So, a couple of rules came up during play this week. If anyone knows the answers, it would be great!

Skill Cards: Many of them have extra text (if this text succeeds, draw a card). Does this apply to the person playing the card or the person making the test?

Ally Damage: When they take damage, is it all or nothing? Is it distributed based on player choice? Can you over damage them so that they take 9 damage but only have 2 health?

Purposefully Failing: Can you just choose to fail a test? This is handy when Agnes is handing out retributive horror damage.

Skill Cards - Person playing the card gets the benefit.

Ally Damage - You cannot over damage an ally, but you could fill their Damage and Horror at the same time. So an Ally with 2/1 can take 2 Damage and 1 Horror simultaneous. If you were dealt more than that, you either have to take it or put it on something else that can take damage/horror.

Purposefully Failing - I don't think you can. You have to draw from the chaos bag, and sometimes getting a specific icon could be worse than just failing.

So, a couple of rules came up during play this week. If anyone knows the answers, it would be great!

Skill Cards: Many of them have extra text (if this text succeeds, draw a card). Does this apply to the person playing the card or the person making the test?

Ally Damage: When they take damage, is it all or nothing? Is it distributed based on player choice? Can you over damage them so that they take 9 damage but only have 2 health?

Purposefully Failing: Can you just choose to fail a test? This is handy when Agnes is handing out retributive horror damage.

For Skill Cards, the bonus effect varies as to what it is modifying. If it's modifying the base result of the test (damage for Fighting, getting a clue for Investigating) than the investigator doing the action gets the benefit. If it is more general (like draw a card), then you get the benefit. For instance, you heal the Willpower from Fearless regardless of whom you play it on.

You can distribute damage any way you want, but your assets cannot take more damage than they have printed on them before they are destroyed, so you can't overload them.

You cannot choose the fail a test purposefully. You have to draw from the Chaos Bag.

Yeah you choose how the damage is allocated, so if you have a guard dog that deals 1 damage when it takes any damage, you can deal it just 1 from an attack and take the rest yourself to keep the lil guy around longer.

Once you take horror damage does it last for the rest of the campaign/scenario? Can you not heal from horror damage?

Each scenario, you start with damage/horror equal to your physical/mental trauma, respectively. There's currently no way to heal trauma, but you can still heal the damage it causes. Cards that heal horror include First Aid, Fearless, and the upcoming Liquid Courage.

Note that damage/horror does not carry over between scenarios. Only trauma does.

If you commit a skill card to help an ally pass a test, you don't have to pay a resource to put it dkwn do you? The question in the OP has me a bit confused. I thought you were basically scrapping a card to help boost yourself or an ally, and the cost was you scrapping the card, so the effect of the card should never come into play.

Skills do not cost resources to play; none of them even have a resource cost listed. Likewise, committing a card to a test does not cost any resources. Just discard them from hand.

I was thinking of cards you commit other than skill cards. I'm just not sure what situation the OP is talking about where I would commit a card for someone elses skill test, and then one of us gets to draw a card etc. That doesn't happen ever?

I was thinking of cards you commit other than skill cards. I'm just not sure what situation the OP is talking about where I would commit a card for someone elses skill test, and then one of us gets to draw a card etc. That doesn't happen ever?

The OP's question is specifically talking about skill cards though, so I'm not sure why you're thinking of cards committed other than skill cards.

The OP's skill card question is comparing what happens when you commit one of these to a fellow investigator's test:

Both are skill cards, as specified by the designation in the top left. Say that Wendy is at the same location as Roland, and she wants to help him out during an attack he is making on his turn.

She can commit her Overpower, which gives +2 to Roland's test. If it is successful, Wendy gets to draw a card, because the 'draw a card' effect has no relevance to the resolution of the test it was committed for.

Or

She can commit her Vicious Blow, which gives +1 to Roland's test. If it is successful, Roland's attack deals +1 damage, because the extra damage is relevant to the resolution of the test it was committed for.

For cards committed other than skill cards (ie. assets and events), you just use the icons in the upper left for modifiers but the text on the card is irrelevant. But, again, these types of cards are not what the OP was querying.

