Archives for 2015

Update: There’s already been an update to the FAQ and we’ve moved it to a new permanent place: http://dndaw.com/faq

The Dungeons and Dragons Attack Wing FAQ has been released on the Wizkids Rules Forum.. It’s a PDF, which isn’t the easiest thing to search, so I’m also making it available here. All rights are, of course, reserved for Wizards of the Coast and Wizkids.

General

1. What happens when a rule in the Quick Start Rulebook contradicts the rules in the full Rulebook?
   Use the rules in the full Rulebook. The Quick Start Rulebook is only meant as a general introduction to the game system.
2. Do you remove a Duration Token from an Upgrade Card during the very first round that the Continuous Effect begins? What about Duration Tokens on face up Damage Cards?
   Yes, during the End Phase you remove 1 Duration Token from every Upgrade Card and Damage Card that possesses one, even if the Duration Tokens were just placed recently.
3. What happens when a creature receives a second copy of the same Effect Token?
   A Creature cannot possess more than one copy of the same Effect Token. Any ability that would place a duplicate copy of an Effect Token on a creature is ignored.
4. If a creature is not permitted to roll defense dice against a particular attack, can it still use a Dodge Token?
   No. Whenever an effect prohibits a target from rolling any defense dice (e.g. Magic Missile), then both the Roll Defense Dice and Modify Defense Dice steps of combat are skipped. Therefore, no action tokens, including Dodge Tokens, can be spent to avoid such an attack.
   This is different than when an effect simply reduces the number of defense dice to 0 (e.g. from an effect that forces you to roll “-1 defense die”). In this case, the Roll Defense Dice and Modify Defense Dice steps still occur, and action tokens can still be spent as normal.
5. Does Energy Resistance still apply when a player is unable to roll defense dice or when action tokens cannot be spent?
   Yes, this is an exception to the previous rule. Energy Resistance provides an automatic Dodge result against Upgrade attacks of a particular Energy type, regardless of whether or not the defender is permitted to roll defense dice. Energy Resistance applies even if the attack occurs outside the Combat Phase and even if action tokens cannot be spent during the attack.
6. The rulebook states that a creature’s Primary Weapon attacks are not considered to be a particular Energy type. What about an Upgrade Attack that specifies that it is a Primary Weapon attack of a particular Energy type?
   If an Upgrade Attack identifies itself as being a Primary Weapon attack of a particular Energy type, then that supersedes the general rule about Primary Weapons not being of a particular Energy type.
7. Several cards refer to a creature’s “Action Bar.” Where is this located?
   A creature’s “Action Bar” is the row of Action Icons listed on its creature card. It does not include any “Action:” abilities included in the creature’s card text.
8. If something affects all creatures on the same “play level,” or can only affect creatures on the same play level as the attacker, what happens if one or more creatures are swooping?
   There are only two play levels: ground and air. A swooping creature is always considered to be in the air. This prohibits swooping creature from making certain attacks, such as Tail Sweep and Cleave, against creatures on the ground, since these attacks require the attacker to be on the same play level as the defenders.
9. When an effect has the ability to trigger “immediately” after a certain condition is met, can you do something else before triggering the ability?
   No, you must trigger the ability immediately or not at all. If you trigger another ability, then it is too late for you to trigger the first ability. However, it is possible for both players to trigger an effect “immediately” after a certain condition is met. If the order matters, then the active player’s effect triggers first.
10. Can you use the “Flight vs. Ground Overlapping Advantage” to fly over multiple ground creatures in a row?
    Yes.
11. When using the “Flight vs. Ground Overlapping Advantage”, when do I apply the Straight Maneuver Template?
    As per the rulebook, page 27:
    “If moving past the other figure, use one of the [Straight] Maneuver Templates to continue the flying creature’s move past the other figure, even if it was using a [Bank] or [Turn] when it bumped the ground figure.”
    The word “continue” is meant to imply that you still use the original template, but use the [Straight] template just to keep going until you make it past to the other side.
    Keep in mind that this is optional. The flying creature can choose to stop in front of the ground creature if it chooses.
12. Does the “Flight vs. Ground Overlapping Advantage” work when Feinting?
    No. As per the rulebook, your Feint Action fails if you cannot place your creature without overlapping another creature or obstacle.
13. Can you intentionally attack one of your own creatures?
    Yes, unless the attack specifies that it must be used against an “enemy” creature.
14. When attacking my own creature, can I spend my Target Token to re-roll my attack dice?
    Yes.
15. What happens if an attack is declared and the target is out of range?
    If there is no one in range of a declared attack, then the attack fails. All costs, including Duration Tokens, are still paid.
16. If a creature receives an Exhaustion Token, does it retain action tokens that it received earlier in the round?
    Yes.
17. If a creature is unable to perform Actions, can it still spend Action Tokens (e.g. from Actions taken earlier in the round)?
    Yes. Spending an Action Token is not the same thing as performing an Action.
18. What happens if an armored creature is hit with critical damage and the face up Damage Card deals additional damage (e.g. “Double Damage”)? Does the creature’s Armor deflect the new damage?
    No. Damage is inflicted during the Deal Damage step, which means it’s too late to deflect the extra damage with Armor (which is deflected during the previous step).
19. If I spend a Charge Token, do I receive +1 attack die on all melee attacks in my forward arc this round, including extra attacks granted by Close Quarters and similar Upgrades?
    Yes.
20. Do I receive the bonus attack dice from Charge even if my figure bumps another figure and I don’t actually move forward at all?
    Yes.
21. Can an effect that adds attack dice modify an attack that does not actually roll attack dice (e.g. Eshaedra + Magic Missile)?
    No.
22. If an ability triggers “after you move,” does this include movement resulting from spending a Charge Token or using Upgrades like Flyby Attack?
    No, this only refers to your normal movement during the Activation phase. It triggers specifically after the Clean Up step.
23. Some special abilities require a player to roll a fixed number of defense dice to determine the outcome of an effect (for example, the Dracolich’s Paralyzing Touch or attacking an ally while Charmed). When rolling a fixed number of defense dice, can the number of defense dice be increased or decreased by special abilities?
    No, when a card like Charm or Paralyzing Touch mentions that a specific number of defense dice are to be rolled to determine the outcome of an effect, then that number of dice cannot be altered. One partial exception to this rule is Dragonfly the Grey, whose text allows him to re-roll 1 blank result each time he rolls the defense dice. His ability would be effective in this situation.
24. When measuring the effect range of a Burst Token, do you measure from the center of the Burst Token, or from the sides?
    The sides.
25. Do the targets of a Burst attack receive the Defensive Combat Bonus for being at Range 4 from the attacker?
    Yes, as long as the target is at Range 4 (or greater) from the attacking creature.

