~ ELDER SIGN ~ A CONCISE RULEBOOK. I know I will be called insane for what I am about to do. But you must believe me when I tell you that the original rulebook is alive, infected with an ancient evil that makes my PC moan in protest when I open the PDF. Once the diabolical size of its graphics became manifest, they reduced the fan in my PC to smoking cinders. Night after night, I have scoured the original rules and FAQ's, fighting to keep the horrors at bay and learning what I can. I believe I have discovered a way to prevent our doom by scribing a clearer text with almost no pictures. Ancient cultures crafted a strange system to drive off this nightmare. They called it Plain English. OVERVIEW Elder Sign is a co-operative game in which 1-8 Players assume the roles of Investigators, working together to collect enough Elder Signs to prevent an Ancient One from awakening. The Ancient One's are powerful creatures asleep until the stars align when they will awaken to devour the human race. The Investigators face adventures in and around the Miskatonic University Museum, where the Ancient One s imminent return is causing a number of bizarre events. If the Ancient One does awaken, the investigators will have one last chance to defeat it in a nearly hopeless final battle to the death. COMPONENT LIST This Rulebook, plus: -- Mythos Cards (32) -- Doomsday Clock, Plastic Connector, and Hand -- Incantation Cards (12) -- Museum Entrance Card -- Unique Item Cards (12) -- 6 Green Dice, 1 Red Dice, 1 Yellow Die 106 Cardboard Tokens: 80 large Cards: -- Clue Tokens (15) -- Adventure Cards (48) -- Doom Tokens (12) -- Ancient One Cards (8) -- Elder Sign Tokens (17) -- Investigator Cards (16) -- Sanity Tokens (30) -- Other World Cards (8) -- Stamina Tokens (30) 76 small Cards: 38 Cardboard Markers: -- Ally Cards (8) -- Investigator Markers (16) -- Common Item Cards (12) -- Monster Markers (22) COMPONENT DESCRIPTIONS Doomsday Clock, Plastic Connector, and Hand - Used to track the passage of time. The clock hand is attached to the clock using the plastic connector. Press together tightly. Ally Cards - Represent people willing to Assist the Investigators in their quest for Elder Signs. Museum Entrance Card - Lists the actions available to Investigators occupying the Museum Entrance. Green Dice - Most common dice rolled to solve Tasks on Adventure and Other World Cards. Yellow Die - Often rolled when a Player uses a Common Item Card. Produces better results than a green die. Red Die - Often rolled when a Player uses a Unique Item Card. Produces better results than a yellow or green die. Adventure Cards - Represents important rooms and events in the Museum that the Investigators must explore in order to collect Elder Signs. Ancient One Cards - Represents the different Ancient Ones that the Investigators may face. Investigator Cards and Markers - Represents the different Investigators available for play. Each Card has a matching Marker used to show the Investigator s current location. Other World Cards - Represents adventures taking place in other dimensions. Mythos Cards - Represents special rules for that day's strange events in the museum. Common Items (Yellow), Unique Items (Red), & Incantation Cards (Purple) - Represents useful items that help win the game. Clue Tokens - Allows Players to re-roll one or more dice during an adventure. Doom Tokens - Used to keep track of how close the Ancient One is to awakening. Elder Sign Tokens - Used to keep track of how close the Investigators are to sealing away the Ancient One. Monster Markers - Represents various monsters seeking to prevent Investigators from successfully completing adventures. Mask Monster Markers - Represents special monsters that are only used when Nyarlathotep is the Ancient One. Sanity (Blue) and Stamina (Red) Tokens - Used to keep track of the current mental and physical health of the Investigators. If the text of a Card or a Monster Marker conflicts with the rules in this book, the Card or Marker text takes precedence. Elder Sign Concise Rulebook.doc - 09/09/12 - Page 1 of 7
SETTING-UP 1. Arrange the Games Table - Place all the game components on the table in something approaching the Setup Diagram shown below. Set the Doomsday Clock's hand to the 'XII' position (Midday/Midnight). 2. Choose the Ancient One - Randomly choose one Ancient One Card and place it face-up on the table. Read the text on the Card as it explains important information about the Ancient One, such as the number of Elder Signs required to seal it away. 3. Deal the Cards - Shuffle the Adventure Cards and deal six of them face-up in two rows of three. If a Card shows a Locked Die Icon, place the right one onto the space provided. 4. Shuffle the Cards - Shuffle the Ally, Common Item, Incantation, Other World, and Unique Item Cards. Place all decks facedown on the table, including the deck of unused Adventure Cards. 