Barl Breakbones

[aurax]

Hi there

I am about to face the big guy in Adventure Deck 3.

In your opinion, what would happen if two separate characters attempt to beat Barl?

After the first combat check is attempted, Barl forces the character to discard a card and then reset the hand (I guess this is something thematically related to his "turn you into stone" powers")

The question is... who is forced to discard and reset? The first character or the second?

For me, it makes sense that is the first - the "after the check" effect being consistent with a sort of "after the encounter" effect (plus, thematically it would make sense to petrify the first character, but we know theme is not always the answer) however it may be intended to work the other way and make the fight more difficult for the second character.

I checked the FAQ and did not find anything about this.

Thanks!

[csouth154]

The cards always talk to the character encountering them.

[Hawkmoon269]

So, I think he says:

Barl Breakbones wrote:

After the first check, discard 1 random card from your hand, then reset your hand.

I've treated this as something the encountering character has to do, which may not necessarily be the character that attempted the first check. I always treat the powers of the bane as "speaking" to the character that encounters them. Even things like "Damage dealt by Barl is dealt to each character at this location." is talking to the encountering character, who has to tell the others. That is just how I personally see it. But because of that I'd have the encountering character follow that instruction.

If it said "After you attempt the first check, discard 1 random..." then I'd be more inclined to say that whoever attempted the first check would follow it.

Assuming that is the way you should do it, there is still a big risk for the encountering character, regardless of which check they attempt. If they take check 1 and another character takes check 2, the encountering character risks dying by the fact that discarding a card before resetting their hand is likely to mean they will need to draw a card. They also might loose a card they were planning on playing for check 2. If the encountering character is attempting check 2, then they risk loosing a card that was going to be key to their check.