Hi folks,

I was asked by FFG to start collecting questions for an upcoming Elder Sign FAQ project. So, if during your games you find something obscure that you think requires clarification or some situations occurred that are not covered by the revised rulebook or the latest FAQ release, please post your questions here. We could try to find a proper solution together (sometimes rules are nifty, but reasoning together helps getting all the nuances; or helps understanding better the problem) and then, if they are still obscure, I'll report them to the attention of FFG.

Also, if you received official clarifications via email, please post questions and answer here as well, so that everything can be included in the very same document.

Thanks a lot for your help The game is awesome, and with your help will be even better

JULIA

I would love some official clarification as to whether events should generally be taken as linear (one by one as they come up) or simultaneous (because they are described as the "same step" in the rule book). I feel like this question is key to many rules debates, such as:

-----the appearance of gates / discarding of trophies / devouring of investigators / addition of doom tokens of the Arkham Nights Yog-Sothoth

-----the use of stamina healing spells / unique items and the loss of stamina as per Ithaqua's special ability

-----At Midnight effects of adventures such as Transported by Magic when combined with Mythos cards such as The Arcane Art...Closes the Doors

And I'm sure that there are many more that I'll edit this post or post again to include as I think of them.

Yes, indeed, this is a solid point. Same for "At Midnight effects": which ones are resolved first, the one on Mythos cards or the one on Adventure cards? And so on.

I noted your questions, thanks for help

How about, if your investigator is cursed and you roll a terror result on a single green die and the curse die, and fail to resolve a task, do you resolve the teror effect first before removing the terror result, or do you remove the terror result first, thus negating the terror effect? My personal take has always been to resolve the terror effect first and then remove the green die from your pool, but would like to see an official ruling.

Same here, but good question. Noted, thanks

How about, if your investigator is cursed and you roll a terror result on a single green die and the curse die, and fail to resolve a task, do you resolve the teror effect first before removing the terror result, or do you remove the terror result first, thus negating the terror effect? My personal take has always been to resolve the terror effect first and then remove the green die from your pool, but would like to see an official ruling.

I think the rules are pretty clear here:

Page 3, 3rd paragraph explaining the Cursed mechanics

After each roll ( and after all rerolls, abilities, or terror effects have been resolved ), if the investigator's black die matches the result of any other die in his dice pool, he discards the black die and the matching die from his dice pool.

Emphasis mine.

Yep, good catch, thanks.

I think most of the possible issues are about the order in which effects are resolved. Even though rules are (not always, but sometimes) clear, the info are scattered in a way that could require clarification in order to be more readable. Some examples:

- at midnight effects: which is resolved first?

- dice: killing a monster locking a die will make that die immediately available or not? (rules seem to say no; the BGG is divided; one entry in the old FAQ seems to suggest yes)

- terror effects and dice (to be secured on spells and so on)

so that I think that, if possible, a couple of entries addressing these effects could clarify / streamline everything (FAQ shouldn't only answer unanswered questions, but work on avoiding the same questions are repeated over and over again. So yeah, if it's in the rules, good, but if several people ask the same, an FAQ entry could work)

Julia,

The "releasing a die from a monster for use" is one in which I play that it's immediately available, but I'm glad to see it will be added to the next FAQ.

Ciao ,

Joe

I am also eager to see what the verdict on defeated-monster-die-availability is.

Do we have a timeline for this? When can we expect this new FAQ to be released? Are you just waiting for enough days to go by in which there are no new questions on this board, or do we have a cutoff date, or what?

Or am I asking questions to which there are as of yet no answers?

I was asked by FFG

Also, I am curious. Do you work for FFG, know FFG people, or are you just so prolific on the forums that you are acknowledged as the leader that you are of us, your loyal flock?

Maybe there's already an official ruling on this, but I don't see it.

The situation: have an Other World adventure in play with 2 monsters on it. Draw the Mythos Insight card "The Way Closes..." (Discard one Other World card (of the players' choice)) "...Or Darkness Descends" (three monsters appear).

The question: if you choose to discard the other world card, do the monsters get discarded as well, or do they get sent to other adventures?

The "A Fresh Start..." Mythos Insight card says to discard all Adventure cards, Other World cards, and monster markers, then draw 6 new Adventures.

The Dragon's Eye unique item specifically says to discard one Adventure card, along with all monsters on it, to get a new one.

The common item Museum Map also says t o discard 1 Adventure card, along with all monsters on it, replacing it with a new Adventure card.

These three all specify what to do with the monsters, but the Mythos Insight card in question does not. An oversight? Regardless, what's the ruling?

Thought of another one: "discard" vs. "spend." I'm particularly thinking of Jenny and Ithaqua, but I'm fairly certain this distinction has come up in other situations as well. If Jenny "discards" a spell to gain the red and yellow dice, does she also lose 1 stamina for "spending" a spell?

ObsessiveGamer,

That's one of the classic FFG editing issues. They use terms interchangeably with little or no regard for its impact on play. I'm particularly sensitive to this type of writing inconsistency as a war game play-tester and editor. Great catch!

