TM

Credits
Head of R&D Lead Designer Brand Management Original Concept & Design Creative and Marketing Director Art Director Story Team Rulebook Writing Rulebook Design & Layout Cover Artist Technical Editing David Williams Jeff Alexander Raymond Lau David Seay, Ryan S. Dancey, Matt Wilson, Matt Staroscik, John Wick and John Zinser Mark Jelfo jim pinto Shawn Carman, Ryan S. Dancey,, Don Perrin and Rich Wulf Jeff Alexander, David Williams and Rich Wulf Mark Jelfo and Justin Lawler Eric Polak D.J. Trindle

Table of Contents
Return of the Master (fiction) Whats New in Diamond Edition Using These Rules with Older Cards Welcome to the Legend of the Five Rings Overview of Card Types How to Win Setup Bowing Bringing Cards into Play Sequence of Play: A Quick First Glance Card Types in Detail Bonuses and Penalties Abilities and Traits Costs and Effects Tokens Canceling Actions and Negating Effects Targeting and Redirection Actions Sequence of Play in Detail Straighten Phase Events Phase Action Phase Attack Phase Dynasty Phase End Phase Special Situations Special Traits Allen, Bob, and Cindy Go to War: A Sample Attack Phase Optional Rules Glossary Rokugani Terms Experienced players: go to page 32 for the changes in this rules revision! 4 32 32 34 34 50 50 54 55 56 58 62 63 69 71 72 72 74 76 76 76 76 77 85 86 87 91 94 97 98 106

Playtesters: Alex Hawman, Andrew Ornatov, Andy Dupy, Anne Trent, Art Reid, Barry Sheppard, Ben Handy, Brandon Flores, Bryan Reese, Chris Bowyer, Colin Eager, Craig Edwards, Dan Dineen, Dan Tibbles, Dan Tistan, Daniel A. Walker, Devin Precourt, Dustin Hall, Earl Dempster, Ed Cote, Emmanual Gambliel, Emmett Murphy, Eoin Burke, Eric Steiger, Gordon OKeefe, Jared Devlin-Scherer, Jason Brown, Jason Potter, Jeff Furnish, Jeff Malcolm, Jeremy Holcomb, Jim Brophy, Jim Callahan, Joe Fulgham, Joe Keyser, John Ling, Jon Palmer, Jonathan Rigsby, Jordan Murari, Josh Coats, Josh Gaydos, Justin Walsh, Kelly Garcia, Kevin Christopher, Kevin Gaffuri, Lee Masheter, Leon Phillips, Mark Wootton, Matt Loomis, Matt Marvel, Mike Colson, Mike OBrien, Nathan Peever, Nick Zube, Nik Vincent, Paul Jacobs, Ralph Martin, Ralph Tropeano, Riley Bushman, Robert Read, Ron Carlson, Ryan Anderson, Ryan Carter, Scott Hadsall, Scott Pagliaroni, Sean Whittaker, Sigfried Trent, Stephen McLaughlin, Ted Renner, Tom McDonnell, Travis OBrien, Tyler Lucas, Vaughn Derderian, Warren Banks Rulebook Artists: Anthony Francisco, April Lee, Ben Peck, Britt Martin, Christopher Appel, Drew Baker, Ed Cox, Eric Polak, Llyn Hunter, Malcom McClinton, Thomas Manning, Thomas Denmark, Tony Moseley, William OConnor. LEGEND OF THE FIVE RINGS is produced by AEG under license from Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. and 2003 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. U.S. Patent #5,662,332 used under license from Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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Return of the Master

By Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman
Koto leaned against his spear and stared out into the night with a watchful, if slightly disappointed eye. Tonight, it was his duty to guard the gates of Toku Torid-E, the Virtuous Keep of the Monkey Clan. Though he was proud to serve at such a post given his relative youth, he could not help but wish that he could ride in the Imperial Legions with his brother and sister. To stand at the gates alone was quite an honor, but the simple truth was that the Monkey Clan had no enemies. Bandits avoided them, ronin respected them, and the Great Clans afforded them the same reverence they reserved for the Imperial Families. Koto knew nothing would happen tonight, and was glad for the security of his family home, though somewhere deep down he wished that things were more interesting. Careful, Koto-san, whispered a voice near his ear. When foolish young samurai wish for foolish things, the Fortunes often listen, if only to teach him a lesson. Koto gasped in surprise and whirled about with his spear, holding the weapon shakily to defend himself. A figure stood just outside the light of the castle gates, clad in swirling black robes. His hair and beard formed a wild mane around his face. His dark eyes watched Koto with detached amusement. Master Tokei, Koto said, lowering his weapon with a relieved sigh. He bowed belatedly, remembering his manners. You frightened me. Naka Tokei tilted his head as he approached, arms folded in his robes. Oh? he replied. I was told that Tokus children had no fear. That is not what I meant, Tokei-sama, Koto stammered, face reddening in shame. I mean only that you surprised me. Be not ashamed, Koto-san, Tokei replied. To carry fear in your heart is no dishonor. Rather, to let your fear carry you, that is where the danger lies. As Tokei approached closer, Koto noticed that the old shugenja was deathly pale. His long
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braids were frayed and unkempt. His eyes looked tired, haunted. Is Lord Toku home? he asked. Or Lady Nayoko perhaps? Koto shook his head quickly. Mother and father have been called to attend the Imperial Court. If you wish to speak to someone important, I could fetch Bokatu or Doppo Tokei shook his head slowly. What I have to say is for your fathers ears alone, he said, his voice slightly hoarse. I was he was supposed to be here. Tokei shook his head, as if trying to dislodge an unpleasant sensation. Master Tokei? Koto asked, holding out one hand to steady the old man. Are you well? Perhaps you should come inside the keep and relax. No, Tokei said, waving Kotos hands away. The gesture caused the shugenja to lose his balance, stumbling slightly. Koto reached out quickly, grabbing Tokeis shoulder to steady him. Through his thick robe, Kotei could feel the shugenjas shoulder, thin and rawboned as if he were wasting away. Please, Master Tokei, Koto pressed. You are not well. Perhaps you are right, Tokei said with a sigh.

Hida Masu smiled grimly as he crushed the last goblin. It had been a large pack, but the wretched creatures never had a chance. He glanced at Hida Reiha, who was casually flicking the blood from her katana. How many did you get, Reiha-sama? She looked down disinterestedly. Eight. The Lady of Crab was small, demure, and wielded an axe with a vengeance. Most in the clan adored her, Masu included. His smile widened. Only eight? I counted ten. Youre humoring me. I just wish you to feel youre doing well, She said with a smile. In any case, I think Kuon has surpassed both of us.
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Masu turned and paled. Hida Kuon, Crab Champion, shouldered his mighty jade hammer, a gift from the artisans of the Crane. Well over a dozen goblins lay dead around him. He looked at Masu. How long have we been in the Shadowlands? The Crab warrior glanced up at the sun. About six hours, Kuon-sama. The Champion grunted. We should head back. Our jade rations will not protect us if we continue. He scowled at the head of his hammer. We could finally end this war if we only had more jade. The Crane are trying to secure more from the gaijin, husband, Reiha offered. Give them time. Trust our allies. In the meantime, the prosperity our alliance has brought us will make the Great Wall stronger than ever. The Crab will never fail again. Kuon nodded, but stared to the south with a hateful glare. Somewhere deep in the Shadowlands, his fallen twin brother, now known as the demon Kyofu, served as general of the Lost. Soon, brother, he muttered under his breath. Very soon.

In the heart of the city, the Temple of the Ninth Kami stood silent. The Dark Lord had sent his monks and retainers about their business and retreated to his throne room. Only one other remained at Daigotsus side. This was Mishime, Lord of the Chuda, Daigotsus personal hatamoto. In the last five years, he had been the Dark Lords most invaluable ally. He had aided Daigotsu in establishing the Lost families true orders of Tainted samurai and shugenja who had sworn fealty to the Shadowlands as Rokugani samurai swore fealty to the Empire the Goju, the Daigotsu, the Chuda. Now all bore their names as proudly as any Akodo or Doji. But even this accomplishment was not Mishimes greatest asset, nor was it the shugenjas incredible magical power. The Dark Lord trusted Mishime because he was loyal, because he was discreet, and because for nearly five years the shugenja had helped Daigotsu conceal the fact that, since his return to life following his confrontation with the Four Winds, he was nearly powerless. Daigotsu paced his throne room. The chambers stood empty, still scarred and blasted from Daigotsus duel with Toturi Sezaru years ago. Akodo Kanekas broken katana remained buried in the throne. The Dark Lord refused to allow any sign of the epic battle to be removed. It served as a reminder, he said, of why the Lost should always be vigilant. The Dark Lord inspected the remains of the battle once more, while Mishime remained silent in the background.

In the heart of the Shadowlands stood a city like none other. It was a city of corruption and madness, populated by the wickedest souls in the Empire. The hellish realm of Jigoku had put its mark upon this place and all who dwelled here. This was the city of the Lost, the Dark Lords city.
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Doji Kurohito leapt forward and made one perfect strike with his blade, then immediately sheathed it as if it had never been drawn. A single leaf drifted to the ground, breaking into three pieces as it touched the beautifully manicured grounds of the gardens at Kyuden Doji. Kurohito allowed himself a brief smile, then folded his arms and turned back to his comrade. Please continue. Ah, yes, Kakita Mai said, attempting to gather her wits. Where was I again? Explaining the status of our efforts in court.
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Of course, Mai said. Everything is proceeding very well. We fully expect this years Winter Court to be held within Kyuden Doji. We have major allies in every clan save the Lion. Even then, we are on far better terms than for many decades. Most regard your friendship with Lion Champion Matsu Nimuro as sufficient to prevent any possible hostilities. Kurohito nodded, then looked up in irritation as someone came running through the garden, shattering the tranquil silence. The messenger ran all the way across the garden, dropping to his knees and sliding the last few feet to kneel before Kurohito. My lord Kurohito-sama! I bring grave news from the Imperial City! What has happened? Kurohito asked calmly. A fire, my lord. A terrible fire has ravaged nearly a quarter of Toshi Ranbo. Was anyone among the court hurt? Mai asked. No, Mai-sama, the messenger responded. The Imperial Court escaped unscathed, but many minor bureaucrats have been killed. The Lion suggest that the fire began in the half of the city the Crane defend. Do they? Kurohito said, his eyes blazing. Mai, muster Seishiros Legion and prepare to leave immediately. I will mobilize my private guard and join you. We march on Lion lands. Do we plan to attack? Mai asked. We plan to negotiate, Kurohito said, but we also plan to be prepared.

Are you felling better, Master Tokei? Koto asked. Quite a bit, yes, he said. In fact, I was just thinking of how much you reminded me of your father. Koto straightened a bit, beaming with pride. Truly? he asked in a quiet voice. Tokei nodded gruffly, shoveling more rice into his mouth. He spoke as he chewed, spitting a few grains into his beard. Back in my youth, when your father and I rode with Toturis Army, it was always the same. Toku was never the wisest bushi, nor the strongest, nor the quickest Koto frowned uncomfortably, unused to hearing such things about his legendary father. But, Tokei said, looking up with an intense gaze, your father was always the practical one. He was the one who cautioned me to rest when I spent too much time at my scrolls. He was the one who urged peace when Dairya would have dueled any who slighted his honor. He was the one who pulled Ginawa from his cups and helped him to find focus once more. And when the war became so grim that even the Black Lion lost hope, Toku was the one who urged Toturi to keep fighting. Arigato, Tokei-sama, Koto said in a quiet voice. The young bushi was in awe. He had heard many tales of his fathers great deeds, but most focused upon the battles he had fought, the enemies he had defeated. For some reason, Koto found that the old masters simple compliment meant much more. You honor my father. No more and no less than he deserves, Tokei replied. Steel and magic are fine things, Koto, but to keep an Empire alive requires something more. Such was your fathers virtue: determination. The power not only to be great, but to inspire others to greatness. Thus it comes as no surprise Tokei trailed off uncomfortably. He looked away from Koto, his eyes fixing on a candle flame in a far corner of the room.

Tokei allowed Koto to lead him into the Virtuous Keep. The young bushi saw to it that the castle servants made Tokei comfortable in the dining chamber then hurried off to find a guard to take his place at the gates. When Koto returned, Tokei was already half finished with his second bowl of rice. He looked up at Koto with a sudden grin.
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Kenzo bowed deeply. Thank you my Satsu was gone. The great volcano known as Tamoris Furnace dominated the Tamori familys lands, visible for miles in every direction. Togashi Satsu watched as a young Mirumoto samurai scaled the well-worn path in the mountains side, his arms loaded with a heavy burden. Satsu frowned. He was the Dragon Champion, head of the Togashi Order, and the grandson of a god. Yet he had never seen so conflicted a soul as this young man. For all his vaunted wisdom, he did not know how to help him. He only knew that this boys destiny was important, and could spell victory or disaster for the Dragon Clan. Time would tell. The young man looked up in surprise. Ah hello, Satsu-sama. I did not see you when I started up the mountain. Are you well, Mirumoto Kenzo? I am, my lord. The young man bowed deeply, then walked to the edge and tossed the bag into the volcano. Seconds later there was a great flash, and streams of strangely colored energy wafted lazily from the lava below. My hunters recovered these items, and the Tamori and Kitsuki were unable to determine their purpose. And thus you destroyed them, Satsu said. As ordered by Rosanjin and Temoru, Kenzo said. Those nemuranai we cannot identify must be destroyed. Such items have pained our people too much already. You know much of pain, Kenzo. Satsu regarded the young man carefully. I fear that this duty is too taxing for you. No, my lord, Kenzo insisted without hesitation. I protect the Dragon as my father once did. Satsu nodded. Mirumoto Junnosuke had been a mighty general before his rage had consumed him, driving him to join the Lost. Kenzo spoke of him with deep reverence. Know that you may ask for anything you require, and it will be yours.
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The Dark Lords narrow gaunt face was thoughtful as he gazed out his window at the city below. His white hair hung loose over his shoulders. His porcelain mask worn only during battle and when worshipping the dark god Fu Leng hung from his waist beside his sword. They have grown strong again, Mishime, Daigotsu said, his voice the rich tenor of a practiced statesman. Already the questions have begun. When will we take our vengeance upon the Empire? When will we again assert our superiority over Rokugan? Soon those questions will grow in volume, he turned to look at Mishime, and I fear my answers may not be sufficient. You worry overmuch, Dark Lord, Mishime said, hands clasped as if in prayer. The Lost revere you second only to Fu Leng himself. They remember the victories you delivered at the Kaiu Wall and Otosan Uchi. Of all those who have called themselves Dark Lord, none can compare to your accomplishments. The lanky Chudas bearing was obsequious, almost servile, but Daigotsu knew that such was only
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Mishimes way. The man had been raised in the Empire, trained to hide his power behind flattery and self-deprecation. Daigotsu saw through to the sincerity in Mishimes words. Thank you for the vote of confidence, my friend but I think you are wrong, Daigotsu replied. His fingers caressed the golden no-dachi on its stand near the window. Fu Leng himself blessed this sword, the Hantei sword, so that only those of my blood could wield it. It is a symbol of my authority over the Lost, but I do not truly believe any of that matters. They claim to serve me, but most revere only power. Should they recognize that I have none, I will be discarded as surely as all the others. The families shall fall to infighting as the Horde of old, and this city will crumble. You are not powerless, Daigotsu, Mishime said with a small shake of his head. Your control of maho has increased considerably since your rebirth. Oh? Daigotsu replied. He gestured at Mishime and spoke words of dark magic, releasing a crackling bolt of red lightning at his hatamoto. Mishime reacted quickly, knocking the bolt aside with a wave of one hand. He looked at Daigotsu in surprise. I used that same spell against Toturi Sezaru five years ago. Now it is barely enough to distract you, Daigotsu replied. He clutched his right arm. Even the limb Omoni crafted to replace the one I lost begins to wither. I no longer have the power to sustain it. If we go to war with Rokugan, the Lost shall expect me to stand against the Elemental Masters, or the Jade Champion. What will happen if I fall?

