Please excuse me if this has been clarified already.

I am in the middle of a Shadow Rune campaign (as Overlord) facing a party containing a Necromancer and a Beastmaster, both of which have familiars classified as "familiars treated as figures." From the most recent FAQ, page 3, I find (emphasis mine):

"Q: Can monster abilities that are not attacks affect familiars that are treated as figures?

A: Yes, any hero or monster ability, monster attack, or Overlord card that targets a hero can also target a familiar treated as a figure. Quest special rules that refer to heroes do not include familiars unless specifically stated."

My question is this- what constitutes "targets a hero"? For example, take these OL cards from Basic II:

Flurry: "Play this card when a monster attacks a hero..."

Blinding Speed: "Play this card when activating a monster. Choose a hero to test..."

Overwhelm: "Play this card during your turn on a hero adjacent to..."

Reflective Ward: "Play this card when a hero attacks a monster..."

Grease Trap: "Play this card when a hero enters an empty space from an adjacent space..."

Which of those triggering conditions constitute targeting? It seems to me like "Overwhelm" would clearly work, as it is specifically played "on a hero," but cards like "Grease Trap" are more ambiguous.

It has already been stated later on that same page of the FAQ that "Explosive Runes" would affect the Reanimate and he would need to test (and automatically fail that test,) but that he would take no damage, as he has no attribute values. (However, the card would have to be triggered by a different hero, as familiars can't open doors.)

Is "targeting" an attack related term in this context? Does it mean only cards that say "play on a hero..." or "choose a hero...," but not "play when a hero..."? Thanks in advance for your help

It has already been stated later on that same page of the FAQ that "Explosive Runes" would affect the Reanimate and he would need to test (and automatically fail that test,) but that he would take no damage, as he has no attribute values. (However, the card would have to be triggered by a different hero, as familiars can't open doors.)

The reason Explosive Runes deals no damage is because the damage is reliant on the amount of shields in excess of the familiar's attribute, which does not exist. This could never happen in the game yet thoughh since familiars cannot search or open doors.

Familiars are targeted as heroes, meaning as long as triggers are met, a familiar can be targeted as a hero stated on the action or card. If this wasn't the case, you would never be able to target familiars at all, whether for abilities or attacking.

It has already been stated later on that same page of the FAQ that "Explosive Runes" would affect the Reanimate and he would need to test (and automatically fail that test,) but that he would take no damage, as he has no attribute values. (However, the card would have to be triggered by a different hero, as familiars can't open doors.)

The reason Explosive Runes deals no damage is because the damage is reliant on the amount of shields in excess of the familiar's attribute, which does not exist. This could never happen in the game yet thoughh since familiars cannot search or open doors.

Familiars are targeted as heroes, meaning as long as triggers are met, a familiar can be targeted as a hero stated on the action or card. If this wasn't the case, you would never be able to target familiars at all, whether for abilities or attacking.

I understand that familiars can be targets by monster attacks and the like- but my question relates more to when are the triggering conditions met?

For example:

When the Reanimate enters a space, does that count as a hero entering a space? The Reanimate is a figure, he is clearly distinct from a hero. Does this card actually target a hero, or is it just triggered by a hero? If so, you could argue that the Reanimate would not trigger this card, and would therefore be unaffected by it.

For example, I believe there was an answer (I don't remember where) that Bloodlust could not be played after killing a Reanimate. "Play when a hero is defeated." The reason given was that the intention was to draw additional cards, and one does not normally draw a card when defeating a Reanimate. However, the thought is the same- the triggering condition is not met, even though the Reanimate is occasionally "treated like a hero."

There are other cards, like "Dark Charm" or "Overwhelm" that say "play on a hero," not "play when a hero___," and in those cases I think it's clear that the target of the card is a hero, and could therefore be applied to a familiar treated as a figure as well.

As far as I'm aware, any of those abilities that reference a hero should still count towards familiars and figures treated as heroes, even if the cards don't specifically "target" a hero.

Thanks for your help, griton. Since posting this topic I've located a thread on boardgamegeek ( http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/922420/reanimate-is-treated-as-a-hero-figure/page/2 ) which says in an unofficial official response that cards like "Grease Trap" triggered, "When a hero _____" can in fact be played on the Reanimate. This is the clarification I was looking for!