Is it time again?

By Big Remy, in Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Given the number of new players and questions we've seen arising, is it that time again to start pushing for a FAQ update? This is the list of things I've seen that might warrant FAQ entries (some of which I feel we all know the answer to, but need to be FAQ'd to satisfy those who "need an official answer")

1) RtL: Do villagers block LOS for the purposes of spawning or grant the heroes LOS to prevent spawning?

2) WoD: Can a flying creature pass through Scything Blades or Dart Field without being affected by those traps?

3) General: Is a Dark Charmed hero now considered an enemy figure for the purposes of things like Syke's ability?

4) General: Can dragons side step along their long axis?

5) General: Trapmaster. Does its damage bonus apply to things like Animate Weapon, Dark Charm and Mimics?

6) One Fist: Does One Fist's hook attack get of f hand bonuses from equipped weapons?

7) General: Terrain and Large Monsters needs to rewritten as it constantly confuses new players and experienced players alike

8) RtL: Sleep tokens. Can a player with a sleep token place an Order or take an action that does not require the spending of movement points or making an attack? Those are currently the only things sleep tokens prohibit a hero from doing.

9) RtL: Does Kirga's ability trump when a dungeon card in RtL says "at the start of the Overlord's turn, place a X monster on the board"? For example, dungeons 7, 10, 24, 29 all allow the OL to place/spawn a monster at the start of his turn ignoring LOS and normal restrictions. Does Kirga's ability block this?

Also might want to push for them to add all the stuff from the GLoAQ into the official FAQ.

So what do people think and what would you add to this?

I never object to getting questions settled, provided it's done well, though I'm not sure whether what we do has any effect on FFG's schedule.

I might reword some of those...

3) Taunt would be another good example.

4) General: Can dragons move orthogonally to their long axis?
Or: What moves are possible for non-square figures?

5) I'd add the Scything Blades trap card to the list, since it's my favorite devil's advocate example.

#4 and #7 are difficult to phrase well, because they're asking about things that already theoretically have rules, but the rules are problematic, so there's a danger on one hand of just getting a paraphrase of the current rules that doesn't help us, and on the other hand of them thinking that we're just whining that we want them to work differently. And possibly a danger of offending the writers if we just say that the rules suck.

Other possible questions, in no particular order:

10) Do effect tokens such as Burn and Web take effect at the start of a monster's activation or at the start of the overlord's turn? Can the overlord delay their resolution by choosing not to activate the affected monster?

11) If a figure is unexpectedly forced to end its movement in an illegal position (for example, if a Razorwing is webbed by an interrupt attack while over water), what happens?

12) May a figure enter a square where it would not normally be allowed to end its movement (e.g. monster stepping onto an active glyph) if the destination square is adjacent to an enemy figure with the Grapple ability?

13) Can a figure jump over a pit (or other obstacle) if that figure does not have line-of-sight to the destination square? (That is, can you change direction mid-jump?)

14) Can figures use the "jumping over pits" rules to jump over a square where they would be Grappled if they entered it normally? Can they "jump" over empty squares to avoid being Grappled ?

15) Is the last sentence of the "Sorcery vs. Ironskin" ruling in the last FAQ possibly missing the word "not" between "does" and "extend?"

16) Exactly what effects can extend through staircases? (Aura, Command, Grapple, etc.) How is distance determined between two squares on opposite sides of a staircase?

17) Swallowed heroes are limited to using one hand's worth of weapons. Are they intended to be able to use both a one-handed weapon and a shield? (Particularly the Skull Shield.)

18) I don't think we ever got an official answer about when items like the Crystal of Tivaal could be used, but I don't remember for sure.

Will probably remember more stuff later.

A fix to Alter of Despair and the purchasing of Dark Glyphs on page 5. Example contradicts the sentence that describes the way they can be purchased.

Keep it coming folks. I'll give it a few days and then compile it and ask for corrections.

should start by saying that it is my opinion that if we are to be deserving of well thought through answers then it is encumbent upon us to ask well thought through (and properly examined) questions.
Therefore, any question which is actually clearly answered by the rules should not be asked. It is fine for someone to ask such a question on the forum - that is pretty much exactly what it is for and everybody is capable of missing rules or not putting them together when they are in separate places. But it is not fine (IMO) to ask FFG to waste their time answering fundamental questions when there are already clear 'official' answers in the rule book. Doing so merely invites (and deserves) the disrespect of a casual and sloppy answer which probably creates more questions than it answers.
Similarly, we should be very careful about the wording of our questions so that they cannot be answered in ambiguous ways and, preferably, one answer may cover several possible ambiguities.
It may even be a good idea to accompany each question with one or more suggested answers or erratas. This indicates that the question has been thought over already, helps us formulate the question in the best way, and reduces the amount of work required by FFG staff to get straight to a proper understanding of the question and the rules involved. I believe this sort of approach may help to reduce the sort of ambiguous, contradictory, or plain weird answers that we sometime have gotten in the past.

1.The rules are extremely clear. All you have to do is read them. IMO this question should not be on the list. See the starting comments.

2. Similar to 1., though slightly less clear. If a flying figure can end it's turn on a damage dealing obstacle without taking damage then it can certainly move through it without taking damage. I don't think it needs answering, but can accept, grudgingly, a case for it on the list. Sheesh.

