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ON THE EDGE© CONCEPT LOOKUP

FAQ Questions & Answers
Errata Information
Rule Interpretations
Strategy & Other Comments
BULLDOZE
Q: How do Bulldoze and Multi-Dimension interact? Do you just bulldoze towards the back from wherever you start? Can you bulldoze across if your attacker has Multi-Dimension? Can you skip around? A: You must Bulldoze in a straight line, but you get to choose the line (if I remember correctly). So, if you start in the back right corner of someone's conspiracy (thanks to Multi-Dimension) you could Bulldoze to the left or front. It's my opinion that Multi-Dimension would not let you skip all around since this would be functionally equivalent to saying you could attack any and all of the unlucky defender's characters. (Robin Parmar)
BYPASS
Q: Does bypass apply to multiple defenders unless stated otherwise or is it always meant to be a single character? Also, could a character with the ability to bypass one character have his ability augmented to bypass two? A: Kunigunde Himmelsbach (#117) could make excellent use of Dumb Luck in this fashion, according to Surviving On The Edge. Kunigunde Himmelsbach is a 0-Pull 1/1 Burger who derives double effect from any Fortune Whammy played on her. Dumb Luck (#81) thus allows her to Bypass 2 Characters instead of one. (Clay Colwell).
You can only bypass one character, and it can't be your own. I'm not aware of any way to augment the bypass ability, aside from the forementioned Burger Whammy trick. (Trevor Stone)
Other than Dumb Luck, the best way to perform a multiple bypass outside of heart surgery is via the Terminal Condition Multi-Dimension (#158). That way, your attacker can be behind the defender in your conspiracies. Heart Surgery or Terminal Condition...? Sheesh! (John Baker)
Don't forget that bypass is one active character, so, you can employ any number of means to crank (or flip) one rank before bypassing a second. (Eric Jome)
The rule says, "The ability to ignore an active, enemy Character's presence when determining which Character may be attacked. It does not allow one to attack from behind an active Character in one's own Conspiracy."
The written rule does not specifically say, "The ability to ignore ONE active, enemy Character...", nor does it specifically say, "The ability to ignore ALL active, enemy Characters...". It's clear to me that many writers on the subject choose to interpret the rule literally in its grammar ("an active, enemy Character" = singular), however I believe that is not it's intent. Examine that several cards have the following specific clarifications (note that the word "active" is redundant since a non-active Character does not need to be Bypassed): While the following cards do not: It is my reading, and that of my play group, that BYPASS allows a Character to ignore EACH instance of an enemy Character that is encountered. In other words, you can Bypass as many times as you like during an attack (unless a card specifically says otherwise). There exists, therefore, 3 tiers for ignoring characters: (1) Bypass one Character, (2) regular Bypass, and (3) Multi-Dimension (or Death Car-like special ability). Yes, this means BYPASS is very cool. But, then again, so is SURPRISE. Miriam Galaxy is very, very cool. For completeness, these are the remaining cards with the Bypass ability. I found each one troublesome in its verbage. We want them to say "Bypass one..." or "Bypass ":
  • Astral Refractor (A017) 1./-/-/- GEAR - gs - fr - Character may Bypass an Astral. (Does this mean ONE Astral, or EACH Astral that the Character encounters? The card should read "Character may Bypass Astrals.")
  • Notify Grout (A063) 2/5/2/- CHAR - hu - he - as - Bypass any Psychic. (Does this mean Bypass ONE Psychic, or Bypass Psychics (pl.)? The card should read "Bypass Psychics.")
  • Kunimatsu Kozo (A080) 1/3/2/- CHAR - hu - ae - ps - Bypass any Android, Cyborg or Machine. (as above)
  • Erik Gudne (108) 1/3/3/- CHAR - hu - ai - tr - cl - May Bypass any Aries or Trident. (as above)
  • Ghadir Allemi (D007) 1/4/4/- CHAR - hu - th - Crank any time to let one Character Bypass Characters to attack any Sommerite. (RE: "Bypass Characters" -- the word "Characters" is redundant.)
  • Rita Milagro (D065) 3/4/4/- CHAR - hu - lt - tr - cl - May Bypass Tridents or Bypass any Characters to attack a Trident. Crank to pop any Trident card; she is then popped, (no save). (The phrase "any Characters" is redundant.)
(Christopher Thomas)
A: I would disagree with the above rule interpretation, and am one of those folks who does choose to depend on the grammar of the rule and on the cards. If the card simply says "bypass", the grammar in the rule should hold ... "AN active, enemy CHARACTER" ... singular. In the case where the card extends this definition to include multiple characters, that should be seen as a more powerful form of bypass. (Paul J. Lareau)
GANG UP
Q: What happens when a character with surprise gangs up with a character without surprise? A: Just in Real World terms, all it takes is one fumblefoot to spoil a sneak attack, and I think that translates well to the game mechanics. In a gang up situation, you would need to give the other character surprise, perhaps with "Cats Feet", if you don't want the victim to hear them coming! But even if the victim is not surprised, the attacker with surprise still doesn't get hurt or killed. (Clay Colwell)
IMMUNITY
Q: Arthur Compton is immune to astral. This means that he cannot use the gear 'Astral Doorway', correct? Pythagorean Convulsion is an astral whammy. If Arthur attacks someone and they use PC, does it have any effect? If he was attacked, could his owner use PC to turn the tables? I tend to think that it doesn't explicitly target him in either case, so his immunity is irrelevant. A: Yes. Arthur is unaffected by PC, while everyone else is ... this sucks for Arthur. His owner could use PC to turn the tables only if the attacking charcter has a VERY low number. Yes, this means that glugs are screwed by PC. Your last statement is incorrect. Immunity is almost always relevant -- if a character is immune, they are unaffected (as long as they are in play) by all effects with that Trait. Yes, this means that Immune:Control characters will be able to unturn normally if you can (through various means) give the ELF Wave Generator the trait "Control". Yes, it also means that Glugs are unaffected by any of the Astral edges, even the all the time ones. (Joshua Kronengold)
Q: If we understand it correctly, a character that is Immune:Astral could use a Dark Aura Ring and also use two Negative Energies without any adverse effect. Does anyone else play differently? A: That's exactly how immunity works ... stick those Negative Energies on Sir Arthur for a solid defense. And because the Dark Aura Ring doesnt affect the person who wears it, it will work with someone who is immune:Astral... but not against someone who is immune. Compton laughs at your Moody Ring. (Eric Jome) FWIW, the FAQ in Surviving On The Edge addresses this question (pg. 181): an Immune:Astral character may use it without deleterious effects on itself, and the opponent suffers the -5 penalty. Note that Immune: does not mean that the Character cannot use cards with Trait ; it means that said Character is not affected by cards with said Trait . Forsooth, I can call Amok (a Psychic Condition) on a Character that is Immune:Psychic; it just won't do anything. But I think your argument is that the Astral effect in the case of Negative Energy is "Be able to give opponent -5 Power", which probably has some merit to it. The wording is ambiguous; it should probably read something like "when used, Negative Energy gives -5 Power to enemy...". (Clay Colwell) Negative Energy is a bit of a tough call. It is not Gear; it is a Condition. As a condition, you don't really get to decide if you can use it or not... normally. Negative Energy breaks the normal rules on Conditions and gives you a choice that flips your character. Thus, it falls into the same category as Whammies like Total Taxi and character abilities like Ricardo Cerdo. Note that someone like Barber Hammock must have the Immune:Surprise in order to take advantage of his crank for +6 DP. (Eric Jome)
MULTI-DIMENSION
Q: How do Bulldoze and Multi-Dimension interact? Do you just bulldoze towards the back from wherever you start? Can you bulldoze across if your attacker has Multi-Dimension? Can you skip around? A: You must Bulldoze in a straight line, but you get to choose the line (if I remember correctly). So, if you start in the back right corner of someone's conspiracy (thanks to Multi-Dimension) you could Bulldoze to the left or front. It's my opinion that Multi-Dimension would not let you skip all around since this would be functionally equivalent to saying you could attack any and all of the unlucky defender's characters. (Robin Parmar)
SURPRISE
Q: What happens when a Character with a Vibro-Blaster gets Surprised? One can choose not to use Gear (including weapons): In this case, does the Surprised Character automatically use the Vibro-Blaster (and lose the 1 Power after combat)? A: The "choice" to use gear or not is a bit of a different kind of "choice" as to whether you invoke a card or ability, I think. Abilities which are not allowed by surprise are, in general, things which a character must crank or flip to use. Gear that adds to power does not generally fall into this type of voluntary use. So surprise will not allow you to catch someone with their Vibro Blaster down because they don't need to crank to use it. (Eric Jome)
Q: What happens when a character with surprise gangs up with a character without surprise? A: Just in Real World terms, all it takes is one fumblefoot to spoil a sneak attack, and I think that translates well to the game mechanics. In a gang up situation, you would need to give the other character surprise, perhaps with "Cats Feet", if you don't want the victim to hear them coming! But even if the victim is not surprised, the attacker with surprise still doesn't get hurt or killed. (Clay Colwell)
TRAITS, CHANGING
Q: Do the rules make it clear what happens to the effects of a Condition like Atavism: Ninja (29) if its target changes traits somehow? Does the card make its changes only when played and then stay just as a reminder, or is it constantly 'checking' to see if its conditions hold? It seems that most people play as though the latter were the case, but I don't know why that's necessarily true. A: The conditions that say "PLAY on Mutant [e.g.] only" would certainly provide their effects even if the Mutant [e.g.] status was lost. Perhaps this can be used to infer the answer. (Rob Lightner) Once a condition is on, its on. If the condition later becomes illegal, it doesn't matter. This is in Surviving On The Edge. Nothing does this "constant checking". There are times when a card only applies for a player's turn (e.g., Isil Ziya becomes an Entrepreneur, takes influence with Money Talks, and is later popped on an opponent's turn, no influence is lost since she is no longer an Entrepreneur after her turn ends.) There are some interesting issues with Immunity and Gear as well. but always remember that if a card is legal to play on something, it stays active even if the current holder is later rendered an illegal target.(Eric Jome)

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