Force of Will

Legend of the Five Rings card from Diamond Edition, Shadowlands, Promotional–CWF, Reign of Blood, Wrath of the Emperor

Card Type

Spell

Gold Cost

4

Card Text

Battle/Open: Any number of times per turn, bow this Shugenja, target a Personality, and destroy this card unless you control the Personality: Switch his Personal Honor and Chi.

Focus Value

4

Legality

Clan Wars (Imperial), Hidden Emperor (Jade), Rain of Blood (Diamond)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Switches the current total Chi and Personal Honor values. [DW, l5rinfo, 5/31/96] Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 27
• This will kill any dishonored Personality, as his effective Personal Honor will always be zero. Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 27
• Q: Does O-Ushi Sensei make my focuses add to Force if I use it in a duel? A: Yes. Furthermore, O-Ushi Sensei works against any other player's targeted card that checks or changes the Chi of your Personalities. For instance, you could choose to have another player's Force of Will exchange Force and Personal Honor. The Imperial Herald, Issue 17, p. 40

Rules Q&A

• Q: Playing Spawning Grounds/Jigoku
  I have in play Mishime with Force of Will, Yosuchi with +3 Chi, and Yajinden in play.
  I bow Mishime, and target Yosuchi with Force of Will, switching his Chi and Personal Honor. I react with Yajinden's ability, and redirect the 6 point Chi penalty to one of my opponent's Personalities.
  What are Yosuchi's Chi & Personal honor, assuming my opponent doesn't have any reactions?
  A: Well, first you need to find some way to make that Chi Penalty a Maho effect before Yajinden will redirect it. But assuming you find some way to do that (Jubal's suggestion about Jama Suru XP was a good example):
  You redirected the Chi Penalty, but the Personal Honor Bonus effect still resolves normally. Assuming Yosuchi was 0PH, 6CHI when you cast Force of Will, it will now be 6 PH (0 + 6) and 6 CHI. Martin Lund, "Rules for 11 January 2005", 14 Jan 2005
• Q: I have a Jama Suru (Exp.) with a Force of Will attached. I am Iuchiban’s Citadel player with Iuchiban Sensei. I use Force of Will.
  Q: Can I unbow Suru due to Iuchiban Sensei?
  I am not sure if the “Spell effects created by Suru are Maho” make Maho the Open Action from Force of Will, because Suru’s trait only talk about effects, not complete action.
  A: The Action is not a Maho Action. The Effects, however, are considered to be Maho due to Suru's trait. Martin Lund, "Rules for 13 December 2004", 15 Dec 2004
• Q: I have a personality with 3 Chi and 2 PH.
  My opponent casts Force of Will bringing me to 2 chi and 3 PH - this is a reduction in Chi from another player's card.
  I react with Ambush at Sea, giving my personality +5 Chi. At the end of the turn, the stats switch back and I go from 7 Chi, 3 PH to 3 Chi, 7 PH.
  A: [MARTY] Incorrect.
  Force of Will does not say, "Switch the stats again at the end of the turn. That change is permanent." Instead, the effect started when Force of Will was cast (+1PH, -1C) ends.
  So you have 1 less PH and 1 more C. You are 8C, 2PH.
  Regardless, it is not considered to be a penalty or loss of stat when a bonus expires, nor a gain when a penalty lapses, as per page 62 of the Diamond Edition Rulebook, "Bonuses and Penalties." Martin Lund, "Rules for 22-25 August 2004", 30 Aug 2004
• Q: I have Schmoe1 on the table(2ph, 3chi). I also have Ki-Rin's Shrine non-experienced. My opponent dishonors Schmoe1, then plays Force of Will on Schmoe1.
  What happens?
  A: Your Personality gets +3 Personal Honor (3Chi - 0PH = 3) and -3 Chi (0PH - 3Chi). The bonus to Personal Honor fails to change the Personality's current Personal Honor since Dishonored Personalities always have 0 PH regardless of bonuses or penalties. Since the Personality has 0PH, Ki-Rin's Shrine won't prevent his Chi from dropping to 0 as well, causing the Rulebook to destroy him. Martin Lund, "Rules for 28 July 2004", 30 Jul 2004
• Q: Spellcaster Perp A has been Playing With Darkness, then Force of Will is attached. Spellcaster A casts Force of Will (becomes Maho) on Yajinden, switching his 0 honor and 6 Chi. Yajinden redirects the '6 point Chi loss' to an enemy perp, odds are killing it outright.
  A: The card in question is "Playing with Madness," but you've got the mechanics down properly. Martin Lund, "Rules for 23 July 2004", 26 Jul 2004
• Q: I have a Jama Suru with Force of Will attached. I have Yajinden in play. If I uses Force of Will on Yajinden or another peep, is the switching of Personal Honor and Chi considered a lost for purposes of Yajinden redirecting the lost?
  A: 'Anytime 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, it's receiving a "penalty."'(Diamond Edition Rulesbook, Page 62, "Bonuses and Penalties")
  That'll be a penalty alright - assuming Chi goes from a higher number to a lower number. Martin Lund, "Rules for 18 June 2004", 21 Jun 2004
• Q: What happens if I have a Ki-Rin's Shrine nonexp in play and my opponent casts Force of Will on one of my Personalities with less PH than Chi? It looks like there's a timing conflict here, so would the active player get to decide if the Chi penalty or PH bonus happens first?
  A: What bonus? Ki-Rin's Shrine nonexp creates no bonus. It creates a Stat Minimum.
  After all Chi Bonuses and Penalties are tallied, you apply the minimum from Ki-Rin's Shrine. If the stat's total value is below the minimum, it is set to the minimum, and that's the resulting "current value" of the stat.
  (Diamond Edition Rulebook, Page 62, "Bonuses and Penalties") Martin Lund, "Rules for 6 June 2004", 8 Jun 2004
• Q: My opponent casts Blessings of the Dragon on a dishonored Hitomi Daisetsu and I cast Force of Will on it switching his PH with his Chi. Does Daisetsu die, and if so how much honor does my opponent lose, 0, 2 or 4?
  A: The honor lose from dying dishonorably is based on PRINTED Personal Honor. Daisetsu's printed Personal Honor is 2. Your opponent would lose 2. Martin Lund, "Rules for 20 May 2004", 24 May 2004
• Q: 1. I have Mirumoto Tsuge in play, dishonored and a Ki-Rin's Shrine Exp. He gets a Force of Will played on him, making him 1 chi (thanks to the shrine). By some minor miracle, he wins a duel and gaines honor, and is thus rehonored, what's his Chi and PH?
  A: He doesn't have 1 chi from the shrine. He has 0 chi and dies. Remember that copying and swapping effects
  create stat bonuses and penalties to modify his Current stats to the new values.
  Since Tsuge was a 5 C, 0 PH Samurai, the effect of swapping his Chi and Personal honor manifests in a -5 C
  penalty.
  So now his Chi is: 4 + 1 - 5 = 0. Martin Lund, "Rules for 13 May 2004", 16 May 2004
• Q: If, say, Don Kurohito is dishonored. and Force of Will is cast on him, does he die from having 0 chi, or does it take the printed value of his PH?
  A: Unless a card refers to the printed stat, it affects the current stat.
  His current PH was 0. His Chi is set to match that. His Chi is 0. He dies. Martin Lund, "Rules for 2 April 2004", 4 Apr 2004
• Q: If you use Force of Will onto someone with the sword that has 15 chi for example then she would have 15 p honor... Lets say she dies (losing the sword) what would be the PH on her?
  A: Her Personal Honor is set to 15 for the rest of the turn or until something else changes it. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 17 March 2004", 18 Mar 2004
• Q: If a dishonored personality gets targeted by Force of Will how much honor does the personality's controller lose.
  A: Diamond Edition rules, pg. 88: printed Personal Honor. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 9 November 2003", 9 Nov 2003
• Q: I have a Shugenja in play that casts FoW on one of my other cards. Say Asako Naokazu (4 Chi, 2PH) now has 4PH and 2chi. I then then kill her in this phase[,] Then use Stonghold ablitity to put her face up in one of my provinces. My question is, are her stats 4C/2PH or 2C/4PH?
  A: 2C (Gold Edition rulebook, pg. 39) Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 8 October 2003", 9 Oct 2003
• Q: My opponent has a dishonored Nimuro experience. I have a Soshi Angai with Force of Will. When Nimuro implodes on himself from Force of Will does he lose the honor equal to his Chi which is now his personal honor or is it his printed personal honor?
  A: Gold Edition rulebook, pg. 61. Printed. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 26 September 2003", 27 Sep 2003
• Q: First Question concerning Force of Will which reads, Open: Bow this Shugenja to switch the Personal Honor and Chi of any Personality in play until the end of the turn. If the target of this spell is not a Personality you control, this spell is destroyed after it is used.
  now if I am playing spawning grounds and one of my personalites gets targeted with the force of will what would his ph/chi be if he originaly had 4chi and 0ph and the personality has a printed chi of 3
  A: His Chi was 4, so his PH will be 4 after the switch. His PH was 0, so his Chi will be 0 after the switch. Bye-bye. Jeff Alexander, "post for 27 January 2003", 28 Jan 2003
• Q: I got this email through the L5R-useful mailing list, so I can't tell if other people have already responded to this, but I'm guessing that you had Force of Will on the brain here. Face Me! will set the Chi to 0, but the Personal Honor remains 5. The challenging Personality dies instantly and the duel ends without resolution, but their personal honor is still 0 when they die.
  A: Very true. Good catch. Jeff Alexander, "post for 5 September 2002", 6 Sep 2002
• Q: Now, to annoy everyone at the table, I target Hosigeru with Force of Will, switching his Chi and PH.
  What's Hosigeru's Force, Chi, and Personal Honor?
  A: His Chi becomes 5 and his Personal Honor becomes 7. Now, since his Force and his Chi are allowed to get two more bonuses from Uona no Shiryo, his Force becomes 9 and his Chi becomes 7. Final answer: 9F/7C/7PH. Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 August 2002", 30 Aug 2002
• Q: if I Force of Will a personality, who is honorable, and then he is dishonored, will he be killed at the end of the turn when his stats switch back?
  No. The current stats don't reverse again. The spell's effect simply ends, and you go back to figuring stats as normal.
