Found two related threads on meccg.net from
2005 and
2006.
Now for the moment, let's consider that the following quote from the LE rules (also found in TW rules) could be inaccurate:
Starter Rules: Playing and Drawing Cards wrote:A faction card, ally card, or item card must be played during your site phase and requires an untapped character and an untapped site.
And let's say this following quote from a later print (Balrog and CH booklets) overrides the old one:
Turn Sequence: Site Phase wrote:Items, factions, and allies can only be played at an untapped site unless specifically allowed at a tapped site on their card.
...
You may tap an untapped character in a company at an untapped site and place the item with that character. This taps the site.
...
Playing an ally is similar to an item.
I believe a resource requiring a tapped site is different from requiring a tapped character, because tapping the character is in fact a cost; the active condition for playing the item/faction/ally.
For example, you enter Moria with Mablung and somehow manage to confuse the orcs so he gets in untapped.
(i) you tap Mablung to play Orcrist and place Orcrist with Mablung
(ii) you tap Moria as the result of succesfully playing Orcrist
So at (i) you need to check for the untapped site since Orcrist is not allowed to be played at tapped sites. You also need to check for Mablung's status, since if tapped, you are unable to pay the cost of bringing Orcrist into play. The difference is, an untapped site needs to be a requirement
because it is not a cost. You only tap the site after succesfully playing Orcrist, so unless it was made into a requirement, you would be able to play Orcrist at tapped sites without consequence.
Now let's look at FW Radagast being wounded on his way to Moria (Cave Worm!!), he still decides to enter the site and makes mincemeat out of the orcs. His player has Orcrist and Black Bird in hand. The player would like to play Orcrist and sees the site is untapped, check. But he is unable to pay to cost of bringing Orcrist into play. Black Bird however, does not care about the site card's status per its card text when played by Radagast; the site can be tapped or untapped. And per Black Bird's card text, there is no cost of tapping Radagast to play Black Bird with him, therefore he should able to do so regardless of his untapped/tapped/wounded status.
(i) you place Black Bird with Radagast
(ii) you do not tap the site upon succesfully playing Black Bird per its card text
I think Black Bird is the only card affected by all this. However it is played in just about every FW Radagast deck, so this really needs to be clarified, one way or the other. Thoughts?