Hi fellow Eldritch Horror fans,

Been playing the game a lot now that I have my own copy. Sometimes, I come across some cards that say something like, "Choose a random weapon from the Assets deck."

I'm not sure how to deal with this.

How can I draw a weapon from the Assets deck but ensure that it is indeed random?

So far, all I've been doing is flipping through every card until I come across the first weapon Asset I see and then, regardless of whether I like it or not, I take it and add it to the roster of items for my character.

Am I doing this right? Do you have a better way?

Thanks in advance.

yes you do right

That is how I do it. A random Asset or Artifact comes from the top of the deck. If it's conditional Weapon/Item/Ally/Trinket) I draw from the top of the deck, putting each card that doesn't match into discard. Then if I don't find it, I shuffle the discard pile, go through that, and if I still don't find it - possible but unlikely - I shuffle the Asset deck one more time and and go without. As soon as I draw a card that meets requirements, that's the card.

For spells and conditions I draw from the bottom of the deck. Invalid spells go in a discard pile; invalid Conditions I usually place on top of the deck. I normally only shuffle Conditions once before the game starts and then simply draw from the bottom when I need one until I get the right one. If I run through all the spells and do not find a match, I shuffle the discard and go through the process again. Thankfully I already know what spells are in the game so it's easier to tell if the card I'm looking for is already taken.

^^ Gaining a Random Card: Some effects instruct an investigator

to gain a card (for example, “Gain 1 Artifact”). The investigator

draws one card from the top of the deck matching the specified

card type.

• If an investigator gains a Spell or Condition that he already has,

he discards it and draws a replacement, repeating this process

until he draws a card he does not already have (if able).

• Double-sided cards are gained from the bottom of the deck.

^^ Gaining a Card with a Specific Trait: Some effects instruct an

investigator to gain a card with a specific trait (for example, “Gain

a Madness Condition”). The investigator searches that card type’s

deck then discard pile for the first card matching the specified trait

and gains that card. Then he shuffles the deck.

• An investigator that gains a Spell or Condition in this way

searches the deck for the first card matching the specified trait

he does not already have and gains that card.

^^ Gaining a Specific Card: Some effects instruct an investigator to

gain a specific card by name (for example, “Gain an Axe Asset”).

The investigator searches that card type’s deck then discard pile

for the first card matching the specified name and gains that card.

Then he shuffles the deck.

• If the named card is in the reserve, the investigator gains that

card instead.

• If the specified card cannot is not found while searching, he does

not gain a card. For instance, if other investigators or defeated

investigators possess all copies of the card or all copies of the

card have been returned to the game box.

^^ Gaining a Card from the Reserve: Some effects instruct an

investigator to gain a card (sometimes with a specific trait) from

the reserve (for example “Gain 1 Ally Asset from the reserve”).

The investigator gains one card of his choice that matches the

specified trait from the reserve.

^^ Gaining a Clue: Some effects instruct an investigator to gain a

Clue. The investigator takes one random Clue token from the

Clue pool, and places it near his Investigator sheet. When a

Research Encounter card instructs the investigator to “gain this

clue,” he gains the Clue token from his space.

^^Whenever a card is discarded, it is placed in a faceup discard pile

by its deck.

^^ Double-sided cards, such as Spells or Conditions, are immediately

shuffled back into their respective decks when discarded.

^^When an investigator searches a deck for a specific card and does not

find the card he is looking for, he also searches that deck’s discard pile.

^^ When a deck of cards is empty, immediately shuffle its discard pile

to form a new deck. The Mythos deck is never replenished.

^^ When an investigator draws a random card from a deck of doublesided

cards, he draws the bottom card.

To sum up...

Double-sided deck (Spell, Condition)

Random specific item/Random specific trait: Search from the bottom. Shuffle the deck.

Random: Take from the bottom.

Discard: Shuffle back into the deck immediately.

Single-sided deck (Asset, Artifact, encounters)

Random specific item/Random specific trait: Search from the bottom.* Shuffle the deck. If the deck is empty shuffle the discard into the deck.

Random: Take from the bottom.

Discard: Discard into a pile next to the deck.

*If it is an asset check the reserve first. If you fail to find it in the deck check the discard pile.

The Reference Guide, under "Search", specifically states that the deck is searched from the bottom, regardless of type. You reshuffle after each search. (Not their best mechanic)

Random single side cards are gained from the top of their deck.

Random double sided cards are gained from the bottom of their deck.

Hrm, I'd missed that. Thanks Wolfgar.

I modified the above to match the rules. But I'm still gonna play with;

Random specific item/Random specific trait: Search from the top. Don't shuffle.

Because I find it easier to search double sided cards from the top, it shouldn't change anything and decreases the amount of shuffling.

If it's relatively uncertain what card you are getting and you aren't getting the same cards over and over, I'm not sure it matters, really.

