CHOCOLATE BOX WARS UPDATE

 

Chocolate Box Wars Resource Page

This is just a quick note to update anyone who may have downloaded the rules already. I have posted an updated set of rules with a clarification (not a correction) to the activation attempt explanation.  I'm guessing that anyone who may have already downloaded the rules would also be likely to notice this post and get this update.  If you have already downloaded the rules, you could just grab another download from the resource page (link above) or save the below image and store it wherever your rules happen to be (for whenever you happen to actually read them--in advance of that, this post might not make much sense).

I've added the side note (outlined in red) to the activation/reaction table on page 2 of the rules. In case it doesn't expand to be readable, this note reiterates that the modifiers are to the activation/reaction attempt score and not the die roll. It goes on to explain that this means that positive (+) modifiers are adverse and negative modifiers (-) are favorable for activation/reaction attempts. For combat and rallies, which modify the the die roll, conventional assumptions apply.  If you're curious, this came about through playtesting. Originally, all modifiers were to the die roll, and positives were favorable and negatives were adverse, as you would expect.

However, we found ourselves doing the opposite with activations/reactions. We modified the score and not the die roll, despite what the rules said (the outcome is the same, either way, I should add)--we started with the unmodified score, added numbers for hit and activation markers, then added and subtracted modifiers to produce a modified score--against which we  then did an unmodified die roll. This is just the most natural thing to do (it may not seem so upon reading, but in practice, you start by counting markers [hit and activation], and to count is to add...).  Doing it this way also alleviated alot of odd number combinations and extra rules. So the table represents the process in practice.  It may seem daft to have a table with one side needing a 1 or better to pass (for "activations"), but it does make it self evident that the first activation is automatic (unless there are hits), and more importantly, it simplifies the process when you start stacking up multiple activations, hits, and other modifiers (a no brainer to input 1+ all modifiers). 

On the player reference, there isn't room to add a note; FYI, it applies to this section.  

As I said, this is not an actual correction. The rules state that activations/ reactions must pass an attempt score. And both the rules and the player reference state that activation/reaction attempt modifiers are to the score (not the die roll).  However, I thought that this was novel enough to trip up players and so warranted an extra reminder. 

We now return you to your regular programming.

Excelsior!