Redeem is meant here in a spiritual sense, not an economic one.* So, redeeming a card doesn't mean you get the card. It means the card is no longer spiritual corrupt.
When you redeem a card, you choose a card you have and then check that card off on the list. From then on, you pretend the Corrupted trait is no longer a trait of that card.
Redeeming a card simply means making it no longer have the corrupted trait. For example, the Corroded Helm. If you play the Corroded Helm, you'll have to bury a random card from your discard pile.
If you have the Corroded Helm and are able to redeem it, that means you start pretending it no longer has the Corrupted trait. Which will mean that first paragraph won't apply and you'll be able to play it without burying a random card from your discard pile.
Cards will tell you to redeem a boon. For example, the Corruption Forge location allows you to redeem a card.
See this FAQ. Adding that to the rulebook, we get:
Redeeming Cards
When you are allowed to redeem a card, and that card is among your cards, check it off on the redemption card (see The Redemption Card on page 23); for the rest of the Adventure Path, that boon no longer has the Corrupted trait.
So, if your character had the Monkey's Paw, and you closed the Corruption Forge, and had a blessing that didn't have the Corrupted trait, you would banish that blessing. Then you'd check the box next to Monkey's Paw on the Redemption Card.
From then on out, you would treat the Monkey's Paw like it didn't have the Corrupted trait. So, if the Monkey's Paw ended up in a location deck and you encountered it but failed to acquire it, you wouldn't bury a card, because the Monkey's Paw doesn't have the Corrupted trait.
Or, if you later played the Monkey's Paw at the Corruption Forge , you wouldn't have to bury it, because it no longer has the Corrupted Trait. Or if you were at the Tower of Estrod and the Monkey's Paw was in your discard pile, you couldn't recharge it from your discard pile at the end of your turn, because it doesn't have the corrupted trait.
Does that help?
|
Most corrupted boons have a negative associated with their usage - you can use it, but then you pay a penalty if it has the corrupted trait. Removing that trait means you get the good stuff without the bad stuff. Tarlin sure has a better time with the Blackaxe and Soulshear if they've been redeemed.
Also, there's a particular scenario where the henchmen (IIRC) can't be defeated if you have any card with the corrupted trait in your hand. It's wise to redeem your favorite weapons / items / armor that are corrupted, and worth considering a deck full of corrupted blessings to be risky (you can't redeem those blessings).