Shiba Bushi et. al.

Shiba Bushi et. al.
crossposted from the AEG forums Lots of questions for further clarification of the Shiba Bushi techniques: The Way of the Phoenix: When you declare your Combat Posture... 1. So, any bonuses the Shiba enjoys cannot be used in Iaijutsu duels, since there are no combat postures there. Correct? The Way of the Phoenix: When taking any action, you may spend as many Void Points as you wish. 2. I take it that I may use this technique to achieve results bushi of other schools cannot enjoy, such as spend 4 Void Points to reduce the number of Wounds I take from an attack by 40, instead of the mere 10 every other character is eligible to. Correct? Dancing with the Elements: If you successfully Guard an ally, any bonuses to your TN to be Hit are shared with that ally as well, in addition to the usual bonus. 3. Which is the bonus this technique refers to? The one mentioned in the first technique (if I choose to raise my TNtbH by my Void Ring) I presume? 4. If the above is the case and my TNtbH bonus is 4, does that mean that I share that bonus with the one I protect in any way I like, such as 3 for me and 1 for her, 2 for each and so on? May I choose not to share my bonus at all or is this contrary to the "intendment" of the technique, which is "Bushi as a Protector"? I'm asking this, because I notice that the book uses imperative mood, which means that I have no choice, but to share my bonus. Move with the World: Whenever another character spends a Void Point within 50' of you, you may make a Contested Void Roll against that character. If you are successful, you regain one Void Point. 5. "Another character" refers to allies and opponents, PCs and NPCs alike I suppose. Right? 6. If another character spends 3 points, do I have to roll thrice or just once? The latter I suppose. 7. In the above example, suppose I win the roll. Do I regain three spent Void Points up to my maximum (Void Points spent - Void Points regained on an 1 - 1 basis) or just one? The book does not define. 8. "another character ... within 50' of you". Here's a problem. Since there's no discrimination between skirmishes and duels in the text, I presume the technique can also be used in duels. What happens then if the Shiba is a cheater and secretly agreed with one or more of his fellow PCs who bear witnesses in the duel to spend their own Void Points, so the Shiba duelist can regain them? I HOPE it cannot be done and in the case of a duel it's only the two duelists involved and nothing and no one else. Right? Touch of the Void: For every Void Point you spend, you gain the effects of spending two, when applicable. 9. So, if I spend a Void Point to focus on an Iaijutsu duel, I may focus twice. Correct? 10. "When applicable" means whenever "the more Void Points spent, the better the results", such as in the case of extra dice rolled and kept in an attack, TNtbH increase, Wound soaking increase and so on, and not in the case where the expenditure of more than one Void Points is redundant, such as in the case of the "Switch Initiative" ability. Correct? Suppose a rank 5 Shiba and a Kakita duel to the death. After both attack and survive, they use their remaining Void Points to inflict extra dies of Wounds to each other. 11. For every Void Point the Shiba uses, he does two dies of Wounds to the Kakita. Correct? 12. After this step and if the Shiba uses the Move with the World technique to regain Void Points, will he be able to use them again to inflict more dies of Wounds to the Kakita? I guess not, since the aforementioned Void Points expenditure happens once and only. Nothing prevents the Shiba from using the regained points on the following skirmish though. Correct? A few more questions, concerning other issues: The Way of the Lion: You may gain a Free Raise on your first melee attack against an opponent in a skirmish or against any opponent who has declared a Raise on an attack against you since your last turn. 13. Is "first melee attack in a skirmish" the first I make when the skirmish starts and only that or the first I make every turn for the whole of the skirmish? The former I believe. 14. I suppose the second part of the aforementioned sentence (or against ... last turn) refers to skirmishes also and not in duels. Correct? 15. According to the RAW, the challenged Samurai is the one who decides the nature of the duel. Does he also get to choose whether the duelists will use armors or not and such other details or is it up to each duelist to choose individually what to use? I suppose the former, since all of the above are part of the nature of the duel. 16. Suppose the former is the case; an Akodo Bushi is challenged in a duel. He decides that both duelists will use armor, knowing that his rank 1 technique allows him to ignore his opponent's armor whereas in the same time he enjoys the TN bonus from his own. Is it dishonorable or just a clever exploitation of his technique? 17. If a Samurai is challenged in a duel and, since he decides the nature, he chooses it to be to the death. Can the challenger back without losing face and honor, considering the severity of the situation? 18. According to the errata, when you use the Bishamon's Blessing technique you have to make the Raises (thus increasing the difficulty of the roll) and not use Free Raises instead. I suppose though that I CAN use Free Raises for ALL of the combat maneuvers listed on p.168. Right? 19. This question may be terribly silly Can a tattooed Monk of the Dragon clan learn and cast Kihos or only the Monks of the various Brotherhoods and Orders (Shinsei, Osano Wo etc) are privy to do so? It seemed a big much for me to tackle on my own, so I thought it would be better to bring here first, so we could make sure the answers were correct (or at least as accurate as current rulings/eratta/interpretations will allow them to be).

