When used to describe a condition,the words ”a” or ”an” are satisfied if one or more of the conditional elements are present. For example, an investigator with 3 resources will satisfy the condition of ”Each investigator with a resource.”

An ability is the specialized game text that indicates how a card affects the game. Card abilities only interact with the game if the card bearing the ability is in play unless the ability (or rules for the card type) specifically references its use from an out-of-play area.

Card abilities only interact with other cards that are in play unless the ability specifically references an interaction with cards in an out-of-play area. If multiple instances of the same ability are in play, each instance interacts with (or may interact with) the game state individually.

The various types of card abilities are: constant abilities, forced abilities, revelation abilities, triggered abilities, keywords, and enemy instructions (spawn and prey). Each type is described in detail below.

Constant Abilities

Constant abilities are simply stated on a card with no special formatting. Constant abilities are always interacting with the game state as long as the card is in play. (Some constant abilities continuously seek a specific condition, denoted by words such as ”during” or ”while.” The effects of such abilities are active any time the specified condition is met.) Constant abilities have no point of initiation.

Forced Abilities

A forced ability is identified by a bold ”Forced – ” command. Forced abilities initiate and interact with the game state automatically at a specified timing point. Such a timing point is usually indicated by words such as: ”when,” ”after,” ”if,” or ”at.” If a forced ability does not have the potential to change the game state, the ability does not initiate. The initiation of a forced ability that has the potential to change the game state is mandatory each time its specified timing point is met. A forced ability with a timing point beginning with the word ”when…” automatically initiates as soon as the specified timing point is reached, but before its impact upon the game state resolves. A forced ability with a timing point beginning with the word ”after…” automatically initiates immediately after that timing point’s impact upon the game state has resolved. For any given timing point, all forced abilities initiated in reference to that timing point must resolve before any abilities (see below) referencing the same timing point in the same manner may be initiated. See ”Priority of Simultaneous Resolution” on page 17.

Revelation Abilities

A revelation ability, indicated by a bold ”Revelation – ” command on an encounter card or weakness, initiates as that card is drawn by an investigator (see ”Revelation” on page 18).

Triggered Abilities

A triggered ability is any ability prefaced by either a , , or . If the ability has one or more prerequisites (costs and/or conditions), these are listed in text immediately following the icon. A player must always meet the prerequisites of a triggered ability in order to trigger that ability. There are three types of triggered abilities: Free triggered abilities ( ) – A triggered ability may be triggered as a player ability during any player window. (See ”Appendix II: Timing and Gameplay” on page 22 for a complete list of player windows.) Reaction triggered abilities () – A triggered ability with a specified triggering condition may be triggered any time that triggering condition is met. For example: ” After you defeat an enemy:” A ability with a triggering condition beginning with the word ”when…” may be used after the specified triggering condition initiates, but before its impact upon the game state resolves. A ability with a triggering condition beginning with the word ”after…” may be used immediately after that triggering condition’s impact upon the game state has resolved. Each ability may be triggered only once each time the specified condition on the ability is met. For example, an ability that is triggered ”After X occurs,” may be used once each time ”X” occurs. Action triggered abilities () – An triggered ability may be triggered during a player’s turn in the investigation phase through the use of the activate action, and only if the player uses one action for each specified in the ability’s cost. All triggered abilities are governed by the following rules: Triggered abilities on a card a player controls are optionally triggered (or not) by that player at the appropriate timing moment, as indicated by the ability. A triggered ability can only be initiated if its effect has the potential to change the game state, and its cost (if any) has the potential to be paid in full, taking active cost modifiers into account. This potential is assessed without taking into account the consequences of the cost payment or any other ability interactions. Once an ability is initiated, players must resolve as much of the effect as possible, unless the effect uses the word ”may” (see ”May” on page 15). (Added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.2) An investigator is permitted to use triggered abilities (, and abilities) from the following sources: A card in play and under his or her control. This includes his or her investigator card. A scenario card that is in play and at the same location as the investigator. This includes the location itself, encounter cards placed at that location, and all encounter cards in the threat area of any investigator at that location. The current act or current agenda card. Any card that explicitly allows the investigator to activate its ability.

The act deck represents the progress the investigators can make in a scenario. The agenda deck represents the progress and objectives of the dark forces arrayed against the investigators in a scenario. Generally, advancing the act deck is good for the investigators, and advancing the agenda deck is bad for the investigators.

The act deck advances if the investigators as a group spend the requisite number of clues (as indicated by the act card). An act card may indicate a flat value (such as ”4”) or a per investigator value (as indicated by the icon). This is normally done as a player ability. Any or all investigators may contribute any number of clues towards the total number of clues required to advance the act. If the act has an ”Objective – ” instruction, that instruction overrides or adds additional requirements to the spending of those clues.

The agenda deck advances if the requisite number of doom is in play (doom on the agenda card as well as doom on any other cards in play) as indicated by the agenda card. An agenda card may indicate a flat value or a per investigator value. If the agenda has an ”Objective – ” instruction, that instruction overrides or adds additional requirements to meeting this doom requirement.

Some cards add additional costs that must be paid in order to perform certain effects or actions in the form of ”As an additional cost to (specified effect/action), you must (additional cost)” or ”You must (additional cost) to (specified effect/action).”

Additional costs are costs that can be paid outside the normal timing point of paying costs (for instance during the resolution of an effect). If an effect that requires an additional cost would resolve, the additional cost must be paid at that time. If the additional cost cannot be paid, that aspect of the effect fails to resolve.

Each time an investigator fails a skill test while attempting to evade an enemy with the ”alert” keyword, after applying all results for that skill test, that enemy performs an attack against the evading investigator. An enemy does not exhaust after performing an alert attack. This attack occurs whether the enemy is engaged with the evading investigator or not.

