The official rulebook is still the recommended way to learn the game. This document is intended as a definitive resource combining all official rules for all expansions, reference guides, FAQs, and errata, such that all questions can be clarified by searching one document.
Eldritch Horror is a cooperative game of investigation and horror inspired by the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. In each game, one of the Ancient Ones, a being of unimaginable power that predates time itself, is awakening. Players take on the roles of investigators who are attempting to solve mysteries, defend humanity from unimaginable horrors, and ultimately banish the Ancient One from this world. If investigators fail at their task, the Ancient One awakens, and mankind is doomed.
When playing Eldritch Horror, each player controls an investigator. The word “investigator” refers to a player, the in-game character he controls, and that character’s Investigator sheet and Investigator token.
Effects on components (such as cards) sometimes contradict this rulebook. In this situation, the component’s effect overrules this rulebook.
Restrictive effects on cards are absolute. For example, an investigator’s Detained Condition says, “You cannot move.” That investigator cannot move or be moved by any action or effect.
When playing with expansions, add all expansion components to their respective decks or pools of Eldritch Horror components. Unless otherwise instructed, use all components when playing with expansions.
Before playing each game, perform the following steps in order.
Personal stories represent the continuing stories your investigator faces as the game progresses. Personal stories can be used during any game.
Players decide if they would like to play with personal stories or not. Either all players play with personal stories or all players play without.
Draw one random Prelude card before setting up the game. These cards alter game setup and make each game feel unique. The card’s effect is resolved immediately after drawing the card, unless it specifies different timing, such as “after resolving setup.”
Some expansions include duplicate Preludes which originally appeared in previous expansions. If playing with those expansions, do not include the duplicate Preludes in the Prelude deck.
Unfold the game board and place it in the center of the play area within easy reach of all players.
Side boards are only set up when specifically mentioned by game components such as the Ancient One sheet or Prelude card.
While side boards are in play, “game board” refers to both the main board included in Eldritch Horror and the side boards. “Side board” always refers to a side board and not the main board.
Organize the following tokens as listed below:
Players agree upon one player to receive the Lead Investigator token. If they cannot decide, players assign this token to a random player as they see fit (for example, by rolling a die). Starting with the Lead Investigator and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses one investigator. He takes the corresponding Investigator sheet, then places the matching Investigator token on the game board space listed on the back of his Investigator sheet.
), Influence (
),
Observation (
), Strength (
), and Will (
).The back of each Investigator sheet indicates the investigator’s starting location, including a map for reference, and his starting possessions, Conditions, and effects.
It also indicates the investigator’s defeated investigator encounters, including a Crippled effect and an Insane effect.
Each investigator receives the starting possessions listed on the back of his Investigator sheet. He gains any Assets or Spells listed by taking the matching card from the game box. Then he takes a number of Health and Sanity tokens equal to his investigator’s maximum Health and Sanity listed on the front of his Investigator sheet. He places these tokens near his Investigator sheet.
If playing with personal stories, each investigator also receives the Personal Mission card that corresponds to their chosen investigator, placing it near their Investigator sheet with their possessions.
Your Personal Mission includes additional narrative text as well as an effect that causes you to gain your Reward or Consequence.
When you gain your Reward or Consequence, place it near your Investigator sheet with your possessions. You can gain your Reward or Consequence, but not both. Once you gain your Reward or Consequence, you keep it until the end of the game. Personal Missions, Rewards, and Consequences cannot be discarded by other game effects.
Although Reward/Consequence cards act similarly to Assets or Conditions, they are not possessions or Conditions and are not affected by effects that affect other card types.
As a group, players choose one of the Ancient One sheets. Each Ancient One provides a different game experience. For their first game, it is recommended players choose “Azathoth,” as he is the most straightforward Ancient One. Place the chosen sheet faceup (displaying a Doom value in the top left corner) near the game board and resolve any setup effects on the sheet.
Related Topics: Mythos, Set Aside
Take all non-epic, non-set-aside Monster tokens and place them in an opaque container such as a bowl, mug, or the cover of the game box (not shown in setup diagram). Then shake this container to randomize the Monster tokens.
Do not place the Epic Monster tokens in the Monster cup. Epic Monster tokens are marked by their red color and clipped lower-left corner.
Take all Research Encounter cards, Special Encounter cards,
and Mystery cards that do not correspond to the chosen
Ancient One and return them to the game box. Those cards will not be used for this game.
Each Ancient One has at least two unique decks of cards: the
Mystery deck and the Research deck. Some Ancient Ones
also have Special Encounter decks called out in their
setup effect. The illustrations on the back of each Special Encounter indicates
the Ancient One and the Mystery or Final Mystery it corresponds
to. Special Encounter cards also share their title with the Mystery
or Final Mystery they correspond to. The instructions for resolving Special Encounters are defined by the
Ancient One sheet or Mystery cards.Ancient One Specific Cards
Then separate all other cards as listed below and place them near the game board.
The Mythos deck is built differently each game, based on the instructions on the bottom of the Ancient One sheet. To build this deck, perform the following steps:
Resolve the following effects to complete setup:
Some information is intentionally hidden from players. The following cannot be examined by players unless they are instructed by some effect:
Information that is not hidden includes the following.
Although players may legally look at this information, they may find the game more exciting if they do not look at this information unless instructed by some effect.
During setup, some components might be set aside. Keep these components near the Ancient One sheet.
Eldritch Horror is a cooperative game. All players are on the same team and win or lose the game together. The investigators’ ultimate goal is to banish the Ancient One from this world by solving Mysteries.
In addition, investigators need to deal with many threats and crises facing the world. These appear in the form of Gates (which spawn Monsters and can awaken the Ancient One) and Rumor Mythos cards (which harm investigators and can end the game prematurely).
Eldritch Horror is played over a series of game rounds. Each round consists of three phases that are resolved in the following order:
The player who has the Lead Investigator token is referred to as the “Lead Investigator” by cards and effects. At the end of each Mythos Phase, the Lead Investigator may pass the Lead Investigator token to any player of his choice. Investigators then start a new game round beginning with the Action Phase. Players continue resolving game rounds until they have won or lost the game.
Active investigator refers to the investigator currently performing actions or resolving an encounter. During the Mythos Phase, the Lead Investigator is the active investigator.
If multiple effects would be resolved at the same time during the game, the active investigator decides the order in which they are resolved.
When investigators make a decision as a group, the Lead Investigator makes the final decision.
Performing actions is the main way in which investigators move about the game board and acquire beneficial cards and tokens (such as Asset cards and travel tickets).
During the Action Phase, each investigator may perform up to two actions. The Lead Investigator performs his two actions first, then proceeding clockwise around the play area, each other investigator performs his two actions.
During the Action Phase, investigators may perform the following actions. The detailed rules for these actions are explained in the following sections.
Related Topics: Local Action, Delayed
As an action, an investigator moves to any space adjacent to his current space. Then he may spend any number of travel tickets, moving one additional space along a Train path or Ship path for each Train Ticket token or Ship Ticket token spent, respectively. The Action Phase Example includes an example of a Travel action.
The different types of spaces and paths are shown on the “Legend” on the game board.
Tokens are often placed on spaces of the game board. Spaces include named locations (such as “Arkham”), as well as numbered locations.
Each space is connected to at least one other space by lines known as paths. Two spaces are adjacent if they are connected by a single unbroken path.
Train and Ship paths each correspond to a type of travel ticket.
When playing with a side board, Local paths connect some spaces with dashed green lines. Spaces connected by Local paths are so close to each other that moving between them does not require an action.
During the Action Phase, an investigator may move along any number of interconnected Local paths.
The investigator recovers 1 Health and 1 Sanity. Then he may spend any number of Resources to recover 1 additional Health or 1 additional Sanity for each Resource spent.
An investigator cannot perform this action if there is a Monster on his space.
As an action, an investigator can trade any number of possessions with another investigator on his space. The two investigators may freely give any number of possessions to the other, as long as both investigators agree to this trade.
If the investigator is on a City space, he gains one travel ticket of his choice. The investigator cannot gain a Train Ticket unless there is at least one Train path connected to his space. Likewise, he cannot gain a Ship Ticket unless there is at least one Ship path connected to his space.
An investigator cannot have more than two travel tickets. If he already has two travel tickets when he would gain a new one, he may discard one travel ticket before gaining the new travel ticket.
As an action, an investigator on a City space tests . Then he may spend any
number of Resources to add 1 success to his test result
for each Resource spent. Then he may
gain any number of cards from the reserve with total value (the number in the upper-left corner) equal to or
less than the test result.
After completely resolving an Acquire Assets action, replace any cards discarded or gained from the reserve by drawing replacement cards from the Asset deck.
Related Topics: Gaining Possessions and Conditions
As an action, an investigator on any space gains one Focus token. An investigator cannot have more than two Focus tokens. Focus tokens can be spent when resolving a test.
As an action, an investigator on any space gains one Resource token.
The investigator may perform an action listed on one of his components (such as Investigator sheets, Conditions, and possessions). These actions are preceded by the word “Action” in bold.
Like all actions, each component action can only be performed once per round. Although an investigator cannot perform a component action from a single component more than once each round, he can perform component actions of different components. Multiple investigators cannot perform the same action on one component during a single round, except for local actions. For example, if an investigator uses a component action on an Asset and then trades it to another investigator, the new owner cannot use the component action that round.
Example: Lily Chen uses the action ability printed on her Investigator sheet. Then, for her second action, she could perform an action printed on an Asset card she has.
Silas has performed his two actions. The investigator to his left may now perform two actions.
During this phase, each investigator must resolve one encounter. Encounters often involve reading a short narrative on an encounter card which can have positive and/or negative effects. We recommend a player other than the active investigator reads encounter cards and does not reveal the results of passing or failing a test that has not yet been resolved.
The investigators resolve encounters in turn order starting with the Lead Investigator and proceeding clockwise around the play area.
During the Encounter Phase, if an investigator is on a space containing one or more Monsters, he must resolve a single Combat Encounter against each Monster on that space, one at a time, in the order of his choice. If there are zero Monsters on an investigator’s space, he instead resolves a location encounter or a token encounter of his choice as described in the sections below. If an investigator has the option of multiple encounters, he chooses one.
If an investigator has a Detained Condition card, he resolves the back of his Condition card instead of resolving an encounter. He does this even if there is a Monster on his space.
If an investigator is on a space containing one or more Monsters, he must resolve a single Combat Encounter against each Monster on that space.
After an investigator resolves all Combat Encounters, if there are no Monsters in his space, he may resolve another encounter.
The investigator draws an encounter card matching his space’s artwork or from the General Encounter deck. He resolves the effect that matches his current space, then discards the card. When an encounter deck is empty, immediately shuffle its discard pile to form a new deck.
If an investigator has multiple types of encounter cards that he could draw, he chooses which deck to draw from.
Example: An investigator is on Arkham. He can choose to draw a card from either the General Encounter deck or the America Encounter deck. If he chooses to draw a General Encounter card, he then resolves the “City” portion of the card.
The text below some named spaces on the game board lists the most common effects found in those specific encounters.
Some tokens are placed on spaces of the game board and provide additional encounter options for investigators on that space.
During this phase, the Lead Investigator draws the top card of the Mythos deck. If the Mythos deck is empty, the discard pile is not shuffled into the deck. Instead, if a Mythos card cannot be drawn, the Mythos Phase ends. Then, if investigators have not won the game, investigators lose the game.
There are seven possible effects on a Mythos card, and the Lead Investigator resolves them in the order they appear (left to right, starting from the top). The order and effects of each element are listed below:
Move the Omen token one space clockwise around the track. Then advance Doom by one for each Gate on the game board that matches the Omen token’s current space.
Resolve all effects proceeded by a 
icon
on components in play. These components
are marked with a red reckoning icon in the
lower-right corner as a visual reminder.
Resolve these effects in the following order:
Monsters, Ancient One sheet, Ongoing
Mythos cards, and lastly starting with the Lead Investigator
and proceeding clockwise, each investigator resolves the effect
on each possession and Condition he has, if any, in the order of his
choice.
If a Mythos card has the icon on the lower-right corner, it is a
reminder that the card has a effect. That card does not cause
other effects to be resolved.
If a Monster is spawned or an investigator gains a component
while investigators are resolving effects, they do not resolve the
effect on that Monster or component.
Spawn a number of Gates as defined by the Reference card.
At each gate that matches the Omen token’s current space, spawn the number of Monsters listed on the Reference card. If there are no matching Gates currently on the game board, spawn one Gate instead.
Spawn a number of Clues as defined by the Reference card.
Place a Rumor token on the space listed.
Place the listed number of Eldritch tokens on this Mythos card.
If the card has the Event trait listed above the text effect, immediately resolve the effect and then discard the card. If it has the Ongoing trait, place it in play near the Ancient One sheet. It remains in play until discarded by a game effect.
Investigators resolve only the effects displayed on the current Mythos card. For example, if the Mythos card does not have the spawn clues icon, investigators do not resolve the spawn clues step.
The Ancient One awakens when Doom reaches the “0” space of the Doom track. When Doom advances, move the Doom token toward the “0” space of the Doom track. If the Ancient One has not awoken, when Doom retreats, move the Doom token away from the “0” space of the Doom track.
If an effect advances Doom beyond the “0” space, Doom advances to 0, the Ancient One awakens, and then Doom continues to advance using the Ancient One’s rules for advancing Doom.
The Omen track’s purpose is to advance Doom. When the Omen advances, move the Omen token the indicated number of spaces clockwise around the Omen track one space at a time. For each space it enters, advance Doom by one for each Gate on the game board that corresponds to the current Omen.
The “current Omen” is the icon on the space of the Omen track containing the Omen token.
When an effect spawns a Gate, take the top Gate token from the Gate stack and place it faceup on the space indicated on the Gate token.
When a Gate is spawned, a Monster is spawned on the same space.
If an effect would spawn a Gate and the Gate stack and discard pile are empty, advance Doom by one instead.
Gate tokens represent tears in the fabric of reality. These gateways can lead to other worlds, dimensions, or even points in time. These dangerous anomalies allow deadly powers into our world, such as Monsters and eventually even the Ancient Ones.
Gates are the main way that Doom advances. To prevent Doom from advancing (and the Ancient One from awakening), investigators need to resolve Other World Encounter cards to close (discard) Gates.
Some effects cause Gates in the Gate stack to be revealed. Revealed Gates remain where they are in the Gate stack unless the effect that causes the Gates to be revealed states otherwise.
If an effect would cause a number of Gates to be revealed that exceeds the number of Gates in the Gate stack, the active investigator randomizes the Gates in the discard pile and places them at the bottom of the Gate stack before resolving that effect.
After a Gate in the Gate stack has been revealed, it remains revealed until it is removed from the Gate stack or the Gate stack is randomized.
Dream Portals represent locations where the Dreamlands bleed into the waking world. Each space containing a Dream Portal is connected by a Local path to the space that corresponds to that token.
Some effects cause Dream Portals to spawn. To spawn a Dream Portal, reveal Gates from the top of the Gate stack until a Gate is revealed that corresponds to a space that is not on the Dreamlands side board and does not contain a Dream Portal. Place the Dream Portal on that space. A revealed Gate remains revealed in the Gate stack; do not randomize the Gate stack after spawning a Dream Portal.
