Bareheaded Warrior wrote:Whilst it is always great to hear
from "the creator" and his position on Orcs' Bane aligns with my own (which is even better), I'm not sure about the part around Heroic Brew AND Orcs' Bane...
Either you allow it to stack, so you'd get one attack which if it was against an Orc then Orcs' Bane would allow you a second attack against an Orc, you would then get the attack again from Heroic Brew (which would actually be the third attack) and if it was against an Orc then Orcs' Bane would allow you another attack (the fourth) against an Orc, so four attacks in total
Or you don't allow them to stack, so you'd get one attack which if it was against an Orc then Orcs' Bane would allow you a second attack against an Orc, at which point you would have had your two attacks so action complete both effects have been used up.
I'd argue about the "stacking" as you suggest. First off, I don't think heroes should be allowed to stack potions on top of each other, like drinking 2 potions of Strength and add 4 attack dice. Nor do I think a hero should mix potions. We'll say 1 potion per turn. So no Potion of Strength & Ice Strength at the same time.
However potions can mix with a heroes skill, spell and weapon. So "stacking" Orc's Bane with Heroic Brew, totally doable. You get the 2 attacks allotted by Orc's Bane, but Heroic Brew grants you only 1 additional attack. Orc's Bane,'s double attack is used up, now you get the extra attack from Heroic Brew.
Now suppose you have the Rogue armed with Orc's Bane and a potion of Heroic Brew, in this case all the above apply, but he now gets a 4th attack thanks to Ambidextrous.
We can even take this a step further, the Rogue is armed with Orc's Bane in one of those Wizard's of Morcar rooms that has 8 Orcs, the Rogue can use his Combat Mobility to gain easy access, but before going in the Elf casts Time Stop on him. Now we have a Rogue with Orc's Bane, Heroic Brew and Ambidextrous, and he gets to do it almost twice. Rogue goes in, uses Orc's Bane to take out 2 Orcs, drinks a heroic brew to kill a 3rd, and somehow takes out a 4th by throwing a dagger. Turn ends... and Time Stop kicks in, Rogue's 2nd turn starts. He moves into better position, gets 2 attacks from Orc's Bane, if he has another heroic brew he can go ahead and use that because it's a new turn, and for that same reason pulls off an 8th attack with Ambidextrous. Unlikely, but you'll have 8 potential kills.
But now a further question evolves from this with a Potion of Battle Rage, which originally gave the Barbarian 2 attacks per turn so long as monsters are in sight, but this has been extended to all heroes. I once had a Berserker drink this Potion armed with a Battle Axe and the Elf cast TimeStop on him, which allowed him to kill an Ogre Commander in 3 attacks (though he was granted 4). Now instead of Heroic Brew, let's apply Battle Rage. Battle Rage is Heroic Brew but with duration. So the Orc's Bane double attack will still only work once per turn.
The Rogue isn't the only hero that can make 2 attacks based on skill: The Monk using Eye of the Storm and Berserker with Frenzy can both make up to 8 attacks with these Techniques/Skills, but they can only be made once during a battle. The Berserker might use Frenzy and then drink a Potion of Elder Wisdom to regain the skill, but it can only be used once per turn. He'll need to wait another turn to actually use it. But if the Berserker is armed with Orc's Bane, he can potentially make 9 attacks, as one of those monsters, if it's an Orc can be attacked twice. The Berserker and Monk may also use Heroic Brew while using Frenzy or Eye of the Storm, it just allows them to attack one monster twice. Either can use Orc's Bane but it disqualifies the Monk from using Eye of the Storm, as he needs to be unarmed for that. But it'll give the possibility of making 10 attacks in 1 turn to the Berserker, which is probably the most a hero can make in 1 turn. Can the Berserker make 11 attacks if he has a Spawnling on him and he has monsters adjacent & diagonally adjacent (at least 1 being an Orc) to him while armed with Orc's Bane and drinking Heroic Brew or Battle Rage?
= one hit
= one hit & pushback
= cancels one hit
I fully understand those who say Orc's Bane plus Heroic Brew should "only" be three attacks. I can understand that AH wants it now to only apply to a single Orc. I can appreciate how Stephen Baker intended it to work (which is how I used it back in the day). I can respect those interpretations and decisions and just make my own anyway. 