3. May need rewording. Or at least explaining. As Antistone indicated, there are a variety of effects that could be affected by this ruling. We are bound to miss one (as are FFG) if we try to list them or ask for a list, and there is bound to be complications with something if we don't make the 'generalised' question just right.
A first (second?) draft...
"During a Dark Charm attack there are a variety of effects that may interact with the attack differently depending on which figures are 'friendly' and which figures are 'enemy' for the attack. Examples include, but are not limited to, Skye, Taunt, Black Curse, Blessing (on a different hero, or on the charmed/attacking figure), Command (on a monster), Aura (in the case of knockbacking a fellow hero into one's own Aura), Sweep, Brawler and Spiritwalker. Which figures are friendly and which figures are enemy?
Suggestion 1: All monsters are friendly and all heroes are enemies.
Suggestion 2: All monsters and the Charmed hero are friendly, the other heroes are enemies. (Skye is on Vyrah's side?)
Suggestion 3: All heroes are friendly and all monsters are enemies.
Suggestion 4: One of Suggestions 1-3 but with a specific exception (eg Suggestion 2 except Spiritwalker can use any hero figure but not any monster figure)
Suggestion 5: Neither friendly nor enemy status is relevant. Each interaction must be answered individually! (please do so, and check for other interactions not mentioned!)"

Personally I favour suggestion 2, I think, given the answers they have already supplied at various times for this knotty mess of a question.

4. Again, rewording is needed to get to more issues I think.
"a)There are some discrepancies with the large figure movement rules. 'Front half' is difficult to define for 6 space monsters and for all large figures when moving diagonally.
Suggestion 1: 'Front half' when used in reference to movement, consists of all spaces of a figure that move into new spaces previously not occupied by that figure. This may mean 3 spaces of a 4 space figure when moving diagonally for example. or all spaces of a 2 space figure moving diagonally!
Suggestion 2: something else!
b) 6 space figures can only move sideways, not forwards, due to the requirement to move 'one half' (ie 3 spaces) of their body to a non-adjacent space. Is this as intended?
Suggestion 1: Yes it is intended
Suggestion 2: No. Errata, DJitD pg 15, bullet point 1. Change "...moves one half of it's body into..." to "...moves one face (2 or 3 spaces) of it's body into...". (this allows both forward/back and side-to-side movement)
Suggestion 3: No. Errata, DJitD pg 15, bullet point 1. Change "...moves one half of it's body into..." to "...moves one third of it's body if 6 space, one half if 2 space, into...". (this allows both forward/back movement but prevents side-to-side movement in the same manner that a 2 space figure is currently prevented)
Suggestion 4. Fully diagram all possible movements of an uninhibited 6 space figure."

5. Further, most of the traps most likely to be considered 'damage dealing' actually deal wounds not damage, so this needs to be clarified.
"Suggestion 1: All and only traps that could result in a hero receiving damage or wounds before any actions mentioned on the trap card are resolved qualify for the Trapmaster bonus damage. (This includes Mimic's 'activation', Dark Charm's attack and the attacks of Animate weapons.)
Suggestion 2: All and only traps that have damage/wounds mentioned on the card qualify for Trapmaster's bonus damage. (This does not include Scything blades)
Suggestion 3: All and only traps that have damage/wounds mentioned on the card or state that figures are affected as though the had just moved onto a token/obstacle/prop qualify for Trapmaster's bonus damage. (this includes Scything Blades but not Dark Charm or Mimic etc)
Suggestion 4: Some other wording that clearly includes Dark Charm but excludes Mimic."

6. There is also Laughlin Buldar to consider.
Suggestion 1: Errata, DJitD pg 19. Change "If a hero has two one-handed Melee weapons equipped at once, he may gain the benefits of an Off-Hand Bonus." to "An equipped, unused 1H melee weapon may add an Off Hand Bonus to a melee attack made by the holder." (This allows both Laughlin and One Fist to gain off hand bonus).
Suggestion 2: Clarification: Laughlin Buldar may add an Off Hand Bonus from an equipped 1H melee weapon when attack with a 2H weapon held in one hand. One Fist may not gain an Off Hand Bonus for his Hook Attack.
Suggestion 3: Reprint and recast Laughlin Buldar to be holding a useful Shield in his second hand instead of a useless 1H weapon!

7. Sadly, this has multiple parts.
a) Redefine (list), once and for all, Obstacles, Props, Tokens and printed terrain.
b) Define (or eliminate the use of) 'negative' terrain and the 'benefits' of terrain.
c) Define 'front half'. Front half often does not work for 6 space monsters and does not work as it would seem intended to for any large figure moving diagonally. See item 4a suggestion 1 as an example.
Actually, once that is done effectively neither the original rules nor the current FAQ probably need much changing at all.

Antistone pretty much covered more other stuff than I can think of already.

I am in full agreement with everything both you and Antistone have said. The list I posted was things that I've noticed people have repeatedly asked or things that caused discussions to happen. I am more than happy to see a discussion concerning narrowing the list and what the community feels are the best questions to be asked and their wording.

Corbon said:

2. Similar to 1., though slightly less clear. If a flying figure can end it's turn on a damage dealing obstacle without taking damage then it can certainly move through it without taking damage. I don't think it needs answering, but can accept, grudgingly, a case for it on the list. Sheesh.

Missing the point. Scything Blades and Dart Fields are listed as traps, not as obstacles, and thus the Fly ability has no effect on them by RAW. This is also consistent with the fact that they can't be jumped over.