There was a fire, my lord, one man offered. Nimuro looked about at the blackened walls and the haze that still filled the room. Get out, he commanded. The man paled and left immediately. Now, someone answer my question without regurgitating the obvious. I have no time for fools. We believe the fire started in a warehouse in the northwestern quarter, my lord, said Matsu Aoiko, stepping up to the Champion and bowing deeply. It spread rapidly, and consumed several buildings within our portions of the city. This building marks the end of the damage. She held out a small bag. We found this in the warehouse. Nimuro took the bag and untied it. It was filled with some foul black powder. He sniffed it carefully. Daidoji, he said, clenching it in his fist. It is a powder the Dragon sometimes use in their firework celebrations, my lord, Aoiko said. Someone made a terrible mistake, Nimuro said, throwing the bag back to Aoiko. And that someone was a Crane. No one threatens the Lion interests in Toshi Ranbo. Not even Doji Kurohito. Matsu Nimuro, the man called the Golden Lion of Toshi Ranbo, turned and stalked from the room. No one dared speak for a long time after his exit.

The doors burst open as Matsu Nimuro exploded into the room. His eyes were ablaze with fury, and his hand gripped the handle of his blade tightly. The Lion warriors within the chamber all bowed their heads, both out of respect and fear. The wrath of the Lion Clan Champion would not be endured lightly. Tell me what happened here, Nimuro demanded.
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Koto patiently sat across from Tokei. He and his siblings had often studied at the feet of the Grand Master during his visits to the Virtuous Keep. They all knew that Tokei had endured a strange journey across the spirit realms a journey from the depths of hellish Jigoku to the Celestial Dragon Road itself. It was a journey that no other mortal in history had survived, but it had changed him deeply. Sometimes, Tokei became distracted, as if he were walking the paths to those other worlds again. The only thing to do was to wait for his return.
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After nearly a minute of tense silence, Naka Tokei laughed softly. Patience, Tokei said. That was never your fathers virtue. You must have learned that from Nayoko. She was trained as a Scorpion, Koto said with a crooked grin. She says that a poorly placed word can do great harm, but a poorly placed silence harms nothing. Then she is a wise woman, and a fitting match for your father, Tokei replied. He looked down forlornly at his dinner then looked back at Koto. Where might I find your sister, Miyako? he asked. She rides with the First Legion, Koto replied. There was a large fire in Toshi Ranbo, and the Lion and Crane have blamed one another. The Legion hopes to ensure that their feud does not harm the Imperial City. A noble quest, Tokei said. The court is too public for me to dare warn your father now, but perhaps Miyako can aid me. Her connections in the Legion may allow discretion which my presence would otherwise negate. Koto, can you spare a swift horse?

Koto stared at the old shugenja in blank silence, conflicting emotions stealing any thought of response. While he was curious what danger may lie in the court that Tokei could not dare to reveal to his father; he was also jealous that his sister might be chosen to help Tokei deal with it instead of him. When Koto realized Tokei was still waiting for an answer, he cleared his throat and answered quickly. Of course, Tokei-sama. He rose quickly from his seat. I will ready the horse myself so that you can leave without alerting suspicion. Arigato, Tokei nodded. With that dealt with, Tokei returned his attention to his dinner. Koto noticed that the old shugenja ate much like his father did picking the choicest bits of food and swallowing them quickly. It was a habit that both had learned during their days on the road as ronin, a habit that had earned Koto and his brother a fierce scolding from their mother when they began to emulate it.

This is fantastic, Kumiko-sama! Yoritomo Ukyo cried exuberantly. Beside him in the bow of the ship, Yoritomo Kumiko looked at the younger Mantis curiously. Ukyo-san, contain yourself, the Daughter or Storms said, pushing an errant lock of hair out of her mouth as the sea wind whipped across the deck. Someone looking on might think that youve never been aboard a ship before. Have I? Ukyo asked, looking down at the petite Mantis Champion. To sail on a ship beside you, Daughter of Storms, makes me forget all else that came before. Kumiko gave the young sailor a hard look. Kamotos recommendation won you a place on this vessel, nothing more, she said sternly. Do not test me. Ukyos face fell. He bowed his head shamefully. I am sorry, Daughter of Storms, he replied. Kumiko gave Ukyo a steady look for several moments, then grinned. Raucous laughter broke out from the rest of the crew, all pointing and jeering at Ukyo.

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That was for the sama, Ukyo, Kumiko said, clapping him on the back and laughing. While on this ship, we are family. Do not kowtow to me as if I were an Otomo lord! Ukyo laughed nervously. Kamoto warned me that your line of the family had a strange sense of humor, he replied. As well as a strange sense of honor? she asked, raising her eyebrow. Ukyo said nothing. Come now, Ukyo-san. I heard that our reputation for piracy was what drew you to volunteer for this ship. Ukyo looked up at Kumiko. Is it true? Ukyo asked, looking down at the deck. Is the Third Kama truly a pirate vessel? Of course not, Kumiko replied. It is simply a vessel of the Mantis Champion, who by decree of the Emperor Toturi rules the seas of Rokugan. Ship off the port bow, shouted the lookout. Merchant vessel! Ah, an invader in our territory, Kumiko said, looking up at Ukyo pertly. She drew her twin kama, hooked blades gleaming in the starlight. Let us see to his travel papers, yes?

Shahai left because she wished to help me, Daigotsu replied. I was uncertain of the risk in her plan, as I still am. I do not doubt the depths of her commitment, Mishime. I only doubt the other commitments she still holds. Do you fear betrayal from the Bloodspeakers? Mishime replied. You are a Bloodspeaker, Mishime, Daigotsu said, looking at the shugenja frankly. Would you consider it wise to trust any member of your order out of hand? Mishime frowned, unable to meet Daigotsus gaze. No, my lord, he said. Our order is powerful and divisive. Some cells still defy you merely because it is their nature to do so. Some believe that to acknowledge any master other than their founder is tantamount to heresy. The fools, Daigotsu hissed. They see their own arrogance reflected in others. All that draws upon the power of Jigoku must bow before Fu Leng, and I am his chosen servant! Daigotsu beat his chest with a clenched fist. Iuchiban is nothing before the Dark Kami. He sought no greater goal than destruction. He openly defied his own Taint, seeking to control it and channel it into others, rather than mastering it as I have. The Bloodspeakers who still follow him follow a false path. I know this, my lord, Mishime said mildly. As do many others. The others will eventually lie in homage before Fu Leng, either due to loyalty or because our soldiers have cut their legs from beneath them. Mishime chuckled softly to himself. I apologize, my lord. Sometimes my baser nature dominates me and I sound like that maniac, Kyofu. Daigotsu shrugged. Maniacs have their place, he replied. They often see the world more clearly than those burdened with sanity. A soft knock from the throne room doors drew the attention of both men. Daigotsu looked up, alert, prepared for anything. Dark Lord, came the voice of one of his retainers. You have a visitor. Send them away, Daigotsu said sharply. I am not to be disturbed.

What matters weakness while your mind is still sharp and true? You need not fight your own battles, Daigotsu, Mishime replied. You have countless minions prepared to fight and die on your behalf. The Onisu, Kokujin, Shahai, myself I trust Kokujin, and I created the Onisu, Daigotsu mused, pacing the room slowly, arms folded behind his back. Of Shahai I am not so sure. Not anymore. You doubt Shahai? Mishime asked in a dubious tone. Why would you doubt her, if I may ask? For all I can see she is the most loyal of all your allies. She serves you because she chooses to do so. Because she worships you. Because she loves you, if I may be so bold. I know the two of you did not part on the best of terms
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A sudden explosion echoed from the hallway, tearing the door to splinters. The Obsidian Magistrate who had spoken was thrown through the passage, smashing into the wall beside Daigotsus throne. Mishime winced and ducked aside. Daigotsu looked on, eyes narrowing as he slowly drew the mask from his belt.

Shiba Mirabu knelt silently at the shrines main altar. He prayed at Shibas Shrine each morning, asking for the guidance and strength necessary to lead the Phoenix. He never considered himself worthy of the title Phoenix Champion, but there had been no one else. He had known five years ago when the Elemental Masters, the clans most powerful shugenja, had offered the position to him, it was little more than damage control, a political maneuver to restore the loyalty that had wavered during Shiba Aikunes time in command of the clans armies. The Phoenix Clan had suffered much, and they needed a Champion to rally around. Mirabu was the only option. Someone waited behind him. Mirabu finished his prayer and rose. He turned and bowed. Good fortune, Isawa Nakamuro-sama, he said. To what honor do I owe a visit from the Master of Air? Nakamuro returned the bow. I have only come to offer my report, Mirabu-sama, he said, returning the honorific sama. The repairs to Nikesake are complete. Our new trade agreements with the Crane have brought much prosperity to our lands, and the Isawa have forged a rough alliance with the Unicorn. Mirabu nodded. I wondered if we would survive, he confessed. Nakamuro frowned. You mean the war? he asked. It has taken long, but I had no doubts we would prosper. Your leadership has brought us together, Mirabu. Mirabu studied Nakamuro carefully. Of all the Elemental Masters, he was the least likely to offer hollow flattery. Mirabu bowed, grateful for the kind words.
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Nakamuro waved the gesture away. You deserve all the accolades I can offer and more, he replied. The important thing is that the Phoenix stand united. The jealousy and conflict between our families is a thing of the past. Whatever comes next, the Phoenix shall face it as a clan.

Leaving Tokei alone with his meal, Koto hurried to the stables. His mind raced as he walked past the stalls, studying each horse until he found the finest one. What was the Grand Master doing here? He was always a mysterious sort, coming and going as he pleased, but this was peculiar even for him. Naka Tokei was among the most powerful shugenja in Rokugan. For him to be so exhausted and confused was an ill omen indeed. When he had arrived, he had been so certain that Kotos father would be in the castle. Could there be a shugenja powerful enough to thwart the Grand Master? What did his father have to do with any of this? Koto was so distracted with worry and confusion that he did not see the dead stable hand until his sandal trod on the lifeless hand. Koto looked down with shock just as the intruder slid a knife into his belly.
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Koto clutched at the blade with his left hand and sneered up at his attacker. The assassins eyes narrowed behind his black hooded mask, gauging the pain on the young Monkeys face. Koto ignored the cold pain in his abdomen, reaching for his katana with a shaking hand. The killer stepped forward, twisting the knife. Koto cried out in pain and drew his katana, swinging it at the assassins face. The blade swung true but its target cursed and knocked the boys strike away with a steel gauntlet. The assassin darted backward, releasing the knife and letting Koto fall clumsily on the floor. The young Monkey looked down feebly as blood streamed over his fingers. He peered back up at the masked assassin. The young bushi shook with fear, afraid that he would die before he had truly lived. The killer drew a slim blade with a low steel sigh. The weapon was the length of a forearm with a straight blade, more like a long knife than a samurais wakizashi. Go to Yomi and wait for your father, Monkey, the intruder hissed in a womans voice.

To those traitors who yet live, Kawamura continued. We shall have revenge, Sunetra finished. With a silent nod to Kawamura, Sunetra composed herself and rose to depart. As the lithe Scorpion warrior made her way through the gloomy, darkened forest Kawamura prayed for the quick death of whoever had drawn her Ladys wrath.

I am not to be denied, said a voice through the smoke and debris. A tall man in a fine white kimono strode into the throne room, eyes taking in the charred walls and shattered throne. His handsome face creased for a moment in disapproval before he bowed to Daigotsu. It was a quick, shallow bow, a bow between equals. Lord Daigotsu, he said. Who are you? Daigotsu said, glaring at the man from behind his demonic mempo. He edged slowly toward the golden no-dachi.

Bayushi Sunetra, Mistress of Secrets, knelt silently in Traitors Grove. All around her, the swords, armor, and masks of dead Scorpion warriors hung from the trees. The wind made a mournful sound as it passed. Sunetra seldom wore masks, generally preferring a thin covering of makeup to disguise her features. Today, she wore a steel mempo carved in the manner of an oni, and was glad for it. Behind the mask, tears streamed from her blue eyes. She bowed her head gently as she prayed to those gone into the realms beyond. Beside her, Kawamura appeared without a sound. The old woman was called the Ghost of Traitors Grove, for who but a ghost would choose to live in such a bleak, hopeless place? She watched Sunetra, unreadable behind her featureless silver mask. Finally, she knelt and began to pray as well. For those who came before, Kawamura whispered, beginning her daily prayer. For who gave their lives for loyalty and honor, Sunetra replied.
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I am your ancestor, the man replied, striding quickly toward Daigotsu. I have come to take what is mine. Mishime stepped toward the man, defiantly shouting words of magic, but the intruder gestured curtly, and Mishime fell to his knees, gasping for breath. The man looked down at Mishime curiously. Another thing that was once mine. You defend your master well, Chuda, but you forget who should truly command your loyalty. Mishime looked up, eyes bloodshot with pain. Iuchiban! he coughed, flecks of blood flying from his mouth. Daigotsu drew the golden no-dachi. Black fire coursed along its length in reply to his touch. He regarded his opponent warily. Shahai warned that you would not bow to me, Iuchiban said in a bored voice. I hoped to disappoint her, as you have built a spectacular army. Surrender it to me.
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I serve only Fu Leng, Daigotsu hissed, advancing toward Iuchiban. My Bloodspeakers created you, Iuchiban said more firmly. All that you have ever been suits only my purposes. All that you have created is mine. Those who deny destiny are doomed to be crushed beneath it. Daigotsu said nothing, only charged at Iuchiban with his blade drawn. The room swam, and suddenly Daigotsu saw his body floating beneath him. Pain surged through his soul as he felt his essence begin to crumble away, pushed free of its mortal form by Iuchibans magic. The Dark Lord summoned what power he had remaining, seeking any anchor he could find. The pain vanished, and Daigotsu looked down to see he now wore robes of pure white. Daigotsus body, still holding the golden no-dachi, circled him with a small smile. Impressive, Iuchibans voice said from the stolen body. Most souls simply die when I possess them so. Perhaps you have more power left than Shahai believes. Then kill me if you can, Daigotsu replied.

The border between the Unicorn Clan lands and the Lion Clan lands was rather indistinct, especially of late. The two touched at the City of the Rich Frog, a former city of ronin that had been absorbed by the Lion years ago, but for the most part they were separated by empty plains and low hills. On a clear day, it was sometimes possible to see Lion forces practicing on the plains that marked their western border. Only mutual respect of one anothers powerful armies kept the peace most of the time, and both clans liked it that way. Moto Chagatai, Unicorn Clan Khan, sat atop his horse and surveyed the horizon. There was some movement there, but it was impossible to place at this point. Ikoma cavalry perhaps. Or Matsu infantry. What do you see, my Khan? Moto Kouang was one of Chagatais chief advisors. She was still quite young, but remarkable in her tactical abilities and powers of perception. With Chen gone to court and Tadaji having passed on to the next world, the Khan had valued her counsel greatly over the past few years. Hers had been the loudest voice lobbying for an alliance with the Crane and Mantis clans, an alliance that had made the Unicorn far richer than they could have dreamed. But as much success as he had, the Khan always thirsted for more. I see opportunity. I see the future. Battle on these plains, Unicorn and Lion blood mixing in the grass. I see glory and power. He turned to Kouang. What do you see? She smiled. I see the same thing. And something else. Chagatai raised an eyebrow. What might that be? Victory.

