Hi guys!
FFG is about to release a new and as updated as possible FAQ for Wiz-War. I'm responsible for gathering unresolved questions about the core game. So, if there are issues that requires an official clarification, obscure points on the wording of some cards or any other unclear stuff, please, post your questions here, and I'll report them to the attention of FFG.
Thanks for help, and happy warfare in the wizards' maze

JULIA

Oh man. So many questions. I'm going to have to get with my Wiz War buddy on this one and post back. I delurked just for this.

EDIT: Would it be possible to release any new rules or plaintext versions of new cards prior to this FAQ, as well? I'm certain new questions will arise from the expansion and it would be nice to have official clarifications for our first games with them.

Okay, here's one:

Lightning Bolt has the potential to be the most powerful spell in the game when used in conjunction with Astral Projection. The idea is to cast a spell from three spaces away from the target wizard as if you are in the same square as them with a high-number energy card, and simply bounce the bolt between walls on the same space.

Would the bolt hit the target wizard every time it bounces off of a wall, even if that wall borders the same square over and over again, or would it only count when the lightning bolt leaves the square and then reenters it?

This is also important for casting a lightning bolt on a target wizard standing next to a wall. If the bolt enters the square with the target wizard, and bouncing off an adjacent wall does not count as "reentering" the square, then the utility of lightning bolt is significantly reduced, since standing next to a wall basically ensures you will limit the number of times a bolt will hit you.

The Lightning Bolt + Astral Projection question noted

As for your "Edit" question: I don't think the content of Malefic Curses will be revealed before the item is available for purchase. Still, it's something you should ask directly to FFG, I'm just volunteering gathering questions for the FAQ. Sorry for not being of any help on this issue.

Hello everyone,

I am confused by current FAQ's explanation about interaction between Mist Body and Psychic Storm:

Q. Can a wizard under the effect of “Mist Body” be damaged?

A. Yes. The wizard cannot be attacked and does not suffer damage from attacks, but can be damaged from other causes. For example, “Destroy Wall” can damage a wizard under the effect of “Mist Body” because it is not an attack, but “Psychic Storm” cannot.

Mist Body says that a wizard under its effect cannot be attacked, which means that he cannot be target of an attack. However, Psychic Storm does not target a wizard but a square and damages all wizards in the area of effect. I don't see how this differs from being affected by Destroy Wall.

I would like this ruling to be revised (if wrong) or clarified (if correct) in the new FAQ.

Good point, thanks. I got other questions asking similar things, and I'll forward them all

Ok, folks, I've almost finished preparing the first draft of questions to send to FFG. I think I'll send them out in the next couple of days. So, if you have any further questions, please, ask (you can also add some more questions later, but still, it'd be better now so that the guy who will answer our questions has the most accurate document since the beginning)
Thanks for help

I have a lot of questions that I hope the FAQ will cover. Many have been covered in the these message boards and I trust that they will all be collected and addressed. Off the top of my head after a game yesterday, here are the things that we were somewhat confused about.

1. When can a speed boost be used to increase movement points for the turn? Do I need to discard the energy card before I move, or can I do it ever after I've spent my base speed.

2. General confusion about what constitutes and attack for the purposes or cards, victory points, etc. This seems to be covered in the forum.

3. Open doors: Can I open an adjacent door without moving through it for the purposes of altering LOS? If yes, OR if I've moved through a door but stopped in the adjacent square, can I declare that I'm closing the door so it will be closed on my opponents' turns?

4. This is more a note for the printed cards: It's very unclear for newer players which cards can and cannot be boosted. It would be nice if there was an icon somewhere on the card to make this clear. Temporary cards can always be boosted. For other cards, you need to look for a reference to the card's "energy" which I've found is confusing for people.

5. The rulebook is definitely vague in regards to a spell's default energy. The wording needs to more precise. Players are regularly confused by the fact that cards with an energy (boost) value don't have also have that default energy.