Aloof is a keyword ability. An enemy with the aloof keyword does not automatically engage investigators at its location. When an aloof enemy spawns, it spawns unengaged. An investigator may use the engage action or a card ability to engage an aloof enemy. An investigator cannot attack an aloof enemy while that enemy is not engaged with an investigator.

Asset cards represent items, allies, talents, spells, and other reserves that may assist or be used by an investigator during a scenario. When you play an asset, it is placed in your play area. Generally, assets remain in play unless discarded by a card ability or game step.

Some assets have health and/or sanity. When an investigator is dealt damage or horror, that investigator may assign some or all of that damage or horror to eligible asset cards he or she controls (see ”Dealing Damage/Horror” on page 7). Most assets take up one or more slots while in play (see ”Slots” on page 19).

Each time an investigator is engaged with one or more ready enemies and takes an action other than to fight, to evade, or to activate a parley or resign ability, each of those enemies makes an attack of opportunity against the investigator, in the order of the investigator’s choosing. Each attack deals that enemy’s damage and horror to the investigator.

An attack of opportunity is made immediately after all costs of initiating the action that provoked the attack have been paid, but before the application of that action’s effect upon the game state. An ability that costs more than one action only provokes one attack of opportunity from each engaged enemy. An enemy does not exhaust while making an attack of opportunity.

After all attacks of opportunity are made, continue with the resolution of the action which instigated the attack. Attacks of opportunity count as enemy attacks for the purposes of card abilities. (Added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.1) Attacks of Opportunity are only triggered when 1 or more of an investigator’s actions are being spent or used to trigger an ability or action. abilities with a bold action designator do not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Some card or token abilities may cause a skill test to automatically fail or to automatically succeed. If a skill test automatically fails or automatically succeeds, it does so during step ”ST.6” of the ”Skill Test Timing” process outlined on page 26.

If a skill test automatically fails, the investigator’s total skill value for that test is considered 0. If a skill test automatically succeeds, the total difficulty of that test is considered 0.

Some card effects make an investigator automatically succeed or automatically fail a skill test. If this occurs, depending on the timing of such an effect, certain steps of the skill test may be skipped in their entirety.

If it is known that an investigator automatically succeeds or fails at a skill test before Step 3 (”Reveal chaos token”) occurs, that step is skipped, along with Step 4. No chaos token(s) are revealed from the chaos bag, and the investigator immediately moves to Step 5. All other steps of the skill test resolve as normal. If a chaos token effect causes an investigator to automatically succeed or fail at a skill test, continue with Steps 3 and 4, as normal.

If an ability ”automatically evades” 1 or more enemies, this is not the same as automatically succeeding at an evasion attempt. As per the entry on ”Evade” in the Rules Reference (see ”Evade”), if an ability automatically evades 1 or more enemies, no skill test is made for the evasion attempt whatsoever. Consequentially, because no skill test is made, it is not considered a ”successful” evasion. The investigator simply follows the steps for evading an enemy (exhausting it and breaking its engagement).

For example: Patrice uses the ability on Hope, which reads: ” If Hope is ready, exhaust or discard him: Evade. Attempt to evade with a base value of 5. (If you discarded Hope, this test is automatically successful.)” If Patrice chooses to discard Hope, the skill test automatically succeeds before chaos tokens are revealed; therefore Steps 3 and 4 of the skill test are skipped. However, the skill test still takes place. Cards may still be committed to the test, and the investigator’s total modified skill value is still determined, as it may have some bearing on other card abilities. However, if Patrice instead uses the ability on Stray Cat, which reads: ” Discard Stray Cat: Automatically evade a non-Elite enemy at your location,” no skill test is made whatsoever.

Base value is the value of an element before any modifiers are applied. Unless otherwise specified, the base value of an element derived from a card is the value printed on that card.

The bearer of a weakness is the investigator who started the game with the weakness in his or her deck or play area.

See ”Weakness” on page 21.

If a card’s printed text box is considered ”blank” by an ability, that text box is treated as if it did not have any of its printed content. Text and/or icons gained from another source are not blanked.

A card’s text box includes: traits, keywords, card text, and abilities.

Cards with the bonded keyword are linked to another player card. They have no level and therefore are not available as deckbuilding options. Instead, the card to which they are bonded (which is listed in parentheses next to this keyword) brings the bonded card into the game.

If your deck contains a card that summons one or more bonded cards, those bonded cards are set aside at the start of each game.

If a weakness with the bonded keyword is added to an investigator’s deck, hand, threat area, or play area, it does not remain a part of that investigator’s deck for the rest of the campaign (unlike other weaknesses). It starts each game set aside with that investigator’s other bonded cards.

For example: Hope, Zeal, and Augur all have the ”bonded (Miss Doyle)” keyword. This means each of those cards is bonded to the card Miss Doyle. Hope, Zeal, and Augur each have no level and are therefore not available as options to include when building your deck. However, Miss Doyle summons each of these cards when she is played. Therefore, a player with Miss Doyle in their deck should set aside Hope, Zeal, and Augur at the start of each game. These cards are not part of that investigator’s deck and do not count towards their deck size.

(Added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.19) If an investigator’s deck contains a card that summons one or more bonded cards, those bonded cards are set aside at the start of each game. The number of copies of each different bonded card that are set aside in this way is equal to the number of copies of that were included in the product in which that bonded card was introduced. The number of cards in your deck that summon the bonded card in question does not factor into this limit.

For example: An investigator may only have 3 copies of Soothing Melody set aside at the start of the game. Similarly, an investigator may only have 1 Essence of the Dream set aside at the start of the game, regardless of how many copies of Dream Diary they include in their deck.

Some card abilities can ”cancel” other card or game effects. Cancel abilities interrupt the initiation of an effect, and prevent the effect from initiating.

Any time the effects of an ability are canceled, the ability (apart from its effects) is still regarded as initiated, and any costs have still been paid. The effects of the ability, however, are prevented from initiating and do not resolve.

If the effects of an event card are canceled, the card is still regarded as played, and it is still placed in its owner’s discard pile. If the effects of a treachery card are canceled, the card is still regarded as having been drawn, and it is still placed in the encounter discard pile.

The word ”cannot” is absolute, and cannot be countermanded by other abilities.

The game’s cardtypes are presented in Appendix IV, with detailed card anatomies (see ”Appendix IV: Card Anatomy” on page 28).

If an ability causes a card to change its cardtype, it loses all other cardtypes it might possess and functions as would any card of the new cardtype.

See also: ”Asset Cards” on page 4, ”Enemy Cards” on page 10, ”Event Cards” on page 11, ”Location Cards” on page 14, ”Skill Cards” on page 18, ”Treachery Cards” on page 20.

Chaos tokens are revealed from the chaos bag during skill tests, to modify or influence the results of the skill test.

– If any of these tokens are revealed for a skill test, resolve the effect for that symbol as indicated on the scenario reference card for the current scenario.

– This is the auto-fail token. If this token is revealed for a skill test, it indicates the investigator automatically fails the test (see ”Automatic Failure/Success” on page 5).

– This is the elder sign token. If this token is revealed for a skill test, resolve the effect on the investigator card belonging to the player performing the skill test.

If a revealed chaos token (or the effect referenced by a chaos token) has a numerical modifier, that modifier is applied to the investigator’s skill value for this test.

See ”ST.3 Reveal chaos token” on page 26.

Bless and Curse Tokens

This expansion introduces two new kinds of chaos tokens: bless () tokens and curse () tokens. By default, the chaos bag does not contain any or tokens. However, certain card effects can add these tokens or remove them from the chaos bag.

tokens revealed during a skill test have the following effects: ”+2. Reveal another token. Instead of returning this token to the chaos bag, return it to the token pool.” No more than 10 total tokens can be included in the chaos bag or sealed on cards in play at any given time.

tokens revealed during a skill test have the following effects: ”–2. Reveal another token. Instead of returning this token to the chaos bag, return it to the token pool.” No more than 10 total tokens can be included in the chaos bag or sealed on cards in play at any given time.

or tokens revealed outside of a skill test have no effect on their own unless otherwise specified by a card effect.

(Added in FAQ, section ’Frequently Asked Questions’)

Frost Tokens

This expansion introduces a new type of chaos token: the frost () token. At the start of the Edge of the Earth campaign, the chaos bag contains only a few relatively harmless tokens, if any. As the expedition continues, depending on the decisions the investigators make and the events that unfold, more tokens may be added to (or removed from) the chaos bag, altering the difficulty of every test the investigators perform. The more frost tokens added to the chaos bag, the more crippling their effects become.

The first token revealed from the chaos bag during a skill test has the following effect: ”–1. Reveal another token.” If another token is revealed from the chaos bag during the same test, immediately end the ”reveal chaos tokens” step of the skill test and resolve the test as an automatic failure. (Return all revealed tokens to the chaos bag after the test ends.)

For example: Bob investigates a location and there are two tokens in the chaos bag. During Bob’s first investigation attempt, he reveals a token. This reduces his skill value by 1 and causes him to reveal another token. The next token he reveals is a +1, resulting in a total of 0 from both tokens. Bob succeeds! Emboldened, Bob attempts to investigate a second time. This time, he reveals a token, followed by a second token. Bob must immediately stop revealing tokens and resolve the investigation as an automatic failure.

No more than eight total tokens can be included in the chaos bag and/or sealed on cards in play at any given time. A token revealed outside of a skill test has no effect on its own unless otherwise specified by a card effect. A token added to the chaos bag remains in the chaos bag from scenario to scenario unless removed by a card or game effect. Use the ”Chaos Bag” section of the Campaign Log to record which tokens are currently in the chaos bag.

Resolving Multiple Revealed Chaos Tokens

(added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.5)

If an investigator is instructed to ”resolve” multiple revealed chaos tokens, any game or card effects which refer to ”the revealed chaos token” in the singular should be construed to apply to each of the revealed chaos tokens. For example, when applying chaos symbol effects during Step 4 of a skill test or applying modifiers to an investigator’s skill value during Step 5 of a skill test, the effects and modifiers of all of the resolved chaos tokens should be applied, even though the rules state ”the revealed chaos token.” Similarly, any card effects that refer to ”the revealed chaos token” refer to all of the resolved tokens.

For example: An investigator plays Premonition, which reads: ”Put Premonition into play, reveal a random chaos token from the chaos bag, and seal it on Premonition.” That investigator then uses Olive McBride to ”reveal 3 chaos tokens instead of 1, choose 2 of those tokens to resolve, and ignore the other.” In this case, both of the resolved tokens would be sealed on Premonition, even though Premonition only refers to the revealed token as a singular token. Likewise, when Premonition instructs that investigator to ”Resolve the token sealed here as if it were just revealed from the chaos bag,” the investigator should resolve both of the tokens sealed on it.

Additionally, when resolving multiple chaos tokens, any game or card effects which trigger if a certain chaos token is revealed – such as the text ”If the named chaos token is revealed during this skill test…” on Recall the Future – will trigger if any of the resolved chaos tokens meet the specified conditions. Such an effect will not trigger twice if two of the designated tokens are resolved.

Note that this entry only applies when multiple chaos tokens are ”resolved.” If multiple chaos tokens are revealed and all but 1 of them are canceled or ignored, this entry does not apply.

(added in Edge of the Earth)

Some of the scenarios in the Edge of the Earth campaign are split into multiple parts. Players may choose to play these parts one at a time (with breaks between each part), or they may play multiple parts one after another as part of a longer session. Each part is its own game with its own setup and resolution.