Ah there is my confusion then. I hadn't appreciated that you still got the effects of the skill text when committing a card for another players skill test. I've only played once. Thank you.

Is it the same when you commit a skill card for your own test? Ie do you grt to boost your test using the icons at the top left? It's probably obvious, but suppose it's something we glossed over in the rulebook!

Ah there is my confusion then. I hadn't appreciated that you still got the effects of the skill text when committing a card for another players skill test. I've only played once. Thank you.

Is it the same when you commit a skill card for your own test? Ie do you grt to boost your test using the icons at the top left? It's probably obvious, but suppose it's something we glossed over in the rulebook!

So maybe it's helpful to just cover some of the less obvious basics, or at least talk about how to compartmentalise the various cards you'll see in your hand.

(I'll ignore weaknesses as they're just an endless source of "except if it's a.. " comments.)

You'll have three types of card in your hand: assets, events and skill cards.

You can do two different things with cards in your hand: play them or commit them.

To play a card, you pay any associated costs and then put a card into play from your hand.

• If it's an asset, you put it into play in your play area, where your slots are, where it will stick around and let you do things later.
• If it's an event, you resolve the ability (card text) immediately, then put it in the discard.
• If it's a skill card, then you're playing the game wrong -- skill cards cannot be played.

To commit a card, you take a card from your hand (no costs paid) and lay it on the table, which allows you add its skill icons to a skill test (during step 2 of that skill test -- see p26 of Rules Ref). Any card with the little head/book/fist/foot/? symbols in the upper left can be committed. You can commit as many cards you like (though watch for restrictions on the card itself). If you are at a location with another investigator, you may help out with their test but you can only commit 1 card. The committed card floats around while the skill test is processed, then you discard it after the skill test is finished.

• Events and assets do not have text which is applied during skill tests -- these just get discarded.
• Skill cards (designation, top left) often have ability text which is there specifically as an effect which is triggers by the skill test they're committed to. When a Skill Card is committed, you must resolve the abilities on it (a 'may' ability gives you a choice, and possible future skill cards might have trigger symbols -- ie. the circley arrow or lightning -- which are always optional).

Conclusion then is that the only reason skill cards are in your deck is to increase the chances of passing skill tests, your own or a friend's. They have no other purpose (outside of being discard fodder).

You are a scholar and a Saint Sir. Thanks for taking the time. We played everything correctly except for skill cards. It makes perfect sense how they work thinking about it now though.

Thank you again!

Here is another rules question, Guard Dog reaction trigger. When the enemy attacks and its the killing blow for the card, do you use the trigger ability or no, Thoughts? I have been playing it as he's dead and can't attack back.

He can attack back as he dies, and it's because his reaction says "when an enemy attacks" instead of "after an enemy attacks". Look in the rulebook on page 3 for a more detailed explanation.

If the reaction text says "when...." you may activate the ability after the triggering condition occurs, but before its impact on the game state resolves.

If the text says "after...." you may use the ability immediately after the triggering condition fully resolves.

I was thinking of cards you commit other than skill cards. I'm just not sure what situation the OP is talking about where I would commit a card for someone elses skill test, and then one of us gets to draw a card etc. That doesn't happen ever?

The OP's question is specifically talking about skill cards though, so I'm not sure why you're thinking of cards committed other than skill cards.

The OP's skill card question is comparing what happens when you commit one of these to a fellow investigator's test:

Both are skill cards, as specified by the designation in the top left. Say that Wendy is at the same location as Roland, and she wants to help him out during an attack he is making on his turn.

She can commit her Overpower, which gives +2 to Roland's test. If it is successful, Wendy gets to draw a card, because the 'draw a card' effect has no relevance to the resolution of the test it was committed for.

Or

She can commit her Vicious Blow, which gives +1 to Roland's test. If it is successful, Roland's attack deals +1 damage, because the extra damage is relevant to the resolution of the test it was committed for.

For cards committed other than skill cards (ie. assets and events), you just use the icons in the upper left for modifiers but the text on the card is irrelevant. But, again, these types of cards are not what the OP was querying.