6. Picking up treasure. Does picking up treasure cost a movement point? I understand that Move and Cast is over when a treasure is picked up, but did I need to have an extra move in order to actually pick it up? This is explicit for general objects, but that omitted in the paragraph for picking up treasures.

Great game! Thanks!

Hi! And thanks for the questions

Let me try to see if we could figure out some of the answers through the rulebook and see if this covers up your questions or not, so that we could find out exactly what to ask. If you believe that my reading of the rules is unclear, please tell me the obscure points so that I can ask.

1. When can a speed boost be used to increase movement points for the turn? Do I need to discard the energy card before I move, or can I do it ever after I've spent my base speed.

The speed boost question I believe it's covered pretty well by this entry in the rulebook (pag. 7)

A player may boost his wizard’s speed for the turn by discarding one energy card or a Magic card that has an energy value to gain additional movement points equal to the energy value of the discarded card. For instance, a player who discards a card with 3 energy on it gains 3 extra movement points for the turn. A player may only boost his speed this way once per turn, but may do so at any time during his turn (not merely when he receives movement points for his base speed).

So, you discard the card to gain movement points, hence you first discard the card, and then you get the bonus movement points, and the wizard may do so at any time during his turn .

2. General confusion about what constitutes and attack for the purposes or cards, victory points, etc. This seems to be covered in the forum.

There are basically three ways to attack another wizard: an attack spell (those with the red light in the upper left corner of the card), using an item to attack (like a Dagger, or a Boomstone, for instance) or punching for some direct damage. Victory points are earned when the attack directly inflicts damage. For instance, you punch your enemy and kill him, or you cast a Fireball, or you stab him with a Dagger. The direct kill grants you the victory point bonus. In case something else kills the wizard, from an exploding wall to a lingering effect due to something else, then you don't score the bonus point.

You can find the specifics for attacking in the Rulebook, pag. 8, and the specifics for getting the extra points under "Life, Damage and Dying" on pag. 15.

3. Open doors: Can I open an adjacent door without moving through it for the purposes of altering LOS? If yes, OR if I've moved through a door but stopped in the adjacent square, can I declare that I'm closing the door so it will be closed on my opponents' turns?

You can find rules for opening doors in the Rulebook (pag. 8):

A wizard may cast a spell through an open door without passing through the door himself. No one can follow a wizard through a door unless the wizard holds the door open to allow it. Once a wizard is no longer adjacent to a door, it immediately closes and re-locks.

So, yes, you may open a door without moving through so that you can cast spells through the door (hence with a different LoS). And yes, if you do not declare you're holding the door open, it's considered closed.

Also, there are these two FAQ entries you could find interesting (latest released FAQ, pag 2):

Q. How does holding a door open work?
A. A wizard who wants to hold a door open can only start this action during his own turn, and the door remains open
until his next turn. A wizard cannot open or close the door out-of-turn. If he’s forced away from the open door or is
killed, the door closes automatically the moment that the wizard is no longer adjacent to the door. Opening or closing
a door costs 0 movement points.

Q. Can a wizard close a door that another wizard is holding open?
A. No. If a wizard is holding a door open at the end of his turn, the door stays open until that wizard’s next turn unless he is moved away from it or is killed.

4. This is more a note for the printed cards: It's very unclear for newer players which cards can and cannot be boosted. It would be nice if there was an icon somewhere on the card to make this clear. Temporary cards can always be boosted. For other cards, you need to look for a reference to the card's "energy" which I've found is confusing for people.

Ok, so the problem is when you have a non-temporary spell whose effects vary according to the energy you spend while boosting the card? Such as "deal this card's energy +2 damage to target wizard", correct? This could be confusing, but I'm not so sure how this can be FAQed. Could you help me wording your question?

5. The rulebook is definitely vague in regards to a spell's default energy. The wording needs to more precise. Players are regularly confused by the fact that cards with an energy (boost) value don't have also have that default energy.