After completing one part of a scenario, the campaign guide directs the investigators to a Checkpoint that instructs them how to proceed. If the investigators wish to proceed directly to the next part of the scenario, the Checkpoint will instruct them how to clean up the game to prepare for the next part of the scenario. If the investigators wish to take a break and resume playing during their next game session, the Checkpoint will instruct them to record information in the Campaign Log that makes setup for the next session quick and easy.

(added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.5)

When investigators are forced to make a choice and there are multiple valid options, the lead investigator decides between those options. The Grim Rule does not play a part in these choices.

For example: Locked Door reads “Attach to the location with the most clues, and without a Locked Door attached.” If there are 3 locations that are tied for the most clues, and none of them already have a Locked Door attached, the lead investigator decides between those 3 locations. Players are not forced to decide which of those 3 options would be the objectively worst option.

The Grim Rule only comes into effect if players are unable to find the answer to a rules or timing conflict, and are thus unable to continue playing the game. It is designed to keep the game moving when looking up the correct answer would be too time-consuming or inconvenient for the players. The Grim Rule is not an exhaustive answer to rules/timing conflicts.

Clues represent the progress the investigators can make towards solving a mystery, unraveling a conspiracy, and/or advancing in a scenario.

The first time an investigator enters a location, that location is revealed (turned face-up) and a number of clues equal to that location’s clue value are placed on that location (from the token pool). Most clue values are conveyed as a ”per investigator ()” value. This may occur during setup.

A clue at a location can be discovered by successfully investigating the location (see ”Investigate Action” on page 13), or by a card ability. If an investigator discovers a clue, he or she takes the clue from the location and places it on his or her investigator card, under his or her control.

If there are no ”Objective – ” requirements for advancing the current act, during any investigator’s turn the investigators may, as a group, spend the requisite number of clues (usually conveyed as a ”per investigator” value) from their investigator cards to advance the act deck. This is normally done as a player ability. Any or all investigators may contribute any number of clues towards the total number of clues required to advance the act.

A card ability that refers to clues ”at a location” is referring to the undiscovered clues that are currently on that location.

See also: ”Act Deck and Agenda Deck” on page 3, ”Tokens, Running out of” on page 20.

(added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.28)

Some card effects such as Kate Winthrop’s ability may place clues on a card controlled by an investigator. Clues that have been placed on a player card are still controlled by that player and may be spent as normal. If a game effect would cause a card with clues on it to leave play or leave an investigator’s control, place each clue on that card on its location.

If an ability refers to a player’s collection (for example, ”search the collection”), the collection of cards from which that player’s deck was assembled is used.

Example: Sean and Etienne are each using a deck built from Sean’s collection. If Etienne is instructed to ”search the collection,” he searches Sean’s collection.

(added in The Scarlet Keys)

Concealed X is a keyword that appears on some enemy cards in The Scarlet Keys campaign. Concealed enemies represent hidden enemies whose true location is a mystery until the investigators work to expose where – and in some cases, who – they truly are.

When a scenario includes one or more concealed enemies, investigators are instructed to set aside several concealed mini-cards. These mini-cards are double-sided. The facedown side represents the possible location of a concealed enemy. The revealed side reveals the mini-card’s true nature – an enemy’s true location, or simply a decoy.

When an investigator draws an enemy with the concealed X keyword (or is instructed to resolve an enemy’s concealed keyword), they spawn that enemy into a game area above the agenda deck, not at any location. This area is called ”the shadows,” and represents enemies the investigators know exist somewhere on the map, but are unsure where. Then, that investigator takes the set-aside concealed mini-card that matches that enemy, along with X decoys (where X is defined by that enemy’s concealed X value), shuffles them facedown, and puts them into play distributed as evenly as possible among each location in play, starting with the locations nearest to them. Then, at each of those locations that already had 1 or more concealed mini-cards, they shuffle each of them facedown as well.

For example: Amina draws Coterie Agent (A), which has ”concealed 2.” She first spawns the Coterie Agent into the shadows. Then, she takes the set-aside Coterie Agent (A) mini-card, along with 2 decoys, shuffles them facedown, and places one at each of the three locations nearest to her. Then, if any of those locations already had 1 or more concealed mini-cards, she would shuffle each concealed mini-card at those locations, as well.

Enemies in the shadows observe the following additional rules:

• Enemies in the shadows are considered to be in play, but not at any particular location. They cannot move until they leave the shadows.
• Enemies in the shadows can qualify as the ”nearest” enemy, but only if there are no other enemies in play at any location.
• Enemies in the shadows cannot be damaged or leave play via player card effects.

(added in The Scarlet Keys)

While in play, concealed mini-cards represent the possible location of an enemy in the shadows. In order to deal with such an enemy, its true location must first be discovered by exposing its mini-card. This can be done via one of three methods: fighting, evading, or investigating.

Concealed mini-cards are not enemies and cannot be engaged like enemies. However, any investigator at the same location as a concealed mini-card may attempt to expose it by successfully attacking it or evading it (as if it were an engaged enemy), or by successfully investigating its location. The difficulty to successfully attack or evade a concealed mini-card is equal to the shroud value of its location.

An investigator may also use a card effect that automatically evades an enemy, deals damage to an enemy, or discovers a clue at a location in order to instead expose a concealed mini-card.

If an investigator chooses to expose a concealed mini-card, that effect replaces the standard effects of the action or ability that exposed it. (i.e., if an enemy’s mini-card is exposed by evasion or damage, the matching enemy is not evaded, nor does it take damage. If a mini-card is exposed by discovering clues or investigating, no clues are discovered.)

If a concealed mini-card is exposed (via any of the above methods), flip it to its revealed side. If it is a decoy, set it aside, out of play, with no effect. If it is an enemy’s mini-card, that enemy is now exposed. Place the matching enemy in the shadows at that mini-card’s location, then set that mini-card aside, out of play. (That enemy is no longer in the shadows, and is now at the location where its mini-card was located). Then, if there are no other enemies in the shadows, set all remaining concealed mini-cards in play aside, out of play.