It is my belief that Fly was never intended to affect these tokens (just as it doesn't help with rolling boulders) and that there is no problem with RAW in this case, but the question has come up a couple of times, and the fact that FFG has stopped specifically listing which props are considered obstacles in RtL onward poses problems.

Corbon said:

4. Again, rewording is needed to get to more issues I think.
"a)There are some discrepancies with the large figure movement rules. 'Front half' is difficult to define for 6 space monsters and for all large figures when moving diagonally.
b) 6 space figures can only move sideways, not forwards, due to the requirement to move 'one half' (ie 3 spaces) of their body to a non-adjacent space. Is this as intended?

Your restatement of this question seems to leave out what I thought was the most important issue, that the ruling includes as examples obstacles that never affected large monsters for every step before (mud, lava), and the change is therefore problematic because (a) the stated change goes against the stated intent of the change, (b) it causes all sorts of chaos for pits, and © it implies that the rules for Ice should never have been published in their current form. So I think the first part of the question should address that.

I would consider rewording the suggestion for (a) to something that covers non-standard movement modes; we want to know what happens if the monster enters the area due to Knockback or Leap (possibly crossing several squares and only "entering" its final position), or if they spawn overlapping a trap (spawning in obstacles is forbidden, but I'm aware of no such restriction for traps), and any other weird cases that may come up. Perhaps something along the lines of "a large figure suffers no penalty for entering a square if it occupied that square prior to its movement."

Also, regarding (b), we should perhaps point out that 6 space figures also cannot rotate by RAW (barring creative definitions of "half"), but that an example diagram depicts this as a legal move.

Antistone said:

Corbon said:

2. Similar to 1., though slightly less clear. If a flying figure can end it's turn on a damage dealing obstacle without taking damage then it can certainly move through it without taking damage. I don't think it needs answering, but can accept, grudgingly, a case for it on the list. Sheesh.

Missing the point. Scything Blades and Dart Fields are listed as traps, not as obstacles, and thus the Fly ability has no effect on them by RAW. This is also consistent with the fact that they can't be jumped over.

It is my belief that Fly was never intended to affect these tokens (just as it doesn't help with rolling boulders) and that there is no problem with RAW in this case, but the question has come up a couple of times, and the fact that FFG has stopped specifically listing which props are considered obstacles in RtL onward poses problems.

Corbon said:

4. Again, rewording is needed to get to more issues I think.
"a)There are some discrepancies with the large figure movement rules. 'Front half' is difficult to define for 6 space monsters and for all large figures when moving diagonally.
b) 6 space figures can only move sideways, not forwards, due to the requirement to move 'one half' (ie 3 spaces) of their body to a non-adjacent space. Is this as intended?

Your restatement of this question seems to leave out what I thought was the most important issue, that the ruling includes as examples obstacles that never affected large monsters for every step before (mud, lava), and the change is therefore problematic because (a) the stated change goes against the stated intent of the change, (b) it causes all sorts of chaos for pits, and © it implies that the rules for Ice should never have been published in their current form. So I think the first part of the question should address that.

I would consider rewording the suggestion for (a) to something that covers non-standard movement modes; we want to know what happens if the monster enters the area due to Knockback or Leap (possibly crossing several squares and only "entering" its final position), or if they spawn overlapping a trap (spawning in obstacles is forbidden, but I'm aware of no such restriction for traps), and any other weird cases that may come up. Perhaps something along the lines of "a large figure suffers no penalty for entering a square if it occupied that square prior to its movement."

Also, regarding (b), we should perhaps point out that 6 space figures also cannot rotate by RAW (barring creative definitions of "half"), but that an example diagram depicts this as a legal move.

2. Ahh, I see. Yes, completely missed it - a classic example of why the right question should be asked!
I think this would be covered by the answer to 7. Both Scything Blades and Cart fields Traps (the cards) say place a 'token'. The tokens for both are listed in the 'Obstacles and Props' section of RtL. So clarifying whether these tokens are Obstacles, Props or something else entirely should cover that.
Alternatively you (we) are asking about the Trap (cards) itself (in which case we need to be clear). Drugged darts is obviously not in question since that is not placed 'under' the flying figure. I can see why someone might expect that Scything Blades should affect a flying figure when played (basically because Pit Traps and Crushing Blocks do), but RAW it is very clear that the flying figure is able to ignore the Scything blades token when moving over it, and since the Trap tells you to treat the figure as though it has just moved over it, the RAW is very clear that the flying figure is basically unaffected by the Trap.
I still think this is an unnecessary question, but could accept it even less grudgingly than before. Basically, the rule is clear but not everybody likes it and it is not consistant with similar effects. I think it would be more honest to state 'this is the effect, RAW - is it what was intended? If not, here are some suggestions....'

4. Umm, I think you are referring to 7. here mostly? 6. is about getting the basic large figure movement system clarified, not about the effects of terrain, obsatcles etc on large movement (which is 7).
Once you have 'front half' or whatever it is replaced with better defined for basic large monster movement then you may (should?) be able to use that definition in the large monsters+terrain section.
Knockback and Leap could be independent clarifications. (see below)
I really have't properly approached the whole question 7 yet because I think it is made very complex by a number of other uncertainties that surround the issue. I think each of those certainties should be addressed in their own right, then we can clarify the issue properly (and it may need little or no clarification by then.

