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Rules Team Rulings 11-JUL-01

Q: What effect does a successful Kindred Segregation have on an ally that costs blood (Courier, for example)?

A: The pool cost to recruit (0 pool) is repaid trivially, so the ally is kept for free, like any ally that costs no pool. This answer is the same for Peace Treaty, should any weapons come along that cost blood.

Q: Can a Peace Treaty/Kindred Segregation be called when no weapons/allies are in play?

A: Yes. If there are no weapons/allies, then Peace Treaty/Kindred Segregation can burn all of them (all zero of them) with no problem.

Q: If you have a Thanks for the Donation in play for a location you're contesting with Democritus's controller, your prey burns 2 pool when you untap (assuming you choose not to yield). What happens when your prey has only 1 pool during your untap (and you choose not to yield)?

A: She tries to pay the cost to contest, so she's ousted, but you still yield since you haven't paid the price to contest. (Parallel with Vast Wealth retrieving a weapon that costs more pool than you have).

Q: Speaking of Vast Wealth, there are disparate rulings for what happens when a peice of equipment is found that costs too much. If it costs too much pool, then the Methuselah is ousted (i.e., partial cost is paid). If it costs too much blood, then the card is discarded with no other effect (i.e., partial cost is not paid). Also, if a vampire spends enough blood on action modifiers so that the blood cost of the action can no longer be paid, then the action fizzles, but no partial cost is paid. Why the difference? Also, what would happen if I have 2 pool and try to equip with a .44 using Madness Network so that I can play Direct Intervention on an intercept reaction card. If the action is successful, do I pay the 1 pool or not?

A: Good question. In the interest of uniformity and, as an added bonus, to remove the strangeness of the cases where a more expensive card costs you less than a cheaper on (because the cost cannot be paid), the partial cost ruling is reversed:

Q: When vampire A ends combat with superior Catatonic Fear (or Oubliette or Riposte) and the opposing vampire B plays Telepathic Traking to continue combat into a new round, what happens to the damage to be done by Catatonic Fear?

A. It is applied when combat eventually ends. The same is true of the "go to torpor" effect of Undead Persistence. This is slightly different than the "end combat and continue action" effects which are disrupted when combat continues or is started again.

Q: When does a Methuselah lose pool for superior Treachery (voting for the referendum)?

A: When the results are tallied, same as when the basic version's pool loss occurs.

Q: Can a Blood Brother Ambush be played if combat was not about to occur (i.e., the acting Brujah antitribu was attempting to leave torpor)?

A: Yes. In this case, the BBA-combat would negate the option of diablerizing the acting vampire; since it cancels combat, it cancels the diablerie option as well. (This latter part is a reversal of RTR 19970306.)

Q: A vampire takes agg damage and doesn't prevent. He wants to play Undead Persistence, his opponent wants to play Decapitate. What happens?

A: Since the timings are the same ("when the vampire is going to torpor"), the acting minion gets the first chance to play whichever one is his. Either one will preclude the opposing minion from playing his.

Q: A vampire with no Potence equips with Hand of Conrad. In combat, his opponent plays Drawing Out the Beast. Can the vampire use Undead Strength?

A: No. Anything he can do only by virtue of equipment he possesses is off limits to him while under the effects of Drawing Out the Beast.

Q: If I use Horrid Reality and find a weapon with a Clan requirement that the acting vampire doesn't meet, what happens?

A: The weapon cannot be "equipped" (which is the way Horrid Reality treats the effect), so the weapon is discarded (and Horrid Reality has no other effect).

Q: Can I play Cryptic Mission against a vampire with no blood? How about Blood to Water against a vampire with only 2 blood?

A: Yes. Steal/burn blood/life effects target the minion, not the individual blood counters. Similarly, burn pool effects target the Methuselah, not the individual pool counters.

Q: A vampire who has performed Return to Innocence (yes, I know it's currently on the banned list) is Banished. During her next influence phase, his Methuselah puts more blood on him than his capacity. He moves into the ready region and the excess blood drains off. Does this burn Return to Innocence?

A: Yes, this counts as "losing blood" and Return to Innocence (which is back in play at the time) notices and, by card text (previous errata), is burned.

Q: Mummy allies say to return them to the library when they are burned. What happens when I discard one from my hand?

A: It goes to the ash heap. Card text ("Do not replace", "shuffle into your library", "gain a master phase action", etc.) isn't inspected for discarded cards.

Q: What happens when the action to recruit a mummy is blocked?

A: The mummy card goes to the ash heap, as normal. Only stuff about playing an action card ("do not replace until...", "requires a prince or justicar") or about the action to play it ("+1 stealth action") has any bearing on an (as-yet) incomplete action. The plain text (and superior form, if any) has no effect unless the action is successful (except for the few cases where the superior form modifies the action's stealth or cost or some other attribute that applies before the action resolves).

