Hi there and greetings from germany!

Just bought the german version of Sands of Al-Kalim. Now i have a question about when to use the adventuring kit: Can i only use it on my story step? The rules dont state this but its printed on the back of the adventuring kit marker. Im asking this because i had a quest that asked me to perform a skill test after moving.

abersen said:

Hi there and greetings from Poland! :-)

abersen said:

I'm not entirely sure which item do you have in mind (I've got Polish version "-)), but I think it's the one that gives you a +3 bonus to a skill check. You can use this item in a skill check during any phase, not just the Story Step.

Thanx Sagremor! But why is the Story Step mentioned on the back off the Adventuring Kit? I wonder if this is only a matter of fact with the german version?

abersen said:

Oh oh... You're right I've just checked it and it HAS a Story Step phrase written on the back. Sorry for that. Sometimes when you have played so many games of Runebound you assume that you remember everything. Apparently it's always better to check.

abersen said:

Hi abersen,

the Adventuring Kit does mention the Story Step, even though the Sands Rulebook forgets this detail.

The reason of this special timing is the following: the Adventuring Kit is not a talisman that gives you a bonus on whatever Skill Test, it gives you +3 only on Skill Tests made during the Story Step. When you try to complete Legendary Quests, they usually require you to take a Story Step in a special location and perform some skill test. Remember that Exploring a Bazar is considered a Story Step.

Adventuring Kit is a bunch of tools that help you come prepared in front of the quest. They're not luckstones, charms, power-ups, so they don't help against Challenges that require Skill Tests (=Adventure Step).

There might be some exception. Perhaps if you travel by night, take a Story Step and roll a Dunes symbol, you might face a Challenge that requires a Skill Test before combat. In this case, you're in the Story Step but are facing an Enemy; still you can use the Kit, IMHO. Very strange. Perhaps the tokens are wrong and the Rulebook is right?

@ The Warlock Thanx for answering. I have but one problem with this conclusion (i guess i mentioned this earlier..): Some (or just one?*g*) Legendary Quest(s) require to perform a skill test after moving. This is clearly outside the Story Step. In case you could only use the Adventuring Kit on Story Step, the player with this quest would be handicapped in comparison to other players which quests only ask them to perform a skill test on Story Step to solve a Legendary Quest.

So i guess best solution would be to allow use of Adventuring Kits on all Legendary Quest-related skill tests.?

Happy adventuring!

Hey, I believe you're just right. There's some problem with this.

There are some (3 or 4) Legendary Quests that require a test after defeating a Challenge in some particular board space. These tests shall be done immediately after the Challenge and won't be part of a Story Step. I don't think they implicitly require the Hero to make those test in a later Turn, after rolling the Story Die in an equivalent space.

The only solution I see is to ignore the token text and play the Adventuring Kit as per Rulebook; you can discard it to gain +3 on any skill test, no matter with Step you're in. You can have only one kit at a time with you, so it isn't too much of a bonus to use it also for Challenges.

Actually, you can have more than one advenuring kit at a time. The only limit is that you can only buy 1 adventuring kit per visit to the bazaar.

As for when the Adventure Kit can be used, I'd sure like to see an official ruling on this.

And why is it called "Gear" on the token instead of "Adventuring Kit"?