I see in the FAQ that familiars can be afflicted with conditions.

Other than playing RTL (and barring any quest specific rules), familiars do not have attributes and cannot pass tests (they auto-fail). In RTL, they have a value of 0, so they have a 1 out of 36 chance of passing.

I use the word "object" in the glossary as a really broad term that covers anything on the map. I needed a word to cover token, figure, etc without being specific as to what it was. That word was "object."

Familiara autofail. A reanimate will never test out of poison. It's important that the attribute is non zero, though, because there are effects (such as hybrid sentinel's prey on the weak) that specify greater or less than a value. The reanimate's might is not less than 2, nor is it greater than 2.

Other than playing RTL (and barring any quest specific rules), familiars do not have attributes and cannot pass tests (they auto-fail). In RTL, they have a value of 0, so they have a 1 out of 36 chance of passing.

The RtL rules say

Other than playing RTL (and barring any quest specific rules), familiars do not have attributes and cannot pass tests (they auto-fail). In RTL, they have a value of 0, so they have a 1 out of 36 chance of passing.

The RtL rules say

For the purpose of targeting, if a familiar or attackable token does

not have the statistic the monster is targeting, that familiar or token is

considered to have a value of 0 for the corresponding statistic.

Sounds like they don't always have a value of zero in RtL.

Wouldn't that mean that if the reanimate gets poisoned because of an attack from a monster, when it comes time to do the attribute test it would auto-fail? It doesn't sound like it would have the 1 in 36 chance of passing because if I'm reading the rule correctly it's only considered to have an attribute of zero at the time a monster is making a targeting decision based on an attribute.

If this is a question about RTL, you should seek your answer in the subforum. The 'original' game and RtL do sometimes differ in the rules and most of us will respond to your question as if it were about the 'original'. But with the bits of rules you provided I would say that familiars autofail attribute tests in RtL.

Not having an attribute value means auto-fail. You cannot roll "equal to or less than" a number that does not exist. Therefore, it is not possible to pass.

In RtL, the rules specify that instead of not having a value (as in an ordinary game with an OL) familiars instead have attribute values of 0. When testing, it IS possible to roll a zero, as the gray and black dice each have a blank face. However, there is only a 1/36 chance that youbwill roll both dice blank at the same time. So, while chances for a pass are slim, an attribute test against 0 is not an auto-fail.

To further clarify, unless specified otherwise, all familiar's Willpower, Might, Knowledge, and Awareness attribute values in RTL are the value of 0.

Thanks. Where is the rule you are citing for RtL that says that familiars have a value of 0 instead of no value at all times ? Unless I'm misunderstanding, that's the point that you both are making (Zaltyre and any2cards). The rule I see says that they have a value of 0 "For the purpose of targeting".

That says to me that they have no attribute value, except when a monster is using attribute values to determine target. So they would auto-fail attribute tests.

You're right, it refers specifically to monster abilities. The appendix does not reference attribute tests. I don't often play RtL.

I think that paragraph you are referencing is simply EMPHASIZING that if a monster ability says to force the "hero" to test say Willpower, when it comes to familiars, that test will be against 0, as that is what all of their values are.

You have to remember that there are many monster and/or lieutenant abilities that TARGET via an attribute. In that case, it is not an auto-fail, it is against a value of 0.

Kaaihn may have a point, though. That appendix may not be intended to change how a familiar deals with poison (for example) at all. It may be there solely for the purpose of simplifying monster activations. If a zombie attack instructs "target the hero with the lowest willpower" for example, the ordinary "does not exist" willpower of the reanimate makes that instruction ambiguous (the reanimate doesn't technically have the lowest willpower, but he definitely doesn't have the highest, either). However, the appendix says to treat that nonexistent willpower as 0, meaning the reanimate should probably be the target.

It would require an FFG answer to be certain, but that might be the limit of what the appendix is trying to accomplish.

I completely agree, but am doing an abysmal job of expressing myself. Just in case, however, I have submitted the following question to FFG:

I use the word "object" in the glossary as a really broad term that covers anything on the map. I needed a word to cover token, figure, etc without being specific as to what it was. That word was "object."

Familiara autofail. A reanimate will never test out of poison. It's important that the attribute is non zero, though, because there are effects (such as hybrid sentinel's prey on the weak) that specify greater or less than a value. The reanimate's might is not less than 2, nor is it greater than 2.

Oh, hey, just realized it's your guides I've been using to help me learn the game. Your range and LOS doc especially was super helpful to me. I wanted to print it and keep it with the game for other players as they learn, so I prettied it up a bit. Added the Descent backgrounds and font's, etc. Here it is if you want the update.

Thanks!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By-ZiSh-JBEOZEU5VWdQUTk2Uk0

That looks nice. There was an updated version of the guide posted with a few changes to some of the descriptions, just so you're aware.

That looks nice. There was an updated version of the guide posted with a few changes to some of the descriptions, just so you're aware.

I wasn't, thanks for the heads up. I updated your update with my update .

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By-ZiSh-JBEOZVJNMGo1YnJMaFU

I completely agree, but am doing an abysmal job of expressing myself. Just in case, however, I have submitted the following question to FFG:

Kara / Nathan ...

We have been having a discussion on the forums concerning Familiars and their potential attributes during an RTL/Delve game.

Generally, Familiars do not have attributes. So, any game mechanic telling you to have your familiar test an attribute would be an auto-fail (much like non-lieutenant monsters).

In the RTL rules, on page 14, it states:

"For the purpose of targeting, if a familiar or attackable token does

not have the statistic the monster is targeting, that familiar or token is

considered to have a value of 0 for the corresponding statistic."

So, for example, if an RTL action instructs the monster to target the hero with the lowest Might, all familiars on the board would have a Might of 0, and would be targeted.

Was this meant, however, to indicate that Familiars have all 0 attributes (Willpower, Might, Knowledge, Awareness) all of the time in RTL, or only solely for purposes of a target/attack.

For example, if some mechanic of RTL would poison a Reanimate, would it have a 1 in 36 chance of passing the test (an attribute of 0) or would it auto-fail?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

Nathan's official response, agreeing with us: