Rules Team Rulings 11-JUL-01

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From: vtesrep@white-wolf.com (LSJ)


Q: What effect does a successful Kindred Segregation have on an ally that
   costs blood (Courier, for example)?
A: The pool cost to recruit (0 pool) is repaid trivially, so the ally
   is kept for free, like any ally that costs no pool. This answer is the
   same for Peace Treaty, should any weapons come along that cost blood.

Q: Can a Peace Treaty/Kindred Segregation be called when no weapons/allies are
   in play?
A: Yes. If there are no weapons/allies, then Peace Treaty/Kindred Segregation
   can burn all of them (all zero of them) with no problem.

Q: If you have a Thanks for the Donation in play for a location you're
   contesting with Democritus's controller, your prey burns 2 pool when you
   untap (assuming you choose not to yield). What happens when your prey has
   only 1 pool during your untap (and you choose not to yield)?
A: She tries to pay the cost to contest, so she's ousted, but you still
   yield since you haven't paid the price to contest. (Parallel with Vast
   Wealth retrieving a weapon that costs more pool than you have).

Q: Speaking of Vast Wealth, there are disparate rulings for what happens when
   a peice of equipment is found that costs too much. If it costs too much
   pool, then the Methuselah is ousted (i.e., partial cost is paid). If it
   costs too much blood, then the card is discarded with no other effect
   (i.e., partial cost is not paid). Also, if a vampire spends enough blood
   on action modifiers so that the blood cost of the action can no longer be
   paid, then the action fizzles, but no partial cost is paid. Why the
   difference? Also, what would happen if I have 2 pool and try to equip
   with a .44 using Madness Network so that I can play Direct Intervention
   on an intercept reaction card. If the action is successful, do I pay
   the 1 pool or not?
A: Good question. In the interest of uniformity and, as an added bonus, to
   remove the strangeness of the cases where a more expensive card costs
   you less than a cheaper on (because the cost cannot be paid), the partial
   cost ruling is reversed:
   * You still cannot play a card or take an action whose cost cannot be paid.
   * If, between the time you announce an action and the time the cost is
     paid, you are no longer able to pay the cost, then you pay as much of the
     cost as you can and, since the full cost is not paid, the action "fizzles"
     (resolves with no effect).
   * If you are obliged to pay a cost that you cannot afford (via Vast Wealth
     or similar), then you pay as much of the cost as you can and the card
     whose cost you were paying has no effect (and goes to the ash heap).

Q: When vampire A ends combat with superior Catatonic Fear (or Oubliette or
   Riposte) and the opposing vampire B plays Telepathic Traking to continue
   combat into a new round, what happens to the damage to be done by Catatonic
   Fear?
A. It is applied when combat eventually ends. The same is true of the "go to
   torpor" effect of Undead Persistence. This is slightly different than the
   "end combat and continue action" effects which are disrupted when combat 
   continues or is started again.

Q: When does a Methuselah lose pool for superior Treachery (voting for the
   referendum)?
A: When the results are tallied, same as when the basic version's pool loss
   occurs.

Q: Can a Blood Brother Ambush be played if combat was not about to occur (i.e., 
   the acting Brujah antitribu was attempting to leave torpor)?
A: Yes. In this case, the BBA-combat would negate the option of diablerizing
   the acting vampire; since it cancels combat, it cancels the diablerie 
   option as well. (This latter part is a reversal of RTR 19970306.)

Q: A vampire takes agg damage and doesn't prevent. He wants to play Undead
   Persistence, his opponent wants to play Decapitate. What happens?
A: Since the timings are the same ("when the vampire is going to torpor"),
   the acting minion gets the first chance to play whichever one is his.
   Either one will preclude the opposing minion from playing his.

Q: A vampire with no Potence equips with Hand of Conrad. In combat, his 
   opponent plays Drawing Out the Beast. Can the vampire use Undead Strength?
A: No. Anything he can do only by virtue of equipment he possesses is off
   limits to him while under the effects of Drawing Out the Beast.

Q: If I use Horrid Reality and find a weapon with a Clan requirement that the
   acting vampire doesn't meet, what happens?
A: The weapon cannot be "equipped" (which is the way Horrid Reality treats
   the effect), so the weapon is discarded (and Horrid Reality has no other
   effect).

Q: Can I play Cryptic Mission against a vampire with no blood? How about
   Blood to Water against a vampire with only 2 blood?
A: Yes. Steal/burn blood/life effects target the minion, not the individual
   blood counters. Similarly, burn pool effects target the Methuselah, not
   the individual pool counters.

Q: A vampire who has performed Return to Innocence (yes, I know it's currently
   on the banned list) is Banished. During her next influence phase, his
   Methuselah puts more blood on him than his capacity. He moves into the
   ready region and the excess blood drains off. Does this burn Return to
   Innocence?
A: Yes, this counts as "losing blood" and Return to Innocence (which is back in
   play at the time) notices and, by card text (previous errata), is burned.

Q: Mummy allies say to return them to the library when they are burned. What
   happens when I discard one from my hand?
A: It goes to the ash heap. Card text ("Do not replace", "shuffle into your
   library", "gain a master phase action", etc.) isn't inspected for discarded
   cards.

