So if there's a 'hard corner,' you can see past it and move around it, right, taking the diagonal across it instead of having to take three steps, moving orthogonally?

Yep, because it is still an adjacent space.

According to Example 3 on page 9 of the rule book, moving around the corner of a tile does not prevent the hero/monster from moving. This holds true for attacks as well.

This has been talked about in my gaming group. The rules say one thing but the players can do differently. Definitely a topic for house ruling.

Thanks guys. Also, can class skills be used more than once if you have enough stamina? Like, can a berserker use Rage for both of their actions, burning 1 stamina each time?

Well, I'm a newbie, but if the card do not states that you must flip the card after using it, it's ok. Wait for somenone more used to the game to clarify, tough.

leewroy is correct- if it doesn't say "exhaust" or "limit once per turn," you can use it for both actions if you can pay the cost. Note that this statement is excludes monster abilities that contain attacks, since monsters can only perform 1 attack per activation.

For moving and attacking around corners, there have been many discussions, and the rules seem to include some ambiguity. For me, I have settled on what I think is the most simple and consistent understanding of some key rules: Adjacency, Black Edge Lines, Blocked Spaces, Line of Sight, and Counting Spaces. Note that these are house rules, and the way I play does contradict some official rulings. However, it does not contradict the "Golden Rules of House Rules":

1. All players agree to the HR.
2. Game balance is maintained.
3. Fun is not reduced.

Essentially, when I run Descent, the black edge lines of map tiles negate adjacency for movement purposes and block line of sight, including across corners. So no diagonal movement around black lined corners, or ranged attacks if LoS crosses a black lined corner. However, actions and melee attacks, including reach attacks, can still be performed between spaces that share a black lined corner. So, while a figure can still reach an arm or a weapon in between these spaces, they cannot shoot or squeeze their whole body through.

The corners of Blocked Spaces (red lined spaces, figure occupied spaces), also negate adjacency for movement purposes, but not for actions or melee and reach attacks. So no diagonal movement across blocked space corners (note: friendly figures do not "block" each other for movement purposes, they can move through each other as normal). Unlike black lined corners, blocked space corners do not block line of sight, but they do also negate adjacency for the purposes of counting range. So it is possible to make a ranged attack around one, or between two, blocked spaces, but the attacker must count range around the blocked spaces. Which means that additional range is required to make these more difficult ranged attacks.

These explanations may not be entirely clear, but the jist is there. Basically, with these house rules, choke points become more important for both sides, certain movement and targeting abilities become more useful, and all players must adjust their movement and attacking strategies accordingly. So far, there have been no apparent balance problems with using these house rules, as they apply to all figures equally. It remains to be seen if there are certain quests in which the removal of diagonal movement around blocked or black lined corners gives an unfair advantage to one side or the other.

Well, your house rules sounds more realistic than those in the game. Once I get really used to the system, I'll apply some changes too. Line of sight and movement are totally out of my taste, and I was expecting these things to be better on a second edition.