Flee the Darkness

Legend of the Five Rings card from Diamond Edition, Hidden Emperor 1, Gold Edition, Three Dynasties

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Kiho

Card Text

Reaction: After another player targets one of your Personalities with a Battle action, bow your performing Monk or Shugenja: Negate the action's effects.

Focus Value

1

Legality

Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade), Rain of Blood (Diamond), Three Dynasties

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Flee the Darkness 0G 1FV Kiho Reaction: When another player targets one of your Personalities with a Battle action or with an Open action during a battle, bow one of your Shugenja or Monks to cancel that action." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 57
• Q: Does Stand Against the Waves target Personalities? Can it be canceled by something like the Asako Towers or Flee the Darkness? A: Stand Against the Waves targets either the Attacker or the Defender, as appropriate, and then forces that player to at least try to target some of the Follower-less Personalities in his or her army, even if that player doesn't have enough to bow for the first part of Stand's effect. Reactions that respond to targeting Personalities can be played at this point. That includes the Towers of the Asako and the latest printing of Flee the Darkness. Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, May 21, 2003, p. 10

Rules Q&A

• Q: Ok Say I'm attacking during a Raid, I'm completely unopposed, and I bow Iyaken to bow an unopposed personality. Can my opponent Flee the Darkness??
  Just in general asking about reactions in battles where you have no units.
  I know reacting to cancel something gives you Relevance, but since it really doesn't' satisfy Prescence, is it illegal? or do you even need to worry about either?
  A: Huh?
  Reactions don't follow the Rule of Relevance. Check page 81 of the Diamond Edition Rulebook over again: "A player can only take Battle and Open actions associated with the current battle. This is called the Rule of Relevance."
  It has nothing to do with Reactions.
  Same thing goes for the Rule of Presence as well. Martin Lund, "Rules for 31 December 2004", 6 Jan 2005
• Q: I was pretty sure about what was considered relevant and what wasn't until recently. Can a monk at battle A cast Chasing Osano-Wo on a personality at battle B? On that same stream of logic, can a monk at battle B use Flee the Darkness for an action taken at battle A?
  A: Flee the Darkness is a Reaction. It is not affected by the Rule of Relevance at all, as that applies only to Battle and Open Actions.
  As for Chasing Osano-Wo, your example is fine so long as either Battle A or Battle B is the current battle. Chasing Osano-Wo is targeting both monks, after all. Martin Lund, "Rules for 12 October 2004", 19 Oct 2004
• Q: 1. Yasuki Hachi issues his unrefusable challenge; the Dragon player casts Flee the Darkness. Since Hachi's duel is once per turn, does Hachi get the chance to challenge again at the next opportunity? Page 72 of the DE Rulebook, Cancelling Actions, seems to imply so.
  A: Indeed it does, and indeed he can. Cancelation isn't so hot against Actions on cards in play that don't involve any sort of cost. Martin Lund, "Rules for 7 October 2004", 11 Oct 2004
• Q: My opponent casts Flee the Darkness [don't ask me why]. The action is canceled, so it didn't happen, so I can do it again.
  You can't Flee Toshiji's action. Flee only works with the opponent chooses one of your Personalities as a target. Toshiji forces YOU to choose one of your people to bow.
  Let's just pretend like he said his opponent drops faith in my clan, just so that the idea behind his question comes across.
  A: That's a different kettle of fish regarding timing of cost-abilities and such, then. Still, it doesn't matter at the core of the discussion.
  Going on Castle of the Wasp for precedent is a messy business. I'm hoping we can clean out that ruling post-GenCon, because right now it is just a Designer Intent hold-over to keep its play consistent.
  I'm going to draw a line in the sand with City of Remembrance. You can't use its trait more than once in a turn, even if the Action you were using the Trait to waive the cost of gets Canceled. The trait was still used and still produced an effect - not just the cost-waiving but the "Can not use innate abilities against this turn," effect.
  So, no, you can't use the trait on City of Remembrance again if the first Action you used it on got Canceled. Martin Lund, "Rules for 11 - 13 August 2004", 18 Aug 2004
• Q: My opponent casts Flee the Darkness [don't ask me why]. The action is canceled, so it didn't happen, so I can do it again.
  A: You can't Flee Toshiji's action. Flee only works with the opponent chooses one of your Personalities as a target. Toshiji forces YOU to choose one of your people to bow. Martin Lund, "Rules for 10 August 2004", 13 Aug 2004
• Q: Does Flee the Darkness do anything or does VF just resolve again?
  A: It gets Canceled. It does not resolve again. Martin Lund, "Rules for 29 June 2004", 2 Jul 2004
• Q: Rule Question 2: Cancelling a "once per turn." Using Castle of the Wasp, I perform, once per turn, a ranged attack against an opposing personality without bowing. They use Flee The Darkness to cancel it. Can I use Castle of the Wasp again this turn to perform a ranged attack without bowing?
  A: Yes, you can use it later, since you didn't successfuly complete the clause this time. The Action was canceled during the Targeting Step, thus you never produced a Ranged Attack, as required by the ability.
  I have an interesting quibble about the way I see this get played at tournaments, however, and I'm going to bring it up to the Rules Team:
  If the Action is Canceled during targeting, it is a known part of the game state that it will not produce a Ranged Attack. However, I'm still required to pay the cost of the Action even if it got canceled.
  "Although targeting occurs before costs are paid, if an action is canceled at the targeting step (e.g., Balance in Nothingness), all costs must still be paid. Variable costs may be chosen based on the knowledge that the action has been canceled. [JA, 15 May 2003, 18 December 2003]" (Accumulated Rulings, Canceling and Negation)
  With that in mind, when you get to paying costs for the Canceled Action, is it even legal to use the trait to waive the bowing cost when you know you aren't going to produce a Ranged Attack? I'm going to run this by the Rules Team to iron out the kinks. Until then, however, play by the standing ruling. Martin Lund, "Rules for 24 June 2004", 28 Jun 2004
• Q: Looking at the text on Satoe I noticed that her reaction was triggered by someone "bowing to cast a kiho".
  So this brings me to an interesting question on Flee the Darkness (or other action cancellation).
  A: If the question is "Why did you bow?" the answer is "To cast a Kiho" even if the Kiho was canceled. Martin Lund, "Rules for 8 June 2004", 10 Jun 2004
• Q: Does Flee the Darkness target the action it cancels? If yes, why?
  thanks Andrew
  A: Hm, that's actually a complicated question.
  Going by the Rulebook, I'd have to say no. It doesn't actually Target the Action.
  The reason why? There is never a choice involved in which Action to select once you've announced Flee the Darkness. There aren't any situations where two separate Actions are establishing their targets at the exact same time and you choose between them. There is only one valid option in any given timing window as far as I can see. Since you have to play Flee the Darkness immediately response to that trigger, there is never any choice involved other than when to play Flee the Darkness. Page 73 of the Diamond Edition Rulebook says:
  "Deciding which Action to use or which card to play is not a targetting decision."
  Flee the Darkness is still targetted, however, as it is a Kiho. It targets the caster. Martin Lund, "Rules for 8 April 2004", 11 Apr 2004
• Q: 1. If my opponent plays Volcanic Fields, can I play "Flee the Darkness" to cancel the destruction of my personality when it resolves? I thought someone said you could, but I'm not sure if it counts as a "Battle Action" for the sake of "Flee"...
  A: The destruction is an effect from an Action. It is targeted and another player is doing the targeting. You can cancel the whole thing with Flee the Darkness. Martin Lund, "Rules for 8 April 2004", 11 Apr 2004
• Q: If I "Wedge" one of my personalities, and my opponent attempts to do something mean to him, can I "Flee the Darkness"? Or does that count as targeting the Wedged unit?
  Thanks!
  - Brewing Tea
  A: Flee the Darkness targets the caster and the Action is it trying to cancel. It does not target your Personality at all. The only thing that needs to target the Personality is the Action you want to cancel. Martin Lund, "Rules for 2 April 2004", 4 Apr 2004
• Q: Flee the Darkness vs. Overwhelmed? I am not targeting his peep if I play overwhelmed? correct? Flee cannot be played in response..
