A few questions on Orc's Bane

[Kurgan]

So then no point in drinking heroic brew if you're going to hit some Orcs with the Orc's bane. Otherwise you could see a loophole, where you get to attack Orc A twice, then adjacent Orc B twice.

[wallydubbs]

Orc's Bane + Heroic Brew = 4 attacks against an Orc. Might be a bit of an overkill for a regular Orc, but it might work wonders against the Orc Shaman.

But anyhow, i was talking smack about the Orc Bard in another forum and now this gets me to think... if the Chaos Warrior in Bastion of Chaos (perhaps now Bastion of Dread) has Orc's Bane (as is done in the traditional Game system) and someone is playing as the Orc Bard (though i have no idea why someone would do such a thing), would said Chaos/Dread Warrior be allowed to attack the Bard twice?

[Kurgan]

Good point, although if someone homebrews him to be a "half orc" (halvork?) he'd only get 2 attacks, maybe. It's a new frontier!

[Daedalus]

. . . But anyhow, i was talking smack about the Orc Bard in another forum and now this gets me to think... if the Chaos Warrior in Bastion of Chaos (perhaps now Bastion of Dread) has Orc's Bane (as is done in the traditional Game system) and someone is playing as the Orc Bard (though i have no idea why someone would do such a thing), would said Chaos/Dread Warrior be allowed to attack the Bard twice?

Monsters are only supposed.to roll their Attack Dice value regardless of the Weapon used, so rules as written--no. That said, I'd say a special Quest treasure/artifact is a specific case that overrides the general rule. He could opt to roll two Attack Dice twice for a total of four AD. The Orc Bard only gets to defend once according to BQP rules, but twice with the Game System rules--your choice.

Playing the EU rules, attacking the Orc Bard with Orc's Bane twice might give some advantage over the standard 3 AD, but not a lot since the Bard defends each attack separately. Playing the NA rules, attacking with Orc's Bane adds no advantage. In fact, if just the Game System rules are used and the Bard defends each attack separately, he is actually handicapping himself since his standard 4 AD is only defended once.

[Bareheaded Warrior]

Does Orc's Bane only let you attack the same Orc twice?

For instance: if the Dwarf wielding Orc's Bane is caught between 2 orcs, can he attack one, then the other?

The edition that I use states on the Orc's Bane card "The sword, Orcs Bane allows you to roll two combat dice in attack. You may attack TWICE if you are fighting Orcs" so I would allow a hero to direct the two attacks against two different Orcs provided both were (orthogonally) adjacent and otherwise valid as the rule as stated doesn't preclude that, both attacks would be directed at an Orc, so you are fighting Orcs.

What if he's caught between an orc and a goblin, can he attack the goblin and then attack twice if the 2nd attack is against the orc?

I wouldn't allow that, he is using his action to attack the Goblin, therefore he isn't "fighting Orcs" he is fighting a Goblin, so no second attack allowed.

Suppose he's in a room full of orcs, can he attack-move-attack again?

I wouldn't allow that as there is nothing on the card that suggests to me that there is an exception being made to the usual move-attack or attack-move rule.

I don't suppose Heroic Brew will let him attack a 3rd or 4th time?

Orcs' Bane allows you to attack TWICE in specific circumstances and Heroic Brew allows you to "make two attacks instead of one" on your next turn, if you combine the two, and then attack either 1 orc twice or 2 orcs once, you have satisfied both Orcs' Bane and Heroic Brew in that you have attacked twice so I wouldn't allow any additional attacks beyond that.

Some have commented that the rules as written mean that Orcs' Bane is a relatively weak quest treasure, but logically one of them has to be the weakest, but for me this is less of a problem as I allow the Wizard to use a shortsword* and therefore by extension Orcs' Bane which is a handy boost for him against the most common monster.

*Wizard using the Shortsword, I know shock & horror, but the usual argument against this, that you are making him a better fighter but he is supposed to be bad at fighting doesn't really hold water as under 1990 remake rules ("North American Edition") he quickly gets upgraded to use the Wizard's Staff which gives him 2 attack dice against all adjacent squares so a shortsword doesn't actually make him better at fighting than the Wizard's Staff.

I also allow the attacking TWICE against any type of Orc which includes the basic Orc, Orc Crossbowman, Orc Henchman, Orc Champion/Captain/Warlord...

It's funny to see the differences between the different versions.

Only the US version disallows its use by the Wizard.

In fact, none of the UK artifacts disqualify the Wizard.

Whilst it is true that the "UK" artifacts don't explicitly state that they cannot be used by the Wizard, this may not mean that they can, just that the UK designer's thought that "common sense" would apply here (there is no such thing as common sense!) and if the Wizard wasn't allowed to use Broadswords or Plate Armour then he wouldn't be allowed to use magical Broadswords and Plate Armour

[Summerheim]

Contrario to other people I think that in the original rules for orc's bane allows to attack twice an orc's target but not two different orcs.
For me you chose the target of your attack, and if this target is an orc; it's doubled !

After, Orc's bane is so weak as offensive artefact that I do like everybody: two target accepted and goblin affected by bane's effect.

[Vorimir]

I houseruled in the 90s that goblins were also affected that I really thought it was the real effect.

[wallydubbs]

The best use of Orc's Bane is in giving it to the Rogue hero (if you're playing with him). He can maintain Ambidextrous with a short sword and get the extra attack dice from Opportunistic Striker. The biggest flaw with the Rogue is his defence. Brecers gives him 3 and the only other armor he can potentially wear are the Scales of Elthorn.

[Kurgan]

Yes, I would treat the key word as the type. If it says "shield," "shortsword," "plate," "dagger," "armor," etc. that gives a clue as to whether it would "count" for those abilities (and now with the mention of "metal").

HeroQuest: First Light clarifies Avalon Hill's preferred interpretation of the artifact now... you can only unleash the double attack against a single orc (and via the Rogue Heir of Elethorn back of the lore card, a double attack means the victim defends against ONE of the two rolls... the other being unblockable).

Now... what happens when "Command" is cast upon a hero (and it's the Bard) does that mean you can do the same against him? I'd say so... but that's me!

[usually the elf]

Some have commented that the rules as written mean that Orcs' Bane is a relatively weak quest treasure, but logically one of them has to be the weakest, but for me this is less of a problem as I allow the Wizard to use a shortsword* and therefore by extension Orcs' Bane which is a handy boost for him against the most common monster.

yes, orc's bane it's a relatively weak artifact for an experienced hero, but in the base quests it is a nice find. I still bring it out when orcs are around.
interesting idea having wizard be able to use orc's bane - I guess that's kind of like bilbo being able to use sting even though bilbo is a hobbit and not a wizard.
But still, while I'm bringing in Tolkien, Gandalf used a sword. might start allowing an experienced Wizard to use shortsword...