Thomas Cartwright 0 Posted October 21, 2012 Several of the Gate Encounter cards involve skill checks stated in such a way that I'm not entirely sure whether they're optional or mandatory. Gate Encounters with skill checks seem to fall into these categories: 1) "Make a [skill check]. If you pass, [good outcome]. If you fail, [bad outcome]." This is clearly mandatory. 2) "Pass a [skill check] or [bad outcome]." This is also clearly mandatory if I don't want to suffer the negative outcome. 3) "You may make a [skill check] to [flavor text]. If you pass, [good outcome]. If you fail, [bad outcome]." The word "may" clearly makes this an optional check. You can discard the card as if you had no encounter at all. 4) "Pass a [skill check] to [good outcome]. If you fail, [bad outcome]." This is the one I'm hung up on. We've been treating these as mandatory because of the imperative, "Pass a …," but now I'm not so sure. Because it's phrased as "do this to get that," it sounds like I might be able to decide getting "that" isn't worth the risk of the negative outcome. Do I have to attempt these skill checks, or can I opt out of them as if they were "You may make a…" encounters? Here are some actual examples from the base game: Blue Other encounter: Pass a Fight (-2) check to lever back the lid of the stone chest. Inside, you find $8. If you fail, lose 1 Stamina. Blue Dreamlands encounter: Pass a Luck (-1) check to tour the golden spires of Thran, gaining 2 Clue tokens in the process. If you fail, stay here next turn. Green Great Race encounter: Pass a Sneak (-1) [2] check to draw 1 Unique Item and return to Arkham. If you fail, your captors are none too kind. Lose 3 Sanity and 1 Stamina. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dam the Man 82 Posted October 21, 2012 Thomas Cartwright said: 4) "Pass a [skill check] to [good outcome]. If you fail, [bad outcome]." This is the one I'm hung up on. We've been treating these as mandatory because of the imperative, "Pass a …," but now I'm not so sure. Because it's phrased as "do this to get that," it sounds like I might be able to decide getting "that" isn't worth the risk of the negative outcome. Do I have to attempt these skill checks, or can I opt out of them as if they were "You may make a…" encounters?Here are some actual examples from the base game: Blue Other encounter: Pass a Fight (-2) check to lever back the lid of the stone chest. Inside, you find $8. If you fail, lose 1 Stamina. Blue Dreamlands encounter: Pass a Luck (-1) check to tour the golden spires of Thran, gaining 2 Clue tokens in the process. If you fail, stay here next turn. Green Great Race encounter: Pass a Sneak (-1) [2] check to draw 1 Unique Item and return to Arkham. If you fail, your captors are none too kind. Lose 3 Sanity and 1 Stamina. All of those quoted are mandatory for my take. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Julia 2,794 Posted October 21, 2012 Dam said: Thomas Cartwright said: 4) "Pass a [skill check] to [good outcome]. If you fail, [bad outcome]." This is the one I'm hung up on. We've been treating these as mandatory because of the imperative, "Pass a …," but now I'm not so sure. Because it's phrased as "do this to get that," it sounds like I might be able to decide getting "that" isn't worth the risk of the negative outcome. Do I have to attempt these skill checks, or can I opt out of them as if they were "You may make a…" encounters? Here are some actual examples from the base game: Blue Other encounter: Pass a Fight (-2) check to lever back the lid of the stone chest. Inside, you find $8. If you fail, lose 1 Stamina. Blue Dreamlands encounter: Pass a Luck (-1) check to tour the golden spires of Thran, gaining 2 Clue tokens in the process. If you fail, stay here next turn. Green Great Race encounter: Pass a Sneak (-1) [2] check to draw 1 Unique Item and return to Arkham. If you fail, your captors are none too kind. Lose 3 Sanity and 1 Stamina. All of those quoted are mandatory for my take. Seconded. Unless it's stated "you may" / "if you decide" / "if you accept" (or a similar wording is used), encounters are mandatory. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas Cartwright 0 Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks for the confirmation. I figured we'd been playing it correctly but had a moment of doubt. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Walk 0 Posted October 27, 2012 The real question for me is the encounters that say "pay $X for X effect," some of which say "if you can't or won't pay, X happens". Does this second clause imply that not paying is always an option in such encounters. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tibs 183 Posted October 27, 2012 Not paying is an option in that particular encounter, since it says "won't." I can only think of one such encounter that tells you up front, and then says you can opt not to, so it shouldn't be a big deal. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas Cartwright 0 Posted October 27, 2012 Can't remember where I read this now, but hasn't it similarly been clarified that you can opt to not pay the $1 interest on your bank loan (and take the consequences of defaulting), even if you have the $1 on hand? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Julia 2,794 Posted October 27, 2012 Thomas Cartwright said: Can't remember where I read this now, but hasn't it similarly been clarified that you can opt to not pay the $1 interest on your bank loan (and take the consequences of defaulting), even if you have the $1 on hand? Not so sure I get your point. Bank loan: "Roll a die. On a 1-3, pay $1 or discard all of your items along with this card. " It's not: "On a 1-3 pay $1. If you don't have enough money, then discard all of your items along this card". So, yes, you can choose which of the two. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites