Descent Rules Clarification

Hiya folks,

I recently bought Descent and tabled it. As with all first-time plays, we came up with a couple of rule hickies. Was hoping some of the Descent veterans/OLs can help me clarify these:

1- The main one is the line of sight...

a- Let's say you want to attack diagonally around a corner, we've agreed that your line of sight is not blocked (you can see 50% of the fella, measuring center to center of grid) and you can attack...

However, what happens if you are using a ranged/magic attack where your 45 degree diagonal line is cut by both corners on both sides? (I know this sounds quite confusing... will do a graphic next time to clarify if it's hard to visualise).

b- Does the slight thickness of the dungeon wall count towards obstructing line of sight? (this question really reminds me of D&D heydays) I'd say no... but what say you folks?

2- Movement

The fallen pillar in the first quest created a diagonal gap near where the Master sorceror is first spawned... can the Sorceror move diagonally through it?

3- Breath Attack

If the breath attack 'fits' a corner which the hero is hiding behind, does it still hit? How do you guys measure how breath attack is being blocked?

4- Swapping Weapons

I read the Equipment Limits for heroes... I think somewhere it says that the 2 Other items heroes can keep must not include items with hand icons (weapons)... yet another part of the game (i believe it's a skill card/ability) states that heroes can swap weapons without penalty... are they just talking about switching one of their two one-handed items, or can they actually keep another weapon in the backpack?

5- Weapon Type

Is it correct to say that once you go with a sword, you're largely a melee hero as bows tend to be two-handed (and you can't keep Hand Icons weapons in your pack to swap)?

6- Mata and Kata

Mata and Kata can carry items... but can they help heroes pick up gold piles? Also must the hero spend movement points to pick up things from them, or can we use one of their 6 points to pass things to heroes?


Thanks in advance, and cheers. :)

And oh yeah... can a hero/monster fight from inside a pit? IF they can't, can they still be targets of attacks?

Hiya folks,

I recently bought Descent and tabled it. As with all first-time plays, we came up with a couple of rule hickies. Was hoping some of the Descent veterans/OLs can help me clarify these:

1- The main one is the line of sight...

a- Let's say you want to attack diagonally around a corner, we've agreed that your line of sight is not blocked (you can see 50% of the fella, measuring center to center of grid) and you can attack...

However, what happens if you are using a ranged/magic attack where your 45 degree diagonal line is cut by both corners on both sides? (I know this sounds quite confusing... will do a graphic next time to clarify if it's hard to visualise).

b- Does the slight thickness of the dungeon wall count towards obstructing line of sight? (this question really reminds me of D&D heydays) I'd say no... but what say you folks?

2- Movement

The fallen pillar in the first quest created a diagonal gap near where the Master sorceror is first spawned... can the Sorceror move diagonally through it?

3- Breath Attack

If the breath attack 'fits' a corner which the hero is hiding behind, does it still hit? How do you guys measure how breath attack is being blocked?

4- Swapping Weapons

I read the Equipment Limits for heroes... I think somewhere it says that the 2 Other items heroes can keep must not include items with hand icons (weapons)... yet another part of the game (i believe it's a skill card/ability) states that heroes can swap weapons without penalty... are they just talking about switching one of their two one-handed items, or can they actually keep another weapon in the backpack?

5- Weapon Type

Is it correct to say that once you go with a sword, you're largely a melee hero as bows tend to be two-handed (and you can't keep Hand Icons weapons in your pack to swap)?

6- Mata and Kata

Mata and Kata can carry items... but can they help heroes pick up gold piles? Also must the hero spend movement points to pick up things from them, or can we use one of their 6 points to pass things to heroes?


Thanks in advance, and cheers. :)

Hiya. welcome to the club of endless rule ambiguity courtesy of FFG. Other than that, Descent is a fabulous game (We'll soon hear from the group of players who hate FFG and Descent soon). First off, have you visited their official website to download their FAQ?

http://fantasyflightg...

1a) LOS is mostly the perennial question especially for ranged/magic. The rules state that to trace LOS, it is from the centre of the square of the attacker to the centre of the square of the target, so if you can trace a line NOT touching any square containing another obstacle such as a block or a figure, you can see your target and thus you can fire away.

1b) No, the thickness of the wall corners are for esthetic purposes so, it does not block LOS

2) Yes, the sorcerer can move through that gap. See similar eg on pg 9 of rule book where silhouette, the heroine moves through the gap between the beastman (which blocks movement to heroes) and a block.

3)This question is best explained from the latest FAQ 1.3 found on the FFG support page. In summary, the breath template must be placed on a legal adjacent square of the hellhound/dragon. It can be blocked by closed doors. Do note that rubble obstacles DO NOT block breath attacks. You should be able to trace it as if it is flowing or billowing around corners etc.

