There is currently no FAQ to reference, but there will be in time. And feel free to play these cards however you feel comfortable.

talismanisland said:

When *I'm* the Monk psionically blasting folks from my warhorse, I feel comfortable with my interpretation. But when someone else does it and I'm lagging behind with a third tier character like the Elf, I can't shake some nagging suspicion that maybe Craft value works like mana in M:tG and gets "tapped".

talismanisland said:

Yeah, but he can't use the Psionic Blast too, if you rule like this. There's no other case in the game where a Character cannot use a Spell in the deck (maybe an Elf can't cast Invisibility in the Woods, 'cause he's already able to Evade there?)... what if a Monk with the Wand draws Psionic Blast? Can he cast it for no effect? Or is he stuck forever and ever?

I hope that new FAQ will take into consideration these problems. Monk has been really toned down and that was correct, because adding total Craft was ludicrous (even with exception of Craft granted by objects), but he can't use any Weapons now. No Holy Lance, no Runesword, no Fate Stealer or other interesting Weapons from the Reaper Deck. He definitely should be able to use the Warhorse properly and Psionic Blast in addition to his Inner Belief, for a maximum +9 (a nice situation, but not that likely to happen and that will only last a Combat).

Monk: "Your inner belief allows you to add you Craft value to your Strength during battle.". So, you don't have to use your inner belief and you may cast the Psionic Blast instead.

8janek8 said:

Mmh interesting. Question is answered, but I guess the Prophetess can use the Orb of Knowledge then, instead or her own ability, as she's not obliged to use it. Druid may use the Druid Staff, the Dwarf may use the Gnome, etc.

Words are words, but I prefer general principles that are valid in every situation. 4th edition FAQ was really interesting from this point of view, because it gave answers according to principles, not single answers to single questions. There was a curious principle in that FAQ: "you can't have something you can't use". If I recall correctly, this caused the Troll to drop the Wand if he hadn't the Craft to cast Spells and the Prophetess to ditch or discard (with Special Ability) the Orb and the Wand.

Was it correct? I don't think so, because it generated many weird situations, but it was a general principle that could be applied every time.  Same with Spells that can't be cast with no effect.

I hope they keep the same attitude with FFG Talisman.

If you can't use more than one of the monk, psionic blast and warhorse because they all say the same thing, would the same logic stop you using two cards that add 1 to your strength?

Geoff

Cidervampire said:

There is always one person who says something along those lines!

Think of Monk, Psionic Blast and WarHorse like the Wand + The Wizard. His special ability and the wand are the same, but you don't draw two cards.

Cidervampire said:

I don't think that's quite the same really. It would only be the same as using something twice (or three times) such as being able to use the same Sword twice in combat. The thing of using the Monk's "inner belief" with a Warhorse and Psionic Blast together would mean you would have to use your craft value three times.

Anyway, this is all academic as it is purely my opinion. John G has the final say on rulings so we shall have to wait and see what the official line is at some point in the future when the FAQ surfaces.
 

SubElement said:

This argument doesn't really work.  If you are the wizard and have the wand then you can quite easily obey both abilities.  If you are the wizard you'll have two spells so that meets his special ability, always have at least two spells.  Looking at the wand, always have at least one spell, ok the wizard has two spells so that criteria is met. as well.  It clearly wouldn't be logical to read these two abilities and conclude that you always have three spells.

I think we can all agree that having the Unicorn and the Belt will give you +2 to your strength but how is this logic any different from a character with a craft value of 3 having the Warhorse and a Psionic Blast and adding 6?

I'm not saying that this is how I believe things should work, but there is no evidence in the rules or cards to show that you can't add your craft value twice.

Geoff

Cidervampire said:

The general principle that has always been applied is "you can't gain benefits from an Object/Follower that gives you an Ability you already have".

Prophetess/Wizard may draw one Spell when they are short of and the Wand gives the same Ability to the Character. Is not cumulative, it gives you the Ability to immediately draw one Spell when you have no Spells (according to your Craft value). Troll and 4.5 Warrior can use the Wand if they have at least Craft 3.

I can accept that the Monk can't use Psionic Blast. His Inner Belief Ability is basically a permanent Psionic Blast. You can't cumulate this power twice, because it has the same origin (Character's Craft).

What I can't accept is the parification of Warhorse and Psionic Blast/Monk's Ability just because they have the same final result. You add your Craft value because the Warhorse has been designed that way for practical reasons, but it has nothing to do with the psychic/mental power of the Character. The Monk on a Warhorse should gain a bonus, because he's Charging into battle! In addition, he may use his Inner Belief or, in alternative, a Psionic Blast Spell to get rid of it.

I believe the FAQ will still state that the 3 effects are same and not cumulative. It's better that a FAQ gives general advices, not spot rules.

The_Warlock said:

That must be a rule change as I am pretty sure in 2nd edition, using the Wand was an exception to the Craft limit.

i.e. you could have a spell even if you had less than 3 craft.
 

The_Warlock said:

That must be a rule change as I am pretty sure in 2nd edition, using the Wand was an exception to the Craft limit.

i.e. you could have a spell even if you had less than 3 craft.
 

I think in the 1st edition the wand gave you an extra spell on top of your maximim number

Geoff

From a balance perspective, putting a warhorse on the monk WITH the bonus is no better than giving it to the Wizard (8 Str / 3 Craft versus 7 Str / 5 Craft).  So, no problem there.  And the Wizard is likelier to have Psionic Blast, and gets more of a bonus from it. 

Generally speaking, this warhorse concern is much more of a concern for the monk, and frankly from a balance perspective, he needs the stacking.  Not to mention that it makes Psionic Blast a permanently non-castable spell for the monk otherwise (from the "you can't cast a spell to no effect" rules perspective), making the wand a much, much less useful item for him (and diminishing one of the handful of useful items the monk can use is kind of ridiculous).

From an in-game perspective, there's no reason a monk backed into a bad corner shouldn't be able to channel his inner belief into his feet for a solid kick, whilst at the same time his horse, intuiting from his subtle commands on the rein, throws hooves at the opponent, and the monk uses a single-cast psionic blast scroll that he learned from a traveling mage.

Each ability adds the Craft value separately.  The abilities say: Add it.  Add it.  Add it.  That seems to me like an obvious statement of "add it three times," not to mention that there is no contradictory reason given on any of the three cards or in the rules.  I don't really understand why anyone's suggesting they don't add, since I've not seen any reason they wouldn't, other than players complaining about it being used against them.

talismanamsilat said: