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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Fǎ Zhèng 法正

Posted by Ricky Chua On 12:50 PM 34 comments
Translated Description:
The Wind beneath Shu Kingdom's Wings 蜀汉的辅翼 (shǔ hàn dè fǔ yì)

Note: 辅翼 actually means "wings that support".

Who is he:
Some say he's a mercenary that cares more for his own benefits. Others say he is loyal and steadfast in his support of Liu Bei 刘备. Yet everyone would agree that Fa Zheng is one talented and intelligent individual. To put things into perspective, the true roles of Zhu Ge Liang 诸葛亮, Pang Tong 庞统 and Fa Zheng needs to be clarified. Though Zhu Ge Liang is widely celebrated for his god-like intellect, history records show that he was more a brilliant minister and statesman than a strategist. Pang Tong and Fa Zheng, on the other hand, are the true thinkers and conjurers. Pang Tong and Fa Zheng never did work together though. By the time Fa Zheng joined Shu Kingdom, Pang Tong was already dead.

So who exactly is Fa Zheng and how did he end up joining Liu Bei? Fa Zheng was one of the key personnel responsible for Liu Bei invading the western state of Xi Chuan 西川 that set up the Shu Kingdom. Fa Zheng worked closely with Zhang Song 张松 (the person responsible for giving the Atlas of Shu to Liu Bei) and was the brains behind the ploy that supplanted Liu Zhang 刘璋 with Liu Bei. In the time after, Fa Zheng was so highly regarded by Liu Bei that Liu Bei gave Fa Zheng something that he never gave any other Shu loyal.

What did Liu Bei give to Fa Zheng that was so unique? Read on to find out!


[2011 Old version]
Character ability 1: Reciprocation 恩怨 (ēn yuàn) [Enforced ability]
Whenever any other player regains your health by 1 unit, that player can draw 1 card. Every instance that any other player deals you damage, that player must give you an on-hand card of the "hearts" suit, or else that player will lose 1 unit of health.

Character ability 2: Artifice of the Masses 眩惑 (xuàn huò)
In your action phase, you can give one on-hand card with the suit of "hearts" to any other player, then take any 1 card from that player and immediately give it to another player. Limited to one use per turn.

(Note: For "Artifice", after you take 1 card from the player, you can choose to keep it in your on-hand cards. The words "give it to another player" includes yourself.)

[2012 New version]
Character ability 1: Reciprocation 恩怨 (ēn yuàn)
Whenever you receive 2 or more cards from another player, you can allow that player to draw 1 card. Whenever you have received 1 unit of damage, you can make the source of the damage give you 1 on-hand card, or he/she loses 1 unit of health.

Character ability 2: Artifice of the Masses 眩惑 (xuàn huò)
In the drawing phase, you can forgo drawing cards and force another player to draw 2 cards, then let that player use an ATTACK on another player of your choice that is within his/her attacking range. If the player does not abide by your instructions, you will receive those 2 cards that the player drew.

Ability's relation to story:
The ability "Reciprocation" is supposed to reflect Fa Zheng's mercenary tendencies, where he will readily reciprocate in kind or with harm to whomever shows him the same. This is debatable though, as the evidence of that personality trait just isn't overwhelming. So even though there is a link to the story, its the story itself that might be somewhat corrupted.

"Artifice of the Masses" has its roots in a particular story, which took place after Liu Bei overthrew Liu Zhang at conquered the West. Near the dying days of Liu Zhang's rule, one minister of Liu Zhang, known as Xu Jing 许靖, decided to surrender early to defect to Liu Bei. Unfortunately Xu Jing was unable to carry out his defection as planned. After Liu Zhang was overthrown, Liu Bei decided not to retain Xu Jing because of his display of cowardice and disloyalty. But Fa Zheng decided to intervene. In truth, Xu Jing was a well known person but supposedly average in capability. For Liu Bei not to employ Xu Jing would be sending the message that Liu Bei does not value capable men. Thus Fa Zheng insisted that Liu Bei retain Xu Jing, despite his unstellar abilities, so as to pull a hoax on the masses and create the illusion that Liu Bei treasures his human talents.

How does the game mechanics of "Artifice" link to the story? Well... there isn't much of a link! The original ability creator mentioned that this ability mirrors Fa Zheng's use of trickery and confusion to fool everyone else. A fantastic ability for the Defector to use, though it was little to do with history.

Additional info from the story:
1. Most famous achievement - The battle of Mount Ding Jun 定军山之战 where he assisted Huang Zhong 黄忠 in defeating Xia Hou Yuan 夏侯渊. In that battle, Huang Zhong had set up his camp at a higher vantage point than Xia Hou Yuan, which pretty much frustrated Xia Hou Yuan enough to launch an assault. Fa Zheng advised Huang Zhong not to advance, but to simply hold his ground till he gives the signal. When Xia Hou Yuan's forces became weaker after failing to penetrate Huang Zhong's defenses, Fa Zheng gave Huang Zhong the signal to strike, where Huang Zhong brought down Xia Hou Yuan with one swift strike.

2. Cause of death - Fa Zheng died from an illness in the year 220 AD. He was only 34 years old. Liu Bei was so devastated by the loss of Fa Zheng that he wept for days. Liu Bei then decided to do something which he has never done before, and would never do again. Liu Bei conferred on Fa Zheng the only posthumous title he has ever given anyone. "The Winged Marquis 翼侯" became Fa Zheng's posthumous title, which is related to the translated description at the top of this write up.

Wiki Link:
Fa Zheng Wiki

34 comments:

  1. For his second skill, when he takes a card from a player, does it have to be an on-hand card or can it be equipment/time delayed tool cards as well?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. anything but judgement cards

      Delete
  2. What does "Whenever any other player regains your health by 1 unit" mean?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. for example, when someone heals you, like Hua Tuo, or anyone who used a peach on you

      Delete
  3. For his second skill, when he takes a card from a player, does it have to be an on-hand card or can it be equipment/time delayed tool cards as well?
    >> ANS: It can be an equipment card or time delayed tool card as well.


    What does "Whenever any other player regains your health by 1 unit" mean?
    >> It means whenever you get saved from the brink of death, the person that saved you gets to draw a card. It other healing cases such as Hua Tuo's ability or Sun Shang Xiang's ability, that character can draw a card after healing you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For the first question: for his second skill, you cannot take a time delayed tool card from a player IF THE CARD IS NOT ON HAND. Which means, if the player has ACEDIA or similar time delayed tool card USED ON him, Fa Zheng cannot remove it.

      Delete
  4. Having said so, does that mean there are chances that he might take back the card that he gave to other player initially by his 2nd ability?

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Just to check. Is there any problem?

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  7. There is a chance that Fa Zheng can take back the same card he gave, but then that means he can then give that card to anybody else, or keep it back.

    Either way, its not a big loss.

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  8. How would the second ability work with Xiao Qiao? Could Fa Zheng give her a spade? I am inclined to say no, as her power states that all cards that are part of HER action that are of the suit "spades" are considered to be hearts. I would think that when he activates this ability, the card he gives is part of HIS action, not HERS.

    However, I would think that if Xiao Qiao damaged Fa Zheng (through ATTACK, DUEL, etc. and not damage deflection), she would be able to give him a spade, as her spades are hearts.

    Sorry for the long post and please correct me if I am wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello, you are correct on both counts:
    1) Fa Zheng cannot give her a spade, he can only give hearts.
    2) Her spades are hearts so she can give it to him.

    A more literal translation of Xiao Qiao's 2nd ability would read, "Your spades are hearts." Hope that helps!

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  10. Thanks for another wonderful and detailed explanation of this expansion set Ricky ! Looking forward to trying them out !

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  11. For his first skill, when I kill Fa Zheng and he dies and no one saves him, do I still need to give him an on hand card with a hearts suit and if I do not have one I carry on to deduct my life?

    ReplyDelete
  12. For his first skill, when I kill Fa Zheng and he dies and no one saves him, do I still need to give him an on hand card with a hearts suit and if I do not have one I carry on to deduct my life?

    >>ANS: No you would not have to give a heart's suit because when Fa Zheng dies, he does not activate his ability. However, if he does get rescued, you will have to give him a heart-suited card or deduct a life.

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  13. I just had an interesting thought
    Fa Zheng vs Xiahou Dun...
    Assuming their "retaliating" ability keeps hitting each other and have no on hand cards, it'd be a duel to the finish???

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  14. I just noticed that Fa Zheng's ability reads "that player loses 1 life" if they do not give you a heart card from hand. That means it does not count as damage caused by Fa Zheng. But I'm not sure if my translation is accurate.

    Ok, let me get Ricky..

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  15. Don't click on these links, this is not SP character translations, this is only a SPAM REFERRAL Link from the poster, mods please delete the above post.