On the rulebook, pag 11, we read: Normally, a spell’s energy is “1.” On the Card Anatomy, on pag. 9, we read Note: Some Magic cards display an energy value in the lower-middle area of the card. Players can spend these cards for their energy value instead of playing them for their effect.

Key word here is "instead". If you use the card for its energy value, then it's like you're playing an "Energy Card". If you play the card for its effect, then its Energy is 1.

6. Picking up treasure. Does picking up treasure cost a movement point? I understand that Move and Cast is over when a treasure is picked up, but did I need to have an extra move in order to actually pick it up? This is explicit for general objects, but that omitted in the paragraph for picking up treasures.

Correct, it's not properly worded in the core rulebook, but the answer can be found in the latest published FAQ (pag. 1):

Q. Does picking up a treasure use up movement points?
A. No.

This I believe should answer your questions. Still, if there is something unclear in any of these points, please point me out the points in the wording you find confusing (and specify why) and I'll ask. Please note, I'm not giving you any official answer (I'm not working for FFG at all, I'm just a player like all of you), but I believe, before asking questions, we should try our best to see if answers are hidden somewhere in the rules. Otherwise the amount of questions to ask will be overwhelming for the guy who should answer all of this.

So, let me know if what I said has some sense or not, so that we can decide what to ask or what not

In any case thank you for your efforts on Wiz -War !

Chris

Hi Julie, thanks a lot for your quick and thorough reply!

1. When can a speed boost be used to increase movement points for the turn? Do I need to discard the energy card before I move, or can I do it ever after I've spent my base speed.

The speed boost question I believe it's covered pretty well by this entry in the rulebook (pag. 7)

Ah, thank you I totally missed that.

2. General confusion about what constitutes and attack for the purposes or cards, victory points, etc. This seems to be covered in the forum.

There are basically three ways to attack another wizard: an attack spell...

You can find the specifics for attacking in the Rulebook, pag. 8, and the specifics for getting the extra points under "Life, Damage and Dying" on pag. 15.

You give a great explanation in your reply and I would hope to find something exactly like it in the faq. The pg. 8 explanation is far less precise.

3. Open doors: Can I open an adjacent door without moving through it for the purposes of altering LOS? If yes, OR if I've moved through a door but stopped in the adjacent square, can I declare that I'm closing the door so it will be closed on my opponents' turns?

You can find rules for opening doors in the Rulebook (pag. 8):

A wizard may cast a spell through an open door without passing through the door himself. No one can follow a wizard through a door unless the wizard holds the door open to allow it. Once a wizard is no longer adjacent to a door, it immediately closes and re-locks.

So, yes, you may open a door without moving through so that you can cast spells through the door (hence with a different LoS). And yes, if you do not declare you're holding the door open, it's considered closed.

What's not clear from either the rulebook or the faq section is your answer that, yes, you can open a door, cast a spell through it, and close it again. I would have interpreted the last sentence above as saying that once a door is opened, it remains open until the wizard is no longer adjacent to it.

Also, there are these two FAQ entries you could find interesting (latest released FAQ, pag 2):

Speaking of which, did this just come online within the last two days? The version I saw on the support page was a single page. I'm glad to see that it's been much expanded.

4. This is more a note for the printed cards: It's very unclear for newer players which cards can and cannot be boosted. It would be nice if there was an icon somewhere on the card to make this clear. Temporary cards can always be boosted. For other cards, you need to look for a reference to the card's "energy" which I've found is confusing for people.

Ok, so the problem is when you have a non-temporary spell whose effects vary according to the energy you spend while boosting the card? Such as "deal this card's energy +2 damage to target wizard", correct? This could be confusing, but I'm not so sure how this can be FAQed. Could you help me wording your question?

I guess if it were me, I'd do something like:

Q. How can I tell which spells can be boosted?

A. All temporary cards can be boosted to increase their lifespan beyond 1 turn. Any other spell which refers to "this card's energy" can be boosted to increase the energy.

