Question 1

Hi and congratulations for this fantastic game.
I have a question about large monster movement.
First I do a move action with a dragon choosing a space in front of it, when moved 3 spaces, and if I want to atack, Can i put the back of the dragon in the space (to gain 2 spaces) and then atack?
If i can do it (I think yes and there is not the problem)…can I chose to move again, and select the space in front of the dragon again? If i can do that…I will win 4 spaces (with the dragon, 2 with an ettin) in the complete move…is that legal or I have to chose in the second movethe same space that I arrived first?
PD: Sorry for my english, I hope you can understand me.

Answer 1

Hello,

Thank you for the kind words. When moving with a large monster, you always choose 1 space it occupies to count movement. If you interrupt movement to attack, you choose any space it occupies to continue movement. This could result in additional spaces moved during the movement.

Thanks,
Adam Sadler
Managing Game Designer
Fantasy Flight Games
[email protected]

That was a very big surprise! I understand that I can choose each time I interrumpt the movement so…can large monster move x2??

Question 2

Hi, I have a few questons:
1) About abilities…can a hero be affected by 2 equal abilities? for example…an hero adyacent to 2 shadow dragons…have to spend 2 surges to hit right?
In the rulebook says that a hero cant be affected by 2 equal condition but dont say nothing about 2 equial abilities…I hope for an oficial answer xD
2) If a knight with Shield Slam atack a shadow dragon and get only one surge…can he spend the surge to stun the dragon or if he do that the atack miss? I think the correct answer is the 2º, he cant spend surges if the atack miss but I want to confirm it. (maybe miss the atack only means that it dont make damage…but I think it cant spend surge…like if a X was rolled…)

Answer 2

Hi,

1) 2 shadow abilities do not stack. A hero adjacent to 2 shadow dragons only needs to spend 1 surge to hit.
2) You are correct, the Knight could not spend the surge because the attack would be considered a miss.

Thanks,
Adam Sadler
Managing Game Designer
Fantasy Flight Games
[email protected]

That was a very big surprise too!! so we can spend surges only in a ranged atack miss…and the shadow abilitie do not stack…very interesting.

I hope these answers will serve

To compile the rest of the QA's

Q: KO Hero between encounters and fatigue recovering
A: Between encounters, any knocked out hero may stand up for free.
In addition, heroes that stand up also recover all fatigue as well.

Q: Stealthy ability and Melee attacks
A: The stealthy ability requires melee attacks to roll at least 3 range to hit. Melee attacks usually require 0 range (even with Reach), so 3 is all the range the attack would need.

Q: Spending Surges
Can you spend surges on a ranged "miss" to recover fatigue or activate other abilities?
Q: Can you spend surges on a melee "miss" (fewer hearts than shields) to recover fatigue or activate other abilities?
A:If this is referring to not rolling enough range, then yes you can spend the surge.
A: Yes, can spend the surges if you do not deal damage on the attack. Not dealing damage is not considered a miss.

Q: Shield Slam
If an ability allows you to inflict a condition on a figure that is not the target of the attack (Shield Slam), are you still required to inflict at least one damage on the target figure in order for the condition to apply to the other figure?
A: Shield slam does not require you to deal damage to the target.

Q: Aurim and Power Potions
How do Power Potions work with Aurim?
A: Aurim gains no additional benefits for using a power potion.

Q:When, exactly, is a "move action" considered to end?
A: A move action ends when the hero spends his last movement point granted to him through his Speed.

Q:If the movement of a large monster is interrupted (e.g: with caltrops) and there is no space to "expand" it, how do you proceed?
A: You cannot interrupt large monster movement in a space in which it cannot expand.

Q: Can you spend the additional attack granted by "Frenzy" on a monster action that provokes an attack (assuming action limits are respected)? E.g: can an elemental do (Fire, Fire) with frenzy?
A:No, Frenzy grants a normal attack action and not a monster action.

Q: When can we play Dash or Frenzy?
When we first activate the monster before we take actions? Or at any time while we are still activating said monster?
A: Those Overlord cards may be played at any point during a monster's activation.

Q: Can the heroes buy Act II item cards after the interlude, or must they wait until after the first Act II quest?
A: Heroes may not purchase Act II items until after the first Act II quest is completed.

Q: If the item search deck is depleted, do we simply reshuffle the discarded item cards to draw from? Such as discarded cards from appraise and any resolved "nothing" or "treasure chest" cards?
A: The Search deck is reshuffled at the end of every quest. It is not reshuffled during a quest.

Q: crossbow and large monsters:
How does the 1 space movement work for large monsters? Does the hero get to shrink the monster to 1 space, move it 1 space, and then expand it in any direction the hero chooses?
A: Yes, the attacking hero chooses how the large monster moves. The large monster does indeed shrink and expand following normal monster movement. The monster shrinks from the targeted space.