4b. Sure.
b) 6 space figures can only move sideways, not forwards, due to the requirement to move 'one half' (ie 3 spaces) of their body to a non-adjacent space. They are also not actually capable of the rotational movement shown in the example. Is this intended?
Suggestion 1: ...

19. Figure movement due to Knockback and Leap sometimes causes confusion. It seems clear from examples and previous answers that for both Knockback and Leap movement only the final (ending) spaces of the movement are actually entered. Intermediate spaces are not actually entered by the Knockbacked or Leaping figure, so no 'entering space' effects may take action. Thus a knocked/leaping figure may avoid pits/traps, mud, scything blades, Guard orders, Auras and other such effects. Is this correct?
If it is correct, many players fail to understand this so a specifc clarification would help.
Suggestion 1: Yes, it is correct. Knock-backed and Leaping figures do not enter any spaces between their initial and final positions. They only enter the spaces of their final positions. There are no effects that can affect them while they are partially through a knockback ofr Leap movement. In this respect Knockback and Leap may be regarded as similar to a teleporting type effect.
Suggestion 2: Something else that says they may be treated as flying during the movement (I think this is clearly wrong, myself)
Suggestion 3: The whole question is wrong and each interaction must be considered individually
Suggestion 4: A combination of Suggestion 1 and 3, with specific individual interactions that differ clearly stated.

18. was answered on the old wiki, see GLoAQ thread.

Suggestion: Incorporate all questions and answers from the GLoAQ thread in the FAQ.

Corbon said:

but RAW it is very clear that the flying figure is able to ignore the Scything blades token when moving over it,

No, that is the opposite of true. I thought you just agreed with me in the previous paragraph that because WoD lists them as traps and not as obstacles that figures with Fly are affected in precisely the same way as everyone else.

Corbon said:

4. Umm, I think you are referring to 7. here mostly?

Gah, you're right. My bad. Too many numbers and tangentially related questions. We need so sort or categorize these somehow.

Antistone said:

Corbon said:

but RAW it is very clear that the flying figure is able to ignore the Scything blades token when moving over it,

No, that is the opposite of true. I thought you just agreed with me in the previous paragraph that because WoD lists them as traps and not as obstacles that figures with Fly are affected in precisely the same way as everyone else.

My gah now!

I just looked at them in RtL where they (the tokens that is) are part of the Obstacles and Props listing. Only the card itself should be a Trap.

Still, that should be cleared up as part of redoing a comprehensive listing as per 7.

I'd say they need to start classifying props by their keywords again. All of the game rules and cards created before RtL use specific keywords to differentiate all of the different props (obstacle, trap, figure, prop) and it's completely insane to try and shoehorn a "new" classification system (Jumpable, Passable, Transparency) into the old system.

Bring back the old system that works with the actual rules we have please.

20. If multiple figures with Fear 1 are attacked by an area attack, how many surges must the attacker spend to overcome the Fear ability - one for the whole attack, or one for each figure with Fear 1 that is affected by the attack?

Parathion said:

20. If multiple figures with Fear 1 are attacked by an area attack, how many surges must the attacker spend to overcome the Fear ability - one for the whole attack, or one for each figure with Fear 1 that is affected by the attack?

I would change that to:

If an area attack would affect multiple figures with Fear, how must surges be spent? Are surges required to be spent for each figure with Fear, and if so, will the attack affect those who are "paid for" or does the attack fail if there are not enough surges for all of them. Alternately, will it suffice to spend surges to allow an attack against the figure with the highest Fear rank, which would then affect all of the figures?

I'm going to start getting this stuff compiled over the next few days and post it for comment.

Is there a general feeling that fex's list concerning Large Monsters and Terrain is what we want put forward as the requested solution to FFG, or at least inform that if they aren't going to correct that FAQ entry that that list is the community based ruling that most people on this forum plan on following?

If we're planning to submit a large monster + obstacle list for official review, let's use the one I sent to Kevin Wilson. Mechanically, it's the same as the one I posted here, but I reworded some things to be more clear, and I also defined the term "leading tiles.

------------------------------

A monster's "leading tiles" include any tiles occupying spaces that the monster did not occupy prior to taking the step. EXAMPLE .

A monster's "leading tiles" are determined with each step, and will change if the monster changes direction. If a monster is being moved by Knockback, the Poltergeist card, Necromancy, or any other similar effect, its "leading tiles" are still calculated the same way for each "step" it takes, even though the monster is not moving itself.

Pits - The monster is only affected if the entire figure is engulfed by Pit tiles. Once a large monster has fallen into a large pit, it may move freely inside the pit without taking additional damage: the pit is assumed to be the same depth throughout. A large monster trapped in a large pit only needs to pay the additional movement cost once to take its first step out of the pit, and it must do so as soon as either of its leading tiles step onto a non-Pit space.

Rubble - The monster is immediately affected if any of the figure's tiles contact a single Rubble tile. Therefore, a single Rubble tile can prevent a 2x2 monster from traveling through a 2-tile-wide hallway.

Water - The monster is immediately affected if any of the figure's tiles contact a single Water tile. Therefore, a single Water tile can prevent a 2x2 monster from traveling through a 2-tile-wide hallway.

Lava - The monster is only affected if the entire figure is engulfed by Lava tiles. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks through a 2x2 Lava pit, it will only take the damaging effects once, on the step in which its entire body is engulfed.

Mud - The monster is only affected if the entire figure is engulfed by Mud tiles. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks through a 2x2 Mud pit, it will only pay the additional movement cost once, on the step in which its entire body is engulfed.

