*TWO FISTED TALES OF THE SECRET WAR FAQ*

Last Modified: Nov 29, 2004

This FAQ addresses questions that we think people might possibly ask
about the cards of Two Fisted Tales of the Secret War. Some of them
might be unlikely, and others obvious, but better safe than sorry.

If you find an error in this document, have a suggestion for an
addition, or just want to say hi, you can contact us by mail at:

Z-Man Games, Inc.
6 Alan Drive
Mahopac, NY 10541

Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you'd like a reply.
You can also reach us by email at rules@shadowfist.com
<mailto:rules@shadowfist.com>.

Compiled by Julian Lighton. Copyright 2004, Z-Man Games, Inc. All rights
reserved. This document may be reproduced and distributed provided that
no fee is charged for such reproduction and distribution, and that it is
transmitted in its entirety, including this disclaimer. For all other
uses, please contact Z-Man Games, Inc. for terms.

*
Ape City*

Characters whose damage cannot be reduced get to ignore this.

*
Aztec Mummy*

Double the damage after taking into account bonuses, penalties, and the
like.

If you turn a Feng Shui Site to give this card +1 Fighting, the ability
can be canceled by Whirlpool of Blood.

*
Aztec Pyramid*

When you use this card, there has still been a coin flip for the
purposes of Tough as Nails and the like.

*
Blitzkrieg*

Other players' <Soldiers> will unturn as well as yours if they're
attacking.

You can play this card outside of an attack, but it does you no good.

*
Booby-Trapped Tomb*

You don't have to inflict the damage if you don't want to.

If Booby Trapped Tomb is revealed by combat damage, it will do its
damage after the combat damage. If you want to weaken an attacker before
it hits the Site, you have to reveal the Tomb earlier.

*
Breath of the Dragon*

You may play this on somebody else's attacker.

*
Bullwhip*

You may use this ability on an already turned Character; it will still
cease intercepting.

*
Carmen Zhou*

Revealing Sites in response to Carmen Zhou being played won't stop her
from getting a bonus.

*
Casbah*

If somebody has no Power, and plays a 0-cost Event that will give them
Power, you don't get anything. The theft goes on the scene in response
to the Event, and therefore resolves before it.

*
Chang*

If he takes damage at the same time he smokes a Character, you may heal
that damage.

If the damage he inflicts due to taking damage kills an interceptor that
survived combat with him (such as one protected by Iron and Silk), he
will have overcome that interceptor.

*
Cliffhanger*

If the card revealed has conditions on when you can play it, such as
Pocket Demon, Cliffhanger cannot override them.

This doesn't allow you to play a duplicate Unique, Limited, or One-Shot
card, nor does it let you play a Feng Shui Site if you are already at
victory condition. Other than that, anything goes.

The revealed card remains on top of your deck if you do not play it.

*
Curse of Itzcoliuhqui*

If this is played on a Character that is already attacking or
intercepting, no discard is required.

*
David Maxwell*

The Nemesis returns to hand on generation. This means the ability cannot
be canceled by Ring of Gates or the like.

If both David Maxwell and The Nemesis manage to get into play without
one returning to hand, nothing special happens afterwards. (Yes, this is
possible.)

Copying the ability will never return a Character to hand.

*
Deadly Hands*

You may use this ability as many times as you have cards to discard.

You choose the card you discard.

This card is not a Schtick; if it's on a Character you don't control,
you are still the one who makes the discards, assuming you want to.

*
Difficulty at the Beginning*

The card is not canceled. (Though Edges and States will never become
active if they're toasted by Difficulty.) In particular, this card has
very little effect on Events. (It can toast the actual card, but this
doesn't stop the Event from happening.)

*
Disintegrator Ray*

Because the Character is toasted instead of being smoked, effects that
trigger off a card being smoked do not trigger.

Any kind of damage can toast a Character, not just combat damage.

*
Dr. Amanda Snow*

She still interacts normally with the continuous abilities of Sites,
such as Toughness.

You have to pay the State's cost.

*
Drugged!*

Note that it says "damage inflicted on subject", not "damage inflicted
by subject".

*
Faceless Minions*

This damage is not optional.

*
Far Too Much Dynamite*

While this Event does target, it's going to be hard to retarget it, as
the only valid targets are other attackers or interceptors that have
just smoked a Character you control.

*
Femme Fatale*

The target's controller chooses which attacker it intercepts, but must
choose one that is legal to intercept if there is one.

The target must change location to the attack if possible, even if it
won't actually be able to intercept once it gets there.

