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Lady and gentlemen, I have a question. I do not understand usage of indefinite and definite articles, so if someone would be so kind...

 

Zoraida's Voodoo Pins says: "Target suffers 1/2/5 damage. A model damaged by this weapon also receives the Poison +2 Condition."

 

First of all, why is it "a model"? Why is it not "the model"?

 

Regret says: "After inflicting moderate or severe damage on this model, end the Attacker’s Activation." So I would assume, that in the case of Voodoo Pins, it is going to be "The model damaged..." as well.

 

And why is it "the Poison +2 Condition"?

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Zoraida's Voodoo Pins says: "Target suffers 1/2/5 damage. A model damaged by this weapon also receives the Poison +2 Condition."

 

First of all, why is it "a model"? Why is it not "the model"?

 

And why is it "the Poison +2 Condition"?

 

Articles in English can be a bit tricky. :P

 

"The model" wasn't used, I suspect, because the definite article doesn't seem appropriate for an attack that can affect multiple models, each one of which would be "the model" - this isn't a grammatical error, since each one can be "the model" sequentially, but it sounds strange to a native speaker. Basically, any target can be "a model", but only one of them can be "the model" (at any given time), so using the indefinite article just feels more correct. It's simply grammatical preference - there's no real difference in meaning, and either version would produce the same result. "Any model" would also be functionally identical.

 

"The Poison +2 Condition" is a generalised grammatical rule for the Condition keyword in Malifaux - Conditions always use the definite article. Again, this is mostly preference, but it comes from the notion that all Conditions are singular (some with a value). A model with Poison +2 doesn't have "two Poison Conditions", it has a +2 value for "the Poison Condition". That model's Poison Condition isn't different or separate from another model's Poison Condition, they simply both have "the Poison Condition".

 

Not sure if that helps... I often feel like trying to explain English articles exposes how complex and arbitrary they are.

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Thank you, Kadeton, I really appreciate it :)

 

I still can't comprehend one thing though.

 

There is a model that is damaged by Voodoo Pins Attack Action and thus receives the Poison +2 Condition. And then there is a model that inflicts damage on Zoraida and thus it's Activation is ended.

Yet Voodoo Pins reads "a model" and Regret reads "the Attacker's Activation".

 

You said that Voodoo Pins is "an attack that can affect multiple models, each one of which would be the model". Regret is an Ability that can affect multiple models, each one of which would be the model.

 

Does that definite article belong to the word Activation? Would that be the Activation of an Attacker, because multiple models can be attackers, but each of them has only one Activation?

 

Indefinite and definite articles and punctuation will be bane of my existance :D Well, to be honest, I still haven't learnt proper punctuation in czech, so...

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You said that Voodoo Pins is "an attack that can affect multiple models, each one of which would be the model". Regret is an Ability that can affect multiple models, each one of which would be the model.

 

Heh. I told you it was complicated. :D

 

I'm not sure I can properly explain why it goes one way or the other - it may just be an arbitrary convention. I can tell you that "end an Attacker's Activation" sounds wrong to me - because you know at that time there can only be one Attacker.

 

I suspect a lot has to do with the statement's implied context. When talking about a defensive Trigger, you're discussing a Duel in progress, which has one definite Attacker and one definite Defender. Voodoo Pins, for whatever reason, was phrased in an indefinite context - any model, at any time, damaged by the pins in any way, gains Poison +2 - and because of that, it uses the indefinite article even though the only way to damage people with the pins is within the context of an Attack Duel. It's as if the wording doesn't acknowledge the Duel that it's part of, if that makes sense.

 

Voodoo Pins is a pretty weird attack, actually. It has a non-Trigger effect which is still conditional on damage. Usually, that sort of thing would be on a built-in trigger with wording like "After damaging, the target..." (using the definite, because we're within the context of the Duel). I'm guessing that Justin wanted to avoid the "After damaging" phrasing, because the timing for it is only defined for Triggers, and this is simply the best alternative he came up with.

 

I think articles are the thing that non-English speakers struggle with most when learning the language, and most native speakers find it very difficult to explain because they've simply internalised the complexity to the point where it's intuitive - I know I do. Best of luck with it!

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I found the Voodoo Pins to be pretty intuïtive, even though I aren't a native speaker. Must be my wargaming experience talking there :P

 

Yeah, I don't mean that it's confusing or difficult to interpret. What I suspect is difficult for a non-native speaker is determining why it was phrased that way, rather than any of the alternative ways that would be semantically identical. The answer basically comes down to "it just sounds better like that". It's something I've noticed in other languages as well, but never to the same extent.

 

I was amused by the way you've written intuïtive with an umlaut. :P

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Thank you, Kadeton, once again :) I will have to read it several times :D

 

Speaking of Voodoo Pins... Both Zoraida's and Sammy LaCroix' Voodoo Pins Attack Actions are refered to as weapons rather than Actions. "A model damaged by this weapon also receives the Poison +2 Condition." I haven't found it anywhere else.

Also they share the same name even though they are somewhat different. Sammy's Ml is 6 as opposed to Zoraida's 4 and Sammy's Voodoo Pins Attack Action lacks :crowPuncture Trigger.

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Thank you, Kadeton, once again :) I will have to read it several times :D

 

Speaking of Voodoo Pins... Both Zoraida's and Sammy LaCroix' Voodoo Pins Attack Actions are refered to as weapons rather than Actions. "A model damaged by this weapon also receives the Poison +2 Condition." I haven't found it anywhere else.

Also they share the same name even though they are somewhat different. Sammy's Ml is 6 as opposed to Zoraida's 4 and Sammy's Voodoo Pins Attack Action lacks :crowPuncture Trigger.

 

There are more like that. The Samurai and Ronin both have the same Daito, but the Samurai has Ml 6, and a Critical Strike trigger, while the Ronin has Ml 5 :mask with a :mask trigger for push. Same name just means that it has the same effect. 

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You are right. Obey - Perdita, Zoraida, Brewmaster, Vasilisa and Hamelin's The Piper Upgrade. Same effect, different values.

 

But the thing that intriqued me was the usage of word weapon instead of Attack Action.

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Hey Deluge

 

You are right. Obey - Perdita, Zoraida, Brewmaster, Vasilisa and Hamelin's The Piper Upgrade. Same effect, different values.

 

But the thing that intriqued me was the usage of word weapon instead of Attack Action.

 

I guess it's some sort of leftover from the v1.5 wordings and was not caught during the Beta. 

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What!?

 

Tell your bosses you simply cannot function without your daily fix of madness...

I spent the past two days assembling and priming my marcus crew at my desk, so I guess it is only fair that I have to work one day a week!

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