I have new answers from Adam…here we go:

Q: Vampiric Blood, you recover 1 fatiga for each monster you kill?

A: The necromancer recovers 1 fatigue for each monster defeated. If he defeats 2 monsters in one attack, he would recover 2 fatigue.

Q: Maestry ability that give you surges, use before or after dice rolled?

A: Weapon Mastery may be used after the dice are rolled.

Q: Aura ability. Shadow don't stack, command don't stack…what about aura?

A: Aura is cumulative. Shadow and command are not.

This answers again surprise me…in vampiric blood, why put "each time you or your reanimate defeats a monster, you recover 1 fatigue". It would be easier to put "for each monster you or your reanimate defeats, you recover 1 fatigue"…

With maestry ability again…why put "when you attack"? if I have a card that says "when you attack" and other that says "after dice are rolled"…I supose that maestry have to be played before the dice are rolled…they should put "after dice are rolled", like in mana weave….

And what about aura? why shadow and command arent cumulative but aura yes?…but well…this is all oficial so I have to accept it…

Varikas said:

I don't see any logical difference between those two sentences.

Varikas said:

It seems to me that there are more abilities in Descent (1E and 2E) that can be used after the dice are rolled than there are abilities which must be used before the dice are rolled. This is the norm for Descent. I would be inclined to assume you can use anything after dice are rolled unless the rules specifically state otherwise.

I don't know why Aura is an exception to the cumulative thing. That seems contradictory, but whatever.

Steve-O said:

I dont understand that…if you have one card that says that you can use it "after dice are rolled" and other card doesnt say anything…I would assume that you cant use in that moment…cause there are other cards that say clearly that moment…If they want you to assume what you are saying, then they should put nothing in any card…

You cant put different things in different cards and expect people assume that you can use them indifferently …if you put after, then you have to use it after, if you put nothing…I assume that you cant use it after cause if you could do that…why dont they put it in the card like the other? That is why it is confuse.

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds …"
- Ralph Waldo Emerson [& FFG]

FFG doesn't seem to be hung up on this whole precision and consistency thing. It's more "do what I mean, not what I say." They seem to be much better with hardware (components) than software (rules). Of course they are also under the handicap of using (American) English.

"English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over, and rummages through their pockets for loose grammar."

Varikas said:

The problem, as I see it, is that you are assuming that "no additional text" is equivalent to a contradiction of specific text used elsewhere. That isn't so. "No additional text" means "the answer is not specified and could go either way."

If the card says "after dice are rolled" then clearly you can only use this ability after dice are rolled. I think we agree on that. However, if the card does not say anything this does not mean that the ability must be used before dice are rolled. It means the card doesn't specify. It doesn't you say you can use the ability after dice are rolled, but it also doesn't say you can't. You don't know.

In a situation like this, one normally turns to the rulebook for a general ruling on when abilities can be used "during an attack." Cards overrule the rulebook, however, if the card has no specific rule then the rulebook applies by default. Looking at the rulebook, the only thing I can personally find related to abilities used in combat is the bit on page 12: "If an ability allows a player to add dice to this pool, he must do so before the roll." Unfortunately, this rule specifically applies to abilities that add dice to the roll. Abilities that do anything else are not discussed. If one was unfamiliar with Descent 1E, one might be inclined to extend this ruling to all abilities, and understandably so, but the literal text is not clear.

Being familiar with 1E myself, I remember that basically every ability that could modify an attack roll could be applied after dice were rolled. In particular, abilities that grant surges to the attack (like Weapon Mastery does in 2E) were never required to be spent until the attacker could see if he needed it or not based on surges rolled on the dice.

Now, you might say "1E is 1E and 2E is 2E. You can't assume rules from 1E still apply in 2E." That's a valid point. They are two different editions, after all. Two different games, really. However, they are both designed by the same company, so it's no terribly surprising to me to learn (via Mr. Sadler's responses) that they share some design elements in common.

Without an official ruling from Mr. Sadler, I would have said the answer is unclear in the rules but I'd be inclined to house rule that it can be used after dice are rolled because that's what I'm used to from Descent 1E. With the official ruling from Mr. Sadler, I say his ruling clarifies the ambiguity in the rules, and I'm not terribly surprised since that's what I'm used to.

The problem with people assuming things is that everyone tends to assume the interpretation that makes the most sense to them. But what makes sense to one person doesn't always make sense to another. More specifically, what makes sense to one player may not be what makes sense to the game designer. This is also why I try to avoid discussing "what the designer intended" in rules debates. Unless you speak directly to the game designer, you don't know what he intended. You only know what makes sense to you .

I prefer to couch my hypotheses about such ambiguities as "house rules." I'll gladly accept the designer's official ruling if it is made available, but barring that I'll just make up my own rules and not worry about what "was intended." At the end of the day, what's important is that your group has fun. if you get a couple rules wrong along the way it's not the end of the world.

Yes, you explain it perfectly xD

I am agree with you