5. Arrange the Tokens - Separate the Clue, Doom, Elder Sign, Sanity, and Stamina Tokens into different piles. As this is a cooperative game, let one or more Players be responsible for handing-out tokens. 6. Distribute Investigator Cards - Each Player randomly draws one Investigator Card. Players may only select an Investigator Card if all the Players agree to do the same. As a co-operative game, the Players first task is to settle any squabbles. 7. Arrange the Player Areas - Each Player takes the matching Investigator Marker, the correct number of Sanity and Stamina Tokens, and any Item Cards and Clue Tokens, as shown on the Investigator Card. 8. Determine the First Player - Randomly draw a single Investigator Marker from a cup. The matching Player begins the game as First Player, continuing clockwise around the table. The Players each place their Investigator Markers on the Museum Entrance. 9. Fill the Monster Cup - Place all the Monster Markers in a cup. Players must be able to randomly draw Monsters from this container without being able to see what they are. Only add the Mask Monsters if Nyarlathotep is the game's Ancient One. 10. Draw the first Mythos Card - The First Player shuffles the Mythos Deck and draws one Mythos Card, placing it face-up on the table beside the Mythos Deck. The Mythos Card is in immediate effect and the game begins. PLAYER TURNS Elder Sign is a co-operative game, so it is vital that Players learn to share ideas and pool their resources together. Players take turns exploring Miskatonic University Museum. Each Player Turn consists of three phases in the following order: 1. Movement Phase - The active Player moves their Investigator Marker to the Museum Entrance, Adventure Card, or Other World Card of their choice. Alternatively, the Player can leave their Investigator in place. 2. Investigation Phase - The active Player may attempt to solve all the Tasks on the Adventure or Other World Card they occupy or perform one of the actions listed on the Museum Entrance Card. 3. Doomsday Clock Phase - The Player advances the Doomsday Clock hand forward by three hours. After advancing the Doomsday Clock, the Player s turn is over and the next Player begins his turn. INVESTIGATORS Players are strongly advised to read and understand the contents of their Investigators Card. Each Investigator has a special ability that can allow the Player to add dice to rolls, alter die results, or offer other benefits during the game. Some Investigator abilities can be used once per roll, meaning the Player can use this ability only once each time a new dice is rolled during an investigation. Some investigator abilities can be used once per day, meaning that it cannot be used again until after Midnight strikes. Elder Sign Concise Rulebook.doc - 09/09/12 - Page 2 of 7
Carolyn Fern s ability should read: Once per day, at the start of any Player s turn, Carolyn may restore 1 Sanity to 1 Investigator of her choice (including herself). Mandy Thompson s ability should read: Once per day, after any Player has rolled, Mandy may re-roll 2 dice before determining if the active Player was able to solve a Task. Vincent Lee s ability should read: Once per day, at the start of any Player s turn, Vincent may restore 1 Stamina to 1 Investigator of his choice (including himself). INVESTIGATOR CARDS 1. Name 2. Maximum Sanity 3. Maximum Stamina 4. Special Ability 5. Starting Items THE MUSEUM ENTRANCE Investigators occupying the Museum Entrance may select any one of the listed actions: Receive First Aid - The active Player chooses to: -- Regain either one of their Sanity or Stamina Tokens for free. -- Spend two Trophies to regain either all of their Sanity or all of their Stamina Tokens. -- Spend four Trophies to regain all of their Sanity and Stamina Tokens. Search the Lost & Found - The active Player rolls one green die and consults the chart on the entrance sheet. Players cannot use Items or Investigator abilities to affect this roll. Buy a Souvenir - The active Player spends some of their Trophies to buy one of the listed objects. The Player can buy only one souvenir per turn, even if they have enough Trophies to afford more than one souvenir. ADVENTURE/OTHER WORLD CARDS 1. Trophies 2. Name 3. Flavour Text 4. Order Arrow 5. Terror Effect 6. Locked Die Icon 7. Task 8. Monster Area 9. Penalties 10. Rewards ADVENTURE & OTHER WORLD CARDS Each Adventure and Other World Card has one or more horizontal rows of symbols. Each row represents a separate Task that the Player must complete, one at a time, by pairing all of the symbols listed with matching die rolls. The Player may normally complete each Card's Tasks in any order, unless the Card shows an Order Arrow (see picture) to the left of its Tasks. If the arrow is present, the Player must complete the Tasks in order from top to bottom. Players