What's up with the new rulings?

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From: Ralph Melton (ralph@DIAGA.FAC.CS.CMU.EDU)
Subject: FAQ Questions
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 97 23:40:57 EST

I've read the updates to the Cards FAQ, and although I appreciate the Secret Masters' attempts to clarify these issues, I still have questions from the FAQ. In particular, I have these questions and comments:

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Can this cancel bonuses that apply to attacks on the group, like the Trekkies' +4 to be attacked by Media Groups, while the Trekkies are under attack from a player's hand?

Pollsters

Was it ever clarified whether the Pollsters's ability counted for bonuses due to cards (such as the C.I.A.'s +4 to destroy Governments, or just to the +4/-4 for alignments?

Ronald Reagan

While his new ability to 'begin bombing in five minutes' is amusing and appropriate, I do feel that such a drastic change should have been listed as errata, as well as just in the FAQ.

Immortality Serum

Sometimes I wonder if there will ever be a perfect disambiguation for this card. This version is a noble effort--but if you read it carefully, it allows you to bring in Personalities from outside the game (i.e., personalities that weren't in anyone's deck when the game began.) I've occasionally wished that that was so, but I don't think it's good for game balance to permit that.

Lab Explosion

I really hadn't thought that having a Lab Explosion on you would prevent you from playing Cover of Darkness; I thought that the purpose of the qualification of 'new' in 'The target Illuminati cannot take over new Resources' [emphasis mine] was to allow scavenging of old resources with Cover of Darkness and the like.

[This question censored by the NSA line-eater. Fnord.]

Fnord Motor Company

I have always played that Fnord Motor Company's special ability meant that you had to discard a Plot card from your hand. I think that the clarification that you can discard cards from other people's hands is fiendishly Illuminated, but well beyond what can be justified by the card text itself.

Opportunity Knocks

The "Glossary of Terms" section in the WDH 1.1 says that 'when a card says it does something "each turn", that means each time its owner takes a turn!' This is a clear contradiction to this new ruling; Bavaria should not be allowed to turn an Opportunity Knocks attack Privileged with its special ability.

Orgone Grinder

Well, yes, it does 'increase the owner's charisma to almost unmanageable proportions', but I don't feel it should be necessary to write 'CHR: 18/00' on the card.

Libertarians

According to this ruling, if the Libertarians have a Charismatic Leader, and they then take over Al Amarja, their power drops from 6 to 2, because it says 'their power becomes equal to the Nation or State', instead of 'their power is increased to that of the Nation or State'. This is cunning . . . I'm trying to think of how it can be used in an offensive way.

Perhaps it's time to just go back to the beginning and try again with these rulings . . .

Ralph Melton

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