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Kotos eyes narrowed. His fear was gone. Stay away from my family, he warned, blood trickling from his lips. The assassin paused, a thoughtful expression in her eyes. Then thunder shook the stables. A fierce wind blew the doors open with a crash. Naka Tokei stood revealed in a fiery nimbus. One hand held an unfurled scroll covered with sacred kanji. The other pointed toward the assassin, two fingers extended in a sign against evil. I give you one chance to surrender, Tokei said. The shugenja glided across the stable toward the assassin, his feet not truly touching the ground. The assassin reached for something at her belt. Tokei spoke a single word and a bolt of pure red fire erupted from his fingertips. It consumed the woman in an instant, not even leaving ash behind. Tokei hovered over the fallen Monkey, gazing at his wound with a dispassionate frown. Please help my father, Tokei-sama, Koto whispered, laying back on the floor. He could feel cold spreading through his arms and legs. We will both live to help him, boy, Tokei said. The Grand Master drew another scroll from his obi and spoke a single word of magic. The blade slid from Kotos stomach, drawing a sharp cry from the boy as its serrated edge came free. Flesh twisted at the Grand Masters command, knitting and folding until the wound was closed once more. The spell complete, Tokei allowed his magical aura to fade. He settled heavily to the ground, leaning against a wooden pillar as he gasped with exhaustion. Koto tried to sit up and help the old shugenja, but a searing fire tore through his stomach. Stay down, Tokei said in an irritated voice. I have healed what I can, but you must let nature take its course. A pair of Monkey samurai rushed into the stable behind Tokei, looking down at the charred floor and their wounded comrade in amazement. One stooped, helping Koto to his feet.
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Tokei knelt, lifting the serrated dagger from the floor. The weapons steel had a strange red hue. A ruby so dark it was nearly black was set into the hilt. With an impatient grunt he tucked the blade into his obi and began preparing a steed. The other Monkey samurai hurried to aid him, not even questioning the Grand Masters presence in the stable. Master Tokei, Koto called weakly. If you are going to tell me to rest, Tokei said, still gasping for breath, Think again. What was it your father said to me that time? I must not stop. I cannot rest. The empire is at stake and any man can make a difference. Actually, I was going to tell you to take that horse, Koto replied, pointing at a black mare at the end of the row. She is the fastest. Thank you, Koto, Tokei said sincerely, bowing his head to the young Monkey. He saddled the black mare and galloped away into the darkness. Fortunes, please watch over Tokei-sama, Koto said, wishing for all the Empire that he could help, and watch over my family too

The warrior-chieftain Kanokticheck gnawed absently on a stick. It was a delicious stick, fresh from a sapling and a bit green beneath the bark, reminding him of the sweet evergreen of his distant home. Still, his mood could not be improved by a simple snack. His mind was troubled by thoughts of Tomorrow. Tomorrow was the enemy of all Nezumi. Tomorrow was death. Tomorrow loomed just in the distance, waiting to ambush and destroy the One Tribe and finish the job that the heavens had failed to do when they fell from the sky. Tomorrow had many servants, including the cursed Stained Paw. Kanokticheck bared his teeth when he remembered the battle where he had faced the Stained Paw chieftain, deep in the big-big forest, fighting beside the Tattered Ear Tribe.
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Kanokticheck. The warrior looked up to see the old-old chieftain of the Tattered Ear tribe, Zintch, entering the warren. The two were equals in the One Tribe, Zintch for his wisdom and Kanokticheck for his skill in battle. Scout come back. Report from shadow-land. You listen. The old Ratling beckoned for someone to enter. A small scout, Grasping Paw tribe maybe, entered. The little one kept rubbing his digits together nervously or smoothing his whiskers over his blunt muzzle. Zintch nodded, and the scout looked to Kanokticheck. Tainted-Spirit-Man arrive in bigdark human warren. Bring more wicked humans to White-Faced-Tomorrow. White-Faced-Tomorrow, Kanokticheck sneered at the Nezumi name for Daigotsu. Dark army grow-grows? No! the little scout shook his head feverishly. New wicked humans fight with White-Faced-Tomorrow. Big mess. Kanokticheck leaned in carefully. Humans fighting in City of Lost? Fight-fight like Nezumi and Naga, the scout confirmed. The warrior rubbed his paws excitedly. Stained Paw no have allies while humans fight. He looked at Zintch. They weak now. We attack. Kill Tomorrows pack. Join me, Daigotsu replied. His eyes narrowed in concentration and a look of shock flickered in Iuchibans stolen eyes. Daigotsus right arm, the bizarre artifact of flesh Omoni had crafted for him, turned at its true masters command. The arm slashed its bodys stomach. Iuchiban coughed black blood and staggered away in pain, dropping the no-dachi. Daigotsu felt the room swim a second time, and again focused upon the only body he found available. The pain in his leg and back faded, but agony now seared through his torso. Iuchiban had returned him to his own body. Idiot, Iuchiban said as he slumped against the wall, broken leg unable to support him. You have killed yourself. Daigotsu spat blood in Iuchibans face and collapsed forward out the window. The Dark Lord felt the rush of wind surging past him and summoned what magic he had remaining. He felt his descent slow as countless levels of the temple spire fell past him, till he settled gently on the earth. He tried to walk but fell to his knees, his wounds too great to continue. A mob of Lost samurai had gathered about the temple, watching in confusion. At the far edge of the crowd, Daigotsu could see red-robed Bloodspeakers moving swiftly toward him.
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Iuchiban nodded and charged forward, slashing with the golden blade. Daigotsu tried to dodge, but the fire left savage burns across his stolen bodys back. Iuchiban stomped down hard on Daigotsus new thigh, and the Dark Lord winced as he felt the bone snap. He felt a strong kick to his midsection and Iuchiban seized him by the collar, slamming him against the wall beside the window with incredible strength. Fear not, Dark Lord, Iuchiban said in a mocking voice. You shall be with your god for eternity. He lifted the Hantei sword high in his right hand.
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Defend me! Daigotsu commanded, searching the eyes of the followers. Destroy the Bloodspeakers! There was no reply. Where once Daigotsu saw only loyalty in the eyes of the Lost, he now saw fear, doubt, and indifference. The Bloodspeakers drew closer, with some drawing knives and scrolls. Daigotsu fell forward on one hand, the other clutching his wound. Where are your gods blessings now, Dark Lord? he heard a mocking voice say. Daigotsu looked up, searching for the sound of the voice. He saw only red robes on all sides. He bowed his head, hoping that his death would be swift. Then the gallop of hooves echoed behind him, and the Bloodspeakers scattered. A heavy hand seized his robes and drew him into the saddle of a demon steed. The face that looked down upon Daigotsu was feral and inhuman, but familiar. Kyofu, Daigotsu whispered, squinting up at the corrupted Crab Champion suspiciously.

Iuchiban will not kill you today, my lord, the undead horseman said with a sneer. He shouted and kicked his horse into a gallop, plunging toward the city gates. Daigotsu faded into unconsciousness amid the sounds of hoof beats and maniacal laughter.

Munemori, Bayushi Kamnan said as he slid easily through the open window. Kakita Munemori looked up from his calligraphy with a start. The old Cranes eyes were wide. What are you doing here? he demanded. The Scorpion landed lightly on the wooden floor. He stood in a partial crouch, metal mask gleaming in the lantern light as he studied the old courtier. I was sent to exchange information with you. Do not pretend you were not expecting me. I was not expecting your lack of subtlety, Munemori whispered, looking quickly at the door. If we are to be overheard here Do not worry, Kamnan replied. He peered down, looking at Munemoris calligraphy with a critical frown. Your yojimbo has found peace for the evening in the arms of a talented geisha. The guards are all involved in an altercation on the other side of the palace. We are alone here. By the Fortunes, I suppose I could even kill you now and none would know until morning. Kamnan looked back up at Munemori, his expression unchanged. Munemori refused to be intimidated. The old courtier had seen Kamnans like before. They were not truly samurai. They were not truly ninja. They were killers animals, pure and simple. The only way to deal with an animal was to show no fear. So report, Munemori said. Or kill me, and when Atsuki learns what you have done, he shall surely regret placing his trust in you. I wonder what sort of punishment the Bayushi reserve for traitors.

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Kamnan smiled. Atsuki wishes to know the status of the court. His sources report that there have been certain difficulties. Munemori nodded. As always the dangers of indolence, he replied. Rokugan has not known a war in years. The Empire has been at peace. No thanks to Toturis whelp, Kamnan replied. It is we who have maintained the peace in the Empire. Yes, Munemori said blandly. He had his own opinions of Toturis heir, but did not care to share them with Kamnan. At any rate, our allies in the court believe that for the time being, we can maintain peace here, though it would facilitate matters if you could determine the source of the fires. How do you know they were not an accident? Kamnan replied. Munemori looked at Kamnan and sighed. A random fire in the Imperial City, at such a critical time? Our new Toturis influence is waning. Should a new crisis arise that the Emperor cannot deal with swiftly, perhaps long silent supporters of other Winds may step forward and suggest that Toturi Kaede chose her heir poorly. When Toturi killed the last Hantei, avatar of Fu Leng or no, he set a precedent that the throne of Rokugan can be seized by force of arms. This cannot be allowed to happen. It will, Kamnan says. Atsuki has little faith in the new leadership of this Empire. Sooner or later, a failure will occur, a crisis will occur. This new Emperor will fail to deal with it appropriately, and the Empire will suffer. What are you saying, Kamnan? Munemori replied sharply. That we should plot against the throne?

Kamnan laughed. What did you think we were doing, Munemori? Kamnan asked. He returned to the window, looking out at the courtyard below with a scowl. Did you think we were subverting Imperial influence these last five years merely out of a desire to build better roads? Please. Atsuki has made puppets of Emperors before. If Toturi III cannot rule the Empire, the Gozoku will rule instead, Kamnan peered back at Munemori. Or do you not wish to admit that is what you are doing? I want only what is best for the Empire, Munemori said. Of course, Kamnan replied with a mocking nod. He turned and slipped out the window again, leaving Munemori to his solitude.

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Whats New in Diamond Edition?

These are the changes to this rulebook since the advent of Gold Edition: Added the Tactical keyword (see page 92). Added the Singular keyword (see page 56). Made all Regions Singular and changed the way they enter play (see page 59). Changed who goes first (see page 54). Redefined targeting to make it easier to determine when and what a given effect targets (see page 72). Removed the rule prohibiting a player from targeting his own bowed Personalities with his own actions. Added the simpler rule that bowed Personalities cannot perform challenge actions. Removed the Chi-based limit on how many Spells a Shugenja can attach. Made all traits removable by fealty effects. Added the Yu trait (see page 93). Diplomat and Courtier are now equivalent (see page 65). Sailor and Naval are now equivalent (see page 65). Added rules for naval invasion (see page 92).

P OLITIC AL A CTIONS
For cards printed prior to the Gold Edition set, an action that changes a Family Honor gain or loss in any way, including canceling, preventing, or redirecting it, or that requires discarding the Favor as part of its cost, is Political. (Actions that cancel or negate other actions or Events in their entirety, that cause an Honor gain or loss themselves rather than modifying one caused by something else, and that involve the Imperial Favor in ways other than as a cost are not necessarily Political.) To determine which cards come from Gold Edition or later sets, see page 107. Cards printed from the Gold Edition set onward with Political actions always have the Political trait.

U SING T HESE R ULES WITH O LDER C ARDS

With this editions improvement upon many existing Legend of the Five Rings rules and card text templates, the sections below should help you determine how to play cards that have old wordings.

T ACTIC AL A CTIONS
An action that counts as a use of Tactician is a Tactical action.

T ERRAINS
All Terrains printed prior to the Gold Edition set are Delayed unless they say they take effect when played, in which case theyre Immediate.

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Welcome to the Legend of the Five Rings

Legend of the Five Rings basics are simple. Though these rules may seem overwhelming, most involve special-case explanations, timing details, and examples. There are also sideline notes, like this one. You dont need to read these your first time through the rulebook. Skip over them! The Legend of the Five Rings story is an ongoing tale created as new sets of cards emerge. You are a leader in the Empire of Rokugan, born into one of its clans or factions. In your quest to rule the Empire, you will develop your resources, recruit Personalities, and likely purchase Followers, Weapons, and Spells for your Personalities. Your Family Honor reflects your reputation throughout the land. You start with four Provinces, ancestral lands controlled by members of your faction or family. For more information on factions and families, see page 65.

Cardinal Rules
If any card or Stronghold explicitly contradicts these rules, the card or Stronghold takes precedence. Play all cards and Strongholds by the wording of their most recent English printing (see page 107). If a rule creates conflicting effects simultaneously, the player whose turn it is decides their order. After searching any deck for a card, reshuffle it.

Overview of Card Types

The following pages include diagrams of all of the card types. Refer to them as you read the rest of the rules. Detailed descriptions of every type begin on page 58.

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Stronghold

Wind

B E

A. Name B. Province Strength (minimum 0) C. Gold Production (minimum 0) D. Starting Family Honor (minimum 19) E. Family traits, abilities, and flavor text Your Stronghold comes in your deck box, but it is not considered a card. It represents your familys ancestral home.

A. Name B. Traits, abilities, and flavor text Winds represent which aspect of the Imperial Court you support most. A Wind allows you to discard the Imperial Favor to gain a benefit. You must reveal which Wind you are playing, if any, at the beginning of the game.

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Sensei

Event

A. Name B. Province Strength bonus/penalty C. Gold Production bonus/penalty D. Starting Family Honor bonus/penalty E. Extra family traits and abilities, and flavor text F. Focus value A Sensei modifies your Stronghold. It represents the person who was your teacher on your path to adulthood.

A. Name B. Effect and flavor text These Empire-shaking occurrences can disrupt another players strategy or create special conditions. But be careful; Events can be as dangerous to you as to other players!

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Personality

Holding

A C

A. Force B. Name C. Chi D. Minimum Family Honor requirement to recruit E. Gold cost F. Personal Honor G. Traits, abilities, and flavor text Personalities defend your lands and battle your enemies. Each Factions Personality cards have a unique color.

A. Honor Production B. Name C. Gold Production D. Gold cost E. Traits, abilities, and flavor text Holdingsyour primary financial resourcegenerally represent your economic enterprises. They may also produce Honor or grant special abilities.

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Region

Action

A. Name B. Traits, abilities, and flavor text Regions give your Provinces special traits and abilities.

A. Name B. Gold cost C. Traits, abilities, and flavor text D. Focus value Actions grant bonuses or abilities. They can advance your cause or hinder your opponents!

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Ancestor

Elemental Ring

A. Force B. Name C. Chi D. Minimum Personal Honor requirement for the attaching Personality E. Gold cost F. Traits, abilities, and flavor text G. Focus value Some of the Empires people can call upon their ancestors to help them during battle and in their daily lives.

A. Name B. Gold cost C. Play condition and Benefits D. Focus value The Rings of Air, Earth, Fire, the Void, and Water are special cards that represent the five elements that make up all things. By understanding a Ring, you gain power over its element.

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Follower

Item

A. Force B. Name C. Chi D. Minimum Personal Honor requirement for the attaching Personality E. Gold cost F. Traits, abilities, and flavor text G. Focus value When a Personality leads Followers into combat, the unit can overcome larger opposing Provinces and armies.

A. Force bonus B. Name C. Chi bonus D. Gold cost E. Traits, abilities, and flavor text F. Focus value Giving an Item of power, such as Armor or a Weapon, to one of your Personalities can have far-reaching effectsmaking the Personality a better Samurai or Shugenja, or allowing the Personality to take special actions.

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Kiho

Spell

C D

A. Name B. Gold cost C. Traits, abilities, and flavor text D. Focus value The Kiho is an Action card, but its effects are Spell effects. It represents a Monks or Shugenjas ability to gather chi and unleash it in a controlled way.

A. Name B. Gold cost C. Traits, abilities, and flavor text D. Focus value Only the mysterious Shugenja can possess and use Spells. Each Spell creates a special and powerful action.

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How to Win
The Legend of the Five Rings game has several paths to victory. For one, you can eliminate all your opponents for a Military Victory. A player loses, and is immediately removed from the game along with all cards he owns, if all of his Provinces are destroyed or if he ever has under 19 Family Honor. Any ongoing effects the players cards created continue unchanged. You can also win by starting your turn with 40 or more Family Honor. You gain control of the Empire through popular acclaim an Honor Victory. Reaching 40 Honor or higher during a turn does not grant you victory. Finally, you can master the elements, as represented by the philosophy of the Five Rings, by having one Elemental Ring from each element in play. You win the game immediately an Enlightenment Victory.

a different level, too, and so is a card with no Experienced or Inexperienced traits at all.) Each Experience level only counts against itself in determining the number of copies you can put into a deck. Its legal, for example, to build a deck including three Bayushi Tai cards plus one Experienced Bayushi Tai. Example: Hida Tenshu has the Soul of Hida Amoro trait. A deck containing one Hida Tenshu and two Hida Amoros is legal. A deck containing two of each is not. Some cards and rules let you remove cards from your deck right before the game begins. Your deck needs to be legal before you take any cards out. It can be illegal afterward.

Soul of Personalities
Many basic Personalities in the Diamond Edition set have the Soul of trait, which is followed by another Personalitys name from an earlier expansion. All Personalities with a common name or Soul of name count together against per-deck card limits. The Experience level of the Personality himself may be different from the level of the Personality named in the Soul of trait. When this happens, the level inside the Soul of trait only matters for matching common names between sets. Soul of characters dont count as their named Personalities for any game purposes except deck construction.

Setup
Each player prepares two decks of at least forty cards each: one deck of Dynasty (black-backed) cards, one of Fate (green-backed) cards. Together, these decks make up your play deck. The cards you use can come from any Clan Deck or expansion pack. In fact, you will find that building a deck is one of the most rewarding parts of the game. While you can have as many cards in each deck as you want, you cannot have more than three copies of any single card, except for these cards, of which you can have only one each: Any Event Any Elemental Ring Any card marked Unique Unique cards include all Experienced cards and Ancestors. Sometimes a card will be printed with the same title but different Experience levels: Experienced, Experienced 2, Experienced 3, and so on. (Inexperienced is
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Preparing the Field

Shuffle your decks separately and allow another player to cut them. Place your Dynasty deck face-down to your left. To the far left of your Dynasty deck, and empty for the moment, is your Dynasty discard pile. All of your discarded and destroyed Dynasty cards go into this pile, face-up, as the game progresses. Place destroyed cards in this pile sideways, as you may need to distinguish them from your discarded cards later. You may examine, but should not alter, any players discard piles at any time.
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The area of the table above your Provinces and decks is your home, where your cards enter play. Gather a number of counters, such as beads, to use as tokens, which may be created during play. You also need a distinctive item to represent the Imperial Favor. Finally, place your Stronghold, Sensei (if you have one), and Wind above your Dynasty deck.

Your Stronghold
Next come your Provinces, invisible areas in the middle of the table and to the right of your Dynasty deck. You begin the game with four Provinces. When a Province is destroyed, completely remove its space from the layout in front of you: destroy all cards attached to it, put all unplayed cards into the discard pile, and move together the Provinces that were to either side of it, which become adjacent. Each Province holds one Dynasty card at all times. (Cards attached to a Province are no longer in the Province slide any attached card forward to make the title visible.) Any time a Province holds no Dynasty cards, refill that Province immediately with the next card from your Dynasty deck, face-down. A Province that you cant refill still exists; mark it with a token of some sort to remind you and your opponents that it is still there. You cannot look at anyones face-down Dynasty cards, not even your own. They are a mystery to you as well as to your opponents. Place your Fate deck face-down to the right of your Provinces. You draw Fate cards into, and play them from, your hand. You have a maximum hand size of eight if you have more cards than your maximum in your hand at the end of your turn, you must discard the extras. You may ask any players current and maximum hand size at any time. To the far right of your Fate deck goes your Fate discard pile. Except for holding Fate cards, it behaves just like your Dynasty discard pile.
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Your Stronghold represents the family castle, shadowy hideout, or ancient holy temple from which you advance your Factions interests (see page 65). You begin the game with your Stronghold in play and unbowed. It cannot be destroyed. Although represented by a card for reference, your Stronghold is not considered a card for game purposes (nor is it a Holding, even though it produces Gold like one). Your Stronghold has three numbers, and text describing its traits and abilities. The numbers indicate, from top to bottom, your Provinces starting Strength, the Gold the Stronghold can produce when bowed, and your Starting Family Honor. More than one player may play the same Stronghold in a game. Provinces are not destroyed if their Strength becomes 0. Each player records the Starting Family Honor listed on his Stronghold. This represents the goodwill and history of your family at the start of the game. Keep your current Family Honor visible to the other players at all times. Your Strongholds Starting Family Honor does not affect your Family Honor after the game begins. Changes to Starting Family Honor during the game do not change your current Family Honor.

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Determining Who Starts

The player with the highest Starting Family Honor takes the first turn. If there is a tie, the players tied for highest should determine who goes first with a uniform, random method such as dicing off or flipping a coin. Once the starting player is determined, each player fills his Provinces with one Dynasty card each and draws five Fate cards to make his hand.

Bringing Cards into Play

Before using a card, you must bring it into play, observing all restrictions, choosing all targets (see Targeting and Redirection on page 72), and then paying all costs (see Costs and Effects on page 69). Cards in decks, in (not attached to) Provinces, in discard piles, and in hands are not in play, do not affect play, have no controller, and cannot normally be targeted or affected by other cards. The player who brings a card into play controls it unless an effect or rule specifies otherwise. If you gain control of another players card, and the card is not one that attaches to a Province, it goes to your home, even if this means removing it from any battle or duel in which it was participating. This rule overrides any card text that prevents the card from leaving the battle or being sent home. A Personality and all attached cards, if any, is called a unit. The controller of the Personality controls all of the cards and tokens in the unit. When you bring into play a card with the trait Lose X Honor, you lose X Family Honor. You likewise gain honor when playing a card that reads Gain X Honor. Losses and gains that are not parts of a cards action apply only when the card enters play. Losses and gains that are part of an action only apply when you take that action. The conditions for playing or attaching a card matter only while a player plays or attaches it. Once a card is in play, you do not destroy or discard it if you later fail to meet its original play requirements. Example: Rachel attaches Spearmen, with an Honor requirement of 1, to Hiruma Todori. Later, Todoris Personal Honor becomes 0. Though Todori cannot now attach another Spearmen, the one he already has stays attached. You cannot voluntarily discard or destroy cards or tokens. You may sometimes move attached cards from one Personality or Province to another. Cards being moved are subject to the same restrictions as when they attach; you cannot move a card to something that could not attach it. Moving a card does not trigger entering-play effects.

Bowing
To bow a card or Stronghold, turn it sideways. To straighten a bowed card, turn it back. Some cards and Strongholds can create effects without bowing. A card cannot bow for more than one purpose at a time. While a card or Stronghold is bowed, none of its actions can be used, not even ones that dont require bowing to perform. (Exception: An action that straightens the card is still usable.) Also, a bowed Personality may not cast Spells, and may not perform actions that issue challenges. Bowing does not turn off continuous effects of a card, such as traits, Force and Chi bonuses, or effects that are not actions (see page 63 for the definition of action). A Personality and his attached cards bow independently of one another; only an effect which bows a unit will bow all of them together. If a Personality has a bowed card attached, you can still use the Personality as usual. If the Personality is bowed, that unit cannot be assigned to attack or defend, although unbowed cards attached to him can still use their own abilities. A Personality or Follower that becomes bowed during battle cannot fight as effectively (see page 83 for how bowing affects your armys total Force).

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You cannot bring a Unique card into play if a Unique card with the same name is already in play (although you might be able to overlay it atop another see Experienced Traits on page 66). You may play a Unique card if another copy of it was in play earlier but is not currently. A card that counts as [a Personality] for uniqueness counts against all Unique versions of the Personality named, regardless of Experience level. Non-Unique cards do not impact the deck construction or play limits of Unique cards in any way, nor do Unique cards impact non-Unique cards in these ways. Example: Jim builds a Phoenix Clan deck. He includes three copies of Shiba Tsukune (who is not Unique), one Experienced Shiba Tsukune, and one Experienced 2 Shiba Tsukune. He also includes Shiryo no Tadaka, who counts as Isawa Tadaka for uniqueness. Jim cannot include any Unique versions of Isawa Tadaka in his deck at all, no matter what Experience level they are, though he may still have up to three of the basic, non-Unique Isawa Tadaka. You cannot bring a Singular card into play if you already control a Singular card with the same name. Unlike Unique cards, you may still play a Singular card if another player controls a copy, and you may put up to three copies of a Singular card into your deck.

3. A CTION P HASE
Starting with you and going clockwise, each player either takes one action or passes. You may take Limited and Open actions, including attaching cards to your Personalities from your hand, moving cards you have already attached, and lobbying for the Imperial Favor. Everyone else can take Open actions only. This phase ends when everyone passes consecutively.

4. A T TACK P HASE (O PTIONAL )

If you wish, attack one other player of your choice. That player and you may both call for allies. All involved players assign troops anywhere they wish, to either attack or defend that players Provinces. Each Province has its own Action and Resolution Segments, wherein whichever army has less Force at the end is destroyed along with the Province, if the attacking army is strong enough.

5. D YNAST Y P HASE
Buy face-up Personalities and Holdings, bringing them into play from your Provinces, then discard any unwanted face-up Dynasty cards remaining.

6. E ND P HASE
Draw a Fate card and formally end your turn.

Sequence of Play: A Quick First Glance

This section covers a turns phases in very broad strokes. Much more detailed descriptions appear later.

1. S TRAIGHTEN P HASE
Straighten all of your cards and your Stronghold.

2. E VENTS P HASE
Turn over the Dynasty cards in your Provinces from left to right. Resolve any Events and Regions as soon as they appear.
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Card Types in Detail

Different card types have special rules for play, as described below in roughly the order you may use or encounter them.

Events are special, once-in-a-generation occurrences. Accordingly, each Event can only resolve once per game, by title. If you reveal an Event during the Events Phase that has already resolved, discard your Event immediately without resolving it.

R EGIONS W IND
Your Wind card selection reflects which aspect of the Imperial Court you side with most strongly. It determines what favors you may call upon from the Court in return. (See Lobbying for the Imperial Favor on page 91.) You may select at most one Wind. You reveal your Wind (or lack thereof) to the other players at the same time you reveal your Stronghold. Winds are neither Dynasty nor Fate cards and do not go in either deck. As you reveal your cards during your Events Phase, if any Regions are found, they immediately attach to the Province they appear in, if they can, otherwise they are discarded. Each Province can have only one Region. You must bring a Region into play if you legally can and if it has no costs. All Regions are Singular.

H OLDINGS
You buy Holdings during your Dynasty Phase. All Holdings except Fortifications enter play bowed. A Fortification is a defensive structure permanently associated with a particular Province. You attach it to the Province from which it entered play. You can attach only one copy of each Fortification to each of your Provinces.

S ENSEI
A Sensei card represents the person who was your teacher on your path to adulthood. Only a player of a Faction listed on a Sensei can play the Sensei. A Sensei changes your Stronghold. Abilities and traits on a Sensei are considered to be on your Stronghold as well. A Senseis numbers directly affect your Strongholds corresponding numbers, though they cannot reduce your Province Strength or Gold Production below 0 or your Starting Family Honor below 19. Each player may start the game with one Sensei in play, chosen from his Fate deck simultaneously and secretly after everyone has revealed their Strongholds but before determining who goes first.

P ERSONALITIES
You also buy Personalities during your Dynasty Phase. You can bring into play any Personality from any Faction, as long as your Family Honor meets or exceeds the Personalitys Honor requirement. You can recruit a Personality with an Honor Requirement of even if your Family Honor is below 0. If you bring into play a Personality with your Factions trait, you may either lower his Gold cost by 2 until he enters play or add his Personal Honor to your Family Honor immediately before he enters play. (The Personal Honor of a Personality who enters play dishonored is 0 for this purpose.) A player using a Shadowlands Faction Stronghold does not have these options; such a player must always buy Personalities without this discount and with no Honor gain. If a Personalitys Chi drops to 0, destroy the Personality.

E VENTS
An Event resolves when revealed in its players Events Phase. An Event revealed at any other time does not resolve immediately. It instead resolves during the players next Events Phase at the time it would have if it were just revealed, provided it is still in the Province.

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F OLLOWERS , I TEMS , S PELLS , AND A NCESTORS

You must attach these cards to your Personalities before you can use them. This attachment happens as a Limited action during your Action Phase. You can attach a Follower only to a Personality whose Personal Honor meets or exceeds the Followers Honor requirement. Followers typically increase the total Force of their unit without adding directly to the Personalitys own Force. They may also have special abilities of their own. Your Family Honor does not affect whether or not you may play Followers. Followers only care about the Personal Honor of the Personality you wish to lead them. You may attach Items to any Personality, although each Personality can have only one Weapon and one Armor. Items may add Force or Chi bonuses to the Personality, allow him to take additional actions, or both. You can attach Spells only to Shugenja Personalities. Spells allow a Shugenja to create powerful magical effects. Ancestors represent the personal influence of long-dead heroes from Rokugans past on the lucky few they bestow it upon. You may attach an Ancestor normally, or also as a Reaction when bringing a Personality into play during your Dynasty Phase. In either case, you must also bow the Personality as a cost. Ancestors have an Honor requirement that works exactly like that of Followers.

They also have a Faction restriction. You can attach an Ancestor only to a Personality of that faction. An Ancestor is destroyed if his Personality ever loses the appropriate Faction alignment, but otherwise cannot be destroyed while the Personality lives. Ancestors cannot be moved or stolen.

A CTIONS
You play Action cards from your hand. After you play one, put it in your discard pile. You take actions at various times during your and other players turns, depending on the types and text of those actions.

K IHOS
A Kiho is actually an Action card, though it produces a Spell effect. For example, an ability that lets you search for or destroy a card treats Kihos as though theyre Actions, yet a Shugenja who gains additional Chi while casting a Spell or who can change a Spells target also works with Kihos. Like Actions, Kihos are played from your hand and then discarded. Like Spells, Kiho must be cast by one of your Personalities, though this is typically either a Shugenja or a Monk. Followers cannot cast Kihos.

E LEMENTAL R INGS
You must meet the condition described on a Ring to play it. While in play, a Ring creates or makes available to you its beneficial effects. Any time you have a Ring from all five elements in play, you immediately win the game.

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Bonuses and Penalties

Any time the current number on a card changes from one value to a higher value, that number is receiving a bonus unless the reason for the increase is that a penalty expired or an existing penalty or bonus changed. Likewise, if a number decreases, its receiving a penalty. No values in the game except Family Honor and Honor requirements can drop under 0. Dont disregard excess penalties, though. They work against bonuses acquired later. If a value has any minimum or maximum values (including the minimum of 0 just mentioned), apply that limit last, after adding all current bonuses and penalties together. Example: A Personality with 1 Force suffers a 3F penalty. Her Force becomes 0, not 2. If she later receives a +1F bonus, her Force will still be 0: 1 3 + 1, then a minimum of 0. All adjustments that use a + or sign or a word like extra, further, bonus, or penalty are cumulative. It is possible to set a cards value directly to a particular number. Do not apply any bonuses or penalties already in effect to this new number in essence, theyre already part of it. Do apply any later changes as you normally would. Example: A Personality with 2 Chi attaches an Item that gives him +2C, for a total of 4. A player then plays a card that sets his Chi to 3. Now, if his Item is destroyed, his Chi will drop to 1. Items add their Force and Chi directly to their Personalitys stats. Followers and Ancestors add their Force and Chi directly to the Personality only when their own stats have + signs. Otherwise, they add their values to their units total instead. Any reference to a value on a card refers to that stats current total value unless it references the base or printed value.

If something refers to a value that isnt specified or is missing, such as the Focus value of a Follower token or the Gold cost of an Event, consider that value to be 0. Effects that try to change a value that a card does not normally possess fail the value is always 0.

Abilities and Traits

An ability or action is text preceded by Limited, Battle, Open, or Reaction. Everything else in a cards text box is a trait, including Faction alignments, honorific titles, Samurai, situational Force and Chi bonuses, and other game effects. An ability of a card with the Shugenja trait is also known as an innate ability. (Abilities on other types of cards are simply called abilities.) Although theyre on Shugenja, innate abilities do not create Spell effects. Traits do not stack. Trying to give a trait to a card that already has it is legal but produces no change; it does not make the trait more potent or more resistant to removal. (A card may possess any number of abilities, even if they are all identical.) Traits are always active, even when a card is bowed or not in play. Many cards end with italicized flavor text telling the story of Rokugan. Flavor text has no impact whatever on the game. Some cards also have an italicized reminder in parentheses, like (The Dishonored Personality has a Personal Honor of 0.), within a trait or ability. This is a reminder of how the card interacts with the rules and not an actual effect of the card.

The Keyword Rule

Some effects, like destroy a Terrain or bow a Forest card, refer to any card that matches a certain word. In general terms, a card is a Keyword card (or just a Keyword) if it meets one of these conditions: It has the word Keyword in its title. It has the word Keyword in its boldface traits area.

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 It is an Action card and Keyword precedes one of its actions. The Keyword Rule does not apply to Sensei cards or to Strongholds. The singular, plural, and possessive forms of a word (e.g. Forest, Forests, and Forests) are all equivalent. This is not true for other related words (for example, Imperial isnt the same as Emperor) or words in foreign languages (a Mizu card is not a Water card). You cannot use a part of a word as a separate word (an Onisu is not an Oni). Faction alignments, hyphenated words, and restrictions like Followers this Personality attaches must be Ninja count as single words and likewise cannot be broken up. When something references a reserved game term (like army, bowed, Defender, Infantry, Sensei, or Stronghold), it does not apply to cards with those traits; it applies only to things that meet the terms definition. Example 1: A Personality with the traits Scorpion Clan Spy Ninja is a Scorpion Clan card, a Spy, and a Ninja, but not a Clan. Example 2: A Personality with the Toturis Army trait is not an army and is not in an army unless truly at a battle.

Implied Traits
Sometimes a card possesses traits that are not printed but are automatically present because of other traits. The Courtier and Diplomat traits count as each other in all ways. The Naval and Sailor traits count as each other in all ways. A Creature card is also Nonhuman. A Personality or Follower is Human if it is not Nonhuman. A Personality or Follower is Infantry if it is not Cavalry.

Faction Alignments
Eight Great Clans Crab, Crane, Dragon, Lion, Phoenix, Scorpion, Unicorn, and Yoritomos Alliance (see below) and several other groups with similar interests make up the populace of Rokugan and its surrounding regions. Fifteen such categories are considered Factions in the Legend of the Five Rings trading card game: the eight Great Clans, the Brotherhood of Shinsei (see below), the Naga, the Ninja, Ratlings, the Shadowlands (see below), Spirits, and Toturis Army. Cards that refer to Factions or Faction alignments refer only to those in this list. The Brotherhood of Shinsei uses Monk as its identifying trait. The Mantis Clan and Yoritomos Alliance traits are interchangeable. The Monkey Clan and Toturis Army traits are interchangeable outside of Storyline Simulation tournament formats. The Shadowlands Faction does not have a trait that signifies alignment; therefore, a Shadowlands player cannot get the usual Gold discount or Honor bonus for bringing aligned Personalities into play. A Personality may be aligned with more than one Faction or none at all. A Personality is Unaligned if (and only if) it has the Unaligned trait. It is possible for a Personality to be Unaligned and have Faction traits at the same time.

Action Traits
When a player takes an action, the action carries with it all of the traits preceding the action type itself, as well as those of the card on which the action is printed. Actions that are not printed on a card do not inherit traits from any card. Example 3: The Personality from Example 1 has the ability Open Elemental: Bow this Personality to draw a card. Using that ability is taking an Elemental action as well as a Scorpion Clan action, a Spy action, and a Ninja action. If the Personality lobbies for the Imperial Favor, that action doesnt acquire any of these traits (although it would still be Political, for other reasons).

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Sometimes your Personalities will swear fealty and gain your Factions trait. Each Faction is typically comprised of major families and other assorted individuals. The Crab Clans Hida family, for example, includes Hida Kuon, Hida Reiha, and so on. The family name comes first. Some Personalities do not belong to families, including cards with single names that are not family names for any other Personalities (like Omen) and cards with occupation, Faction, or creature words as their first word, like Ninja Spy or Ogre Bushi. (Exception: Tsuno is a family name.) A single family can have Personalities in more than one Faction or none at all.

You must still follow the uniqueness rule, however; you cannot overlay if that would result in two Unique cards with the same name in play. If the later version is only one level above the earlier one, overlaying doesnt cost anything. If theyre more than one level removed from each other and the later version has a higher Gold cost, you must pay the difference. Overlaying is not mandatory. You may bring an Experienced card into play normally even if you could overlay it, as long as doing so doesnt violate any other rules. You cant underlay less-experienced cards beneath later ones.

Experienced Traits
The Legend of the Five Rings storyline progresses over time, and cards in new sets reflect this. The Experienced series of traits represents changes that some Personalities undergo during the story. Some non-Personality cards may also be Experienced; these follow the same rules as Personalities. This is the progression from early to latest versions of a Personality: Inexperienced, non-Experienced, Experienced, Experienced 2, Experienced 3, and so on. Most Personalities are non-Experienced: they do not have an Experienced trait. Some characters have many versions. A Personality with any of the Experienced or Experienced # traits is an Experienced Personality. If you have a card, bowed or unbowed, in play and a more-experienced version of it ready to play, you may instead overlay the more-experienced version over the lesser during the phase you would normally play it. The later version keeps the earlier ones attached cards, tokens, bowed and dishonored status, and all changes currently in effect, and permanently gains all its abilities. The later versions printed stats and traits override those on the earlier version. Overlaying doesnt count as bringing a card into play; ignore all of the cards play restrictions and effects triggered by the card entering play or joining a player.

When you have an overlaid card, none of the cards in the stack except for the top one count as being in play or affect play in any way, with one exception: if an overlaid card is destroyed in the resolution of a battle, the opposing player gains honor for every card in the stack. If an overlaid card leaves play, remove all cards but the top one from the game. Keep them handy for reference, though, since the top card still has the bottom cards abilities.

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Some cards have the Experienced [Name] trait, to represent a characters name change; each of these cards is considered the Experienced version of the card named. For example, Akodo Ginawa has the trait Experienced 4 Ginawa, so he can overlay Ginawa. Example: Allen and Cindy each have two copies of the non-Experienced Kakita Kaiten in play. Allen has the Experienced Kakita Kaiten face-up in a Province. He brings the Experienced Kaiten into play, laying him over his Kaiten. The Experienced Kaiten has the earlier cards Jade Bow, Medium Infantry, and duel Reaction, as well as the +1F/+1C bonus and Unicorn Clan alignment from an Oath of Fealty played earlier, plus the Battle action on the Experienced Kaiten. If Cindys copy of the Experienced Kaiten shows up, she cannot bring him into play, though she can still bring out a non-Experienced version. If Cindy destroys Allens Experienced Kaiten in battle, she gains 8 Honor (2 for each card: Jade Bow, Medium Infantry, non-Experienced Kaiten, and Experienced Kaiten) and can bring her Experienced Kaiten into play during her Dynasty Phase.

Example: Shosuro Turaki can copy another Personalitys Force, Chi, or one ability until the start of her controllers next turn. Allens Experienced 2 Hoshi Wayan (3F/4C) has a Crystal Katana (+2C), so Wayan is 3F/6C. Bobs Shosuro Turaki (1F/1C) has a Naginata (+1F/+2C), so she is 2F/3C. Turaki can copy: Wayans Force, becoming 3F; Wayans Chi, becoming 6C; Wayans ability to gain a Tattoo token, or Wayans ability to destroy one of his Tattoo tokens to increase a Force bonus he receives. If Turaki copies Wayans Chi and then Wayan loses his Crystal Katana, Turakis Chi does not also drop by 2. Regardless of what she copies, if Turaki loses her own Naginata afterward, she loses 1F and 2C from her new stats. If she copies and then uses Wayans ability to gain a Tattoo token, that token goes away at the start of Bobs next turn when Turakis ability to make them is lost.

Copying
Some cards can copy other cards statistics or abilities. When copying a stat, set the copying cards stat to exactly the current value being copied (see Bonuses and Penalties on page 62). This happens instantaneously. If the copied stat changes later, the stat on the card that copied it does not change likewise. If a copied ability is lost, remove from the game any tokens it created and end any effect it produced whose duration depends on its own card (like while this card remains bowed). All other effects created by copied abilities have normal durations. No card may copy any aspect of itself.

Self-Referential Cards
If a cards text refers to its card by name, it refers only to that one card, not to any other cards with that name in play. If another card copies an ability that refers to its cards name, the title in the copy changes to match the title of the card gaining the copied ability.

Costs and Effects

You can bow a Gold-producing card (a card that says it produces Gold) at any time to pay a Gold cost. You cannot produce Gold unless you are paying a cost. You can bow multiple cards consecutively to produce larger Gold amounts, but you
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cannot pay two or more Gold costs at a time with one Gold source. For example, the Silk Works, which produces 4 Gold, cannot pay for a 3-Gold-cost Item and a 1-Gold-cost Follower. You can bring only one card into play at a time; the Emperor taxes any excess Gold, and you lose it. You may deliberately produce and pay more Gold than you need to pay a cost, even a cost of 0. Many costs appear in action text. You pay an actions costs, then its effects happen. Any costs of the action will be described as costs or will be followed by to or for. Everything else the action does is an effect. For the action below, Bow one of your Personalities and discard a card from your hand are costs, and Bow another players Personality and Lose 1 Honor are effects. Limited: Bow one of your Personalities and discard a card from your hand to bow another players Personality. Lose 1 Honor. An action with multiple targets creates one effect per target. For example, if an action creates multiple Ranged Attacks, each attack is one effect of the action. If an effect does not say how long it lasts, it wears off when the current turn ends. Swearing fealty is permanent. Dishonor is permanent. Effects of Immediate Terrains last only while the Terrain is in play. Effects from tokens last as long as the tokens last, which is normally permanent. Effects that last until a certain card straightens also end if that card leaves play. Permanent is just a shorthand way of saying until the end of the game. It does not mean that the change can never be undone. Effects on a card do not end prematurely if the card is destroyed, discarded, or even sent back into its owners hand or deck. They last as long as they would have, had the card remained in play. A duration that spans multiple turns (like three turns from now) counts the current players turns only.

Some actions are performed by cards in play as well as by a player. To determine who performs an action, follow the first rule below that applies: 1. Actions on a Personality or Follower are performed by that card. 2. Actions on an Item, Spell, or Ancestor are performed by its Personality. 3. Actions which involve one or more Personalities or Followers in their cost, such as requiring them to bow or become dishonored, or which require targeting your own Personalities or Followers who meet certain conditions, such as being a Shugenja or a Tactician or having a Chi above 2, are performed by those cards. 4. Actions which issue a challenge from one of their own Personalities are performed by the challenger. 5. All other actions are performed only by their player.

Tokens
Many cards allow you to place tokens, which are permanent. Some tokens are described as #F/#C, where # is a change to the Force or Chi of the card with the token. For example, a card with a +1F/+2C token gains +1 Force and +2 Chi, and a card with a 3F token has 3 Force and no Chi modifier. Other tokens, like Lobby and Storage tokens, simply have a name and do not grant any bonuses by themselves. Some effects create Follower tokens. Follower tokens are considered cards as well as tokens in every way. No other type of token counts as a card. If a card leaves play in any way, remove its tokens (including Follower tokens) from the game. Tokens never go into the discard pile. The cost of an action that creates a token is a separate number from the tokens gold cost itself, which is typically 0.

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Canceling Actions and Negating Effects

If an action or Event is canceled, the entire thing is stopped. It does not successfully resolve. The attempt to use it does not count against any maximum number of uses per game/turn/battle/etc., although for actions, the failed attempt still counts as its players one opportunity to act before play passes to the left. No costs are refunded. A canceled Action card goes to the discard pile. One or more of an action or Events individual effects can also be negated. All effects of an action or Event are separate, and all the ones that are not negated still occur. (Exception: if a card is sent home bowed and the movement is prevented or negated, do not bow the card.) A card or action is still considered to have been successfully taken even if all of its effects are negated. If all or part of the cost of using an action or bringing a card into play is prevented, the player trying to take the action or play the card may either use further resources to complete the payment or allow the attempt to be canceled. If canceled, the player returns the card to where it came from and does not receive a refund on any remaining costs, Gold or otherwise, already paid. If the action of attaching a card is canceled, the same thing happens: the player returns the card being attached to where he played it from and does not receive a refund for any costs paid for it. If a card or action is canceled after it has already produced some effects, do not undo those effects. If a card is destroyed after all costs (if any) of its effects have been paid but before all its effects resolve, all remaining effects still occur.

Example 1: Block Supply Lines sends home one attacking unit, bowed. Since there can be any number of attacking units, Block Supply Lines sometimes requires a choice. This means Block Supply Lines is targeted, even during battles where there is only one attacking unit and there is no real choice what to play it on. Example 2: Along the Coast at Midnight gives a trait to all of your Personalities and Followers. Never is a choice involved, so it is not targeted. You cannot announce a targeted action if a legal target does not exist. You must choose all targets when you announce an action, before you begin paying any costs. (Delayed Terrains are an exception to this rule because they do not resolve right away.) Cards not in play may not be targeted. An actions costs or effects can make it targeted. Kihos, for example, target their casters. Targets for an action can sometimes be chosen by a player other than the one taking the action. Deciding which action to use or which card to play is not a targeting decision. An effect that targets a face-down card may target any such card, including one not in play. An effect that targets a unit also targets the Personality leading it, and vice-versa.

