Rise of the Runelords Rules Clarification

[DestinyOpfa]

Apologies for the long list in advance.

1. Are there Avenge mechanics in this Adventure? I saw the core set having rules for fighting monsters that other characters in the same location having failed to defeat but not this one? How do we go about it if there are?

2. I am only able to play one card per type per check am I correct? So if a villain has 2 lives (Combat then Combat) I can play 2 blessings (one for each life)?

3. I can play spells anytime am I correct? Even during my opponents turn? I understand I can play one spell per check (when someone/myself) has flipped the card and I am responding to it, but how many spells can I play per turn?

4. When playing a Boon (usually Blessing) says add 1 die, is it the highest die, lowest die or both? E.g. If I play Scorching Ray with a Blessing, what die does it add? 1D12? 1D6? 1D12+2D6?

5. When adding more dies to a check that has +1, do I double the +1 as well?

E.g. If I roll my Arcane Die for Scorching Ray and my Arcane Die is D12 (+3 Charisma), and I use a blessing, is it 2D12 (+3 Charisma to each die) So I subtract 6 from the Check Requirement?

What about fixed values like Cure? If I blessing a cure, is it 2D4 (+1 each to each die)?

6. For Fights that have Combat then Combat, I read that you HAVE to roll for second combat even if you fail the first one. What happens if you Fail the first Combat Roll but pass the Second one?

7. Does unused Loot stay with you forever? E.g. If I decide to take out my Shih Medallion to replace it with a different item, what happens to the Shih Medallion? Can I reverse the decision 1(or future) scenario(s) later?

8. Does banishing Pidget (Henchman) count as defeating him?

9. If I use an Arcane Die for a Combat Check, does it count as an Arcane Check/Invoke? E.G. If I use a card that says add 2 die to your Arcane Checks, does CASTING a spell/using the spell in combat give me 2 additional die?

10. Are Villans and Henchmen Monsters? (My card says add 2 to defeat Monsters).

Thanks :)

[Frencois]

It depends if you want to play with the second version (Core) rules or the previous historic set of rules (Runelords used 1st version. In short, depending if you want PREcore or CORE rules.

1
PRE : No avenge doesn't exist in Pre-core
CORE : Yes

2
PRE : Yes, the limit is one / type / character / check
CORE : Yes, the limit is one / type / whole party / check

3
PRE and CORE : You can play as many spells as you want during any turn (yours or another character one), respecting the limits (for example, you can't play CURE during an encounter

4
PRE and CORE : It adds the die that is linked to the SKILL you are using. So if a spells says "for your combat check, use arcana + 2d6" and your arcana skill is charisma+3 and you have d12 in charisma, then the blessing adds 1d12. if your charisma was 1d4+3, then you would add 1d4 (and not 1d6). Note by the way that if you didn't had arcana at all, you could still cast the spell, with a default arcana skill = 1d4. So the spell with a blessing would do 1d4+2d6+1d4 before being banished.

5
PRE and CORE : NO, when you add a DIE, there is never a "+" added.
So your blessed Scorching Ray is (1d12+3)+2d6+1d12
Blessing only adds a DIE to a CHECK. The amount of damage a cure heals ISN'T a check. So a bless would not add anything to the cure amount. Actually, you cannot even play the blessing because it doesn't apply.

6
PRE and CORE : YES you have to roll the second even if you failed the first one.
Succeeding on the second usually only prevents you to take additional damage, since each time you fail a check, you take damage.

7
PRE and CORE : like any boon, if you banish it at any time (including when rebuilding your deck), it goes back to the box (in PRE) or vault (in CORE) - which usually means it's lost forever.
Now depending on the rules, when you rebuild your deck and are lacking a specific type of card to complete it, you may decide to repick a previous loot from tyhe game (but usually if it's something like 3 levels below where you stand).

8
PRE and CORE : banishing isn't defeating. So unless the reason your are banishing a card is because you previously defeated it, a banished card isn't defeated. For example when you close a location, you banish the remaining banes, but they aren't defeated.

9
PRE and CORE : YES, if a card adds for a certain time to a type of check, it adds to all those checks.
Let's say you explored with an ally saying that during this exploration, you get to add 2d4 to your arcane checks.
And you have displayed an item saying that while displayed, you get to add 1d6 to your intelligence checks.
Your Intelligence is d8 and you have Arcane=Intelligence+3 and are casting a spell saying that for your combat you can use Arcane+2d6.
Then that check is at the same time a Combat, Arcane, and Intelligence check.
So you would roll d8+3+2d6+1d6+2d4.

Say the bane you are trying to defeat has as check to defeat :
Combat 20 OR Arcane 15 OR Intelligence 10
Then you could choose to roll either :
d8+3+2d6+1d6+2d4 against 20 (because it's a Combat, Arcane, and Intelligence check)
d8+3+1d6+2d4 against 15 (because it's an Arcane and Intelligence check)
or d8+1d6 against 10 (because it's just an Intelligence check)

10
PRE and CORE : ONLY if the card says "Monster" in the "Type" box. There are villains or henchmen that can be barriers.