Scything Blades - The monster is affected if any of the figure's leading tiles come in contact with a Scything Blade tile. A monster can only be affected once per step it takes. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks through a 2x2 Scything Blades trap, it will take the damage effects twice: once on the first step into the trap, and again on its second step into the next row of the trap, but not on the third step, as its leading tiles leave the trap (even though the back half of the monster is still on the trap tiles).

Dart Fields - The monster is affected if any of the figure's leading tiles come in contact with a Dart Field tile. A monster can only be affected once per step it takes. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks through a theoretical 2x2 Dart Field trap, it will take the damage effects twice: once on the first step into the trap, and again on its second step into the next row of the trap, but not on the third step, as its leading tiles leave the trap (even through the back half of the monster is still on the trap tiles).

Fog - When calculating line of sight for a large monster partially engulfed by Fog, treat each tile of the figure individually, depending on whether or not that tile is engulfed by Fog. Remember that, like heroes, monsters are assumed to always be looking around, and can use any of the tiles they stand on as a starting point when drawing line of sight. For instance, if half of of a 2x2 monster is engulfed by fog, and the other half is not, the monster may either trace line of sight from one of its tiles inside the Fog into any adjacent space, or from one of its tiles outside of the Fog following normal line of sight rules.

Corrupted - Corrupted terrain has no effect on monsters.

Altars and Evil Altars - The monster is "on top" of an Altar or Evil Altar if any of a figure's tiles are on top of an Altar or Evil Altar tile.

Bone Heap - The monster is affected if any of the figure's leading tiles come in contact with a Bone Heap tile. A monster can only be affected once per step it takes. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks through Bone Heaps arranged in 2x2 square, it must pay the extra movement cost twice: once on the first step into the Bone Heaps, and again on its second step into the next row of Bone Heaps, but not on the third step, as its leading tiles leave the Bone Heaps (even through the back half of the monster is still on Bone Heap tiles).

Fountains - The monster is affected by a Fountain if any of a figure's tiles are on top of a Fountain tile.

Giant Mushrooms - The monster is affected by a Giant Mushroom if any of a figure's tiles are on top of of Giant Mushroom tile.

Sarcophagus and Frozen Sarcophagus - The monster is affected if any of the figure's leading tiles come in contact with a Sarcophagus tile. A monster can only be affected once per step it takes, and is not affected when moving from an Elevated position to another Elevated position. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks through Sarcophagi arranged in a 2x2 square, it must pay the extra movement cost once on the first step onto the Sarcophagi, but not on the second step into the next row of Sarcophagi tiles (since it has already climbed up to an Elevated position), and not on the third step, as its leading tiles step down from the Sarcophagi. Meanwhile, the monster gains the Elevated bonus if any of the figure's tiles is in contact with a Sarcophagus tile.

Beds and Tables - The monster is affected if any of the figure's leading tiles come in contact with a Bed or Table tile. A monster can only be affected once per step it takes, and is not affected when moving from an Elevated position to another Elevated position. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks through Beds or Tables arranged in a 2x2 square, it must pay the extra movement cost once on the first step onto the Bed or Table, but not on the second step into the next row of Bed or Table tiles (since it has already climbed up to an Elevated position), and not on the third step, as its leading tiles step down from the Bed or Table. Meanwhile, the monster gains the Elevated bonus if any of the figure's tiles is in contact with a Bed or Table tile.

Throne - The monster is affected if any of the figure's leading tiles come in contact with a Throne tile. A monster can only be affected once per step it takes, and is not affected when moving from an Elevated position to another Elevated position. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks a 2x2 Throne, it must pay the extra movement cost once on the first step onto the Throne, but not on the second step into the next row of Throne tiles (since it has already climbed up to an Elevated position), and not on the third step, as its leading tiles step down from the Throne. Meanwhile, the monster gains the Elevated bonus if any of the figure's tiles is in contact with a Throne tile.

Tree - The monster is affected if any of the figure's leading tiles come in contact with a Tree tile. A monster can only be affected once per step it takes. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks through Trees arranged in a 2x2 square, it must pay the additional movement cost twice: once on the first step into the Trees, and again on its second step into the next row of Trees, but not on the third step, as its leading tiles leave the Trees (even through the back half of the monster is still on the Tree tiles). Meanwhile, the monster gains the Shadowcloak bonus if any of the figure's tiles is in contact with a Tree tile.

Villager - Villagers should be treated like figures for all movement purposes.

Ice - The monster is only affected if the entire figure is engulfed by Ice tiles. As such, if a 2x2 monster walks through a 2x2 square of Ice, it will only be affected once, on the step in which its entire body is engulfed.

Monster Egg - The monster is immediately affected if any of the figure's tiles contact a single Monster Egg tile. As such, a single Monster Egg could prevent a 2x2 monster from moving through a 2-tile-wide hallway.

Aura - The monster is affected once if any of the figure's leading tiles come in contact with a tile adjacent to a figure with Aura. A monster is affected once per "step" it takes. As such, a 2x2 monster who walks through a theoretical Flying enemy with the Aura ability (essentially, a 3x3 Aura field with a hole in the center) will be affected 3 times: once on its first step adjacent to the enemy figure, again on its next step under the figure (in which one of the monster's two leading tiles is still adjacent to the enemy figure, not directly under it), again on its next step into the spaces behind the enemy figure, but not on its fourth step as the leading tiles leave the Aura.

