Allies

[zachmaio]

Who would like to explain the Allies in FanG to me haha? Specifically the 'sidekicks.' The sidekicks have wounds. Does that mean that they take damage first before you? And when are you supposed to take a loyalty test for them? I feel like I could not find a section anywhere in the rules for Allies or how they work! Hopefully I'm not the only one that was a little confused by this!

[mqstout]

Loyalty tests only come up for a few (rarer) cards in the game and the cooperative scenario's villain events. A loyalty test is like any other. You roll loyalty number of dice and look for successes (the card requesting the loyalty test will tell you). One card is the event card named "Betrayal" ( http://flyingfrogwiki.com/ffpwiki/index....-_Sabotage )

Sidekicks are basically a "limit one" subset of allies. You can have 3 allies, but only one of them can be a sidekick. (Unless you're Jacques, in which case you can't have any sidekick at all. The official rules for sidekick: "A powerful type of Ally that is limited to 1 per Hero."

If an ally has wounds, it ADDS to your character's wound limit.

Otherwise, allies are just like items/gear. You just get them in different ways and various cards interact with them in different ways. But what's printing on them are the same. (See the gear "cigar" for one that grants an extra wound.) The wounds don't go on the item, but are all collected together. Any +X wounds from cards add to your character's base total before he's knocked out.

Some examples:
Gear: Cheaper for some heroes. More expensive vs the mob.
Allies: Not made more expensive than mob, but mob has a bunch of "kidnap" events that take them away and give them points. And any immobile heroes can be knocked off. One artifact adventure lets you resurrect a dead (in the discard pile) ally when you complete it.

Also, you're not the only one. Immobile and sidekick weren't gracefully explained when moving from the basic game to the full game. I believe they're only really explained as side bars or glossary terms. Just like Sneak tests [see Li Mei] almost never happen in the basic game, but happen regularly in the full game.

[zachmaio]

Alright mqstout you're batting 100% in my books so far...so lets keep it going. Here's the situation.

I have the card volcanic eruption in my hand which states Play on any Hero, Enemy, or Villain in a Mountain Space. They immediately take D6 Hits. Any Temple there Collapses on the D6 roll of 4+.

My opponent rolls a 6 and is moving along the map..they cross over a mountain space in the middle of their 6 spaces..is it possible for me to play my card as they are crossing through the mountain? Or do they have to land in the mountain space and be there for their turn?! I would assume they have to actually land there..just wondering though!

THANKS!!!

[mqstout]

This has come up with my group (usually with the Blizzard card) and we allowed it to be played even if they're moving through the terrain, even before finding the official ruling. It makes players sometimes think about the path they take if they think the other player might have a bad event in hand.

It's in the rules addressed by the FAQ at the back of the rulebook:

Q7. Can you play an Event card that targets a Hero in a Space with a certain Terrain Icon during their movement?
A7. - Yes. These cards may be played any time, including during a Hero’s movement as they pass through a Space.

[zachmaio]

I guess the faq in the back of the rulebook is actually quite helpful haha. Just one more question mqstout. How are you enjoying FanG?

[mqstout]

FANG has filled the #1 slot in my list of "favorite board games". That's how I'm enjoying it.

[zachmaio]

(01-04-2013 05:03 PM)mqstout Wrote:  FANG has filled the #1 slot in my list of "favorite board games". That's how I'm enjoying it.

Hahaha yesss I couldn't agree more..I sit at work all day waiting to go home and play! I can't wait for a first expansion to be released, if you catch wind of that let me know

Happy gaming mqstout, I'll give a holler if I keep getting stumped on the rules..I'm still only playing the basic game so everyone I play with can learn!

[Wasteland Jack]

I typically play coop games where the players go out on separate adventures and I will honestly say I have never bought an ally card, I have earned them through event cards but never spent money on them. We are able to win the game 9 times out of 10 without using allies so why bother.

Does it seem to help more on competitive games?

[zachmaio]

I guess I never really thought about the actual value of the allies because most of what they contribute is mediocre at best. The sidekicks are a little more useful in my opnion because they can give you extra health and what not. But when it comes down to it I think that every little bit helps when you're going against someone else.

I just like the way having an allie feels..its a flying frog game which is all about the story..so even if they aren't ridiculously helpful they still add a lot to the gameplay for me.

But to answer your question I don't think they're more helpful in a competitve game than they are in a cooperative game

[mqstout]

Most gear is pretty medium-powered, little range. Some allies are pretty strong, balanced by some weaker ones. But they can help considerably. My group usually goes for them over gear. Why? The lady against the very-strong Femme Fatale dangers. Multiple allies that help with moving around the board. Having an ally to sacrifice to a couple cliffhangers that you yourself otherwise would have died to.

And not to mention, as Zach pointed out, the feel!