Situation: The Magician cast Eldritch Darts in a Drive Off conflict.
This replaces the Attack skill with Arcanist. Can the other players help without Arcanist or Lore Master?
Eldritch Darts is used for Attack and Feint actions in Drive Off, so you can help with Fighter (or Arcanist if you’ve got it).
As another party to this, and not wishing to argue against the author… But the spell Eldritch Darts states “When Eldritch Darts is in effect, the Arcanist skill replaces the Attack action skill for the duration of a kill or drive off conflict.”
The word ‘replaces’ appears in the spell description. Doesn’t that imply that in the Attack column the skill to be used is ignored and Arcanist skill is used instead? If so why does the original skill still count for helpers rather than only the skill that is actually being used - Arcanist.
Or to play Devil’s advocate against myself. Are you saying that the replacement ONLY is for the Wizard casting the spell. Hmmmm, actually that would mean the Arcanist or Lore Master skills couldn’t be used to help then.
So I’m back to thinking your reply is a “cake and eat it too” situation.
Also, while I have your attention… Can you Help if someone is using Health or Will. I guess this either means that everyone can always help or no ever can - which is it. Strictly neither are Skills.
Cheers,
S.
That is really cool.
This one I can answer now! I thought it was this: Abilities Help Abilities, p66, Helping Beginners, as appropriate.
Thanks kind book reading GM of mine.
I still think Thor is cheating… 
Eldritch Darts doesn’t change the requirement of the conflict! It changes what the caster rolls for Attack and Feint actions in the conflict.
The spell allows magicians and elves to use Arcanist in place of the Fighter skill for the purpose of Attacks and Feints in Drive Off conflicts. That means they can use Arcanist to help their comrades with Attack and Feint actions (even though their comrades are rolling Fighter). And since Fighter is the skill used for Attack and Feint in Drive Off conflicts, it can be used to help comrades who have cast Eldritch Darts when they Attack or Feint during the conflict.
Also, consider what’s happening when help is proffered in a conflict. If you’re Defending – you describe holding the center of the line, braced behind your shield, deflecting blows meant for your comrades – and I’m helping, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m standing at your side helping you hold up your shield. I’m engaged with my own foe! But I cede her the momentum, blocking blows while I catch my breath for the next hard push. Meanwhile, the elf is off to our left somewhere, engaged in a vicious skirmish of her own. She got disarmed by her foe in the last action, so she’s weaving around the heavy, chopping blows of the orc she’s facing. The magician, who won’t act until next turn but cast Wizard’s Aegis at the top of the conflict, is studying his opponent curiously as the orc hacks unsuccessfully at the shimmering magical shield that surrounds the spellcaster.
Ok, I get where you are coming from.
So can the caster, who is rolling the dice this round, be helped by Arcanist or Lore Master skill (like a normal Arcanist skill roll) during the Attack action can they only be helped by a Fight skill?
Or am I over thinking this…
Help is a little more restricted in conflicts than it is in other tests. You can only help with the ability or skill listed for the current conflict (see Helping in Conflicts on page 72). As a result, I personally would not allow Loremaster to help, though I would accept Arcanist.
Cheers dude, makes perfect sense now you explain it!