CREATURES

1. Does Eshaedra receive her bonus attack die when making a Burst Attack such as Fireball?
   Yes. In this case, it is the distance from Eshaedra to the target creature that matters.
2. Must Incorporeal creatures make Overrun Checks?
   Yes. Consider that a living being might present greater resistance to a spirit than a wall would.
3. What is the timing for the Wraith’s Create Spawn?
   The new Wraith is placed during the End Phase when the defeated creature is removed from play. That is why the term “killing blow” was used rather than “lethal damage.”
4. Can Calamity be damaged by attacks that “ignore” Armor?
   Yes. Calamity is only protected from attacks that specifically say that they “penetrate” Armor.
5. The Human Paladin creature cards (“Ontharr Frume” and “Hand of Fury”) list different Actions on their Action Bar than the Actions listed on their corresponding creature tokens. Which are correct?
   The Actions listed on the creature cards are correct: Dodge, Charge, & Concentrate.
6. Can Vakka grant her free action to herself?
   No.
7. Can you combine Drizzt’s ability with that of the Warhorse?
   No, since you can only have one immediate effect trigger from the same condition. This is a reversal of a previous ruling.
8. If Tiamat uses her unique ability in conjunction with Close Quarters, will her -2 penalty apply to her Claw attacks as well (for a total penalty of -4 attack dice during each Claw attack)?
   Yes.
9. If Tiamat attacks first with Bigby’s Hand, must she roll -2 attack dice if she plans to use her special ability afterwards? If not, what about the other order?
   If you attack with Bigby’s Hand at full attack dice, you will be unable to use Tiamat’s special ability. It affects all of your attacks during that round.

