Ancient Deep-hold: ICE's foul issue

[Konrad Klar]

Adjacent Sites: no surface site, one Under-deeps Ruins & Lairs [R] chosen by you when playing this card (8) Playable: Information, Items (minor, major, greater, gold ring) Automatic-attacks (3): Undead (1st attack)-4 strikes with 7 prowess; Undead (2nd attack)-3 strikes with 8 prowess; Undead (3rd attack)-2 strikes with 10 prowess; Each character wounded must make a corruption check modified by -2. Special: Any Undead and Spider creatures may be keyed to this site. This site is never discarded or returned to its location deck.

1. General.

Taking some rules literally someone can easly realise that Ancient Deep-hold cannot be moved to at all (maybe, but only maybe, as rescue site).

One of your companies that begins its turn at the surface site of an Under- deeps site
can move normally or it can move to its adjacent Under-deeps site (i.e., the company
moves to an Under-deeps site from its surface site). One of your companies that
begins its turn at an Under-deeps site may only move to one of the adjacent sites listed
on the Under-deeps site card.

The same text in respective chapters of Against the Shadow's and Balrog's inserts.
Ancient Deep-hold is not normally listed as adjecent site on any site card. And even Gnawed Ways cannot add it to list of adjecent sites (because Ancient Deep-hold has no surface site) .

So possibilities are:
a) leaving it as is and use Ancient Deep-hold only rescue site (see next part),
b) revising the rule,
c) not bothering with strict respecting a rules too much.

2. Rescue site.

Additionally, the player playing the hazard host must take a site card from his
location deck and place it with the hazard host—this is called the rescue site.
Playing a rescue site is governed by the following rules.
• Any restrictions listed on the hazard host must be observed (e.g., it must be a
Ruins & Lairs, must have an Orc automatic-attack, etc.).
• If the hazard host is played on a character moving with region movement, the
rescue site must be a site located in a region in which the character was moving
or in a region adjacent to a region in which the character was moving.
• If the hazard host is played on a character moving with starter movement, the
rescue site must be located in the region containing the site of origin or the new
site.
• If the hazard host is played on a character not moving, the rescue site must be
located in the same region as the character’s site.
• If the hazard host is played on a character moving to a new site that is an adjacent
site of an Under-deeps site, the rescue site can be that Under- deeps site.
If a rescue site is not available within these rules, the hazard host cannot be played!

Traditionally ICE does not use a phrase "is being played", so where "is played" means "is being played", and where it means "is already played" must be deducted.

Question is about exact timing.
One sure thing is that immediately before declaration of a hazard host the Ancient Deep-hold that is not already in play is not adjectent to under-deep site.
So:
a) it is not eligible as rescue site,
b) it is established as new adjecent site in result of playing of hazard host.

(b) has subbranches:
b1) rescue site is choosen at resolution of hazard host,
b2) rescue site is choosen at declaration of hazard host.
b2.1) validity of using a rescue site is checked only at declaration of hazard host.
b2.2) validity of using a rescue site is checked both at declaration and at resolution of hazard host.

In case of (b1) and (b.2.2) hazard host can be fizzled by changing into other type (by Deeper Shadow).

[marcos]

i'd go with this:

c) not bothering with strict respecting a rules too much.

[Konrad Klar]

Whatever will be decided for Part 2, it will direcly translate on playing Deep Mines as rescue site against company moving to protected Wizardhaven.

[Bandobras Took]

i'd go with this:

c) not bothering with strict respecting a rules too much.

Can I do that for all the issues I don't like in the rules, too?