investigator order and attacks

By Nerdmeister, in Mansions of Madness

Got 2 questions which came up during our last session of MoM:

1) Thus far my group has been playing with a static turn order for the investigators as the rules state they have to agree on their order or do it clockwise. However after a recent read-through of that segment it doesn´t state wether that chosen order is from one game turn to the next or if the order only counts 1 turn at a time. Anybody know which it is?

2) When standing in the same space as a monster the only action an investigator can take is to attack that monster. If he tries anything else he must first roll an evade check and can then proceed as desired. The question then is: does using special items that simulate some aggresive act (holy water, elder sign etc), which might or might not do damage, count as an attack? If you look at it very rigidly, these items should be considered non-combat (you don´t draw combat cards). On the other hand though, they still allow the investigators to interact with hostile intent towards the monsters and thematically seems to fit the description of an attack.

Any and all answers will be appreciated.

Nerdmeister said:

1) Thus far my group has been playing with a static turn order for the investigators as the rules state they have to agree on their order or do it clockwise. However after a recent read-through of that segment it doesn´t state wether that chosen order is from one game turn to the next or if the order only counts 1 turn at a time. Anybody know which it is?

2) When standing in the same space as a monster the only action an investigator can take is to attack that monster. If he tries anything else he must first roll an evade check and can then proceed as desired. The question then is: does using special items that simulate some aggresive act (holy water, elder sign etc), which might or might not do damage, count as an attack? If you look at it very rigidly, these items should be considered non-combat (you don´t draw combat cards). On the other hand though, they still allow the investigators to interact with hostile intent towards the monsters and thematically seems to fit the description of an attack.

#1: You can change the order from turn to turn.

#2: You can attack any monster in range even if you are in a space with a monster without making an Evade check. Taking an Attack Action doesn't require an Evade. Yes, non-Attack stuff like Holy Water and Typewriter which can do damage, force an Evade test. You can get some funny stuff with Cult Robes and Typewriter in Scenario 2. Robes are discarded is you make an Attack, but when you have them, Cultists and Cult Leaders don't attack you. Hence, you can keep bashing them over the head with the Typewriter and not lose the Robes partido_risa.gif .

There is a paragraph "Attack actions" in the rules, where it is defined what an attack is and what isn't. If I recall it right, any use of a spell that targets a monster or any use of a weapon card is an attack. A card like Holy Water may damage monsters but it isn't an attack because the card is an equipment card, not a weapon card.