Dragon Tattoo

Legend of the Five Rings card from Gold Edition, The Dark Journey Home, An Oni's Fury

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Tattoo

Card Text

Tattoo Limited: Target your performing unbowed Tattooed Personality who has not performed a copy of this action this game. Permanently give them the ability, "Repeatable Battle/Open: If this Personality has less than three Fire tokens, give them one to three +1F/+1C Fire tokens with the traits, "This Personality cannot straighten while they have any Fire tokens" and "Before this Personality would straighten at the start of the turn, ignoring this token's previous trait, remove this token from them instead" such that the total number of Fire tokens on them does not exceed three."

Focus Value

3

Legality

Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Dragon Tattoo 0G 3FV Limited: Target one of your Personalities with the Tattooed trait and without a Dragon Tattoo. For the rest of the game, the Personality has a Dragon Tattoo and gains the ability "Open: Place one to three 1F/1C Fire tokens on this Personality. This Personality cannot have more than three Fire token and cannot straighten by any means if he or she has any Fire tokens. Remove a Fire token from this Personality instead of straightening him or her during the Straighten Phase." [MRP, An Oni's Fury, 10 December 2001] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 13
• The effects, "cannot have more than three Fire tokens," "cannot straighten by any means if he or she has any Fire tokens," and "remove a Fire token... instead of straightening him or her during the Straighten Phase" are permanent side effects of making Fire tokens. They last for the rest of the game upon using the ability once, even if the ability to add Fire tokens is lost. (Treat Dragon Tattoo's ability as if it said, "For the rest of the game, this Personality cannot have more...") [Reversal, JA, 29 March 2002] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 14
• Erratum: Dragon Tattoo's action now places "one to three", not "up to three", Fire tokens on the Personality. It cannot be used to gain zero tokens. [MRP] Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, May 21, 2003, p. 14
• Q: How does the Dragon Tattoo work with Gaijutsu no Shiryo? A: The act of using the Dragon Tattoo's Open action to gain one or more Fire tokens permanently applies the effects "cannot have more than three Fire tokens", "cannot straighten if he or she has any Fire tokens", and "Remove a Fire token from this Personality instead of straightening him or her during the Straighten Phase." to the Personality. Even if the Personality loses the Dragon Tattoo or its ability later in the game (for example, because Gaijutsu no Shiryo moves to a different Personality), those restrictions will stay with him. The restrictions are part of the Personality who made the tokens, not the tokens themselves. Moving one of these Fire tokens onto a Personality who has never used the Dragon Tattoo's action will have no adverse affects on him. He'll just get the +1F/+1C bonus. Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, May 21, 2003, p. 10

