We've played (vanilla) Descent a couple of times now and have been able to find answers to most of our rules questions in the FAQ, GLOAQ and on this forum. However, two issues are still up for discussion.

Does a charmed hero "benefit" from the power die added by DOOM!?

One can argue that the charmed hero should get an additional power die (naturally, up to the normal limit of 5 power dice per roll), based on the fact that he/she in essence change over to the "monster faction". This argument is somewhat supported by the fact that the overlord can play Aim on the charmed hero's attack and that a hero with a sweeping weapon only hits other adjacent heroes and not monsters. On the other hand, the word "monster" isn't used on Aim.

Is the damage dealt by a charmed hero reduced by Cautious?

I'm pretty sure I've seen this mentioned somewhere, but I'm unable to find it now. The argument for is of course that Dark Charm is a trap card, while the argument against is that damage is dealt by the charmed hero rather than the Dark Charm card itself.

Is there official word on these questions? If not, what is your opinion/how do you play?

Relevant card text:

DOOM! (Power) Play this card at the start of your turn and place it face up in front of you. All of your monsters roll 1 extra power die when attacking.

Dark Charm (Trap) Play at the start of your turn and chooose one hero. The chosen hero player must roll one power die. If the result is blank, nothing happens. If the result is not a blank, the hero must make one attack that you declare. This attack may target any hero, including the attacking hero, but is subject to normal attack rules, including range and line of sight.

Aim (Event) Play immediately after declaring an attack but before rolling any dice. Your attack is an aimed attack.

Cautious (Subterfuge skill) ...In addition, Trap cards always deal 1 less would to you (minimum 0).

Totte said:

1. No. The attacker is still a hero, regardless of whether you consider he has been taken over by the 'monster faction' (there is no such thing as a monster faction, officially). The reason Aim can be played is precisely because it is not required to be played on a monster. The reason sweep works is because a Dark Charmed hero has his 'friendly' and 'enemy' orientations reversed (confirmed by the Dark Charm/Command ruling FAQ pg7). But he is still a hero, not a monster.

2. No, damage is not reduced by Cautious. The damage is not damage 'from a trap card', it is damage from an attack resulting from a trap card. This is backed up by the Trapmaster ruling (FAQ pg10) which says that Trapmaster does not addd daamge to Mimic or Dark Charm attacks.

These answers are as official as you will get (which is to say, not actually official, but they are the result of applying the official rules correctly). They are direct results of reading the official rules/card texts, without any 'interpretations' being required, and fit within the framework of other offical answers. But I am personally nothing official in FFG and I don't believe these particular questions have been 'officially' answered by FFG - they don't need to as all you have to do is actually read and apply the text properly.

Corbon said:

Thanks for your answer "official" or not. :-) We actually played these situations exactly like you spell them out, by reading the cards literally. However, it's always nice to have your interpretations backed up by others who are more experienced and familiar with the system.

sometimes ago i've made a similar question.

it was about command and dark charme. but in that topic the aswer was "yes" the dark charmed hero benefit from beast man command because in that turn he' is considered like a monster, so he lose all benefit gain from his party but add the new one from the monsters

so why he can't use doom destruction on a charmed hero?

Jack and THE Hammer said:

No, you understood it wrong. A charmed hero is not a monster . He is from the monster faction , and the heroes are considered enemies . But the charmed hero is still a hero.

uhm yes, this make more sense. yes you right, tanks

Jack and THE Hammer said:

Doom gives "monsters" an extra black die on their attacks. Command gives a +X bonus to "allies."

A hero attacking under the effects of Dark Charm has his "allies" and "enemies" reversed for the duration of the attack, but the hero does not become a "monster." That's what the various applicable FAQ rulings give us, anyway.

Another way of thinking about it is that "hero" and "monster" are types of plastic figure. Regardless of which player controls them at any given moment, the white and red plastics are "monsters" and the grey plastics are "heroes."

"Allies" and "enemies" on the other hand, are variables defined by which figures (of any kind) are on "the same side" as the currently acting figure. If a figure temporarily changes sides, his "allies" and "enemies" will change accordingly, but he won't stop being a hero or a monster.

As an aside, this structure plays nicely into answering Parathion's questions about the Nercomancied monster opening doors are what not. A Necro'd monster is still a monster, even if his allies are the hero players, so he can't open doors to unrevealed areas. But that's a discussion from another thread.

the necromanced monster was always an argument of debate for us, so tanks for this info