Spells in a turn


Rules Questions and Gameplay Discussion


Hi ! I am a beginner at this game (just played 3-4 times) so sorry if it has been asked before, but I was wondering if I was right in this : For all points below, of course it's "unless stated otherwise on your card" :
1-) You can play spells even if it's not your turn
2-) You can play spells anytime during a turn (before, while, or after exploring)
3-) Your spell can affect someone at your location but not at other locations
4-) You can play many spells in one turn but only one per check (but other characters can add other spells for that check)

Thanks in advance !

Silver Crusade Contributor

You've got the wrong forum, I'm afraid. Try here. ^_^


Oh, I wanted to ask this in the "card game" section, sorry... How can I move that thread there ?

Silver Crusade Contributor

I've flagged it so the moderators can take care of it.

You can do the same: go to Flag on your post and select "Thread is in wrong forum" from the drop-down.

It'll still take a little while for them to see it, though.


thanks :)... and sorry :)

Silver Crusade Contributor

No problem! ^_^


It seems like nobody replied to your questions yet.
1) You can play spells on anyone's turn, except during an encounter. Then you can only play one spell during each step of the encounter if it relates to that step.
2) same
3) depends on the spell, check the wording and if it doesn't say, then you can play it to affect anyone anywhere
4) one per check or one per step of an encounter. So like one for the "when encountered", one for "before you act" ("before the encounter" in Rise of the Runelords), etc.


jones314 wrote:
4) one per check or one per step of an encounter. So like one for the "when encountered", one for "before you act" ("before the encounter" in Rise of the Runelords), etc.

To answer the other part of (4), one per check for each player, so there could be up to 6 spells on the check if you have 6 players.


Irgy wrote:
jones314 wrote:
4) one per check or one per step of an encounter. So like one for the "when encountered", one for "before you act" ("before the encounter" in Rise of the Runelords), etc.
To answer the other part of (4), one per check for each player, so there could be up to 6 spells on the check if you have 6 players.

Also AFAIK you can cast a spell that boosts your casting stat earlier in the turn, and then still use, say, an attack spell for your combat check later in the same turn - gaining the benefits from both spells during the same check.


zayzayem wrote:
Also AFAIK you can cast a spell that boosts your casting stat earlier in the turn, and then still use, say, an attack spell for your combat check later in the same turn - gaining the benefits from both spells during the same check.

But note, you can only play a spell when a character encounters a card if the spell says it is playable at such a time. There isn't an "anytime window" that lets you play any spell when you encounter a card.


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
jones314 wrote:
1) You can play spells on anyone's turn, except during an encounter. Then you can only play one spell during each step of the encounter if it relates to that step.

Is that really true? So, say Kyra and Valeros are at the same location. It's Valeros' turn, and he has an encounter, is defeated, and his hand is wiped. He does not have enough cards in his deck and would die if he has to reset his hand at the end of his turn. Is it really legal in this situation for Kyra to play Cure to prevent this?


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Zaister wrote:
jones314 wrote:
1) You can play spells on anyone's turn, except during an encounter. Then you can only play one spell during each step of the encounter if it relates to that step.
Is that really true? So, say Kyra and Valeros are at the same location. It's Valeros' turn, and he has an encounter, is defeated, and his hand is wiped. He does not have enough cards in his deck and would die if he has to reset his hand at the end of his turn. Is it really legal in this situation for Kyra to play Cure to prevent this?

Yes. After the hand-wipe the encounter is over. We are now between steps of the turn where anything can be played without limit, including Cure. It isn't being played during the encounter, it is being played after it but before Valeros moves on to ending his turn.

Silver Crusade

Yes, absolutely, Kyra can play a cure to heal Valeros.


Zaister wrote:
jones314 wrote:
1) You can play spells on anyone's turn, except during an encounter. Then you can only play one spell during each step of the encounter if it relates to that step.
Is that really true? So, say Kyra and Valeros are at the same location. It's Valeros' turn, and he has an encounter, is defeated, and his hand is wiped. He does not have enough cards in his deck and would die if he has to reset his hand at the end of his turn. Is it really legal in this situation for Kyra to play Cure to prevent this?

Totally. The only exception would be if the thing Valeros was encountering forced him to end his turn (like a Ghoul).

I made a turn sequence chart. It isn't official, but I think it helps.
RotR Version
S&S Version
WotR Version


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Thanks for clearing that up. I was somehow under the impression that the you in "you can play cards and powers between steps" was referring to the active player only.


Yeah, in S&S and Wrath we have a default "if I draw a Cure at the end of my turn, I'm playing immediately" assumption to avoid chance encounters with bad banes that wipe hands. Unless everyone's discards are mostly empty, that Cure is earmarked to go off before the next character's first explore (allowing the other player to move to the Cure location, if necessary).


Note however that you cannot play your cure until after the advance blessing deck step.
So if a scenario power for example would force you to draw cards during that step, you could die before being cured.
It's a little trickier when you consider start of the turn effects. Say one power (location, scenario, displayed barrier...) forces you to draw a card at the beginning of your turn, can you receive a cure before?
- is there a between steps space between advancing blessing deck and start of turn that I can use to play a cure?
- can I play cure as an interrupt (there it comes again) during the start of turn?
- suppose there are two start of turn effects and one would make me draw a card, can I start by the other one and then argue that there is a space between the two for me to be cured?

Not sure those technicalities questions have any importance with the actual existing cards, but I'm curious on how Mike Vic or Hawk would see it if it had. Just food for thoughts for the holiday season.


elcoderdude wrote:
zayzayem wrote:
Also AFAIK you can cast a spell that boosts your casting stat earlier in the turn, and then still use, say, an attack spell for your combat check later in the same turn - gaining the benefits from both spells during the same check.
But note, you can only play a spell when a character encounters a card if the spell says it is playable at such a time. There isn't an "anytime window" that lets you play any spell when you encounter a card.

Play attack spell (Frigid Blast) during the "determine which skill you are using" step.

Play stat-boosting spell (Glibness) during the "play cards that affect the check" step.

Problems?
(I do want clarification on this)


zayzayem wrote:


Play attack spell (Frigid Blast) during the "determine which skill you are using" step.

Play stat-boosting spell (Glibness) during the "play cards that affect the check" step.

Problems?
(I do want clarification on this)

These are two steps of the same check. Each player may only play one card of each type on a given check. So no, you can't play both Frigid Blast and Glibness on the same check.


elcoderdude wrote:
zayzayem wrote:


Play attack spell (Frigid Blast) during the "determine which skill you are using" step.

Play stat-boosting spell (Glibness) during the "play cards that affect the check" step.

Problems?
(I do want clarification on this)

These are two steps of the same check. Each player may only play one card of each type on a given check. So no, you can't play both Frigid Blast and Glibness on the same check.

Is it per check or step, or just step?

Last time I checked about this, the rules reference I was given only refers to step, not check.

Can you give me the rules reference where it says one card per check not step.


Page 12 of the WotR Rulebook wrote:
Remember that each player may not play more than 1 card of each type or use any 1 power more than once during each check, other than cards that can be used each time something particular happens.

(It's the sentence directly above Determine Which Skill You're Using.)

Each check is a step during an encounter (Attempt the (Next) Check). While the rulebook breaks out substeps for checks, those don't free you up to play more cards of the same type or reuse powers.


I'm using p10 WOTR

"Each player may play no more
than 1 card of each type during each step;"

This in the section Encountering a Card. It says to me clearly that it is per step, not per encounter.

Thank you.

Was using p10.
And the back of the book which both refer to each step, not check.

Was getting confused by p13 which also states that can't use two spells at different steps of the same check.

Looks like I'll have to scale back my uber-spell combos.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

An encounter is not a check. An encounter contains checks (usually), but it is more encompassing. There are two restrictions:
1. You may not play more than one card of each type during each step of an encounter
2. You may not play more than one card of each type during a check

Since checks can also occur outside of encounters, the second rule is not redundant.


More on spell piggy-backing:

1. Can you cast a stat-boosting spell during the start of turn, and then combine that with an attack spell during an encounter.

2. Can you cast a stat-boosting spell during your first encounter, and then use it in combination with an attack spell in your next one.

(Essentially, as long as you aren't casting them in the same encounter, can you be under the effect of 2+ spells cast by the same player in the same encounter?)


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

1. Yes (or rather, you can cast it in between the advance the blessings deck step of the turn and the explore your location step -- you can only play things at the start of the turn itself if they say they can be played then)

2. Yes, assuming the spell sticks around for that. The restriction is only on playing 2 cards of the same type; you can be effected by any number of cards of any types already in play.


Thanks for all those answers ! It can ben a tricky game sometimes, but it's very fun and addictive as well !


zayzayem wrote:
elcoderdude wrote:
zayzayem wrote:


Play attack spell (Frigid Blast) during the "determine which skill you are using" step.

Play stat-boosting spell (Glibness) during the "play cards that affect the check" step.

Problems?
(I do want clarification on this)

These are two steps of the same check. Each player may only play one card of each type on a given check. So no, you can't play both Frigid Blast and Glibness on the same check.

Is it per check or step, or just step?

Last time I checked about this, the rules reference I was given only refers to step, not check.

Can you give me the rules reference where it says one card per check not step.

Just to add back to this. The important distinction is that the rulebook never cards the "parts" of attempting a check "steps." It just calls them actions.

WotR Rulbook p12 wrote:
Attempting a check requires several actions that are explained below.

"Steps" is a term reserved for the parts of a turn and the parts of an encounter. So, this rule:

WotR Rulebook p12 wrote:
Remember that each player may not play more than 1 card of each type or use any 1 power more than once during each check, other than cards that can be used each time something particular happens.

isn't in any way a contradiction to the limit on 1 card of each type per step, because checks are not made up of steps. That rule exists for when checks happen outside of any step (like a check to recharge Cure played in between the steps of a turn).

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