Rules Q&A

• Q: I saw an assertion on another list that Genshuo's limitation isn't affected by Dragon Tattoo because the action gives a token, not a bonus and it is the token that gives the bonus. Perhaps it was the way this was said in that other forum, but could you clarify?
  A: That interpretation is correct. The source of the Fire token bonuses is the tokens, not the action that created them. Jeff Alexander, "post for 24 July 2002", 25 Jul 2002
• Q: Tattoos - Dragon Stronghold
  Here's where it gets goofy. Take the following example. Vedau with the Dragon Tattoo gets targetted with Lady Moon's Curse: 1) Vedau keeps "Tattooed" Trait. AND 2) Vedau keeps the Dragon Tattoo (from the Dragon Tattoo card..."For the rest of the game, the Personality has a Dragon Tattoo...) AND 3) Vedau loses the ABILITY: "Open: Place up to three 1F/1C Fire tokens on this Personality..." 4) Vedau cannot be given a new Dragon tattoo.
  A: Correct! Jeff Alexander, "post for 22 July 2002", 23 Jul 2002
• Q: The Tattoo says "Immediately after this Personality is destroyed in a duel or a battle." The initial trigger is gone once the Personality dies in your fief; now death is under different circumstances.
  If I'm missing something, do let me know.
  The actual card text says, "DURING a battle or duel," not IN. During. BIG difference (a difference which, I predict, will be negated as soon as the next expansion is released, in which the Dragon gets a new Stronghold ... and quickly likely an MRPd Crane Tattoo (and Dragon Tattoo) in the starter).
  A: The Crane Tattoo pre-dates Gold. Its wording is relatively sloppy. The ruling that the Personality has to die in the battle or duel is based of its intended function. Jeff Alexander, "post for 19 July 2002", 22 Jul 2002
• Q: I know this has probailly been asked many a times before, ive even pondered way back when i used to use Mitsu but now i wanna get it straight
  Does a person using a dragon become bowed after a battle if a rallying cry is played?
  A: No. Rallying Cry does not straighten cards. It prevents them from bowing. Jeff Alexander, "post for 10 June 2002", 11 Jun 2002
• Q: I mean Dragon Tattoo says bow them after any battle they are in, but rallying cry reads.."prevent all units from bowing as a result of battle"
  A: Dragon Tattoo does NOT say that.
  Mitsu used to say that, but in more recent sets was clarified to say he bows as though he were an attacking Personality -- which clarifies the ruling that Rallying Cry will, indeed, stop him from bowing. Jeff Alexander, "post for 10 June 2002", 11 Jun 2002
• Q: I hate to "me too" this message but... it does say minimum +1F/+1C, otherwise it would say something along the effect of not being able to perform this ability if you have no spells attached. Also, before the first MRP on Dragon Tattoo (and I have a post on the second MRP I have yet to send because, until recently, I have been experiencing errors with the list), one could have a tattooed Shugenja breath 0 +1F/+1C fire tokens three times and play the Ring of Air because 0 was a valid number.
  A: With the Dragon Tattoo, it has always been (and is STILL) possible to add one Fire token three times in a row, thus playing the Ring of Air "for free" anyway.
  What isn't possible anymore is using the same Dragon Tattoo to play the Ring of Air multiple times in one turn...something people no longer care about doing anyway with the change to Finding the Harmony. Jeff Alexander, "post for 10 April 2002", 11 Apr 2002
• Q: I hate to tell you this, but that is altogether untrue. Since SYmpathetic Energies was printed, the ability to shift fire tokens to other personalities without the inhibition of getting bowed for all eternity has been possible. It has been a long-standing rule, that unless the card text specifies otherwise, a +1/+1 fire token was just a bonus token, with no other meaning aside from that, it didn't restrict or inhibit the personality in any way. So, essentially, this reverses a rule that has been in place for some 5 years now, and it IS a big deal. It severely changes the way certain decks work, both open and restricted.
  A: It does not reverse that ruling. The inability to straighten has not been changed to be a property of the tokens. It's a permanent effect of making them, not a side-effect of possessing the ability to make them. Jeff Alexander, "post for 1 April 2002", 2 Apr 2002
• Q: Limited: Target one of your Personalities with the Tattooed trait and without a Dragon Tattoo. For the rest of the game, the Personality has a Dragon Tattoo and gains the ability "Open: Place one to three +1F/+1C Fire tokens on this Personality. For the rest of the game, this Personality cannot have more than three Fire tokens, cannot straighten by any means if he or she has any Fire tokens, and removes a Fire token instead of straightening during the Straighten Phase if he or she has Fire tokens."
  So what happens if I have a tattooed Oni with 3 fire tokens and some other personality with 3 fire tokens and I try to Possess them together?
  a) 3 tokens disappear b) The possession is cancelled c) The possession overrides the fire token restriction (now 6 tokens) d) None of the above e) One of the above and Jeff beats Leon with a stick
  A: e), with a minor chord in c). The combined Personality also does not carry the "can't straighten with Fire tokens" or "loses a Fire token instead of straightening in the Straighten Phase" traits. Jeff Alexander, "post for 1 April 2002", 2 Apr 2002
• Q: So If I put the fire tokens on another personality with sympathetic energies, who has had fire tokens before then he will not be able to unbow?
