<p>Unfortunately, the -5 added to Santa's level does not change the actual level. It is simply a Bonus/Penalty. It is much the same way the Elven Bow provides a +4 Bonus. The Bow does not change the character's Level. Rather, it changes the character's Attack, which is a derivative of the Player's Current Level plus all Bonus and Penalties.</p>

<p>Though there are some cards that specifically state "Adds X to Monsters Level", the Race/Class bonus/penalty is not one of those.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-26T10:53:30.360Z
Bingo, that's the angle I was missing here. Santa takes a penalty for being gullible, not a level change.
Martijn Pieters
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-26T01:36:26.953Z
2014-12-26T01:36:26.953Z
Jayson Smith
<p>In an epic Munchkin game with the Unnatural Axe extension, we had an Elf player encounter <em>Santa</em>. Santa is normally a level 9 monster, but that changes by -5 because Santa trusts Elves. Silly Santa.</p>

<p>That player was doing <strong>way</strong> to well, so someone added <em>Mommy</em> to the fight. Mommy can only be played on a monster of Level 5 or below, or one that is a Baby. We reckoned that since Santa was now a Level 4 monster against Elves, this card could be applied! Mommy adds another monster of the same kind but 10 levels higher.</p>

<p>The poor victim Elf player complained loudly in proper Munchkin fashion, but conceded that our interpretation of the cards was probably allowed.</p>

<p>Was our interpretation correct, and was Mommy playable here? We were going by Santa dropping down 5 levels for Elves here, but perhaps it should not have been allowed because normally Santa is Level 8 instead.</p>

<p>In case you feel sorry for that player, they survived (having slain a monster without help to get of Santa's naughty list) to end up with this hand about two rounds before winning, utterly unstoppable:</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/FmG5S.jpg" alt="epic Munchkin hand"></p>

<munchkin>
Unnatural Axe Santa vs. Elf and the Mummy card
Martijn Pieters
# Unnatural Axe Santa vs. Elf and the Mummy card

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-25)

In an epic Munchkin game with the Unnatural Axe extension, we had an Elf player encounter *Santa*. Santa is normally a level 9 monster, but that changes by -5 because Santa trusts Elves. Silly Santa.

That player was doing **way** to well, so someone added *Mommy* to the fight. Mommy can only be played on a monster of Level 5 or below, or one that is a Baby. We reckoned that since Santa was now a Level 4 monster against Elves, this card could be applied! Mommy adds another monster of the same kind but 10 levels higher.

The poor victim Elf player complained loudly in proper Munchkin fashion, but conceded that our interpretation of the cards was probably allowed.

Was our interpretation correct, and was Mommy playable here? We were going by Santa dropping down 5 levels for Elves here, but perhaps it should not have been allowed because normally Santa is Level 8 instead.

In case you feel sorry for that player, they survived (having slain a monster without help to get of Santa's naughty list) to end up with this hand about two rounds before winning, utterly unstoppable:

![epic Munchkin hand](https://i.sstatic.net/FmG5S.jpg)

**Tags:** munchkin


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-12-26. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

Unfortunately, the -5 added to Santa's level does not change the actual level. It is simply a Bonus/Penalty. It is much the same way the Elven Bow provides a +4 Bonus. The Bow does not change the character's Level. Rather, it changes the character's Attack, which is a derivative of the Player's Current Level plus all Bonus and Penalties.

Though there are some cards that specifically state "Adds X to Monsters Level", the Race/Class bonus/penalty is not one of those.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Bingo, that's the angle I was missing here. Santa takes a penalty for being gullible, not a level change.  

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