects apply as follows: dishonor him, lose 2 Honor, dishonor him again, lose 2 Honor.

[Indefinite conditional effects ADDED 23 May 2008]

E. Apply any triggered traits on cards. The active player decides the order in which more than one of these effects apply.

F. Reactions may now be taken following an action round procedure. Starting with the active player, each player in turn order has the option to take a Reaction to the trigger or pass. When all players pass consecutively, no more Reactions to that occurrence of the trigger may be taken.

EXCEPTION: Gold production from multiple sources to pay a single cost occurs in an order chosen by the player paying the cost, even if this would violate the order of A through F above (such as by using a gold-producing Reaction before the rulebook-granted Stronghold gold production). [ADDED Sept 13 2007]

The order of resolution means that effects that come first, due to the above order or the active player’s decision, can negate, alter or render irrelevant effects that come later.

Triggered traits are not optional to take; a player can delay them until after he or she takes other traits activated by that trigger, but must take them at some point.

A player can not use the same Reaction or triggered trait twice to a single triggering occurrence from the same copy of a card, or from the rules.

If the order of simultaneous triggers to an occurrence needs to be determined, the active player determines their order.
Example: Two personalities destroyed simultaneously in battle resolution, A and B, each have a Reaction or trait that trigger before they are destroyed. The active player decides whether Reactions and traits triggered by A’s destruction happen before or after Reactions and traits triggered by B’s destruction.

If it is before the first turn or between turns, the player who will take the next turn is considered the active player for resolving timing conflicts.

Responses to a trigger must be taken as soon as the trigger occurs; the player can not choose to delay them without support from card text.

Responses happening after or before a period of time (such as a turn or phase) do not count as part of that period of time.

In all the above examples in which the active player determines the order of occurrences, he or she determines this order as the occurrences are happening, not beforehand, such that each occurrence happens exactly once.

[edit] "Next/first time" triggers

Some triggers may occur at the first occurrence of some future event, such as "the next time a Personality bows" or "the first time this turn an attack is declared." If such a trigger refers to two events in this way, and joins them with "or," the trigger occurs when either of those events first happens, and does not occur if the other event subsequently happens.
Example: A Personality is subject to a trigger "after the next time this turn he assigns to attack or moves to an attacking army." If he assigns to attack, the trigger occurs after that, and does not occur if later in the turn he moves into an attacking army.
[ADDED March 16 2008]

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