I suppose any spell could technically be boosted. It just wouldn't do anything if the energy isn't relevant.

5. The rulebook is definitely vague in regards to a spell's default energy. The wording needs to more precise. Players are regularly confused by the fact that cards with an energy (boost) value don't have also have that default energy.

On the rulebook, pag 11, we read: Normally, a spell’s energy is “1.” On the Card Anatomy, on pag. 9, we read Note: Some Magic cards display an energy value in the lower-middle area of the card. Players can spend these cards for their energy value instead of playing them for their effect.

Key word here is "instead". If you use the card for its energy value, then it's like you're playing an "Energy Card". If you play the card for its effect, then its Energy is 1.

Due respect, this wording is very unclear. "instead" doesn't imply that the latter option sets their energy to 1 because "Normally, a spell's energy is '1'" makes it sound like there are cases where a spell's energy is not 1. The better wording would have been:

A spell's energy is always one unless it is boosted.

I hope the FAQ will address that. I can tell from other forum questions that I'm not the only one! : )

6. Picking up treasure. Does picking up treasure cost a movement point? I understand that Move and Cast is over when a treasure is picked up, but did I need to have an extra move in order to actually pick it up? This is explicit for general objects, but that omitted in the paragraph for picking up treasures.

Correct, it's not properly worded in the core rulebook, but the answer can be found in the latest published FAQ (pag. 1):

Perfect, thanks!

I believe, before asking questions, we should try our best to see if answers are hidden somewhere in the rules. Otherwise the amount of questions to ask will be overwhelming for the guy who should answer all of this.

Sure, but remember that FAQ aren't just for rules lawyers who have read that rules 5 times and can therefore logic out all their questions. It's also for repeating key points that may have been even slightly unclear. Just my two cents.

Thanks again for your response and for wrangling the questions in your free time!

-mike

Hi Chris, and thanks for the questions

1) What is the procedure to know which side of boards to place the portals (can be : place portals before the boards for there was no contestation ) ?

I've always set up the portals according to the diagram on page 5 of the rulebook (rules on pag 4 instruct to "place the portals next to the game board as shown in the diagram"). Is this what you were asking? Sorry, I'm not so sure I got your question properly

Forwarded the question

In any case thank you for your efforts on Wiz -War !

It's really a pleasure helping the community

Plus, I'm a huge fan of the game, so having clarified rules is totally in my interest as well :p

Hi Mike!
Glad I helped I'll put my answers in yellow, so that they could (hopefully) be easier to read!

2. General confusion about what constitutes and attack for the purposes or cards, victory points, etc. This seems to be covered in the forum.

You give a great explanation in your reply and I would hope to find something exactly like it in the faq. The pg. 8 explanation is far less precise.

Ok then. I'll ask if it's possible to include a clarification about different attack similar to the one I gave you in my previous answer. Glad it was of some help

3. Open doors: Can I open an adjacent door without moving through it for the purposes of altering LOS? If yes, OR if I've moved through a door but stopped in the adjacent square, can I declare that I'm closing the door so it will be closed on my opponents' turns?

What's not clear from either the rulebook or the faq section is your answer that, yes, you can open a door, cast a spell through it, and close it again. I would have interpreted the last sentence above as saying that once a door is opened, it remains open until the wizard is no longer adjacent to it.

That's an interesting point, Mike. I'd say "yes, you may", but I agree with you that the wording in the FAQ is not clear at this point (actually, if we read it literally, it seems to suggest exactly the countrary). Ok, I've asked this as well

Speaking of which, did this just come online within the last two days? The version I saw on the support page was a single page. I'm glad to see that it's been much expanded.