Re: Shiba Bushi et. al.
crossposted from the AEG forums Googledeegoo that is a lot of questions. Lots of questions for further clarification of the Shiba Bushi techniques: The Way of the Phoenix: When you declare your Combat Posture... 1. So, any bonuses the Shiba enjoys cannot be used in Iaijutsu duels, since there are no combat postures there. Correct?Correct to my knowledge. The bonuses listed under way of the Phoenix can only be declared during the Declare Posture stage of a Skirmish and no other. I may be wrong though as the bonuses may last after a skirmish in which case as long as you have been in a fight sometime prior you can retain that bonus but not switch it. The Way of the Phoenix: When taking any action, you may spend as many Void Points as you wish. 2. I take it that I may use this technique to achieve results bushi of other schools cannot enjoy, such as spend 4 Void Points to reduce the number of Wounds I take from an attack by 40, instead of the mere 10 every other character is eligible to. Correct?It only works when spending Void on an action. This is obviously useful for Void enhancements. Presumably it works with actions that require Void expendature as a cost as well. As far as the ambiguous nature of contested and reflexive rolls, I'm not sure as that rules subset is murky. It does not work on non-action expendatures of Void however. So you can not spend multiple Void to reduce wounds by 10 or raise your TNtbh. Dancing with the Elements: If you successfully Guard an ally, any bonuses to your TN to be Hit are shared with that ally as well, in addition to the usual bonus. 3. Which is the bonus this technique refers to? The one mentioned in the first technique (if I choose to raise my TNtbH by my Void Ring) I presume? 4. If the above is the case and my TNtbH bonus is 4, does that mean that I share that bonus with the one I protect in any way I like, such as 3 for me and 1 for her, 2 for each and so on? May I choose not to share my bonus at all or is this contrary to the "intendment" of the technique, which is "Bushi as a Protector"? I'm asking this, because I notice that the book uses imperative mood, which means that I have no choice, but to share my bonus.I don't recall the rulings for this one at the moment. Move with the World: Whenever another character spends a Void Point within 50' of you, you may make a Contested Void Roll against that character. If you are successful, you regain one Void Point. 5. "Another character" refers to allies and opponents, PCs and NPCs alike I suppose. Right?Unfortunately yes. 6. If another character spends 3 points, do I have to roll thrice or just once? The latter I suppose.Three times. You check seperately for each Void point spent. The technique specifically states "whenever......spends A VOID POINT" it does not read "Whenever..spends VOID POINTS". 7. In the above example, suppose I win the roll. Do I regain three spent Void Points up to my maximum (Void Points spent - Void Points regained on an 1 - 1 basis) or just one? The book does not define.The book does not explain because you check seperately for each Point. 8. "another character ... within 50' of you". Here's a problem. Since there's no discrimination between skirmishes and duels in the text, I presume the technique can also be used in duels. What happens then if the Shiba is a cheater and secretly agreed with one or more of his fellow PCs who bear witnesses in the duel to spend their own Void Points, so the Shiba duelist can regain them? I HOPE it cannot be done and in the case of a duel it's only the two duelists involved and nothing and no one else. Right?Technically they can do this, but any Honorable phoenix would probably choose not to make the Void Roll. Interfering with a duel from the outside is extremely dishonorable. I also would guess that Void is probably not incedentally spent by the spectators as they are probably just focusing on the duel and not attempting any action that may require Void. Touch of the Void: For every Void Point you spend, you gain the effects of spending two, when applicable. 9. So, if I spend a Void Point to focus on an Iaijutsu duel, I may focus twice. Correct?Youre maximum number of focuses essentially is raised by 2. Note that you do not Focus twice in immediate succession. 10. "When applicable" means whenever "the more Void Points spent, the better the results", such as in the case of extra dice rolled and kept in an attack, TNtbH increase, Wound soaking increase and so on, and not in the case where the expenditure of more than one Void Points is redundant, such as in the case of the "Switch Initiative" ability. Correct?"When it is not redundant" is the understanding of it to my knowledge. Unlike the Way of the Phoenix this ability is also not restricted to actions, so it is more versatile. There is however a possible intent issue as the Tech seems to presume that this will always be used for the 1k1 Void Enhancement. Suppose a rank 5 Shiba and a Kakita duel to the death. After both attack and survive, they use their remaining Void Points to inflict extra dies of Wounds to each other. 11. For every Void Point the Shiba uses, he does two dies of Wounds to the Kakita. Correct? Yes, and he may choose to rearange the dice according to the rest of the Technique. This may also be not the intent of the Technique, but as written it works. 12. After this step and if the Shiba uses the Move with the World technique to regain Void Points, will he be able to use them again to inflict more dies of Wounds to the Kakita? I guess not, since the aforementioned Void Points expenditure happens once and only. Nothing prevents the Shiba from using the regained points on the following skirmish though. Correct?No the Void burst of damage is a one time occurance, and happens simultaneously as your opponent. This means that in addition if you have no Void before this step then you cannot spend Void for damage at all even if you recover Void when your opponent spends it at this step. A few more questions, concerning other issues: The Way of the Lion: You may gain a Free Raise on your first melee attack against an opponent in a skirmish or against any opponent who has declared a Raise on an attack against you since your last turn. 13. Is "first melee attack in a skirmish" the first I make when the skirmish starts and only that or the first I make every turn for the whole of the skirmish? The former I believe.Neither if I understand you correctly. It does not have to be your very first attack in a skirmish, but it does not reset every turn. It works on the first attack roll you make against every target that skirmish. So if you are fighting 3 opponents, you get the free raise on the very first attack you make against every single one of those opponents that skirmish, but no other attacks. This is regardless of what the actual round in which you attack them in. 14. I suppose the second part of the aforementioned sentence (or against ... last turn) refers to skirmishes also and not in duels. Correct?Yes, but not for the reason you think. It does not specify that the second qualifier for the free raise must be used in a skirmish like the first one does, so it is not required to be in a skirmish. However turns are only really measured in skirmishes, so the point is moot. 15. According to the RAW, the challenged Samurai is the one who decides the nature of the duel. Does he also get to choose whether the duelists will use armors or not and such other details or is it up to each duelist to choose individually what to use? I suppose the former, since all of the above are part of the nature of the duel.Murky. This is really more of a setting interpretation than a rules interpretation. This is not a mechanical rule that is part of the game ruleset, but rather a societal rule that the characters in game go by. Thus the definition "nature of the duel" does not have one specific definition as defined by the ruleset. GM's will interpret the rights of the challenged differently. Most find a happy medium for themselves, since pretty much every interpretation is valid(although some silly). I've seen it range from only a broad definition where a person could only choose whether it was martial, and beyond that could only specify whether it would be a formal iaijutsu duel or not, to where the challenged could put forth lopsided requirements, such as making the challenger fight barefisted while he is armed. 16. Suppose the former is the case; an Akodo Bushi is challenged in a duel. He decides that both duelists will use armor, knowing that his rank 1 technique allows him to ignore his opponent's armor whereas in the same time he enjoys the TN bonus from his own. Is it dishonorable or just a clever exploitation of his technique?Depends on the situation. Societies expactations determine what is acceptable. On the battlefield, no one is going to flinch about armor as it is impractical to remove it. However polite society will probably frown upon a duelist showing up in armor, to a formal iaijutsu duel, let alone demand that it be worn. 17. If a Samurai is challenged in a duel and, since he decides the nature, he chooses it to be to the death. Can the challenger back without losing face and honor, considering the severity of the situation? This is the one part of the duel that neither samurai has any societal right in determining. Samurai can NOT fight a legal duel to the death without the permission of both of their Lords. Duels to the death only occur when both parties want the other party dead and will accept nothing less, and their Daimyo's agree that the situation would be best resolved in lethal fashion. 18. According to the errata, when you use the Bishamon's Blessing technique you have to make the Raises (thus increasing the difficulty of the roll) and not use Free Raises instead. I suppose though that I CAN use Free Raises for ALL of the combat maneuvers listed on p.168. Right?Yes. All that errata is saying is that Free raises used do not trigger the bonus ability of Bishamons blessing, and thus do not produce more free raises. Only regular raises trigger that advantages ability. 19. This question may be terribly silly Can a tattooed Monk of the Dragon clan learn and cast Kihos or only the Monks of the various Brotherhoods and Orders (Shinsei, Osano Wo etc) are privy to do so? It's not silly. They may learn Kiho, but not in the same manner as the Brotherhood do. They follow the rules for non-Monks and Kiho. Basically non brotherhood monks and shugenja can learn one Kiho per their ranks in combined Shugenja schools and schools with the Monk descriptor. They must pay experience for them, and may only use their Rings when determining what they qualify for. It seemed a big much for me to tackle on my own, so I thought it would be better to bring here first, so we could make sure the answers were correct (or at least as accurate as current rulings/eratta/interpretations will allow them to be).No problem Coop. That was a damn lot of questions though.

Re: Shiba Bushi et. al.
The Way of the Phoenix: When taking any action, you may spend as many Void Points as you wish. 2. I take it that I may use this technique to achieve results bushi of other schools cannot enjoy, such as spend 4 Void Points to reduce the number of Wounds I take from an attack by 40, instead of the mere 10 every other character is eligible to. Correct?It only works when spending Void on an action. This is obviously useful for Void enhancements. Presumably it works with actions that require Void expendature as a cost as well. As far as the ambiguous nature of contested and reflexive rolls, I'm not sure as that rules subset is murky. It does not work on non-action expendatures of Void however. So you can not spend multiple Void to reduce wounds by 10 or raise your TNtbh. Murky issue. You can only make a single enhancement on a roll, barring Encouragement. This would theoretically mean a Shiba, despite being able to spend as much VP as he wants, can still only make a single enhancement on a roll. However, the RAW also say that certain effects may increase the number of VP that may be spent on a single roll, immediately after that first limitation. Technically, these sentences have nothing to do with each other. Given their immediate proximity though, it's not inconceivable that the latter was intended to lift the former where applicable. I'll have to dig through Shawn's rulings for a definitive answer, if there is one to be found. But by the RAW, this Technique is not useful at all for Void enhancements. Move with the World: Whenever another character spends a Void Point within 50' of you, you may make a Contested Void Roll against that character. If you are successful, you regain one Void Point. 5. "Another character" refers to allies and opponents, PCs and NPCs alike I suppose. Right?Unfortunately yes. 6. If another character spends 3 points, do I have to roll thrice or just once? The latter I suppose.Three times. You check seperately for each Void point spent. The technique specifically states "whenever......spends A VOID POINT" it does not read "Whenever..spends VOID POINTS". When you spend several VP on a single roll, you don't spend them separately. You don't spend a VP, and then another one, and then another one, and so on - you spend them all at once. So it's a little more complicated than what you say: the Shiba doesn't get to roll once for each VP spent, he gets to roll once for each separate use of VP. Touch of the Void: For every Void Point you spend, you gain the effects of spending two, when applicable. 9. So, if I spend a Void Point to focus on an Iaijutsu duel, I may focus twice. Correct?Youre maximum number of focuses essentially is raised by 2. Note that you do not Focus twice in immediate succession. That's not my understanding. You can only use a VP to attempt to Focus once you've run out of your regular allotment, and the VP doesn't translate to a Focus attempt: it just allows you to Focus there and then. Nitpicky I suppose, but that's what seems to be done hereabouts. However turns are only really measured in skirmishes, so the point is moot. That's a can of worms I'm not touching right now.

Re: Shiba Bushi et. al.
Murky issue. You can only make a single enhancement on a roll, barring Encouragement. This would theoretically mean a Shiba, despite being able to spend as much VP as he wants, can still only make a single enhancement on a roll. However, the RAW also say that certain effects may increase the number of VP that may be spent on a single roll, immediately after that first limitation. Technically, these sentences have nothing to do with each other. Given their immediate proximity though, it's not inconceivable that the latter was intended to lift the former where applicable. I'll have to dig through Shawn's rulings for a definitive answer, if there is one to be found. But by the RAW, this Technique is not useful at all for Void enhancements. The ruling that was made was that the limitation was twofold that only one enhancement may gained, and the second was that only a single Void may be spent. The Shiba lifts the limitation of the second, but not the first. The limitation for the first was decided that it refered to limiting the type of enhancement to one only. So a Shiba could spend 5 points to get +5k5 but could not spend 5 Void to get +4k4 and 1 temporary rank in the skill. This was a ruling made long before you were around so I am not surprised that you are not aware of it. Also since you mentioned encouragement, I would like to clarify that only the things listed on the Void Die Roll Enhancement table are actually considered Void Enhancements. Other uses of Void, do not have the same limitations, as they are not Void Enhancements. This includes all of the uses listed under "Other Uses For Void Points," although on an individual basis according to their descriptions may have some limitations as well. When you spend several VP on a single roll, you don't spend them separately. You don't spend a VP, and then another one, and then another one, and so on - you spend them all at once. So it's a little more complicated than what you say: the Shiba doesn't get to roll once for each VP spent, he gets to roll once for each separate use of VP.There is nothing in the rules to support that stance to my knowledge. That is just an vision on how you see Void Points being expended. The Shiba Technique triggers every time someone spends a Void Point, not when a character spends a number of Void Points at once, so it should check once for each point spent. That's not my understanding. You can only use a VP to attempt to Focus once you've run out of your regular allotment, and the VP doesn't translate to a Focus attempt: it just allows you to Focus there and then. Nitpicky I suppose, but that's what seems to be done hereabouts.I think you are right. I thought the wording raised you maximum number of focuses by one, but instead it seems I misremembered and it just allows you to focus when you have no attempts left. However turns are only really measured in skirmishes, so the point is moot. That's a can of worms I'm not touching right now.I probably shouldn't touch it either.

Re: Shiba Bushi et. al.
The ruling that was made was that the limitation was twofold that only one enhancement may gained, and the second was that only a single Void may be spent. The Shiba lifts the limitation of the second, but not the first. The limitation for the first was decided that it refered to limiting the type of enhancement to one only. So a Shiba could spend 5 points to get +5k5 but could not spend 5 Void to get +4k4 and 1 temporary rank in the skill. This was a ruling made long before you were around so I am not surprised that you are not aware of it. Also since you mentioned encouragement, I would like to clarify that only the things listed on the Void Die Roll Enhancement table are actually considered Void Enhancements. Other uses of Void, do not have the same limitations, as they are not Void Enhancements. This includes all of the uses listed under "Other Uses For Void Points," although on an individual basis according to their descriptions may have some limitations as well. Rather surprising I've never seen or heard of that ruling (I suppose I should call it an erratum, even if AEG hates to admit to errata) though, and certainly that it hasn't come up in recent discussions on the boards. EDIT: found a ruling to that extent by Tsukaede (on a thread I was involved in, and after I asked for it no less - my memory's going fast, it seems) There is nothing in the rules to support that stance to my knowledge. That is just an vision on how you see Void Points being expended. The Shiba Technique triggers every time someone spends a Void Point, not when a character spends a number of Void Points at once, so it should check once for each point spent. Let me explain in a more silly but hopefully clearer way: assume for a moment I'm spending 3 VP on a single roll for Final Strike. There are no 3 times I spend a VP on FS - every time I do so is the same time, there's only one time I spend (a number of) VP on FS. EDIT: I'll also refer you to Ishi and the bonus they gain for spending Void.

Re: Shiba Bushi et. al.
EDIT: I'll also refer you to Ishi and the bonus they gain for spending Void.That was because Ishi-Do was ruled to be specifically binary. I can see where you are coming from, but I will still have to disagree on it. Everything in this Technique says Void Point in the singular fashion. So it's a matter of getting enough notice for this issue to get a ruling either way, IOW? Everything in the Ishiken advantage says VP in the singular fashion as well, after all.