Q: Now that self-contesting is not allowed, what happens when [insert any one of the many examples of how you can, by accident or design, be "forced" to bring in a second copy of a unique card you control]?

A: If you are forced to contest with yourself, the incoming copy is burned without contesting.

Q: OK. But what happens if the "incoming copy" has a Soul Gem? (That is, I've got vamp A out already. Older vampire B, with a Soul Gem, is burned and the top card of my crypt is another copy of vamp A)

A: The incoming copy is burned, triggering the Soul Gem's effect again.

Q: If I use Blood of the Cobra and play Dagon's Call as my strike at long range, is it still a hand strike?

A: No. Dagon's call becomes "Strike: ranged. Make a hand strike ... and the opposing minion takes 1 unpreventable damage during the press step..." The modified Dagon's Call strike is not a hand strike, and the hand strike made as part of its effect is not effective at long range, although the rest of the Dagon's Call effect is.

Q: If I use Blood of the Cobra and play Scorpion's Touch as my strike and use it with my Bastard Sword, what effect does it have?

A: Similar to above. Scorpion's Touch makes your Bastard Sword strike a "Strike: Make a bastard sword strike and put this card on the opposing minion..." and Blood of the Cobra makes that a "Strike: ranged. Make a bastard sword strike and put this card on the opposing minion..." The Bastard Sword strike does no damage at long range, but the rest of the effect ("put this card on the opposing minion...") is applied.

Final Nights Design Team Rulings/Errata

Al-Ashrad, Amr of Alamut

has +1 bleed, as per the Ancient Hearts version (errata to the Final Nights version).

Catacombs

costs 1 blood, not 2, as per the Ancient Hearts version (errata to the Final Nights version).

Malleable Visage

is only usable by an untapped vampire. (errata)

Ur-Shulgi, The Shepherd

has +1 bleed (errata).


Review of changes found in Final Nights

Changes to the rulebook

A few sections have been slightly clarified: [1.1], [6.2.2], and [6.4.6].

You cannot contest cards with yourself [4.1]. If, via the ending of some temporary-control effect or via some other effect, you end up contesting with yourself, simply burn the incoming copy of the unique card. If you were previously contesting the card, you continue contesting until your untap phase. If you had uncontested control of the card, then you retain uncontested control of the card [DTR]. Note: your vampires can still contest titles with each other.

Assamites cannot commit diablerie by the rules [6.5.5] and have reminder text "(Blood Cursed)" on them instead of the "cannot commit diablerie" text. This rule also affects those Assamites created in play who lack the "(Blood Cursed)" reminder text (such as a vampire created by an Assamite via The Embrace action). Explicit card text is needed to allow an Assamite to overcome this restriction. If a vampire changes clans to become an Assamite, he acquires the Blood Curse. If an Assamite changes to a different clan, he loses the blood curse.

Changes to card texts

Acquired Ventrue Assets costs no pool and is only activated on your own master phase.

Alamut can give only vampires (not allies) votes.

Banishment cannot choose a vampire the same age or older than the acting vampire.

Blood Tears can prevent damage only in combat (the gain blood effect can still be used at any time).

Fata Morgana can be used for just +1 bleed at superior (if the stealth is not needed, for instance).

Heidelburg Castle's name is corrected to "Heidelberg Castle". Both spellings represent the same unique location.

Kali's Fang does strength+1 damage instead of a flat 2 damage (and the damage is still aggravated).

Powerbase: Rome costs no pool.

Purity of the Beast: costs no blood and doesn't reduce the acting vampire's capacity.

Ravnos Cache costs no pool.

Rudolpho Giovanni's name is corrected to "Rudolfo". Both spellings represent the same unique vampire.

Ruins of the Villers Abbey costs no blood and "Villers" is corrected from "Villars". Both spellings represent the same unique locaction.

Summon the Serpent puts a blood from the blood bank on the retrieved vampire.

Thetmes's title of Calif is corrected to "Caliph". Both spellings of the card name represent the same unique vampire.

Typos and Corrections for Final Nights

Ecstatic Agony: is an action, but is missing the action symbol.

Forgotten Labyrinth: artwork is by Drew Tucker.

Free States Rant: the word "vampire" on the third line should be plural.

Guard Duty: "block" is misspelled.

Mark of Damnation: uses the art from Mark of the Damned.

Mirror Image: the inferior should be "+1 stealth" not "+1 stealth action."

Perfect Clarity: "duration" is misspelled.

Powerbase: Rome: "form" should be "from" in the first sentence.

Tariq: "can not" should be one word.

Temptation: "Counters" is misspelled.