Can you add your craft twice to your strength i. e. you are using the Monks special ability with a Psionic Blast spell? Keep in mind I have been using the BI 4th edition and the rules are a little, shall we say, fuzzy.

gatefold313 said:

No it doesn't stack. The ability and the spell are exactly the same so they have the same effect. They just allow you to add your craft counters to your strength in combat.

Q1: The Monk’s Special Ability which allows him to add his Craft to his Strength in Combat seems very powerful. Is this correct? How about a Psionic Blast Spell?

A1: Yes, this is correct. However, the Monk's Special Ability should read 'you may add your Craft Counters to your Strength in Combat. The same applies to a Psionic Blast Spell.

SubElement said:

Thanks, I read the FAQ and wasn't too sure if that is what the use of "counters" implied. That sucks though cause it makes the spell useless to the Monk.

..and don't forget that was actually changed in a later FAQ with the BI edition to be the the Monk can only add his STARTING Craft to his Strength, which is echoed in the revised Edition.

P Blast + Monk = Worthless

just as the

Orb + Prophy = worthless

just as

Wand + any character that 'always has 1 spell' is worthless

*Worthless other than taking it out of the game by Alchemy'n it!

The good thing is that you are not stuck with that spell for the entire game. If my memory serves me correct in looking over the new rules yesterday you always have the option of using your special abilities (you do not HAVE to use it when available). So in the case where you have a psionic blast I would assume you can choose not to use your special ability and use the spell card instead.

ARRGH! Yet again this OLD FAQ I have on my computer has defeated me! I am deleting it now!

Q1 : The Monk’s Special Ability which allows him to add his Craft to his Strength in Combat seems
very powerful. Is this correct? How about a Psionic Blast Spell?

A1: Yes, this is correct. However, the Monk's Special Ability should read 'you may add your Starting
Craft to your Strength in Combat. The same applies to a Psionic Blast Spell.

What's worse is that I knew it was wrong, but my brain was all retarded...

**** You Black Industries!!!! (Shaking fist wildly in the air)

So you can't use psionic blast with the monk?

Good to know then...

Velhart said:

Neither Psionic Blast nor Warhorse, it seems.

I don't know why they don't allow the Monk to stack these 3 effects (and other Characters to stack Psionic Blast and Warhorse). You calculate the bonus in the same fashion, but the origin of the power is different in the three cases (a Monk inner belief, a spell, a trained horse); if you should limit a bonus because it can't be cumulated with another one, you won't be able to have the Ring and the Unicorn (and the Familiar) at the same time. Or am I just fooling around? Limitation to printed value is good, but now we have a Monk that gets +3 instead of +∞ and has even more limitations than before (no Weapons instead of no Swords and Axes).

Having the Warhorse is an opportunity, not a certainty, same for a Psionic Blast Spell, which is one use only. I think this rage against the Monk is the result of many years of hatred against the most broken Character from 2nd edition.

It's not really fair, but still, it's not too bad either i think.

The monk can always use his ability. Other people must first draw the warhorse and you can lose the warhorse too. As you said, the psionic blast is one time only.

I have not play with the monk yet, but i think that it's a good character.

To get a +3 everytime in combat is very good i think( and you can't lose that ability

The monk is, indeed, not a bad character. But he does make up for that ability with poor stats, (Strength 2, Craft 3) and the inability to use Weapons or Armour. So it might actually take him a bit longer to bust through the Portal of Power depending on your luck.

When other characters get psionic blast or the Warhorse, they don't suffer the same drawbacks as the monk does. It's not like you use the Psionic Blast spell and you cannot use Weapons or Armour for that combat. So I don't see why the Monk shouldn't be allowed to use it to add to his Strength for that combat. At least with items like the Orb of Knowledge and the Wand can be melted into gold or traded for a Talisman at the Warlock's Cave. You can't do the same for spells (right?) so it seems odd that they denied the Monk this ability.

SubElement said:

Huh. Is that valid also in the FFG version? Only starting craft?

And how about War Horse? (I don't have my Grim Reaper Expansion yet.)

Yes. A character's " Craft value " equates to being the Craft number printed on his character card (i.e. starting Craft). The same also applies to the Warhorse and the Psionic Blast Spells.

Ell.

The_Warlock said:

But if someone use psionic blast and the warhorse together at the same time, then they are also stacking. So it don't make sense...

I think that the problem is resolved if you cannot stack warhorse and psionic blast together.

Why can other characters use this combo and not the monk...( something is not right about this)

talismanamsilat said:

These cards really should have "Starting Craft" noted in future prints. For anyone not reading the FAQ, they would be adding the total craft the character has. That's how I played it and ended up excluding the Monk from the game entirely.

Annoying and confusing for those players who I invite.

Cailus said:

Of course, anyone reading the rulebook should notice that Craft Value = Starting Craft (i.e. printed on the card). Monk, Warhorse and PB all use the same term. Terminology in the rules is for once good. Not only in terms of Craft/Str value, but also keywords like Enemy.

Are Psionic Blast & Warhorse stackable?
Are Warhorse & Monk Inner Belief stackable?

(monk inner belief aka bonus that comes from starting craft -no counter no item- aka Craft Value aka... ever thought of printing the damned number 3 on the monk description? )

sorry for digging out this old post! i hope to see it moved on the Rule section..

thank you and to all

costolaz said:

From what i have read...

You cannot stack the warhorse and psionic blast with the monk

But the most important and weird question is:

Why can a other character use the warhorse and psionic blast together? ( this is also stacking !

huh?? warhorse and pisonic blast doesn't stack... they have the same effect , so since you have already add your craft value with one of the two it's useless to use the second one in the same time...

personnally i never authorize the stacking of the two and none of my players never think about it...it's just common sense for us.

thorckmard said:

Indeed it's useless,

But it is not clarified yet, that you may not use those two together at the same time.

at least, i am not allowing it in my games