Firedale2002's page

I know it's kind of rough to talk about things that 'ended up on the cutting room floor' but I've seen a lot of different types of scenarios for S&S and different ways to win as opposed to the simple "defeat villain" bit.

There were a few of these in RotR as well.

I'm just wondering if you all might be willing to maybe share some insight of one type of scenario or victory requirement that really stands out that you all maybe discussed but ended up not feasibly being able to make it work for PACG.

If there wasn't one (or you can't discuss for whatever reason), then maybe tell us which currently available scenario had to have lots of text editing done to actually make it fit on the cards? I've seen lots of fan-made scenarios on the forums, and there are more than a few that definitely wouldn't fit, so I can only imagine how much work you all had to put into actually making them fit in the space provided. Perhaps you can maybe even offer some pointers for the community on rewording grand scenarios so they can fit like the pros?

Is there any clue how soon the S&S Rules PDF will be put on-site? I'm assuming it'll be after the release at GenCon so it's not complete spoilers, but any clue how soon after?

-

An additional question: will there be an actual official set of rules for replaying previous scenarios? I know it's possible, but I've not been able to find any direct mention of it in the rulebook of the FAQ, so am now starting to second guess myself and any responses I give when people ask about how to deal with it.

The only partially indirect rule concerning it seems to be the "No character may gain a reward from a given scenario, adventure, or Adventure Path more than once." that is mentioned.

I'm assuming that cards from the *party's* current adventures remain in the box and thus can make the location decks and blessing deck, since there's no rules that say to remove or not use later cards if you play previous adventures. There's only rules that say you add cards from the next adventure when the party finishes an adventure. With that, I also assume that a new character playing a previous adventure would end up possibly having to deal with higher-level boons and banes.

I've started seeing people answering questions concerning previous scenarios, and some of them are saying that location decks shouldn't include any cards from later scenarios. So, I'm wondering if I just missed something somewhere where this is mentioned, or if they're wrong, or partially right, or if it's something else entirely.

I have been working on compiling and processing the data from the Midpoint Snapshot threads that Mike started on the Paizo and BGG forums.

In doing so, I’ve noticed a few issues that people seem to be having trouble with, so just wanted to point them out here so people can double/triple/quadruple-check to make sure that they’re not unintentionally altering the game experience.

First, after completing Hook Mountain Massacre, you should have no more than 4 Skill Feats, 4 Power Feats, and 3 Card Feats.

These feats are gained by successfully and fully completing the scenarios, adventures, and the adventure path as follows:

Skill Feat: Complete the Adventure: Perils of the Lost Coast

Skill Feat: Complete Scenario 1a: Attack on Sandpoint
Power Feat: Complete Scenario 1c: Trouble in Sandpoint
Card Feat: Complete Adventure 1: Burnt Offerings

Power Feat: Complete Scenario 2a: Undead Uprising
Skill Feat: Complete Scenario 2c: Foul Misgivings
Card Feat: Complete Adventure 2: The Skinsaw Murders

Skill Feat: Complete Scenario 3a: Them Ogres Ain’t Right
Card Feat: Complete Scenario 3b: The Fort in Peril
Power Feat: Complete Scenario 3d: Battle at the Dam
Power Feat: Complete Adventure 3: The Hook Mountain Massacre (This also rewards the Role Card choice)

Beyond The Hook Mountain Massacre adventure, the feats are gained as follows:

Power Feat: Complete Scenario 4a: Sandpoint Under Siege
Card Feat: Complete Scenario 4b: Jorgenfist
Skill Feat: Complete Scenario 4d: Under Jorgenfist
Card Feat: Complete Adventure 4: Fortress of the Stone Giants

Power Feat: Complete Scenario 5c: The Halls of Seduction
Card Feat: Complete Adventure 5: Sins of the Saviors

Feat rewards for Spires of Xin-Shalast is TBA as of this post.

Card Feat: Complete the Adventure Path: Rise of the Runelords

[u]As soon as you gain a feat, you gain its benefits.[/u] This includes available card slots when a Card Feat is gained and its type is chosen. This slot is now available to be filled during the deck-rebuilding after the scenario in which the feat was gained.

Okay, enough about feats, let us talk about cards.

After each scenario, characters rebuild their decks based on the information on their character cards.
A character’s deck should not have more cards of each type than his/her character card says the deck should have (including card feats).
A character’s deck should not have less cards of each type than his/her character card says the deck should have (including card feats).
Loot cards count towards their associated card type, they are not ‘extra’ or added ‘in addition’ to your regular allotment of cards. For example, the Sihedron Medallion is a Loot Card; however, it counts as a card of type Item for the sake of deck reconstruction.
Each individual Card counts as a Card against your allotment, even if it shares the name of another Card you have. If you have 2 Cure Spell Cards, that takes up 2 Spell Card slots in your deck.

Lastly, when rebuilding your decks, once you start The Hook Mountain Massacre adventure, after a scenario, living characters may only go to the box and select any card from the adventure number-2 IF AND ONLY IF that character cannot fulfill the deck requirements as set forth on his/her character card. The character must try to fill all current slots with any cards that the party has as a group. If the character is missing a Spell Card but someone else in the group has a Spell Card available that he/she is not going to keep, then the character must take that Spell Card as long as it is available. Only if there are not enough cards of the specific type left over can the box be visited.

Dead/Remade and New characters may search the box as per normal rules to create his/her deck, but keep in mind that the new character does not have general access to the cards leftover from the last scenario that the rest of the party took part in. Those cards are returned to the box after all surviving characters are done rebuilding their decks, and access is lost to the new character. If some of those cards happen to have been adventure #-2, then those are available, but any others cannot be chosen.

At no point can cards be freely traded with the box unless an actual effect says so. Characters cannot pick and choose to give up cards from their deck to go searching the box for a card of the same type just because they feel like it.

This possible loophole/exploit came up over at BGG:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1162831/rimeskull-in-one-turn

The short of it is that the cards limit where you can move and when you can explore. (Cannot overrides Can, as per the Golden Rule.)

Teleportation says you can ignore that movement limitation. (It specifically says the Golden Rule doesn't count for this.)

Something not mentioned in the thread there is that there are also cards and effects that allow characters to encounter cards without exploring.

The rules as written thus allow for people to use these exploits to relatively quickly win the scenario outright without actually dealing with much of the scenario.

Is that as intended?

I know the PACG team goes through a lot of grief after the game is released when suddenly it goes from only playtesters and in-house people seeing the cards to suddenly a hundred/thousand/million/gazillion set of eyes looking at the cards and noticing every typo and every possibility how a card could be broken or need rewording.

Paizo gets lots of flak from naysayers because of this, little errors that 'should have been caught during playtesting' but weren't, and then people use that as ammo to bash on the game, its developers, and its community for liking it. Even some community members start to get all up in arms when slight errors appear here and there and start demanding card replacements.

And then there are the errors that people don't realize are errors because nobody thought to ask questions about the card or the wording on the card. And then the game goes on and then people start getting upset because something isn't working right or works too well, only to find out later that it has been clarified or altered to be totally different than what they expected.

What are the chances that Paizo would be willing to select a few people in their playtest group or the community and give them a list of all ability text from the cards?

No card type (blessing, weapon, etc), no card name, no traits, etc. None of the other stuff. JUST the abilities of each and every card as they appear on the card. (You can include traits, too, if you want to to help with those missing abilities, like Undead traited banes missing some immunities, etc).

That way, people can look over the abilities while not being influenced by 'playing the game' and then 'seeing something that's not there' because they're playing and they 'know' how to play and how a card works.

Things like discarding the Throwing Axe and Sling, the Temple referencing players, and also things about a "creature" from the FotSG and SoX-S adventure decks, and lets not forget the notorious villain from the get-go, the Blessing of the Gods... those things slide under the radar because the players 'know' how the card works while they play, thus they don't notice issues the card, itself, has.

I love the game, and I know people work hard on it to playtest it, error check it, and edit it, but would it be possible to get a few more eyes on it to look over it outside of playing?

I searched the forum for "mummy" and it had no results, so I'll post about it here.

A question came up over at BGG about the Mummy card.

In general, the Mummy in Pathfinder is an undead, which makes it immune to certain things. There are a few cards of the undead trait in the PACG as well, and they all share two certain immunities.

Should the Mummy, being an undead, also be immune to Mental? Or was that purposefully left off of the card?

The relevant post is here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1160107/mummy

I haven't gotten the set and opened it yet so I'm not sure if the card actually has the text in question on it or not, but basing on the thread there, it seems to be missing this specific immunity.

So, based on a few threads over at BGG, it seems that there was a shipping mishap for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Sins of the Saviors (Rise of the Runelords Adventure Deck 5) deck.

It seems quite a few people on the subscription ended up getting a double shipment (two copies of the game).

Did any of the 1st printing editions make it to any of the retailers that have to wait until release day to begin shipping/selling it, or were all of the 1st printings mailed out to subscribers during this shipping error, thus leaving people like me that desire the 1st printing scrambling to find someone that'll part with their extra one or paying outrageous prices on resell because of a shipping error on Paizo's part?

So, I went to copy/paste some rules to answer a question on a forum today, and when I tried to select the text, it selected the background picture instead (I'm using the V3 rules).

It happens on nearly every page on the side of the page that has the gradient to a darker color.

For example, page 11, when trying to highlight "Assemble Your Dice." it selects the background image (which I can then copy/paste/upload to show).

Is there any chance for a fix to this?

I've come up with a slight variant to make the card game behave somewhat as a normal roleplaying game in that encounters have multiple monsters/rewards, etc, and are done somewhat all at once instead of step by step by step for each character in turn.

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

( Related thread at BGG: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1125111/variant-pacg-roleplaying-card-g ame-variant )

Also note that it can be a bit deadlier because there's an increase in banes, but there's also an increase in boons as well. There's an additional flee option for those moments when the characters are up against insurmountable odds and need to take a breather.

------------

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game
Roleplaying Card Game Variant

Follow normal set up options until the Card Setup for the chosen Scenario

Create the Blessings Deck
Do this as normal. (Please note that this occurs earlier in the Card Setup than it does in the normal rules)

Set Out the Locations
Do this as normal.

Build the Location Decks
Each location card has its own list of card types that are used to build a location deck, in much the same way that a character card has a list of card types that are used to build a character deck. Shuffle each card type and deal a number of each card type to form the basis of each location deck. Don't look at these cards; set them facedown in a stack next to their location card.

Following the order of locations listed on the scenario card, do the following:

*For 1-2 people, build each location deck using the number shown for each card type on that location card.
*For 3-4 people, build each location deck using double the number of each card type on that location card.
*For 5-6 people, build each location deck using triple the number of each card type on that location card.

This means in a 2-player game, each location will have 10 cards at this point; 4 players' locations will have 20 cards; 6 players' locations will have 30 cards.

If there are not enough cards of a card type to place in a location, ignore any that cannot be placed in that location.

Add Villains and Henchmen
Do this as normal.

Arrange Yourselves around the Table
Do this as normal.

Place Token Cards
Do this as normal.

Draw Starting Hands
Do this as normal.

Decide Who Goes First
Choose a first player that will be the first player to make choices and the first to deal with cards encountered. The entire party will be going all at once.
If some players are playing more than one character, those players choose the order that their characters will make choices. This order should not change throughout the scenario.

---

Your Turn Is to be replaced with Your Party's Turn

Advance the Blessings Deck:
Flip the top card from the blessings deck face up onto the top of the blessings discard pile. You never acquire this card, though some cards may refer to it during your turn. If you have to remove one or more cards from the blessings deck for any reason and there are not enough cards to do so, shuffle the blessing deck then continue.

Trade a Card:
Starting with the first player, each character may choose to trade with one other character at his/her location and give one card from his/her hand to that character, then that character must give one card back.
A character with no cards in his/her hand can be chosen to trade with and may be given one card, but that character does not give a card back.
If a character has no cards in his/her hand when it their turn to choose to trade, that character cannot choose to trade with another character.

Move:
Each character may move his/her token card to a non-closed location or a closed location that has cards in its location deck. Moving triggers any effects that happen when he/she enter or leave a location. (If someone does not move, that character is not considered to have entered or left a location.)
If a character is at a closed location that has no cards to explore, that character -must- move to a non-closed location or a closed-location that has cards in its location deck.

Explore:
The characters -must- explore once each turn without playing a card that allows them to explore; this must be their first exploration for the turn. When the party explores, flip over the top card of each location deck that has a character. If a location has more than one character, flip over a card for each character.

The flipped cards are the encounter for the characters at that location and the encounter rounds begin.

*Round Order
Each character at each location chooses a different flipped-over card to encounter at that location. The party can decide with each other who will encounter which card if there is more than one character at a location.
All cards must be chosen, however each card may only have one character choose it. If there are not enough cards for each character, any character not encountering a card does nothing, but he/she can help other characters out as normal.
Even though all cards must be chosen, any boons chosen are ignored for the moment and the character that chose that boon does nothing, but he/she can help other characters out as normal.
Each character that chose a bane must deal with his/her encounter in order as normal, starting with the first player and going clockwise around the table.

If a non-Monster-type bane is undefeated or evaded, shuffle it back into the location.
If a Monster-type bane is evaded, shuffle it back into the location. If a Monster-type bane is undefeated, leave it face up and do another round, starting at choosing one flipped over card to encounter.
If a character would take damage and has no cards to discard, bury the top card of that character's deck instead.

After a round is over, if there are one or more Monster-type banes face-up at a location, the characters at that location can choose to flee. If the characters choose to do so, this encounter ends and all banes at that location are shuffled into the location while all boons at that location are banished. Then place one random monster from the box on top of that location deck.
After a round is over, if there are no Monster-type banes face up at a character's location, a boon at that location is automatically acquired by the character that chose to encounter it that round.
If an effect allows a location to be closed, that effect does not actually come into effect until the end of a round and there are no monster-type banes left face-up at that location.

If an effect causes a character to reset his/her hand and end his/her turn, all face-up cards are shuffled back into the location and all characters at that location must reset their hand and end their turn. This location and all characters at this location are ignored for the remainder of the turn. All characters at this location cannot help another character, are not counted when another exploration happens, and are ignored for any effects that apply to all characters. Characters at any other location continue their turn as normal.

*Further Exploration
Many effects allow the party to explore again, if an effect does not say 'you' in regards to exploring, then the entire party explores, regardless of which location each character is at (unless that location was affected by the reset and turn end effect); if, during a single exploration, multiple effects each give an additional exploration, it counts as a total of 1 more exploration, not a series of additional explorations.
If an effect specifically says 'you' may explore, then only the character under that effect flips over and encounters a card.

Close a Location:
If there are one or more characters at any location that has no cards remaining and has not been closed, at this time, the party gets one attempt to close each one of those locations. The party chooses one character at each such location and that character -may- attempt to close that location.

Reset Your Hand:
The following applies to each character:
First, apply any effects that happen at the end of the turn; if a power allows or directs you to not reset your hand, you must still apply any effects that happen at the end of the turn.
You may only play cards and use powers that can be used at the end of the turn and only if an effect did not direct you to reset your hand and end your turn.
After resolving these effects and choosing to not play any cards or use any abilities that can be used at this point, you may no longer play cards or use powers for the rest of the turn.
Next, you may discard any number of cards. Then, if you have more cards in your hand than your hand size specifies, you must discard until the number of cards in your hand matches your hand size. Finally, if you have fewer cards than your hand size, you must draw cards until the number of cards in your hand matches your hand size.

End Turn:
The party's turn ends and a new turn begins.

---

The only changes to Encountering a Card and Attempting a check are as follows:

Take Damage, If Necessary. If you fail a check to defeat a monster, it deals an amount of damage to you equal to the difference between the difficulty to defeat the monster and your check result. Unless the card specifies otherwise, this damage is Combat damage. For example, if the difficulty to defeat a monster is 10 and the result of your check is 8, the monster deals 2 Combat damage to you (see Taking Damage, below). Remember that players may not play more than 1 of each card type during a check, so if you previously played a spell to affect the check, you may not play a spell to reduce damage.

*If a character receives one or more damage and has no cards to discard when the damage is dealt, that character buries the top card of his/her character's deck instead.
*If a character discards at least one card for damage, even if more than one damage was dealt, that character does not have to bury a card.

---

The only other difference in the basic rules is when encountering the villain and with losing the scenario.

When you encounter the villain, you do not attempt to temporarily close any other locations.

Since the blessing deck no longer causes losing a scenario normally (since it is reshuffled when it runs out), the two following take effect:
If all characters die, then the players lose the scenario.
If a villain is undefeated and flees and there are not enough cards in the blessing deck and the blessing deck discard to shuffle in for each open location, then the players lose the scenario.

-- Additional Option, Resurrection

Because characters must explore the locations they are at and cannot remain as safe as they can in the normal rules, an additional variant is character resurrection.

After the scenario is over, win or lose, before rebuilding decks, each character, living or dead, shuffles his/her discard deck, character deck, and buried cards together.

Then, for each dead character, the party chooses to do one of the following:

*Banish a number of random cards equal to the total number of characters, alive or dead. The cards can come from any character's combined deck: one from each character, multiple cards from one character, or multiple from each character. In a 5-character game, that means 5 cards need to be banished to resurrect a character. They can all come from one character's deck, or each character could banish one card from their own deck, or one character could banish two cards and three other characters could banish one card, etc.

*Choose to let the character remain dead.

There's been a few changes to some of the character for PACG, and the character tracker sheets that are currently available for download are for the original printing of the game without any errata whatsoever.

It would be nice if an updated version was made available and updated regularly (daily not necessary, but regularly enough when changes are made to the characters).

I know it may be a pain to update it every so often and make it a new free purchase, but I'd very much like to have the updated PDFs since they are not editable and we can't create our own as that's against the use policy.

After reading a few threads here and over at BGG, it seems the second printing of the game is using a US printer and the cards are slightly shorter, but barely noticeable unless you're making a point TO notice it (And this was confirmed by Vic).

Sadly, though, there's two people in my group (three including myself) that tend to notice things like that even without really making a point to look. We're not sleeving our cards, so that won't really help with it.

Starting with AP 3 currently, it seems most locations are being shipped the second printing (as the first has already all sold).

So I was wondering, how hard would I need to work or does anyone have any clue what I'd need to do to make sure I end up with the first printing for AP 3, 4, 5, and 6, aside from randomly searching around to find it?

Or are we just stuck with our OCD overload until we can maybe sell our current first printings and buy all new second printings?

It may sound petty, but there are some things that are really just difficult for us in areas like this, so I'm wanting to figure out how to do things as uniformly as possible. If it's not viable for us, we can just deal, but I figured I'd ask to see if it's even possible at this point.

Several posts over on BGG have asked about the removal mechanic and some questions arose because people were assuming 'return to the box' meant banish, but I've been disagreeing, saying it's not banishing, it's just returning to the box.

However, I noticed something on a related note in the rules (v2 rules) that specifically mentions this point in time (after the scenario).

Dying

If you are ever required to draw a card from your deck and cannot,
your character dies. Place any cards in your deck, hand, and discard
pile under your character card. You cannot take turns, play cards, move,
or do anything else for the rest of this scenario. Certain powerful cards
allow you to return from death; if this doesn’t happen before the end of
the scenario, your death is permanent. The other characters may use the
dead character’s cards when they rebuild their decks after the scenario;
any cards that they don’t keep are then banished.

So my question is twofold.

2) Was this a miswording in the rules either in this section for dying or for the After the Scenario deck-rebuilding section, and if so, then which one is correct?

I searched the forums here for 'lini shapeshifter' and 'ezren evoker' but came up with no relevant results to this.

Over on BGG, there was a question concerning the left to right thing for adjacent choices for feats and the cumulative effect.

The rules say when the choices are immediately adjacent, they must be chosen from left to right. That's a given for the value bonuses (+1) then (+2), etc.

But is that also the case when the left to right isn't numerical bonuses, such as for Lini's Shapeshifter role card that has the following ability:
You may discard a card to roll 1d10 ([]+1) ([]+2) ([] with the Fire trait) instead of your Strength or Dexterity die for any check.

Do you have to do the order as +1, +2, with the fire trait, or can you choose the 'with the fire trait' before doing the +1,+2 ?

Ezren's Evoker role has the following ability:
Add 2 to your Arcane check with the Force ([] or Acid and Cold) ([] or Electricity and Fire) trait(s).

Do you have to do them in order from left to right as well, meaning you must first pick the Acid and Cold before you could pick the Electricity and Fire?

I'm under the assumption that both of the above is that you must do them from left to right, since they are in adjacent sets, so it'd be:
1) +1, then +2, then with the fire trait
2) or acid and cold, then or electricity and fire

Also, as a side question concerning this, numerical values aren't cumulative, but what about the other abilities beyond it? In the first example, do you lose the +2 once you take the 'with the fire trait' option? In the second one, do you lose the chance of 'or acid and cold' once you take the 'or electricity and fire' option?

Also, for the first one, once you take 'with the fire trait,' do you HAVE to use it if it wouldn't be beneficial to you, such as a monster being immune to fire. Can you choose to ignore that part and just get the 1d10+2 without the fire trait?

I'm under the assumption that, since they're not numerical values, you can choose them as they're beneficial to you in any certain situation, but I want to make sure that's correct, because my assumptions have been proven wrong before, and it's better to be safe than sorry later.

A post over on BGG concerning the Collapsed Ceiling came up that made me come here seeking clarification on Collapsed Ceiling.

The post can be found here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1085271/collapsed-ceiling-second-explor ation

The short of it...

A person asks if the second explore, when faced with a Collapsed Ceiling, can be the next card down.

Of course, the first response in the thread is 'no' as the rules state to explore, you deal with the top card.

However, my response chimes in on something that's been said before that the cards do what they say and cards override the rules, and Collapsed Ceiling specifically says characters encounter it as the first explore when faced with it. And so I believe that it is faced as the first explore and only the first explore, since it specifically says first explore.

So my question is (multipart separated to ask both parts of the question):

Is the wording about it being encountered as the first explore actually extra wording that should have been removed, thus making it be encountered at every explore when faced with it?

As in: "We were trapped on both sides when the ceiling collapsed and had to work to dig ourselves out."

Or is the text actually a clarification for it that it is ONLY encountered during the first explore when faced with it and all explores on the same turn beyond that actually deal with the cards beneath it?

As in: "We were trapped from the exit when the ceiling collapsed and the stones weren't quite loose enough for us to quickly dig our way out, so we turned around and decided to explore the area further."

The FAQ has an oversight that I think needs to be fixed, specifically the following:

----------------
I've played a spell that has an effect for the entire turn, but I keep forgetting the effect because the card is no longer in front of me. Can you help?

Yes, we can!

Resolution: Change the following spells as follows:

Glibness: "Display this card and select a character. For the rest of the turn, add 3 to that character's checks that use her Charisma die. Discard this card at the end of your turn."
Strength: "Display this card and select a character. For the rest of the turn, add 3 to that character's checks that use her Strength die. Discard this card at the end of your turn." (This card also appears in the Character Add-On Deck.)
----------------

I believe it should say either:
"Discard this card at the end of the current turn."
or
"Discard this card at the end of the turn."
instead of "Discard this card at the end of your turn."

Many people play these spells on another character's turn, and as such, the card's effect should only last during that turn, not all the way around the table until the end of the caster's turn.

I've noticed hints here and there on the forums over at BGG concerning combat checks and skill checks, and over time, I've noticed people generally tend to get the idea behind them.

