Hidden chambers

If it is Winter, reduce the cost to bring your cards out of Shadows by 1.

City of Shadows

Whenever you bring any card with a "House X only" restriction that does not match your out of Shadows, pay 1 additional gold.

Hi guys,

just curious question. If I understand it correctly, additional payment of agenda in order to bring OOH card out of shadows is not considered to be a gold penalty. My question is if Hidden chambers constant effect kick in if I want to bring "s0" OOH card out-of-shadow (e.g. Venomous blade cost still "1" or "0"? In other way I'd like to find out if the cost (especially in this HCH example) is only as it is written (printed) on a card or not (printed cost + any modification).

Sorry if this question has been already answered but I've not been able to find out where

Thanks

This is from "The Action Window In Detail" section of the FAQ:

a) Determine the cost (to either marshal the
card or pay for the card's effect) or costs (if
multiple costs are necessary for the intended
action).
b) Check play restrictions, including verifica-
tion of applicable targets.
c) Apply any penalties to the cost(s). (Any
effects that modify a penalty are applied to that
penalty before it becomes a part of the cost.)
d) Apply any other active modifiers (including
reducers) to the cost(s).
e) Pay the cost(s).
f) Marshal the card, or trigger the effect.
Choose targets (if applicable) and proceed to
step two.

I believe you are correct in thinking of the City of Shadows effect as being a cost modifier (d) rather than a penalty ©, but it doesn't really matter. Hidden Chambers will apply in step d so that it is applied either at the same time or after City of Shadows and can thus reduce the cost from the agenda.

The Hidden Chambers "-1 cost" modifier will cancel out the "+1 cost" modifier of the agenda.

Good to know... Now I know that they were wrong on Stahleck last year telling me that I always have to pay the +1 "penalty" from the agenda since the cost s0 cannot be reduced by the Chambers...since cost is 0 and I cant reduce it more.

Thank you for clearing that up, schrecklich and ktom.