Re: Shiba Bushi et. al.
So it's a matter of getting enough notice for this issue to get a ruling either way, IOW? Everything in the Ishiken advantage says VP in the singular fashion as well, after all.That might be the best course of action.

crosspost http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=748263#748263 I agree that spending a Void Point to raise your TNtbH is not an action by itself, so even a Shiba cannot use more than one Void Point to raise it. But let's think of this: a Shiba attacks an opponent (attack roll = action) and chooses to spend 3 Void Points to raise his TNtbH by 30 (or 60, if he's rank 5) for the anticipated retaliation strike. "When taking any action, you may spend as many Void Points as you wish" says the core book and that is exactly what the Shiba did. From the way the rule is written it isn't specified that the Void Point expenditure will have to be STRICTLY tied to the die roll, such as the extra 1k1 (or 2k2) to attack for instance. I know it sounds like an extremely scholastic interpretation of the rules, but doesn't this rationale have a point? I like you :) you make them break. But seriously folks. On your turn, you may spend a void point to increase your TnTBH until your next action. This in no way intereferes with you ability to act this round and may be combined with full defense. ....After his posture has been declared the character takes his turn, resolving his action and the combat moves on.... You do spend the void to raise you TN on your action, you in fact must. When taking your turn you are taking your action, it is therefore during an action. Therefore the shiba may spend multiple void on this. http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=504436&highlight=allow+gain+2k2+rearrange#504436 Referring to the rank 5 Do you gain a +20 to your TN to be hit when using the TN increase ability on page 165. Hmm, interesting. I am going to say yes. Crickey, but those Phoenix are hard to kill, eh? ...For every void point you spend you gain the effect of spending two.. When you spend 1 void for plus 10 TnTBH. You may therefore gain the effect of spending two void to gain plus 20. You may therefore spend two void to gain plus twenty. People without the shiba rank 1 tech may not spend multiple void on this effect. thanks to "on your turn" there is one discrete point you may spend a void to acheive this TN effect. Also I kinda reckon its what they meant when they wrote it.

I wont touch the worms. I won't open the can. I promise. (why, why!!! WHY!!!!) gnargh.

I wont touch the worms. I won't open the can. I promise. (why, why!!! WHY!!!!) gnargh.This is one of those red-headed step children I prefer to keep bound and gagged in the closet.

On your turn, you may spend a void point to increase your TnTBH until your next action. This in no way intereferes with you ability to act this round and may be combined with full defense. ....After his posture has been declared the character takes his turn, resolving his action and the combat moves on.... You do spend the void to raise you TN on your action, you in fact must. When taking your turn you are taking your action, it is therefore during an action. Therefore the shiba may spend multiple void on this. No. There are many thing wrong with this statement. “When taking your turn you are taking your action, it is therefore during an action”. This is not true. I can take my Turn, and then delay all my Actions. Therefore, it is possible to take a Turn and take no Actions. Taking a Turn =/ taking an Action. Second the Shiba tech does not say “during an action” it says “when taking an action”. You cannot raise your TNtbH “while taking an action”. You have to do it before or after an action. Referring to the rank 5 Do you gain a +20 to your TN to be hit when using the TN increase ability on page 165. Hmm, interesting. I am going to say yes. Crickey, but those Phoenix are hard to kill, eh? ...For every void point you spend you gain the effect of spending two.. When you spend 1 void for plus 10 TnTBH. You may therefore gain the effect of spending two void to gain plus 20. This is true only because Shawn isn’t going by the text and made a slopply “ruling”. The text is: “…when applicable.” If there is no effect of spending 2 Void, then the Shiba does not get the benefit. Shiba cannot spend multiple Void on non-actions. Thus there is no benefit of spending 2 Void on TNtbH. Shawn has effectively errataed the text to make it say “double the effect of void you spend”. You may therefore spend two void to gain plus twenty. People without the shiba rank 1 tech may not spend multiple void on this effect. thanks to "on your turn" there is one discrete point you may spend a void to acheive this TN effect. Also I kinda reckon its what they meant when they wrote it. It if is, they would not have said, ”when taking an action”.

People without the shiba rank 1 tech may not spend multiple void on this effect. I reckon that's how it's intended, but the RAW don't impose that limitation (in fact, since they do explicitly impose it for Wound Reduction, they imply there's no such limitation for other Void uses that don't mention it).

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