  A: Man, there should be an Overwhelmed Mini-FAQ somewhere. We get more questions on this card than the Egg! :)
  Yes, a player can not Flee the Darkness against their opponent's Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed makes each Personality's respective controller do all the targeting for that personality. Flee the Darkness requires that someone target another player's personality, which never happens due to any effect of Overwhelmed. Martin Lund, "Rules for 1 April 2004 (no jokes)", 3 Apr 2004
• Q: If Hitomi Daisetsu bows to cast a Flee the Darkness and the other player uses Fall on Your Knees. Daisetsu can still use his reaction to straighten?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 24 March 2004", 26 Mar 2004
• Q: Secondly: Can Flee the Darkness be played in response to one's own volcanic fields?
  A: It's an action. If another player targets one of your Personalities because of it, Flee can cancel it. [card text] Jeff Alexander, "rules for 8 March 2004", 9 Mar 2004
• Q: Can the shugenja in question cast another spell this turn? Does it matter how the spell is cancelled (e.g. Kyuden Ikoma, Faith in My Clan, Flee the Darkness)?
  A: Yes, no. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 26 Feb. 2004", 27 Feb 2004
• Q: Ie. if I did this, then played a card such as Flee the Darkness or Purity of Spirit, does that satisfy the three spells and / or kiho's being cast?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 24 Feb. 2004", 26 Feb 2004
• Q: Hi Jeff,
  Question for you: If Volcanic Fields is in play & my opponent targets one of my personalities when it resolves, can I cancel Volcanic Fields with Flee the Darkness?
  A: It's a Battle action. Check.
  It's targeted at one of your Personalities or Followers by someone other than you. Check.
  If one of your Personalities is targeted, Flee can cancel it. If it's canceled, anything it has already destroyed stays dead. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 20 Feb. 2004", 21 Feb 2004
• Q: Flee the Darkness Kiho Reaction: When another player targets one of your Personalities with a Battle action or with an Open action during a battle, bow one of your Shugenja or Monks to cancel that action.
  Castle of the Wasp Once per battle, you may target the current Province with a Ranged Attack from exactly one of your attacking cards to lower its Strength by the Attack 's strength. Once per turn, one of your Mantis Clan Personalities need not bow to produce a single or combined Ranged Attack that targets opposing cards.
  Canceling question also. If someone uses the not to bow trait from CotW, and the ranged attack gets cancelled (ie, flee) can they later use that trait again?
  A: Yes. They haven't made a ranged attack without bowing yet. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 16 Feb. 204", 18 Feb 2004
• Q: b) The cancelation will happen at the targeting step (e.g. Flee the Darkness). What's first now, the discard effect or the cancelation?
  A: The discard. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 6 Feb. 2004", 7 Feb 2004
• Q: Also, assuming I have a monk or shugenja in play, can I use Flee the Darkness to cancel Overwhelmed?
  A: Not if YOU are the one picking Tatsuzo to receive Overwhelmed's deleterious effects. The Most Recent Printing of Flee the Darkness can only cancel actions that are aimed at your Personalities by other players. Actions that you aim -- even if they were PLAYED by someone else -- cannot be canceled with it.
  The only legal way to cancel Overwhelmed with Flee the Darkness requires that you be an ally in a multiplayer game. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 6 Feb. 2004", 7 Feb 2004
• Q: Your ring of air could be played after the whole spell resolves... Works this way with the flee... You say you're gonna kill this follower that follower and that pep. The opponents flee's so you stopp the current effects the followers are still destroyed
  I thought that announcing all targets of an action was required before starting to generate its effects, thus Flee the Darkness would cancel the whole action before generating any effects, whereas e.g. Emergence of the Masters cancelled by A Test of Courage would still grant its Force bonuses. Might I have a clarification?
  A: Sure. Consecutive ranged attacks are a special case. They are NOT all targeted at the very beginning of the action. [DE p. 98] Jeff Alexander, "rules for 5 Feb. 2004", 6 Feb 2004
• Q: The defender has no one present at the current battle nor any of his provinces. He has 2 shugenja in his home. He passes, I play No Hiding Places and shoot one of his shugenja. Can he play Flee the Darkness to cancel my ranged attack?
  A: "During a battle" is a duration, not a location. Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 2 December 2003, Part 2", 3 Dec 2003
• Q: Can Keen Eye cancel a Flee the Darkness played in response to Stand or Run or Show me Your Stance?