TROOPS

1. If a player tries to place a soldier (accidentally or intentionally) in a space where it cannot fit, that soldier becomes “pressed” as per the rulebook. Can the player continue to attempt to place soldiers in that same space in order to purposefully press more soldiers?
   No. Once it is established that a soldier cannot fit in a particular position, the player cannot intentionally place future soldiers in that position. Of course, if there are no open spaces in any direction, then the player will be forced to press the remainder of his soldiers.
2. Can you use healing effects to restore lost soldiers to a Troop?
   No.
3. Are individual soldiers within a Troop considered to be separate creatures? Or is the entire Troop considered one creature?
   A Troop (consisting of all soldiers) is considered one creature. A soldier is an individual unit within the Troop. So Close Quarters would allow multiple attacks against the same Troop. Create Spawn only works when the last soldier in the Troop is defeated.

UPGRADES

1. What happens when you lose an Upgrade such as the Silver Staff, which grants another Upgrade slot? Do you lose the additional Upgrade?
   No. Once the game begins, your Upgrade slots are set.
2. If an Upgrade says that “you can only equip one other Weapon Upgrade or a Shield Upgrade,” does this mean that you are limited to only one other Upgrade for this creature, or does it mean that you can take either another Weapon or a Shield plus any other Upgrades the creature may be entitled to in order to fill its Upgrade slots?
   This means that the creature can have a maximum of two weapons or one weapon and one shield. You can fill out its other Upgrades however you see fit.
3. If an Upgrade permits a player to make multiple attacks (e.g. Haste, Rapid Reload), can you choose to attack the same creature more than once? Can you instead choose to attack two different creatures? If so, do you have to declare both before rolling, or can you do one attack, and then do the second one after you see the result?
   Unless otherwise specified, you can divide the attacks however you like. You can wait to see how the first attack goes before declaring your second target.
4. Many Upgrade Attacks, such as Sleep Breath, require you to place Duration Tokens on the card regardless of whether you succeed at the attack, and the Continuous Effect on the card includes the text: “When this Effect ends for any reason, discard this card.” If the attack misses, is the Upgrade still discarded when the last Duration Token is removed?
   No, you can keep the Upgrade and try again. The Continuous Effect only triggers if it at least one creature receives an Effect Token.
   Additionally, it is possible that one or more creatures will end the effect prematurely (due to Legendary Resistance, being woken up, etc.); if this occurs, do not discard the Upgrade until the Continuous Effect has ended for all creatures.
5. Invisibility states that “no player can spend their Target Token against you.” Is this only for the purpose of re-rolling dice, or does it prevent spending the token to initiate other effects such as Magic Missile?
   It prevents spending the Target Token in all circumstances, including to initiate other effects such as Magic Missile.
6. Do you have control over when to place Damage Cards beneath False Life?
   No, you must add the first 2 Damage Cards that you receive. Remember that you must resolve normal hits before resolving critical hits.
7. Do I suffer the critical effects of Damage Cards placed beneath False Life?
   No.
8. Does damage applied to False Life count as the creature being damaged for purposes of scenario rules and card effects like System Shock?
   Yes, but the creature itself is not considered to retain the actual Damage Cards, which is important for the text of creatures such as Balagos.
9. Can you heal the Damage Cards beneath False Life?
   No.
10. Can I use Legendary Resistance to immediately negate the effects of an Effect Token or face up Damage Card that my creature has received?
    Yes, if you activate Legendary Resistance immediately, then you suffer no effects at all from that particular Effect Token or Damage Card.
11. Does Artillery Master allow me to choose which dice to re-roll?
    Yes.
12. If I make a Primary Weapon Melee attack, do the effects of Frost Battle Axe and Holy Warhammer stack?
    Yes, you are considered to be dual wielding if you choose to activate both Upgrades during the same attack.
13. When using Suggestion against a creature, can you choose “no Action” or “no attack”?
    Yes.
14. The Fly Spell says that I can choose to use the Flight Maneuver Dial at the start of the Planning Phase, even if I’m not currently flying. Does doing so make me flying (do I put the Flight token next to my base?) If I do so, can I then land after I move?
    Yes and yes.
15. If a creature in the air has an unrevealed Flight Maneuver Dial when it is targeted by Challenge, can it choose to land, or must it swoop? If it can land, does it just execute its Flight Maneuver on the ground, or does something else happen?
    In this case, the creature would receive a Ground token but would still execute the maneuver on the Flight Maneuver Dial as if the creature were on the ground (i.e. no “Flight vs. Ground Overlapping Advantage”).

