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#1 Guy_Fullerton_02 Dec 09, 2003 17:38:51	Do not respond to this thread. We will make this a sticky thread. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Miniatures Errata & FAQ December 12, 2003 Here are rules corrections and official errata for the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Miniatures Entry Pack, Harbinger Expansion Pack, and Dragoneye Expansion Pack. These corrections will be incorporated into future editions of the game rules. Additional typographical corrections and clarifications are also being made to these documents, but these are not necessary to play the game. As always, we're happy to address specific rules questions you have; contact [email]custserv@wizards.com[/email]. Thanks, and good gaming! Miniatures Handbook Errata Chapter 5: Skirmish Rules Movement (page 89): A creature cannot move to exit the battle grid except when routing. (You can't use Dominate on an enemy creature and then retreat it from the skirmish.) Spells (page 98): Touch-range spells can target the caster itself rather than the nearest enemy or the nearest ally. Determine Scenario (page 112): Replace "rolls 1d20" with "rolls d%." Table 5–6: Random Magic Items: The referenced table numbers are incorrect. Armor should refer to Table 5–7, shield to Table 5–8, weapon to Table 5–9, potion to Table 5–10, ring to Table 5–11, and wondrous item to Table 5–12. Table 5–9: Magic Weapons: Change the d% range for anarchic weapons to 64–68. Table 5–11: Rings: Change the d% range for chameleon power to 26–35. Glossary Burrow: A burrowing creature can move through squares containing enemy creatures. Commander [#]: Add "A commander can always add its Commander rating to its own morale saves, even when it's stunned or otherwise unable to command other creatures. A commander can use its own Commander rating when it makes a morale save, or that of another commander, but not both." Save: As with attack rolls, a natural 20 is always a success, and a natural 1 is always a failure. Touch: Touch-range spells can be cast on any adjacent creature (enemy or allied) or the caster. Trample: Trample can be used only against a smaller creature and can affect only one smaller creature per turn. An out of command creature can use its Trample ability as long as it moves at speed 2 or rushes the nearest enemy creature it can see and reach. Entry Pack Skirmish Rules Booklet Errata Ally/Allied Creature: Replace the last sentence on page 22 with the following: "Ranged spells and special abilities can target either the nearest enemy or the nearest ally." Glossary Ally/Allied Creature: Delete the second sentence of the entry and replace it with: "Creatures belonging to teammates are considered to be allies." Beneficial: Delete this entry and remove all references to the "beneficial" keyword. Ranged spells and ranged special abilities can target either the nearest ally or the nearest enemy. (Ranged attacks haven't changed; they still must target the nearest enemy in line of sight.) It might not make sense to target an ally instead of an enemy, but you can if you like. Blind-Fight: Add "Creatures with Blind-Fight are immune to Gaze Attacks." Blindsight: Remove "[#]" from the entry. This special ability no longer has a range. Burrow: A burrowing creature can move through squares containing enemy creatures. Construct: Constructs have Immune Confusion, Immune Dominate, and Immune Incite in addition to their other immunities. Difficult: An out of command, Difficult creature can stand in place and use a ranged attack or ranged special ability instead of rushing. It can do so only if there is a target in range of this attack or special ability. Heal: Undead creatures get a save for half damage against heal effects. The save DC is 12 + the level of the spell, or if not a spell, the level of the creature producing the heal effect. Hide: This ability has been simplified. If this creature has cover against a nonadjacent enemy from something other than intervening creatures (such as a wall or statue), it counts as having Invisible for that enemy. Incorporeal: If a creature with Incorporeal is in or behind a wall, adjacent enemies cannot make attacks of opportunity when that creature moves. Invisible: Creatures with this ability gain Conceal 11. In addition, creatures attacked by a creature with Invisible do not take a –2 penalty to AC. The attacking creature still gains attack +2 against creatures that can't see it. Not Subject to Commander Effect: This creature cannot benefit from the Commander Effects of commanders in its warband. It also ignores Commander Effects of enemy commanders that affect only enemies, such as that of the Mind Flayer. Plant: Plants have Immune Confusion, Immune Dominate, and Immune Incite in addition to their other immunities. Requires [CREATURE] Ally: This special ability no longer uses the word "Ally." You must have the listed creature in your warband. Rush: This should match the Miniatures Handbook: An out of command creature with the Difficult special ability must rush the nearest enemy creature it can see if it can reach that enemy during its turn. Sleep: Replace the second sentence with: "Instead of attacking, a creature can wake a single adjacent sleeping ally. Sleep effects are also removed immediately when a sleeping creature takes damage." Stunning Attack: A creature can use this special ability only once per turn. Touch: Touch-range spells can be cast on any adjacent creature (enemy or allied) or the caster. Undead: Undead have Immune Confusion, Immune Dominate, and Immune Incite in addition to their other immunities. Specific Creature Errata Azer (Harbinger: LG/LE, 32/80): This is a Medium creature and should be treated as such, even though the creature is mounted on a Small base. Barghest (Harbinger: LE, 39/80): Feed special ability--the benefits of this ability stack with themselves. Cleric of Gruumsh (Harbinger: CE, 59/80): Inflict moderate wounds--add the word "negative" to the damage. Cleric of Order (Harbinger: LG, 01/80) and Purple Dragon Knight (Dragoneye: LG, 07/60): The Commander Effect should be worded as follows: "Successfully rallied followers can take their turn normally after rallying." Dire Lion (Dragoneye: LG/CG, 11/60): Pounce special ability--add "(When charging, this creature can make multiple attacks as if it hadn't moved.) Drow Cleric of Lolth (Harbinger: CE, 59/80): Inflict moderate wounds and slashing darkness--add the word "negative" to the damage. The text about healing undead in slashing darkness is now redundant, since all negative damage heals undead. Drunken Master (Dragoneye: CG, 17/60): The Stagger ability is unclear as written ("This creature can charge even if it does not move in a straight line"). To clarify, the Drunken Master can charge even without a clear straight path to its target, and it does not have to take the shortest path to its target. The Drunken Master's charges are still subject to other normal charge restrictions: It can charge only the nearest enemy, it must move at least 2 squares, and it cannot move through difficult terrain or allied creatures. Kobold (Harbinger: LE, 48/80): Cowardly special ability--add the word "active" before the word "ally." Troglodyte (Dragoneye: CE, 60/60): Stench special ability--add the word "living" before the word "creatures." Troll (Harbinger: CE, 77/80): Reach Attack 2 special ability--Replace with "Melee Reach 2." Wight (Harbinger: LE, 52/80): Level Drain special ability--the benefits of this ability stack with themselves. Wraith (Harbinger: LE, 53/80): Constitution Drain special ability--the benefits of this ability stack with themselves. Scenario Errata Warband Setup: For scenarios in which creatures set up on terrain tiles, place the creature completely on the terrain tile. If there isn't enough room on your assembly tile for all the creatures in your warband, first fill all available squares. Then set up leftover creatures in squares adjacent to your assembly tile. Standard Scenario Tie-Breaker (MH, page 103): Change the first sentence to: "If no creature has damaged an enemy creature, made an attack roll, or forced an enemy creature to make a saving throw for 10 consecutive rounds, the winner is the player with the most points from eliminating enemy creatures." Change the final parenthetical sentence to: "If players are still tied, the player with the highest-cost creature nearest the center is the winner." Out of the Box Scenario (MH, page 107): In Out of the Box scenarios and other Limited formats, a player who does not receive a commander in his or her pool of miniatures can choose to spend 5 points of the warband construction limit to make the lowest-cost non-Difficult creature in his or her warband a commander with a Commander rating of 0. This option cannot be used if the pool of miniatures contains any model with a printed Commander rating. Creatures with printed Difficult special ability are not eligible to act as commanders. A player using this rule must clearly mark and announce to his or her opponent which creature is the Commander before the start of a match. A player may choose to waive this option and not include a commander in his or her warband, but if this option is used, the lowest-cost non-Difficult creature is the only choice for the "Commander 0" rule. In the event of a tie, the owner of the warband may select which creature to designate as commander. Warbands Standard Scenario (and most other scenarios): In Constructed play using 100-point warbands, no creature can cost more than 70 points (or more than 35 points in a 50-point game, or more than 140 points in a 200-point game.) Out of the Box and other Limited formats don't observe this 70% limit. Terrain Setup Each player places a terrain tile in order, one at a time, until everyone has run out of tiles or until there is no room for more terrain tiles on the battle grid. You can never place terrain tiles on top of other terrain tiles. You cannot place a terrain tile so that it creates a 1-square gap between two walls. You can place a terrain tile so that its wall is adjacent to another wall only if the other wall forms the edge of the battle grid. Frequently Asked Questions 12/08/2003 This document contains answers to the most important questions players might ask about a given rule in the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Miniatures Entry Pack, Harbinger Expansion Pack, Dragoneye Expansion Pack, and Miniatures Handbook. As always, we're happy to address specific rules questions you have; contact [email]custserv@wizards.com[/email]. Thanks, and good gaming! General Game Questions Q. How is the skirmish system different from the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS roleplaying system? A. In general, the skirmish system is a streamlined version of the D&D roleplaying system, simplified so that it's easier to run several different creatures at once and play through a battle quickly. Here are some specific features of the skirmish system. Command: Without commanders, creatures are slower and more likely to run away. Commanders also give specific bonuses to their followers. Morale: Creatures that are reduced to half hit points or lower sometimes run away (rout). Commanders can try to rally creatures to stop them from running. Initiative: Each round, you roll initiative for your whole warband. You don't roll for each individual creature. Each round, players take turns each activating two creatures at a time until all the players have activated all their creatures. Targeting: You usually shoot, cast a spell at, or charge the nearest enemy. You can't just pick off the enemy commander. Damage: All damage and hit points are measured in multiples of 5. An Ogre, for example, has 30 hit points and deals 15 points of damage with its greatclub. Saves: A creature uses its level as its bonus on saving throws. Attacks of Opportunity: They're easier to keep track of. There's no 5-foot step, no limit to the number of attacks of opportunity per round, and no attacks of opportunity for reach attacks. Rules Precedence Q. If there is a difference in the rules between the D&D Miniatures Skirmish Rules and the Miniatures Handbook, which source takes precedence? For example, the two rulebooks put slightly different requirements on how a Difficult, out of command creature must act. Which rulebook is correct? A. Unless otherwise specified, a more recent rulebook takes precedence over older rulebooks. The Miniatures Handbook is newer than the D&D Miniatures Skirmish Rules booklet, so it contains the correct rule. Activating Creatures Q. Can a creature choose to do nothing when it activates? A. Yes. Unless an effect or ability (such as Difficult or Confusion) dictates otherwise, a creature can stand still without making any attacks or using any spells or special abilities. Cost Q. Can you tell us the formula that is used to determine a creature's cost? A. There's no formula for calculating a creature's cost in the skirmish rules. A creature's various combat ratings and special abilities can interact unusually, making it stronger or weaker in ways that a formula can't capture. A creature's cost is determined by estimation, comparison, and--most importantly--playtesting. Cover Q. Does the target of a ranged attack get a cumulative +4 bonus to Armor Class for each terrain feature or creature that provides cover? A. No. Cover grants a flat +4 bonus to Armor Class regardless of the number of terrain features or creatures that provide cover to the target. Creature Type Q. Do Monstrous Humanoids count as Humanoids for purposes of spells or special abilities that affect only Humanoids? A. No. Monstrous Humanoid is a different creature type from Humanoid. Facing Q. Does it matter which way my miniatures face on the battle grid? Can enemy creatures sneak up "behind" my creatures to gain a bonus on attack rolls or damage? A. No. There is no facing in the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Miniatures game. All creatures can see, react, and fight equally well in all directions, so it doesn't matter which direction your miniatures face. Morale Saves Q. Does the Save +[#] ability give a bonus to morale saves? A. Yes. Morale saves are just a special type of save. They benefit from the Save +[#] ability like any other save. Q. Can a creature voluntarily fail a morale save? The rules say a routing creature "can" rally, not that it "must try" to rally. If you want a creature to run rather than stand still, can you just decide not to rally? A. A routing creature must try to rally if it can, and it must use the best Commander rating available to it (if any) to help it rally. A routing creature can keep routing only if it fails its rally attempt (or if it is not allowed one in the first place because it is out of command). Movement Q. Can a creature voluntarily leave the battle grid through an exit square when it is not routing? A. No, not in general. A creature may leave the battle grid voluntarily only if the scenario description specifically allows it. Out of Command Creatures Q. What can an out of command creature do? Can it use ranged attacks or special abilities, or is it only permitted to make melee attacks? A. In general, an out of command creature can do anything a creature under command can do. The only difference is that the out of command creature has a speed of 2 instead of its normal speed. In addition, an out of command creature can rush at up to double its normal speed if it meets the requirements for rushing. An out of command creature with the Difficult [#] ability may be required to rush the nearest enemy. See the glossary definition of Difficult [#] for more details. Ranged Attacks Q. If the nearest enemy has cover or is in melee, can I target another creature instead? A. No. Ranged attacks must target the nearest enemy regardless of whether that enemy has cover, is in melee, or is otherwise not an optimal target. Routing Q. What happens if a routing creature cannot move, such as when it is stunned, paralyzed, or surrounded by enemies? A. In these situations, the routing creature stands still. It is still considered to be routing. Q. When a creature fails a morale save on another creature's turn, does it run away immediately or does it wait until its own turn? A. The creature runs away immediately. It then runs again on its own turn if it fails to rally. Rushing Q. Do you have to move a creature straight toward the enemy that it's rushing? A. The diagram on page 11 of the D&D Miniatures Skirmish Rules shows the Gnoll moving straight toward the Elf or Man-at-Arms as part of a rush. This diagram uses the words "directly toward" but actually describes two possible paths to either creature, one of which shows what the Gnoll has to do to charge when rushing. However, a creature doesn't have to move straight toward the enemy that it's rushing. In this diagram, if the Gnoll wants to move at more than speed 2, it simply has to end its movement next to either the Elf or the Man-at-Arms. It could even take a roundabout path and wind up on the far side of either enemy, although it wouldn't be able to attack because it would have moved too far without charging. Q. Are there restrictions on attacks when you rush? A. If a creature rushes, it must move before making any attack. Q. If a creature rushes one enemy but winds up adjacent to a second enemy, can it attack the second enemy? A. Yes. When a creature rushes, it has to move before it attacks and it has to end its move adjacent to the nearest enemy, but it can still choose which enemy to attack. Q. A Difficult, out-of-command creature is already adjacent to an enemy. Is it "pinned" because it has to rush the enemy that it's already next to? A. A rushing creature must end its movement next to the nearest enemy it can see, but otherwise its movement is not restricted. In this case, the creature that's next to an enemy can move as long as it ends its movement next to that enemy. If it's adjacent to more than one enemy, it must end its movement next to one of them. (Moving while next to an enemy usually provokes an attack of opportunity.) Q. If a creature starts rushing toward the nearest enemy it can see but gains line of sight to a closer enemy during its movement, can it redirect its rush toward the second enemy instead? A. Not in general. A creature cannot change the enemy it is rushing toward in the middle of its movement and must always end its movement adjacent to the enemy it started toward. However, if the two enemies are close together, the rushing creature might be able to end its movement adjacent to both of them. Q. What can a rushing creature do once it becomes adjacent to the nearest enemy? Must the creature attack, or can it cast a spell or use a special ability instead? A. Except for the requirement that a rushing creature must end its movement adjacent to the nearest enemy, a rushing creature is not restricted in any way. A rushing creature may cast a spell, use a special ability, or make a normal ranged or melee attack after moving, as long as it didn't move more than its speed. Saves Q. Pages 21 and 25 in the D&D Miniatures Skirmish Rules booklet say a natural 1 always fails a save and a natural 20 always succeeds. The Miniatures Handbook doesn't contain these rules. Which one is correct? A. The D&D Miniatures Skirmish Rules booklet is correct. A natural 1 always fails a save and a natural 20 always succeeds. Special Abilities and Damage Q. If an attack reduces a creature to half hit points and also delivers a special effect (Stun, Paralysis, Level Drain, Poison, and so on), does the morale save happen before or after the special effect? A. Apply the special effect before the morale save. Q. Some special abilities (such as Level Drain and Constitution Drain) benefit an attacker when it damages another creature. Does the attacker still benefit from the ability if the creature is destroyed by the regular damage? Some of these abilities allow the creature to make a save. Does the creature still get a save even though it is destroyed by the attack? A. Yes and yes. Always apply and resolve the beneficial special effects of an attack before destroying the creature. Q. Some effects (such as Level Drain) are triggered when a creature deals damage to an enemy. Are these effects still triggered if a defensive ability such as DR reduces the damage dealt to 0? A. No. Effects that are triggered by dealing damage to an enemy are triggered only if the enemy's hp are reduced by the attack. Spells Q. Some spells have a range of "self", which isn't described in the rules. How do self spells work? A. The self range is identical to the personal range and uses the same rules. Q. Do ranged spells like Melf's acid arrow or lesser fire orb require an attack roll? A. No. Spells never require an attack roll unless the spell's description says so explicitly. Terrain Tiles Q. Do the terrain tiles have to link together as you place them? A. No. You can leave gaps between the terrain tiles. In fact there are some situations where you must leave gaps between terrain tiles. For more details, see the terrain placement rules on page 6 of the D&D Miniatures Skirmish Rules booklet or on pages 84 and 85 of the Miniatures Handbook. Q. Do you have to choose your terrain tiles in advance, or can you choose your tiles "on the fly" to better react to your opponent's warband or the tiles your opponent places? A. You must choose your terrain tiles before rolling terrain initiative and revealing your warband. Many players consider their terrain tiles to be part of their warband and choose them at the same time they build their warband. Cleave Q. When a creature with two or more different melee attacks gets a chance to use Cleave, which attack does it use? A. The creature uses the same attack that triggered the Cleave. Drow Cleric of Lolth Q. The Drow Cleric of Lolth has a Commander Effect that grants followers bonus melee damage against a flanked creature. Does that bonus apply only to followers that are actually doing the flanking? A. No. The damage bonus applies whenever a flanking situation exists. Even if an enemy is being flanked by a third player's creatures, the Drow Cleric's followers get the damage bonus against it. Fearless Q. The Fearless ability description says Undead creatures automatically succeed at morale saves except "against the Turn Undead ability." If an Undead creature tries to rally on a subsequent activation after being turned, does it automatically succeed or does the morale save count as being "against the Turn Undead ability"? A. After being turned, the morale save to rally counts as being “against the Turn Undead ability”. It is not automatically successful. Followers and Commanders Q. Can commanders benefit from Commander Effects? A. No. Commander Effects can't help other commanders in your warband or allied commanders. They help only followers. However, Commander Effects that affect enemy creatures do affect enemy commanders. Gaze Attack Q. The Gaze Attack description says, "any creature within range of the Gaze Attack that targets the creature possessing the ability with a ranged attack, spell, or special ability must make a save after the attack." Does the phrase "spell, or special ability" refer to all spells or special abilities, or only the ranged ones? A. Only the ranged ones. A creature is not subject to the passive effect of an enemy's Gaze Attack if the creature uses a nonranged spell (such as a touch spell) or a nonranged special ability. Q. The general rule says that ranged spells and special abilities can target the nearest ally or the nearest enemy. However, the Gaze Attack description says it can be actively used only against enemies. Which is correct? A. Though the general rule allows you to target allies with special abilities, the specific Gaze Attack rule overrides it. A creature cannot actively target an ally with its Gaze Attack. Q. Can the passive effect of Gaze Attack affect allies? For example, what happens if a creature casts a beneficial ranged spell at an allied Medusa that is 6 squares away? Does the creature have to make a save against the allied Medusa's Gaze Attack? A. Yes, the allied creature has to make save against the passive effect of the Gaze Attack. Specifically, the description of Gaze Attack's passive effect refers to "any creature," which means it can affect both allies and enemies. Incorporeal Q. An incorporeal creature's movement "is not affected by terrain." Does that mean that its charge is not blocked by terrain? It can also "move through enemy creatures that don't have the Incorporeal ability." Does that mean it can charge through friendly creatures? A. A creature with the Incorporeal ability can charge regardless of terrain or creatures that don't have the Incorporeal ability, except that it can't end its movement in another creature's space. Minions Q. How does the Minions special ability function in Out of the Box games and other Limited formats? A. In Limited formats, the Minions special ability works only if you have the appropriate creature or creatures in the limited pool of creatures from which you construct your warband. (This usually means that Minions doesn't work well in Limited play.) Requires CREATURE Q. Can you designate, for example, a single Halfling Cleric of Yondalla as the required commander for two different Large Earth Elementals (both of which have the Requires Commander ability)? A. Yes, one Halfling Cleric of Yondalla would suffice. A creature can be designated as the required creature as many times as you wish. If the required creature is eliminated, all of the creatures that require it are also eliminated. Selective Shot Q. Does the Selective Shot ability allow affected creatures to target farther enemies with ranged spells or ranged special abilities? A. No. Selective Shot affects only ranged attacks, not ranged spells or ranged special abilities. Sidestep Q. Can a creature with more than one attack and the Sidestep special ability attack, then move 1 square, and attack again? A. No. You must move and then make all attacks, or make all attacks and then move. Summon Q. How does the summon spell function in Out of the Box games and other Limited formats? A. In Limited formats, the summon spell works only if you have the appropriate creature or creatures in the limited pool of creatures from which you construct your warband. (This usually means that summon spells don't work well in Limited play.) Once eliminated, such a creature could be summoned again later in the same skirmish with a different spell.
#2 wizo_sith Feb 16, 2004 19:15:50	Moved to The FAQ Board, and Stickied. *Bamf* *Stick*