Q: What happens when the action to recruit a mummy is blocked?
A: The mummy card goes to the ash heap, as normal. Only stuff about playing
   an action card ("do not replace until...", "requires a prince or justicar")
   or about the action to play it ("+1 stealth action") has any bearing on
   an (as-yet) incomplete action. The plain text (and superior form, if any)
   has no effect unless the action is successful (except for the few cases
   where the superior form modifies the action's stealth or cost or some
   other attribute that applies before the action resolves).
   
Q: Now that self-contesting is not allowed, what happens when [insert any
   one of the many examples of how you can, by accident or design, be
   "forced" to bring in a second copy of a unique card you control]?
A: If you are forced to contest with yourself, the incoming copy is burned
   without contesting.

Q: OK. But what happens if the "incoming copy" has a Soul Gem? (That is, I've
   got vamp A out already. Older vampire B, with a Soul Gem, is burned and the
   top card of my crypt is another copy of vamp A)
A: The incoming copy is burned, triggering the Soul Gem's effect again.

Q: If I use Blood of the Cobra and play Dagon's Call as my strike at long
   range, is it still a hand strike?
A: No. Dagon's call becomes "Strike: ranged. Make a hand strike ... and the
   opposing minion takes 1 unpreventable damage during the press step..."
   The modified Dagon's Call strike is not a hand strike, and the hand strike
   made as part of its effect is not effective at long range, although the
   rest of the Dagon's Call effect is.

Q: If I use Blood of the Cobra and play Scorpion's Touch as my strike and use
   it with my Bastard Sword, what effect does it have?
A: Similar to above. Scorpion's Touch makes your Bastard Sword strike a
   "Strike: Make a bastard sword strike and put this card on the opposing
   minion..." and Blood of the Cobra makes that a "Strike: ranged. Make a
   bastard sword strike and put this card on the opposing minion..." The
   Bastard Sword strike does no damage at long range, but the rest of the
   effect ("put this card on the opposing minion...") is applied.

Final Nights Design Team Rulings/Errata:
========================================

Al-Ashrad, Amr of Alamut: has +1 bleed, as per the Ancient Hearts version
(errata to the Final Nights version).

Catacombs: costs 1 blood, not 2, as per the Ancient Hearts version (errata to
the Final Nights version).

Malleable Visage: is only usable by an untapped vampire. (errata)

Ur-Shulgi, The Shepherd: has +1 bleed (errata).


Review of changes found in Final Nights
=======================================

Changes to the rulebook:

A few sections have been slightly clarified: [1.1], [6.2.2], and [6.4.6].

You cannot contest cards with yourself [4.1]. If, via the ending of some
temporary-control effect or via some other effect, you end up contesting with
yourself, simply burn the incoming copy of the unique card. If you were
previously contesting the card, you continue contesting until your untap phase.
If you had uncontested control of the card, then you retain uncontested control
of the card [DTR]. Note: your vampires can still contest titles with each other.

Assamites cannot commit diablerie by the rules [6.5.5] and have reminder text
"(Blood Cursed)" on them instead of the "cannot commit diablerie" text. This
rule also affects those Assamites created in play who lack the "(Blood Cursed)"
reminder text (such as a vampire created by an Assamite via The Embrace
action). Explicit card text is needed to allow an Assamite to overcome this
restriction. If a vampire changes clans to become an Assamite, he acquires the
Blood Curse. If an Assamite changes to a different clan, he loses the blood
curse.

Changes to card texts:

Acquired Ventrue Assets costs no pool and is only activated on your own master
phase.
Alamut can give only vampires (not allies) votes.
Banishment cannot choose a vampire the same age or older than the acting
vampire.
Blood Tears can prevent damage only in combat (the gain blood effect can still
be used at any time).
Fata Morgana can be used for just +1 bleed at superior (if the stealth is not
needed, for instance).
Heidelburg Castle's name is corrected to "Heidelberg Castle". Both spellings
represent the same unique location.
Kali's Fang does strength+1 damage instead of a flat 2 damage (and the damage
is still aggravated).
Powerbase: Rome costs no pool.
Purity of the Beast: costs no blood and doesn't reduce the acting vampire's
capacity.
Ravnos Cache costs no pool.
Rudolpho Giovanni's name is corrected to "Rudolfo". Both spellings represent
the same unique vampire.
Ruins of the Villers Abbey costs no blood and "Villers" is corrected from
"Villars". Both spellings represent the same unique locaction.
Summon the Serpent puts a blood from the blood bank on the retrieved vampire.
Thetmes's title of Calif is corrected to "Caliph". Both spellings of the card
name represent the same unique vampire.

Typos and Corrections for Final Nights:

Ecstatic Agony: is an action, but is missing the action symbol.
Forgotten Labyrinth: artwork is by Drew Tucker.
Free States Rant: the word "vampire" on the third line should be plural.
Guard Duty: "block" is misspelled.
Mark of Damnation: uses the art from Mark of the Damned.
Mirror Image: the inferior should be "+1 stealth" not "+1 stealth action."
Perfect Clarity: "duration" is misspelled.
Powerbase: Rome: "form" should be "from" in the first sentence.
Tariq: "can not" should be one word.
Temptation: "Counters" is misspelled.

--
LSJ (vtesrep@white-wolf.com) V:TES Net.Rep for White Wolf, Inc.
Links to rulebook, card text, errata, and tournament rules: