Curses and carried items

[MrPeril]

If I'm the target of a curse, say "lose one small item", can I lose an item I'm carrying (eg, something carried that I can't use because of class restriction) instead of something I'm using?

[snarky]

I believe it's been covered elsewhere, but yes you can choose to discard an item that is not "in use" (turned sideways) to meet the condition of the curse. You may not discard an item in your hand, however.

[snarky]

Here's the specific FAQ question:

Q. If you have to lose items, do you lose the ones from your hand, or just those on the table?
A. Always, always, only those on the table. While cards are in your hand, they're not carried Items yet. If you are meant to lose cards from your hand, this will be specified.

Granted, you have to infer the answer to your question from it, but it definitely implies that when you "lose an item" you lose an item that is "in play", not necessarily "in use".

[MunchkinMan]

There's a huge difference between "Lose 1 Small Item," and "Lose The Headgear You Are Wearing." You shouldn't have to to work that hard to figure these cards out, and if it says "Lose 1 Small Item," that really means you may choose from any of the Small Items you have in play, not just the ones that you are using. If there was a Curse or Bad Stuff that said, "Lose the Item you are using in your left Hand,"* well, then you're not going to get much choice on which Item you have to lose.




* Can't happen, since we don't care about which Hand is holding what, but I'm trying to make a point.

[aeronaut]

Originally Posted by snarky

I believe it's been covered elsewhere, but yes you can choose to discard an item that is not "in use" (turned sideways) to meet the condition of the curse. You may not discard an item in your hand, however.

This becomes particularly important early in the game. If you have no small items on the table, you can't lose one. Then, either there would be no effect, or if the card has another effect, as in says something like "if you can't lose a small item, ..." then that effect takes place. And if you have a small item in your hand and none on the table, you can't play it to avoid the second effect.

Regards,
aeronaut