I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
-- Frank Herbert, Dune - Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear

For most of this game's lifetime, Fear hasn't been something to fear. James Collier has a reason why it should be now.

Battle: Target personality receives a 5F bonus. Is this card broken? Is this card cheesy? Is this card an uncommon in Fire and Shadow?

At first glance, you'd think that this was one of those Shadowlands-only cards. Admittedly, most fear-producers have the taint. However, here are a few that don't...

• Matsu Seijuro: Gains +1 to his Fear affect every time someone refuses one of his duels. So, let him pump up for a few turns, them play FS and give him a huge bonus. With a 4 focus, the card fits nicely into dueling decks.
• Matsu Toshiro: Instead of bowing him, play FS and give him +4F. Better than a Charge!
• Hida O-Ushi exp. 2: Battle: Produce a fear affect equal to her force affecting both Personalities and followers. She has 5F. Double her force with this card. Better yet, boost her force up to 10 first. [Note that O-Ushi is a big fan of multiples of this card. Play it to double both her Force and her Fear potency, which means that two Fearful Populaces quadruple O-Ushi's Force. -- ed.]
• Fearful Populace: This nifty little fate card gives all Shugenja Fear:4. Make that +4F. [Note that this only hits one of the Shugenja. -- ed.]
• The Way of Death: Now here's a card made for a combo. Fear 1, or add 2 to any existing Fear. [The Way of Death doesn't specify what it reacts to. Presumably you're supposed to play it as a reaction to producing a Fear effect. So just use the Fear against someone, even if they don't have a follower. Way of Death doesn't specify a duration, so the bonus lasts until the end of the turn -- enough time to play Fearsome Strength. -- ed.]
• Unrelenting Terror: Here's a bit of fun. Shugenja with a couple of shugenja followers attached. Play Fearful Populace, then this card, then FS. +12F, anyone?
• Magic Mud: give that Goblin 4F instead of 2.

And on top of all this, it finally makes The Demon Bride of Fu Leng useful!

Have fun.

James Collier
Shiryo no Wannabe

[Additional: James mentions several non-Shadowlands cards that benefit from Fearsome Strength, but its possibilities in a Shadowlands infested deck are quite impressive. Zombie Troops provide 3F and a Fear: 3 for a mere 3G. Any clan willing to take the 4 honor hit can buy a 2F personality first turn and lay down a Zombie ready to hit 6F on the second turn. The Sepulcher of Bone has available second turn Fear effects in Skeletal Troops and Archers, Plague Zombies, and Uragirimono.

"Unwritten Rule #4: It's not enough to read the cards, you have to read the rules too. -- Zen Faulkes" I'm frequently surprised by the number of people who don't understand the rules for Fear. A card with Fear can only use its ability once per battle. Interestingly enough, nobody was worried about this until O-Ushi came out. I watched a Lion lose a game at Race to Volturnum because he thought that O-Ushi would bow his entire army. She's not Ken'o. Fear targets a single unit and bows all followers with force less than or equal to the effect strength. This does not bow the scary card, thus allowing you to bow followers and get the force bonus from Fearsome Strength. Undead are immune to fear.

Players considering Fearsome Strength might also want to use the (now Jade Legal) Event The Heavy Shadow of Fear. -- ed.]

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