cannot attempt to solve an investigation if success would bring an Investigator s Sanity or Stamina to zero or less. Each symbol printed on the Cards represents the following required die-results: A number of investigation die results equal to or greater than the number indicated on the symbol. Lore result Peril result Terror result A split die result. Either of the die results shown may meet this requirement. After all die result requirements for this Task have been met, the Player must advance the Doomsday Clock by three hours to complete the Task. After all die results for this Task have been met, the Player loses Sanity Tokens equal to the number indicated on the symbol to complete the Task. After all die results for this Task have been met, the Player loses Stamina Tokens equal to the number indicated on the symbol to complete the Task. Other Worlds Cards are a special type of Adventure Card that represent gates to other dimensions. These Cards enter play only after a Player earns a Gate reward. When an Other World Card enters play, place it below the six Adventure Cards. Any number of Other World Cards may be in play at once. Other World Cards are not replaced when they have been solved. DICE ROLLING DICE The Player normally begins an investigation by rolling all the green dice together. The Player matches the die results to the Elder Sign Concise Rulebook.doc - 09/09/12 - Page 3 of 7
symbols of each Task on the Card. Each side of a green die shows a different symbol: 1 Investigation 2 Investigation 3 Investigation Lore Peril Terror Solving Tasks - If enough die results match all the symbols of one Task in one throw, then the Player places each matching dice onto the appropriate symbol. These dice are no longer available for the remainder of the Investigation Phase. Some Tasks require an Investigator to lose Sanity/Stamina Tokens or requires the Player to advance the Doomsday Clock by three hours. These actions are only performed after the symbols in the rest of the Task have been matched with die rolls. A Player can only match one Task per dice roll, even if the dice rolled could match more than one Task. The Player continues to roll the remaining dice until all of the Tasks have either been matched or there are no more dice to throw. Failing Tasks - A dice throw is considered a Failed Task if there are not enough matching results to solve any of the listed Tasks. The Player must discard any one of the remaining dice before re-rolling the dice in another attempt to solve a Task. Discarded dice are no longer available for the rest of the Investigation Phase. If a Failed Task means the Player must discard their last die without completing the last Task, then the Player has failed the Card and must suffer its Penalties. Terror Effects - If the Player failed a Task, and at least one of the dice showed a Terror result, then any Terror Effect listed on the Adventure/Other World Card and the current Mythos Card takes effect. Terror Effects take place before discarding a die or suffering Penalties, due to failing the Task. CLUE TOKENS A Player may spend Clue Tokens to re-roll dice and solve a Task that would otherwise have been failed. After the dice have been rolled and found to have failed the Task, the Player may spend one of their Clue Tokens to re-roll one, some, or all of the dice. The dice may be re-rolled as many times as there are available Clue Tokens being spent. FOCUSING DICE After a Failed Roll, the Player may Focus any one die once each Player Turn. To Focus a die, the Player first discards any one die as normal, due to the Failed Roll. The Player then selects one of the remaining dice and places it on their Investigation Marker without changing the die-result. Focused die are no longer available for rolling but are still available to solve a Task during a later dice-roll during the current investigation. When needed, the die is simply removed from the Investigation Marker and placed with the other required dice on the solved Task. Unused Focused dice are returned to normal play at the end of the current Player's Investigation Phase. REQUESTING ASSISTANCE The current Player may request Assistance from another Player after a Failed Roll, provided both their Investigator Markers occupy the same Card. To receive Assistance, the current Player first discards one die due to the Failed Roll. The Player then requests Assistance from the other Player. If that Player agrees, the current Player selects any one of the rolled dice and places it on the Assisting Player's Investigator Marker. The current Player may use the die held by the Assisting Player just like any other Focused die. However, if the current Player fails the Card, the Assisting Player loses either one Sanity or Stamina Token. After each Failed Roll, a Player may either Focus a die or request Assistance, not both. Players