If a monster begins its turn with any of its tiles in a character's Aura, and it ends its turn without moving all of its tiles completely out of that character's Aura, it takes the Aura damage once.

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This list is based on the Rules As Written, taking into account the special ruling from the March 25, 2009 FAQ/Errata only in the specific cases I feel the ruling was intended to deal with. As such, it has been interpreted by a non-authoritative player, and is prone to misinterpretation.

With that said, however, it should be noted that most of the interpretations I have made in this list are in accordance with the Headless Hollow Rules Summary , which is directly endorsed by FFG (on the right side of the Descent Support page ).

Big Remy said:

I'm going to start getting this stuff compiled over the next few days and post it for comment.

Is there a general feeling that fex's list concerning Large Monsters and Terrain is what we want put forward as the requested solution to FFG, or at least inform that if they aren't going to correct that FAQ entry that that list is the community based ruling that most people on this forum plan on following?

While that is an excellent list, I would really prefer that we/FFG sort out their terminology/classification system instead.

Doing it on a item by item basis means that any new item in any further expansion will need to not only have it's own new rules but also directly clarify it's interactions with large monsters (and possibly something else we are missing). It also means that any new system or effect that interacts with other effects (like say, a new skill or feat or similar that nullifies certain types of effects) must declare it's interaction on an item by item basis, rather than on a classification by classification basis. Witness the mess for Dark Charm and friends/enemies' effects which could be resolved by simply stating how a dark charmed figure's friends/enemies are changed (or not) during the attack.

I'm working on such a system and might as well post it now (in another post), although it is really still a first draft and needs everyone to look over and review/critique/proof.

Okay, fair enough.

This is an early draft of redoing the token/terrain classification system for Descent. I expect it still needs a lot of work. There may be things missing, please shout out if you note anything.

There is also room for discussion about the classifications I have chosen. They are merely what seems to me to be natural divisions and should be freely discussed. I have tried to include every token you will see in the game (except tokens that strictly remain on the heroes cards, such as fatigue, hero wounds, trait upgrades etc).

There is also a need to check existing cards (Skills, Feats, OL cards, Treachery Card, Hero Special's) to make sure that the card wording still matches the original intent. For example, I separated out Obstacles as a subset of Terrain because Crushing Block may not be played adjacent to any Obstacles.
There will also be the need to go over the rules for the same reason. The Large monsters rules can be excepted from this because they need a rewrite anyway (next post), and hopefully there are few or no other places that need changing to match this list.
Fly and Acrobat are already noted as needing Errata. Frankly they aren't all that clear at the moment anyway, with Obstacles currently such a messy definition.
Acrobat: You may move through enemy figures. In addition, you may enter and move through Obstacles, Familiar Tokens, Prize Tokens and Terrain (but not Trap Tokens) without effect. You may not end your movement or make an attack from a space occupied by either another figure or an Obstacle.
Fly: Figures with the Fly ability may move through enemy figures, Familiar Tokens and Props as if they weren't there. However, flying figures cannot end their movement in a space containing another figure, an obstacle or a Trap Token that that blocks movement. A flying figure may end its turn in a space containing a Prop or Natural Terrrain space that inflicts damage without effect.

Last but not least, I've classified according the RAW as I personally understand it (which means imperfectly practically by definition!). There may be (certainly will be) objections or alternate wordings that are required to support differing interpretations. If so, feel free to supply them.

Terrain, Obstacles, Props and Other (Trap, Familiar, Effect and Prize) Tokens.
1. Props include all tokens being used on the board to represent terrain, trap tokens, prize tokens or obstacles. Props are usually immobile except for special rules or events that allow them to be moved (usually dungeon specific except Boulders and Crushing Walls).
2. Obstacles are mapboard spaces that are impassable. They are a subset of Terrain.
Obstacles include: Rubble and Water .
4. Trap Tokens are tokens placed on the board that represent a currently entrapped area. Each type has it's own rules. They may be part of a starting map or they may be placed as the result of a Trap Card. The may be fixed (eg Scything Blades) or mobile(eg Boulders). Not all tokens placed as the result of a trap card will be Trap Tokens. Trap Tokens are not Terrain and not Trap Cards (this last bit is possibly subject to debate).
Trap Tokens include: Scything Blades, Dart Fields, Boulders and Crushing Walls.
6. Familiar Tokens are neither Props, Terrain nor Obstacles. Each has their own rules. This group is only included here for completeness.
Familiar Tokens include: Boggs the Rat, Skye, Shadow Soul, Mata and Kata, Furr the Spirit Wold, Sharr the Brightwing, Monkey (tranformed hero), Pico, Bottle Imp, Eyes of Thara, Villagers and the Haunt. Not all are actually familiars. Pico is not actually represented on the map, instead being at all time carried (for free) by a hero (place the Pico Marker on the hero's character card in the Traits section).
7. Effect Tokens are not located on the mapboard but are instead located on a particular figure. It is common to stack some types of them under a figure as a reminder that they are there, but when the figure moves, any effect tokens on that figure move with it. Only Curse and Poison remain when a figure leave a dungeon or encounter. This group is only included here for completeness.
Effect tokens include: Bleed, Burn, Curse, Daze, Enslaved, Frost, Poison, Sleep, Stun or Web, Monkey 'wound'(remaining turns) tokens and monster wound (damage) tokens.
3. Terrain can be either props or directly painted onto the map board. Terrain painted directly onto the Mapboard is called Natural Terrain. Terrain spaces have varying effects according to their individual rules and quest or Dungeon special rules. Terrain may be part of the starting map or may be placed as the result of a card (commmonly a trap card) or event.
Terrain includes: Altars, Beds, Tables, Bone Heaps, Boulders, Corrupted Spaces, Crushing Walls, Fog, Fountains, Giant Mushrooms, Ice, Lava, Monster Eggs, Mud, Pits, Rubble, Sarcophagi (Frozen or ordinary), Staircases, Summoning Circles, Thrones, Trees and Water.
5. Prize Tokens are tokens that may be removed or modified by hero actions and that do not fit into other classifications. Each has their own rules. They are included here for completion.
Prize Tokens include: Coin piles, Treasure Chests, Glyphs, Potions , Unique Treasures or Quest items, Runekeys, X marks and ? marks.