If a Gate would spawn on a space containing a Dream Portal, spawn that Gate on the space that corresponds to that Dream Portal instead.
When an effect spawns a Monster, draw one random Monster token from the Monster cup and place it on the space indicated by the effect.
If the Monster has the spawn icon, look at the back of the Monster token and resolve its effect immediately after spawning it (for example, “When this Monster is spawned, move it to Heart of Africa”).
Monsters cannot be spawned from the Monster cup if the Monster cup is empty. Set aside Monsters cannot be spawned if all set aside Monsters of the named type are on the game board.
test, test, horror, damage, toughness, and effects. effect.During setup, players choose any opaque container, such as the game box lid, to serve as the Monster cup. When a Monster is spawned, one player draws a random Monster token from the Monster cup without looking. When a Monster is defeated or discarded, return it to the Monster cup. Then shake the container to randomize the Monster tokens.
When an effect spawns a Clue, take one random Clue token from the Clue pool and place it facedown on the space indicated on the Clue token.
Clues cannot be spawned or gained from the Clue pool if the Clue pool and discard pile are empty.
Clue tokens represent secrets and lore about the Ancient One. Investigators can collect these tokens by resolving Research Encounters.
Investigators use Clues to solve Mysteries, solve Rumors, and to reroll dice during tests.
The game immediately ends when an effect specifies that “Investigators win the game,” or “Investigators lose the game.” In the rare circumstance that both of these effects happen at the same time, investigators win the game.
Investigators win the game by solving Mysteries as indicated on the front of the Ancient One sheet.
Investigators lose the game if any of the following occur:
Many effects require investigators to resolve a test, which involves rolling dice to determine whether he passes or fails the test. Passing tests often provides benefits to the investigator, while failing tests often have negative side effects. When an investigator resolves a test, he performs the following steps:
”).Example: Lily Chen has an “Arcane Tome” Asset card which reads:
“When you perform a Rest action, you may test . If you pass,
gain 1 Spell.” When resting, Lily resolves this test using her Lore
() of 2. She rolls 2 dice with results of “1” and “3.” Since she
did not roll a “5” or “6,” she fails the test does not gain a Spell.
On many cards, tests are declared using their skill icon embedded in parenthesis following a short narrative. When an investigator is resolving an effect that includes a skill icon in the text, he must immediately test that skill. The test declaration may also indicate a modifier (such as “–1”), which causes the investigator to roll more or fewer dice in the test.
Note that most gameplay terms are capitalized on cards to help differentiate them from narrative text.
Immediately after rolling dice during a test, an investigator may spend a Clue token or a Focus token to reroll one die.
If multiple effects allow an investigator to reroll a die, he may resolve each effect separately. There is no limit to the number of times a die or test can be rerolled, so long as the investigator has the means to do so. There is no limit to the number of Clues or Focus he can spend to reroll dice.
When a die is rerolled, use the result of the reroll, even if the new result is worse. He determines whether he passed or failed after resolving all rerolls.
Most reroll effects (including spending Clue tokens) specifically
reroll dice during a test. Such effects cannot be used on other die
rolls, such as the effect of a Blessed Condition card.
Each investigator has five different skills listed on the bottom of his Investigator sheet. The number below each skill is the base number of dice the investigator rolls when resolving a test.
) is often tested when casting Spells and resolving
Other World Encounters.) is often tested when performing the Acquire
Assets action and resolving General Encounters on City spaces
and Defeated Investigator Encounters.) is often tested when resolving Research
Encounters and Expedition Encounters.) is often tested when resolving Combat
Encounters and Expedition Encounters.) is often tested when resolving Combat Encounters and
Other World Encounters.These tokens represent an investigator’s training in particular skills. When an effect allows an investigator to improve a skill, he gains an Improvement token with the matching icon and places it below his Investigator sheet with the “+1” side up. If he improves that skill a second time, he flips that token to the “+2” side. An investigator cannot improve a single skill more than twice. An investigator’s skill is equal to the value printed on his sheet plus the value of the matching Improvement token.
Impairment tokens represent a permanent impairment to an investigator’s skills.
Some effects reference an investigator’s skills as a value. A skill’s value is equal to its printed value as modified by Improvement tokens and Impairment tokens.
For example, Rex Murphy has a printed of 3 and a single
“+1 ” Improvement token. As such, his value is 4
(3 from its printed value plus 1 from his Improvement token).
The bonus to that Rex would gain from the Personal
Assistant Asset does not affect the skill’s value.
Expedition Encounters, Other World Encounters, Mystic Ruins Encounters, Dream-Quest Encounters, Devastation Encounters, and Special Encounters are rewarding but dangerous experiences called complex encounters. Each of these cards has three effects. To resolve these encounters, an investigator first resolves the initial effect (the top box of the card). Depending upon the result of this effect, he immediately resolves one of the other two effects.
If he passes the test in the initial effect, he resolves the card’s pass effect in the middle of the card. If he fails the test, he resolves the card’s fail effect at the bottom of the card. He resolves the entire effect in the appropriate box (which may involve additional tests), then discards the card.
–1).” This
means that he needs to test his Observation.Some effects, notably those of Disasters, can cause named City spaces to be devastated.
When a space is devastated, discard all Clues and defeated investigator tokens on that space, search the Expedition Encounter deck for each card that corresponds to that space and return them to the game box, then place a Devastation token on the space.
Investigators frequently gain Assets, Artifacts, Spells, and Conditions. When an investigator gains a card or token, he places it faceup near his Investigator sheet.
An investigator can gain a card or token only if it is available.
effects, or
any other game effects except those of his Lost in Time and
Space Condition.Unique Assets are double-sided cards. An investigator cannot look at the back of Unique Assets unless an effect allows him to. There is no limit to the number of Unique Assets an investigator can have.
Investigators can become Delayed by various effects. A Delayed investigator cannot perform any actions.
If an investigator would become Delayed on his turn during the Action Phase, he immediately ends his action and loses all remaining actions instead of becoming Delayed.
When an investigator becomes Delayed, he tips his Investigator token on its side to remember that he is Delayed. Instead of performing actions during the Action Phase, he stands up his Investigator token and is no longer Delayed.
Each investigator starts the game with Health and Sanity tokens equal to his maximum Health and Sanity, respectively.
When an effect causes an investigator to lose Health or Sanity, he discards Health or Sanity tokens from his Investigator sheet.
If an investigator recovers Health or Sanity, he gains Health and Sanity tokens from the token pool. An investigator cannot have more Health or Sanity than his maximum.
Health or Sanity tokens that are marked with a “3” represent three single Health or Sanity tokens, respectively. Players may swap a “3” token for three single tokens or three single tokens for a “3” token at any time.
Effects that prevent the loss of Health or Sanity cannot be used when an investigator spends Health or Sanity. An investigator cannot spend Health or Sanity if doing so would cause him to be defeated (i.e., he cannot spend his last Health or Sanity).
When an investigator has zero Health or Sanity, he is immediately defeated, stops resolving any encounter or action he is currently resolving, and resolves the following steps:
A defeated investigator is not considered an investigator. A defeated investigator cannot perform actions, resolve effects, or be affected by effects that affect investigators.
After resolving the steps above, investigators continue resolving the current phase of the game.
If an investigator is defeated, the player controlling that investigator chooses a new investigator at the end of the Mythos Phase. To choose a new investigator, he chooses any unused Investigator and follows steps 3–4 of setup. A player may not choose an investigator that has been previously defeated during the same game. If the Ancient One has awoken or the player cannot choose a new investigator because there are none available, he is eliminated.
Investigators may encounter a defeated investigator’s token in order to retrieve its possessions and possibly retreat doom.
If an investigator is on the same space as a defeated investigator’s token during the encounter phase, he may resolve one of the encounters on the back of the defeated investigator’s sheet. He resolves the “Crippled” encounter if the Investigator token has a Health token on it or the “Insane” encounter if the Investigator token has a Sanity token on it.
