The Question Box

THE QUESTION BOX

Q. Does an attack doing Maximum damage that hits a shield also destroy any other armor behind it as it kills the character?
A. No.
Q. May the Pilgrim use the “T” attack gained when he “wishes for strength” to open the vault?
A. Yes.
Q. May the Witch King use Magic Sight to loot the Chest without use of the Lost Key? To loot the Vault?
A. No. No.
Q. Must the Witch King fatigue when drawing treasures from the Cairns when using Magic Sight? From the Pool?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. Do the Woodfolk and Rogue 4 attack when light-side-up?
A. No.
Q. Do unbought horses die if the native HQ passes through a cave clearing?
A. No, they must be abandoned before entering the cave.
Q. Does a character have to roll on the Meeting Table for his own (enemy, unfriendly, neutral) hired natives if ending a turn in the same clearing?
A. Only for hired leaders; see 45.2.
Q. The Black Knight has just hired Rogues 6 and 7. At the start of combat at the Inn, he rolls “Trouble” and then “Block/Battle”. What is the status of his hired Rogues? Do they aid him against the rest of the Brotherhood, join the Brotherhood against him, or remain strictly neutral, aiding neither side?
A. They aid him.
Q. Is a MAGIC counter fatigued if a character attempts to cast a spell with it but is undercut by an opponent’s spell? Does it count toward his two asterisk limit?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. Are controlled bats treated as hired leaders (as per the definition of “controlled”) or as hired non-leaders (as per the explanation of the spell)?
A. Non-leaders. The spell explanation overrules the rule.
Q. Does a “Block/Battle” result when trading with a Visitor block a character? Must a character roll on the Meeting Table at the end of the day for the Visitor? How may a character kill a Visitor?
A. Yes. No. Visitors cannot be attacked.
Q. Does a character who becomes a T. Giant or either type of T. Dragon because of Absorb Essence use the head/club. the body or both for any attack he may make? Is the red-side of the club/head the “ready” side or may either side be played?
A. Both. Either side may be played.
Q. Do fatigued MAGIC counters count as combat counters for purposes of the Flowers of Rest?
A. Yes.
Q. Does Make Whole and Health (from Small Blessing) rest either the MAGIC counter or the color counter that were used to cast them?
A. Yes.
Q. Is a die roll necessary to enter a tile with Lost activated on it? If cast on Borderland (enchanted), would it apply to all the clearings, or just to 2 and 3?
A. No. All the clearings.
Q. Does the Phantasm fatigue its owner’s MAGIC and color counters when it executes Spell phases, or does it “fatigue” its own duplicates of them? May the Witch King’s Phantasm move, although he may not be able to himself?
A. Its owner’s. Yes.
Q. May one use the Hide from World Fades if a T. Monster is red-side-up on your sheet?
A. No! One cannot hide if anyone is on your sheet, attacking.
Q. Adjusted dice rolls can be as low as ” -1″ or as high as “9”. Are rolls of “-1” and “0” treated as “1” and rolls of “7” to “9” treated as “6”?
A. Yes.
Q. May Medium and Heavy characters with Elvin Slippers still use one die for Hide rolls?
A. No.
Q. Do the players make a Monster Roll on a day lost by showers? Do characters that have run away remain where they are (even if airborne)?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. Does “Choice” on the Magic Sight Table include the rest of the Magic Sight Table? Free Spell?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. Does a roll of “4” on the Magic Sight Table allow the Witch King to learn a spell at the Shrine? Must he take his chances and draw the top spell or may he directly record the Type V spell there?
A. Yes. He may directly record the Type V spell.

Q. Is the second edition rulebook new, or is it just a variation of the first edition?
A. The rules were totally rewritten. The rules are reorganized into four Encounters (treasure hunting and trading, combat with monsters, war, and magic) with separate sections on the game pieces and how to set them up. There are also optional rules, many illustrated examples of play, reference tables, lists and so on. The result at least has the virtue of being complete; the new rulebook runs 80 pages.
Q. Does the game play the same way it used to?
A. The introductory versions changed because the Encounters were rearranged, and some optional rules are now built into the standard rules. However, the final version (with magic and the optional rules suggested in The GENERAL) plays the way it did.
Q. So nothing changed in the final, complete version of the game?
A. Oh, there are changes. There were many rough spots that had to be smoothed over, so there are a lot of changes that either replace a clumsy game mechanic, correct an error in the play balance, or guard against circumstances that can ruin the game.
Q. Are there any changes in the way the game starts?
A. Yes. To avoid early attacks, the Dwarf can start at the GUARD house, the Woods Girl can start at the HOUSE, the Captain and Wizard can start at the GUARD house or HOUSE, the Pilgrim and White Knight can start at the CHAPEL, and the Witch King can start with the Ghosts. These characters can still start at the INN, if they wish; they record where they will start when they record their victory conditions. Everyone else must start at the INN. In addition, everyone starts the game hidden.
Q. Do the play still record their victory conditions in each category?
A. Yes, but to prevent sudden lucky wins and long, drawn-out games, the game always lasts 28 game days, and the character with the highest score wins. To enable the characters to compare scores, the points a character assigns to each category defines his requirements and weights his results in that category: he converts his final score to victory points, subtracts the points he assigned, and multiplies the result by the points he assigned (minus scores are tripled). The character with the highest total score wins.
Q. If a second stage player wins, does he gain one stage (and if killed, does he lose one stage)?
A. No, he gains stages by earning chits; and he gains chits by earning victory points. If he is killed, he just starts over.
Q. Can a second stage character play the second encounter?
A. Yes.
Q. Is the Dwarf’s special advantage still two rests in one phase?
A. Yes.
Q. Does the Dwarf still roll one die for loot in site cards (special tables)?
A. Yes.
Q. Until the “Disgust” curse is removed, is all of a character’s fame (old and new) worthless?
A. Yes.
Q. When a character must choose which monsters go into each melee section attacking group, is it now possible that the largest group can have even two or three monsters more than the smallest group?
A. Yes – as long as each box has at least one denizen, and each head/club is in a different box than its body.
Q. Do attacks that exceed “tremendous” ever kill?
A. Yes, always.
Q. Do all attacks from red-side up tremendous monsters exceed tremendous level?
A. Yes.
Q. When a tremendous dragon is turned red-side up, is its head also turned red-side up?
A. No, the head and body turn over separately.
Q. Does a red-side up head have the same effects as a red-side up tremendous monster (24.5)?
A. No – the head just makes its own separate attack.
Q. What happened to the magic rules?
A. The Spells are explained in detail, including how they interact with each other and with pertinent treasures. Some important clarifications: when competing Spells are cast on the same target, only the first one counts (so you can’t transform someone who is already transformed); MELT INTO MIST supersedes TRANSFORM which supersedes ABSORB ESSENCE; and when FLY chits conflict, the strongest one rules.

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