  A: No (Archive, http://l5r.alderac.com/rulings/#Duels). Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 2 December 2003", 2 Dec 2003
• Q: you said the that an army of two units, one with the Armour of Earth and one under the effects of the Ring of Earth that had Overhelmed played on it would have no option but to destroy the highest force unit. This doesn't seem to be consistent with the Flee the Darkness ruling.
  A: The rulings are different because the cards are different. Flee the Darkness responds to targeting. The Ring of Earth does not.
  Zen Fauleks! * Crab Clan Scholar * Unaligned Rules Deputy Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 18 November 2003", 18 Nov 2003
• Q: Flee the Darkness cancel a Fear'
  A: Yes, because anything that targets a unit must always target a Personality. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 11 November 2003", 12 Nov 2003
• Q: Under the new way of Flee the Darkness, I think it would only target the personality.
  A: Correct. It cannot cancel actions that target attached cards. Note that anything targeting a unit always targets a Personality. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 10 November 2003, Part 2", 11 Nov 2003
• Q: We need an auto-reply message that says, "AAA Already Answered and Archived at: http://l5r.alderac.com/rulings/
  A: Right now, that would be a bad idea, because the Archive is stuck partway between Gold and Diamond. And will be for some time. *sigh* Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 31 October 2003, Part 2", 1 Nov 2003
• Q: Can you use Flee the Darkness to cancel an Overwhelmed played against you?
  A: No. "When another player targets one of your Personalities with a Battle action..." (card text). Your opponent never targeted your cards. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 31 October 2003", 31 Oct 2003
• Q: Flee the Darkness, Isawa's Helm, Asako Towers and other such cards can be used by / bow cards outside the battle in order to cancel an action taken at the battle?
  A: Correct. Jeff Alexander, "post for 17 September 2002", 19 Sep 2002
• Q: As of Gold Edition, Flee the Darkness doesn't care who does the targeting. It can cancel an Encircled Terrain that YOU played, even. In any case, it would be played when Encircled Terrain did its targeting, which would be when the terrain resolves, not when it's played.
  I thought the newest printing of Encircled Terrain only targeted the personality who was not leaving the battle. Wouldn't that mean that it could not be canceled by Flee? Or by Asako Towers? Not sure, just asking.
  A: You're confusing Flee the Darkness, which cancels a Battle or Open action taken during battle, that targets one or more of your Personalities, with A Test of Courage, which moves one of your Personalities out of a battle. Jeff Alexander, "post for 12 June 2002", 13 Jun 2002
• Q: Can Flee the Darkness cancel Stand Against the Waves (in whole or in >part)? Stand is a Battle action. If it targets one or more of your Personalities, Flee can cancel it.
  I distinctly remember it being ruled that Stand Against the Waves does not target and as such could not be canceled by Asako Tower, Flee the Darkness etc....
  has this now changed.
  A: It has not "now" changed. It changed December 18, 2001.
  "The first effect always occurs (or attempts to) and always targets Personalities (i.e., Reactions to an action targeting a Personality are always playable). It does not sometimes skip to the second, untargeted effect. [JA, 18 December 2001]" Jeff Alexander, "post for 12 June 2002", 13 Jun 2002
• Q: If someone uses Cascading Fire for its multiple attacks ability, and someone uses a canceling action (Towers of the Asako, Flee the Darkness, etc.), is the entire action canceled, and no further ranged attacks may be made, or is just the one ranged attack canceled?
  A: You cannot "cancel" just one effect of an action. The word for that is "negate". Any relatively recent card that uses the word "cancel" will stop Cascading Fire entirely. Jeff Alexander, "post for 12 June 2002", 13 Jun 2002
• Q: Two quick questions,
  Can Flee the Darkness cancel Stand Against the Waves (in whole or in part)?
  A: Stand is a Battle action. If it targets one or more of your Personalities, Flee can cancel it. Jeff Alexander, "post for 10 June 2002", 11 Jun 2002
• Q: Can your Flee the Darkness cancel Encircled Terrain when E.T. is played (or resolved, rather) by another player (since his card is creating the targeted condition)?
