I'm building a Bolton deck, and I'm considering using Host of the Bears (Discard if initiative is 2 or less) in the deck becasue they're more reliable with just a slightly higher cost than the Bolton armies.

However, a card I'm also interested in playing in a Bolton deck is Fortified Position (Treat all characters in play as though their printed textboxes were blank) . I'm just wondering about the timing. I presume since their abilities are both passives, the first player chooses whether or not HotB is discarded if you reeveal a FP is revealed when you have a host on the table. If this is the case, sicne the first player hasn't been designated yet, would it be the first player from the previous turn who chooses whether or not HotB survives?

And if Host is marshalled during the marshalling phase, would the same timing issue occur?

Thanks!

1. Determining the highest initiative player and choosing the first player happens before any passives kick in. (see timing structure in the FAQ)

2. I think the plot text would not be considered a passive ability, but rather a constant ability since it has no point of initiation. As such, its text is immediately active and precedes the passive trigger of "Host of the Bear." The first player does not need to come into play here.

Correct. As soon as Fortified Position is revealed, it's effect is activated because it is a constant effect. (Don't assume that all plots are passive just because people play so many "when revealed" plots.) As such, Host of the Bear is blank at the same moment your total initiative changes. These are no conflicting things, so the First Player gets no say in the matter. Your Host of the Bear has no text until a new plot (with a new base initiative) is revealed.