Govern the Storms

[Khamul the Easterling]

Magic. Sorcery. Cancel all hazard effects for the rest of the turn that: force a sorcery-using character's company to return to its site of origin or would tap its current or new site. Unless he is a Ringwraith, the sorcery using character makes a corruption check modified by -4.

If I understand it right (and if there's no erratum I'm currently unaware of) the company benefitting from the effect (unless it has another sorcrey-using character, too) need not be the company with the character on which this card is played. Correct?

[Konrad Klar]

Which company is "a sorcery-using character's company"?
There may be multiple companies containing "a sorcery-using character". Singular form - "company" - indicates a single company. I think that an article "a" instead "the" is misleading.

[Khamul the Easterling]

Yes, that would make sense

[Bandobras Took]

While the card is in effect:

If a company would be forced to return to its site of origin, or its current or new site would tap, check for the presence of a sorcery-using character in the company.

If there is one, such things don't happen.

The singular is there because it is impossible for one sorcery-using character to be in multiple companies. They're only in one at a time.

[Konrad Klar]

"A sorcery-using character" may split off into separate company and then the company will be the sorcery-using character's company.
Govern the Storms is not played on company, but on character.

[Bandobras Took]

Actually, it isn't playable on either (compare its text with every other Sorcery card). Whenever its effects are applied, the relevant sorcery-using character makes a corruption check.

[Konrad Klar]

Whenever its effects are applied, the relevant sorcery-using character makes a corruption check.

Compare Govern the Storms with Piercing All Shadows or with Prompting of Wisdom.

Actually, it isn't playable on either (compare its text with every other Sorcery card).

Compare it with New Moon (first effect) for example, or with Freeze the Flesh. A text of a card does not need to say that it is playable on X to target the X.

[Theo]

[duplicate post somehow... see next post]

[Theo]

Regarding the original question, I think the point is that the Govern the Storms canceling effect triggers in any situation it possibly could for the rest of the turn, regardless of which sorcery-using character or which company would be effected by a hazard effect. The canceling effect does not target a character or a company.

Indeed:

While the card is in effect:

If a company would be forced to return to its site of origin, or its current or new site would tap, check for the presence of a sorcery-using character in the company.

If there is one, such things don't happen.

The singular is there because it is impossible for one sorcery-using character to be in multiple companies. They're only in one at a time.

Think "the company of any sorcery-using character",
Rather than "the company of the (targetted) sorcery-using character".
--

Govern the Storms itself targets a sorcery character when it is played, since skill cards are "played out through" the character with that skill.

[Bandobras Took]

You can play Govern the Storms even if you don't have a sorcery-using character in play at all.

Its effect lasts until the end of the turn, which gives you ample time to play a Sorcery-using character. It only has an effect when something might bounce/tap out the site of a Sorcery-using character's company. Nothing there requires you to have a Sorceror to play it any more than River requires that a company have a Ranger just because it allows a Ranger to tap for an effect.

Compare it with New Moon (first effect) for example, or with Freeze the Flesh. A text of a card does not need to say that it is playable on X to target the X.

New Moon creates an action, not an ongoing effect. Of course actions target whatever entity they're played out through. But the corruption check for Govern the Storms does not happen until after Govern has actually canceled something, at which point the relevant Sorceror has become defined. Govern the Storms is an ongoing effect.

Playable on a character that was eliminated by a body check this turn if a shadow-magic-using character is in his company. (. . .) the shadow-magic-using character makes a corruption check modified by -4.

Granted that this is impossible, the card targets an eliminated character if a shadow-magic using character (was) in his company. Having a shadow-mage is part of the playability clause. No such clause exists for Govern the Storms.

Compare Govern the Storms with Piercing All Shadows or with Prompting of Wisdom.

Playable during the organization phase on a ranger.

Govern the Storms lacks this.

Target ranger may tap to cancel all hazard effects for the rest of the turn that: force his company to return to its site of origin or that tap his company's current or new site.

Promptings/Piercing require the target character to tap to initiate the effect. Govern the Storms has no active condition for its effect, and, indeed, no target character for its effect.

If so tapped, target ranger makes a corruption check.

