Monsters

Q: Only Fat Goblin's 1st encounter says that monsters reinforcing at the beginning of the Overlord's turn may be activated upon the turn they are placed on the map. Does that apply to reinforcing monsters placed at the beginning of the Overlord's turn in all other quests (where nothing is said about when one can activate them)?

A: Unless otherwise mentioned, any group that reinforces at the start of the overlord's turn is able to activate during that turn. (1)

Q: I have a question about the crossbow and large monsters: How does the 1 space movement work for large monsters? Does the hero get to shrink the monster to 1 space, move it 1 space, and then expand it in any direction the hero chooses?

A: Yes, the attacking hero chooses how the large monster moves. The large monster does indeed shrink and expand following normal monster movement. The monster shrinks from the targeted space. (1)

Q: What defines a monster "attack"? Players have proposed various tests: (a) does it do damage, (b) does it use the word "attack" on the card, (c) does it involve rolling the blue attack die? Is Bash considered an attack? It meets (a), but not (b) or (c).

A: A monster may either perform a "standard" attack action. Any other lieutenant or monster ability that allows an attack explicitly states that it is an attack. For example, Bash deals damage but isn't an attack, so a troll could Sweep and Bash on the same activation. (1)

Q: Flame Breath (and similar powers). As we understand things, it can trace its path around corners and through obstacles like boulders (but not doors) because LOS is irrelevant to it since it is not implicitly stated to require it and it's not actually moving in such a way that obstacles would impeded it.

A: Yes. Flame breath doesn't need to be traced in a straight line or follow LoS rules. (1)

Q: When the overlord is reinforcing for the turn does he choose the master monster or minion monster his choice while respecting group limits?

A: He can choose which figure to reinforce. (1)

Q: In the conversion kit, the Act I Skeleton Archer minion requires no surge for its Pierce 1 ability, but the Act II minion requires a surge for its Pierce 2 ability. Is this correct, or should the Pierce 2 ability for the Act II minion be surge-free?

A: Yes, the ability on the card is correct. (1)

Q: If I have 7 Minions on field, thanks to split, can I reinforce another Master? (potentially gaining more minions)

A: It's quite all right. With abilities like Split or Undying, you're still limited by the number of figures available. If all minions are on the map, or if quest rules have monsters set aside, you wouldn't be able to take advantage of that monster ability. (1)

Q: All monster's surge abilities get better in Act II except for the Ettin where they get worse. Is this a misprint, or is it intentional?

A: This is not a typo. In Act II Ettins get an additional red die and playtesting showed that they needed toned down a bit in Act II. This is why their surge ability is reduced. (1)

Q: I still have some confusion over the correct functioning of Undying (and by extension, Split). Let's take Ogres as an example. Assuming one has Descent, there are two minion figures and one master figure available, with a group limit in D2E of 1/1. Say I have a master and a minion Ogre on the board in a four-hero game. If the master is killed before the minion, what happens?

A: So, "ignoring group limits" for 4-hero games really only applies to anything that came in the Conversion Kit, where certain monster groups actually have more figures than the group limits on the card would suggest. In your particular example, in a 4-hero game, when placing reinforcments, you may have up to 1 master and 1 minion on the map. If you have 2 minions and no master, you can place the master. (1)