When you cover a card and then the covering card ends up discarded/eliminated does the card underneath return to play? So say you cover a card with Nero, play Nero (which requires its discard), are you left with the card your originally had in the space rather than an unused disc?

No. "Covered" cards are not really covered, but discarded.

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that they are still in play. If a covered card becomes uncovered, then the card is now active. This seems to be one of the strategies in the game to counteract an aggressive, card killing offense.

One of the posts in this thread mentions that in the rules discussion of "cover", it means discard. I'll have to verify from my rulebook tonight.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/76637

What elbear has written is correct. The covered card has to be discarded.
Greetings from germany
Bernd

What elbear has written is correct. The covered card has to be discarded.
Greetings from germany
Bernd

In the dutch rules it says that some specific cards have the ability to cover a building card. Since it specificly says 'cover a building card' could have to me only two explanations:

1. Each other person card can not be put on a place where there is a building. The person with the ability to cover a building is an exeption, after doing this the building has to be discared.

2. You can put this card on top of a building and the building stays in the game. (what happens in this case with the building I don;t know)

For both options I can not find anything in the limited rules.

I also have understood from the rules that "cover" a card (building or character) means "discard". But then, why the designer used the word cover instead of discard, throw away, etc? Cover means that I put a thing on top of one other thing... Right?