Just grabbed this game at the FFG Event Center today and really enjoyed the first play of it. We already own Eldritch Horror, but that one doesn't come out much due to the setup and playtime, whereas Elder Sign seems about perfect on both.

I did have a couple of questions that came up, the first regarding cards that allow you to defeat a monster after rolling. In the FAQ, it says:

Q:

What do items mean when they say “defeat a monster”?

A:

When a player uses an item or a spell that “defeats” a monster, that player chooses any monster in play and turns that monster facedown. It need not be a monster on the adventure the investigator is currently attempting. None of the monster’s costs must be paid and all of that monster’s tasks are considered completed. The monster is collected as a trophy after the player’s turn ends, whether the investigator resolves the adventure or not. Note that if a monster is only partially covering a task, any uncovered parts of the task are still uncompleted for purposes of resolving the adventure.

If the monster you select to defeat is on your current adventure (and you were technically rolling to defeat that monster at that time), are the dice results just considered a success and you go on to the next task with the entire pool?

The second question that came up was whether or not you could save a wildcard roll on the red die on a spell.

Thanks for your time!

If the monster you select is on your current adventure, you turn the monster face-down and leave it where it is. If it's covering part of a task, then whatever's left uncovered is now the entire task. It is at that point you would begin rolling the dice for the first time, in attempts to match all the visible tasks. "Defeating" a monster using an ability or what-have-you does nothing to your die pool.

You absolutely can. What a useful result to save.

As for number 2: any die can be secured on a spell (Green, Yellow, Red; when you'll be getting Unseen Forces, the White die as well, but not the Black die). This enables any investigator to use it, even if he normally wouldn't have access to that die. So, Investigator A secures the red on a spell, and Investigator B can choose to use that result or to remove the die from the spell to add it to his pool, and he does not need to use any item to "gain" that die, because it's actually already in play.

If the monster you select is on your current adventure, you turn the monster face-down and leave it where it is. If it's covering part of a task, then whatever's left uncovered is now the entire task. It is at that point you would begin rolling the dice for the first time, in attempts to match all the visible tasks. "Defeating" a monster using an ability or what-have-you does nothing to your die pool.

You absolutely can. What a useful result to save.

Thank you both so much for the responses!

Just for clarification, what if the card says to defeat a monster after rolling ? If the monster is the first task on the adventure, are the die results simply disregarded since the card defeats the monster, or is the success or failure still measured before going on to the rest of the tasks?

If the card says "after rolling", results are disregarded IF the monster is a complete monster task; IF the monster is on a partial monster task - i.e. a task having a requirement not covered by the monster chit - results must be used to complete the task, otherwise the monster chit is still turned down, but the task is considered failed and you remove a die from your pool, as per normal rules.

Additionally, even if the monster chit covers entirely a task, the "roll" is not wasted: you may get lucky and roll a result you want to secure on a spell.

Hope this helps

If the card says "after rolling", results are disregarded IF the monster is a complete monster task; IF the monster is on a partial monster task - i.e. a task having a requirement not covered by the monster chit - results must be used to complete the task, otherwise the monster chit is still turned down, but the task is considered failed and you remove a die from your pool, as per normal rules.

Additionally, even if the monster chit covers entirely a task, the "roll" is not wasted: you may get lucky and roll a result you want to secure on a spell.

Hope this helps

That clears it up completely, thanks so much for the explanation!