Targeting and Redirection

Some actions are targeted, meaning some aspect of them is aimed at a particular recipient. Targeted actions can sometimes have their aim directed elsewhere or be prohibited from directing their aim at certain cards. An action targets something if it uses the word target or if any player sometimes has to choose what it affects. If no player, under any circumstance, has to choose what gets affected, the action is not targeted.
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You can redirect an action or effect only to something else it could have targeted originally. On the other hand, you are free to choose any of its players other original possible targets, ignoring restrictions on what you are allowed to target. Should you redirect an action, treat it as though it had been aimed at its new target all along. You cannot redirect untargeted actions or actions that give no choice for their target (such as a card that targets your Stronghold). You cannot redirect costs, either.

B AT TLE A CTIONS
You can use these actions (those with the Battle indicator) only during a Battle Action Segment, though it can be on any players turn. Not every Battle action is legal in every battle see Battle Action Segment on page 80 for the rules on what actions you can use during the Battle Action Segment, and under what conditions.

R EACTIONS
Reactions (actions with the Reaction indicator) can interrupt other actions. They are not restricted to being taken in certain Phases like other actions; instead, a Reaction has a trigger to which it reacts, and you take it when that trigger happens. If you are going to take a Reaction, you must take it as soon as its trigger occurs. Players may react to Reactions. All players may react to the same trigger in turn until everybody passes consecutively. You may react as many times as you like to any trigger, but remember that you cant take your second Reaction until everyone else has had a chance to take one, and that sometimes a Reaction changes the trigger in such a way that further Reactions arent legal. Also, each printed instance of a Reaction can be used only once per trigger. (Its legal to use multiple identical Reactions if they all come from different physical cards.) If more than one player wishes to take Reactions at the same time, first consider the exact wording of the Reactions. A Reaction taken before its trigger, for example, must always be played before one taken after its trigger. If the Reactions have the same wording regarding when theyre taken, the chance to react first goes to the player to the left of the one who caused the trigger. For things like the beginning of a phase, treat the active player the one whose turn it is as the one who caused the trigger. Taking a Reaction does not take up an action for determining players order of acting during the Action Phase or Battle Action Segment. If a Reaction changes an actions target so that the target no longer meets the actions targeting requirements, the action does not affect that target.

Actions
During the game, you (and some of your cards) can take actions. Action cards are the only cards from your hand that you play for immediate effect. You must bring all other types of Fate cards into play before you can use their actions, and you use their actions separately from bringing them into play. There are four types of actions: Limited actions, Open actions, Battle actions, and Reactions (see below). Each action must completely resolve before any player may play another action (other than a specifically-worded Reaction). You cannot, for example, take an Open action to raise the Chi of a Personality as he enters a duel.

L IMITED A CTIONS
You can use Limited actions (those with the Limited indicator) only during your own Action Phase.

O PEN A CTIONS
You can use Open actions (those with the Open indicator) during any players Action Phase and any Battle Action Segment. Open actions do not become Battle actions when played during battle. Not every Open action is legal in every battle see Battle Action Segment on page 80 for the rules on what actions you can use during the Battle Action Segment, and under what conditions.

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Sequence of Play in Detail

This section covers a turns phases, summarized in Sequence of Play: A Quick First Glance on page 56. They also appear on the back of this rulebook for easy reference.

Attach an Ancestor, Follower, Item, or Spell to one of his Personalities. This targets the Personality. Move attached cards between two or more of his unbowed Personalities, bowing the Personalities first as a cost. This targets every card bowed and moved. Once per turn, lobby for the Imperial Favor (see page 91). The Action Phase continues until all players pass consecutively. A player who passes may take an action later that phase if the opportunity reaches him again, but he cannot go back and take one last action if the phase ends before that point, because everyone else passed.

1. S TRAIGHTEN P HASE
Straighten your Stronghold and all of your cards in play.

2. E VENTS P HASE
Do the following for each of your Provinces, going from left to right: If there is a face-down card in the Province, turn it face-up. If the card in the Province is an Event, it immediately resolves if a copy has not resolved previously this game. Then, whether it resolves or not, discard it, replace it with your Dynasty decks top card, face-down, and skip to the next Province. If the card in the Province is a Region, you may immediately pay any costs and bring it into play attached to the Province if the attachment is legal. If the Region is legal and has no costs (and most do not), you must bring it into play. If you do not bring the Region into play, discard it and replace it with your Dynasty decks top card, face-down.

4. A T TACK P HASE (O PTIONAL )

This phase has five segments: 1. Declaration Segment 2. Infantry Maneuvers Segment 3. Cavalry Maneuvers Segment 4. Battle Action Segment 5. Resolution Segment You are not required to attack. You can attack only once per turn, and you can attack only one opponent per attack. You can only attack a players Provinces; you cannot attack a Stronghold or Personalities directly. A section on Terrains follows the Battle Action Segment section, and a section about things that happen after a battle follows the Resolution Segment section. For an example Attack Phase, see page 94.

3. A CTION P HASE
Starting with the active player and going clockwise, each player must either take a single action or pass. The active player may take Limited and Open actions; all other players may take Open actions only (and all players may play some Reactions see Reactions on page 75). Players may take these actions both as Action cards from their hands and on cards in play. The following things are other Limited actions the active player may take:

4.1. D ECLARATION S EGMENT

Declare which player you are attacking. That player is the Defender. You are the Attacker.

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The Attacker and then the Defender may now invite other players to assist them in the upcoming battle, as attacking or defending allies. They may invite as many or as few of the other players as they wish, including players already invited by the other side. During the Maneuvers Segments, a player invited to ally may assign any number of his own units to the armies of the inviting player. A player need not ally if asked. A player may ally only if invited and cannot ally with both the Attacker and the Defender in the same Attack Phase. When first invited, players need not state their intentions to send units; they may remain silent or may lie about their intentions. A player who allies gains 2 Honor when he first assigns at least one unit during a Maneuvers Segment. A player may gain this Honor only once per Attack Phase. A player cannot gain this Honor by moving a unit into an army once battles begin.

attached Followers must all have the Cavalry trait for the unit to be Cavalry. Infantry units which do not assign during this segment may not assign at all. Each Cavalry unit may also assign in this segment, or it can wait for the Cavalry Maneuvers Segment. Players cannot assign units led by bowed Personalities. Once a unit is assigned to a battle, it cannot voluntarily go home or move to another battle. The Attacker declares which, if any, units attack and assigns them simultaneously to the Defenders Provinces in any combination. Once the Attacker assigns units, other players may become attacking allies, if the Attacker invited them to do so during the Declaration Segment. Starting with the player to the Attackers left and going clockwise, each invited player has one chance to likewise assign one or more of his units to attack the Defenders Provinces, simultaneously and in any combination, regardless of where the Attacker and other allies have already assigned their units. Example: Allen attacks Bob; both invite Cindy and David to ally. Allen assigns two Infantry units to Province 1 and one to Province 2. Cindy joins the attack, assigning an Infantry unit to attack Province 3. She gains 2 Honor. Next, the Defender declares which units defend and which Province each unit defends. Again, the Defender can assign units to his own Provinces in any combination, including no units at all and regardless of where players have assigned attacking units. Once the Defender assigns units, other players may become defending allies, if the Defender invited them to do so during the Declaration Segment. Starting with the player to the Defenders left and going clockwise, each invited player has one chance to likewise assign one or more units to defend the Defenders Provinces. Example: Bob assigns an Infantry unit to defend Province 1. David joins the defense, assigning one Infantry unit to defend Province 1 and one Infantry unit to defend Province 2. He gains 2 Honor.

4.2. I NFANTRY M ANEUVERS S EGMENT

There are two basic types of units: Infantry and Cavalry. Personalities and Followers are Infantry unless they have the Cavalry trait. A Personality and his

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4.3. C AVALRY M ANEUVERS S EGMENT

This segment immediately follows the Infantry Maneuvers Segment and follows the same process, except that players can assign only Cavalry units to attack or defend. This is the last chance for an invited player to ally and the last chance for any player to assign units; any units joining a battle after this point move into the battle instead. Example: Allen assigns a Cavalry unit to attack Province 4. Cindy also assigns a Cavalry unit to attack Province 4. She already gained Honor for allying (see the example above), so she does not gain it again.

(for example, using Tireless Assault to move one of his own units from his home into the current, empty army). A player can take only Battle and Open actions associated with the current battle. This is called the Rule of Relevance. In particular, the action needs to satisfy at least one of the following conditions: It comes from a card or token at the battle. It moves or creates a card or token in the battle. It targets or directly affects a card or token in the battle, the Province under attack, or the battle itself. A player can take an action that refers to an opposing card or this battle, or that includes an implicating phrase such as another attacking card or the Province this card is defending, only if the card on which the action is printed is in the current battle. This includes Fear (see page 91) and Ranged Attacks (see page 90). Players can take actions without such a phrase no matter where their cards are located, provided they meet all other restrictions. This rule applies to all action types. A Terrain cannot be played if a Terrain is already in play. A player can take a Battle action on a Fortification or Region only during a battle at its own Province. Example 1: Earthquake, a Spell, reads: Elemental Earth Battle: Bow this Shugenja to bow an opposing Personality. The caster must be at the current battle to take this action.

4.4. B AT TLE A CTION S EGMENT

Once players assign all of the chosen units to battle, the battles begin. One battle occurs at each of the Defenders Provinces, whether the Province has units assigned to it or not. (Card effects might allow units to enter unitless battles.) The last two segments of the Action Phase, Battle Action and Resolution, resolve separately for each battle; the Attacker determines the order in which battles are handled as the Attack Phase progresses. Once the Attacker has chosen a battle to resolve, the Battle Action Segment begins. Starting with the Defender and going clockwise, each player must either take one Open action, take one Battle action, or pass (see Actions on page 74). The Battle Action Segment continues until all players pass consecutively. Actions have extra restrictions during the Battle Action Segment. Even if an action is of an appropriate type to be played during the Attack Phase, it must satisfy all of the relevant restrictions below, or it is not legal. The exact same rules apply equally to both Battle and Open actions during the Attack Phase. A player can take a Battle or Open action only if he is involved in the current battle. This is called the Rule of Presence. To satisfy this condition, the player must either: Currently have at least one unit in the battle, or Gain a unit in the battle as an unconditional result of the action
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Example 2: Burning Smoke, a Spell, reads: Battle: Bow this Shugenja to give a Personality 4F. The Spell does not say opposing Personality, so its caster can cast it from outside of a battle. If the caster does so, however, he must cast it on someone in the battle, to satisfy the Rule of Relevance. If the caster wants to cast it on someone outside of the battle, he must be in the battle to do so. Units may move into Provinces whose battles have already resolved. A player can move units into another players army only if (1) the second player invited the first to ally and (2) the first player has not had any units in the second players opponents army at any time during this Attack Phase.

The Force of a unit is the Force of its Personality plus the total Force of all of its Followers. A partially or completely bowed unit fights at less than peak effectiveness. Its total Force might be lower based on the following rules. These rules hold true any time at which you need to know a units or armys Force total, not just during battle resolution: A bowed Follower does not add its Force to its unit. No cards add to the Force of a unit when the units Personality is bowed, giving the unit a total Force of 0. Being bowed does not affect any Follower or Ancestor bonuses with a + sign or Item bonuses of any kind, since these already add directly to the Personalitys stats instead of to the units. Being bowed does not affect total Chi. Being bowed does not change a cards own Force. It alters only unit and army Force totals. Effects that work with the Force of an individual card, such as ranged attacks, use that cards actual Force whether its bowed or not. If the Defenders Force total exceeds the Attackers: Destroy all attacking units. The Defender gains Honor equal to twice the number of cards just destroyed in the attacking army. Every card counts, including Follower tokens (but no other type of token, since only Follower tokens count as cards), non-military cards like Spells, and less-experienced cards under Experienced ones. Cards destroyed earlier in the battle do not count for this gain. If the Attackers Force total equals the Defenders: If both sides have units left in the battle, destroy all units in the battle, even if the Force totals are both 0. (Do not destroy an unopposed army with a Force total of 0.) The Attacker and Defender each gain Honor equal to the number of cards just destroyed in the others army.

T ERRAINS
Terrains are a special type of Action card that reflect the ground over which the armies fight and the many tactics they employ to use it to their advantage. As such, only one Terrain can be in play for a battle at a time. Terrains stay in play until destroyed, which can happen because of a card effect, because they get replaced, or when the battle ends. Terrains fall into two different categories: Immediate and Delayed. Immediate Terrains take effect when played, just like any other Action card, but their effects end when they are destroyed. Delayed Terrains, on the other hand, do not take effect until immediately before the Battle Action Segment ends (though they still prevent players from playing other Terrains) and their effects have normal durations (typically, until the turn ends). Since the battle doesnt end until all players pass, players typically cannot take Open or Battle actions after a Delayed Terrain resolves.

4.5. R ESOLUTION S EGMENT

The Attacker and the Defender add up the Force totals of all of their units to determine the winner of the battle. These totals are calculated once and once only for each battle. Destroying or changing the Forces of cards in the battle after these totals are computed has no effect on the battles outcome.
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If the Attackers Force total exceeds the Defenders: Destroy all defending units. The Attacker gains Honor equal to twice the number of cards just destroyed in the defending army. If the attacking armys Force total exceeds (not equals) the defending Force total plus the Provinces Strength, destroy the Province and all cards attached to it at the same time as the defending army. Put any cards that were in a Province into the discard pile and slide the neighboring Provinces together to close the gap. The Attacker does not gain Honor for destroying Provinces or the cards attached to them. Honor gained from a battle is a single Honor gain, regardless of the number of cards destroyed. The gain always goes to the Attacker or Defender (or both, in a tie), no matter how much of the army consists of his own units and how much of it is allies. If, during the Resolution Segment, one side has no units left in the battle, the battle is not a victory over an opposing army. This is true even if the defending army is the one absent and the Attacker has sufficient Force to destroy the Province. There is no winner or loser, and the player with units gains no victory bonuses. Battle resolution is the only time the phrase destroying an army is satisfied. The battle has now resolved. All surviving attacking and allied units (including defending allies) return to their controllers homes, bowed. The Defenders units do not bow; they remain in their Provinces until the Attack Phase ends. If this is the very last battle of the Attack Phase, any attacking and allied units that moved into other Provinces and are still there go home bowed now as well.

After the Battle The battle has now resolved, or perhaps a cards effect ended it without resolution. Either way, destroy any Terrain still in play for the battle (even indestructible Terrains). Players may now take Reactions to the resolution or end of battle. If other battles have not yet resolved, the Attacker chooses one of them and another Battle Action Segment and Resolution Segment occur. Otherwise, the Attack Phase is over.

O THER B AT TLE R ULES

Some effects allow players to act before the Defender, including before the Defenders first action, before any other actions, and immediately after a battle begins. The player to the Attackers left has the first chance to take one of these, then other players may take them, going clockwise. A reference to an opponent in relation to a battle means a player with units in the opposing army. A reference to your opponent or the opponent in this context means either the Attacker or the Defender, as appropriate, regardless of whether or not the player has units present. An action which refers to this battle always refers to the battle currently being resolved. In addition, if the card it appears on is of a type which can be in battles (such as a Personality), the card must be in the current battle for the action to be legal.

5. D YNAST Y P HASE
You may bring face-up Holdings and Personalities into play from your Provinces during this phase. You must satisfy each cards requirements and pay its costs. After you bring into play all of the cards you want, you can discard any or all face-up cards still in your Provinces, signaling the end of your Dynasty Phase.

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Special Situations
Many cards involve special effects. These include the following:

D ISHONOR
Some effects dishonor Personalities. Rotate such a Personality 180 degrees to indicate his shame. Dishonored Personalities have a 0 Personal Honor at all times; apply this change last, after all other modifications. Furthermore, Dishonored Personalities cannot bring Honor to their controller, including through battles or duels. A Dishonored Personality still creates Honor losses for his player normally. If one or more Dishonored Personalities are involved in creating an Honor gain of at least 1 point for their controller, including winning a battle or duel (but excluding modifying a gain created by other cards), they reattain Honorable status instead of producing that gain. Other players involved in the situation with a Dishonored Personality are unaffected by the association and earn Honor normally. Special rules apply to the destruction of Dishonored Personalities (see Destroying, Discarding, and Seppuku below). Example: An Honorable and a Dishonored Personality defend their Province during battle. The Defender wins the battle. The Defender does not gain Honor for destroyed cards, but the Dishonored Personality becomes Honorable.

Once you bring a card into play or discard one from a Province, immediately fill the Province with a face-down card from the top of your Dynasty deck. If you have no cards left in your Dynasty deck, place a marker in the Province to remind yourself and the other players that the Province has not been destroyed. If you somehow get cards in your Dynasty deck again, refill empty Provinces from left to right. You incur no penalty when you run out of cards except, of course, that you cant bring any more into play! No player may take Limited, Open, or Battle actions during the Dynasty Phase.

6. E ND P HASE
Draw the top card from your Fate deck and add it to your hand, unless the deck is depleted. If this puts you above your maximum hand size of eight cards, discard cards of your choice to bring you back down to your maximum hand size. To signal the end of your turn, it is honorable to bow to the next player and say, The table is yours.

D ESTROYING , D ISC ARDING , AND S EPPUKU

Destroyed and discarded cards leave play and go to their current controllers appropriate discard piles. A card that is removed from the game is completely removed and set far away in its own separate pile. If a card is destroyed or removed from the game, do likewise to all non-token cards attached to it. If the main card leaves play in any other way, discard all those cards. In all cases, remove from the game all tokens that were on it.

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If an Honorable (non-Dishonored) Personality is destroyed, he becomes Honorable Dead. Destroyed Dishonored Personalities become Dishonorable Dead. Some effects that deal with dead Personalities require that you know the distinction, so you need to keep track by storing them differently in your discard pile: store Honorable Dead sideways, like any other destroyed card; store Dishonorable Dead turned 180 degrees. Personalities discarded rather than destroyed are neither Honorable nor Dishonorable Dead. Cards in your discard pile are never considered bowed. Destroyed cards are stored sideways only to differentiate them from discarded ones. After a Dishonored Personality is destroyed, his controller suffers an Honor loss equal to the Personalitys printed Personal Honor. If a Dishonored Personality is destroyed at the same time he is involved in an Honor gain (for example, when in an army at a tied battle), the gain restores him to Honorable status before he dies. Sometimes Personalities may destroy themselves by committing seppuku. If this happens, the Personality dies honorably, with no Honor loss. Any dishonoring effect of the card or action that triggered the seppuku is negated, and the Personality becomes Honorable Dead regardless of whether or not he was Dishonored. If one of your Personalities with the Samurai or Courtier trait causes you to lose Honor by performing an action, getting targeted by an action, or making a decision, you can order the Personality to commit seppuku in shame to lower the Honor loss to 1 point. This seppuku is not a Reaction; a Personality may do it even when bowed.

Each player announces his Personalitys current Chi. Starting with the challenged Personality, each Personality must either focus or strike. To have your Personality focus, place a card from your hand, called a Focus card, face-down. This card immediately grants your Personality a secret Chi bonus equal to its Focus value until the duel ends. Focus cards create no effects except the temporary Chi bonus. Play Reactions taken instead of or as Focus cards face-up. The Personalities take turns focusing until one strikes. A player whose Personality cannot focus perhaps because the players hand is empty or because the Personalitys own text forbids it must strike. To have your Personality strike, announce that your Personality strikes. Then resolve the duel by revealing all Focus cards and comparing the duelists final Chi totals. The Personality with the higher Chi wins the duel. In case of a tie, both Personalities lose. In a standard duel, the loser dies. Discard all Focus cards when the duel ends. Cards that create special effects when revealed as Focus cards dont resolve until someone strikes, even if they are focused or turned face-up during the duel. If a duel ends without resolution, no one wins or loses and none of the duels results occur. A duel ends without resolution if either duelist dies prior to resolution. Sometimes a duel compares a stat other than Chi. During such a duel, focusing and bonuses that add as Focus cards add to the stat used for the duel. Effects that make no mention of adding as Focus cards always raise or lower Chi.

C HALLENGING AND D UELING

When you play a card that creates a challenge, choose one of your unbowed Personalities and another players Personality to challenge. The challenged Personality normally may refuse the challenge with no penalty. If, and immediately after, the challenged Personality accepts, the two Personalities enter a duel. Two of your own Personalities can never challenge or become involved in a duel with each other.
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Casting Spells
Only Shugenja Personalities can attach and cast Spells. Shugenja cannot cast Spells while bowed, even if the Spell does not require bowing to cast. For a Ritual Spell, a group of your Shugenja can bow together to weave the elements into powerful Spell effects. When performing a Ritual, the Shugenja with
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the Spell the primary Shugenja must participate in the Ritual. Any of your other Shugenja can bow to add any bonuses for casting the Spell. The primary Shugenja is the only Shugenja considered to be casting the Spell; he is the only one entitled to Spell-related bonuses and the only one targetable by Spellrelated Reactions. All Shugenja bowing to perform a Ritual during a Battle Action Segment must be at the same location, whether it be at a battle or in your home. Some Followers are Shugenja as well. Any card with the Shugenja trait can satisfy any card or rules reference to Shugenja, unless the reference specifically calls for a Shugenja Personality. For example, Shugenja Followers may bow to participate in Rituals but cannot cast Spells (because only Personalities can attach Spells).

Creating Fear
Some cards can create Fear as a Battle action. Each Fear action can be taken once per battle and does not bow the card with the Fear ability. To create Fear, target another unit in the same battle as the card with the Fear ability. Each Follower in the target unit with Force less than or equal to the Fear strength (which may be 0) bows. Multiple cards cannot combine Fear strengths. Fear does not affect Undead cards.

Lobbying for the Imperial Favor

The Imperial Favor represents the efforts of the Emperor or the Imperial Court to exert influence on behalf of current court favorites. Once per turn, as a Political Limited action, you can lobby for the Imperial Favor. You can lobby only if you have more Family Honor than each other player (though you dont have to have more than 0) and if you do not already have the Imperial Favor. To lobby, target and bow one of your Personalities with over 0 Personal Honor and announce that you are lobbying. The Imperial Favor is now yours, and you can use it for effects that require you to discard it. Take the object you are using to represent the Imperial Favor (see page 53) and place it in front of you to remind everyone that you now have it.

Making Ranged Attacks

Some cards have the ability to make ranged attacks. A ranged attack must target a single card opposing the card or cards making the ranged attack: either a Follower or a Personality with no Followers. Ranged attacks cannot target Provinces or types of cards other than Followers and Personalities. A ranged attack destroys its target card if its strength (which may be 0) is greater than or equal to its targets Force. Excess strength yields no extra benefit. If the strength is less than the targets Force, nothing happens. Two or more cards in the same unit can combine ranged attacks as a single action, adding their strengths together. The combined actions types must all be the same, and the cards must all be able to make a ranged attack at that time and at the intended target. Each card may add only one attack to the total; a card cannot combine ranged attacks with itself. A combined ranged attack acquires the traits of all of the ranged attacks comprising it. Example: Allen bows his Archers for their Ranged 3 Attack, which destroys Bobs 2F Light Cavalry. On his turn, Bob bows one of his Samurai for a Ranged 3 Attack and the Samurais attached Spearmen for a Ranged 2 Attack, to create a Ranged 5 Attack that destroys one of Allens Samurai, who has 4 Force and no Followers. Neither of Bobs ranged attacks could have destroyed the Samurai by themselves.
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Special Traits
Many cards have one or more of these special traits.

D OUBLE C HI
Some Personalities have tremendous strength of mind and spirit. Such a Personality has the Double Chi trait, which causes the Personalitys Focus cards played during a duel to add their Focus values twice (even in a duel that does not involve Chi).

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N AVAL
If every Personality and Follower in only one army has the Naval trait, then immediately after that battle is chosen for resolution, the Naval armys leader either the Attacker or the Defender may elect to make the battle a naval invasion. If so: If the attacking army is the Naval one, the Attacker gets the first option of playing a Battle or Open action (or passing), and play then proceeds in turn order from the Attacker, not from the Defender. (This rule does not apply if the Defender is the one making the battle a naval one.) Players with units in the Naval army may not play Terrains until after one of the other players passes or takes a Battle or Open action. No player may take actions (including Reactions) or bring cards into play between the start of the Battle Action Segment and the first Battle or Open action opportunity, except for Reactions to that action. The decision to make a battle a naval invasion is made separately for each Province, and happens well before the Battle Action Segment. A naval invasion may not be declared by an empty army but may be declared against one. A naval invasion may not be declared if both armies are Naval.

YU
The most capable followers of bushido are able to defeat their opponents even if it means their own death. This is represented in L5R by the Yu trait, which is always followed by a number. If one or more cards with the Yu trait are in an army losing to another army during the resolution of a battle, each may destroy a Follower or a Personality with no Followers in the winning army with a Force less than or equal to the cards Yu value. Multiple cards may also combine their Yu values to destroy one card, but one card may not destroy multiple cards. This occurs immediately before the losing army is destroyed. Destroying cards in this way does not alter the outcome of the battle, and it does not earn the loser any Honor. Using the Yu trait is not an action. The Attacker or Defender makes all decisions for all Yu values in his army, and can use the traits in any order. When giving a bonus to the Yu value of a card who does not have the trait, permanently give the Samurai Yu 0 first, then add the bonus.

T ACTICIAN
Some Personalities are masters of warfare, able to guide themselves and their troops to victory against the steepest opposition. Such Personalities have the Tactician trait, and are the only Personalities allowed to perform Tactical actions. A Personality may perform only one Tactical action per battle. In additional to Tactical actions on cards, all players have available to them the following action: Tactical Battle: Discard a card from your hand and target one of your Personalities to raise his Force by that cards Focus value.

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Example: Its the end of a battle where Sarah is attacking Jim. Sarah has three units: a 5F ogre, a 3F samurai, and a 2F shugenja with a 1F Follower. Jim has two samurai with Yu values of 3 and 2. Jims army is losing this battle, so during resolution, he can: 1) Use his Yu 3 samurai to destroy Sarahs samurai and his Yu 2 samurai to destroy her shugenjas Follower. 2) Have his samurai work together to destroy Sarahs ogre. Jim can also, of course, use his Yu values in less efficient ways, or only use some of them, or not use any at all. One thing Jim cant do is use just one samurai to destroy Sarahs shugenja directly. He must use one to destroy the shugenjas Follower first, then destroy the shugenja with the other.

Allen, Bob, and Cindy Go to War: A Sample Attack Phase

When his Attack Phase begins, Allen declares an attack against Cindy. Both Allen and Cindy invite Bob to ally with them. During the Infantry Maneuvers Segment, Allen assigns his Ogre Bushi (6F/4C) to attack Cindys leftmost Province, which has a strength of 6. Bob wants to help attack, but he holds back on assigning any of his Cavalry units so he can see how Cindy plans to defend first. Cindy assigns her Togashi Teijo (3F/3C), who has a Dai Tsuchi (+3F/+0C), and her Tamori Chieko (1F/3C), who has Ashigaru Archers (0F), to defend her leftmost Province. During the Cavalry Maneuvers Segment, Bob sees that Allen may have some trouble and decides to help by assigning his Shinjo Shirasu (3F/2C) with a Daikyu (+0F/+0C) and some Light Mounted Infantry (1F) to attack the same Province. Bob now gains 2 Honor for allying. Now that all units are assigned, Allen, being the Attacker, decides which battle will be fought first. He chooses the one with all the units. The battle begins, with an initial total of 10 Force on the attacking side and 7 on the defending side.

The Battle Action Segment begins. Cindy, being the Defender, has the first opportunity to act. She begins by bowing her Ashigaru Archers for a Ranged 2 Attack against Bobs Light Mounted Infantry. The Light Mounted Infantry only has 1 Force, so the ranged attack destroys it. Since the Ashigaru Archers are bowed, they no longer add their Force to their unit but since they have 0 Force to begin with, this is no real loss. Allen sits on Cindys left, so he gets the next action. The attacking army is still ahead, but Allen is greedy. He wants to destroy the Province as well as Cindys army, so he plays Destiny Has No Secrets on his Ogre, raising it to an impressive 8F/6C. Allen also has to show the rest of his hand to play that action, and he does so, revealing that the one card left in his hand is another Destiny. Bob is not as greedy as Allen. He sees the attacking army is ahead, and is comfortable with that. He passes. Cindy does not pass. She plays Twisted Forest from her hand. Twisted Forest is a Delayed Terrain that will reduce the Force of Allens Ogre to 0 just before the battle resolves. That will give the attacking army only 3F. Play moves to Allen, who finds himself shy of options. He could play his second Destiny Has No Secrets on his Ogre, raising it to 10F, but that would still be reduced to 0 because of when Delayed Terrains resolve. If Destiny were playable on any Personality, he could play it on Shirasu and help his ally out, but Destinys wording only allows him to play it on his own Personalities. Allen saves the second Destiny for another turn and reluctantly passes. Bob, fortunately, has a trick up his sleeve. He bows his Daikyu for a Ranged 3 Attack at Togashi Teijo, then reacts by paying 1 Gold to play Tsuruchi Technique and raise that attacks strength by 3. This gives him a total of 6, which is just enough to destroy Teijo. Now, even if no one gets rid of Twisted Forest, the attacking army will still outforce the defenders by 3 to 1. But Cindy is not out of tricks. She bows Chieko, who happens to be a Shugenja, to play the Kiho Fist of the Earth and bow an opposing Follower or an opposing Personality without Followers in this case, Shirasu. Now neither unit will add any Force to their armies, which is a bigger loss for the 3F Shirasu than for the 1F Chieko.
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Its back to Allen, who is still in as bad a position as he was before. Allen passes. So does Bob, and then Cindy, because they are out of useful actions. Twisted Forest resolves, reducing the Ogres Force to 0, and then the Resolution Segment begins. On the attacking side, we have a 0F Ogre Bushi and a bowed Shinjo Shirasu, who adds no Force to the army. On the defending side, we have a bowed Tamori Chieko, who also adds no Force. The battle is a tie! All remaining cards in both armies are destroyed. Cindy gains 3 Honor for the three cards in the attacking army at the end of battle, and Allen gains 2 Honor for the two cards in the defending army. Since the attacking army did not outforce the defending one by more than 6 points, the 6-strength Province is not destroyed. The battle is now resolved. Cindy puts her Twisted Forest into her discard pile. If Allen or Bob had any surviving units, they would now return to their controllers homes, bowed. If any of Cindys units had survived, they would have remained at that Province until the entire Attack Phase was over. After conducting very brief, uneventful battles at Cindys other Provinces, the Attack Phase ends and Allen moves into his Dynasty Phase.

Optional Rules
Many standards of play include one or more of these optional rules.

A LTERNATE S TARTING M ETHOD

Players add the Focus value of a random cut from their Fate decks to their Starting Family Honor before determining who will go first. In the event of a tie, the tied players continue to cut and add to their running totals until one player is highest. These increases are only used to determine who goes first; no actual Honor is gained.

