So step 6 is saying choose your 7 ability cards, take your injuries, and your items. Which would be your equipped items since it’s not during the story. So no taking items you DONT have

I understand how you're viewing it. Noted.

The question is also when does story end and when are you "during encounter"?

In this specific case since it’s a replay, it says don’t do the story again. So if there’s an opportunity to take from the backpack, it needs to be explicit. Since you’re definitely not “during” the story at any point when you replay an encounter.

I first read through the rules and played all of chapter 1 a couple times. Once ambushed, once not. My group all agreed the story was over immediately when it says “proceed to encounter”

Which makes backpack use timing important; if you wait too long to decide to change gear you might get ambushed and not have an opportunity.

But, I’ve since seen that the “send a runner” rule is allowed at that point still. So maybe backpack action is too, I don’t know. Once you archive the backpack and items as part of encounter setup step 3, before step 3 that’s got to be the last possible chance to get stuff out (the way it’s written, to me)

That’s also a big part of why I don’t think the wording of step 6 allows for taking from the backpack. You’ve already been instructed to put the backpack and what it’s carrying away, it’s not part of the game at that point the way the rules are written

Hmm. So if you continue from story you can change gear until you store away the backpack. From a save, you cant.

The way it’s written, I agree. Obviously since Tonzin said otherwise you can change gear as part of encounter setup. I’m just pointing out the rules as written don’t allow for that

At some point, it makes sense you can change gear until any new element related to the encounter are revealed after story. But that will exclude change gear at restart.

And to be clear, I agree that it’s POSSIBLE that you’re allowed to change gear up until step 3, but as written I don’t think so. Once the instruction “proceed to encounter” hits, that’s the trigger for story end to me, so that’s the last moment to change gear. Because gear change must take place “during” the story

The one exception being when you receive an item, you can either backpack it or equip it. If you displace an equipped item, backpack that instead

Step 14 is when the encounter begins

But you dont have any backpack at that point.

The first step 3 says to put it sway

You kind of do. There are rules to interact (one way, depositing) to the backpack at the end of an encounter

Sounds like the intent is that up until step 14, for rules purposes, you are still during the story

Which doesn’t help with the replay scenario, since the story is over and it says don’t start it again 😉

End of encounter ask you to go to the story book. Which mean you are out of encounter.

Yes, but you are not yet “during” a story as ai read it

If you were you could freely take from the backpack and/or freely deposit at end of encounter. But you can’t, so you’re not “during” a story again yet. That’s why there are specific rules for putting stuff into backpack specifically when you gain an item

If you could freely deposit and take at the end of an encounter then you could pass a characters gear on to a swapping in character, but that’s not allowed.

When a character swaps out they take their gear with them and it’s unavailable to anyone else until you bring the character back in. At that point it’s archived and now it’s available again from the archive

For example, we just finished chapter 3 encounter. Our huntress has armor from chapter 3 common deck. She’s thinking of swapping to Hunter. Both want the same armor type. But Huntress used that armor in the chapter 3 encounter, and did not receive new armor as loot at the end of it. So if Huntress swaps out of game right now, that armor goes with her into her bag. When Hunter comes in, she can take a full set of equipment from the chapter 3 common deck. That piece of armor in question is not part of that deck at the moment though, Hunter can’t take it

So if the chapter 3 deck happens to only have one piece of leather armor, the Ranger is either taking cloth armor, or no armor. She’ll have the option to buy from the chapter 4 deck though during chapter 4 story, so hopefully there is armor she would want in there

If I have any of that wrong I’d love to know. And if I have any of that wrong, the backpack and character swap timing interaction rules need some tweaks 🙂

It does say any swapping happens at the start of the chapter - but before the story starts.

Theres a nuance I’d love to hear an official ruling on. When the encounter ends and you go back to the story book for the chapter epilogue, are you now “during” the story again? Because if so you can backpack all the gear on a character, then after the story is officially over you could swap to a new character, and then during the next story equip that character from the backpack

I hope not! Because if the epilogue counts as story again, a player that doesn’t mind character swapping definitely should if there is room in the backpack for stuff. It would basically mean free income, because you aren’t losing any gear when a character leaves (if you can and choose to backpack stuff at this point), but you are gaining gear when one arrives. That doesn’t seem intended, so I was assuming the epilogue does not count as during the story