Only one concealed mini-card may be exposed per effect unless explicitly stated. (i.e., an effect that deals 3 damage to each enemy at a location does not expose all concealed mini-cards at that location; only one.)

For example: There is a Coterie Agent and a Coterie Assassin in the shadows. There is a concealed mini-card at Kymani’s location and another concealed mini-card at a connecting location. (1) First, Kymani plays an event that discovers a clue at their location, but instead of discovering a clue, they choose to expose the concealed mini-card at their location, flipping it over. That mini-card is a decoy, and is set aside without effect. (2) Next, they move to the connecting location with the other concealed mini-card and attempt to expose it using an evade action. They succeed and flip the mini-card over… revealing the Coterie Assassin’s mini-card! (3) The Coterie Assassin’s mini-card is set aside, and the Coterie Assassin in the shadows is moved to Kymani’s location, engaging them. Because there is another enemy in the shadows, they do not remove any of the other concealed mini-cards from play.

See ”Ability” on page 2.

See ”Ownership and Control” on page 16.

A copy of a card is defined by title. A second copy of a card is any other card that shares the same title, regardless of cardtype, text, artwork, or any other differing characteristics between the cards.

There are two types of costs in the game: resource costs and ability costs.

A card’s resource cost is the numerical value that must be paid (in resources) to play the card from hand. To pay a resource cost, an investigator takes the specified number of resources from his or her resource pool and places them in the token pool.

Some triggered card abilities are presented in a ”cost: effect” construct. In such a construct, the aspect preceding the colon indicates the ability costs that must be paid and any triggering conditions that must be met to trigger the ability. The aspect following the colon is the effect.

If multiple costs for a single card or ability require payment, those costs must be paid simultaneously.

Only the controller of a card or ability may pay its costs. Game elements another player controls may not be used to pay a cost.

When a player is exhausting, sacrificing, or otherwise using cards to pay costs, only cards that are in play and under that player’s control may be used, unless the cost specifies an out-of-play state.

If a cost requires a game element that is not in play, the player paying the cost may only use game elements that are in his or her game areas (such as his or her hand or deck) to pay the cost.

If the investigators are instructed to pay a cost as a group, each investigator (or each investigator in the group defined by the ability) may contribute to paying the cost.

An ability cannot initiate – and therefore its costs cannot be paid – if the resolution of its effect will not change the game state.

If an investigator takes damage or horror as a cost and reassigns any of it to an asset, the cost is still considered paid.

”Ignoring all costs” (added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.24)

Some cards like Knowledge is Power or Word of Woe allow an investigator to play a card or activate an ability on an asset, ”ignoring all costs.” These effects only ignore the costs of initiating an ability. They do not ignore additional costs that must be paid when resolving that ability — in other words, anything ”before the colon” is ignored, but any additional costs ”after the colon” must be paid as normal.

For example, if an investigator uses Knowledge is Power to activate the ability on Old Book of Lore, Knowledge is Power allows you to ignore the action cost and exhausting of Old Book of Lore to activate its ability and search your deck for a card, but does not waive the additional cost to spend a secret to play that card. Likewise, playing Word of Woe waives the action cost to activate the ability on Earthly Serenity, but does not waive the cost to spend charges to heal an investigator at your location.

Customizable is a keyword that appears on some player cards. Customizable cards might seem unremarkable at first, but have tremendous potential for improvement over the course of a campaign. By spending experience points, each one can be custom‑tailored to become a powerful tool in an investigator’s deck.

Each customizable card starts at level 0 and has a separate sheet containing a checklist of upgrades that can be purchased using experience points. Each upgrade is accompanied by one or more checkboxes.

Unless otherwise specified by a card effect, an investigator can only mark checkboxes on an upgrade sheet before or after a scenario, when they are upgrading their deck or purchasing new cards for their deck. Spending 1 point of experience allows an investigator to mark one checkbox on one of their cards’ upgrade sheets.

To purchase an upgrade, an investigator must mark all of an upgrade’s checkboxes. Once an upgrade is purchased, each copy of the card it is paired with is treated as having that upgrade (as a gained card ability) for that investigator only.

For example, Hunter’s Armor has the following upgrade: “Durable. Hunter’s Armor gets +2 health.” If 1 experience point is spent to check off one of the two boxes next to Durable, the upgrade is not yet purchased. After both boxes are marked (costing a total of 2 experience points), the upgrade is purchased, and each copy of Hunter’s Armor in that investigator’s deck is affected by the upgrade.

A customizable card’s level is equal to half the total number of checkboxes marked on its upgrade sheet, rounded up. (For example, a customizable card with three marked checkboxes is a level 2 card. Spending 3 experience to mark three more checkboxes would make it a level 3 card.) Note that this means some investigators are not able to upgrade a customizable card past a certain point, if their deckbuilding options would forbid them from including the card in their deck after the upgrade is made.

An upgrade sheet cannot have more than a total of 10 checkboxes marked. (This means that the maximum number of experience points that may be spent on a particular customizable card is 10, and its maximum level is 5.)

Spending experience points on one or more upgrades for a customizable card already in an investigator’s deck is considered to be ”upgrading” a card for the purposes of card effects.

An investigator may directly purchase one or more copies of a new customizable card with one or more upgrades by spending only the amount of experience points required to purchase those upgrades. (Doing so counts as purchasing a new card, not upgrading an existing card.)

Upgrades for customizable cards are considered to be present on a card at all times (even while the card is in an out-of-play area, such as an investigator’s hand or discard pile).

Spending 1 or more experience points on upgrades on a customizable card’s upgrade sheet is permanent and cannot be refunded.