The target's controller is not required to pay any additional costs,
such as feeding a Character to The Unnameable. If failure to pay those
costs means he can't actually intercept, then he doesn't have to intercept.

*
Fire Martyr*

The gain in Fighting is a triggered effect, and can be responded to.
(Perhaps with a Final Brawl.)

If he unturns and later turns to attack again, he gets another Fighting
bonus.

*
Fortuitous Chi*

The Characters can still be affected in other ways by Events.

*
Guard Tower*

The target doesn't get to inflict its combat damage twice. Even if it
also has Ambush and you control Colonel Richtmeyer.

This is not actually Ambush, in case it matters.

*
Gun Moll*

Only the Character Gun Moll is targeting cannot attack her. All your
other Characters can.

There is no limit to how many or what types of cards you can play in
response to the theft effect, but you only have one scene to do so.

*
Hidden Tomb*

If you use Spirit Pole to play a 0-cost State onto Hidden Tomb, the -1
cost will cancel out the increased cost from Spirit Pole.

*
Hired Bodyguard*

The Toughness and extra Fighting lasts from the point that Hired
Bodyguard is declared as an interceptor.

This is a continuous ability, not an effect; responding to the
declaration of interceptors with a Final Brawl won't even hurt the
Bodyguard.

*
Hypnotized!*

If target was already intercepting, it ceases doing so.

Target's rules text is blank, but playing Hypnotized! in response to a
Character generating an effect won't cancel that effect, nor will it
remove abilities that the target has gained, but are not part of its
rules text.

*
Invisi-Ray*

If this is played on a Character while it is being attacked, the
attackers stop attacking.

*
Itzcoliuhqui*

Double the damage after taking into account bonuses, penalties, and the
like.

If you turn a Feng Shui Site to bring back a Character, the ability can
be canceled by Whirlpool of Blood.

You still have to pay the costs and meet the resource conditions of the
Character you return.

You may heal him as often as you have Characters to sacrifice.

If he is undamaged, you cannot sacrifice a Character to heal him.

*
Khalid Al-Haddad*

If he attacks a Site, reduces its Body to zero, and you choose to smoke
it, you may take the Power or cards.

If multiple Characters inflict combat damage on a card simultaneously,
they are all considered to have smoked it.

*
K'tongo*

Even though the value of X is set at the time he enters play, and does
not change later, he is still smoked if his rules text is blanked or
canceled.

*
Lair of the Nemesis*

Using these counters is not considered to be playing a card at reduced
cost, nor is it actually spending Power.

*
Lateral Reincarnation*

You may play this card; it doesn't do anything if you do.

*
Lord Wolfgang Thaler*

Spending the Power to have him be affected is not a separate effect.

If an Event such as Carnival of Carnage creates later triggered effects,
he will not be affected by those unless the power was paid at the time
of the initial Event.

You may spend the Power even if he would not be affected by the Event
anyway.

*
Master of Disguise*

This will cause a Uniqueness auction. The subject of a just-played
Master of Disguise is considered to be the "new" copy of the Unique card
for purposes of the auction.

You may use this card to cause an auction with your own Unique
Characters if you really want to. If you do, whichever card ends up
being removed from play will be toasted.

You must bid at least one Power if you have any, but you may play this
card even if you have none. (This will cause the subject to be toasted.)

In order for an auction to occur between two cards of the same title,
both must be Unique. So other copies of the subject in play won't cause
an auction unless they are also Masters of Disguise.

If multiple Masters of Disguise cause two different auctions at the same
time, the person who played the Master of Disguise that caused them will
choose the order in which the auctions happen. (This is an application
of the simultaneous play rules.)

*
Murder By Night*

The Character comes out even if you have no cards to discard. (An
available card to discard isn't required to play this Event, either.)

This card may be canceled like any other Event when it is played, but
afterwards, cards like Confucian Stability can do nothing to it.

If the Event card is removed from your smoked pile between the time you
play it and the time it resolves, it can't return to play, so you don't
get a Character

*
Obsidian Dagger*

This does not give you the ability to sacrifice Characters; it merely
makes an extra benefit available if you do.

*
Plots and Intrigues*

You may play this card and reveal no Sites.

If another player reveals your Sites, you can't play this card. You'd
have to play it before combat damage or in response to the effect in
question.

If an opponent plays Competitive Intelligence, you can't play Plots and
Intrigues in response. (Well, you can, but you're unable to reveal
Sites, so X has to be zero.)

*
Poisoned!*

Only the current interceptors are affected. Those declared later in the
attack are not.

*
Priestess of Itzcoliuhqui*

This does not give you the ability to sacrifice Characters; it merely
makes an extra benefit available if you do.

*
Priest of the Unnameable*

The card cannot be played in response to you naming the card, either.

Cards like Bite of the Jellyfish and Avenging Fire are played during an
attack.

*
Public Enemy No. 1*

The attackers have Ambush against every Character, not just against the
subject.

*
Rabenfels Castle*

You're targeting a location, not specific Sites. If the Site structure
is rearranged, the Toughness will be applied to the Sites that replaced
the old ones.

If column goes away because all the Sites in it were removed, neither of
the adjacent columns is considered to be the same location.

*
Rampage!*

This only affects combat damage.

Faceoffs are not attacks, so your Characters inflict -1 damage in them,
even if you caused the Faceoff.

*
Repression*

If a Repression leaves play, you may choose the designator it had for a
new Repression.

*
Ritual of Death*

This Event cannot be retargeted unless it has a target.

*
Rocket Team*

You may use this ability on an opponent's already-turned Site. (Your
Site has to have been unturned, though, as turning it is part of the cost.)

*
Secret Wisdom of the Ancients*

If an opponent takes control of this card, you still toast your face-up
cards when it leaves play.

You may play the cards even if the Edge is currently canceled.

*
Sir Arthur Broome*

The card returns to hand on generation. This means the ability cannot be
canceled by Ring of Gates or the like.

If both of them manage to get into play without one returning to hand,
nothing special happens afterwards. (Yes, this is possible.)

Copying the ability will never return a Character to hand.

*
Spear of Destiny*

The subject of Spear of Destiny is included.

*
Spirit of the Gun*

Spirit of the Gun is itself a <Gun> card, so X is always at least one.

A Scrappy Kid that is the subject of Spirit of the Gun will do its full
damage.

*
State of Emergency*

This card is not affected by your actual hand size; it always considers
your hand size to be six.

*
Stolen Plans*

The player who gained the Power does not have to be the one who is
closer to victory than you.

If multiple players gain Power from an Event, you only gain Power equal
to the amount one of them gained, your choice.

*
The Blue Moon Club*

The damage is inflicted after combat damage, so doesn't reduce the
amount that The Blue Moon Club takes.

*
The Jade Dragon*

The Jade Dragon itself generates the two Power. The subject still
generates whatever Power it would normally.

*
The Nemesis*

The card returns to hand on generation. This means the ability cannot be
canceled by Ring of Gates or the like.

If both of them manage to get into play without one returning to hand,
nothing special happens afterwards. (Yes, this is possible.)

Copying the ability will never return a Character to hand.

*
The Red Harvest*

If you have no cards left to discard, you still get the Power.

*
The Ruby Eye*

Your Characters' damage can still be redirected.

*
"They Came Out of Nowhere!"*

If you declined interception the first time, it has no bearing on the
interception from this Event.

If more than one copy of this card is played, the additional
interception opportunities happen in the order that the Events resolved.

You may play multiple copies of this card to intercept three or more
times in a turn.

*
"Throw Me the Idol..."*

You may play this if the target has no Characters.

You do not choose which Character until you get the Power.

*
Thugs*

No matter how many States are on them, they only get +1 Fighting from
their ability.

*
Tools Of The Trade*

If the subject gains or loses the designator, it also gains or loses the
additional abilities.

*
"Torch the Place!"*

You do not have to be involved in the attack.

*
Tortured by Madness!*

It is allowed for one of the parts to contain zero cards.

*
Tough as Nails*

You will always get Toughness: 1. This averages Toughness: 2.

The flips happen at generation, so everybody knows how much toughness
you will get before they respond.

*
Ubermensch*

The gain of Toughness happens in response to the card played, so
resolves before it. (So Ubermensch never takes more than one damage from
a Final Brawl.)

*
Voice of the Unnameable*

The card returns to hand on generation. This means the ability cannot be
canceled by Ring of Gates or the like.

If both of them manage to get into play without one returning to hand,
nothing special happens afterwards. (Yes, this is possible.)

Copying the ability will never return a Character to hand.

*
Xitllali*

If she uses her ability to cancel a Shadowy Mentor and its subject, the
subject will still be canceled for the turn, even if it is your Character.

*
X-Ray Specs*

The Characters still have the abilities; they just cannot use them.

*
"You fell into my trap!"*

You may play more than one of these when attacked, and you can combine
it with a Cave Network.