I don't know whether this has already been answered, but can Thomas Olney put into play a Transient resource which has been destroyed while paying for a card?

The logic of my opponent is that as a resource is on the table, it's 'in play', and the rules specify that Transients are destroyed when they pay for something (i.e. are not sacrificed). Therefore, as a Response, Olney can pay 2 and put the card (e.g. Local Sheriff) in play as a character.

This seems wrong to me, as if resources are 'in play' then a unique character under a domain would prevent you from playing a that same card as a character (e.g. Victoria Glasser as a Hastur resource prevents play of Victoria Glasser as a character). His argument is that as a resource, they're not functioning as a character and therefore have no name, uniqueness, etc.

I think it's a bit convoluted. Any opinions or official rulings?

We have the FAQ saying

If a card has an ability that triggers in response to said card entering the discard pile, that effect does not resolve or trigger if that character had blank text, was attached to a domain as a resource, was discarded from hand, or was insane before it entered the discard pile.

We also have another clue, like this one :

"5. Attach Resources.
Each player takes the remaining three cards from his setup hand
and attaches one, faceup and upside down, to each of his three
domains. The card bottom and resource icon should be all that is
visible above the domain card. The attached cards are now considered
resources. (Each player may look at his opponent’s resources if
he wants to.)"

which means that the character attached to a domain is no longer a character, but is now considered as a ressource.

So I would say your opponent was wrong.

Despite that, don't forget there is an exception for cards mlike the Sherif :

Note that some cards, like Local Sheriff
(Core Set F3), are not triggered in
response to entering your discard pile,
but have “Action:” effects that can be
triggered from your discard pile. These
effects can be triggered from your
discard pile even if the card was blank,
insane, discarded from hand, or attached
to a domain as a resource before it
entered the discard pile.

I HATE this silly forum which don't allow you to delete your double post !! SUXXX !!!

There's also another quote of the FAQ , in the Workingeffect section :

"Additionally, cards that are in play (or event cards that are played) do not
interact with cards that are out of play unless they specifically refer to an out of
play state they will interact with."

Which is exactly the case for resources.

Resources keep their type when attached: a resourced character is still a character but its textblock is blanked (page 10 of the new faq).

The fact that resources and domains are not in play is dubious at best: there are effects that suggest cards should be put into play as a domain or as a resource (Carne Vale), and the state of resources as being out of play hasn't been clarified. I'll mail Nate for infos.

OK, so I'm getting the impression that in the first instance I'm probably right that Thomas Olney can't bring back destroyed Transient resources - but that perhaps there's some wiggle-room. Especially if they are characterised as characters with blanked text boxes.

You noted that the FAQ says:

"A card attached to a domain as a resource does not have a text box, unless the card has a Zoog resource symbol."

This implies that anything not otherwise blanked by the rules and FAQ remain 'in play' for a resourced card, and that should, logically, include the title. Which brings me back to one of my original practical problems with this interpretation - a resourced unique card would prevent a player from playing another copy of that unique card to actually use in the game. Which seems wrong (and really bad news for combo decks involving unique characters).

I've got to find some less cunning opponents...