Inner Fire

Legend of the Five Rings card from Samurai Edition, Crimson and Jade, Gold Edition, Pearl Edition, Promotional–CWF, Promotional–Gold, Winds of Change, Promotional–Samurai

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

Battle: Target your bowed Personality: Straighten him. You may not bow him to pay costs, choose him as a performer, or target him (this turn).

Focus Value

1

Legality

Clan Wars (Imperial), Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade), Race for the Throne (Samurai)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Inner Fire 0G 1FV Battle: Straighten one of your target bowed Personalities. You cannot bow him as a cost or target him (until this turn ends)." [MRP, Samurai Edition, 25 July 2007] Comprehensive Rules, Samurai Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, May 2009, p. 140

Rules Q&A

• Q: Basically question is this. If I have a personality, say Tsuruchi Hiro who is bowed, and I have not used the second trait on Castle of the Wasp, can I unbow him with Inner Fire and have him shoot using that trait?
  A: Sure. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for August 8th, 2003", 8 Aug 2003
• Q: Can I attach a Traveling Ronin to someone on whom I played Inner Fire.
  A: No. Attaching a Follower from your hand to one of your Personalities targets the Personality. [GE 49] Jeff Alexander, "post for 8 April 2003", 9 Apr 2003
• Q: Can I use Tactician after Inner Fire?
  A: Not for the built-in use, no. Probably not for any other use either. Jeff Alexander, "post for 25 September 2002", 26 Sep 2002
• Q: Heres something I wasn't sure about. Can Sunetra move herself into another province after straighting from "Inner Fire"?
  A: Yes. She doesn't bow to do it and it doesn't target herself. Jeff Alexander, "post for 1 August 2002", 2 Aug 2002
• Q: using the tactician trait does'nt target the personality.
  A: Incorrect. Dark Allies rules, pg. 65. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 24 June 2002", 24 Jun 2002
• Q: Can I target a personality with Inner Fire and afterwards use his tactician ability ?
  A: No. For reasons you yourself mention. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 22 June 2002", 22 Jun 2002
• Q: 2. Inner Fire and self-referential abilities
  I have Tsuruchi Okame in play. In battle he performs his Ranged Attack. I then straighten him with Inner Fire. Am I correct in saying I can now activate his ability to gain +2F?
  A: You are correct. That ability neither targets him nor requires bowing to perform. Jeff Alexander, "post for 18 June 2002", 20 Jun 2002
• Q: If I fire off Tsuruchi's range 4 attack and then straighten him with Inner Fire can he use his range 4 again when The Great Climb resolves? (if it resolves, and is not destroyed.)
  A: Using a Ranged Attack earlier in the battle does not preclude you from using it during the Great Climb's resolution. (Although, as a counterpoint to the first answer, the fact that he's been straightened with Inner Fire will prevent you from voluntarily bowing him to fire during the Terrain.) Jeff Alexander, "post for 8 April 2002", 9 Apr 2002
• Q: what happens if that opponent has one personality with no followers attached, and that personality has had Inner Fire played on them in this battle. When Stand... is played, no targetting occurs - there is no-one who can be targetted, so surely Reactions like Flee... cannot be used?
  A: Looking at Jeff's post again, I see I missed his parenthetic qualifer "(or attempts to)." I'll update the Archive entry accordingly. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 24 December 2001", 25 Dec 2001
• Q: If I play Inner Fire to straighten my bowed personality, and my opponent then plays Stand against me. My only personality eligible to be bowed is the one I just unbowed with Inner Fire. Is that personality then bowed due to Stand's second clause/effect?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 19 December 2001", 19 Dec 2001
• Q: Can you play Inner Fire when the only unit you have in the battle is bowed?
  A: Sure. Bowed units still count towards the Rule of Presence. Jeff Alexander, "post for 19 December 2001", 19 Dec 2001
• Q: I have two questions. I hope someone can help me.
  1° I read that after you play "Inner Fire" to a tactician personality you can´t use his tactician ability. Does it happens the same thing with "A Test of Courage"?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 18 December 2001", 19 Dec 2001
• Q: I had a situation come up in our session last night.
  Player A ambushes player B. Player B plays Stand against the waves. Player A responds with Inner Fire. Player B plays another SATW. Here is where the argument started. Player A says that it doesn't work because he is restricted from targeting his personality by Inner Fire, player B says that because all of his personalities are covered by SATW, the blanket effect takes precedent, and he has to bow his personality. Now, I agreed with player B, was this correct?
  A: "Your opponent must bow as many Personalities in his or her army who have no Followers as you have units in your army. If he or she cannot do so, bow all opposing Personalities without Followers."
  You were correct. He can't target his Personality for bowing due to Inner Fire, so he can't "bow as many Personalities in his or her army who have no Followers as you have units in your army", so all his Personalities without Followers are bowed as an untargeted effect. Jeff Alexander, "post for 18 December 2001", 19 Dec 2001
• Q: As of Gold Ed, the default use of Tactician targets the personality, so no, you can't use the Tactitian trait after you play Inner Fire on a personality.
  I have a question along these lines.
  Can you use an action on a personality who has had IF played on them that targets someone/thing else? For example, a built-in ranged attack on someone?
  A: If the ranged attack doesn't require bowing the Personality (since that's also disallowed by Inner Fire), yes. Selecting which card's ability to use is not a targeting decision. (If it were, there'd be no reason to define which actions are targeted -- they'd all be!) Jeff Alexander, "post for 17 December 2001", 17 Dec 2001
• Q: Can I use the Tactitian trait after I play Inner Fire on a personality? Does using Tactitian target my personality?
  A: It does as of Gold Edition. You can't do it after Inner Fire. Jeff Alexander, "post for 16 December 2001", 16 Dec 2001
• Q: If I have a personality and target him with Inner Fire would it then be possible to later use Astonishing Resilience or Courage in Death on him because these cards do not target the personality?
  A: Yes. Nothing targets unless the card says so. Zen Faulkes, "Target or Nontarget?", 21 Dec 2007