[1.1.5] Arcane Lock - is this a "real" Combat Check?

[mccrispy]

Device: BlueStacks emulator

OS: Android 5.1

PACG build: 1.1.5

 

Pass & Play: OFF

Permadeath: OFF

Mode: Story

Party Members: Seelah, Kyra, Valeros, Merisiel, Sajan, Ezren

Turn Order: per party

Scenario: 4.5

Difficulty: Legendary

Wildcards: Mother Father Snakes, Alert Guards

Location: Prison

Trigger: Encounter Arcane Lock

 

I was able to Recharge a Venomous Dagger +2 to get the Poison damage against an Arcane Lock with a Combat Dexterity check. I find this odd because I have tried to add a Blessing of Gorum to a Combat/Melee against a Barrier and it hasn't been allowed, so I'm surprised that a Recharge - and indeed Sneak Attack and a Blessing of Erastil would work.

 

Edited November 11, 2016 by mccrispy

[Ethics Gradient]

I was able to Recharge a Venomous Dagger +2 to get the Poison damage against an Arcane Lock with a Combat Dexterity check. I find this odd because I have tried to add a Blessing of Gorum to a Combat/Melee against a Barrier and it hasn't been allowed, so I'm surprised that a Recharge - and indeed Sneak Attack and a Blessing of Erastil would work.

Which other barriers do you remember trying to overcome with a combat check?

 

Stuff like the Large Chest or Trapped Locker are strength/melee, but non-combat strength/melee.  You'd need a Blessing of Torag to get the extra dice.

 

Locked Stone Door and Arcane Lock are "regular" combat checks, and you can use whatever cards/powers your character has to "bash down the door."  Sneak attacking a wooden door with a poisoned knife and extra dexterity dice seems silly, but it is still mechanically sound as far as that encounter goes.

 

Edit: fewer typos

Edited November 11, 2016 by Ethics Gradient

[mccrispy]

I think that I've tried Locked Doors and tried a Blessing of Gorum to no avail. But maybe I've tried a Chest/Locker. I'll see whether I can remember to check next time it happens.

 

As you say: a Stealthily thrown Venomous dagger (not acidic, poisoned) jars really badly with my sense of Theme.

[Ethics Gradient]

As you say: a Stealthily thrown Venomous dagger (not acidic, poisoned) jars really badly with my sense of Theme.

I agree. But whenever the rules get silly, just channel your inner Dungeon Master to come up with a weakly-plausible story.  

 

"As the party approaches the wooden door, a flash of magical energy radiates from the ordinary-looking lock and a small, ethereal portal opens to a distant room and the face of an unknown watchman slowly materializes.  With neither a moment of hesitation nor a full understanding of the arcane powers at hand, Merisiel deftly flips her poisoned dagger through the portal before she is seen and catches the guard in the side of the neck.  As the hapless watchman crumples to the ground, the portal fades out and the lock falls to the floor, open and bereft of magical enchantments."   [end scene]