:laughter: I don't think so I downloaded them on May, 5th, 2012... but yes, I'm pretty sure there was a shorter version with just the errata

4. This is more a note for the printed cards: It's very unclear for newer players which cards can and cannot be boosted. It would be nice if there was an icon somewhere on the card to make this clear. Temporary cards can always be boosted. For other cards, you need to look for a reference to the card's "energy" which I've found is confusing for people.

Ok, so the problem is when you have a non-temporary spell whose effects vary according to the energy you spend while boosting the card? Such as "deal this card's energy +2 damage to target wizard", correct? This could be confusing, but I'm not so sure how this can be FAQed. Could you help me wording your question?

I guess if it were me, I'd do something like:

Q. How can I tell which spells can be boosted?

A. All temporary cards can be boosted to increase their lifespan beyond 1 turn. Any other spell which refers to "this card's energy" can be boosted to increase the energy.

I suppose any spell could technically be boosted. It just wouldn't do anything if the energy isn't relevant.

ok, forwarded the question

5. The rulebook is definitely vague in regards to a spell's default energy. The wording needs to more precise. Players are regularly confused by the fact that cards with an energy (boost) value don't have also have that default energy.

On the rulebook, pag 11, we read: Normally, a spell’s energy is “1.” On the Card Anatomy, on pag. 9, we read Note: Some Magic cards display an energy value in the lower-middle area of the card. Players can spend these cards for their energy value instead of playing them for their effect.

Key word here is "instead". If you use the card for its energy value, then it's like you're playing an "Energy Card". If you play the card for its effect, then its Energy is 1.

Due respect, this wording is very unclear. "instead" doesn't imply that the latter option sets their energy to 1 because "Normally, a spell's energy is '1'" makes it sound like there are cases where a spell's energy is not 1. The better wording would have been:

A spell's energy is always one unless it is boosted.

I hope the FAQ will address that. I can tell from other forum questions that I'm not the only one! : )

agreed, "Normally" sounds confusing. Even if I guess we all play the same (energy is *always* one unless boosted), it'd be nice to have this settled down once for all. Asked

Sure, but remember that FAQ aren't just for rules lawyers who have read that rules 5 times and can therefore logic out all their questions. It's also for repeating key points that may have been even slightly unclear. Just my two cents.

that's totally true! In fact, I gathered more general questions about when to cast a counterspell or how to settle down conflicts (Pick Lock vs Seal Door, for instance). I was just saying "let's try to answer", sometimes talking helps a lot in a) defining better the question and b) maybe finding a good answer because something clear has been overlooked! It happens often, to everyone :)

Thanks again for your response and for wrangling the questions in your free time!

totally my pleasure! Let me know if what I asked is ok for you or if I left something still uncovered

And thanks for the help

I knew it would not be clear, sorry, English is not my native language!

First, you can see in the examples on page 5 that the colors are placed freely in relation to each other (compare "Setup Diagram (Four-player Game)" and "Variable Player Setup (Four Players)".

Then, an "open side" and a Portal does not imply the same thing in the game. Is stated in the rules we place the portals after the board.

So, whoever install the game may take advantage by placing portal on one side instead of the other (opportunities against the other colors are not the same).

Hoping to be clearer than above

I missed something? Is it intentional or designers we forgotten that? (Or just: I'm too attached to the details and/or I'm too calculating ) ?

Hi Chris, thanks for the prompt reply. No worries about any language issue, first of all, communicating is the only important thing, so as long as we can understand each other, it's fine. Additionally, your English is good

Let's try to figure out exactly what the problem is

So, when I compare the two setup examples on pag. 5, I see exactly the same colours for portals. What changes is the colour and the position of the sectors, but portals are in the same position, which is:

- upper corner left and lower corner right: blue

- upper corner right and lower corner left: purple

But the mutual position of the sectors changes. This should be randomly determined during the set-up of the board.

Hmmm. Maybe I get it. By looking at the general map, we have 4 external sides, 2 with portals and 2 without. Are you asking about "what side of the board gets portals, and what side remains free"? In both examples, portals are set up along the two "horizontal lines" but you were wondering if they could be on the "vertical lines", and in case how to determine this, correct?

In the variable player set up shown on pag 5, we have the following (G is Green, R Red, Y Yellow, B Blue)

a) G moves on B, R (directly) and Y (portal)

b) B moves on G, Y (directly) and R (portal)

c) Y moves on B, R (directly) and G (portal)

d) R moves on G, Y (directly) and B (portal)

if we force the portals on the other side, we have

a) G moves on B, R (directly) and Y (portal)

b) B moves on G, Y (directly) and R (portal)

c) Y moves on B, R (directly) and G (portal)

d) R moves on G, Y (directly) and B (portal)

(I made a couple of graphs about this, but no idea on how to post them here; still, if you set up the game, you can check the combo directly)

So, they are basically the same. The only thing that changes is - clearly - for whose who use portals to move from a home sector to another, the position they emerge to. Is this the issue you'd like to be fixed?

Hmmm. Maybe I get it. By looking at the general map, we have 4 external sides, 2 with portals and 2 without. Are you asking about "what side of the board gets portals, and what side remains free"? In both examples, portals are set up along the two "horizontal lines" but you were wondering if they could be on the "vertical lines", and in case how to determine this, correct?

Yes because vertical or horizontal means nothing when place the game (the gameboard is as long as wide).

In the variable player set up shown on pag 5, we have the following (G is Green, R Red, Y Yellow, B Blue)

a) G moves on B, R (directly) and Y (portal)

b) B moves on G, Y (directly) and R (portal)

c) Y moves on B, R (directly) and G (portal)

d) R moves on G, Y (directly) and B (portal)

if we force the portals on the other side, we have

a) G moves on B, R (directly) and Y (portal)

b) B moves on G, Y (directly) and R (portal)

c) Y moves on B, R (directly) and G (portal)

d) R moves on G, Y (directly) and B (portal)

Yes portals /and "open sides" always correspond to the same color even if the game board is turned.

But the exit point and the point of arrival are not the same in both cases (So, the path is changed).

So the question is : This is intentional or not ? I guess not and in this case, can we have an official answer for that? I do not know how we did with the old edition...

It may become important in the case of a "competitive" game or with "hair-splitting" players (like me ^ ^)

Sorry not easy to explain in words, the best is to get in situation (in front of gameboard) to understand.

Thanks.

Chris.

Ok, I got your question now, and I'll gladly ask about this

(and sorry it took to me so long to figure this out properly)

(yay, this is my 4K-th post!)

Ok, I got your question now, and I'll gladly ask about this

(and sorry it took to me so long to figure this out properly)

(yay, this is my 4K-th post!)

Sorry I am well aware that it was not easy to understand (explained per me in this way here)

Hello, My name is Sokrates and I am new here, so I greet you all.

I would like to ask a question about Pain Link.

It says that when you attack a wizard that has Pain Link activated, you get the same amount of damage. Does this also count for the TYPE of damage also? Or if not what type of damage is it?

It is pretty important because if fire damage is transfered as fire damage then it destroys the stones of the attacking wizard and if it is water damage that is transfered then it destroys fire based activated spells on the attacking wizard.

Could you send this question also, if it is not too late? Thank you for your time

Hi Sokrates,

and thanks for the question. I see what you mean with that. I don't think you can transfer the effects of the spell (Pain Link's wording suggests you receive the damage, but not that "the spell affecting the target hits the caster as well"), so a painlinked Fire Spell shouldn't destroy the Magic Stones you're carrying, but still, I'll gladly forward your question to the guy working on the FAQ (it's not too late to ask further questions)

Thank you very much. I agree with you, it should not transfer the type of damage also because it is called Pain Link after all, the offensive wizard should only experience the pain and not the effects also.

Thank you for your time

You're welcome Anyhow, I forwarded your question to the FAQ guy