D IAMOND S TORYLINE S IMULATION

To play a game that echoes the events in the Diamond Edition storyline, follow these restrictions: Use only cards and Strongholds printed with the Rokugani symbol for diamond in the lower left corner. For the most part, this limits you to cards that appear in Diamond Edition, and later expansions. In the case of cards reprinted from earlier sets, you may use either old or new copies, but remember that the second Cardinal Rule (see page 34) is always in effect. In the case of Soul of Personalities, copies of the original Personality or a different Soul of with the same original may also be used; however, they are played by the latest incarnations printing in all ways, including all changes to stats, abilities, and title.
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Glossary
ability active player army assign bow caster Cavalry Text on a card or Stronghold or from the rulebook prefaced by Limited, Battle, Open, or Reaction. Synonymous with action. The player whose turn it is. One or more units either attacking or defending a Province. All units on one side are one army, regardless of who controls them. Order to attack or defend a Province during a Maneuvers Segment. Different from moving. Turn a card sideways to indicate that it cannot use its sections or be assigned to battle. The Shugenja or Monk performing an action on a Spell or Kiho. For Rituals, only the primary Shugenja is the caster. A unit in which the Personality and all attached Followers have the Cavalry trait. A player can assign a Cavalry unit to a battle during the Cavalry Maneuvers Segment (as well as during Infantry Maneuvers). If any Follower or the Personality does not have the Cavalry trait, the unit is Infantry. Invite another Personality to duel. A duel does not begin unless and until the challenged Personality accepts the challenge. A players own Personalities cannot challenge each other. A Personalitys inner strength. This value determines how well a Personality can duel and the strength of many magical effects the Personality can produce. A Personality dies if his Chi drops to 0. Dependent upon another players decision. Targeted and resolved one at a time. When effects such as ranged attacks occur consecutively, you wait until each one resolves before picking a target for the next.
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controller

The only player who may use a cards abilities or assign it to battle. A cards controller is the player who brought it into play, unless a card or rule states otherwise. A Personalitys controller controls all cards in that unit. A Personality adept at the politics of the Imperial Court. An animal-like character. Cards printed with the Mujina or Ratling trait are Creatures. All Creatures are Nonhuman. See Courtier. Invert to signify shame. A trait causing cards focused by its Personality in a duel to add their Focus values twice to the duels statistic. Take the top card of your deck into your hand. An effect closely tied to the five elements that make up the world. There are no special rules for creating Elemental effects.

Courtier Creature Diplomat dishonor Double Chi draw Elemental effect

Elemental Rings Cards that represent the five elements that make up all things: Air, Earth, Fire, the Void, and Water. Enlightenment Victory Winning the game by having all five Elemental Rings in play. face-down The orientation of all cards in a players Fate and Dynasty decks, as well as unrevealed Dynasty cards in players Provinces and cards in players hands. Some effects allow you to play cards face-down as well. A group of families and other characters united by a common cause or leader. A Factions alignment trait might not contain the word Clan, and a trait with the word Clan might not be a Faction. See also Minor Clan. Your running Honor total influenced by actions in the game. Family Honor represents the esteem in which the people of Rokugan hold your family. If you ever have under 19 Family Honor, you imme99

challenge

Chi

Faction

conditional consecutive

Family Honor

diately lose the game. If you begin your turn with 40 or more Family Honor, you win the game by an Honor Victory. Fear An ability of some cards to panic opponents in battle. Fear bows all Followers with Force less than or equal to the Fear strength in one other target unit in the same battle. A card with a Fear ability can use it once per battle and does not bow to use it. Undead cards are immune to Fear. Loyalty to a Faction. An action that gives one or more Personalities your Factions trait, regardless of your Faction, is called swearing fealty. Swearing fealty is a permanent change. Concentrate and build your Chi during a duel to defeat your opponent. For a unit: The sum of the Force values of the Personality and all of his Followers. A bowed Follower does not add its Force, and a bowed Personality stops all the cards in the unit from adding Force, giving the unit a Force total of 0. For an army: The sum of the Force totals for its units. Fortification A Holding attached to the Province from which it came into play. Typically, a Fortification makes a Province harder to destroy. You cannot attach more than one copy of each Fortification to each Province. Unlike other Holdings, Fortifications do not enter play bowed. Holding A Holding that can produce Gold. A Holding that can only lower cards Gold costs, pay the entire Gold cost of a card, or put a card into play without Gold cost is not a Gold-producing Holding. Cards drawn from a Fate deck but not yet played. Such cards are considered face-down. The area of the table above a players Provinces, containing the players Stronghold, Holdings, and unassigned units.
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Honor Victory Human immune

Winning the game by having 40 or more Family Honor when your turn begins. A Personality or Follower who is not Nonhuman. Many traits implicitly make a card Nonhuman, including Creature, Naga, and Oni. Unaffected by a given effect, although such effects may still target it. For example, Fear effects do not bow Followers that are immune to Fear. The default maneuverability for Personalities and Followers. A card is Infantry unless it has the Cavalry trait. A unit is Infantry unless the Personality and all attached Followers have the Cavalry trait. An ability on a Shugenja card. Abilities on other cards are not innate. Innate abilities do not create Spell effects. All cards owned by all players who have not yet been eliminated, including those in play, in decks, in discard piles, and in hands. Excludes only those which have been removed from the game or discarded from play. In the order in which players would normally play, usually decided by seating position and the standard clockwise progression of the game. Come under control of. A Personality who will not join a player of a given Faction will not enter play from that players Provinces, and such a player cannot take control of the Personality from another player. An Action card that creates Spell effects. An effect based on evil practices forbidden by the Emperor. There are no special rules for creating Maho effects. Winning the game by being the sole player remaining. A trait that includes the word Clan but isnt one of the Great Clans, such as Boar Clan Minor Clans do not count as Factions.
101

fealty

Infantry

focus Force total

innate ability in the game

in turn

join

Gold-producing

Kiho Maho Military Victory Minor Clan

hand home

move Mujina

For a battle: Change location while a battle is being fought. Different from assigning, which is done before the battle. Trickster animals that have plagued the Empire for years. Mujina are Creatures.

primary Shugenja The Shugenja to which a Ritual Spell being cast is attached. The primary Shugenja is the Rituals only caster, regardless of how many other Shugenja also participate in the Ritual. Province An area on the table representing a familys ancestral territory. The goodwill and favors from your Provinces people give you the opportunities represented by your Dynasty cards.

non-Experienced Without an Experienced or Inexperienced trait. numeral Oni opposing A number written using digits. The entire number, including any + or sign, is one numeral. Terrible monsters from the Shadowlands that have little use for concepts like honor. All Oni are Nonhuman and Shadowlands. For a card or unit: In the opposite army from the card or unit. For a player: An opposing player is any player who controls opposing cards. The opposing player is either the Attacker or Defender, depending on whether you are on the Defenders side or on the Attackers side, respectively. opponent In the general sense, any player other than yourself. For a duel: The other Personality or player in the duel. For a battle: see opposing. owner The player whose deck a card was in when the game began, regardless of whether it is in play or who currently controls it. Cards and tokens created during the game are owned by their creator. For the rest of the game. This does not mean the effect can never be negated, modified, or overwritten. A Personalitys intrinsic honor. Different from Family Honor. A players Dynasty deck and Fate deck together. An action that influences Rokugani politics. There are no special rules for taking Political actions. restriction Region

Province Strength The maximum strength attack that a Province can survive. If an attacking armys extra Force in a battle exceeds the Strength of the Province it is attacking, the Province is destroyed, along with all cards in it and attached to it. A Factions Stronghold lists the starting Strength of its Provinces. Ranged X Attack In a battle, an attack for which you bow a card with a Ranged Attack to destroy an opposing Follower, or Personality with no attached Followers, with Force less than or equal to X. Ratling A race of rodent-people from the area of the Shadowlands. Though not renowned for prowess in battle, Ratlings fight for a low price. Cards printed with the Ratling trait are Creatures. A card attached to and defining the Province from which it entered play. Regions reflect aspects of their Provinces lands and grant special abilities. Each Province can have only one Region. All Regions that are not Unique are Singular.

permanent(ly) Personal Honor play deck Political action

remove from the game Utterly removed from play, never to return. A card removed from the game does not go to the discard pile; set it aside in a new, separate pile. Removing a card from the game is not considered destruction. requirement With respect to bringing Personalities or Followers into play, shorthand for Honor requirement. An effect governing whether or not a player may bring a card into play.

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103

Retainer Ritual seppuku

A Holding that represents a special resident of your fief. Retainers are not Personalities. They enter play bowed, like most Holdings. A type of Spell which multiple Shugenja may participate in casting. Ritual suicide that absolves a person of any past misdeeds. A Personality who dies from any seppuku card or effect always dies honorably and becomes Honorable Dead. A card with the Shadowlands trait. Shadowlands characters live apart from the Empire, recognizing no law or code of ethics. Unlike with other Factions, the Shadowlands trait does not signify alignment with the Shadowlands Faction. A magician/priest. Mastery of magic requires years of study and a strong Chi. Only a Personality with this trait can have Spells attached. Targeted all at once, then resolved. You must select all targets for simultaneous ranged attacks before resolving any of them. A Personality card functionally identical to another card already in print but that represents a different Personality in the storyline. Soul of cards count together with their older cards against any deck construction card limits. Immaterial being. A Spirit is not Nonhuman (nor does it have any other unprinted trait) unless the card says so. Limited to one in play by each player. Turn a card upright to indicate that it is ready to take an action. The card representing your familys ancestral home. It is not considered a card or a Holding. It lists your Starting Family Honor and your Provinces Strength. Your Stronghold can bow to produce Gold or create effects. See Tactician.
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Tactician

A renowned master of the battlefield. Only Tactician Personalities may perform Tactical actions. A Personality may perform one Tactical action per battle. A Battle action that determines the kind of land on which a battle is fought. You cannot play a Terrain if there is already one in play. Immediate Terrains resolve when played. Delayed Terrains resolve when the Battle Action Segment ends. The sequence of events from the time a player becomes the current player to the instant the player yields the table to the next player. A reference to a duration of one or more turns counts only the current players turns. Not affiliated with any of the Factions that have a significant presence in the courts of Rokugan. Any Personality with the Unaligned trait is an Unaligned Personality, no matter what other traits he has. Unaligned and not aligned with any Faction are not equivalent. See conditional. A card with Necromancer, Skeletal, Skeleton, Undead, or Zombie in the title or boldfaced trait text. If a card is Undead, it is considered to have the Shadowlands trait as well (but not necessarily Nonhuman). Undead cards are immune to Fear. A Personality and all of the Personalitys attached cards. Not known until the time it is used or needed. For example, the Gold cost of a card that allows its player to pay any amount of Gold for it is variable, while the Force of a Personality that depends on the number of Followers she has is not. Controlled by you. (Cards not in play have no controller.) Heroic courage. The strength to fulfill ones duty even in death. Cards with the Yu trait may destroy opposing cards during the resolution of a battle that their army has just lost.
105

Terrain

Shadowlands card

turn

Shugenja

Unaligned

simultaneous (ranged attacks) Soul of

unconditional Undead

Spirit Singular straighten Stronghold

unit variable

your Yu

Tactical

Rokugani Terms
While exploring Rokugan and its surrounding areas, you may encounter terms unfamiliar to you. This section should help you understand the world in which you now have a stake.
ashigaru Battle Maiden bushi daimyo daisho gempukku Hantei Jigoku Peasant soldier. One of an all-female group of cavalry samurai of the Unicorn Clan. A warrior who follows the code of bushido, wherein honor holds more importance than life itself. Clan or family leader. The twin swords of katana (sword) and wakizashi (short sword), worn only by samurai. Coming-of-age ritual. Historical family name of the line of emperors before Toturi. The spirit realm of pure evil, intimately connected with the Shadowlands. Incorrectly used by commoners to refer to all spirit realms and afterlives. Great wall between Crab lands and the Shadowlands. Also known as the Carpenter Wall. The eight brother and sister gods who originally founded the Great Clans, and their evil brother, Fu Leng. Fox spirit. Also a Fox Clan family name. Blood magic. Faction or family emblem. See page 102

Naga Nezumi oni Osano-Wo Otosan Uchi ronin samurai sensei seppuku

A race of foreign, ancient snake-people from Rokugans forests, now mostly in hibernation. Another name for Ratling (see page 65). See page 102. The Fortune of Thunder. Once a mortal Crab Clan samurai. Rokugans historical capital city. A samurai who has no master. A member of the ruling warrior class, in turn ruled by the Code of Bushido. Teacher and mentor. See page 88..

Errata and Clarifications

The most recent English printing of a card, Stronghold, or rulebook overrules all other printings, which are considered to read identically to said printing. Starting with Gold Edition, you can tell the set to which a card belongs by the abbreviation before the illustrator credit. The abbreviation for Diamond Edition is DE.

Kaiu Wall Kami kitsune maho mon Mujina

1,000 Y EARS OF D ARKNESS

Gifts and Favors: You search your deck and face-down Provinces, and play the first Gifts and Favors you find. You lose the game if you find none. [MRP]

T HE F ALL OF O TOSAN U CHI

Private Dojo: You must bow Private Dojo to use the Reaction. [errata] Tsuruchi Hiro: His Chi of 4 is a misprint. It should be 3. [MRP] Vengeful Dead: Replace another players card effect with another players Ninja, Kolat, or Assassin action. [errata]
107

106

C RAB C LAN H EAVEN & E ARTH

Kanashimi: Replace After a player draws a card outside his or her End Phase with After a player draws a card outside his End Phase due to his own card or Stronghold effect. [errata] Noh Theater Troupe: This card is Singular. [errata] Wholeness of Self: Its effect does not apply to focusing in duels. [errata].
Defenders of the Wall, ever vigilant against the Shadowlands.

C RANE C LAN
These masters of art and politics seek excellence in all things.

D RAGON C LAN
Enigmatic and reclusive, mystical seekers of enlightenment.

L ION C LAN
Ferocious, proud warriors that serve the Emperor with their every breath.

M ANTIS C LAN
Born of humble beginnings, an ambitious clan of sailors and bounty hunters.

P HOENIX C LAN
Keepers of wisdom and magic, the mightiest of all shugenja.

R ATLINGS
Strange tribes of humanoid rodents, the legacy of a fallen civilization.

S CORPION C LAN
From the shadows of the Empire, secrecy and subtlety are their weapons.

S HADOWLANDS
The forces of darkness, infused with the power of Jigoku itself.
108

U NICORN C LAN
Explorers, nomads, and horsemen, they are outsiders within their own Empire.

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Turn Sequence
1. Straighten Phase: Straighten your bowed cards and Stronghold. 2. Events Phase: Reveal face-down cards in your Provinces from left to right, resolving any Events when they turn up. Then attach all free, legal Regions. 3. Action Phase: Do any of the following in any order: Take Limited actions. Take Open actions. (The other players may do this as well, in turn.) Attach Ancestors, Followers, Items, and Spells to Personalities. Once per turn, lobby for the Imperial Favor. 4. Attack Phase (Optional) a. Declare an attack against a player. The Attacker and Defender invite allies. b. The Attacker, then attacking allies, assigns attacking Infantry. c. The Defender, then defending allies, assigns defending Infantry. d. The Attacker, then attacking allies, assigns attacking Cavalry, e. The Defender, then defending allies, assigns defending Cavalry. f. For each battle: i. The Defender takes an Open or Battle action. ii. The player to the Defenders left takes an Open or Battle action. Play goes clockwise until everyone has had a chance to take an action. iii. Repeat i and ii until all players pass consecutively. iv. Resolve the battle and go to the next one. 5. Dynasty Phase: Bring into play any face-up Dynasty cards you want from your Provinces. Discard as many face-up Dynasty cards from your Provinces as you like. Refill empty Provinces. 6. End Phase: Draw a card and tell the next player, The table is yours.

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