After resolving this encounter, remove the defeated Investigator token and Investigator sheet from the game. That investigator cannot be used for the remainder of the game.
Some game effects cause investigators to be devoured. When an investigator is devoured, he is considered defeated but only follows steps 1 and 4 of Defeated Investigators. He then discards all Conditions, possessions, Health, Sanity, and Improvement tokens and returns his Investigator sheet and token to the game box. At the end of the Mythos Phase, he chooses a new investigator.
Resolving Combat Encounters is the main way in which investigators can defeat Monsters to remove them from the game board.
During the Encounter Phase, an investigator on a space containing one or more Monsters must encounter each Monster on his space, one at a time, in the order of his choice, encountering all non-Epic Monsters before Epic Monsters. An investigator resolves a Combat Encounter by following these steps:
) test listed on the
Monster token.
) test listed on the
Monster token.
and . If a Monster has another skill icon in place of either the
or test indicators, the player tests the indicated skill in
place of the skill it replaced. or test, the investigator does
not resolve that test.When resolving a Combat Encounter against a Monster with the Magical Resistance ability, an investigator cannot apply any bonus to his die pool from Magical possessions or Spells. Effects that allow the investigator to reroll dice or manipulate dice results can be used as normal.
When resolving a Combat
Encounter against a Monster with the Physical Resistance
ability, an investigator cannot apply any bonus to his die
pool except from Magical possessions and Spells.
Effects that allow the investigator to reroll dice or manipulate
dice results can be used as normal.
Combat Example
test. She has a of 3. The Monster
does not list a modifier, so she rolls 3 dice. test. She has a of 4. She applies
the Monster’s modifier (–1) and gains a bonus from her
“.38 Revolver” (+2), so she rolls 5 dice.
Some Monsters are so powerful or unmanageable that they are immune to some effects. Epic Monsters are treated like Monsters for all effects except for the following:
“Monster” refers to a Monster and/or an Epic Monsters. “Non-Epic Monster” refers to a Monster but not an Epic Monster.
Some effects cause investigators to encounter Monsters that are not on the game board. When an effect says “A Monster ambushes you,” the investigator draws one random Monster from the Monster cup and immediately encounters it in combat.
Related Topics: Set Aside
When determining the “nearest” space or token, find the space or token separated by the fewest number of interconnected paths.
Adventures are used only if specifically mentioned by another game componet such as the Ancient One sheet or Prelude card.
When an Adventure is drawn, the active investigator places it faceup in play and resolves that card’s “when this card enters play” effect.
Each Adventure has an effect that allows investigators to complete the Adventure. When an Adventure is completed, the active investigator resolves that card’s “when this Adventure is completed” effect, which often includes drawing another Adventure representing the next chapter of the story. Then the active investigator discards the Adventure, any tokens on it, and any tokens placed by its effects.
Rumor Mythos cards often place Rumor tokens on specific spaces of the game board. An investigator on a space containing a Rumor token can encounter the token during the Encounter Phase. To do so, he resolves the effect on that Mythos card instead of resolving an encounter card.
When a Rumor Mythos card is “solved,” discard it, all tokens on it, and all Rumor tokens, Epic Monsters, and Eldritch tokens it placed on the board.
Some effects found on Rumor Mythos cards and Mysteries place tokens on a “random space.” Whenever an effect refers to a random space, that space is determined by drawing one Clue token from the Clue pool and using the space indicated by the back of the token. The drawn Clue token is then discarded.
If there are no Clue tokens remaining in the Clue pool or discard pile, the Lead Investigator chooses a space instead.
Disasters represent natural or unnatural destructive forces that act on the cities of the world or other locations.
Some effects cause the investigators to draw and resolve one or more Disasters. To do so, the Lead Investigator draws the top card of the Disaster deck, then he reads the card aloud to all investigators, resolving the card’s effects as instructed.
The card’s effect is resolved immediately. After resolving the card’s effect in its entirety, the card is discarded to a faceup discard pile by the Disaster deck.
In order to win the game, investigators need to solve a number of Mysteries as indicated on the Ancient One sheet. Each Ancient One has its own deck of Mystery cards with a unique set of tasks that the investigators must resolve.
During setup, draw one Mystery card and place it faceup next to the Ancient One sheet. Each card lists how investigators can solve that Mystery.
“Active Mystery” refers to the faceup Mystery card in play that has not yet been solved. When the active Mystery is solved or removed from play, discard all tokens on it or placed by it. Then draw a new Mystery, placing it on top of any solved Mysteries.
As soon as investigators solve the number of Mysteries indicated on the front of the Ancient One sheet, investigators win the game. If the Ancient One awakens, investigators additionally need to solve the Final Mystery.
If a solved Mystery is shuffled into the deck or returned to the game box, that Mystery no longer counts as a solved Mystery.
Some game effects “advance the active Mystery.” Due to the complexity of Mysteries, this can result in a number of different effects. When investigators are instructed to advance the active Mystery, the active investigator resolves one of the following effects that applies:
When the Doom token reaches the “0” space of the Doom track, the Ancient One awakens. Flip the Ancient One sheet and immediately resolve the “Awakens” effects (if any) on the upper- left corner of the sheet. This sheet remains facedown for the rest of the game, and its effects replace those found on the front of the sheet (including Cultist information). The back of the Ancient One sheet describes how the investigators can lose the game and describes the Final Mystery which the investigators must complete in addition to the other Mysteries.
After the Ancient One awakens, Doom cannot retreat. The Ancient One sheet describes what happens if Doom advances after the Ancient One awakens.
After the Ancient One has awakened, when an investigator is defeated or devoured, the player controlling that investigator is eliminated. Eliminated players do not select a new investigator to control and can no longer participate in the game.
If all players are eliminated, investigators lose the game.
If the investigators win the game, any eliminated players win as well.
Once the Ancient One awakens, it is much more difficult for investigators to win the game. Each Ancient One sheet describes one Final Mystery the investigators must solve in order to win the game, usually confronting the Ancient One head-on.
Components that have been returned to the game box are removed from the game unless specifically recalled from the game box.
If an effect references “half” of a number, round up to determine the final number.
Some players may wish to adjust the game’s difficulty or keep score in order to compare their success across multiple games. This section lists optional rules for adjusting the game’s difficulty and length or keeping score.
Some groups may find Eldritch Horror too easy or too challenging. If all players agree at the start of the game, they can make the game easier or harder as listed below.
Players can alter the game’s difficulty when building the Mythos deck.
Players can make the game easier by returning all hard Mythos cards (with red tentacles) to the game box before building the Mythos deck.
Likewise, players can make the game harder by returning all easy Mythos cards (with a blue sigil) to the game box before building the Mythos deck.
If players wish to have an even more challenging game experience, they can make the game significantly more difficult by building the Mythos deck using only hard Mythos cards.
Note—This optional rule may require several expansions depending on the chosen Ancient One.
If players want a greater challenge, they may choose to begin the game with one starting Rumor Mythos card. After setup, draw one unused Rumor Mythos card from the game box and place it in play. Resolve any “When this card enters play,” effects, as well as the Place Rumor Token icon (if it appears on the card). Do not spawn Clues from the Rumor’s Spawn Clues icon.
Players can make the game’s difficulty increase in stages by building stage I of the Mythos deck using only easy Mythos cards, building stage II of the Mythos deck using only normal Mythos cards, and building stage III of the Mythos deck using only hard Mythos cards.
Instead of drawing a random Prelude card before setup, players as a group may choose one Prelude card, following the card’s effects as normal.
Alternatively, players may choose to not use a Prelude card.
With the introduction of new mechanics in Eldritch Horror expansions, some player groups may wish for a more difficult or more relaxed experience with certain player counts. Use the following values instead of those on the Reference Card in order to increase or decrease the game’s difficulty.
| Player Count | Difficulty | Gates | Clues | Surge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easier | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Harder | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Easier | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | Harder | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 8 | Harder | 3 | 4 | 1 |
If investigators win the game, they can determine how well they did and record this score on a sheet of paper along with the Ancient One and any optional rules used. The lower the score, the better! To calculate a score, start with zero, then:
This expansion features a new mode of play to challenge experienced players. With the campaign mode, players will embark upon a series of six sequential games. Over the course of these games, major events within each game will create lasting effects that linger until the end of the campaign.
The goal is win all six games of the campaign. If the investigators lose any single game, the world has ended and the investigators lose the campaign.
Each game of a campaign is set up in the same way as a normal game except as stated here:
Subsequent games of the campaign are set up in the same manner as the first. However, the following rules and additional steps of setup must be followed:
All other components and effects are reset between games. Undefeated investigators do not retain the possessions or skill improvements they accrued during previous games; defeated investigators and their possessions are returned to their respective decks and pools; gates and monsters do not remain on the game board; etc.
To play a single player game of Eldritch Horror, follow all of the normal rules while using a single investigator. During setup for a single investigator game, return all components with the Teamwork trait to the game box.
For a slightly more dynamic game, the player can choose to control multiple investigators instead of one. In this situation, choose multiple investigators during setup and use the corresponding Reference card. Treat each investigator as if it were being controlled by a different player. For example, one investigator is the Lead Investigator and they take separate turns during the Action Phase and Encounter Phase.
–2). If you pass, you may discard
this card to gain 1 Artifact.”). If you
pass, you may discard this card to gain 1 Clue.”: Spawn the Zombie Horde Epic Monster on
this space. If you do, discard this Monster.”
, solve
this Mystery.”). If you pass, you climb
out back on Earth; close this Gate. If you fail, the ground
crushes you; gain 1 Injury Condition.”). If he passes, he
may spend Clues equal to half to solve this Rumor.”). If he passes, he may spend Clues equal to to solve
this Rumor.”This section lists clarifications to complex investigator abilities.
Akachi may share any information she learns from using her action ability with other investigators. If there is one or fewer Gates remaining in the Gate stack, she randomizes the Gates in the discard pile and places them on the bottom of the Gate stack before resolving her ability.
If there is only one Gate remaining in the Gate stack and discard pile, Akachi’s action ability allows her to look at that Gate.
If an effect prevents Akachi from moving, she cannot use her passive ability.
When Akachi moves using this ability, she moves directly onto the chosen space and does not move onto or through any other spaces.
If Amanda’s action ability is used to discard multiple Talent Conditions, she may improve the same skill more than once. However, she cannot improve a skill to more than two above its printed value.
Charlie’s action ability may allow another investigator to perform one additional action whether that investigator has already performed actions during the round or not. However, he cannot affect a Delayed investigator.
This action ability can be used on an investigator that has not performed any actions yet.
When Charlie uses his passive ability, he may divide the Assets he acquires between any number of investigators in any spaces, including himself.
If another investigator gains a Service Asset from Charlie’s passive ability, the investigator immediately resolves that card.
The effect that allows an investigator to gain a Provisions Unique Asset while the Supplying the North Mystery is in play triggers when the investigator performs the Acquire Assets action, but it is not a part of that action. As such, Charlie is not able to purchase a Provisions Unique Asset and allow another investigator to gain that possession.
Likewise, Charlie Kane cannot spend two successes during an Acquire Assets action to move another investigator to Miskatonic Outpost when the Antarctica side board is in play.
test of a Combat
Encounter, she does not lose any Sanity as long as she rolls
1 success. If she fails the test, she loses 1 Sanity from the
Monster’s altered horror. test and a test, he resolves the test first.
Then he resolves the test only if he lost one or more Health
from the test. or other test in place of the test,
Hank resolves that test first, and then he resolves the test
only if he lost one or more Health. or other test in place of the test,
Hank’s passive ability has no effect on the encounter. test, he does not resolve the test. When a Monster is defeated during a Combat
Encounter, that encounter immediately ends.As an action, Harvey chooses another investigator on his space. That investigator improves one skill of his choice if Harvey’s value for that skill is equal to or higher than his own.
If Jacqueline uses her passive ability, she may share any information about that Condition card with other investigators.
Jacqueline cannot use her passive ability when an investigator gains a Condition with the Common trait (such as a Debt). She cannot use this ability when she gains a Condition herself.
Jenny can use her action ability to allow herself or another investigator to perform the Acquire Assets action only if he is on a City space and only if there are no Monsters on his space.
Jim and other investigators on his space recover Sanity from his action ability in addition to any Sanity recovered from a Rest action performed during the current Action Phase.
If Kate is on a space containing a Dream Portal and a Gate would spawn on that space, Both the Dream Portal effect and Kate’s passive ability will attempt to replace the Gate spawn. The active investigator decides which effect takes priority. As such, he could have Kate’s passive ability cause the Gate to be discarded instead of spawning.
Leo can perform his action ability on any space, even if there is a Monster on his space. If he rolls at least one success, he chooses a single Ally Asset from the reserve or discard pile, regardless of that Asset’s value, and gains that card.
When Lola uses her action ability, each “+2” Improvement token she spends counts as two “+1” Improvement tokens. All spent tokens are discarded.
She can choose to improve the same skill twice with this ability if she has spent an appropriate number of Improvement tokens.
Luke can resolve his passive ability to ignore Monsters on his space when choosing an encounter. However, he must choose to encounter a Gate.
The most common way to encounter a Gate is to draw and resolve an Other World Encounter card. However, resolving any encounter that requires Luke to occupy a space containing a Gate is encountering a Gate. For example, the Caught in the Web Mystery grants a different option for encountering a Gate.
After resolving a Research Encounter, Mandy’s passive ability could allow her to gain an additional Clue. This Clue is gained from her passive ability, not from the Research Encounter.
If Marie has gained her Reward card (“Smokey Velvet”) and performs an action, her Reward effect does not allow an investigator to also perform that action if that investigator has already performed that action this round. However, after performing her action ability (which allows her to perform an action she has already performed this round), her Reward effect can allow another investigator to perform an action the investigator has already performed.
If an effect has a choice between two or more outcomes and Mark chooses to become Delayed or to gain a Detained Condition from that effect, he is Delayed or gains a Detained Condition, respectively. Mark is not affected by effects that say “become Delayed” or “gain a Detained Condition” without a choice.
If an effect says, “Become Delayed unless,” or, “Gain a Detained Condition unless,” Mark is not affected by that effect, even if he chooses not to resolve the effect following “unless.”
Sister Mary and each other investigator on her space adds 1 to the result of each die rolled as part of an effect printed on a Condition card that has the Bane or Boon trait. This modification applies whether the die is rolled as part of a test or not.
effect of
a Dark Pact Condition or a Promise of Power Condition.Minh’s action ability is not a Prepare for Travel action. It allows her to gain a travel ticket of her choice, even if her space is not connected to another space by the appropriate path and even if she is not on a City space.
Norman may use his passive ability anytime he could spend a Clue. For example, he may use this ability to reroll a die during a test or to pay for his action ability.
The actions granted by Preston’s action ability can be performed in any order, including allowing the other investigator to perform actions before or after Preston.
If at any time, Rex does not have a Cursed Condition, he immediately gains one Clue and improves one skill of his choice and then gains a Cursed Condition.
The two successes required for Sefina’s passive ability to trigger must be rolled on the dice during her test. Successes granted by another effect (such as accepting a bank loan) do not count toward the requirement. However, Sefina may use any rerolls or other dice manipulation effects to achieve her two successes.
Silas cannot spend travel tickets to move additional spaces when using his action ability. The additional action granted by this ability does not count against his usual two actions per round. He may use his action ability and the Travel action during the same round.
When resolving a test, Skids can reroll any die with a result of 1. There is no limit to the number of dice he can reroll or the number of times a die can be rerolled.
When an investigator on Trish’s space, including herself, would spend a Clue to reroll a die during a test, Trish may allow that investigator to reroll two dice instead. If that investigator’s dice pool is only one die, Trish cannot use her passive ability.
Once per round, Ursula may choose to spend one fewer Focus when paying for an effect, including spending a Focus to reroll a die when resolving a test. This can reduce the cost of an effect to zero Focus.
If an effect allows Wendy to choose to gain a Condition as part of a cost, such as “you may gain 1 Madness Condition” or “unless you gain a Blight Condition,” she may use her passive ability to not gain that Condition instead. If she does, the cost of gaining the Condition has still been paid.
If Wilson or another investigator on Wilson’s space spends a Focus to reroll a die and his dice pool is only one die, that investigator cannot use Wilson’s passive ability to reroll that single die twice.
This section lists clarifications to commonly overlooked rules organized by topic.
If I use an effect that applies to “investigators,” does this include myself?
Yes. Unless the effect says “other investigators,” it affects all investigators, including the one who is using the effect.
Can an investigator resolve a triggered effect multiple times?
No. A triggered effect is resolved exactly once for each time it is triggered.
For example, the “Bank Loan” effect triggers exactly once when an investigator performs the Acquire Assets action. As such, an investigator would not be able to resolve that effect more than once to add more than two successes to his test result.
Can an investigator use an ability that lets him roll “additional” dice after he’s already rolled for a test?
No. When an investigator resolves a test, he must declare any additional dice he wish to roll before rolling any dice.
When does the minimum-one-die-on-tests rule apply?
When resolving a test, the investigator, first, calculates his dice pool. That is, he adds together his skill, Improvements, test modifier, bonuses, and additional dice. Then he rolls his dice pool. At this point, if his dice pool is zero or fewer dice, he rolls one die instead.
What happens if an effect allows an investigator to reroll up to two dice but he has rolled only one die?
The investigator may use that effect to reroll his single die. He cannot use that effect to reroll a single die more than once.
Is every roll considered a test?
No. An effect that tells you to roll a specific number of dice,
such as the effect on a Cursed Condition, is not a test. These
rolls cannot be rerolled or modified by effects that affect tests.
Are effects that say “may,” “or,” and “unless” optional?
Yes. Effects using the words “may,” “or,” and “unless” grant the investigator a choice. If an effect says, “may,” the investigator chooses to resolve that effect or not.
If an effect says, “or,” the investigator chooses one of the effects separated by the “or.”
If an effect says, “unless,” the investigator may resolve the effect following “unless.” However, if he chooses not to or is unable to resolve that effect, he must resolve the effect preceding “unless.”
If an investigator chooses an effect, can that effect be prevented?
Yes. The effect an investigator chooses can be prevented by another effect. In such a case, the investigator’s choice is not negated. For example, an investigator must discard his Spell unless he loses 2 Sanity. If that investigator chooses to lose 2 Sanity, that loss of Sanity can be prevented with the Whiskey Asset or the Instill Bravery Spell.
Can an investigator choose not to apply a passive bonus when resolving a test?
No. A passive bonus, such as “gain +3 ,” must be applied
when resolving a test with the indicated skill.
Some bonuses, such as “you may gain +5 during a Combat
Encounter,” use the word “may.” As such, these bonuses are
optional and do not need to be applied when resolving a test.
If an investigator uses an effect that applies to “investigators” or “an investigator,” does that effect include himself?
Yes. Unless the effect says “other investigators” or “another investigator,” it can affect any or all investigators, including the one who is using the effect.
What happens if a new investigator’s starting possessions are being used by another investigator?
When a player chooses a new investigator, he receives that investigator’s starting possessions from the decks, discard piles, or reserve. If the starting possessions are not in these places, such as if another investigator or a defeated investigator has them, the new investigator does not start with those possessions.
If an investigator has an ability that functions “once per round” can that ability affect setup?
No. Setup occurs before the first round has begun. As such, effects with a “once per round” restriction cannot be used during setup.
When an investigator is defeated, can the newly chosen investigator be given the Lead Investigator token at the end of the Mythos Phase?
Yes. Both choosing a new investigator and passing the Lead Investigator token occur “at the end of the Mythos Phase.” The Lead Investigator chooses the order to resolve effects that occur at the same time, so a new investigator can be chosen, and then the Lead Investigator token can be passed to him.
If all investigators are defeated at the same time, do investigators lose the game?
No. At the end of the Mythos Phase, each defeated investigator will choose a new investigator to play as. However, if being defeated would cause a player to be eliminated, such as if the Ancient One has awoken, all players could be eliminated. In this case, investigators lose the game.
Does reducing my maximum Health reduce my current Health?
No. If your maximum Health is changed, your current Health remains the same. However, your current Health cannot exceed your new maximum Health. In such a case, your current Health is set to your new maximum Health. The same is true for current and maximum Sanity.
Do effects that “advance the active Mystery” or “solve the active Mystery” affect the Final Mystery?
No. The Final Mystery is not a Mystery card nor is it considered the active Mystery. As such, effects that advance or solve the active Mystery do not affect the Final Mystery.
If the third Mystery would be solved at the end of the Mythos Phase, but investigators lose the game during the Mythos Phase, is this the investigators winning and losing at the same time?
No. If investigators lose the game while resolving a Mythos card, the Mythos Phase has not yet ended, and the third Mystery is not yet solved.
An example of investigators winning the game and losing
the game at the same time would be if the only remaining
investigator is resolving a Combat Encounter against the
Cthulhu Epic Monster, and his test result causes both
the Cthulhu Epic Monster and the investigator to be
defeated at the same time.
Against Azathoth, what does the Eldritch token on the Omen track do?
When the Omen advances to the green space, Doom advances by one for each Eldritch token on that space. Note that Eldritch tokens placed on the green space of the Omen track do not replace that space of the track. This advancement of Doom is in addition to the advancement for each Gate on the game board with the green Omen icon.
If an investigator discards a Relic Unique Asset as a part of its flip effect, can he still place an Eldritch token on the Relics of the Ancient World Mystery?
Yes. The Mystery gives the investigator the option to both place an Eldritch token on the Mystery and discard the ReliC Unique Asset. The investigator may choose to resolve this effect even if he can resolve only part of the full effect.
Against Yig, what happens when an investigator is defeated and Yig has awoken?
Unlike other Ancient Ones, when an investigator is defeated, that player is not eliminated. The player will selected a new investigator as if the Ancient One has not awoken.
When playing against Syzygy, do investigators need to solve two Mysteries to win the game?
No. When the Syzygy Ancient One sheet is flipped, one Clue will be placed on the Ancient One sheet for each solved Mystery. However, the Sealing the Portal Special Encounters will also place Clues on the Ancient One sheet.
Solving the Mysteries is not required to attempt the Special Encounters or win the game. However, solving Mysteries greatly reduces the difficulty of the Final Mystery.
If an investigator defeats a Cultist Monster as part of a Spawn of Abhoth Special Encounter during the Encounter Phase, can he resolve another encounter?
Yes. If an investigator defeats every Monster on his space during the Encounter Phase, he may resolve an additional encounter of his choice.
When resolving a Spawn of Abhoth Special Encounter, can an investigator benefit from a bonus that applies during a Combat Encounter?
No. A Spawn of Abhoth Special Encounter is not a Combat Encounter. As such, bonuses that state “during a Combat Encounter” do not apply to tests resolved during the Special Encounter.
When resolving Nephren-Ka’s reckoning effect, if an investigator is already on The Bent Pyramid, does he lose Sanity?
Yes. The effect on the Nephren-Ka Ancient One sheet
first allows each investigator to move one space toward The
Bent Pyramid. Then each investigator that did not move loses
1 Sanity. Because an investigator on The Bent Pyramid cannot
move closer to the space he occupies, he cannot move and will
lose 1 Sanity.
Does the Spawn of Hastur Epic Monster’s ability prevent it from losing two or more Health during a Combat Encounter?
Yes. If any effect, including the effects of a Combat Encounter, would cause the Spawn of Hastur Epic Monster to lose two or more Health, it loses one Health instead.
Can an investigator choose to discard a possession he does not want?
No. An investigator cannot simply discard possessions he does not want. However, he can trade those possession to another investigator or discard them if an effect causes him to.
How does the Blunderbuss Asset’s effect work?
Similar to the Double-barreled Shotgun, an investigator
with the Blunderbuss gets two successes for each 6 he rolls
when resolving a test during a Combat Encounter.
However, for each 1 he rolls during that test he negates one success. This means that when calculating his total successes, he subtracts one from the test result for each 1 he rolled to a minimum of zero successes.
Can the Grotesque Statue Artifact prevent other investigators from losing Sanity?
No. The Grotesque Statue Artifact’s second effect allows the investigator to spend one Clue to prevent himself from losing Sanity from a single effect. It does not allow him to prevent any other investigator from losing Sanity.
Can the Agency Quarantine Asset or the Shrivelling Spell cause an Epic Monster to lose Health?
Yes. Effects that cause Monsters to lose Health, such as the Agency Quarantine Asset or the Shriveling Spell, can cause Epic Monsters to lose Health.
Can an investigator have multiple copies of the same Unique Asset?
Yes. There is no limit to the number of Unique Assets an investigator can have.
Can an investigator gain a random Unique Asset when told to gain a random Asset?
No. If an effect says, “gain 1 random Asset from the deck,” the investigator gains the Asset from the Asset deck, not the Unique Asset deck. An investigator gains a Unique Asset only if the effect specifically calls for a Unique Asset.
Can the effects on the front of a double-sided card be used while the card is facedown?
No. Only the currently showing face of a double-sided card is relevant. While a double-sided card is facedown, the effects of its front face are ignored and cannot be used.
Can investigators trade Task Assets?
Yes. Task Assets, like other Assets, may be traded using the Trade action. If a Task Asset has one or more tokens on it, those tokens remain on the card when traded.
What happens if an investigator gains a Courier Run Unique Asset and there are no Clues in the Clue pool that correspond to City spaces?
The investigator should discard the Clue on the nearest City space containing a Clue, placing that Clue faceup on his Courier Run Unique Asset.
Does an effect that gives a bonus to when resolving Spell
effects apply to the test on the front of the Spell card?
Yes. All text on the Spell card, both front and back, is that
Spell’s effect. As such, when resolving the test on the front
of the Spell, the investigator adds one bonus to his .
If an investigator fails to cast the Wither Spell, can he still use
a different Spell or Asset to gain a bonus to his test during a
Combat Encounter?
Yes. Choosing to resolve the Wither Spell does not prohibit
the investigator from using other effects to modify his test.
Can an investigator cast the Mists of Releh Spell if there are no Monsters on his space?
Yes. The Mists of Releh Spell does not require an investigator to be on a space containing a Monster. However, that investigator will still suffer any consequences of resolving the Spell’s effects.
Can an investigator use the Mists of Releh Spell to encounter some of the Monsters on his space but not all of them?
No. If an investigator passes the test of the Mists of
Releh Spell, he chooses an encounter as if there are no Monsters
on his space or encounters all Monsters on his space as normal.
Can the Clairvoyance Spell allows an investigator to ignore Monsters on his space?
No. The Clairvoyance Spell’s effect allows an investigator to choose to encounter a Clue on another space. The investigator is considered to be on that space for all effects during that encounter.
While casting a Blessing of Isis or Plumb the Void Spell, when is the investigator chosen?
When resolving the effects of a Blessing of Isis Spell or
a Plumb the Void Spell, you choose an investigator before
resolving the test. This choice is made regardless of the
success or failure of the test.
Can an investigator benefit from both the Storm of Spirits Spell and a Weapon Asset?
No. The Storm of Spirits Spell allows an investigator to
resolve a test in place of the test during a Combat
Encounter. If he does, bonuses to his do not apply to
the test. However, bonuses to the investigator’s apply
to the test.
If an investigator gains a Condition during a Rest action, can he resolve a “when you perform a Rest action” effect of that Condition?
No. All effects that trigger “when you perform a Rest action” trigger at the same time as the investigator performs that action. Any Conditions he gains thereafter will not trigger until the next time he performs a Rest action.
Can an investigator with a Lost in Time and Space Condition be moved by another investigator using the Plumb the Void Spell?
No. If an effect states that an investigator cannot move, such as a Lost in Time and Space Condition or a Detained Condition, that investigator cannot move on his own nor can he be moved by any effect.
When can an investigator discard a Debt Condition with a Funding Condition?
If an investigator would gain a Debt Condition and he already has a Funding Condition, he may discard the Funding Condition instead of gaining the Debt Condition.
If an investigator has both a Debt Condition and a Funding Condition, he may discard both cards at any time so long as the effect of neither Condition is currently being resolved.
For instance, a Mythos card instructs investigators to resolve
effects; an investigator may choose to discard both Conditions
before resolving the effect of either Condition, but he
cannot begin resolving his Debt Condition, decide he doesn’t
like what he sees, and then discard both Conditions before
finishing the effect.
Does an investigator recover additional Health and Sanity from effects, such as the Healing Words Spell or Provisions Unique Asset, if he has a Condition that restricts him from recovering Health or Sanity during a Rest action?
No. An investigator with a Condition that restricts him from recovering Health or Sanity, such as Poisoned or Hypothermia, cannot recover Health or Sanity from a Rest action including additional Health and Sanity from other effects during a Rest action.
However, effects that cause an investigator to recover Health or Sanity without performing a Rest action, such as the Private Care Asset, affect that investigator as normal.
When an investigator moves to another space using the Kopesh of the Abyss Artifact’s effect, does that investigator encounter the Monsters on his new space?
No. The investigator will encounter each Monster on his space. Then, if he defeats all Monsters on his space, he may move to the nearest space containing a Monster. He will not encounter the Monsters on his new space nor will he resolve an additional encounter. If he remains on that space until the next Encounter Phase, he will then encounter each Monster on that space as normal.
Can the Crystal of the Elder Things Artifact negate Health loss that cannot be prevented?
Yes. An investigator with the Crystal of the Elder Things Artifact cannot lose Health or Sanity from Mythos card text effects even if that Health or Sanity loss cannot be prevented.
The Crystal does not create a prevention effect that “prevents” the loss of Health or Sanity if it would occur. Instead, it prohibits Mythos card text effects from causing the investigator to lose Health or Sanity.
If an investigator with a Know Thy Enemy Unique Asset gains more than one Clue during a Research Encounter, can he place multiple Eldritch tokens on his task?
Yes. An investigator places one Eldritch token on a Know Thy Enemy Unique Asset for each Clue he gains as part of a Research Encounter.
However, Clues gained from other effects, such as Mandy Thompson’s passive ability, are not gained as part of the Research Encounter and do not allow the investigator to place an Eldritch token on the Know Thy Enemy Unique Asset.
What happens if an investigator gains a Treasure Map Unique Asset and there are no Clues in the Clue pool?
The investigator should discard the Clue on the nearest space containing a Clue, placing that Clue faceup on his Treasure Map Unique Asset.
