How Bonuses Work & Card Layouts
 

I have looked through the forum and stickies, but couldn't find these answers. If they are there hiding or I glossed over them by mistake my apologies.

Instead of picking up bad habbits/ creating "wrong" house rules [simply as we don't understand how it works] I thought I'd try and clarify what is or isn't correct in the Munchkin World..
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I'll write this out too, but images [full links] attached to show the cards to be talked about. I've used photobucket to host as most people will trust they're a safe site to visit:

Large: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...adMunchkin.jpg
Small: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...hkin-small.jpg
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I know this is a little unrealistic, but it'll answer several queries in one go :)

:: In Play ::

Level: 3
Class: Indian
Misc Bonuses: Bow Tie [+1] & War Paint [+2] -- Total: +3
Sidekick: Schoolmarm [+1] with Rootin' Tootin' [+2] -- Total: +3
Steed: Paint Horse [+4/Big] & Quarter Horse [+1/Big*] -- Total: +5
Headgear: N/A
Armour: Huge Belt Buckle [+3] -- Total: +3
Footgear: Spurs [+2] -- Total: +2
Hand 1: Derringer [+2] with My Grandpappy's.. [+2] & ..With unlimited Ammo [+2] -- Total: +6
Hand 2: Little Big Horn [+2] with Steam-Powered* [+2] -- Total: +4

Total Bonuses: 26
Level + Bonuses: 29

* Quarter Horse
25% of a horse rounds down to zero, so the Quarter Horse does not count against your total number of steeds.
* Steam-Powered
..[blahblah]..If it required Hands, it now takes one less Hand to use.

:: Not In Play [N.I.P] ::

N.I.P1: "Big" Item.
N.I.P2: Door Card
N.I.P3: Loaded Die
N.I.P4: Medicine Armour

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The Long Awaited Questions..

1. Is the card layout correct; in the sense that you'd be equivalent to Level 29?

2. Are your bonuses permanent? We know some are "usable only once." So it makes us think that once you have [say "hand 1"], you never lose those items unless via a trap, etc.
ie. You fight a level 3 Monster [same as yourself] the +1 from the Bow Tie makes you win. Do you keep the Bow Tie still or is it discarded?

3.
a] Quarter Horse. In the amended rules I saw that you can only have one "big" item [but also to go by what cards say instead of the rules]. So is it possible to use both steeds?
b] Can you have a "big" item in play and a "big" item not in play or just one overall?

4. Steam-powered [needs one less hand]; if it was a one handed weapon does it mean you know can use three "hand" weapons at once?

5. We were a little confused as to what you could/couldn't put N.I.P. This is in regards to the N.I.P2 card. Can you only put items [ie. Treasures & not door cards] into the N.I.P section and these cannot be returned to the hand?


Thanks in advance [and no doubt there will be thanks after too ;)],
If the layout makes no sense just kick me and I'll try again..

Re: How Bonuses Work & Card Layouts
 

Regarding question #3:

You can only have one Big item on the table at a time, regardless of whether or not they're being used. That being said, Steeds do not count against your Big item total, because they carry themselves (it says this in the rules). So you can have a Big item -and- a Steed.

The importance of the Quarter Horse is that you can normally only have one Steed in play, but the Quarter Horse doesn't count as a full Steed--so you can have it and another Steed in play.

Re: How Bonuses Work & Card Layouts
 

Regarding question #2:

Bonuses of in-play cards are permanent unless they say "Usable Once Only" or the card text says otherwise. So you keep the Bow Tie.

Re: How Bonuses Work & Card Layouts
 

Regarding question #4:

Yes, that is correct. The one-handed, Steam-Powered weapon now takes zero hands and allows you to equip two more hands worth of stuff, for a total of three hands.

Re: How Bonuses Work & Card Layouts
 

Regarding question #5:

Only items can be turned sideways and designated as not being used. (Note that the cards are in play, just not equipped -- some people refer to them as being in your backpack.)

Thus, no Door cards can be played to the table sideways, and not all Treasure cards either. Only items -- cards that have a gold-piece value or the phrase "No Value" at the bottom -- can be played this way.

Cards in play cannot be returned to your hand, unless there is text on the card that says otherwise.

Re: How Bonuses Work & Card Layouts
 

Did no one notice that he failed to take the extra +2 for Bow Tie by being an Indian? Total Bonuses = 28. . .

With respect to one-shot cards (those that typically say "usable once only"): They may typically used during any combat, from your hand (those would be the cards that are not in play) or from the Items you have carried in front of you, as long as it's an Item.

It also important to note that almost any Item can be carried (i.e., have in play), but you are limited to one Big Item. I say almost because there are Items which may prevent you from carrying certain types of Items, plus the Big Item issue. Again, the issue with Steeds are that you can have only one, even if they are Big but carry themselves and don't count against your Big limit. As correctly stated by Chad, the Quarter Horse doesn't even count against your Steed limit.

As for this "not in play" concept you have, that's called your hand. You can't just lay out cards and say that they are not in play and not in your hand. In play cards can be Items that you are carrying, Class, Race, Style, Power, Accent, and Training, a Hireling/Sidekick/Mook/Minion and a Steed. There are very few exceptions to this, where a card that normally can not be kept in play can be left out (e.g., the Ranger ability from Munchkin 5 allows you to tame a Monster and make it a Steed). This means that the Door card was not legal. The Loaded Die, Medicine Armor and the Big Item were in play (carried), just not in use (giving you a bonus or benefit at that time). You could have that Big Item because your other Big Items were Steeds.

Re: How Bonuses Work & Card Layouts
 

Also, no one has noted that The Belt Buckle can be worn with other armor, his character is an Indian and in his "Not in play" section, he has "Usable by Indian Only" armor.

Re: How Bonuses Work & Card Layouts
 

I'll add that the loaded die is an item that requires no hands, so there is no point turning it sideways. You can carry it regardless.