Hi Runebound Friends,

I have recently played Zyla - a character from Frozen Wastes and her special ability got me a little bit confused. It reads: ranged - if Zyla successfully defends she can take 1 exhaustion to skip the melee phase. I understand it that the enemy has to inflict any ranged damage in order to Zyla would be able to defend e.g. 3/1. But if the foe didn't inflict any wounds (his ranged attribute would be e.g. 3/0) - does it mean that Zyla could defend? (to skip the melee phase hehe). May the character defend when the monster doesn't inflict any damages?

seba74 said:

You're always supposed to make two defense rolls and one attack roll per combat round (Ranged + Melee + Magic Phases), but every Runebounder knows it's a waste of time to make a defense combat roll in a Phase where the Challenge inflicts no damage. Skipping such rolls is a common practice, but it's not the rule.

With Zyla, making a succesful defence roll in the Ranged Phase, which should be made even if the Challenge damage is 0, allows you to activate Zyla's Special Ability to skip the Melee Phase. You're encouraged to try this defense Roll with Zyla, especially in the green challenges where Melee is usually the highest and dangerous attribute.

The_Warlock said:

Thx for your advice The_Warlock, I like this interpretation - it makes Zyla a strong character. Initially I thought the same but during the play I noticed that it is a paradox - to defense against no damages (which we normally skip when the enemy doesn't inflict any wounds) - I thought that maybe the enemy attacks only when he inflicts wounds and I abuse rules defending from 0). Hmm, can't hit what you can't catch.