STING Infinity
Switches Dying Tokens
You have the power to substitute. Whenever you lose tokens
involuntarily, you may designate another player to lose them instead.
Your tokens return to bases, and he chooses an equal number of his own
to lose. He then may draw one card from your hand for each token he
lost. If you have too few cards, he may draw the remainder from the
deck or may take that many Lucre from you, at his choice.
HISTORY: Genetically sterile through a side-effect of their colony's
energy shield, the Sting desperately sought a way to save themselves
from extinction. In their quest, they stumbled upon a vampiric form
of immortality. Emboldened, they now scour the Cosmos in search of a
cure for their sterility, and woe to those who try to stop them.
FLARE
Phase 8
Wild: When you are required to give consolation, you may instead
designate another player to give it instead.
Infinity
Super: When you send another player's tokens to the warp instead of
yours, he gets nothing in return.
PULSAR
Infinity
Con: Sting cannot choose you to lose tokens.
Infinity
Pro: You choose the cards from your hand the player gets.
Eon/Avalon:
No Changes
Experience Rating: Expert (to determine what's "involuntary") Advanced
(for the essence of the power if "involuntary" is clearly defined or
ignored)
Cosmic Monopoly
When you are to go to Jail, you may designate another player go there
instead. Your Monopoly token remains on its current space, including
Go To Jail, and does not encounter the space again, such as if you
rolled your third double in a row. In long version, when out of
cards, a player may choose cards from the deck or $20 from you per
token. You cannot be forced to mortgage or bankruptcy because of
this. If no alternative, the player must take the cards from the
deck.
Commentary: This is a resource power. I do not like this power. Even
though I highly value tokens, I also value cards. While I don't mind
losing poor cards, I would mind losing good cards. The power forces
me to choose between saving my tokens and potentially losing my good
cards. That's not efficient. That other players lose tokens is
irrelevant. I'd rather play Zombie or Vacuum.
A common problem with Sting is what is meant by "involuntary".
According to some, the only time you voluntarily lose tokens is by
Wild Disease and a few home made creations such as Saint. However, I
find there are more situations. When you ally, you are voluntarily
putting your tokens at risk. Of course you don't want to lose them
and mostly don't purposely try to have your side lose the challenge,
but you still risked your tokens by your own free will. Therefore, as
Sting, such losing tokens are voluntary. However, if you were forced
to ally by Magnet or Glue, then that's involuntary.
Similarly, you can't use Sting as a losing offensive player because
even though you have to commit tokens, you are voluntarily playing the
game, and putting tokens on the cone as offensive player is how you
gain bases to win the game, which is what you want to do. However,
you can use Sting as a losing defensive player, because unless you
lured as Siren, phased in as Phaze etc., you did not ask to become the
defensive player. That status position was involuntarily forced upon
you by the destiny pile.
You can use Sting if another player plays a Flare or Edict that forces
you to lose tokens or you have the Wild Masochist Flare. In a sense,
losing tokens to Wild Disease is not voluntary because someone playing
the Flare forced the decision for someone to lose tokens. You cannot
use Sting if you play a Flare (not Wild Masochist) or Edict and for
some reason put tokens into the warp. Examples include Wild Kamikaze
and Wild Loser. However, you can use Sting if you were forced to play
those cards because of the Insanity Edict, unless you also played the
Insanity Edict.
When it comes to deals, that is tricky. If you flat out refuse to
deal, you voluntarily lost the three tokens. However, even if you
made an "outrageous" offer, technically you tried to deal but someone
else refused; therefore you can use Sting. In a change of mind, I now
do vote that you can use Sting when tortured by Wrack because Wrack
forced the decision on you to accept the deal or not, and if not, he
decided if you lose tokens or cards.
To sum everything up, game effects that you invoke that have you lose
tokens are voluntary losses of tokens; you can't use Sting. Game
effects invoked by other players or game components that have you lose
tokens are involuntarily losses of tokens; you can use Sting. If all
this just makes things more confusing, just get rid of the word
"involuntary" and let the power apply whenever Sting loses tokens for
any reason. The Sting player just then decides whether to lose the
tokens or have someone else lose the tokens and take cards from his
hand.
Gerald Katz
Don't forget to tip the Butler!
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