Are you sure this is true? I read somewhere that the text on a skill card always affects the investigator to whom it is committed. In this example, for instance, we have been playing that Roland would draw the extra card if he succeeds.

It is true, Soakman.

Some may disagree with the wording ahead, but to me it makes sense.

When you commit a skill card for a fellow investigator's test, it comes out in front of you with it's constant ability active, and will stay out until all committed cards are removed at the end of the skill test. So with it being in play now in your play area, the card is specifically for you. So the abilities like heal, or draw a card, all are your abilities that you gain. The other ones are specifically referencing something else, you'll notice they all say something like "the attack deals +1 damage". They don't actually effect the other investigator at all, they effect the consequence of the other investigator's actions. The one that would probably be the most difficult to understand this for would be "Deduction - If this skill test is successful while investigating a location, discover 1 additional clue at that location." However it is adding 1 clue to the discovery step, which is the investigator's action so they discover 2 clues instead of 1. If you go through each of the cards from this point of view, to me, it becomes clear. I get all the benefits that are generalized, but if it is boosting/modifying the effect of something else, the person handling that effect gets the benefit.

Fair enough. Overall, it probably hasn't affected our games too much since it is a coop, and as long as someone is getting the benefit, I'm happy.

I'll pass this along to my group though. This is precisely why I read forums for new games. I seem to always be getting some small thing wrong.

I have a question that popped up when the game was released. And of course I can find no trace of this on the internet or searching various forums. Skids and Daisy get off to a fast start. They are in the hallway. Daisy gets a Ghoul Minion. If Daisy can evade (and exhaust ) the ghoul and both go to the attic, what happens to the ghoul?

A. he stays there

B. He gets board and runs off to play Pokemon Go

C. Even though he is not a hunter he goes towards nearest investigator

I found the rules for an enemy engaging in same location, hunters following to new location, engaging, disengaging, attacking..etc, but none for moving to new location and leaving an enemy behind.

The answer is D: None of the above.

If Daisy successfully evades the Ghoul Minion this will trigger two separate steps:

1) the Ghoul Minion is exhausted.

2) the engagement is broken: the Ghoul Minion moves back to the location (in this case the hallway)

At the end of the round the Ghoul Minion will ready. At this time if there is one or more investigators in the hallway it will then engage one of them and move to that investigators threat area.

The answer is D: None of the above.

If Daisy successfully evades the Ghoul Minion this will trigger two separate steps:

1) the Ghoul Minion is exhausted.

2) the engagement is broken: the Ghoul Minion moves back to the location (in this case the hallway)

At the end of the round the Ghoul Minion will ready. At this time if there is one or more investigators in the hallway it will then engage one of them and move to that investigators threat area.

A minor point of clarification: an engaged Enemy is still considered to be at the location that the Investigator is at. However, once they are evaded, place them next to the Location card to indicate they are not engaged.

A. He stays there.

Edit: didn't realize others answered, thanks page 2!

The answer is D: None of the above.

If Daisy successfully evades the Ghoul Minion this will trigger two separate steps:

1) the Ghoul Minion is exhausted.

2) the engagement is broken: the Ghoul Minion moves back to the location (in this case the hallway)

At the end of the round the Ghoul Minion will ready. At this time if there is one or more investigators in the hallway it will then engage one of them and move to that investigators threat area.

The ghoul is in the hallway, the investigators are in the attic. So the ghoul readys then goes to the attic and engages one of the investigators?

The answer is D: None of the above.

If Daisy successfully evades the Ghoul Minion this will trigger two separate steps:

1) the Ghoul Minion is exhausted.

2) the engagement is broken: the Ghoul Minion moves back to the location (in this case the hallway)

At the end of the round the Ghoul Minion will ready. At this time if there is one or more investigators in the hallway it will then engage one of them and move to that investigators threat area.

A minor point of clarification: an engaged Enemy is still considered to be at the location that the Investigator is at. However, once they are evaded, place them next to the Location card to indicate they are not engaged.

So even if the enemy is exhausted we can't leave and go to the attic?