  A: Correct. Jeff Alexander, "post for 1 April 2002", 2 Apr 2002
• Q: a) When two Personalities are combined with Possession (Jeff's favorite spell), do either of the Personalities leave play?
  A: No. (So says Dave. Followups to him. I *reeeeeeally* hate this card.) Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 March 2002", 30 Mar 2002
• Q: This flows with the Dragon Tattoo removal issue; can traits and rules and abilities and restrictions stick to non-card things in play after the causal agent leaves?
  A: Absolutely. Togashi Yama, from Anvil of Despair, works this way.
  ] "Limited: Bow to put a Mountain token on one of your Provinces. As a ] battle action, you may send home all units attacking one of your ] Provinces by destroying a number of Mountain tokens at that Province ] equal to the number of attacking units. You may not send home less ] than all of the attackers in this fashion." Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 March 2002", 30 Mar 2002
• Q: Just to get an insight, is there a reasoning to go with the ruling or was it merely decided to be too powerful?
  A: It was far more powerful, in an unusual and unpredictable way, than what was originally intended, and we have decided to arrest it now before it gets worse. Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 March 2002", 30 Mar 2002
• Q: In the case of the Dragon Tattoo, that is another wording error. The straightening restriction, as worded on the card, comes not from the Fire tokens, but from the ability itself.
  A: Correct. Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 March 2002", 30 Mar 2002
• Q: I understand fixing abusive and environment altering abilities, but I have yet to see the fire token combo get out of hand and warrant an MRP. The Under-Hand, yes, that needed fixing. Finding the Harmony, yep, that too. Dragon Tattoo, .... Why?
  A: Because it was functioning extremely counter to how it was originally intended. Dragon Tattoo, the various Experience levels of Togashi Mitsu... since the beginning of time they've never worked quite right when things got even the slightest bit tricky, and Gaijutsu no Shiryo was only magnifying the problem. Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 March 2002", 30 Mar 2002
• Q: Hoshi Wayan exp2 has been a personality of much debate in our playing circle given the potential for grossly abusing his ability. Does his ability to raise force bonuses that he receives to be increased by his personal honor included permanent bonus such the Stand As Stone card that gives a Tattooed pip a permanent +2 Force Bonus to make it +4 on Wayan. And what about Dragon Tattoo, does it give him 3: +3/+1 tokens? When Kirin shrine enters play, is that seen as a force bonus? Or are we completely off in our thinking?
  A: Wayan only increases the bonus until the end of the turn. Then the bonus reverts to its original amount. Jeff Alexander, "post for 28 February 2002", 1 Mar 2002
• Q: I am trying to enlighten in Gold...stop laughing!! Using Kyuden Hitomi...ok, one more snicker out of you and that's it!! I have a problem with some advice given to me about the Dragon Tattoo to drop the Ring of Air. The wording and the sheer cheese of it is grating on me. Can anyone confirm the ability to use Dragon Tattoo three times in succession to fulfill Air?
  A: If you play the Dragon Tattoo on a shugenja, yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 14 February 2002", 15 Feb 2002
• Q: I've got Gaijutsu no Shiryo with a Dragon Tattoo on Samurai A.
  Samurai A gets 3 fire tokens.
  Gaijutsu no Shiryo moves to Samurai B.
  Samurai B gets 3 fire tokens.
  I move 1 fire token from Samurai B to Samurai A using Sympathetic Energies.
  Samurai A has 4 fire tokens. Samurai B has 2 fire tokens.
  On my next turn, I move Gaijutsu no Shiryo back to Samurai A.
  Samurai A now has the "may not have more than 3 tokens" restriction.
  What happens to the 4th token?
  A: Nothing. It's like having four Spells on a 4C Shugenja and then giving the Shugenja -1C. Jeff Alexander, "post for 1 February 2002", 2 Feb 2002
• Q: 2) If she has Fire tokens on her, which give her +1/+1 (from, say, a Dragon Tattoo), and she uses her ability, do the Fire tokens no longer apply, for the same reason?
  A: Correct. They do not. Jeff Alexander, "post for 21 January 2002", 22 Jan 2002
• Q: 2° If I have a personality with both "Dragon Tattoo" and "Hummingbird Tattoo". Can I straight the personality with the "Hummingbird Tattoo" ability or does the "Dragon Tattoo" text go first?
  A: Cards that prevent straightening take priority over cards that straighten extra times. The Hummingbird Tattoo cannot be used to straighten if the Personality has a Dragon Tattoo and fire tokens. Jeff Alexander, "post for 18 December 2001", 19 Dec 2001
• Q: Well, I have read this card several times, and looked at the "Official" post on it, and I still have no clue how this works, though I suspect that I want ot put it in my Dragon deck.
  Here is the response from J Alexander on December 11:
  Gaijutsu no Shiryo
  A Personality who currently does not have a Dragon Tattoo (or the non-Experienced Togashi Mitsu's ability) is not prohibited from straightening by Fire tokens, does not lose Fire tokens each turn, and is not prohibited from having more than a certain number of Fire tokens.
  So, does this mean, I attach the ancestor, and give the ancestor a Dragon Tattoo, then pump 3 +1/+1 tokens, then move the ancestor to another Tattooed personality, pump again (after the ancestor straightens),