During gameplay, upgrade sheets should be placed in an out-of-play area nearby, so they can be quickly referenced. (Alternatively, if playing with opaque card sleeves, investigators may sleeve the upgrade sheet behind the card it modifies, so they can quickly access it whenever they need.)

Additional printer-friendly upgrade sheets can be downloaded and printed from Fantasy Flight Games.

During setup during The Feast of Hemlock Vale campaign, players may be instructed to put the Time Marker card into play. To do so, find the Time Marker card in the The First Day, The Second Day, or The Third Day encounter sets that corresponds to the current day and place it next to the agenda deck. This is the current day and time.

Some cards have different effects depending on whether the scenario takes place during the Day or Night. Text following a (Day) or (Night) keyword is only active if the scenario or prelude being played is during the Day or Night, respectively. Any other ability not preceded by these keywords is active regardless of the time period.

Setup instructions may have specific instructions depending on the current day and time. (e.g. ”If it is Day 2, put River Hawthorne into play at the Cranberry Bog” only applies when playing that scenario as a Day 2 scenario and not a Night 2 scenario).

There are two types of afflictions that may beset an investigator in the game: damage and horror. Damage afflicts an investigator’s health, and horror afflicts an investigator’s sanity.

When an investigator or enemy is dealt damage and/or horror, follow these steps, in order:

1. Assign Damage/Horror: Determine the amount of damage and/or horror being dealt. Place damage and/or horror tokens equal to the amount of damage and horror being dealt next to the cards that will be taking the damage/horror.

   When an investigator is dealt damage or horror, that investigator may assign it to eligible asset cards he or she controls. To be eligible, an asset card must have health in order to be assigned damage, and it must have sanity in order to be assigned horror.

   An asset cannot be assigned damage beyond the amount of damage it would take to defeat the card, and cannot be assigned horror beyond the amount of horror it would take to defeat the card.

   All damage/horror that cannot be assigned to an asset must be assigned to the investigator.

2. Apply Damage/Horror: Any assigned damage/horror that has not been prevented is now placed on each card to which it has been assigned, simultaneously. If no damage/horror is applied in this step, no damage/horror has been successfully dealt.

   Abilities that prevent, reduce, or reassign damage and/or horror that is being dealt are resolved between steps 1 and 2.

   After applying damage/horror, if an investigator has damage equal to or higher than his or her health or horror equal to or higher than his or her sanity, he or she is defeated. When an investigator is defeated, he or she is eliminated from the scenario (see ”Elimination” on page 10).

   After applying damage/horror, if an enemy has damage equal to or higher than its health, it is defeated and placed in the encounter discard pile (or in its owner’s discard pile if it is a weakness).

   After applying damage/horror, if an asset has damage equal to or higher than its health or horror equal to or higher than its sanity, it is defeated and placed in its owner’s discard pile.

   See also ”Interpreting ”You” When Taking or Being Dealt Damage”.

There are 4 main types of decks that appear in any game: the Investigator Deck, the Encounter Deck, the Act Deck, and the Agenda Deck.

The order of cards within a deck may not be altered unless a player is instructed to do so by a card ability.

See also: ”Investigator Deck” on page 13, ”Encounter Deck” on page 10, ”Act Deck and Agenda Deck” on page 3.

When building a custom deck, the following guidelines must be observed:

• A player must choose exactly 1 investigator card.
• A player’s investigator deck must include the exact number of player cards indicated on the back of his or her investigator card as the ”Deck Size.” Weaknesses, investigator-specific cards, and scenario cards that are added to a player’s deck do not count towards this number.
• A player’s investigator deck may not include more than 2 copies (by title) of any given player card.
• Each standard player card in a player’s investigator deck must be chosen from among the ”Deckbuilding Options” available on the back of his or her investigator card.
• Most investigators have 0 experience to spend at the beginning of a campaign, which means that they may only include level 0 cards in their decks. Some investigators, and/or some campaigns, may provide a player with additional experience at the beginning of a campaign, which can be used immediately to purchase higher level cards (see ”Campaign Play” on page 5).
• All other ”Deckbuilding Requirements” listed on the back of a player’s investigator card must be observed.
• Each required random basic weakness is added to a player’s deck at the end of the deckbuilding process.
• Story Assets may not be included in a player’s deck unless the setup or resolution of a scenario grants that player permission to do so. These assets are indicated by the lack of a card level and the presence of an encounter set symbol (see ”Asset Cards” on page 4).
• During a campaign, players build a deck before playing the first scenario. In between scenarios, players can purchase new cards or upgrade cards in their deck following the rules found under ”Campaign Play” on page 5.
• (Added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.18) If 1 or more cards are forcibly removed from an investigator’s deck and returned to the collection (such as when a card is exiled, or when a campaign effect forces an investigator to remove cards from their deck), that investigator must purchase cards so that a legal deck size is maintained. When purchasing cards in this manner, that investigator may purchase level 0 cards at 0 experience cost until a legal deck size is reached.
• This rule also applies if an effect alters an investigator’s deck size, deckbuilding restrictions, or deckbuilding options such that 1 or more cards must be removed from or added to their deck as a result.

Classes

Most player cards, including investigators, belong to one of 5 classes. Each class has its own distinct flavor and identity, as described below.

Guardians () feel compelled to defend humanity, and thus go out of their way to combat the forces of the Mythos. They have a strong sense of duty and selflessness that drives them to protect others, and to hunt monsters down.

Mystics () are drawn to and influenced by the arcane forces of the Mythos. Many have spell-casting abilities, able to manipulate the forces of the universe through magical talent.

Rogues () are self-serving and out for themselves. Wily and opportunistic, they are always eager for a way to exploit their current situation.

Seekers () are primarily concerned with learning more about the world and about the Mythos. They wish to research forgotten lore, map out uncharted areas, and study strange creatures.

