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Description:
There was a scene from Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, where Aragorn commands the elven archers to release their arrows against the orcs attacking Helm's Deep. Arrows rain from the sky, instantly impaling hundreds of orcs. This enactment is pretty much the same in the era of the Three Kingdoms. Use RAINING ARROWS to release arrows against every player. Players must use DODGE 闪 or NEGATE 无懈可击, or suffer 1 unit of health damage.
What it does:
A multi-player attack where every player must use DODGE or lose 1 unit of health. NEGATE can also be used to neutralize this tool card. Rules of engagement is identical to BARBARIANS 南蛮入侵 where it is recommended to have players use DODGE in an orderly manner starting from the user's right.
Note that since DODGE is required, a player that has equipped the EIGHT TRIGRAMS 八卦阵 can choose to use auto-DODGE (judgement required).
How to use it:
Toss the card on to the table. Duh.
Historical basis:
Too many battles in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms made use of raining arrows on their enemy. In fact it is expected to be part of assault and defense, just like tanks are to ground battles in today's wars. However there are 2 special-mentions in Romance of the Three Kingdoms concerning arrows.
The first is the warlord Yuan Shao 袁绍 and his choice of using arrows heavily. In his attacks against Gong Sun Zan 公孙瓒 and Cao Cao 曹操, there is an abnormally large number of mentions of Yuan Shao using arrows against his enemies. This is likely the reason Yuan Shao's character in this card game has the ability to use RAINING ARROWS easily.
The second is the story of Zhu Ge Liang 诸葛亮 using straw figurines to borrow arrows. Zhou Yu 周瑜 wants Zhu Ge Liang dead because he is too intelligent and will be a threat after the alliance between the kingdoms of Shu Han 蜀汉 and Sun Wu 孙吴 is over. Zhou Yu challenges Zhu Ge Liang to produce 100,000 arrows in 10 days or be executed. Zhu Ge Liang audaciously proposes to shorten the duration to 3 days. He then sends 20 boats filled with straw figurines into enemy waters on a foggy day (Cao Cao's camp). The enemy saw a huge attack imminent, but is unable to clearly see that the figurines were straw and not real warriors. Thus they unleashed volley after volley of arrows, which Zhu Ge Liang gladly accepted. By such, he was able to produce 100,000 arrows within 3 days. Read more about Zhu Ge Liang using straw boats to borrow arrows on Wikipedia!
do you think arrow shower sounds a lil better?
ReplyDeletePerhaps! Thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteI think 'Hail of Arrows' might be a more poetic translation, staying true to the idiomatic card names.
ReplyDeletedoes the user need to play DODGE too?
ReplyDeleteThe user does not need to DODGE. The card only works on the OTHER players.
ReplyDeletecan eight trigrams be used to dodge for raining arrows?
ReplyDeleteYes, 8 trigrams can be used anytime a DODGE is needed. If it fails, a regular DODGE can be played.
ReplyDeleteIf 1 of the characters is Cao Cao & he uses his ability 2 get hold of this card once he suffers damage, does the other players that come after him need to play a [Dodge]? Or the effects of the card ceases once it comes under the possession of Cao Cao?
ReplyDeleteThe other players still need to DODGE or NEGATE the arrows.
ReplyDeleteif one player uses negate, does it save all players from raining arrow? or does it only save the player who uses negate.
ReplyDelete^ NEGATE can neutralize the effect of tool cards to ONE target you choose. You can use NEGATE to save yourself or save one other player
ReplyDeleteSince this is considered as attack, can zhu gep liang escape with empty castle
ReplyDelete"When Zhu Ge Liang has no cards on hand, he cannot be the target of ATTACK 杀 or DUEL 决斗."
ReplyDeleteBut you can still shoot arrows at him! =)