  A: There's no need to wait until the Ancestor straightens. Jeff Alexander, "post for 18 December 2001", 19 Dec 2001
• Q: But it is one of the few unique cards you can get with an event. I have another question to add on top of this, if I put the Dragon Tattoo on my ancestor, can I then draw a card from my tattoo holding?
  A: No. Jeff Alexander, "post for 12 December 2001", 13 Dec 2001
• Q: Ok, hypothetically speaking (having nothing whatsoever to do with a certain recently spoiled Dragon Clan ancestor about whom rules questions would be premature) if a personality gained a Dragon Tattoo, got some tokens, and then lost his Dragon Tattoo, would he keep the tokens?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 8 November 2001", 9 Nov 2001
• Q: Can Genshuo/Juppun use the Dragon Tattoo to get Force bonuses? Can Genshuo/Juppun gain Force bonuses from attaching weapons?
  A: Yes. See Rules Archive, General Rules, Bonuses and Penalties.
  Zen Faulkes! * Crab Clan Scholar * Unaligned Rules Deputy Steel and Iron, home of the L5R Rules Archive: http://www.planet.net.au/~zfaulkes/o-ushi.html Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 2-7 August 2001", 9 Aug 2001
• Q: I saw the recent ruling regarding attaching items with force bonuses, in regards to Overconfidence.
  My question is: Would the same rule apply to force bonus tokens? Specifically, I'm thinking of Togashi Genshou/Hitomi Juppun with a Dragon Tattoo. Does he get the force from the tokens?
  A: Yes. Attachment actions appear to no longer give bonuses or penalties in and of themselves. Dragon Tattoo attaches tokens. What those tokens do appears to be irrelevant. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for July 27th", 27 Jul 2001
• Q: 5) Dragon Tattoo. Do I load him up with Tattoo tokens, then give him a bazillion of 0 1/1 fire tokens from the tattoo, gaining him actually +2 per, while the tokens are on him?
  A: No. If he doesn't gain a token, he doesn't gain a bonus, and thus cannot raise the (nonexistent) bonus. There's a difference between gaining a +0F token and gaining zero +1F tokens. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 28-30 June", 5 Jul 2001
• Q: BAH! Snow Crane is nothing compared to the abuse of the Dragon Tattoo. Nothing. I can attach 0 Fire Tokens... an infinite number of times in my limited phase to get the Ring of Air in play FIVE times in ONE TURN!
  A: Once Gold Edition comes out, this will be neither possible (due to an MRP of the Ring of Air) nor desirable (due to an MRP of Finding the Harmony). I don't want to issue a ruling on one card only to need to reverse it once the more problematic of the two in the combo is changed. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 18 June", 25 Jun 2001
• Q: I'm all for intent based rulings, being internally consistent, and designers doing their jobs. I don't mind if Snow Crane Tattoo applies only to duels. I'm glad Jeff made that ruling. Now I want him to make another intent based ruling concerning a tattoo card and I think it is one that a majority of the playing populace will agree about. Dragon Tattoo. Being able to add Zero tokens as an ability is silly and I'm sure was never the intent of the card.
  I guess I'm just looking for consistency at least when it comes to ruling on tattoos.
  A: Why just tattoos? Jeff Alexander, "replies to 8 June 2001", 12 Jun 2001
• Q: 8. Hitomi Juppun Cannot gain Force bonuses from action. I give him a Dragon Tattoo, then add three tokens. This makes him 5F 6C (because it's an action). After the end of the turn, it is no longer an action, now it is tokens, so he is 8F 6C. Unless he is in a battle and in search of the Future is played, now the tokens are force bonuses again and he becomes 5F again. Huh? Or is the action only giving 3 tokens and the force increase is a side effect.
  A: The action only gives him tokens. The tokens give him a Force bonus. He's 8/6 right away. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 7 February 2001", 9 Feb 2001
• Q: 9. Agasha Nabe With a Dragon Tattoo. He is in battle and he is bowed. If he has 2 or 3 tokens he cannot straighten at all, but if he has one token can he use his ability to destroy it and straighten? It is an action that is illegal until he destroys the token (because the action must be legal before it is attempted), so it can't work, but it seems like it should be able to.
  A: Trying to straighten him isn't illegal -- it just won't be effective. And if he destroys his one and only fire token, he will, in fact, straighten. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 7 February 2001", 9 Feb 2001
• Q: I know that one can gain zero (0) +1/+1 tokens on the Dragon tattoo.
  There are cards which affect units which have or obtain force bonuses.
  Are gaining tokens on a Dragon tattoo ever a force bonus? Why or why not?
  A: Gaining one or more tokens leads to gaining a Force bonus, because the Personality's total Force increases. Gaining 0 tokens does not produce a bonus. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 5 February 2000", 8 Feb 2001
• Q: People on #L5R always talk of putting a Dragon Tattoo on a tattooed Shugenja and by doing this they have an infinite innate ability.
  Their reasoning is the Dragon Tattoo states,
  Open: Gain up to three 1F/1C Fire tokens.......
  So a shugenja with this tattoo can gain zero, (since zero is a number} Fire tokens to satisfy a shugenja performing an innate ability.
  Is this a correct?
  A: Yes. Zero is a legitimate number for Dragon Tattoo. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for November 15th", 15 Nov 2000