Collection of WoD, AoD & ToI Questions So Far

By Wanderer999, in Descent: Journeys in the Dark

As expected, my first few games have already brought a ton of questions up. I am depending on you guys to help solve my problems:

1) Can the Appraiser skill card work on shop treasures? (i.e buying treasures from shops)

2) Regarding the Dark Relics, does an OL get to replace all the treasure cards, or does he only replace ONE at max? (e.g player A opens a chest that contains 2 gold treasure. OL plays the trap, and gives 2 Dark Relics to player)

3) If the OL is only allowed to replace ONE Dark Relic from all the treasure collected in one single chest, does he also cancel any extra treasure cards for the victim hero? (e.g Player A opens a chest with 2 silver treasure. OL plays the trap and gives 1 dark relic to the player. Does the player get to draw the 2nd silver treasure, or is he considered to have forfeit all treasure in place of the trap effect?)

4) Will Dire Warnings end a Hero's turn? Or does the hero get interrupted only? The text 'finishes' is very vague. But I would read it as only interrupted, not end turn. Need to hear feedback from you guys.

5) Can crushing blow destroy equipped weapons/ armor? Or only items in backpack?

6) For the purposes of skill card effects and conditions, does entering a space containing Scything Blades/ Dark Field count as traps? (i.e a player has Wild Talent, so when he walks into a Dart Field, he gets to roll an extra die to escape the darts' effects) I was thinking that perhaps they count as Obstacles instead of Traps since they are there when the heroes reveal a new area.

7) Can a Fire Rune trap be played with its small end diagonally to the chest? (thereby placing the Breath template diagonally to the chest, with one of its two corners touching another corner of the chest)

8) Based on previous forum posts, an Overlord cannot play 2 threat cards on a single event but can play them in order of occurrences? (i.e Player opens a chest, Overlord may only play 1 card max on this action, but may play another one to combo if the player is knocked back by the trap and enters an empty space)

9) When a party opens a chest, can a player with the Bardic Lore skill card first look at the treasure cards before distributing them to the players he chooses, or does he distribute them without looking at the cards first?

10) Is Tahlia banned?

11) Does anyone agree that Zyla is broken with her 1 Conquest and High Fatigue/Speed? (with Divine Retribution she's invincible)

1) Can the Appraiser skill card work on shop treasures? (i.e buying treasures from shops)

Shop items aren't treasures, and they're never drawn from a deck, so no.

2) Regarding the Dark Relics, does an OL get to replace all the treasure cards, or does he only replace ONE at max? (e.g player A opens a chest that contains 2 gold treasure. OL plays the trap, and gives 2 Dark Relics to player)

Just one.

3) If the OL is only allowed to replace ONE Dark Relic from all the treasure collected in one single chest, does he also cancel any extra treasure cards for the victim hero? (e.g Player A opens a chest with 2 silver treasure. OL plays the trap and gives 1 dark relic to the player. Does the player get to draw the 2nd silver treasure, or is he considered to have forfeit all treasure in place of the trap effect?)

Only one treasure is affected.

4) Will Dire Warnings end a Hero's turn? Or does the hero get interrupted only? The text 'finishes' is very vague. But I would read it as only interrupted, not end turn. Need to hear feedback from you guys.

The card says "The player who revealed the area then finishes his turn."

5) Can crushing blow destroy equipped weapons/ armor? Or only items in backpack?

Anything they're carrying (which includes equipped stuff).

6) For the purposes of skill card effects and conditions, does entering a space containing Scything Blades/ Dark Field count as traps? (i.e a player has Wild Talent, so when he walks into a Dart Field, he gets to roll an extra die to escape the darts' effects) I was thinking that perhaps they count as Obstacles instead of Traps since they are there when the heroes reveal a new area.

Wild Talent helps against Trap cards. Once it's in play it's no longer a trap card.

7) Can a Fire Rune trap be played with its small end diagonally to the chest? (thereby placing the Breath template diagonally to the chest, with one of its two corners touching another corner of the chest)

I don't know, but would assume not. Monsters can't do that, so traps probably can't either.

8) Based on previous forum posts, an Overlord cannot play 2 threat cards on a single event but can play them in order of occurrences? (i.e Player opens a chest, Overlord may only play 1 card max on this action, but may play another one to combo if the player is knocked back by the trap and enters an empty space)

Correct

9) When a party opens a chest, can a player with the Bardic Lore skill card first look at the treasure cards before distributing them to the players he chooses, or does he distribute them without looking at the cards first?

He looks at them first.

10) Is Tahlia banned?

No.

11) Does anyone agree that Zyla is broken with her 1 Conquest and High Fatigue/Speed? (with Divine Retribution she's invincible)

No. she's fast but has little offense and can't even put up much of a defense since enemies can walk right through her. She can be killed easily, but she's barely worth the effort. Killing her twice is about as hard as killing a 3 point hero once, but worth less conquest. If she's got divine Retribution there's even less reason for the Overlord to get distracted by trying to off her.

James McMurray said:

1) Can the Appraiser skill card work on shop treasures? (i.e buying treasures from shops)

Shop items aren't treasures, and they're never drawn from a deck, so no.

4) Will Dire Warnings end a Hero's turn? Or does the hero get interrupted only? The text 'finishes' is very vague. But I would read it as only interrupted, not end turn. Need to hear feedback from you guys.

The card says "The player who revealed the area then finishes his turn."

Thanks for the quick reply, James! However, I have some questions on your answers to no.1 and no.4.

Shop treasures are never drawn from a deck?? I always thought players paid X gold, then drew a card from the colored deck. (e.g 250 gold to draw 1 card from a Copper Treasure deck) If you state that they are never drawn from a deck, does this mean the player gets to CHOOSE his item from looking thru the deck?

I have already read the text on the card, so your answer doesn't help much. I apologize for my dim-witted brain, but I really need help to clarify if that sentence you wrote means: 1) then ends his turn. 2) then continues his turn.

(It could really be read both ways...)

Wanderer999 said:

7) Can a Fire Rune trap be played with its small end diagonally to the chest? (thereby placing the Breath template diagonally to the chest, with one of its two corners touching another corner of the chest)

No. I don't think there's any situation in which this is legal - the templates all have to start in one of the four tiles flush with the source of the attack.

Wanderer999 said:

James McMurray said:

1) Can the Appraiser skill card work on shop treasures? (i.e buying treasures from shops)

Shop items aren't treasures, and they're never drawn from a deck, so no.

4) Will Dire Warnings end a Hero's turn? Or does the hero get interrupted only? The text 'finishes' is very vague. But I would read it as only interrupted, not end turn. Need to hear feedback from you guys.

The card says "The player who revealed the area then finishes his turn."

Thanks for the quick reply, James! However, I have some questions on your answers to no.1 and no.4.

Shop treasures are never drawn from a deck?? I always thought players paid X gold, then drew a card from the colored deck. (e.g 250 gold to draw 1 card from a Copper Treasure deck) If you state that they are never drawn from a deck, does this mean the player gets to CHOOSE his item from looking thru the deck?

I have already read the text on the card, so your answer doesn't help much. I apologize for my dim-witted brain, but I really need help to clarify if that sentence you wrote means: 1) then ends his turn. 2) then continues his turn.

(It could really be read both ways...)

Appraiser works when buying treasure cards while in town from the treasure decks. It works the same way in RtL/SoB when the hero goes to the Market. Players do not get to choose which treasure card they are buying from the whole deck. It is a random draw.

As for Dire Warning, it actually can not be read as its ends his turn. It can only be read as the hero who opened the door to the unrevealed area finishes his turn after the OL activates the monsters.

As for one of you earlier questiosn, no Tahlia is not banned nor should she ever be banned or house ruled for any reason.

Sorry, I as thinking shop items , not shop treasures. It definitely works when buying treasures in town.

I have already read the text on the card, so your answer doesn't help much. I apologize for my dim-witted brain, but I really need help to clarify if that sentence you wrote means: 1) then ends his turn. 2) then continues his turn.

He gets to complete his turn.

Hi guys, after several more games, I have hit another batch of uncertainties:

1) Can Mata & Kata familiars pick up Gold? So far the FAQ only writes potions, and later in future sets, they can combine to carry chests. (But nothing about gold, whether yes or no)

2) The skill Necromancy is a sure success when the hero kills a standard monster. However, does the monster activate on that exact same turn that it dies? Or does the player have to wait a turn for it to be activated?

3) Does One-Fist's hook attack allow its original melee traits of 2 power dice to be added? The card said melee, so I would assume yes, but then it later specifically writes one red and one green dice...

4) Do traps like Scything Blades and Dart Field work against Flying creatures? I know pits and other ground stuff don't, but fields are not on the ground, as are boulders (which cover the entire corridor). And Scything Blades specifically mentioned that they cannot be jumped over, which means flying cannot be used too?? Need help on clarifying this.

