Fun with Semantics

Hey again, just lookin' to play with some more grammar. The thread about Compel the Spirit got me thinking about the phrases "this card", "that card", and "the card", which can be misinterpreted for fun. Check it out: Inveraray, Scotland says: "The vampire gets +X bleed, where X is the amount of blood on the card." Not "where X is the amount of blood on THIS card"? "Arika bleeds you for 13!" Storage Annex says: "You may look at the card at any time." Wow. I can look at my Storage Annex immediately, and then again later. The Stranger Among Us has you: "Show the card to all players and place it face-down in your uncontrolled region." Be sure to look at my Stranger Among Us, so you don't brainwash it here in my uncontrolled region. Visit from the Capuchin reads: "Each time you play or discard a card (except when discarding down to your hand size), burn a counter from the card." I guess I'll play a Herald of Topheth, and then burn one of its counters. Anyone got anything else way out of context to contribute? -- Brian Putting someone's signature out of context, not so funny.

"Brian" <firstco...@aol.com> wrote in message news:80bafd85.03020...@posting.google.com... > Hey again, just lookin' to play with some more grammar. > > The thread about Compel the Spirit got me thinking about the phrases > "this card", "that card", and "the card", which can be misinterpreted > for fun. Check it out: > > Inveraray, Scotland says: > > "The vampire gets +X bleed, where X is the amount of blood on the > card." > > Not "where X is the amount of blood on THIS card"? > "Arika bleeds you for 13!" Again, you have taken it out of context. The context juxtaposes two entities one being the vampire and one being Inveray Scotland. Inveray Scotland is repeated referenced as "this card" twice and the vampire is never referred to as a card of any type. So it following in the last statement that they are refering to Inveray Scotland. > Storage Annex says: > > "You may look at the card at any time." > > Wow. I can look at my Storage Annex immediately, and then again > later. Actually it is written vaguely. "the card" that you refer to in the above statement could apply to either Storage Annex or the card under Storage Annex. This does not affect the functionality of the card. > The Stranger Among Us has you: > > "Show the card to all players and place it face-down in your > uncontrolled region." > > Be sure to look at my Stranger Among Us, so you don't brainwash it > here in my uncontrolled region. Pertanant text: -Search your crypt for a scarce vampire. Show the card to all players and place it face-down in your uncontrolled region. Shuffle your crypt afterward.- Here again, you have removed the card from its context. The only card referenced in the text is a vampre > Visit from the Capuchin reads: > > "Each time you play or discard a card (except when discarding down to > your hand size), burn a counter from the card." > > I guess I'll play a Herald of Topheth, and then burn one of its > counters. Pertanent Text: Put this card into play; put four counters on this card from the blood bank. Your hand size is +X where X is the number of counters on this card. Each time you play or discard a card (except when discarding down to your hand size), burn a counterfrom the card (do not draw a replacement card). Burn this card when the last counter is removed. Here again there the entity refered to in this card is a card with counters. In the first sentance it defines itself as a card with four counters, therefore it references itself. Also, you should note that it does not refer to any other cards, except the cards you are discarding which never have counters any way. -- Comments Welcome, Norman S. Brown, Jr. XZealot Archon of the Swamp

firstco...@aol.com (Brian) wrote in message news:<80bafd85.03020...@posting.google.com>... [snip] > > Anyone got anything else way out of context to contribute? > > -- Brian Well, Blood Siege is quite good: No action modifiers can be played during or *AFTER* this referendum. Choose a ready Sabbat vampire and a ready prince. Successful referendum means that that prince loses his or her title and the Sabbat vampire becomes archbishop of that city. Any ready vampire can gain votes during this referendum by burning one blood per vote gained. One blood Siege means the end of stealth, bleed increase and so on... :) /Henrik

XZealot wrote: > "Brian" <firstco...@aol.com> wrote in message > > Visit from the Capuchin reads: > > > > "Each time you play or discard a card (except when discarding down to > > your hand size), burn a counter from the [sic] card." > > > > I guess I'll play a Herald of Topheth, and then burn one of its > > counters. > > Pertanent Text: > Put this card into play; put four counters on this card from the blood bank. > Your hand size is +X where X is the number of counters on this card. Each > time you play or discard a card (except when discarding down to your hand > size), burn a counterfrom the card (do not draw a replacement card). Burn > this card when the last counter is removed. Actually the card text is "this card", not "the card". But thanks for the help in the other cases reminding people that card text has context. Card text (including the comma and space dropped from above and the "this" word in question that has been replaced by the "the" above): Unique master. Put this card into play; put four counters on this card from the blood bank. Your hand size is +X, where X is the number of counters on this card. Each time you play or discard a card (except when discarding down to your hand size), burn a counter from this card (do not draw a replacement card). Burn this card when the last counter is removed. -- LSJ (vte...@white-wolf.com) V:TES Net.Rep for White Wolf, Inc. Links to V:TES news, rules, cards, utilities, and tournament calendar: http://www.white-wolf.com/vtes/

> > The thread about Compel the Spirit got me thinking about the phrases > > "this card", "that card", and "the card", which can be misinterpreted > > for fun. Check it out: Emphasis: FOR FUN. I'm not serious. > > Inveraray, Scotland says: > > > > "The vampire gets +X bleed, where X is the amount of blood on the > > card." > > > > Not "where X is the amount of blood on THIS card"? > > "Arika bleeds you for 13!" > > Again, you have taken it out of context. The context juxtaposes two > entities one being the vampire and one being Inveray Scotland. Inveray > Scotland is repeated referenced as "this card" twice and the vampire is > never referred to as a card of any type. So it following in the last > statement that they are refering to Inveray Scotland. Right, but saying the vampire gets +bleed equal to the blood on its card is just too ridiculous to not say! Everyone knows what the card means, I just think it's funnier this way. > Here again, you have removed the card from its context. Yup, that was my goal. :) Sometimes I'm writing to understand a point, sometimes, to prove one. Sometimes I preface what I'm going to say with something like "for fun" to indicate that it's neither. -- Brian Blood Siege means you can't ever play another action modifier!!!