4)Yes, on pg 13, "Other" items do not include weapons (with hand icons) or Armor. The equipment cards already state which category they are in (i.e., they will state "other" or "armor", etc).

you can swap weapons from your hands to your backpack at the beginning of the heroes turn for free or when you get weapons from the treasure chest only). You'll have to use 2 movement points if you want to swap weapons during your hero's activation.

whatever it is, the heroes are still limited to holding 1 two handed weapon or 2 single handed weapon or shield. (except for One Fist, since he only has one hand)

5) No. I'm playing a campaign where Jaes the battlemage is now killing more monsters with a sword when he is a .... well, a mage. So, using a different type of weapon does not make one a melee or ranged character. It just makes that type of attack a melee or range or magic. Character class (warrior, mage, etc) does not come into play here, only the type of attack which is determined by the weapon held

6)No. The rules, pg 14 state that M and K picks up items, gold piles are not items, there's just too much gold coins for them to pick up .

The receiving hero does not spend a point picking up things from them, instead M and K must spend 1 of their 6 movement points to give the item to the target hero. again pg 14

And oh yeah... can a hero/monster fight from inside a pit? IF they can't, can they still be targets of attacks?

The FAQ 1.3 states that the figure in the pit has LOS to the adjacent squares of the pit and vice versa. It however does not state that it is ADJACENT in such a way that you can do a melee attack. Personally, I feel that range and magic attacks can be made but not melee attacks

@_@...

thanks for the link... the 7-page errata & FAQ takes a while to digest... and i noticed that even their Errata/Faq have errors:

"Q: When a chest explodes because of the ?Explosive
Rune? card, does the hero standing on the chest suffer
wounds, or just the heroes adjacent to the chest?
A: The hero standing on the chest suffers wounds." <- i thought both will suffer.

Anyway, thanks for all the help as well. :)

err anyplace i can download descent rulebook and errata and stuff? cos i planning to run descent over at hideout this friday for my friends ... so will like a low down of rules and stuff

adrian has just provided this in his post...

http://fantasyflightg...


there are also a lot of add-ons in boardgamegeek which you can consider using... i'm planning to design my own player mat.

@_@...

thanks for the link... the 7-page errata & FAQ takes a while to digest... and i noticed that even their Errata/Faq have errors:

"Q: When a chest explodes because of the ?Explosive
Rune? card, does the hero standing on the chest suffer
wounds, or just the heroes adjacent to the chest?
A: The hero standing on the chest suffers wounds." <- i thought both will suffer.

Anyway, thanks for all the help as well. :)

Hmmm, I didn't notice that. Heck, we're all humans and mistakes will always be made. Just have fun, but as OL, both will suffer

err anyplace i can download descent rulebook and errata and stuff? cos i planning to run descent over at hideout this friday for my friends ... so will like a low down of rules and stuff

adrian has just provided this in his post...

http://fantasyflightg...


there are also a lot of add-ons in boardgamegeek which you can consider using... i'm planning to design my own player mat.

Hey, if u do make one, do inform me, ok?

@_@...

thanks for the link... the 7-page errata & FAQ takes a while to digest... and i noticed that even their Errata/Faq have errors:

"Q: When a chest explodes because of the ?Explosive
Rune? card, does the hero standing on the chest suffer
wounds, or just the heroes adjacent to the chest?
A: The hero standing on the chest suffers wounds." <- i thought both will suffer.

Anyway, thanks for all the help as well. :)

Thats not an error, you just didn't read the question clearly. ;-)
The question could be paraphrased (always dangerous, but anyway) as an either/or choice. a) does the hero standing on the chest take wounds or b) just the heroes adjacent. The correct answer, as you thought, is c) they all take the wounds, but since that option wasn't given, the correct answer to the question as asked was a).

FWIW I disagree with Adrian about the fighting from within a pit thing, though given he has (surprisingly, to me) stated such an opinion I would want to go back to the rule book to clarify the exact wordings involved. (In fact, although there are lots of FAQs and apparently unclear rules, most of the 'unclear' rules can be accurately deciphered by reading the rulebooks carefully and thoroughly - its just that doing so is uncommon.)

If you will be playing Descent at Hideout on Friday I might wander over to watch - its only about a block from my place I think, though I haven't been there yet. I've been meaning to go have a look for a couple of weeks now. If I turn up and spot some Descent-ing action I'll be happy to say hello and offer any rules assistance.

FAQ just states that LOS be traced from within the pit to adjacent squares and vice versa. Nothing is stated about the fact that these squares are really adjacent to each other such that melee can be conducted. pg 11.

However, I think it's been played as it is by most groups, i.e. adjacency whether in the pit or not allows melee to be conducted as I scoured the forums but nothing on this issue.

I remembered the first RTL session when Nanok (siao) was trapped in pit and still get to hit (melee) the master spider adjacent to it such that I had to retreat one square away from LOS