This came up in a game last night... I used a Cryptic Mission against
my opponent's Caitiff, who currently had no blood. Then we looked at it
and got very confused, but he was nice and allowed Nik to go to torpor
for it...
The problem? Cryptic Mission allows you to, as a D action:
Remove 1 blood from any vampire or do one damage to an ally or
retainer.
(BOLD) As above, but acting vampire gains 1 blood from the blood bank.
So here's the question... is it like Steal Blood in that you /cannot/
use it on a vampire with no blood to remove? The wording seems to suggest
it, but other parts seem to contradict, i.e. doing damage to an ally or
retainer, and also the 'removed' blood doesn't go to the Sup. Thaum vampire,
he/she gets it from the Blood Bank.
Should it be read literally, or would a better wording of the card
have been 'Do 1 damage to any vampire, ally, or retainer'?
Also, can it be used on a vamp in torpor (say, to lower a vamp who
just went there because of aggro from 2 blood to 1 so they can't rescue
themselves)?
In rec.games.deckmaster wolf@oxy.edu (Clinton Richard Wolf) writes:
> The problem? Cryptic Mission allows you to, as a D action:> Remove 1 blood from any vampire or do one damage to an ally or
> retainer.>(BOLD) As above, but acting vampire gains 1 blood from the blood bank.> So here's the question... is it like Steal Blood in that you /cannot/
> use it on a vampire with no blood to remove? The wording seems to suggest
> it, but other parts seem to contradict, i.e. doing damage to an ally or
> retainer, and also the 'removed' blood doesn't go to the Sup. Thaum vampire,
> he/she gets it from the Blood Bank.> Should it be read literally, or would a better wording of the card
> have been 'Do 1 damage to any vampire, ally, or retainer'?
No, that would have a very different effect in certain cases. Note
that the "remove one blood" wording will allow you to remove a blood
from any vampire, regardless of what kind of armor they may be wearing
or what kind of damage-resisting fortitude cards they may have. Do
damage would not allow this.
I would like to know how it should be interpreted in the case of a
vampire who has no more blood. My first reaction is nothing happens.
> Also, can it be used on a vamp in torpor (say, to lower a vamp who
> just went there because of aggro from 2 blood to 1 so they can't rescue
> themselves)?
Looks like it to me, unless it says "ready vampire", which it doesn't
seem to.
Rollie
Clinton Richard Wolf <wolf@oxy.edu> wrote:
> This came up in a game last night... I used a Cryptic Mission against
> my opponent's Caitiff, who currently had no blood. Then we looked at it
> and got very confused...> So here's the question... is it like Steal Blood in that you /cannot/
> use it on a vampire with no blood to remove? The wording seems to suggest
> it, but other parts seem to contradict, i.e. doing damage to an ally or
> retainer, and also the 'removed' blood doesn't go to the Sup. Thaum vampire,
> he/she gets it from the Blood Bank.
Cryptic Mission isn't just a steal blood. You use it against a vampire,
and if that vampire has any blood left, then it loses a blood; if it's out
of blood, then nothing happens to it. If the acting vampire has superior
Thaumaturgy, then it gains a blood regardless of whether the victim
actually lost a blood or not.
> Also, can it be used on a vamp in torpor...
No. The only things you can do to vampires in torpor are to encounter
them (as per the action), unless a card specifically allows you to interact
with that vampire (e.g., Grave Robbing).
Tom Wylie rec.games.deckmaster Network Representative for
aahz@hal.com Wizards of the Coast, Inc.