  A: As of Gold Edition, Flee the Darkness doesn't care who does the targeting. It can cancel an Encircled Terrain that YOU played, even. In any case, it would be played when Encircled Terrain did its targeting, which would be when the terrain resolves, not when it's played. Jeff Alexander, "post for 10 June 2002", 11 Jun 2002
• Q: You draw the card before you even find out if the duel is refused. As per his card text, you draw a card immediately after he makes the challenge.
  Mm... given those wacky rulings about cancelling actions that have floated around the lists lately - do you draw a card even if the duel gets cancelled (such as with Asako Towers or Flee the Darkness)?
  A: If the action creating the challenge is canceled, there is no challenge. Responses to a challenge can't be made. Jeff Alexander, "post for 7 May 2002", 8 May 2002
• Q: Flee the Darkness targets the Shugenja performing the Kiho action and the Open or Battle action it is canceling.
  A: Agree. Jeff Alexander, "post for 5 April 2002 pt. 1", 5 Apr 2002
• Q: I was thinking about Ikoma Fujimaro the other day and wondering...
  If his ability gets cancelled (say, by the Phoenix SH or Flee the Darkness) can he use it again at the next opportunity? This question hinges on whether "This is a use of the Tactician trait" is a cost. I realize that it isn't worded that way, though something odd comes up if it isn't:
  A: It's not a cost. If a Tactician action is canceled, it doesn't count towards the "one Tactician action per battle" limit. Jeff Alexander, "post for 15 March 2002", 16 Mar 2002
• Q: Does Torii Tattoo prevent actions from cancelling duels. The tattoo says it activates before the personality enters a duel. Not "during the duel" as far as I understand it. Any help would be appreciated.
  Type Action Title Torii Tattoo Rarity/Edition C Spirit Wars Text Limited: Target one of your Personalites with the Tattooed trait and without a Torii Tattoo. For the rest of the game, the personality has a Torii Tatoo and gains the ability. "Reaction: Immediatley before this personality enters a duel, automatically cancel all other Reactions until this duel ends."
  A: Reactions to the challenge or to the action creating the challenge will still be played before Torii Tattoo can be used, since those events happen chronologically before the duel begins, and hence long before your duelist enters it. Jeff Alexander, "post for 22 February 2002", 23 Feb 2002
• Q: I use Water Boy (blow up Phoenix boy) to make a range attack targeting every personnality in the opposing army (range 1) there are X targets. One of the reactions is a Flee the Darkness. What happens. Also All the shugenja are in the battle and have 1 Force or less (I know there is something in the rule book about cancelling and negating? same different ????) a) is my guy destroyed and all range attacks negated?
  A: Your Hosigeru is destroyed (because self-destruction is a cost for his action), and his action is cancelled. Flee the Darkness has been MRP'd (thank goodness) to say that it only cancels an action. It used to contain a phrase about negating effects as well, but that became irrelevant due to rules changes. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for August 22 (Part One)", 22 Aug 2001
• Q: Ok, we had a debate about this recently in the local group, and we all have our own thoughts on it so I thought I put it out here:
  If I play To Do What We Must, and it is cancelled by Flee the Darkness, does my guy still die?
  A: If you check the MRP of To Do What We Must, you should find it reworded so that it's clear you destroy your unit "to" destroy the opposing unit. That makes it a cost. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 6-9 July 2001", 19 Jul 2001
• Q: Greetings,
  I thought this would have been in the archives - especially with all the banter recently over Flee the Darkness, but couldn't find anything as compelling as I had hoped for.
  Situation: My opponent plays Deadly Ground in the current Battle.
  I play Diversionary Tactics to destroy it.
  He plays Flee the darkness to cancel Diversionary Tactics.
  My understanding: FtD would "cancel" DT, thus the terrain is never destroyed.
  If it was never destroyed, then FtD could never have been played.
  How should it play out? A) DT stands, destroying the terrain?
  B) FtD prevents DT, thus DG stays in play?
  A: C) It is illegal to play Flee the Darkness, for two reasons: it only cancels an action that targets your Personalities (Div.Tactics doesn't), and your own Deadly Ground is still in effect and stopping you. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 7-9 March 2001", 18 Mar 2001
• Q: Negated is *not* a game term. NOT in Glossary Canceled is *not* a game term. NOT in Glossary
  Both canceled and negated, although not in the glossary, are defined on pg. 33 of the Spirit Wars rulebook. Not defined as thoroughly as they might need to be, but they are defined. They are also referenced in the index, giving some indication that they are recognized game terms.
  And in my discussion on this point I precisely pointed out that page and went to the trouble of typing the entire rule for my email. Clearly on page 33 Cancel and negate are explained as being 2 different things. Yet, you rules guys says on Flee the Darkness it is a redundant statement and should not be considered.
  A: Right. They're different, but they can't both happen. For reasons I've already detailed elsewhere, the first one leaves the second with nothing to do. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 9 February 2001", 15 Feb 2001
• Q: Yet when you read the rule Reactions on page 50 there is an effect that is negated by Flee the Darkness, it is the triggering effect. So, though the action was canceled ( never happened) within the timing of the game an effect was negated per FtD language thus the once per turn condition has been fulfilled.
  A: First: "Once per turn" is not an effect. Saying it is is like saying "which targets a Shadowlands card" is an effect, or "if you control no dishonored Personalities" is an effect, or "Limited" is an effect. Targeting isn't an effect either -- it's something that effects and actions DO, rather than being one in and of itself. (And targeting is what Flee the Darkness triggers on, by the way. Not "once per turn".)
  I'm sorry that the rulebook uses the phrase "trigger effect". I'm going to change it as soon as I can (probably to just "trigger", since the phrase I've personally been using, "trigger event", overlaps yet another game term). I thank you for findinding the error, but at the end of the day, it's just that: an error. An inappropriate use of a word.
  Second: I've already stated that the meaning those two conflicting sentences on page 33 was meant to convey is that canceling an action outright resets its status back to "unused", whereas negating its effects does not. Negating effects is the opposite of canceling in that it actually does nothing at all to the used/unused status of an action, rather than explicitly setting it back to "used". They're still opposites of each other, but in a different way than how the rulebook currently represents them -- a way that doesn't cause paradoxes even if you play cards like Flee verbatim.
  Am I changing the rulebook? Absolutely. I'm the Lead Designer. I can do that. I feel I need to in this case, and I've tried my best here to explain why I need to and why I'm changing it the way I am. I don't feel your counterarguments build a strong enough defense for allowing things to stand as they are. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 9 February 2001", 15 Feb 2001
• Q: Where I am having the problem is with Flee the Darkness. It canceled an action and negated an effect. Once during the turn, according to the rules.
  A: To recap:
  You didn't negate anything, since "once during the turn" is not an effect, and even if you did, you wouldn't re-set the action's status back to "used". Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 9 February 2001", 15 Feb 2001
• Q: 2.Then does Flee the Darkness' negating of the triggering effect, not use up the limit?
  A: The negation does nothing at all. Canceling has a higher priority. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 7 February 2001", 9 Feb 2001
• Q: actions and reactions..Was.... Flee the Darkness vs Hito...
  A: (I am not attempting to single Bob out by replying to his post. His phrasing simply made an easy transition into my response.) Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 20 January 2001", 23 Jan 2001
• Q: Many of the most important words in this discussion do not seem to mean what the common understanding of them has always meant.
  Therefore, it is difficult to know which words on which cards are subject to reinterpretation. Some words in the glossary have clearly been given different meanings, but other words now also mean something else. How can one who does not have access to this forum know this?
  A: It's in the rulebook, just not in the Glossary. Look under "Canceling Actions and Negating Effects". Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 18 January 2001", 22 Jan 2001
• Q: Because Footsteps of Madness says so. Cards can override rules.
  So can Flee the Darkness, then. Tell me why *that* one doesn't?
  Why can't Flee break the rules - cancels the action AND negates it effects? Isn't that what the card actually says?
  A: I see your confusion.
  The rulebook, under "Canceling Actions and Negating Effects", says that a canceled action is not considered to have been used, but one whose effect is negated still is. This looks like a paradox.
  One possible way to resolve this is to read the second rule not as saying that negating sets the action's state to "used", but that it DOESN'T RE-set it to "unused". It's still the opposite of what canceling does, only it's not a paradox now.
