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I locked the last thread as it is more appropriate in this forum, in hindsight. It'll probably get the more appropriate audience, also. If you want to know the back story it can be found at http://www.cactusgamedesign.com/message_boards/index.php?topic=24709.0


Who is my opponent at any time? Why can I play HT on anyone, even if I'm in battle with someone else or don't attack that player, but I can't attack player A with Nathan and make player B shuffle?

i am discussing the topic at hand you wanting opponet changed to meet your ulterior motives and not caring how many other cards or decks it ruins because all you care about is yourself

"An" or "any" opponent is anyone else at the table with you.  "Your" opponent is the one you're battling at that moment.  Since battles tend to have my characters against your characters, then reasonably, the guy whose characters are fighting my characters is "the" opponent.  This is specific enough to clarify that it's not just anyone at the table, but general enough to be more accurate than saying "the guy blocking the rescue", because from the blocker's perspective, the rescuer is the opponent.

From time to time one party or the other may temporarily have no characters in the battle at that exact moment but that does not change this very basic formula which has been the foundation of battles in Redemption, and really, in every (competitive) card game ever made.

Thank you. Does this mean that HT is just poorly worded and should say "an opponent"?

I see the main difference as which phase the cards are played in, as well as how many people are playing:

When only two people (or TEAMS) are playing then any version of opponent (an opponent, opponent, your opponent, etc.) refers to the other person (or either teammate of the other team).

For MP games:
During battle phase, "opponent", "opponent's" or "your opponent" mean either A) the person you are attacking or B) the person attacking you. "An opponent" or "one opponent" refers to anyone playing aside from yourself. "Opponents'" refers to everyone playing besides yourself. Dominants (specifically HT) are excluded from this, because they are special and can be played at any time.

During any other phase, "opponent", "your opponent", "an opponent", or "one opponent" are indistinct; they all refer to any single player besides yourself.

Convoluted? Probably. But I think intuitively it makes sense. It could possibly be made simpler by giving an errata (or perhaps a Play As would suffice since it is in fact how Harvest Time should be played) to Harvest Time to say: "Select an opponent with no Lost Souls in territory. Search his deck for a Lost Soul and put it in his territory." That way, the bit about dominants wouldn't need to be clarified. Either way, I think my explanation is how things have been generally understood to work. If other Elders agree with this, perhaps we can add it to The Guardian's thread of REG fixes.

So you can always select an opponent, except during the Battle Phase, "the/your opponent" is the one you're battling.

The "opponent" in Judge's Seat could very easily track back to the targeted Evil Character, but if it continues to present a problem, changing the word to "owner" should clear that up.

you can play HT whenever you want. it is a dominant therefore it is instant

but like schaef said, you can choose your opponent like with judge's seat outside of battle. harvest time says your opponent and

Dominants (specifically HT) are excluded from this, because they are special and can be played at any time.

I don't know if "decided" is an accurate a word as "clarified".  I don't recall hearing of anyone denying an HT play.