With a classification system like this, a new thing can be added that describes itself or refers to an interaction by classification - meaning one word can cover how to treat it when interacting with a multitude of existing rules.
eg. Slime: Slime is Terrain. A Hero entering a Slime space must roll a black dice. If the roll is an enhancement the Hero recieves a Slime Token. Slime Tokens can only be removed by making a successful Rest action, at the end of which the Resting Hero may remove one Slime token instead of refilling all fatigue counters. A Hero with a Slime token will not be admitted to the Temple.
Because Slime has been classified as Terrain we know how to treat is with regards to other interactions, Flying and Acrobat may ignore it. Large creatures will be affected when then move onto it the first time (putting aside, for the moment, that it only affects heroes!)

Right, critique away, please.
(large monster movement first draft to follow)

Same as the last post, this is a first draft and should be commented/corrected etc as necessary.

I have deliberately avoided the irregular shaped large monsters movement issue as I feel it is best answerd in the question form as done earlier.

Large Monsters and Props/Natural Terrain
1. Large Monsters may not enter Obstacles or Trap Tokens which block movement with any of their spaces (unless they have fly).
2. When a large monster moves, it is affected only by any space it moves into that it did not occupy previously. Each single space of movement is adjudicated separately for this purpose.
3. When a large monster is stationary it is affected by all spaces that it occupies.
4. A large monster only suffers one space worth of each effect type that is affecting it, regardless of how many of the monster's spaces are being affected.
5. Pits, Mud and Lava ( which all have specific notes in their individual rules ) do not affect large monsters whether moving or stationary unless all their spaces are on the pit or on the Lava respectively.
eg1. ETTE A 4x2 corridor with a Troll (T) and a water space (W). Remaining Spaces are empty (E).
ETTW The Troll can not move to the right because it may not enter the Water Obstacle (Rule 1)

eg2 ETTEEE A 6x2 corridor with a Troll (T) and a Tree ( t). Remaining Spaces are empty (E).
ETT tEE The Troll's first move to the right will cost 2MP because the troll is entering the Tree space.
(Rule 2)
The Troll's second move to the right will cost 1 MP because the Tree was previously occupied.
(Rule 2)
The Troll can now claim the benefits of being in the tree when attacked because one (rear)
space of the Troll is in the Tree (Rule 3)

eg3 ETTXEE A 6x2 corridor with a charging (double MP) Troll (T) and a some trees (X). Remaining Spaces
ETTXXE are empty (E).
The Troll's first move to the right will cost it 2MP to enter the trees. (Rule 2)
It will only cost 2MP because the Troll can only be affected once each move even though two of
it's spaces are newly occupying the trees. (Rule 4)
The Troll's second move will also cost 2MP because it is entering one new tree. The other two
trees do not cost extra to move into because they are not new spaces being entered. (Rule 2)
The Troll's third move will cost 1MP because there is no new tree.
The Troll can now claim the benefits of being in the tree when attacked because one (rear)
space of the Troll is in the Tree (Rule 3)

eg4 ETTEEE A 6x2 corridor with a Troll (T) and a Pit (P). Remaining Spaces are empty (E).
ETTPEE The Troll may move to the right without being affected by the Pit as at no time will all of it's
spaces be in the pit. (Rule 5)

eg5 ETTPPE A 6x2 corridor with a Troll (T) and a large Pit (P). Remaining Spaces are empty (E).
ETTPPE When the Troll moves to the right it's first move will be unaffected as only half it's spaces will be
in the pit. (Rule 5)
It's second move will be affected by the pit (takes one damage, and only one damage) as all of
it's spaces are in the pit. (Rule 2,4,5)
It's third move will cost an extra MP (to get out of the pit which it is in - (Rule 2,5)) and thus will not
be possible unless the Troll has received extra Movement from a Charge card or other source.
The Troll is now in the pit and thus has LOS only to spaces adjacent to the pit. (Rule 3,5)

Obstacles:

Any prop on which a figure cannot end its movement is considered an obstacle. Pits that instantly kill and impassable Trees are considered Obstacles even if the standard versions are simply classified as terrain.

This avoids the problem with using Crushing Block to drop heroes into instant-kill pits.

Thundercles said:

Obstacles:

Any prop on which a figure cannot end its movement is considered an obstacle. Pits that instantly kill and impassable Trees are considered Obstacles even if the standard versions are simply classified as terrain.

This avoids the problem with using Crushing Block to drop heroes into instant-kill pits.