  What does that mean? The spell Force of Will has a time limit, until end of turn, and then the stats (personal honor and chi) switch back. The question had to do with the fact that the personalities current personal honor at the end of the turn IS 0. So, I guess I'm asking, do you use his current personal honor, or his permanent personal honor, when you switch them back?
  A: You go back to figuring his Chi and Personal Honor as though Force of Will had never happened. You do not re-swap their new current values. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 21 June", 26 Jun 2001
• Q: On a related note, if I Force of Will a personality, who is honorable, and then he is dishonored, will he be killed at the end of the turn when his stats switch back?
  A: Unlikely. His Chi will change by the same amount as it did before, just in the other direction. Same with his Personal Honor. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 20 June", 25 Jun 2001
• Q: if I Force of Will a personality, who is honorable, and then he is dishonored, will he be killed at the end of the turn when his stats switch back?
  No. The current stats don't reverse again. The spell's effect simply ends, and you go back to figuring stats as normal.
  What does that mean? The spell Force of Will has a time limit, until end of turn, and then the stats (personal honor and chi) switch back.
  A: Well... no. They don't "switch back" in the same way that they originally switch. Switching stats has definite rules for how you calculate bonuses, etc. No such rules apply with a stat-switching effect ends. You simply calculate the stats as though they were never switched. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 22 June 2001", 22 Jun 2001
• Q: The timing is extremely relevant. In the earlier ruling, Jeff stated that bonuses to Chi were applied after penalties to the printed Chi. So, just as [Fortress of the Dragonfly] will not save you from [Force of Will], neither will the temporary bonus of focusing in a duel. In both instances, your Chi is reduced to zero, then you try to add a bonus to an already dead personality.
  A: I did not say that. I said that when a stat is changed directly to some new value, it stays at that value because that is now its new current value. It does not become the new "base" value and gain continuous bonuses again. This has been the ruling since Imperial Edition.
  It is NOT true that all penalties are applied before all bonuses are. It is NOT true that a Personality dies from having 0 Chi if his Chi is 0 at some arbitrary time before all the math is done. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 14 June", 20 Jun 2001
• Q: Can I use O'Ushi Sensei to make this spell switch Force and Chi if another player targets me with it?
  A: Yes, or switch Force and Personal Honor. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 5 February 2000", 8 Feb 2001
• Q: Force of Will: if a dishonoured personality is targetted, then they will die because the 0ph effect of being dishonoured tranfers to their chi. In the case of a 2-printed-ph personality, (dishonoured) with 4chi, how much honour does the player lose when the chi-death takes effect? 2 (Printed PH) or 4 (Tranfered PH)?
  A: Diamond rules, pg. 88. Zen Faulkes, "Seppuku Timing", 11 May 2005
• Q: Shosuro Naname - Text Scorpion Clan Samurai. Courtier. Sixth Legion Commander When bringing Naname into play, you may give him -2C permanently and reduce his Gold cost by 2. Battle: Once per turn, switch Naname's Force and Chi. Battle: Once per battle, switch an opposing Personality's Force and Chi.
  I have brought Naname into play a regular cost. He has 3 force and 5 chi. I add a Blade of Truths to Naname and send him into battle. When I switch his force and chi as my first battle action is his force 5 and his chi 6? Alternatly does the chi bonus from the weapon tag along with the switch making him 8 force and 3 chi?
  In the same fashion. If a personality with 0 personal honor and 3 chi with the same weapon (Blade of Truths) is altered by Force of Will (Open: Bow this Shugenja and destroy this Spell to switch the Personal Honor and Chi of a target Personality. If you control the target, you need not destroy this Spell.) Is the personality destroyed or do they still have the +3 chi from the Blade of truths?
  A: A Stat-bonus from an Item isn't anything special. It is applied in order just like any other bonus or penalty.
  Remember that "switching" stats really means giving one stat a bonus and one state a penalty so that their values are effectively exchanged.
  Example #1
  So start with a 3F/5C Naname.
  Give him +3 Chi with Blade of Truths.
  Now you have a 3F/8C Naname.
  Swap his Force and Chi, giving him +5F and -5C.
  Now you have an 8F/3C Naname.
  Example #2
  Force of Will works the same way.
  OPH / 3C Personality.
  Give him +3 Chi with Blade of Truths.
  Now you have a 0PH / 6C Personality
  Cast Force of Will on him, giving him +6PH and - 6C.
  Now you have a 6PH / 0C Personality who the rulebook says has to die due to having 0C. Martin Lund, "Chi Bonuses - switching force and chi", 26 Mar 2005