During game setup you take fate tokens equal to your character's starting fate value. Some Woodland paths Destiny cards increase a character's fate value. We have two ideas on how to handle the increased fate value:

1) take a fate token to represent the increase in fate value (we believe this is consistent with how fate value is handled during setup)

2) the increased fate value is only effective when instructed to replenish fate; you wouldn't take a fate token right away, but could replenish up to the character's fate value plus one for the increase in fate value granted by the path

In either case, what happens when the path Destiny is discarded/lost? If using option one above it seems logical that when your fate value decreases after discarding/losing the path Destiny that you would discard a fate token and if using option two you would keep all fate tokens.

We've played with option one, adding a fate token to represent increased fate value and removing a fate token when the path was discarded; however, since the number of fate tokens held by a character fluctuates during the game it isn't always possible to discard a fate token. We've had some heated discussions and are wondering how others have handled this.

I'm pretty new to the woodland exp but as far as I've read none of the Paths increase your fate value but the Destinies do.

Either way.. When your fate value (or any other value: Life, Strength, Craft) is increased you do not gain any tokes. The value is the max number you get when replenishing (or healing). That your value is increased is indicated by the Destiny card you got.

Just like in the rest of the game you can end up with more life or fate that you corresponding value by gaining life or fate.

When your value is decreased you do not loose any tokes, only the max number you would be able to get after healing/replenishing.

Good luck!

If you increase your life or fate value, don't take extra counters. Just keep it in mind for when you heal life or replenish fate. Same as when those values decrease. No need to remove counters.

If you increase your Strength or Craft value, again, no need to take extra counters. But the increase (or decrease) is permanent and it's another number you have to calculate.

Nioreh, you are correct. It is a destiny card that increased fate value. I was confused as the destiny was in play in conjunction with a path (can't remember the path name offhand) so was discarded when the path was discarded upon leaving the Woodlands.

We definitely agree that you don't take tokens for increased strength or craft values since you don't take tokens for starting craft/strength values during game setup and that you just add the increased value provided by the destiny card when calculating those values.

We do understand the difference between replenishing and gaining fate and lives. Our confusion with increased fate value is caused because during setup you do take tokens to represent your fate value so, while we agree with it just being a change in value effective only when replenishing, it also still makes sense to take a fate token when the increase to fate value is received. Increases to craft/strength values are immediate (add the base value, plus the increased value, plus any strength/craft tokens gained, etc). Why wouldn't the increase to fate value also be immediate with a token being taken to represent it? While you aren't gaining a fate, you are increasing fate value and [starting] fate value is represented by tokens so an increase in value should be represented by a token...

Some of the members of our playing group have been Talisman players for 20+ years and still we don't have consensus in our group on how this should be handled.

...

Our confusion with increased fate value is caused because during setup you do take tokens to represent your fate value so, while we agree with it just being a change in value effective only when replenishing, it also still makes sense to take a fate token when the increase to fate value is received. Increases to craft/strength values are immediate (add the base value, plus the increased value, plus any strength/craft tokens gained, etc). Why wouldn't the increase to fate value also be immediate with a token being taken to represent it? While you aren't gaining a fate, you are increasing fate value and [starting] fate value is represented by tokens so an increase in value should be represented by a token...

Some of the members of our playing group have been Talisman players for 20+ years and still we don't have consensus in our group on how this should be handled.

It's good that your in on the whole heal/replenish vs gain and value vs (ie) total strength, at least we made more than a few errors on that topic in the beginning.

On the topic at hand however you make two errors.

-During setup the fate tokens aren't taken to represent your fate value.

I'd rather express it as " you have a fate value and you start replenished ". When the value is changed later on you do not also gain/loose fate (unless the effect says so).

-When interpreting rules/effects/cards etc just do exactly what is written , not additional things that you think makes sense. I definitely admit it's hard sometimes, just recently I was totally confused by the Judged by fate ending (which I thought made no sense) but it too is meant to be played exactly as written (and when I put my bias aside and read it again it did make sense).

Thanks! Thinking of fate and life as fully replenished at the beginning of the game makes sense.