5) Do dolls from the shop work against cursed items? (e.g a hero equips a cursed weapon such as a skull shield, and gains 1 curse. Later he goes to the shop and buys a curse doll to remove the effect)

Wanderer999 said:

Hi guys, after several more games, I have hit another batch of uncertainties:

1) Can Mata & Kata familiars pick up Gold? So far the FAQ only writes potions, and later in future sets, they can combine to carry chests. (But nothing about gold, whether yes or no)

2) The skill Necromancy is a sure success when the hero kills a standard monster. However, does the monster activate on that exact same turn that it dies? Or does the player have to wait a turn for it to be activated?

3) Does One-Fist's hook attack allow its original melee traits of 2 power dice to be added? The card said melee, so I would assume yes, but then it later specifically writes one red and one green dice...

4) Do traps like Scything Blades and Dart Field work against Flying creatures? I know pits and other ground stuff don't, but fields are not on the ground, as are boulders (which cover the entire corridor). And Scything Blades specifically mentioned that they cannot be jumped over, which means flying cannot be used too?? Need help on clarifying this.

5) Do dolls from the shop work against cursed items? (e.g a hero equips a cursed weapon such as a skull shield, and gains 1 curse. Later he goes to the shop and buys a curse doll to remove the effect)

1. No. Gold is not on the list of things they can pick up, is it?

2. An animated monster moves after the controlling hero's turn ends - which means yes.

3. Yes. It still specifies tha the attack is a melee attack and all melee attacks get to add melee trait dice.

4. Yes. Flying etc allows you to avoid the effects of obstacles. Traps (scything blades and dart fields) are not obstacles, though some trap cards (pits and crushing blocks) leave behind obstacles. See the appropriate expansion ruleset for whetehr something is classified as an obstacle or as a trap.

5. Yes. Curses are explicitly effect tokens and can therefore be removed by Curse Dolls. That is just about the only reason to ever buy one - and usually only when there are two curses as well!

Thanks Corbon, but I don't understand your line:

See the appropriate expansion ruleset for whetehr something is classified as an obstacle or as a trap.

I have read my expansion set rulebooks quite a few times over, and I still fail to find the section. Is it possible to point me in the right manual, along with the page number? It would be infinitely helpful in clearing my doubts! Thanks a million in advance~

Wanderer999 said:

Thanks Corbon, but I don't understand your line:

See the appropriate expansion ruleset for whetehr something is classified as an obstacle or as a trap.

I have read my expansion set rulebooks quite a few times over, and I still fail to find the section. Is it possible to point me in the right manual, along with the page number? It would be infinitely helpful in clearing my doubts! Thanks a million in advance~

Well, for example, lets go through WoD (pdf, but probably the same as the printed rulebook)

WoD pg4-5
New props (section)
Obstacles (subsection)
- Lava
- Mud
Traps
(subsection)
- Scything Blades
- Dart Fields
- Boulders
- Boulder Ramps

New Treasure (section)...

So we know that Lava and Mud are obstacles but Scything Blades, Dart Fields, Boulders and Boulder Ramps are not obstacles (they are traps, different from 'trap cards' and different from 'obstacles').

The original rulebook and each expansion has this formatting until RtL where they just lumped everything together as 'props' and we had to get clarifications via FAQ as to what was obstacles and what was not (the person responsible for that decision should be fired, or at least get a severe talking to!)

Oohh! So that's where it was... I had been looking for a section dedicated to listing the different props considered under obstacles, so I didn't search under the Box Contents! Thanks!

And regarding your RtL statement, I guess this also means Tomb of Ice is written in Props total instead of differentiating categories. I will check up my rule books again.

Wanderer999 said:

Oohh! So that's where it was... I had been looking for a section dedicated to listing the different props considered under obstacles, so I didn't search under the Box Contents! Thanks!

And regarding your RtL statement, I guess this also means Tomb of Ice is written in Props total instead of differentiating categories. I will check up my rule books again.

Umm, page 4 is "Expansion rules" not "Box Contents" which would be pg2 or possibly the "Component Overview" on pg3.
I just listed the headers without cutting and pasting the whole rules text in between them.

See also DJitD starting pg16 (although there are no traps, just obstacles and 'other props') and AoD starting pg7.

And yes, ToI uses the "Obstacles and Props" combined list but it doesn't have any traps anyway and all the new props there have been defined as obstacles in the FAQ (except Monster Eggs, which are not defined anywhere but best fit obstacles, and assuming Frozen Sarcophagi are the same as normal Sarcophagi).