Picture, if you will, a band of heroes battling a Young Green Dragon. 19 squares away from the beastie is a Wizard. This Wizard casts Acid Arrow and hits. Kersplash, fizzz, ouch.
On the opposite side of the Dragon from that Wizsard, and also adjacent to it, are two allies of this Wizard. The Dragon is a large monster, and it's base is 5 squares long. Thus, those two characters are 25 squares away from the Wizard, well outside the range of Acid Arrow (which has a range of 20).
Now, here's the tricky bit. When Acid Arrow hits, it makes a secondary attack with a target of "Each creature adjacent to the primary target". Our two heroes adjacent to the Dragon qualify in this case.
However, on page 59, under the rules for "Secondary Attack and Secondary Target", there is this rule: "Unless otherwise noted, the range of a secondary (or tertiary) attack is the same as for the attack that preceded it." Our two heroes in front of the Dragon do not fall within that range, since they are five squares beyond Acid Arrow's range.
On the opposite side of the Dragon from that Wizsard, and also adjacent to it, are two allies of this Wizard. The Dragon is a large monster, and it's base is 5 squares long. Thus, those two characters are 25 squares away from the Wizard, well outside the range of Acid Arrow (which has a range of 20).
Now, here's the tricky bit. When Acid Arrow hits, it makes a secondary attack with a target of "Each creature adjacent to the primary target". Our two heroes adjacent to the Dragon qualify in this case.
However, on page 59, under the rules for "Secondary Attack and Secondary Target", there is this rule: "Unless otherwise noted, the range of a secondary (or tertiary) attack is the same as for the attack that preceded it." Our two heroes in front of the Dragon do not fall within that range, since they are five squares beyond Acid Arrow's range.
- Is this a case of "specific beats general", where the specific power text overrules the general range rule of secondary attacks?
- Does Acid Arrow's "each creature adjacent to the target" text qualify as "unless otherwise noted" in the rule for secondary target range?
- Or, since no different range number is specified for the secondary attack, do we assume it shares the 20-square range of Acid Arrow, and thus cannot target anything beyond 20 squares with the second effect?