Hi there,
I found that I am unsure how to implement rules that affect Kept Dice, like e.g. the Still the Elements kiho or the Joriki title ability.
The question is whether the ir rules come into effect before or after Explosive Successes explode.
An example: The Still the Elements kiho says: "...you may choose 1 kept die from the check. Set those dice to blank faces."
Now, in the flow diagram on page 23, Kept Dice is Step 5. Let's say the enemy has rolled 1 Explosive Success and 1 regular success.
a) If the effect of the kiho sets in directly after Step 5, I can turn his Explosive Success into a blank and he has missed me.
b) If the effect of the kiho sets in after the first line of Step 6, the die explodes first. If it produces a success, I can afterwards turn the Explosive Success into a blank, but the two successes will still hit me.
The question also arises with the Yoriki title ability "...you may alter any number of kept dice containing Success or Explosive Success to results set to Opportunity".
The case seems clear with Channeling: Since it explicitely says "after Step 5: Choose Kept Dice", I would say that Explosive Successes can be channeled before exploding. They only explode when the actual invocation is cast and the channeling has ended.
Which interpretation to you follow?