The Dark Path of Shadow

Legend of the Five Rings card from The Dark Journey Home, Soul of the Empire, Promotional–Jade

Card Type

Stronghold

Province Strength

0

Gold Production

3

Starting Family Honor

0

Clan

Ninja

Card Text

You pay 2 less Gold for your non-Personality Ninja cards and your Ninja Strategy actions.
You do not lose Honor from other players' cards' effects nor from your Ninja cards; this is not negation.
Absent Repeatable Tireless Battle: Even if you cannot take actions during the current battle, if the current army attacking your Province has 9 or less total Chi, move all its units home, and bow them as they move.

Legality

Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Pre-Game

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Ability can only send home the army in the current battle. [Erratum] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 146
• Ability is usable if prohibited by a card effect (e.g., Deadly Ground) or with no units in the battle. [5 May 1999] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 146
• Ability is not usable if you do not have a chance to perform Open or Battle actions (e.g., Crushing Attack). Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 146
• Ability can be canceled (e.g., Storms of War). Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 146
• Being bowed does not stop a card from adding its Chi to the army. Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 146
• "You cannot lose Honor from opponents' card effects" refers to all cards, not just actions, even honor losses that are normally unpreventable. [DW, email, 4/8/99] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 146
• Honor losses you cannot suffer never exist. They cannot be modified before the Stronghold negates them. [December 1999] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 146
• Another player can modify losses you cause yourself, or redirect an honor loss that you inflicted on him or her back to you. Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 146
• Ability bows all cards in attacking units, not just Personalities. [VRD, 30 November 2000] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 146
• Stronghold ability can be cancelled (ex: Armor of Earth, Storms of War). Cancelling is different from prohibiting. Stronghold ability is not usable if you do not have a chance to perform Open/Battle actions (ex: Crushing Attack). Stronghold ability does not target the army or anything in it. Effects that deal only with targetted gohome actions, such as A Test of Courage and Doji Kuwanan Exp2, will not work against it. The clause "You cannot lose Honor from opponents' card effects" refers to all cards, not just actions. [text] However, they can still modify losses you cause yourself. Will lose honor if one of their ninja Personalities dies dishonorably. [DW, personal correspondence, 2/10/99] Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 66
• Honor losses you cannot suffer never exist, not even briefly. They cannot be redirected to another player before the Stronghold squelches them. [l5rinfo, 12/99] Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 66
• If an honor loss which you cannot suffer is redirected from another player to you, it ceases to exist. It may not subsequently be modified. [l5rinfo, 12/99] Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 66
• The Stronghold ability is not a Ninja Action. [text] There is no limit to the number of times the ability may be used per battle. [text] Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 66
• Erratum: may only send home the army in the current battle. Text Change & Errata List, February 15, 2000, p. 22
• Q: So if I use The Dark Path of Shadow's ability during Winter Warfare, the entire attacking army bows but stays in the battle? A: Yes. The Imperial Herald, Issue 17, p. 40
• Q: Wow, that Dark Path of Shadow ability is confusing! Does it work against Deadly Ground? What about the Armor of Earth? Can I use it when I don't have any defenders? A: If you get a chance to perform a Battle or Open action, you can use the Stronghold ability. Period. Even if it's illegal. Deadly Ground won't stop it, nor will Night Battle or a lack of defenders. Effects that resolve the battle immediately will get around it since Battle Actions can no longer be used. The Dark Path's action can also be cancelled by an appropriate countermeasure, such as the Armor of Earth (but not A Test of Courage, since the Dark Path doesn't target anything). And it won't send home units that can't be removed from the battle. The Imperial Herald, Issue 11, p. 26
• Q: A Dark Path player is immune to honor losses from Events too, right? And Iaijutsu Challenge? A: Events are cards. Events that aren't yours can't make you lose honor. Refusing an Iaijutsu Challenge won't cause a loss either, though your Personality will still be dishonored. The Imperial Herald, Issue 11, p. 26
• Q: Can my opponents do anything bad to my honor? A: They can reduce or cancel your gains. They can increase losses you cause yourself. Deeds, Not Words will make your own cards turn against you. And you still lose honor if your Personalities die dishonorably, even when they're Ninja. The Imperial Herald, Issue 11, p. 26
• Erratum: The Dark Path of Shadow: only sends home the army in the current battle. The Imperial Herald, Issue 11, p. 27

Rules Q&A

• Q: I have some questions about Shosuro: Can I overlay her on a scorpion personnality if I play The Dark Path of Shadow?
  A: Yes. Dark Path of the Shadow players have the "Ninja" trait as their Faction Trait. Shosuro has the Ninja trait, so she's of your Faction and that meets the requirements for Loyal. Martin Lund, "Rules for 6 January 2005", 10 Jan 2005
• Q: Will the Stone Breaker have to overcome the negative chi amount if you give it a chi boost, if for some reason it comes up? (Say, if it's attacking the Dark Path of Shadow) Or does it end up being capped at a minimum of 0?
  A: Both. Its final Chi cannot drop below 0, but excess penalties need to be compenstated for by bonuses until the total can be more than 0. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 25 Feb. 2004", 26 Feb 2004
• Q: If you attach a spell to a personality who is both a Ninja and a Shugenja, and one of the effects of casting the spell is an honor loss to yourself, does it affect you?
  A: Yes. See "The Keyword rule," Gold rules, pg. 33 for an explanation of what a "Ninja card" is. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 27 June 2003, Part 2", 28 Jun 2003
• Q: if a spell cast by Hoseki or a Kiho by Goju Hitomi, which both are considered ninja effects when used, make a dark path of shadow player lose honor.?
  A: Yes. That a card produces a "keyword" effect does not make it a "keyword" card. E.g., kiho produce spell effects, but are not spell cards.
  Zen Faulkes! * Crab Clan Scholar * Unaligned Member of the Rules Junta Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 27 June 2003, Part 2", 28 Jun 2003
• Q: If I am playing the stronghold: The Dark Path of Shadow and I play " Toturi is Drugged " which is a ninja open: action, do I lose the 2 honor?
  A: Toturi Is Drugged is a Ninja card. [GE p. 33] You do not lose honor when you play it using the Dark Path. Jeff Alexander, "post for 8 May 2003", 9 May 2003
• Q: Next is a request for clarification:
  Errata on "The Dark Path of Shadow" states that "Being bowed does not stop a card from adding its Chi to the army."
  A: That's not errata to the Stronghold. That's a clarification on whether the rulebook rule about bowed cards not providing Force extends to other stats. Jeff Alexander, "post for 26 September 2002", 28 Sep 2002
• Q: The second Counterattack is not the same printed Reaction. It can't be -- it's on a different card. Multiple identically-worded Reactions ARE legal, provided they come from different cards.
  Does that go for the following, if I cancel it can they do it again?
  The Dark Path of Shadow Faction Ninja Text Your non-Personality Ninja cards enter play for 2 less Gold. You cannot lose Honor from opponents' card effects or your Ninja cards. Battle: If the total Chi of an army attacking one of your Provinces is less than 10, send all attackers home, bowed. You can do this while this Stronghold is bowed and in a battle in which you cannot perform actions. Honor 0 Gold 3 Provence Strength 0
  A: The rule against using a printed action multiple times on the same trigger applies only to Reactions. The Dark Path of Shadow is worded so that you can use it every single time you get a chance to take an Open or Battle action (or pass).
  Also, if since it's a Battle action, you get only one attempt at a time. If it's canceled, you don't get an immediate retry -- you have to wait until the turn order passes around to you again, giving everyone else a chance to take a Battle or Open action in the meantime. Jeff Alexander, "post for 19 September 2002", 20 Sep 2002
• Q: The Stronghold ability can still be used.
  How is this so?
  Past precedent that the Dark Path of Shadow overrides all card effects that try to render it illegal or unusable.
  So, "You can do this ... in a battle in which you cannot perform actions," applies even when this action is the only one prohibited?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 23 August 2002", 26 Aug 2002
• Q: I play with The Dark Path of Shadow. If one of my ninja personalities refuses a Iaijutsu Challenge, do I suffer the 7 honor loss?
  A: No. The honor loss is coming from the Iaijutsu Challenge card, which is another player's. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 12-14 March 2001", 22 Mar 2001
• Q: So, what the subject says. Will Preparing Stockpiles negate the movement caused by the Ninja Stronghold? I ask b/c I'm a little fuzzy on whether Legacy Strongholds count as "cards" per Preparing's wording.
  A: Yes, Preparing Stockpiles can negate the movement.
  The only special Legacy rule about "cards" v. "Strongholds" is this: For cards printed before Khan's Defiance: "Uses of the word "card" does not refer to Strongholds unless explicitly stated (ie "actions on cards" does not refer to actions on a Stronghold). [ADDED April 08 2008]"
  Stockpiles was printed after KD, so it follows regular SE rules that its reference to "card effects" can mean Stronghold effects. Brook Cunningham, "Preparing Stockpiles vs. The Dark Path of Shadow", 30 Jun 2008
• Q: I am attacking a Ninja Player. If I use the Secret Entrance in a battle where there is no defending unit, can the Ninja Player use [The Dark Path of Shadow] stronghold battle action in this battle?
  A: Yes. It's a battle "in which you cannot perform actions." Zen Faulkes, "The Secret Entrance with Dark Path of Shadow", 17 Apr 2008
• Q: If I'm a Ninja player using the Dark Path of Shadow, and one of my personalities dies a dishonorable death:
  A: Archive, Dishonor. Zen Faulkes, "Dark Path of Shadow and dishonorable death", 11 Apr 2005
• Q: [OBH] If I'm playing The Dark Path of Shadow, and I recruit a personality face down With Ninjutsu there GC is 4, since they are Ninja can I clan discount that to 2G or no?
  A: What Kempy said is correct. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 8 May 2026