As I have briefly discussed elsewhere in the forum, a couple weeks ago the weather and other circumstances here let me craft my PNP copy of The Promise. As I have discussed in yet another elsewhere in the forum, I was able to sit down and play the game recently. I find its intricate design fascinating, and I enjoyed it quite a bit (even though I am not very good at it yet)!
The (English) rulebook has answered nearly all my questions so far, I just wanted to ask for a few clarifications.
- Understanding one of the examples:
- Rulebook §5.2.2.2.1: “Example: if the rat has 3 damage and you roll a 6 [during the enemy action selection phase] then the rat will perform a Grasp action.”
- 3+6=9. Why does the rat not perform the “Tear Apart” Action, since this is shown on the rat’s Behavior card as the action that is programmed for a roll of 8-9? (Am I misunderstanding a modification here that adds another +1 to the roll?)
- Rulebook §5.2.2.2.1: “Example: if the rat has 3 damage and you roll a 6 [during the enemy action selection phase] then the rat will perform a Grasp action.”
- Understanding LOS and Elevation with multiple ‘hills’:
- Suppose four Combat map squares are arranged like so: [1][2][3][4].
- Suppose squares [1] and [3] are elevated, while squares [2] and [4] are not.
- Suppose Anna is on square [1] and a rat is on square [4].
- Does Anna have LOS on the rat? The back of the Rule Summary allows that this is true when it says “No LOS through a space with elevation from a space without elevation.”
- Understanding the Decision Compass:
- This question is harder for me to explicitly formulate, but I feel like I may not be fully understanding rulebook §5.2.2.2.4.2’s description of how the Decision Compass is used to dictate enemy movement. I think I understand how movement is supposed to work, but I do not see how the Decision Compass is really helping to define movement systematically.
- In the Example attached to Figure 21, the Crow makes a series of movements. It moves right to a square with Priority 1 according to the Decision Compass, then down to a square with priority 2, then right with priority 1…. and then it moves down twice so that the player character it is going to attack is positioned in a space with priority 1 (to the right of the crow).
- Executing this process requires the player to interpret the decision compass in two distinct ways, first as a guide for which square the crow should ideally move into, then as a guide for which square the Player target should ideally stand in once all movement is completed. Those 2 interpretations create an ambiguity, and I have to “switch” my interpretation once I the crow gets close enough to a target. In other words, I have to make a decision about how to interpret the Decision Compass before the Compass can “define” how the enemy acts.
- In the example attached to Figure 22, something similar occurs. The crow retreats twice to the left, into a space with priority 3. That is 2 movement decisions that do not appear to be defined by anything explicit in the Decision Compass.
- In the Example attached to Figure 21, the Crow makes a series of movements. It moves right to a square with Priority 1 according to the Decision Compass, then down to a square with priority 2, then right with priority 1…. and then it moves down twice so that the player character it is going to attack is positioned in a space with priority 1 (to the right of the crow).
- This question is harder for me to explicitly formulate, but I feel like I may not be fully understanding rulebook §5.2.2.2.4.2’s description of how the Decision Compass is used to dictate enemy movement. I think I understand how movement is supposed to work, but I do not see how the Decision Compass is really helping to define movement systematically.
- Understanding Upgrade Availability:
- If I have an Equipment equipped such that another version of that item is not visible to me (because it is tucked under another card or is face-down) do I still have the option to upgrade my gear to that non-visible option? Or can I only upgrade to gear that is visible on free/unused Equipment cards?
- Can I craft multiple new pieces of Equipment with one or both characters in a single Crafting Phase, as long as I have the ingredients to cover the costs?
Clarification welcome! I had to work hard to pin down these fiddly cases, for the most part it does all seem very clear to me. 