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  16. He was actually 44 when he died.
    B176
    D220

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  17. ^to anonymous on august 3 2011
    No it wont be a duel to the finish, read Fa Zheng's skill carefully can you will see it specifically says 1 unit of health loss, just like Yu Ji's ability, Xiahou Dun cannot use his retaliate ability if he fails to believe Yu Ji's cards. Same in Fa Zheng's case.

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  18. I realised no one answered Jeff Cheong's question "For his first skill, when I kill Fa Zheng and he dies and no one saves him, do I still need to give him an on hand card with a hearts suit and if I do not have one I carry on to deduct my life?" so I shall help the mods.

    According to official FAQ on SGS website, Fa Zheng's first skill only can come in after the damage has been concluded AND Fa Zheng is still alive. This means if e.g. Cao Cao deals 1 damage to Fa Zheng who is at 1 life, he enters Brink of Death, and if he is not saved, he dies and Cao Cao need not minus a life.

    Of course, people like Zhang Chun Hua need not minus a life or give him a hearts card because of her ability.

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  19. ^you are correct, if a character enters brink of death, he needs to recover his health to 1 before he can activate any of his skill. That includes almost all of the Wei character's 'blood selling' skills. Guo Jia, Cao Cao, Si ma Yi, etc.

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  20. Strange.. This is showing up in my email but not on the page..

    "For the first question: for his second skill, you cannot take a time delayed tool card from a player IF THE CARD IS NOT ON HAND. Which means, if the player has ACEDIA or similar time delayed tool card USED ON him, Fa Zheng cannot remove it. "

    Just to add on, the reasoning for this is because cards in the judgement area are not considered to belong to any player. The only wierd thing going against this rule that I am aware of is Sima Yi's ability. See his page for more info. But I'm still not convinced of that even though the answer is official from Yoka Games as the logic is inconsistent.

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  21. Hi, I believe "Reciprocation" that allows a player to draw a card whenever Fa Zheng is healed works with Sun Shang Xiang's "Marriage" and Hua Tuo's "Green Salve" or "Emergency Rescue" since these are obvious healing abilities. However, does it work with Wu Guo Tai's "Ameliorate" (when she discards Fa Zheng's non-basic card to rescue him) or Cai Wen Ji's "Dirge" (if the victim draws a judgment of hearts)?

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  22. Regarding to gaming site, it says:

    例如:體力為1的法正受到1點傷害,進入瀕死狀態,進行瀕死結算,吳國太對法正發動【補益】,法正回復至1點體力,觸發【恩怨】的第一項效果,吳國太摸一張牌,瀕死結算完畢。

    So, Wu Guo Tai's "Ameliorate" shall trigger "Reciprocation", where player with Su Guo Tai card would draw a card.

    Furthermore, the condition to trigger 1st part of "Reciprocation" is that, anyone by any means let you recover a health point, that player shall draw a card. Thus, although I have not located any official source, i believe Cai Wen Ji's Dirge (judged as heart) shall trigger "Reciprocation", too.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hello, first of all, thank you Ricky for this great site. I can play San Guo Sha thanks to you :))

    I have one question about his first ability:

    "Every instance that any other player deals you damage, that player must give you an on-hand card of the "hearts" suit, or else that player will lose 1 unit of health."

    If Fa Zheng is shackled to another character B, and a character A makes fire damage to B. The damage goes to Fa Zheng too... But who is the source of Fa Zheng's damage? Is it B or A?

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    Replies
    1. Source of damage would still be A, since A is the one that caused the fire damage.

      Delete
  24. Does the other player use an attack card or an attack, with his new second ability?

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  25. The new version of the second skill actually means that Fa Zheng can draw two cards randomly from the player who did not play an attack. That means Fa Zheng may actually get some of the cards the character already has, instead of only the two drawn during the skill

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    Replies
    1. That's right. The ability states that can take any 2 cards from him, even equipment.

      Delete
  26. Fa Zheng died at the age of 44 or 45 by Reckoning. Ricky you might need to fact check again. First ability, Reciprocation is based from Fa Zheng taking revenge to those who belittle him behind his backs prior to Liu Bei's entrance to Yi Province. After Liu's takeover, Fa Zheng personal got rid of or executed those who belittle him. There were people who tried to tell Zhuge Liang about this; however, that fell to deaf ears because Zhuge realized how important Fa Zheng was to Liu Bei. Hence, Reciprocation. Artifice to the Masses (or as I put it Dazzle the people) is just as Ricky states, it was all about Xu Jing and Fa Zheng's advice.

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  27. for 2012, first skill, if the target doesn't have any on-hand cards, can the target receive 1 damage?

    ReplyDelete

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