This article originally appeared in Pyramid #16
Q&A on
Questions taken from the rec.games.trading-cards.misc newsgroup on the Internet; answers by the INWO netreps, compiled by Lynette R.F. Cowper:
Q: Can you use a Backlash card, to negate the effects of a Plot card which changes more than one attribute of its linked Group (like Messiah or Dictatorship)?
A: These cards are immune to Backlash, since it specifically says "Any one change . . ." Since these cards cause more than one change, Backlash doesn't work on them.
Q: Can you play a +10 Plot (such as Terrorist Nuke), then Hat Trick it and play it again in the same attack, since it is the same card and not a duplicate?
A: No. Even though it is the same card, you still may not play it twice in the same attack. Hat Trick became a duplicate of the +10 Plot, so it has already been played once.
Q: What is the difference between a +X and an increase by X?
A: INWO tends to use "increase by X" on cards that make a permanent Power change, like NWOs, and "+X" on cards that just give a bonus in certain situations. This is far from a hard-and-fast rule, however. To determine if a Power change is permanent, see if it will last for more than the current turn. This is important for some Goals.
Q: If I am using a Privileged Attack Plot card to make an attack Privileged, must I play the card at the start of the attack, or can I wait until someone is about to or has just committed assistance tokens, and then declare it Privileged and play the card.
A: The rules specifically state that you must declare Privilege when first declaring the attack.
Q: Can I play a Cover of Darkness card, just after another player plays his, thus cancelling that other player's Cover of Darkness, and taking the Resource for myself?
A: No. You may only play Cover of Darkness when a Resource has been destroyed. Since the first Cover of Darkness prevented its destruction, there is no target for the second Cover of Darkness to affect.
Q: A Nuclear Disaster is played when the Nuclear Power Companies has multiple Action tokens (because of a Plot of Special ability), do they lose all of their Action tokens or just one of them?
A: They lose all of the tokens they have. The "Nuclear Accident" text in The INWO Book and on the Factory Set version of the card makes this clear.
Q: Can Shangri-La play a Disaster or Assassination on a non-Violent Group?
A: No. Disasters and Assassinations are a special sort of Attack to Destroy. Shangri-La cannot make any attacks to destroy against a Group that is not Violent.
Q: If a Group gives an "any attempt" bonus to destroy, does that bonus apply to its own destruction or does the rule stating that a Group may never aid an Attack to Destroy itself apply to this situation? Example: Cthulhu attacks to destroy his own Semiconscious Liberation Army. Does he get the +3?
A: Bonuses to attacks are not the same thing as aiding an attack. Groups which cannot aid a specific attack, because they lack the right alignments or Global Power, still give their bonuses to that attack. Groups may not aid in their own destruction, but their bonuses still apply.
Q: When attacking a Secret Group, do you get the "any attempt" bonuses from your non-Secret Groups?
A: No. "No other Groups may . . . use their special abilities for or against Secret Groups . . ." Ð the rules under Secret Groups. Since the "any attempt" bonuses are from the Groups' special abilities, they do not apply. Neither do you get "any attempt" defense bonuses from your non-Secret Groups that aren't the puppet or master of the Secret Group.
Q: I'm attacking a Group from my hand when my opponent cancels the action of the attacking Group. What happens to the card I was attacking?
A: Since the attack was cancelled, it never happened. It didn't fail, it just never happened, therefore, the card remains in your hand.
Q: Can a player play a New World Order card after an Instant attack has been played on one of his Groups in order to affect the Power of the target before the dice are rolled? For example, Player A plays Atomic Monster on Player B's California. Can Player B play NWO: Political Correctness to increase California's Power by 3 before the dice roll?
A: No. In general, cards take effect in the order played (that's nearly a direct quote from the rules under "Timing"). There's nothing on the NWO to indicate its effect should be done out of order, so the Disaster takes effect first - with all the dice rolling, token loss, devastation, etc.Ð then the NWO takes effect, after it's too late.
Q: Can I combine a Goal card with an Illuminati special goal?
A: Yes, as long as the Goal card does not prohibit it.
Q: Is the limit of only counting 3 Groups double per goal or per player? (In other words, if I combine a Goal card with an Illuminati goal can I count 6 applicable Groups double, or only 3?)
A: No more than 3 Groups may ever count double.
Q: Can I play an Instant on an opponent after he has declared an attack?
A: If he's committed to the attack, you can't. If he hasn't, you can't just slap down the Instant because he wasn't fast enough at removing his tokens. You have to give him time to perform the action he has declared by, for instance, saying, "Are you really attacking or just talking? If you're really attacking, commit to it. If not, I'm doing something." If he won't commit to the attack, you may play the Instant.
Q: Can you power a Plot against a Group or Power Structure using a token from a Group to which the target Group or Power Structure is immune (for example, using a token off a Straight Group to power a Plot against Discordia, or using a token off a non-Secret Group to power a Plot against a Secret Group)?
A: Yes.
Q: Can you use an alignment changer (e.g. Orbital Mind Control Lasers, the "permanent" alignment change cards, etc.) against a Group that's coming out of your own hand? For example: I control the South American Nazis, who have a +8 to control Weird Science Groups. Can I pull the Center for Disease Control out, saying "The SA Nazis try to control the Center, but first . . ." and pull out a Jake Day card, making the Center Weird before the attack?
A: No. The Orbital Mind Control Lasers specifies that the target must be "in play." The alignment-changers establish a permanent Link with the target Group. Links can only be established with cards in play.
Q: Certain Groups, Resources, etc. give extra Action tokens to their master or Group they're linked to, some of these Groups/Resources specify "each turn" (e.g. Brazil, Hawaii, Book of Kells, etc.). Does this mean that the affected Group gets an extra Action token each turn regardless of if it already has Action tokens?
A: No. If a Group controls or is linked to one of these Groups or Resources, it may have two tokens, maximum, instead of the usual one. If it controls/is linked to 2, it may have 3 tokens maximum, and so on.
Q: Does China give one extra Action token each turn to its master, like Brazil and Hawaii, or just one token one time?
A: One extra each turn.
Q: The Clone Arrangers were changed from "any Attack to Control a personality" in the Limited to "any attempt to control a personality" in the Unlimited. Is there a difference?
A: "Any attempt" is defined in the rules, "any attack" is not. Since there was some question as to whether the "any attempt" rules should be applied to the "any attack" cards, all the cards that used this phrase were re-worded. There is no difference in the effect.
Q: Does the Pollsters' special ability to ignore any bonuses due to alignment not in their favor extend to defense?
A: Yes.
Article publication date: December 1, 1995
Copyright © 1995 by Steve Jackson Games. All rights reserved. Pyramid subscribers are permitted to read this article online, or download it and print out a single hardcopy for personal use. Copying this text to any other online system or BBS, or making more than one hardcopy, is strictly prohibited. So please don't. And if you encounter copies of this article elsewhere on the web, please report it to webmaster@sjgames.com.