Cheers,

Joe

Obsessive Gamer,

I can't help you with your query related to when the FAQ will be released, or until when we have time to gather questions. I think the best we all can do as a community is: after acknowledging the fact a new FAQ will be released, trying to figure out what the problems with the actual rules are so that all the really difficult questions are asked in the shortest time possible. As for your second query, I'm no leader of anyone, I'm just a fellow boardgamer like anyone else here, but yes, I was asked by FFG to open this thread and start collecting questions, and after a while I'm supposed to send to the responsible for the game-line the questions.

I'll look at your questions tomorrow, with some more time. But thanks for posting them As for the "when dice locked on monsters are returned to the pool": it's already listed as FAQ.

JULIA

Okay, here's another one. On adventures that have tasks that consist solely of subtracting sanity and/or stamina, are you supposed to roll to complete this task? (An example is the first task of Dreaming of a Stranger, which requires -1 Stamina and -1 Sanity.) This would frequently be meaningless (unless you're playing Tibs' skill dice variant, but that's for another thread). A couple of situations in which rolling could help:

1) If you're seeking something to secure on a spell, could you roll, since you're technically completing a task, decide if you want any of the results you rolled for your spell, and then take away the sanity and stamina and complete the task?

2) Or Jim Culver could be searching for something to focus or assist with, since he can do this on successful tasks, and then the sanity and stamina could be taken away and the task completed.

There might be other situations in which this would be helpful, but those are the only two I can think of right now...

Could be interesting for Amanda's ability as well. And to check whether the Curse die creates some odd interactions and is discarded together with another die or remains in the pool.

[i'm sorry for the nonstop posts, but I am the queen of finding nitpicky ways to question the rules and they drive me nuts. Thanks for providing an outlet. I really do appreciate it.]

Has the unofficial information given by Richard Launius as stated here: http://boardgamegeek.com/article/8114854#8114854 ever been officially confirmed and / or denied?

I know this was kind of addressed in the previous FAQ, but I feel some questions remain unanswered, such as: does playing Bind Monster or the Flute count as a successfully completed task, negating your need to discard a die if your roll sucked (and also preventing you from completing any other task without rolling again (though if your roll was so bad that you need the spell to defeat the monster, I can't see this actually coming up too often except in the situations I stated in the last post: spells, Jim, curse die as pointed out by Julia, etc.) unless you're Amanda)?

There are arguments either way. The FAQ states that "all of that monster's tasks are considered to be completed," which implies that you completed a task - so you would think all of the "you completed a task" rules apply. But then the fact that the monster need "not necessarily [be] at the same adventure his investigator is at" (which is the opposite of what Launius said) implies that this card exists kind of outside of normal task completion, and might not apply in the same way.

Can't help you with it right now, too many projects running with too early deadlines to look at this one in detail. I noted your questions (and nope, I'm not aware of Richard's post being officialized, but I could be wrong) and think about that / how to word them. Sorry I can't help you more now, but thanks for the questions. Be nicky as much as possible, so that, once and for all, all issues can be clarified

Obsessive Gamer,

To your question regarding the use of a Spell to complete a Task ~ I can't think of a ruling that would say...no, you can defeat the monster, but you must discard a die. Maybe I'm being indignant, but I wouldn't play it that way. Now, I have to admit...I only permit the defeat of monsters in Adventures which the Investigator (s) finds himself.

Cheers,

Joe

Haha, alright. Thanks for your input, Joe. So you would also say that you could complete a task in addition to using the spell in a roll, then? Since the spell use exists outside of the dice rolling?

I'll be curious as to what FFG says when the day comes that this FAQ comes out.

ObsessiveGamer,

Now I see your question even more clearly. As the Spell obviates the need to roll, that wouold serve as an action in lieu of rolling the dice. There are times in which you roll the dice and then decide...wow, I didn't complete a Task , but I have this neat Spell which can obliterate a monster. I don't think that in the spirit of the game. Either roll OR use the Spell (before you roll).

Cheers,

Joe

I just tried another 8-investigator game against the Arkham Nights Yog-Sothoth, and had results similar to my post #6 here: http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/93628-slightly-scarier-yog-sothoth/

I'd love to know if FFG meant for him to be so difficult against higher numbers of investigators. It's the only Ancient One that, in my opinion, punishes you for playing with more people. I know he's a bonus Ancient One to begin with, but it might be more fair for his ability to say, "the investigators as a group must discard [number of investigators] trophies, or as many investigators as you are trophies short are devoured." I feel that this would make the game more feasible for higher numbers of investigators as opposed to the domino effect from hell that happens as things currently stand.

Hey,

I've got 2 questions:

1. The first question's regarding cards that say "After rolling, discard to defeat 1 monster". If I roll and fails the task, can I use this card to defeat a monster and consider the roll a success?

2. Regarding Public Lavatory card; The card reads " When a player draws this card, place 1 monster in each monster task belows ". If this card is put into play during setup, does it mean I shouldn't place any monster tokens on it?

Thanks. :-)

liran218,

The #2 on your list is interesting, as I've always played it, as advertised. If it's drawn during set-up or throughout the game, I place two monsters on the card. I'm curious if they rule it another way.

Cheers,

Joe

I'm a bit confused about the use of the blessed die. The instructions seem to contradict itself. On one hand it says that you add the white die to your dice pool until you either use it in on a task, discard it on a failed roll or end your turn. However, on the other hand it says that you use it for each of your adventures. So I'm a bit confused as to whether we keep it till we use it or do we keep it and use it as long as the investigator is blessed? Hopefully someone can help me with this.