Hope that helps

[DestinyOpfa]

Frencois wrote:

It depends if you want to play with the second version (Core) rules or the previous historic set of rules (Runelords used 1st version. In short, depending if you want PREcore or CORE rules.

1
PRE : No avenge doesn't exist in Pre-core
CORE : Yes

2
PRE : Yes, the limit is one / type / character / check
CORE : Yes, the limit is one / type / whole party / check

3
PRE and CORE : You can play as many spells as you want during any turn (yours or another character one), respecting the limits (for example, you can't play CURE during an encounter

4
PRE and CORE : It adds the die that is linked to the SKILL you are using. So if a spells says "for your combat check, use arcana + 2d6" and your arcana skill is charisma+3 and you have d12 in charisma, then the blessing adds 1d12. if your charisma was 1d4+3, then you would add 1d4 (and not 1d6). Note by the way that if you didn't had arcana at all, you could still cast the spell, with a default arcana skill = 1d4. So the spell with a blessing would do 1d4+2d6+1d4 before being banished.

5
PRE and CORE : NO, when you add a DIE, there is never a "+" added.
So your blessed Scorching Ray is (1d12+3)+2d6+1d12
Blessing only adds a DIE to a CHECK. The amount of damage a cure heals ISN'T a check. So a bless would not add anything to the cure amount. Actually, you cannot even play the blessing because it doesn't apply.

6
PRE and CORE : YES you have to roll the second even if you failed the first one.
Succeeding on the second usually only prevents you to take additional damage, since each time you fail a check, you take damage.

7
PRE and CORE : like any boon, if you banish it at any time (including when rebuilding your deck), it goes back to the box (in PRE) or vault (in CORE) - which usually means it's lost forever.
Now depending on the rules, when you rebuild your deck and are lacking a specific type of card to complete it, you may decide to repick a previous loot from tyhe game (but usually if it's something like 3 levels below where you stand)....

Thanks so much for your help!

I wanted to confirm one more thing.

If a Monster has 2 Checks, Combat x Then Combat Y, if I fail one of the checks but pass the other, is the encounter defeated?

[Whipstitch]

No. (This is true for both Core and Pre-Core.)

The same is true if more than one check is required to acquire a boon. Succeed ALL checks, or you have not succeeded in defeating/acquiring.

Sources, if you're interested:
Core Set Rulebook, page 10, "Resolve the Encounter"
Rise of the Runelords Base Set Rulebook, page 10, last paragraph (in "Attempting a Check")
Mummy's Mask Base Set Rulebook*, page 11, second paragraph of regular text

*Because technically, when playing pre-Core material, you should use the latest rules, except for rules specific to a particular AP (like Ship rules for Skulls and Shackles)

[Whipstitch]

Remember also that if more than one check is required, the character encountering the card must attempt at least one of them, but each of the other checks may be attempted by one other character at the location. (Core and pre-Core)

[VikingNeil]

Hi,
I have two questions relating to the Rise of the Runelords game. We are now in the second follow up pack.

1- If a barrier card summons a henchman for us to fight and it is defeated, then the summoned henchman card says that we can attempt to close that location. That seems to bypass the henchman that was selected for that location and seems to cheapen the conflict and make the resolution of the scenario much too easy. What is the proper way we should deal with such summoned henchmen? Should we seek to defeat it only as a way to defeat the barrier and ignore the invitation to close the location?

2-On the bottom of several cards it say under Recharge "None". Does that mean that those cards can be recharged at no cost?

Finally, can anyone tell me where I can find the page that shows some updated rules for Rise of the Runelords?

Thank you in advance for your advice and instruction.

[Brother Tyler]

1. A summoned bane would not afford you the opportunity to close the location, even if it has a power saying that you can do so. For example, if you encounter the Skeleton Horde barrier (1), none of the characters that defeat the summoned Ancient Skeleton get to attempt to close the location they are at. As a general rule, the only time a bane's "If defeated, you may immediately attempt to close this location" power applies is when that bane is listed as a henchman for the scenario and it is encountered from the location deck. The updated rulebook wording is "Usually you get the opportunity to close a location after a [sic] defeating a henchman from that location deck..." (page 13) and "Some cards may summon a particular henchman card into play temporarily. Since this summoned henchman doesn’t come from the location deck, defeating it doesn’t allow you to close a location." (page 17)

2. Cards with a Recharge entry of "None" may not be recharged. The Recharge entry explains the circumstances under which you may recharge the card, not the cost to recharge the card. So "None" means that there are no circumstances under which you may recharge the card.

You can find the latest version of the Rise of the Runelords rulebook at: https://paizo.com/download/pathfinder/PZO6000-Rulebook.zip

You might also consult the latest version of the Mummy's Mask rulebook at: https://paizo.com/include/PZO6030-Rulebook.zip - as the last of the classic (i.e., pre-Core) lineup of PACG APs, that rulebook has the most up to date wording of rules (ignore anything that doesn't apply to Rise of the Runelords, such as Cohorts and Curses).

You might also have a shortcut to the FAQ/errata page. All of the FAQs for the APs are stickied at the PACG General Discussion forum.