Nanok's power reads that his armor is equal to 2 + his melee trait (the number of power dice he rolls when making a melee attack). I'm not sure which phrase defines the other. Does the melee trait determine which dice you start with, which can be added to by other factors (Pico, Power Potions, etc.) or is the Melee Trait defined by the number of dice you roll?

Pico adds one extra power dice, does this mean that when Ronan gives Pico to Nanok, that Nanok's armor increases, or does Pico just add a die without increasing the melee trait?

Drinking a Power Potion allows you to roll all 5 power dice on your next attack. Does this mean that Nanok's armor is 7 if he drinks a power potion, or does the power potion just allow you to roll all five power dice without increasing the melee trait?

Obviously, buying training at town reads that it increases the trait, which also increases the number of dice rolled, so this increases Nanok's armor, but I feel that the other two are ambiguous because of the phrase in parenthesis on Nanok's card.

(Also, I tried searching the forums, but the search tool here is pretty horrible, so this may have already been answered). Specific references to examples in official rules, FAQ, etc., are preferred as our group has already discussed both possibilities.

Thanks!

griton said:

Nanok's ability would make his armor value a 4 starting out and maximum of 7 (just by using the melee, not counting skills or other cards that could boost armor) Drinking a power potion would not increase the armor because a monster can't interrupt a heroes action and even then the power potion is gone once the attack roll either hits or misses.

uhchewie said:

Sorry, but that's not particularly good justification. A power potion doesn't have to be used on the same turn. It lasts until they make their next attack, are killed, or they drink another potion. So if a power potion would increase his armor, then Nanok could attack as normal, and as his last action, spend a movement point to drink a power potion, giving him up to +3 armor throughout the entire Overlord's turn and possibly longer (until he made an attack, was killed, or drank another potion).

His total armor would be 7 if you drank it after your attack due to the parenthesis on his card. Also as long as pico is with Nanok, then it would add as well (maximum of 5 melee rolled per the rules)

I've always interpreted his armor as being based on his melee trait, and the parenthetical is just a reminder of what "melee trait" refers to.

It would be pretty bizarre if the parenthetical remark was intended to be the precise rule and the actual sentence was just providing context, especially since "the number of power dice he rolls when making a melee attack" isn't even defined when he's not actually making an attack (as it can be affected by choices that you make during the attack, such as which dice to lose due to Daze tokens).

This is where we're leaning (that the parenthetical is a reminder, not defining the trait), but with both Nanok and Power Potions being released in the same expansion (Well of Darkness), we can see that it might have been something intentional. I'd personally love to see this straightened out in an FAQ or Errata somewhere.

The rules define your melee trait to be the number on your card plus any training tokens you've bought. Power potions do not affect your traits.

James McMurray said:

No one is arguing that. The question is whether Nanok's armor is actually tied to his melee trait or whether it is instead tied to "the number of power dice he rolls when making a Melee attack".

I'm saying it's ties to his trait (just like the card says and regardless of the reminder text). Unless the argument is that the character card redefines the meaning of the phrase "melee trait" only for Nanok, then I don't wsee where the trouble lies. Too many people try to parse the sentences in Descent, but the game was never written by rules lawyers.