  If it truly is a paradox, nothing will resolve it except Word from On High...which you've already gotten. Coincidentally, it just happens to be exactly the same as the last paragraph: negating an effect, or even all effects, of an action has no effect on the action's "used" status. Only canceling does. That's why there's no paradox, and that's why Flee the Darkness doesn't break the rules. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 17 January 2001", 19 Jan 2001
• Q: No, I think it is because the rulebook says one lobby attempt per turn. It would clarify things if there was a general rule that all of the following phrases were deemed equivalent:
  "One attempt per turn" "Once per turn" "Useable once per turn"
  A: So let them be deemed. Jeff Alexander, "Rules for 15 January 2001", 18 Jan 2001
• Q: If an action is completely cancelled (which Flee the Darkness does), it's treated as though it never happened. Therefore, in this case, Hitomi could use her ability again.
  Then what's the point of cancelling it?
  A: You get one more chance to get rid of her before she does it again, I suppose. Not great, but better than nothing. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 14 January 2000", 16 Jan 2001
• Q: Missed that one. However I do remember it being ruled rather clearly that after a cancelled lobbying attempt (ala enough talk) you cant bow for the favor again that turn.
  A: That's due to the wording of Enough Talk! It cancels (or ("negates", under current templating) the effects of the Political action but does not cancel the action itself. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 14 January 2000", 16 Jan 2001
• Q: so she can do it again after it's cancelled, but ONLY if it's cancelled. If her ability's EFFECT was negated, that's different.
  It *IS*. Flee the Darkness says "the action is canceled, and all effects are NEGATED".
  A: Read what the archive says again:
  ] An effect which is cancelled in its entirety is considered not to ] have even been attempted. [DW, l5rinfo, 12/1/97] This is NOT true ] of an action which has "all its effects" cancelled but does not ] get cancelled itself.
  "...BUT DOES NOT GET CANCELED ITSELF". That excludes cards like Flee, which both cancels and negates. So, this exception doesn't apply. The people who are saying that the action may be attempted again are correct.
  "Cancel the action and negate all its effects" is redundant. I think it shows up on cards from a desire to be crystal clear about what happens. The fact is, though, that it IS redundant. It is, in all instances, 100% equivalent to just "Cancel the action". That's why, in the latest Style Guide that Jessica and I worked on, there's an entry saying "cancel or negate, but don't do both".
  Don't get fooled by the words, either. The consistant use of "cancel" when referring to squelching the action itself and "negate" only when stopping its effect(s) is also relatively new. For a long time, "cancel" was used to mean both, and you had to read it in context to determine which meaning it had. (The archive entry itself is old enough to suffer from this shortcoming, if you'll notice.) Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 14 January 2000", 16 Jan 2001
• Q: I Know That Trick (the ability I'm asking about): Battle: Choose your performing Personality: A number of simultaneous Ranged 1 Attacks up to his Force.
  Flee the Darkness: Reaction: After another player targets one of your Personalities with a Battle action, bow your performing Monk or Shugenja: Negate the action's effects.
  I attack with a 6F personality, my opponent defends with 4 1F personalities, one of which is a Shugenja.
  I play IKTT for a total of (say) 6 RA1s.
  I want to resolve/target them in sequence and start with the 3 non-Shugenja personalities, then have the other 3 RAs target the Shugenja.
  My opponent wants to play Flee when I target his Shugenja and cancel the whole thing.
  What happens?
  a) All RAs are targeted at the same time, and Flee cancels everything before a single RA resolves b) Since the RA target is optional (not required), I don't target when I announce IKTT but only upon resolution, where each RA is resolved in sequence. Flee only cancels the first RA that targets the Shugenja and the two last subsequent RAs c) Same as b) but Flee is still able to negate all effects (destruction) of the RAs that targeted the non-Shugenja personalities d) Segmentation Fault. We have to restart the game.
  Thanks,
  Jose
  A: From the Glossary, Ranged Attack: Simultaneous Ranged Attacks are targeted at the same time, then their effects are applied at the same time.
  Flee the Darkness is played after any of the Ranged Attacks is targeted, before any of the effects are applied, so all the Ranged Attacks are negated. Alex Jones, "I Know That Trick vs. Flee the Darkness", 17 Oct 2012
• Q: Simple question. If an action targets more than one person and I react with Flee the Darkness, what happens?
  a. The action is canceled all together. b. The action is only canceled for one person. c. I cannot react with flee when Multiple targets are in question.
  A: A. Card text says the action is canceled. Chris Fuchs, "Flee the Darkness and multiple targets", 8 Oct 2007
• Q: Can I react to volcanic fields delayed terrain with flee the darkness?
  A: Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Volcanic Fields and Flee the Darkness", 3 Apr 2005
• Q: does that mean I can use Flee the Darkness when my opponent Overwhelms?
  A: No. In the earlier thread, I was only answering the general question of "Does Overwhelmed target?", which it does. I've tidied up my earlier post. Zen Faulkes, "Overwhelmed Follow-up", 31 Mar 2005
• Q: (C)an I use Flee the Darkness on an action that does not use the word Target, but does make a player make a choice.
  A: If and only if the card was printed before Dawn of the Empire, yes. Zen Faulkes, "Implicit Targeting or not?", 25 Mar 2005
• Q: Another Mantis raiding related question. During a raid battle, the Mantis player used 'Moshi Hinome' to target one of his opponent's personalities in his discard pile. The opponent then played 'Flee the Darkness' to cancel the action. I ruled that this was allowed, since Hinome's text reads 'target a personality...' and Flee's reaction reads 'when a player targets one of your personalities with a Battle or Open action...' No mention is made that the personality being targeted must be in play. Was this correct?
  A: Here. Zen Faulkes, "Two Questions", 23 Mar 2005
• Q: This rules dispute popped up in casual play last night:
  Shosaru Maru from home bows to target the opponent, who has all 4 of his unbowed personalities at a battle, opposed.
  The opponent attempts to use Field of Pyrrhic Victory to cancel the action.
  The dispute is over the targeting. One player contends Maru targets the opponent, and not the opponent's personality. The choice of personality is part of the effect, and thus no personlity is being targeted by Maru (similar to the reasoning for why Flee the Darkness doesn't stop Overwhelmed).
  The opponent contends his choice of personlity is part of the targeting effect, and thus able to be cancelled by Fields of Pyrrhic Victory.
  Can we get clarification?
  A: Here you go.
  Ph34r my 1337 Search Skillz! Martin Lund, "Fields of Pyrrhic Victory and Shosuro Maru", 23 Mar 2005
• Q: Question: My opponent plays Tactical Assault during battle targeting my personality. I react with Flee the Darkness to cancel it. In response, he plays Fall on Your Knees. Can I still react to Tactical Assault or has the reaction window closed?
  A: I assume you mean "Assault" not "Advantage" in sentence 4? It rather depends on what you want to React with. Another copy of Flee the Darkness, perhaps? That would be fine; the window hasn't closed. The Fall happened "inside" the Flee (in a way), so the game hasn't moved past Flee's trigger-point yet. Brook Cunningham, "Oracle of the Void #rules", 23 Sep 2024
• Q: Question: My opponent plays Tactical Assault during battle targeting my personality. I react with Flee the Darkness to cancel it. In response, he plays Fall on Your Knees. Can I still react to Tactical Assault or has the reaction window closed?
  A: I assume you meant "Assault" not "Advantage" in sentence 4? It rather depends on what you want to React with. Another copy of Flee the Darkness, perhaps? That would be fine; the window hasn't closed. The Fall happened "inside" the Flee (in a way), so the game hasn't moved past Flee's trigger-point yet.
  Sorry, I edited the above a few times for accuracy, but it should be good now. 🙂
  (Replying to a player: "Thanks. I'm assuming the Emperor Edition CR had the rules on reaction windows?") Possibly? I mean, there's pretty much no difference at all between resolving a Reaction and resolving a triggered trait, except the former is an action and voluntary, the latter is not.
  (Replying to a player: "Thanks. I'm assuming the Emperor Edition CR had the rules on reaction windows?") Oh, and being voluntary and actions means they're taken in a back and forth (or around the table) manner, whereas traits with all the same trigger would resolve (mostly) in an order determined by the active player. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 23 Sep 2024