Just a note - I NEVER shuffle the Condition deck, always going through it - would kill too much time.

When people get a condition I make them roll a d6 to determine which one they get.

If there is one card left they get that card, 2 cards = even/odd roll, 3 cards = d3 roll, 4+ is a d6 roll (reroll as needed).

When a condition is returned, shuffle the group only.

Saves SO much time rather then going through a shuffled stack of conditions - and the group I play with is ok with it it, so no issues.

Most of the time you either get a specific Condition, or you get a specific type of Condition with a very limited range. Having the Condition deck randomized is honestly the worst part of the design of this game, and incredibly clunky. Just having Injuries and Madnesses in discrete piles with the rest of the Conditions in an alphabetized deck really would save more time.

I'd think that there's a distinct possibility that the Conditions deck will - at some point in the future - become unwieldy because there are so many (small) cards. At that point perhaps we'll get some guidance/additional mechanism, until then, I'm sticking with shuffling each time I do anything other than take the back card. I agree it's a pain given the number of Conditions that are dished out in a turn, but it's the only practical way to keep the "surprise" alive IMO. It only takes a 5 second overhand toss, after all it happens so often that the deck must be pretty much randomised.

Mccrispy, I started another topic on this, but I don't (yet) see any reason why the condition deck can't be split into separate (very small) decks consisting of just madnesses, just debts, just injuries, etc. So far I haven't come across or heard about anything in the game that tells you to draw a condition totally at random. It's always either 'specific card x' or 'a random madness/debt/injury', etc.

If you do this you firstly won't need to shuffle very often, as you're not going to be looking at the deck, you'll just be drawing the top one each time - and it will be often by the 'right' card. And secondly, for those times you are told to draw a specific card, you'll only have to shuffle a small pile.

Aye, there are times I honestly dread getting a Blessing because I have to dig through the $%#@! Condition deck to find one first, one of the three out of 36 cards. >.<

mccrispy, I started another topic on this, but I don't (yet) see any reason why the condition deck can't be split into separate (very small) decks consisting of just madnesses, just debts, just injuries, etc. So far I haven't come across or heard about anything in the game that tells you to draw a condition totally at random. It's always either 'specific card x' or 'a random madness/debt/injury', etc.

If you do this you firstly won't need to shuffle very often, as you're not going to be looking at the deck, you'll just be drawing the top one each time - and it will be often by the 'right' card. And secondly, for those times you are told to draw a specific card, you'll only have to shuffle a small pile.

Of course you can split the deck any way you like I'd be insane to suggest otherwise. For me it's the thought of a million 3 card decks and finding somewhere to put them all (defeating some of the point of EH's design in the first place), not to mention the pointlessness of "shuffling" three cards. As I said, I'm sure the deck will become huge at some point and then we'll have Injury and Madness decks and maybe a general Conditions deck for the rest. But I don't think it's come to that point yet - at least not for me.

mccrispy, I started another topic on this, but I don't (yet) see any reason why the condition deck can't be split into separate (very small) decks consisting of just madnesses, just debts, just injuries, etc. So far I haven't come across or heard about anything in the game that tells you to draw a condition totally at random. It's always either 'specific card x' or 'a random madness/debt/injury', etc.

If you do this you firstly won't need to shuffle very often, as you're not going to be looking at the deck, you'll just be drawing the top one each time - and it will be often by the 'right' card. And secondly, for those times you are told to draw a specific card, you'll only have to shuffle a small pile.

Of course you can split the deck any way you like I'd be insane to suggest otherwise. For me it's the thought of a million 3 card decks and finding somewhere to put them all (defeating some of the point of EH's design in the first place), not to mention the pointlessness of "shuffling" three cards. As I said, I'm sure the deck will become huge at some point and then we'll have Injury and Madness decks and maybe a general Conditions deck for the rest. But I don't think it's come to that point yet - at least not for me.

Well, I think that's why they probably did combine all those decks. In my opinion though this was one of the few 'consolidations' that doesn't work.

I get around the problem - in Arkham Horror too - by keeping all the separate decks in a single box, with dividers between them. Sort of like an old fashioned card filing system. This way I can go straight to the deck I want and take the 'top' one.

Once the decks are split like this, there's actually no need to keep shuffling them either. It's only because the different types are mixed - and so you necessarily see what's in the deck when you're searching for a relevant card - that you keep being instructed to reshuffle the deck. By keeping my cards in a box, it also means I can't see what the top card is either, so there's no messing about with sometimes taking from the top of the deck and sometimes from the bottom.

Ah, you see, that's where we differ: I don't think there is a problem and no amount of repeating your case will change my mind - until the deck gets too large to fit in the business card holder that I use for "at table" storage. I understand your point, I just don't agree with it is all.