Survivors () are everyday people in the wrong place at the wrong time, simply trying to survive. Ill-prepared and ill-equipped, Survivors are the underdogs, who rise to the occasion when their lives are threatened.

Some cards are not affiliated with any class; these cards are neutral. Generally, investigators only have access to cards from their class.

Some investigators have access to cards from other classes. Refer to the ”Deckbuilding Options” on the back of an investigator card to view which cards an investigator has access to.

Deckbuilding Options

The following section clarifies how certain investigators’ deckbuilding options function.

If one of the categories of an investigator’s deckbuilding options contains the word ”other” in it, cards only fall into this category if they fall into no other category. (For example, if an investigator’s deckbuilding options reads: ”Guardian cards level 0–5, up to 10 other Weapon cards,” then a Guardian card with the Weapon trait would not occupy one of those 10 limited slots, because it first falls into the unlimited Guardian category).

If one of the categories of an investigator’s deckbuilding options lists card text in it, cards fall into this category if the listed text appears in the card in any capacity, even if it is circumstantial. (For example, if an investigator’s deckbuilding options reads: ”cards that ’heal horror’ level 0–5,” any card with an ability that heals any amount of horror will fall into this category, even if it only heals horror under specific circumstances.)

Taking damage and/or horror may cause an investigator, enemy, or asset to be defeated.

If an investigator has as much or more damage on it as it has health (or as much or more horror on it as it has sanity), that investigator is defeated. An investigator might also be defeated by a card ability. When an investigator is defeated, he or she is eliminated from the scenario (see ”Elimination” on page 10).

In campaign play, an investigator that is defeated by taking damage equal to his or her health suffers 1 physical trauma. An investigator that is defeated by taking horror equal to his or her sanity suffers 1 mental trauma. Taking trauma may cause an investigator to be killed or driven insane (see ”Campaign Play” on page 5 for more information).

If an enemy has as much or more damage on it as it has health, that enemy is defeated and placed on the encounter discard pile (or on its owner’s discard pile if it is a weakness).

If an asset with a health value has as much or more damage than it has health, it is defeated. If an asset with a sanity value has as much or more horror than it has sanity, it is defeated. A defeated asset is placed on its owner’s discard pile.

Some abilities create delayed effects. Such abilities specify a future timing point, or indicate a future condition that may arise, and dictate an effect that will happen at that time.

Each delayed effect initiates automatically and immediately (as a forced ability) if its future timing point or future condition occurs.

A delayed effect affects all specified entities that are in the specified game area and eligible at the time the delayed effect resolves.

Some card abilities refer to ”different” cards. Different cards are cards with different titles (excluding subtitles). (e.g. two copies of Ward of Protection are not considered to be ”different,” even if they have different levels.)

Some card abilities refer to ”different” actions or ”different” abilities. An ability or action is different from another ability/action if the two are non‑identical abilities, separate abilities on the same card, or abilities on two different cards. (e.g. the two separate fight abilities on Sledgehammer are different from one another, however identical fight abilities on two copies of Machete are not different from one another, nor are two basic fight actions).

The exception to this rule is locations. Separate location cards are, by their very nature, not the same location. Therefore, multiple copies of locations with the same title are still considered to be different locations.

There are four levels of difficulty in Arkham Horror: The Card Game: Easy, Standard, Hard, and Expert. At the beginning of a campaign or standalone scenario, the players choose which difficulty level to use. The campaign setup section of that campaign or scenario’s Campaign Guide indicates which chaos tokens should be placed into the chaos bag when playing on each difficulty level.

When playing in Easy or Standard mode, use the ”Easy/Standard” side of each scenario’s reference card. When playing in Hard or Expert mode, use the ”Hard/Expert” side of each scenario’s reference card instead.

The difficulty of a skill test is the target number an investigator is trying to equal or exceed with his or her modified skill value to pass that test.

When attacking an enemy, the base difficulty of the skill test is the enemy’s fight value.

When investigating a location, the base difficulty of the skill test is the location’s shroud value.

When attempting to evade an enemy, the base difficulty for the skill test is the enemy’s evade value.

When resolving a skill test created by a card ability, the base difficulty is indicated as a parenthetical value following the indication of which skill is being tested. For example: Intellect (3).

See ”Skill Test Timing” on page 26 for the full rules on skill tests.

If an ability causes a card to take direct damage or direct horror, that damage or horror must be assigned directly to the specified card, and cannot be assigned or re-assigned elsewhere.

Any time a card is discarded, it is placed faceup on top of its owner’s discard pile. Encounter cards are owned by the encounter deck.

Each discard pile is an out-of-play area.

Each investigator has his or her own discard pile, and the encounter deck has its own discard pile.

Each discard pile is open information, and may be looked at by any player at any time.

The order of cards in a discard pile may not be altered unless a player is instructed to do so by a card ability.

If multiple cards are discarded simultaneously, the owner of the cards may physically place them on top of his or her discard pile one at a time, in any order. If multiple encounter cards are discarded simultaneously, they are placed on top of the encounter discard pile in any order (determined by lead investigator).

Any ability that would shuffle a discard pile of zero cards back into a deck does not shuffle the deck.

(Added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.13) A single card cannot be shuffled into an empty player deck or encounter deck via card effect. If this shuffling would occur during the playing or revelation of a card that is typically discarded after it is resolved, such as an event or treachery card, it is discarded. Otherwise, the card remains in its current game area.

Doom represents the progress the forces of the Mythos make towards completing foul rituals, summoning cosmic entities, and/or advancing a scenario’s agenda.

During each Mythos phase, 1 doom is placed on the current agenda (see ”I. Mythos phase” on page 24).

If there are no ”Objective – ” requirements for advancing the current agenda and the requisite amount of doom is in play (among the agenda and all cards in play), the agenda advances during the ”Check doom threshold” step of the Mythos phase. Unless a card otherwise specifies that it can advance the agenda, this is the only time at which the agenda can advance.

