Kolat Bookkeeping

Legend of the Five Rings card from Ambition's Debt

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Kolat

Card Text

Reaction: After a Stronghold bows, if it is doing so to produce Gold to pay for a Personality entering play and if its controller has, face-up in a province, a Gold-producing Holding for which the Stronghold's Gold production alone could have paid: Negate the Stronghold's Gold production.

Focus Value

1

Legality

Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: I don't care too especially much about Ambush in particular, but I would like to know if there is anywhere that we can get a list of the steps involved in playing an action and what happens if something interrupts any of those steps.
  A: Well, for interruptions, you can check the basic rules for Reactions in regards to things doing the Interruption, while pages 72-74 of the DE Rulebook cover what happens to the Action be interrupted (cancellation, redirection, etc.)
  As for a detailed process, I want to hammer this out with the Rules Team some, but this seems to be the order - I - perceive:
  Declaration Step - Announce which Action your playing. This includes setting any variable numbers like the "*" in Ashigaru Levies or choosing which of the two Actions on Kolat Assassin you will utilize.
  * Herein you'd play Reactions like Imperial Messenger that happen "before" someone takes an action
  Targeting Step - Choose all unconditional targets for the Action.
  * Herein you'd play Balance in Nothingness or similar Reactions to any targeting that occurs here.
  Payment Step - Use resources to pay the costs of the Action.
  * More Reactions can be played here, including those of City of Gold.
  * Once Reactions to payment have been completed, if the Action is not canceled, you can now introduce any triggers keying off of the successful play of the action, like Faith in My Clan, Kyuden Ikoma, or Ring of Air.
  Resolution Step - Action produces its effects
  * Obviously, throughout this process you can introduce numerous Reactions and triggered effects to modify and respond to the effects the Action produces - like Face of Fear, Tsuruchi Technique, or Out Walls.
  So that's how I perceive the timing of taking an Action, in a nut-shell. Obviously there are some exceptions outlined in the Rulebook, like Delayed Terrains - but this is the core process. Martin Lund, "Rules for 24 May 2004", 27 May 2004
• Q: Kolat Bookkeeping Reaction: When a Stronghold bows to produce Gold for bringing a Personality into play and the Stronghold's controller has, face-up in a Province, a Gold-producing Holding for which the Stronghold alone could have paid, the Stronghold produces no Gold.
  -Can I react to this when my opponent, on his action phase, has a face-up holding, and plays kolat recruiter using gold on his stronghold to pay for my personality?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 11 October 2002", 12 Oct 2002
• Q: I'd have to say that she produces zero. Kolat Interference and Kolat Bookkeeping both create precedent for the gold production of a holding (or Stronghold) to be changed in the middle of a purchase, and I'd have to say that incidental changes due to external effects would also modify the gold currently being spent. So, if I'm bowing a Blacksmith, and you manage to kill one of my Iron Mines in the middle of my purchase, I suddenly have to come up with another gold.
  Perhaps I'm thick-headed Vaughn, but I disagree on this one. According to the way Duchon worded the situation, Kossori has already used her innate ability to produce the gold; it's there, waiting for that corrupt holding to add to the coffer so he can buy something. I don't see how dishonoring her AFTER THE FACT--even if you're still in the act of producing gold from other sources--should decrease the amount of gold she has already produced. Her Reaction has been resolved already. Now, if somehow she were dishonored in a Reaction to HER ability, I would agree with you whole-heartedly. any chance for a reconsideration?
  A: There's always a chance. You bring up a good point, that any Reactions modifying her gold production should occur before her action/effect is finished resolving. So, you're correct about Phillipe's example. That specific play of cards would not reduce her gold production to zero, but it's conceivably possible for cards to exist that would result in such a situation by dishonoring her.
  I'm sticking to the ruling that gold production can be changed by changing incidental things about the gold producing card (Seppun Kossori's personal honor, the number of Iron Mines in play), but any changes *would* have to happen directly in response to the gold production, not later in the payment/purchase sequence. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for February 2nd", 3 Feb 2001
• Q: Keith Tobeck writes: In a message dated 1/24/01 11:35:50 AM Eastern Standard Time, writes:
  << Can I bow my Stronghold to buy the 10G Personality, then, once my opponent declines to Kolat Bookkeep me, bow the two Jade Works for the rest (and, if KB is played, I'll then bow the Jade Works for something else)? Or do I have to first try to meet the full cost, and then see whether something happens?
  If someone negates the gold you are generating to pay for a personnality (kolat infiltrator and kolat bookkeeper for instance) you still have the ability to try and generate gold from any source you have. This was ruled a long time ago..though I cant say when as its been that long. Generating gold is not an action..so you can bow to your hearts content even after your opponent negates some of it. If you cannot pay for the card, all the gold you produced is taxed..ie the emporer says thanks for the money. You cannot spend the gold on another card.
  OK, the real question I was asking is, can I use my Stronghold first, give my opponent an opportunity to play Kolat Bookkeeping, so that, if he declines, I now have the Gold produced and can go on producing for my Personality; and if he does play KB, I can use my Holdings for something else.
  A: No. You have to announce what you are trying to do, as well as how you are paying for it, all at once when you start payment. If something messes with that (Kolat Infiltrator), you have an opportunity to make up the gold that you have just lost. You also have the ability to change things about the purchase that you're trying to make (buying someone for 2 less, paying less gold for a variable cost card), if that will make the purchase legal. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for January 26th", 27 Jan 2001
• Q: Combined with the little remembered rule that if a player begins to purchase a card, then cannot meet the gold cost or honor requirement, they have to discard it.
  So what happens to the extra gold? If I Kolat Bookkeeping someone who had already bowed a pair of Jade works and was about to bow their stronghold to bring out an 11G personality, what do they do with the 6 gold they already generated? Can it be used to buy another personality?
  A: Payments in L5R can only be spent on the costs they were originally generated for. The 6 gold in this example would be lost if the original Personality can't be bought. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 23 January 2001", 25 Jan 2001
• Q: Kolat Bookkeeping just keeps getting better and better for my agressive attack decks.
  A: It hasn't gotten any better. It's always been this powerful. People are just learning more about the rules it interacts with, that's all. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 23 January 2001", 25 Jan 2001
• Q: The one thing I'm not sure about Kolat Bookkeeping is this: can one generate Gold "in sequence" to pay for a card? Like, suppose I have 2 Jade Works and a 4 Gold Stronghold, with a third Jade Works, a 3 Gold Personality, and a 10 Gold Personality in Provinces.
  Can I bow my Stronghold to buy the 10G Personality, then, once my opponent declines to Kolat Bookkeep me, bow the two Jade Works for the rest (and, if KB is played, I'll then bow the Jade Works for something else)? Or do I have to first try to meet the full cost, and then see whether something happens?
  A: According to the FAQ, you need to meet the full cost first and then see whether something happens. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 23 January 2001", 25 Jan 2001
• Q: In a message dated 1/23/01 3:06:26 PM Pacific Standard Time, writes:
  << Combined with the little remembered rule that if a player begins to purchase a card, then cannot meet the gold cost or honor requirement, they have to discard it.
  Wait, you mean if I Kolat Bookkeeping someone, they have to discard the Personality, rather than leave it in the province? Please tell me that's true!
  A: That's not true. A card whose payment is interfered with and ultimately cannot be made goes back where it game from. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 22 January 2001", 25 Jan 2001