However, there was a question that recently came onto the forums that showed that some people do have a bit of difficulty with it, and made a valid point concerning the rules as written.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1051236/amiris-bury-a-card-to-add-1d10- power

I know the viewpoint of the poster is (possibly*) flawed, but I do think it's a valid idea that those without an RPG background might come up against as they read the rulebook and as such, it should probably be added to the FAQ and/or the revised rulebook when it's printed.

The change/addition I believe should be included, just in case, is that somewhere should specifically mention that when you make a combat check using a certain skill, that combat check does count as that type of skill check as well.

If you make a combat check with the Longsword, for example, it should be noted that it becomes a Strength Combat check if you choose Strength, a Melee Combat Check if you use Melee, and it should also be pointed out somewhere that when you do the later (melee) that if your Melee skill is based on your Strength, then it becomes a Strength-based Melee Combat Check.

(yes, these may seem obvious to some people, but there are some people that these are not obvious to, thus why the request for their inclusion)

The only mention of how a check works in the rulebook is in the section that talks about making a check. It points out some types of checks, specifically skill checks and then mentions combat checks, and the poster of the question I mentioned seems to feel that because the book points out those two types of checks, that they are mutually exclusive.

Their thought is that just because you use your Strength Die for a combat check doesn't mean it's a strength check. They point out the difference in wording between Strength (which mentions that it affects all checks made using a strength die) and Amiri's ability (which says strength, melee, or constution check).

Their point is quite valid, and I scoured the rules and the FAQ, the cards, etc, trying to find something to dispute their thought concerning this, and while I did find some evidence, it was a lot of connections between point A and point C through point B.

*If it comes back that the OP's post there is how the rules are intended, then I apologize for saying their interpretation is flawed and retract my thoughts concerning this.

I'm pretty sure that the designers intended that when you use a skill for a combat check, it because that type of check, too.

And while some may find this a stupid squibble concerning the rules, please do try to remember that not everyone playing the game has the same common knowledge that everyone else does. If the rules separate things out and never put them back together again, it's easy for some people that don't follow the invisible line to get confused.

This has probably come up elsewhere, and there's a few posts asking for clarification, but I just wanted to give my personal view on the part of the FAQ concerning cards adding traits to a check, and then because of the new traits, other cards being made able to play off of them.

Specifically this one (yes, we've all seen it before):

Does using a weapon with the Ranged trait allow me to use an Archer on the check, even if I don't have the Ranged skill?

Yes. Cards that replace the required skill for a check add their traits to that check. So playing the Longbow makes your combat check a Ranged combat check.

I know this is official and all, but I'd have to say I disagree, literally, with what the FAQ is saying.

Adding a trait to a check does not make that check the trait. There's a difference between adding a trait to a check and changing the check itself.

Any character can use a bow, and the check gains the Ranged trait, but that doesn't make it a Ranged check by default. When they play the card, they choose either to make a Dexterity Check or a Ranged Check, and set up their dice accordingly. Cards that affect Ranged Checks only apply if the person using the card decides to make a Ranged Check and not a Dexterity Check (since the bow says to roll dexterity die or ranged die).

If the person chooses to make a Dexterity check, (maybe because their dexterity is d10) and they don't have ranged, they may choose to make a Dexterity Check. If they choose to do so, the Archer cannot be used, since it is used to add to a Ranged Check during combat, and the person is not making a Ranged Check. They are just making a Dexterity check with the Ranged trait.

If the person, instead, decided to make a Ranged check, then they could use the Archer, however, because they don't have the Ranged skill, they'd be rolling a d4. So it'd be d4 (ranged) + d4 (archer) for 2d4 total for the check.

That's how I see it, anyway, so I disagree with that part of the FAQ, even though it is official. The way it is, it's just too fumbly. I thought the untrained check was a d4, so how can I make a Dexterity Check but then turn it into a Ranged Check and the die not change since I don't have the Ranged skill?

I can see in the future some enemies being resistant to traits like Ranged or Two Handed (as some are now, such as skellies and piercing). It's not a Piercing Check, though, it's a Strength/Melee/Dexterity/Ranged/WhateverYouRollToCombat check with the Piercing Trait. Two totally different things.