Multiple characters on a check

[Dr.Jay]

I just wanted to clarify that we did something right (I now think we did it wrong).

We encountered a barrier, Collapsed Ceiling or tunnel I think (the one the stays in place if you fail it), at a location where there were 2 players present.

The person whose turn it was attempted the check and failed it. So...

According to the rulebook: "Any character at that location
can attempt one or more of the checks, as long as the character who
encountered the bane attempts at least one of them. If the character
who encountered the bane is not able to attempt at least one of
these checks, the bane is undefeated and other players do not need
to attempt checks against it."

Ok, first, does this ONLY apply to checks that have multiple conditions, like 'then' or 'or' cards. BECAUSE, it could be interpreted that as long as there are multiple players at a location, then any bane could be approached by multiple players as long as the primary player was able to attempt the check at all. In the case of the card above, the card stays in place (and therefore in play), so unlike other banes it is not shuffled back into the deck if the primary player fails the check, thus leaving it up and available. Unlike a combat check where the monster gets shuffled back in to the location and has to be found again to be encountered again.

Since it is still up and playable, if the primary player attempts and fails it, does this rule now come into play allowing another player to attempt the check? The rule says the 2nd player can attempt one or more, but is not specific in that it has to be a different check than the primary player. It also does not state that the primary player has to succeed at their check, only that they have to attempt it.

Now, I realize that this rule came up in reference to cards with 'then' conditions on them, but at the time we were playing it seemed perfectly reasonable that the 2nd player could attempt the check, which they succeeded at in our case. Thinking about it now, it seems that we probably misinterpreted this rule, at least in the spirit of the rule.

Perhaps some clarification is needed.

Also, another question in regards to this same card. If you are the primary player at this location, encounter the card and fail the check, can you then discard a blessing or ally card and re-encounter this barrier twice in the same turn?

Thanks!

[Proto Persona]

Nope, you played that wrong. Only the cards with "then" checks can be attempted by multiple characters. It sucks too, getting hit with a trapped passageway while the wizard is exploring, for instance.

Now the card in question can be attempted by another player, but not on your turn. They have to wait for their turn to take a crack at it.

Also yes to the blessing question, but usually you can't re-encounter a failed bane that way.

Edit: I should really consolidate my thoughts before hitting submit.

[TClifford]

Yea, you are missing the section of that rule where it talked about THEN. Another PC can only attempt a check if the card itself has a THEN between two checks. Only in that case can the active PC do one and anyone else at the location do the other. Any other time, the active PC must make the check with the assistance of other characters, but only by using abilities and card to add to the check roll. That is probably one of the more confusing paragraphs in the rulebook.

[Fromper]

The key point here is that the rules quote in the first post follows a sentence that begins, "If there’s a “then” between them, you’ll need to succeed at both checks sequentially to defeat the bane", so it's only talking about situations with two checks separated by "then".

[Flat the Impaler]

The wording in the printed & PDF rulebook is not as clear as previous responders have made it sound. If the "it follows this other sentence" argument is be believed, then the only time the "any character at that location" sentence would actually apply is when there is both "or" and "then" in the check, because it follows the sentence that explain which takes priority.

As originally worded, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that stand-alone sentences might apply to the whole paragraph. The "check to defeat none" sentence can't possibly apply to the "then" or "or" or "any character" sentences, yet it follows all of these.

In any event, they've clarified this in the FAQ:

FAQ wrote:

In the case of a bane that requires sequential checks, any character at that location can attempt one or more of the checks

(emphasis mine)