Govern the Storms requires a corruption check for any Sorceror that makes use of its effect. It cancels bouncing/tapping (and causes a corruption check) so long as its condition (company of a Sorceror) is fulfilled, which sounds an awful lot like a passive condition to me, except that short events that last until the end of the turn are screwy anyway.

It is manifestly different from Promptings/Piercing, which are playable on a character who must then decide to initiate the effect. Govern the Storms offers no option, because its effect depends on a specific condition rather than a voluntary action.

[Konrad Klar]

Govern the Storms itself targets a sorcery character when it is played, since skill cards are "played out through" the character with that skill.

Skill card does not necessarily target a skill character. Sometimes it just requires such character to be at declaration and requires such character (not necessarily the same) at resolution. Trickery, Crept Along Cleverly are examples, scout/ranger is not enacting anything.

Granted that this is impossible, the card targets an eliminated character if a shadow-magic using character (was) in his company.

The card has errata, but my only point here was "A text of a card does not need to say that it is playable on X to target the X.".

If so tapped, target ranger makes a corruption check.

It is manifestly different from Promptings/Piercing, which are playable on a character who must then decide to initiate the effect. Govern the Storms offers no option, because its effect depends on a specific condition rather than a voluntary action.

Then compare it to Greed. Greed at least describes relation between a corruption check an what activates the corruption check.

Magic. Sorcery. Cancel all hazard effects for the rest of the turn that: force a sorcery-using character's company to return to its site of origin or would tap its current or new site. Unless he is a Ringwraith, the sorcery using character makes a corruption check modified by -4.

Bold original.

I think that it must be decided at declaration which hazard effects will be canceled for the rest of the turn, that that "force a sorcery-using character's company to return to its site of origin:, or that that "would tap its current or new site".
I do not know whether "or" has any meaning within Bandobras interpretation of Govern the Storms.

[Bandobras Took]

If the or is bolded, it simply means you decide which set of conditions Govern is activated by. Nothing would prohibit the play of two copies to cover all possibilities.

[Konrad Klar]

While the card is in effect:

If a company would be forced to return to its site of origin, or its current or new site would tap, check for the presence of a sorcery-using character in the company.

If there is one, such things don't happen.

The singular is there because it is impossible for one sorcery-using character to be in multiple companies. They're only in one at a time.

Magic. Sorcery. Playable on a sorcery-using character. All attacks against the character's company suffer a -1 modification to prowess and body this turn. Unless he is a Ringwraith, character makes a corruption check modified by -4. ...but now his breath is deadly, and his cold arm is long.-LotRVI

I think that Bitter Cold may be interpreted similarly. Each time a company of the sorcery-using character faces attack, the character makes a corruption check (unless he is Ringwraith).
"Playable on a sorcery-using character." changes something, but not radically. There is a target character, so Bitter Cold would not affect any company with a sorcery-using character.

Besides your interpretation of Govern the Storms is based on:
- lack of phrase "Playable on a sorcery-using character.",
- article "a" in phrase "force a sorcery-using character's company".

If it comes to articles: according to your interpretation, if affected company has multiple sorcery-using characters, which of them is "the sorcery using character [that] makes a corruption check modified by -4"?

[Bandobras Took]

Whichever one you choose, just like you can choose which Ranger to tap to satisfy River.

[Theo]

Govern the Storms itself targets a sorcery character when it is played, since skill cards are "played out through" the character with that skill.

Skill card does not necessarily target a skill character. Sometimes it just requires such character to be at declaration and requires such character (not necessarily the same) at resolution. Trickery, Crept Along Cleverly are examples, scout/ranger is not enacting anything.

This made me realize that it isn't explicitly in the rules that skill cards are played by characters with that skill. But it is there implicitly. Underline mine.

Strinker has the scout skill so he can tap to play a Sneakin‘ card.

Two or more skill cards may be played by a single character outside of the strike sequence.

Play of a card by a character is surely sufficient to qualify the character as "an entity that an action is played out through."

But I also just realized that Sorcery is not a skill, it is simply a keyword. The implicitness still exists:

... As your Ringwraith, when he uses a magic card, return it to the play deck and reshuffle.