After the discussions on the Lodestone, I'd like to add a keyword for my Unofficial FAQ: "Cursed" Objects.

I used keywords in my UFAQ to categorize items that have similar properties, without having to make an "entry" for each one.

For example, I'd tag False Grail and Lodestone as "cursed"

I think I'd define Cursed Objects with the following rules:

1) If you can , you must take a Cursed Object. [Otherwise, cursed objects have no sense at all. But has this ever been ruled clearly?]

2) Cursed Objects have particular conditions to get rid of them that must be met.

3) Cursed Objects can be alchemised.

4) Cursed Objects can be stolen [can they?]

Additions? Opinions?

Personally, I think it’s way too easy to alchemize, shatter, etc… the cursed objects, and similarly with followers. We put it as you have to use the “discard option” (Visit the Mystic, etc…) and that’s it, nothing else, otherwise, there’s really little point to have cursed stipulations. The curses are meant to be BAD, not just a temporary annoyance.

As the game grows, there will be more and more spaces, spells, abilities, etc… that happen "against your will" cf Tinker Imp, that allow you the bypass the discard option, without making it even more trivial to discard them by allowing player choice cards / abilities, like alchemize to make "bad" objects even less of a factor.

And, if the game designers insist on having easy ways to remove items / followers, then I do hope they come up with new worse cards. And I mean (to exaggerate) the (made up by myself card)…

“S-C-R-E-W-E-D.

You are Screwed. Cursed. Toast. Period. The end. This card cannot be discarded by any means at all. You lose access to all your character abilities until the end of the game. The inability to remove this card from your character supersedes any past present or future ruling.”

It’ll NEVER happen, but cards like this would have some bite.

Unlike, say, a Lodestone you can alchemize, shatter, gust of wind, etc… etc… lots of etc… Ho hum, 2 slots less, let me see which of my 15 options I can use to get rid of this card.

Sure, the rare game will have all other options unavailable to the player, but, as the expansions grow, the anti-bad-card effects will grow, that’s a certainty. Like there isn’t enough of the prophetess, sage, orb, etc… to bypass bad cards already.

But that’s just me.

We play that these things must initially be taken and can't be voluntarily dropped without cause. But game effects can get rid of them - they can be alchemised, fed to vampires, killed in the Chasm, left at the Cell, shattered, lost to gust of wind, discarded for a quest, etc.

Personally I think having to go out of your way to ditch these things (if you're lucky enough to land somewhere appropriate) and suffering the drawbacks in the meantime is annoyance enough. But to each their own.

I don't much care what goes in an unofficial FAQ - each group will decide for itself how to deal with existing ambiguities. I would like to see this addressed in an official document though.

crimhead said:

Me too.

In fact in my document I clearly categorize rues with different degress of officiality. Those that are shameless abstractions of my mind are tagged as such.