Are the Eldritch tokens gained from a Corruption Condition discarded when I discard the Condition?
No. The Corruption Condition (and some other effects) cause you to gain Eldritch tokens which are placed on your Investigator sheet. Eldritch tokens you have gained are not discarded unless an effect specifically allows you to spend or discard them.
Can an investigator’s “additional” action be used to perform an action he has already performed in that round?
No. An investigator may perform an action only once each round, even if he is able to perform an additional action, such as from the Ruby of R’lyeh Artifact or Charlie Kane’s action ability.
Can an investigator be Delayed more than once?
No. Becoming Delayed while already Delayed has no effect. An investigator cannot choose to become Delayed to pay for an effect if he is already Delayed.
What happens if an investigator becomes Delayed during his action?
If an investigator becomes Delayed during the Action Phase, he immediately ends his current action, loses any remaining actions, and ends his turn instead. If the investigator has no actions remaining to lose, he will not become Delayed, and he will be able to perform actions in the next round.
If the Lead Investigator or investigators as a group choose an investigator to become Delayed, can that investigator negate that effect with the Pocket Watch Asset?
Yes. The Pocket Watch Asset or Mark Harrigan’s passive ability prevents the investigator from becoming Delayed unless he chooses to become Delayed to pay for an effect. In this case, there is a choice involved, but that choice does not pay for an effect. This remains true regardless of that investigator’s role in the decision making process and even if the Lead Investigator is Mark Harrigan or the investigator with the Pocket Watch Asset and he chooses himself.
Can an investigator resolve effects with a “during the Action Phase” restriction if she is Delayed?
No. Effects that state “during the Action Phase” can be resolved before or after performing an action. An investigator who begins the Action Phase Delayed, rights her Investigator token but does not perform any actions. As such, she does not have an opportunity to resolve effects that state “during the Action Phase.”
Does the Trade action cause an investigator to “gain” the possessions given to her?
No. As part of the Trade action, both investigators may give any number of their possessions to one another. However, none of the exchanged possessions were gained as part of the action.
Can an investigator use a component action multiple times if he has access to multiple copies of the same component?
Yes. An investigator may use each component action he has access to up to once per round.
For example, an investigator could perform the component local action of a Detained Condition of another investigator on his space as his first action; then perform the same component local action of a third investigator’s Detained Condition as his second action.
Similarly, if an investigator has two copies of the Dog Sled Unique Asset, he could use the component action of both of those Unique Assets during the same round.
Can an investigator resolve an “as an encounter” effect if there is a Monster on his space?
No. Effects that say “as an encounter” are treated just like any other encounter option available. The investigator must encounter all Monsters on his space. Then, if there are no Monsters on his space, he may resolve that effect as his additional encounter.
If an effect says “instead of resolving an encounter,” such as the Detained Condition, this can be resolved even on a space containing a Monster.
Why do some Research Encounter not give the investigator the Clue?
Some Research Encounters do not allow the investigator to “gain this Clue.” However, these encounters often feature other beneficial effects for the investigator, such as gaining an Artifact or retreating Doom.
Can an investigator use multiple weapons during combat?
An investigator can apply only a single bonus to a
test. However, he may use any other effects from his other
possessions. For example, if an investigator has a Bull Whip
Asset and a .45 Automatic Asset, he may apply the +3 bonus
from the .45 to his instead of the +1 bonus from the whip,
and he may reroll one die by using the whip’s other effect.
What effects are negated by Physical Resistance and Magical Resistance?
When resolving a Combat Encounter against a Monster with Physical Resistance or Magical Resistance, an investigator cannot apply bonuses to his dice pool.
Bonuses are effects on cards or other components that grant
extra dice when testing a skill. Bonuses are always written with
the following format: “Gain +X Skill” where X is the number of
dice and Skill is the affected skill. For example, the .38 Revolver
Asset says, “Gain +2 ...”
Any other effects that allow rerolls (such as the Lucky Rabbit’s Foot Asset), dice manipulation (such as the Lucky Cigarette Case Asset), or “additional dice” (such as Jim Culver’s and Agnes Baker’s passive abilities) still apply.
Does Physical Resistance or Magical Resistance restrict an investigator from using the Storm of Spirits Spell, Shriveling Spell, or Banishment Spell?
No. The Storm of Spirits Spell allows an investigator to
test in place of during Combat Encounters. This is not
a bonus, and as such, it is unaffected by Magical Resistance
or Physical Resistance. Similarly, the Shriveling Spell and
Banishment Spell do not apply a bonus during a Combat
Encounter, so they are unaffected by Magical Resistance or
Physical Resistance.
If a Mythos card’s effect causes another Mythos card to be resolved, should that Mythos card’s icons be resolved as well?
Yes. When resolving a Mythos card, all elements of the card must be resolved if possible. If a Mythos card’s effect is to resolve an additional Mythos card, all elements of that additional card must also be resolved.
Is closing a Gate and discarding it the same thing?
No. Although closing a Gate does cause it to be discarded, discarding a Gate is not considered closing it. For example, if an effect would discard a Gate while the Mysterious Lights Mythos card is in play, that effect is still resolved, discarding the Gate, even though “Gates cannot be closed.”
When is a Monster’s spawn effect resolved?
When a Monster is spawned, it’s “When this Monster is spawned” effect is resolved immediately as part of the effect that spawned it.
If a Monster’s or Epic Monster’s toughness is reduced to zero, is that Monster defeated?
Yes. A Monster or Epic Monster is defeated if it has lost Health equal to or greater than its toughness. If a Monster’s toughness is reduced to zero, it is defeated. Even if it has not lost any Health, zero lost Health is equal to zero toughness.
What happens if an effect would cause the Omen to advance to the red space while it is already on that space?
“Advance the Omen to the red space of the Omen track” means to advance the Omen until it is on the red space. If the Omen starts on the red space, it will advance four times in total and return to the red space of the Omen track.
If Syzygy is the Ancient One, this will trigger its “When the Omen advances to the red space of the Omen track” effect.
What happens to Gates in the Gate stack after they are revealed?
Revealed Gates remain where they are in the Gate stack unless the effect that causes the Gates to be revealed states otherwise. The Gate stack is not randomized nor are the Gates discarded or otherwise moved in the Gate stack.
After a Gate in the Gate stack has been revealed, it remains revealed until it is removed from the Gate stack or the Gate stack is randomized.
If Doom starts on a space containing an Eldritch token placed by the “Apocalypse Nigh” Prelude, do you resolve a Disaster?
No. The Prelude states that a Disaster is resolved only when Doom advances to a space containing an Eldritch token. Doom must advance for the effect to trigger.
What space type are spaces on the Antarctica side board?
The spaces on the Antarctica side board do not have a space type. When an investigator encounters a Clue on the Antarctica side board, he draws and resolves an Antarctica Research Encounter.
Are two spaces connected by a Local path adjacent?
Yes. Two spaces connected by a Local path are adjacent.
Do paths leading off the side of the game board connect to the opposite side of the game board?
Yes. Paths that lead off the side of the game board connect to the corresponding paths on the opposite side of the game board. For example, Tokyo and space 2 are adjacent, connected by a Ship path.
Can there be multiple Clues on a space?
Yes. Some effects move Clues to other spaces or spawn Clues on specific spaces. There is no limit to the number of Clues that can be on a space. However, each Clue is encountered separately.
Can an investigator interrupt part of his action to move along a Local path?
Yes. Once per round, during the Action Phase, an investigator may move along any number of interconnected Local paths. This movement can be resolved before, after, or during any action the investigator performs.
Are devastated cities still “named city spaces”?
Devastated spaces are no longer City spaces; they have no space type. However, a devastated space does retain its name.
An effect that refers to a “named City space” means a space that is both a City space and a named space. As such, a devastated space is not a named City space because it is no longer a City space.