may only request Assistance once per dice roll. Investigators can only provide Assistance once per Player Turn. Unused dice are returned to normal play. LOCKED DICE Some Cards and Monster Markers feature a Locked die icon (see pictures, right). When an icon enters play, place the corresponding colour die on the icon, even if the die is currently on an Incantation Card or Investigator Marker. Locked dice cannot be used until they have been freed from their Locks. Freeing Locked Dice - If a die is Locked by an Adventure or Other World Card, a Player must solve that Card to free the die. If a die is Locked by a Monster Marker, a Player must defeat the Monster to free the die. If a die is Locked by a Mythos Card, the die is Locked until a new Mythos Card is drawn at Midnight. Multiple Locks - It is possible for a die to be Locked by more than one Card or Marker. After a die is freed from the first Card or Marker, it is then placed on the second Lock icon. Only after the last Lock is solved may the die be used in play once more. Character Abilities - Several Investigators have abilities that allow them to use additional dice during investigations. These abilities do not allow them to roll Locked dice and do not free dice from their Locks, apart from Sister Mary. REWARDS & PENALTIES The Player has successfully solved an Adventure or Other World Card if all the Tasks on that Card are solved. The successful Player returns all Investigator Markers on that Card to the Museum Entrance. All assigned and discarded dice are now available once more for use by the next Player. The successful Player moves the solved Card to their Play Area as a Trophy, replacing a solved Adventure Card with a new Card. Other World Cards are never replaced. The Player may then collect the Rewards listed at the bottom of the solved Card. If a Player failed to solve all the Tasks of a Card, then they suffer all the Penalties shown on the lower-left corner of the Card. Elder Sign Concise Rulebook.doc - 09/09/12 - Page 4 of 7
Draw one Card from the Ally deck. Gain one Clue Token. Draw one Card from the Common Item deck. A Monster Marker is added to a Card. Lose one Sanity Token. Draw one Card from the Incantation deck. Add one Doom Token to the Ancient One s Doom Track. Place one Elder Sign Token next to the Ancient One Card. Draw the top Card from the Other World deck and place it face-up below the six Adventure Cards. Lose one Stamina Token. Draw one Card from the Unique Item deck. Ally Cards - Allies remain in play until they expire, as outlined by the Card. Only the Player who drew the Card may use its ability. An example of Penalties. An example of Rewards. Trophies - Each Adventure Card, Other World Card, and Monster Marker has a Trophy value. When a Player successfully solves a Card or Monster Marker, they add it to the other Trophies in their Play Area. They may only spend their Trophies while on the Museum Entrance. They may also occasionally lose them as a result of failing an investigation. An Adventure Card worth 2 Trophies. A Monster Marker worth 1 Trophy. The current Player may spend any combination of Cards and Markers. After being spent, Cards are returned face-down to the bottom of their decks while Monster Markers are returned to the Monster Cup. Players may need to spend more Trophies than something was supposed to cost, but they do not receive change and lose the extra Trophy points. ITEM CARDS Regaining Sanity And Stamina - Common and Unique Items offer the Player numerous advantages during the game. Some Cards cause an Investigator to regain Sanity or Stamina Tokens. An Investigator cannot regain more Sanity or Stamina Tokens than is shown on their Card. Players return each Card face-down to the bottom of its deck after use. Adding Red Or Yellow Dice - Common Item Cards often show a yellow die icon, while Unique Item Cards often show a red die icon. A Player may discard one of these Cards to add the appropriate coloured die to their already existing green ones. The wildcard result on the red die may be used as a Lore, Peril, Terror, or 4 Investigation result. Added dice remain in play until the Player either uses them to solve a Task or discards them after a Failed Roll. Yellow or red dice cannot be returned to play in the same Player Turn they were discarded. Yellow Die Icon Red Die Icon 4 Investigation Wildcard INCANTATIONS Securing Dice - Players may only use their Cards and Clue Tokens during their own Player Turn, not another Player's turn. However, any Player may use a die secured by an Incantation during their own Player Turn. Some Incantations allow a Player to secure a die result for later use. These are signified by the securing icon (see picture, right). After rolling the dice, the Incantation Card is cast by placing it face-up in front of the owning Player. The Player chooses one die from their dice roll and places it on the securing icon without changing its result. Any die secured by an Incantation Card remains there until any Player chooses to use it to solve a Task, removes it from the Incantation to roll it, or until the die is Locked. New dice cannot be added to an Incantation Card to replace those that were removed from it. Removing Secured Dice - Dice secured by Focusing or Assisting can only be removed by the Player who secured them, becoming available for use by other Players after the current Investigation Phase has finished. Dice secured by an Incantation can be used by any Player during their own Player Turn, not just that of the casting Player. MONSTERS When instructed by the game, the current Player randomly draws one Monster Marker from the Monster Cup and places it on a Monster Area. This is a Task on an Adventure or Other World Card surrounded either wholly or in part by a white border. Monster Markers function as an extra Task that the Players must investigate in order to solve the Card. Players choose which white bordered Monster Area they wish to use as somewhere to place a Monster. If there are no white bordered areas available, the Player chooses one Adventure or Other World Card and places the Marker below the last Task of the Card. Players must distribute Markers as evenly as possible. Cards may not be given a second Marker until all the other Cards already have at least one Marker. If a Marker is placed on a Card with an Order Arrow, the Marker becomes that Card s last Task. If a Card s reward causes a Monster to appear, the Player may place the new Marker on the expected Adventure Card. Empty Monster Area - The white bordered Monster Area is completely covered, as shown. Players must complete the Task on the Monster Marker in addition to the Card's other Task. Elder Sign Concise Rulebook.doc - 09/09/12 - Page 5 of 7
Total Monster Area - The white bordered Monster Area is completely covered, as shown. Players must complete the Task on the Monster Marker instead of the Task it covered. Partial Monster Area - Only the single white bordered Monster Area is completely covered, as shown, adding to the difficulty of the already existing Task. Solving Monster Tasks - A Player completes a Monster Task in exactly the same way as any other Task. If a Player solves a Monster Task, then they collect the Monster Marker at the end of their Investigation Phase. They also free any Locked dice unless there are multiple Locks and follow any instructions on the reverse of the Marker. Players keep the Monster Marker, even if they fail to solve the Card it occupied. Penalties are suffered after the Monster Marker is collected. THE ANCIENT ONES THE DOOMSDAY CLOCK At the end of each Player's turn, advance the Doomsday Clock s hand clockwise by three hours. When the Clock strikes Midnight: 1. The At Midnight boxes on all Cards currently in play take effect. 2. Any The next time the clock strikes midnight... text on the current Mythos Card takes effect. 3. Replace the current Mythos Card with a new one. Return the used Mythos Card face-down to the bottom of its deck. 4. All once per day Investigator Abilities are available once more Midnight occurs immediately after any Player s turn in which the Doomsday Clock's hand moved to or past XII. Because Midnight is not part of a Player s turn, Kate Winthrop s Science! ability does not prevent the appearance of Monsters at Midnight. MYTHOS CARDS Players draw one new Mythos Card each time Midnight strikes, returning the old Card to the bottom of its deck. Each Mythos Card has one immediate effect on the Card s upper half and one lingering effect on the Card s lower half. The immediate effect occurs immediately after drawing the Card, while the lingering effect applies as long as the Card remains in play. THE DOOM TRACK The more tokens there are on the Doom Track, the closer the Ancient One is to awakening in the Miskatonic University Museum. The Player places one Doom Token on the next available space of the Doom Track as required, starting in the upper-left corner of the Doom Track and filling each row from left to right. If a Doom Token is placed on a space with a Monster Icon, then a new Monster is drawn from the Monster Cup and placed on a Monster Area. A Doom Icon on the Doom Track A Monster Icon on the Doom Track After placing a Doom Token on the final space of the Doom Track, the Ancient One awakens and the Investigators must confront it in battle. If a Player places the final Doom Token and collects the final Elder Sign at the same time, the Ancient One is sealed away and the Investigators win. BEING DEVOURED If at any time an Investigator loses their last Sanity or Stamina token, then they are considered devoured. The owning Player adds one Doom Token to the Doom Track and returns the devoured Investigator Card and Marker to the game box, along with the Investigator's Item Cards, Trophies and Clue Tokens. The Player then selects a new Investigator and takes its corresponding starting items. The new Investigator starts with their full number of Sanity and Stamina Tokens. The Player may only begin playing with their new Investigator from their next turn onwards, not before. If there are no more Investigators to choose from, then the Player is eliminated from the game. Whenever an Investigator is devoured, the owning Player proceeds immediately to the Doomsday Clock Phase before choosing a new Investigator. The owning Player is eliminated from the game if the Ancient One awakens as a result of their Investigator being devoured. The Doomsday Clock still advances during battle with the Ancient One as though that Player s turn had occurred. WAKING AN ANCIENT ONE The Ancient One immediately awakens as soon as a Doom Token is placed on the last icon of the Doom Track. The current Mythos Card is immediately discarded and not replaced, meaning its lingering effect ends and any dice Locked by it are freed. All other dice that were Locked when the Ancient One awoke are permanently removed from the game. All Adventure Cards, Other World Cards, and Monster Markers are also removed from the game. If the Ancient One awoke during a Player s turn, then the Player immediately moves to the Doomsday Clock Phase of their turn. The Investigator receives all of their Rewards or Penalties before the Ancient One awakens. If the Ancient One awakes before the Doom Track is full, then one Doom Token is placed on every remaining empty space. All Players move their Investigator Markers next to the Ancient One Card. They may not move their Investigator Markers from there for the rest of the game unless their Investigator is devoured by the Ancient One. BATTLING AN ANCIENT ONE The Players continue to take their turns as normal, after the Ancient One awakes. Each Player Turn now has only two phases: 1. Attack Phase - Each Player rolls their dice in order to match the Ancient One s Battle Task as many times as possible. If one of the Player s dice rolls matches the Ancient One s Battle Task, then the Investigator has successfully attacked the Ancient One. The Player places the matching dice on the Battle Task and removes one Doom Token from the Doom Track. The Player continues to roll the remaining dice, attempting to match the Ancient One s Battle Task as many more times as possible. Discard one die and re-roll the remaining dice, each time the Player did not match the Ancient One s Battle Task. The Player moves to the Doomsday Clock Phase when the last die is discarded or used. Players cannot Focus dice or request Assistance Elder Sign Concise Rulebook.doc - 09/09/12 - Page 6 of 7
while battling an Ancient One, but they may use their Item Cards, Incantations, and Clue Tokens, as normal. If a successful attack removes the last Doom Token from the Ancient One s Doom Track, then it is defeated and the Investigators win the game. 2. Doomsday Clock Phase - Each Player advances the Doomsday Clock as normal at the end of their Attack Phase. The Ancient One attacks each time Midnight strikes, as described on the Ancient One's Card, even if it only awoke at Midnight. Add one Doom Token to the Doom Track if a Player s Investigator is devoured during the battle. That Player may not rejoin the game as a new Investigator and may only advance the Doomsday Clock each time it is their Player Turn. ANCIENT ONE CARDS 1. Name 2. Battle Task 3. Elder Sign 4a. Doom Track 4b. Doom Token Icon 4c. Monster Icon 5. Special Ability 6. Attack Ability WINNING THE GAME The game immediately ends as soon as one of the following conditions arises: 1. The Players win the game if the Investigators seal away the Ancient One by collecting more than or equal to the number of Elder Sign listed on the Ancient One s Card. 2. The Players win the game if they defeat the Ancient One in battle by removing the last Doom Token from its Doom Track. 3. The Players lose the game if all the Investigators are devoured by the Ancient One. CREDITS Game Design - Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson Art Direction - Zoë Robinson Original Dice Mechanic Design - Reiner Knizia Cover Art - Anders Finer Producers - Adam Sadler and Tim Uren Production Manager - Eric Knight Editing & Proofreading - Benjamin Marshalkowski & David Production Co-Ordinator - Laura Creighton Hansen Managing Game Producer - Steven Kimball Graphic Design - Dallas Mehlhoff Executive Game Designer - Corey Konieczka Rulebook Layout - Christopher Hosch Executive Producer - Michael Hurley Managing Art Director - Andrew Navaro Publisher - Christian T. Petersen Playtesters - Pedar Brown, David Gagner, Sally Hopper, Kyle Hough, Brady Sadler, Christopher Seefeld, and Nik Wilson Elder Sign Concise Rulebook.doc - 09/09/12 - Page 7 of 7