CAMPAIGN ARTIFACTS

1.  Can Campaign Artifacts be used in standard games, including Organized Play events?
   You can use Campaign Artifacts in standard games, including Organized Play events, as long as each player has a maximum of 1 Campaign Artifact in his or her Legion.
2. The reference card for the Adornments of Tiamat says I can use multiple Artifacts of Tiamat. Is this still restricted to the unique rule, or can I have, for example, 3 Scales of Tiamat in my legion?
   Each Artifact is unique, so you cannot include multiples of the same Artifact in your legion.
3. Can you include only one type of Artifact in your Legion build, meaning you cannot have both Tiamat and Bahamut Artifacts in your Legion?
   Correct, you can only have Tiamat or Bahamut Artifacts in your Legion. Moreover, you cannot have any other Campaign Artifacts in your Legion at the same time.
4. Does the Aerobat Amulet negate the effects of the “Crippled” Damage Card?
   Yes.

ORGANIZED PLAY (OP) EVENTS

1. Should each player use their own Damage Deck during an OP Event?
   This is ultimately up to the venue, but the rules suggest that both players use the same Damage Deck.
2. Does creating a Wraith through the Create Spawn Upgrade give you an advantage when determining Scenario Point totals?
   No. A Wraith that enters play due to Create Spawn does not count as part of a player’s Legion Remainder. The new Wraith is considered an extension of the original Wraith who used the Upgrade, which is why it dies if the original Wraith dies.
3. When determining Scenario Point totals, how do you count Upgrades equipped at a reduced cost?
   Use the discounted rate. So for Arveiaturace, the opponent would subtract 0 LP due to Close Quarters.
4. When determining Scenario Point totals, how do you count partially eliminated Troops?
   Use the Legion Points showing on the current topmost Troop Token. Therefore, Limnen’s ability can be an effective way to deny your opponent Scenario Points.
5. How exactly does Legion creation work in relation to 90 / 30 tournaments with blind boosters?
   You bring your 90 point Legion to the event. You then receive your blind booster, and can build up to 30 points from the booster. Upgrades cannot be swapped between your 90 point Legion and your blind booster. You cannot alter your 90 point Legion after receiving your blind booster.
6. When time is called for a battle and both players have creatures remaining and also have the same number of Scenario Points, how is this handled?
   In this rare case, the players should each roll an equal number of dice, and victory for the round should be given to the player who rolls the most Concentrate results. If this situation occurs when determining the winner of a tournament, the venue may elect to do a final showdown between the two players to determine victory.
7. In OP Adventure #3 (Poisoning the Well), if both players choose the same color die, are they able to pull vials from either side?
   Yes.
8. In OP Adventure #3 (Poisoning the Well), if both players choose a different color die, can they pull vials from their opponent’s supply base?
   You can take either vial, but you can only hold 1 type of vial at a time, and you cannot drop a vial into the well unless it matches your side (poison or antidote). In other words, if you choose to pick up the wrong vial type, you will not be able to drop it until your creature is defeated.