The problem with that is that Acrobat allows passage through obstacles but specifically not Boulders (or, one assumes, Crushing Walls)

While these adoptions would require an errata to Acrobat (well, one is already required), I do not wish to actually change anything.

Personally I think a FAQ ruling that says you cannot play a Crushing Block next to any impassable and immobile prop or natural terrain space (replacing the current FAQ answer on page 11, which is incomplete anyway) would cover this anyway. Since you die if you enter the pit, you cannot pass it. So you cannot play a block beside it.

Question #82:

Stairs: are stairs of the same color considered adjacent.

EX. assuming for example both areas are explored. A hero is on the tile at the foot of the stairs - is a skeleton who is standing on the tile adjacent to the top of the stairs able to perform a ranged attack at the hero at the bottom of the stairs. (One more thing - Would the skeleton gain a +1 to damage - considering he is essentially elevated above the hero.)

If they are considered adjacent - and you can attack through stairs - would breath or blast or bolt work up or down the steps as well.

This seems it can be solved if stairs are declared as adjacent tiles or not - essentially with no LoS - then there is a seperation between the places and no attacks can happen through the stairs.

SoylentGreen said:

Question #82:

Stairs: are stairs of the same color considered adjacent.

EX. assuming for example both areas are explored. A hero is on the tile at the foot of the stairs - is a skeleton who is standing on the tile adjacent to the top of the stairs able to perform a ranged attack at the hero at the bottom of the stairs. (One more thing - Would the skeleton gain a +1 to damage - considering he is essentially elevated above the hero.)

If they are considered adjacent - and you can attack through stairs - would breath or blast or bolt work up or down the steps as well.

This seems it can be solved if stairs are declared as adjacent tiles or not - essentially with no LoS - then there is a seperation between the places and no attacks can happen through the stairs.

This question needs careful consideration and substantial rewording before we offer it. It is a very good subject though.

Props: Your definition of props says that it includes prize tokens, but prize tokens say they don't fit into other categories. Also, Props says it includes terrain, but the given definition doesn't include natural terrain (since there is no token involved); that ought to be clarified.

Obstacles: You have removed from this category many things that were explicitly listed as obstacles in various rulebooks. I realize that the FAQ entry for crushing block is completely different from the "obstacle" categorization in any book, but you haven't made your categorization equivalent to that FAQ ruling either. Your enumerated list also doesn't match your stated definition, since it excludes rolling boulders (which are "mapboard spaces that are impassible" if rubble is). And after your various rewrites, I'm not sure if any effect in the entire game is limited specifically to obstacles (by either of your definitions). What's the deal here?

Traps: This category is explicitly not supposed to overlap with Terrain, but you included rolling boulders and crushing walls in both. Suggest they be deleted from Terrain.

Effects: You've made Sahla's ability substantially more powerful by including things like the monkey counter tokens.

Acrobat: As written, your rewrite allows heroes to choose not to trigger encounters or activate glyphs. I suggest that prize tokens be removed from the list, and there should possibly be a clarification that you still experience the effects for standing in terrain, as opposed to the effects for entering terrain (thus, your LOS is restricted by pits and fog, for example).

It might be a good idea to define Acrobat as "the same as Fly, except...". Makes for more consistency, and hopefully means that only the Fly ability will need to be errata'd ever again, rather than changing both Fly and Acrobat.

Fly: I still do not believe that Fly was ever intended to provide any advantage against trap tokens. Also note that Rolling Boulders and Crushing Walls say that they are treated as walls for purposes of blocking movement, and so I don't think figures with Fly are supposed to be able to move through them. Also, as written, this allows Razorwings to fly over boulders, but still causes them to die if a boulder rolls into them.

Also, you've given Acrobat and Fly the ability to end movement on top of the Shadow Soul, which probably wasn't intentional. I suggest you remove familiars from the list of things they're allowed to move through, as that ability was never granted by the original version, and I don't think any familiars block movement anyway (unless there's something in RtL--if there is, I don't think there's a simple rewrite).

I believe there's also a ruling saying that figures with Acrobat/Fly are still supposed to suffer penalties for entering hazardous terrain involuntarily (e.g. as a result of Knockback).

Further Considerations: I can think of two major rules you haven't touched on that could possibly use this classification system:

(1) "Empty spaces" for traps and the like.

(2) Monsters are prohibited from spawning on obstacles (explicitly including pits).

Currently, "obstacles" is too narrow to use as the sole criteria for either of these rules, and "terrain" is too board (as it includes things like natural corrupted terrain that almost certainly shouldn't interfere with these). Admittedly, #1 could quite possibly use "everything except corrupted terrain". I would consider moving more stuff into the obstacle category to make #2 work as written (or at most require a change to "obstacles or traps").

Large Monsters: Suggest point 1 should be more general--there could conceivably be things that block movement other than obstacles and traps, and there could conceivably be things other than Fly that let you enter otherwise impassable spaces. Perhaps "large figures may not enter any space that small figures cannot enter, and may not end their movement overlapping any space that small figures cannot end their movement within."

Suggest point 2 should say something like "did not already occupy" rather than "did not occupy previously," since the current version seems more likely to be mistaken for meaning that they can never be harmed by the same piece of terrain twice in the same game.

You may also want to explicitly call out what happens if they don't move during their activation and overlap spaces that they would suffer damage for entering.

Stairs: This strongly resembles my question #16 from the first reply in this thread.