Hello everyone!

We are starting work on an official FAQ for Elder Sign.

If there are any questions or issues that you'd like addressed in the FAQ, please post them here. Note that this thread is for questions only (we will not be posting answers here).

Thanks for playing!

Huzzah! Without further ado:

1. Can Mandy, Harvey, and Michael's abilities be used on anyone's turn or only theirs?

2. Can Michael and Harvey's abilities be used at the Lost and Found?

3. Does Kate's ability prevent monsters from spawning during the Mythos phase on her turn?

4. Does the terror result required by Shub-Niggurath add on to the monster's task or is it a task of its own?

5. What do Bind Monster and Flute of the Outer Gods mean by "defeat?" Can this be used on any monster anywhere? If you use it on a monster on your adventure, do you instantly gain the trophy and thus have to complete the task it was on top of?

Walk said:

and Darrel's too

Reading the rules (in particular Page 11 and 12 Battling an Ancient One ) I think there is doubt what can be used during the final battle.
The rules are clear that you can use Common Items , Unique Items and Spells and that you cannot Focus or Assist during the final battle.

What about Clues , Allies and Investigator's Special Abilities ?

It's odd that Clues are not mentioned one way or the other during final battle and given that certain elements are specifically mentioned and allowed but others are not allowed, I'm beginning to think that clues are not in fact allowed to be used to re-roll dice during this time.

The argument that they must be allowed because of Ancient Ones such as Ithaqua, Hastur, Yig or Nyarlathotep is neither here or there. The issue isn't if the players are allowed to keep any Clue tokens when they battle the Ancient One, it's if they are allowed to use the Clue tokens they have to re-roll the dice during the final battle.

The same concerns apply to Allies and Special Abilities.

A couple of Allies are specially discarded when the Ancient One wakes (plus Duke is useless during this time), but what about the other 5 Allies? It would make sense thematically if no Ally "travels" to the location of the final battle with the Investigators so maybe they are all discarded (along with any Spells or Items they have).

Over half of the Investigator Special Abilities are useless when battling the Ancient One but what about the others? It seems odd that the majority of special abilities aren't functional during this time, it might make more sense that none of them function.

Battling an Ancient One:

1. Can clues be used during the final battle?

2. Unless otherwise stated on the card, can allies be used in the final battle?

3.Does each success lock the dice for that task just like a normal resolve adventure step?

4.Do dice locked on adventure cards, mythos cards, and monster cards remain locked when the final battle starts?

Spells

1. If a spell is played, is it mandatory that a die be placed on the card or could you discard the spell? If a spell has two dice icons, do you have to place two dice? Could the two dice be placed one at a time on different task completion rolls?Can clues be used to reroll dice are placed?

2. How is a monster defeated when using a spell? Can you immmediately claim the monster token?If it is a partial or total monster task, would you then have to complete the task as depicted on the card?

Monsters

1.If all monster tasks are currently filled, can you keep placing all other monsters on one non monster task card making that card in effect a giant holding pen?

2. On an adventure card with an arrow, if a monster is added to the bottom of the card, does it become the last task? Could the monster task be completed first or in any order the player chooses like an adventure card without an arrow?

Locked Dice

If a red die for example is already locked on an adventure card and a second red locked die icon comes into play, does the red die immediately move to the second card when the the first card is resolved?

Investigators

Some special abilities seem overpowered when playing with less than three or four investigators (Kate Winthrop, Carolyn Fern, Mandy Thompson and Vincent Lee). Is there some alternate definition of what constitutes a turn when playing with just one or two investigators when considering how often the special abilities can be used?

Certain monster tasks have "Advance the Clock" and "Lose Stamina/Sanity" symbols on them. What happens if you use items/spells that "defeat" a monster, do you ignore all the requirements for the monster? Can the monster still be claimed as a trophy?

Example: The Chthonian Monster (7 Investigations, Advance the Clock, Lose 1 Stamina) is defeated by Bind Monster. Once it is defeated, does the clock advance? Does the Investigator still need to lose 1 Stamina? Does the Investigator still gain the monster as a trophy?

1) If the red and yellow dice are locked, can Gloria Goldberg use her Special Ability to resolve Other World Adventure Cards?

2) If the red and yellow dice are locked, can Jenny Barnes use her Special Ability to resolve adventures?

3) On the Mythos Card "The Stars Align...Above an Open Door" the lingering effect is "Place as Additional Adventure Card below the others in play. The card is not replaced when it's resolved." Is this additional adventure card drawn immediately or when the clock next strikes midnight. (When the card drawn here is Horrible Visions--specifically its Midnight effect-- one understands the players' concern, and desire for clarification).

1) Do "at midnight" effects on adventure cards take effect at midnight even if no investigator is on a given Adventure card? I presume that they do.

2) Do "at midnight" effects on Adventure cards continue to impact players after the Great Old One awakes? The rules only say that Mythos cards are no longer drawn. However, if the standard rules apply then all the Adventure Card-based "at midnight" effects would continue each midnight in the battle with no way to interact with them?

3) When the Great Old One wakes up do locked dice on adventure cards/monsters unlock?

4) How do you handle monsters on adventures with an arrow? The rulebook says you normally go from the top down for the tasks. There is a separate rule that says monsters are put on the bottom of the adventure card (assuming no specific monster task spaces in play). These two rules together would suggest that you have to beat every task on the adventure card before you can interact with the monster. Some card/monster combinations could then make the adventure practically impossible to ever complete.

5) When I place monsters into non-dedicated monster slots, what's to stop me from placing all extra monsters at the bottom of a single adventure card, keeping the "monster swarm" in one place? There must be missing rules on this.

6) Can you play common items, unique items, or spells during another player's turn? If so, under what circumstances?

7) If you are playing solo with one character, does your character get four turns per day typically? If so, what happens with the Great Old One wakes up? How do you handle interactions like Vincent and Ithaqua, where the character automatically heals more damage than Ithaqua can ever do if Vincent is played solo and gets four turns per 12 hours on the clock.

8) Is Mandy's ability really usable once on every turn, even when it's not her turn? Or is it just once per day?

9) If your character dies and adds the last doom token to the Great Old One, do you get a new character before the GOO wakes up?

10) What happens when you receive First Aid? The Entrance Card says that investigators may heal one stamina OR one sanity for free, while the rule book says that investigators may heal one stamina AND one sanity for free. Which is it?

11) What happens when the last Doom Token and the final Elder Sign needed to defeat Azathoth are gained at the same time? Does Azathoth awake and we lose, or do we win?

12) What happens if the clock moves to Midnight because of an effect on a monster task while you are in the middle of an adventure? Do you interrupt the adventure and deal with Midnight effects, lingering effects, and new Mythos Card?

13) Is there a difference between "losing" sanity or stamina (via midnight effects, Adventure card failure penalties, etc.) and "paying" sanity or stamina (to complete a task like the Hallway on Fire or a monster)? In the latter case, must the cost be paid or can you kill a ghost with whiskey?

14) Can investigators use their Special Abilities during other players' turns? If only some can which ones and under which circumstances?

15) If a total monster task line has a monster on it and that monster is defeated by my spell, is the underlying total monster task deemed complete for this attempt at the adventure, or do I have to now do the underlying total monster task?

16) If a spell says that it can defeat 1 monster, can it only defeat a monster on the adventure card that my investigator is on?

17) If I complete an adventure and get a monster as a "reward", does this monster have to go onto one of the other 5 cards or can it go onto the adventure that will replace the one that I have just completed?

Lee

hudarklord: I actually know the answer to your twelfth question. From page 9 in the rulebook, under the Advance the Clock phase: "If the active player advances the clock to XII (midnight) (or if he advanced the clock to midnight at any point during his turn), he now resolves all game effects in play thst say "At Midnight." He then draws a new Mythos card and resolves it, placing it next to the Mythos deck on top of any previous Mythos cards that were in play."

Another question: "We need to find help" appears and locks the red die. In the meantime the high priest and the warlock appear on two other adventures, also with red die locking icons. If I resolve "We need to find help", is the red die unlocked, or is it moved to one of the other red die locking icons on the monsters? The rules only talk about locking icons getting used when they "appear" in the game, so strictly reading, after they've appeared the die would no longer move to them. However, this question was asked on another forum, and I think it's a good one.

To Walk: Thanks for the reply. Not all those are my questions. Some I feel are handled in the rulebook. For instance, I also think you handle rewards before waking the Great Old One (answering another question), but these questions got some traffic on Board Game Geek, so I figured I would post them. Some of those questions above are mine, but a lot of those are just ones that got asked on Board Game Geek by other people.

Lee

On a similar note:

What happens if a green/yellow/red dice has been placed on a spell for later use and a monster/adventure card is drawn afterwards that locks that dice? Are the dice moved from the spell to the lock card immediately, or only after they have been used (=taken off from the spell to resolve a task)

@YourBestFriend: Maybe its a good idea to include optional rules in the FAQ that make the game harder (aimed towards all players who think the game is a bit too easy to beat).

Oh, and I forgot these:

1. Do you add a Doom token when an investigator is devoured during final combat?

2. If an investigator is devoured during final combat, do you advance the clock during their turn?

About: Are the dice moved from the spell to the lock card immediately, or only after they have been used (=taken off from the spell to resolve a task)

Subquestion, what happens to the spell card?

If the die is moved immediately is the spell card then lost, aka removed from play? Or is it allowed back on the spell card after unlocking.

A few more, some that sort of develop some of those above:

Before placing dice on a spell, can I use an ability or clue token to adjust / re-roll dice? I think so, but the question has appeared on BGG.

Likewise must it be used "as is" without further change when you "spend" it by taking it off the spell?

Can a die be played onto a spell then straight onto a task so that the spell in effect "fizzles"?

Is Harvey's ability usable every time you roll any of the dice, e.g. on a re-roll of all/some of them with a clue token? So you could use it on any number of rolls during his turn, not just once per turn. (I think it is)

When fighting a Great Old One, if an Investigator gets Devoured, do you still advance the clock on that Investigtors 'turn', or is he entirely eliminated? IE: If 4 Investigator are fighting a GOO, and three die, does the fourth get 4 chances to attack the GOO before Midnight?

Can you clarify how Carolyn Fern or Vincent Lee use their powers against the Ancient One? IE: Is it impossible for either of them solo-ing to lose to Hastur/Ithaqua?

Clue Token usag e : the manual (in the "Using Clues" paragraph - p10) it states: "After any roll to complete a task, a player may spend one of his Clue Tokens to re-roll ANY or all of the dice in his dice pool..."

What does ANY means here?

The player choose only one die and re-rolls only that.

OR

The player chooses some of the dice in the roll (no matter the number) and re-roll them (while keeping the results from the other dice).

Example: for one task I need a skull, and two scrolls: Rolling the 6 greens I have this results: 1 Skull, 1 Scroll, 1 Terror and 3 dice with Investigations results.

I use a clue token: I keep the skull and the scroll and I re-roll the other 4 dice looking for a scroll. Is it this correct?

Joe Diamond's Skill :the skill description states "After Joe spends a Clue Token, he may re-roll THE DIE a second time without spending an additional Clue Token": In the case I use the Clue to re-roll more then one die (like in the example above) how the skill works?

After I've re-rolled the dice spending a clue (if not satisfied with the results) I can re-roll again ONLY one die for free

OR

I can re-roll again ANY NUMBER/ALL of them for free.

Game Start : the game starts with the clock at 12. Is it this considered to be Midnight? More precisely if any of the starting 6 adventure cards has an "At Midnight" effect, does it is applied before the 1st player starts his turn?

Mythos Cards : about the two following mythos cards:

1) A Warning (there is no immediate effect) of a Curse (All Sanity and Stamina costs and losses are increased by 1).

2) A Warning (there is no immediate effect) of a Conspiracy (All tasks that require at least 1 investigation result require an additional investigation result.)

Once they enter in play the effects of those two cards are permanent? In effect those are the only two mythos in which "for today" it's not specified. Was this intentional or just omitted?

About 2): the text means that the number of investigation results needed is raised by one in every "icon" showing the investigation symbol (symbol with 2 investigations is considered 3 as an example) OR that a new icon with a "1 investigation" is added to every task already containing investigation requirements?

Thank you in advance for all your answers.

Buying a souvenir

What exactly does the "buy one and only one" mean? you can read it in atleast three different ways.

1. It's there just to remind you can only buy one item at a time.
2. You can buy only one item each. So each investigator can buy 1 clue, 1 common, 1 unique, etc. each.
3. Only one item. that's it. each investigator may buy a single souvenir.

Or maybe variant of 2: Limited stock. once a souvenir is bought it's gone from the list. First come, first serve.

Unofficial Community FAQ for Elder Sign at Boardgamegeek.com.

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/691023/elder-sign-faq/page/1

Ran into this while solo-ing last night.

An Investigator completes a mission and draws a new exhibit. That exhibit has an 'At Midnight' effect. The Investigator's turn ends, and the clock Advances, hitting Midnight. Does the "At Midnight" effect take place? (I'm fairly sure the answer is yes, but just to be sure).

On a similar note, when a task causes the clock to advance and hit Midnight, does the rest of the game get put on 'pause' while the Midnight effect takes place?

Finally, how does Kate's ability interact with all these scenarios?

Two more questions: If an "At Midnight" effect is on one of your starting exhibits, does that effect take place as soon as you begin the game (with the drawing of the first Mythos)?

If a monster is added to the bottom ox an exhibit with an arrow, does the monster task have to be completed last (as it is at the bottom)?

Yet another question:

I've got the Red Die saved on a spell. A monster appears that locks the red die.

What do I do?

On an adventure card with multiple tasks: can I spend a focused die to complete one task and also immediately place a new focused die in its place to use for the next task on the card?

arcana10 said:

Focusing and Assisting can only be done if you fail to complete a task.

Rules book - page 10
After making a die roll that fails to complete a task, a player may choose to either focus or use another investigator on the same Adventure card to assist him.

Master Fwiffo said:

The red dice is automatically locked on the monster card. The card spell is discarded.

Rules book - Page 11
When one of these icons appears,
the active player must immediately place 1 die of the corresponding color on top of that icon.
[...]
He must place the die on that icon even if the die was on a Spell card or Investigator marker, but he cannot move a die that is already locked on another card or marker.