Samwell Tarly reads: "Response: After a Raven card is played, draw 2 cards"

The Raven's Song, a plot, has the Raven Trait. Can a player trigger Samwell's ability if someone reveals The Raven's Song? Is revealing plots considered "playing cards" in this case?

Crevic said:

No. Playing cards is a specific mechanic that only happens when

- you pay gold to marshal cards or
- you play event cards from your hand or
- a card specifically tells you to "play" something ("put into play" is also not the same as "play")

Revealing a plot is just that: revealing a card.

Take a look at the FAQ if you would like a better understanding of the differences between game mechanics.

I understand that the FAQ distinguishes the difference between "played" and "put into play" for attachments, characters, and locations, but doesnt mention plots.

Also, in the game rules, theres this line :"(All plot cards under your currently revealed plot card are considered your “used” plots.) If this was the last card in your plot deck, return all your previously played plots (except the one just revealed) to your plot deck after your revealed plot has taken effect."

Crevic said:

Right. So we fall back on the oft mentioned rule of thumb: if it doesn't specifically say so in the rules, don't add it in. Since there is nowhere in the rules that says plots are played, they are not.

Crevic said:

Nowhere does the rules mention anything about playing plots. If you wish to be specific about the wording of the rules, this bit here simply makes no sense, since "playing" plots is never mentioned anywhere else. It talks about plots "played" which never ever happens.

Not an entirely related question, but the ravens song having the raven trait gave me the idea.

Are plots or house cards considered "in play" ? can they be given traits by copper link? can they be targeted by carrion bird?

the1andonlime said:

Nowhere does the rules mention anything about playing plots. If you wish to be specific about the wording of the rules, this bit here simply makes no sense, since "playing" plots is never mentioned anywhere else. It talks about plots "played" which never ever happens.

I know that was a bit of a stretch, it just seems weird how this plot is the only plot in the game that has a Trait (other than Military Battle, Intrigue Gambit, and Power Struggle), and doesn't interact with any of the cards.

oshi said:

Not an entirely related question, but the ravens song having the raven trait gave me the idea.

Are plots or house cards considered "in play" ? can they be given traits by copper link? can they be targeted by carrion bird?

I had the same thought, but no.

"All non-plot cards in the game are considered
“in play” except for a) cards in your House deck,
b) cards in your discard and dead piles, c) your
agenda (if any), d) any card that has been “removed
from the game” and e) the cards in your
hand."

The Samwell/Raven's Song thing comes down to this: plot cards are not considered to be "in play." If a card effect said "character gets +X STR where X is the number of cards you have in play," you would not count the plot card. (And we know that since cards are considered "played" into Shadows, something can be "played" without ending up "in play.")

Since it is not "in play," it is not actionable unless something specifically says it is. Sam doesn't specifically say anything about the not-in-play plots, so he doesn't work with Raven plot cards, whether you consider them "played" or not. Plot text itself is specifically actionable by the rules. Cards that affect plot cards (like things that increase claim) specifically say they affect the plots.

Since plot cards and Agenda cards are not "in play," they cannot be given traits by Copper Link or other things that do not specifically refer to them. The House card is considered to be in play (and is thus actionable), but has the added caveat in the rules that it cannot be removed from play.

Crevic said:

That makes sense, I never even thought of that. Thanks all!