Lessons of Honor

Legend of the Five Rings card from Soul of the Empire

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

Limited: Target a player and bow your target Samurai: While he remains bowed or until he refuses a challenge, you may negate his straightening, the targeted player has the ability, "Limited: Any number of times per turn, choose your performing Personality: He challenges the Samurai targeted by the action granting this ability. He may refuse. Destroy the duel's loser," and after each of your Events Phases end, you gain 1 Honor and the targeted player loses 2 Honor. These Honor gains and losses will not be increased.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Causes an unconditional honor loss until certain events happen. Thus, cannot be used by Shadowlands players. [JA, 21 July 2000] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 23

Rules Q&A

• Q: I am trying to understand how the new targeting rules act with dueling cards like bend lika a reed, another time, and actions like double chi and Togashi Yoshi's bonus. I used to use these in a deck with Lessons of Honor to protect my personality. I am not clear on what is targeted with these actions anynmore and if they can be used in duels where my guy is bowed anymore. I looked at the archive and did not see anything under the actions or in the targeting section that helped me understand what exactly these actions targeted now that they are no longer untargeted by my reading of the targeting rules.
  A: Well, Another Time is okay regardless. It's not an action, just a card that has a special effect when played as a focus. Bend Like a Reed, Double Chi, Oracle of Fire, Shosuro Technique, and Togashi Yoshi are all targeted now, so you can't use them to protect a bowed personality. Basically, something has to be specifically non-targeted by one of the rules in the Gold rulebook, otherwise it targets by default. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for August 22nd, Part Two", 22 Aug 2001
• Q: Sorry, but can someone please explain to me why Dark Path of the Shadow can negate the honor loss from Lessons of Honor? I don't see how the effect from Lessons of Honor affects any ninja cards, or any cards for that matter. Is the Dark Path of the Shadow really supposed to negate all honor losses caused by opponent's cards, or just ones that affect ninja cards?
  A: All losses from all other players' cards. Just like it says. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 12-14 March 2001", 22 Mar 2001
• Q: 2) Can I play Lessons of Honor? I'd say yes, because my opponent doesn't have to lose the honor (he can duel my guy's butt out) and that would fall under the same ruling as Iai. Challenge.
  A: Not true. Lessons of Honor is considered to directly cause a loss, because the card itself has no 'out' for the honor loss other than removing it from play. That really doesn't count as a conditional honor loss, so it's illegal under Seppun Sensei (and for the Horde, too). Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for January 31st", 31 Jan 2001
• Q: #2. If I play Lessons of Honor against another player could I (not that I would want to as it costs honor) use it when he challenges my bowed samurai to try to end the lesson?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 16 January 2001", 19 Jan 2001
• Q: Another Questions that came to me:
  If Togashi Mitsu has Fire Tokens and Bows due to Lessons of Honor that allows him to remain bowed. Can I keep him bowed and dont loose fire tokens on him?
  A: Yes. Mitsu loses a fire token each time he tries to straighten during a Straighten Phase (provided he's bowed and has fire tokens, of course). Anything else that prevents him from straightening, including voluntarily keeping him bowed, will stop the token loss. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 11 Jan 2001", 13 Jan 2001
• Q: On Thu, 23 Nov 2000 14:16:03 -0500 Vaughn Derderian <jst1vaughn@HOME.COM> writes: Could the Journal-bearer help blow up the Den? I say no, for the same reason. I agree. 'Floating' actions, like those on the Den, Lessons of Honor, and Soul of Thunder have to target the personality who takes them.
  I see this as fairly identical to the use of the Tactician Trait, or Lobbying for the Favor. It is, in much the same way, a "floating action" as it has been defined in many many situations to be an action "from the rulebook", not an action "from the personality". The established ruling is that a journal-bearer (or any other non-targettable unit, this originally came up for Test of Courage vs Tactician) may use the Tactician trait or lobby for the favor, and it seems to me that under the same reasoning, the journal-bearer would be able to issue the Lessons/Soul challenges and the Den destruction. All of the above are Actions taken by a Personality, and are resolved as self-referential actions due to general rules effect, despite being actions that are not printed on the card.
  A: Lobbying for the Favor is definitely *not* a self-referential action. Every personality is not considered to have 'Limited: Bow this personality if they have over 0 personal honor to lobby for the Imperial Favor' printed on them. It's a rulebook action, but it *has* to target, because you get to choose who it effects.
  Tactician is different, and doesn't quite fit in with the other 'floating actions'. Instead of comparing it to the Favor, which is a floating action that any of your personalities can perform. compare it to a situation where there are multiple Dens in play. Each one generates a floating action that doesn't target the Den that it blows up. Likewise, each Tactician generates a different floating action, only usable to give that personality a Force bonus.
  One of the main reasons I definitely want to stay away from considering these as actions that are sorta printed on the personality is all the problems that come with printed actions and shugenja. Would the Lessons action be considered an innate ability? Can you use Fires of Retribution in response to it? Does it count for Ring of Air? Things really start to get messy at that point, and I think it's just much simpler to make the floating actions (other than Tactician) target their performers.
  In general, a floating action that is performable by any personality in play will target those personalities. This includes lobbying for the Favor, Lessons of Honor, Den of Spies, and Soul of Thunder. Using the Tactician trait *still* does not target its user. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for November 26th", 26 Nov 2000
• Q: From private mail...
  Kitsuki Kaagi's Journal [...] Cards in this unit may not be targeted with actions. [...]
  Lessons of Honor [...] Limited: Target a player. Bow one of your Samurai, who can remain bowed. Until the Samurai straightens, leaves play or refuses a challenge, any of the players Personalities may issue an unrefuseable challenge to the Samurai as a limited action, [...]
  If I have a personality with the Journal and an opponent has a personality who has performed Lessons of Honor, can the Journal personality challenge the Lessons personality?
  A: <snip> Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for November 23rd", 23 Nov 2000