Doom on cards other than the agenda (such as enemies, allies, locations, etc.) counts towards the amount of doom in play.

See also: ”Act Deck and Agenda Deck” on page 3, ”Tokens, Running out of” on page 20.

Some story resolutions and interludes in The Path to Carcosa campaign instruct the players to ”Mark one Doubt” or ”Mark one Conviction” in their Campaign Log. This is done by filling in one of the boxes next to ”Doubt” or ”Conviction at the bottom of the Campaign Log.

Later in the campaign, some scenarios may be changed or altered depending on whether the investigators ”have more Doubt than Conviction” or ”have more Conviction than Doubt.” The investigators have more Doubt than Conviction if the number of boxes filled in next to Doubt is greater than the number of boxes filled in next to Conviction (and vice versa). Doubt and Conviction are shared among all of the investigators, and they are not tied to any specific investigator. Doubt and Conviction have no game effect except when explicitly referenced by the Campaign Guide or by a card effect.

”Draw” is an action an investigator may take during his or her turn in the investigation phase.

When an investigator takes this action, that investigator draws one card from his or her deck.

When a player is instructed to draw one or more cards, those cards are drawn from the top of his or her investigator deck and added to his or her hand.

When a player is instructed to draw one or more encounter cards, those cards are drawn from the top of the encounter deck, and resolved following the rules for drawing encounter cards under framework step ”1.4 Each investigator draws 1 encounter card” on page 24.

When a player draws two or more cards as the result of a single ability or game step, those cards are drawn simultaneously. If a deck empties middraw, reset the deck and complete the draw.

There is no limit to the number of cards a player may draw each round.

If an investigator with an empty investigator deck needs to draw a card, that investigator shuffles his or her discard pile back into his or her deck, then draws the card, and upon completion of the entire draw takes one horror.

(Added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.14, ”Draw” vs ”Add to hand”) If a card explicitly adds a card to an investigator’s hand without using the word ”draw,” it does not count as ”drawing” a card for the purposes of other card effects. (Note that some abilities such as revelation abilities on weaknesses and Dilemma cards trigger regardless of whether the card is ”drawn” or ”added” to your hand.)

A card effect is any effect that arises from the resolution of ability text printed on, or gained by, a card. A framework effect is any effect that arises from the resolution of a framework event (see ”Framework Event Details” on page 24).

Card effects may be preceded by costs, triggering conditions, play restrictions, and/or play permissions; such elements are not considered effects (see ”Ability” on page 2).

Once initiated, players must resolve as much of each aspect of the effect as they are able, unless the effect uses the word ”may.”

When a non-targeting effect attempts to interact with a number of entities (such as ”draw 3 cards” or ”search the top 5 cards of your deck”) that exceeds the number of entities that currently exist in the specified game area, the effect interacts with as many entities as possible.

The expiration of a lasting effect (or the cessation of a constant ability) is not considered to be generating a game state change by a card effect.

All aspects of an effect have timing priority over all ”after…” triggering conditions that might arise as a consequence of that effect. (For example, if an effect reads ”Gain 3 resources and draw 3 cards,” resolve both aspects of the effect (gaining resources and drawing cards) before initiating an ability that reads ”After drawing a card…”)

See also: ”Delayed Effects” on page 8, ”Lasting Effects” on page 14, ”Priority of Simultaneous Resolution” on page 17.

A player is eliminated from a scenario any time his or her investigator is defeated, or if he or she resigns. The only manner in which eliminated investigators interact with the game is when establishing ”per investigator” values (see ”Per Investigator” on page 16). Any time a player is eliminated:

• For the purpose of resolving weakness cards, the game has ended for the eliminated investigator. Trigger any “when the game ends” abilities on each weakness the eliminated investigator owns that is in play. Then, remove those weaknesses from the game.
• The cards he or she controls in play and all of the cards in his or her out-of-play areas (such as hand, deck, discard pile) are removed from the game.
• Any card that player owns but does not control that is in play remains in play, but if that card leaves play it is removed from the game.
• All clue tokens that player possesses are placed at the location the investigator was at when he or she was eliminated, and all of that player’s resource tokens are returned to the token pool.
• All enemies engaged with that player are placed at the location the investigator was at when he or she was eliminated, unengaged but otherwise maintaining their current game state.
• All other cards in the eliminated investigator’s threat area are placed in the appropriate discard pile.
• If the lead investigator is eliminated, the remaining players (if any) choose a new lead investigator.
• If there are no remaining players, the scenario ends. Refer to ”no resolution was reached” entry for that scenario in the campaign guide.

Elusive is a keyword ability that appears on some enemies in this expansion. Elusive enemies represent enemies who want to avoid the investigators for their own survival or to accomplish their own goals.

If a ready enemy with the elusive keyword attacks or is attacked, after that attack resolves, that enemy immediately disengages from all investigators, moves to a connecting location (with no investigators if able), and exhausts.

This effect occurs whether the enemy was engaged with the attacking investigator or not.

An empty location is a location with no enemies or investigators at it.

These two terms are used interchangeably to mean any non-player card used in a scenario, such as the contents of the encounter deck, locations, acts, agendas, the scenario reference card, etc.

The encounter deck contains the encounter cards (enemy, treachery, and story asset cards) the investigators may encounter during a scenario.

If the encounter deck is empty, shuffle the encounter discard pile back into the encounter deck.

An encounter set is a collection of encounter cards, denoted by a common encounter set symbol near each card’s cardtype.

Enemies represent villains, cultists, ne’er-do-wells, terrible monsters, and unfathomable entities from alternate dimensions or the cosmos beyond. When an enemy card is drawn by an investigator, that investigator must spawn it following any spawn direction the card bears (see ”Spawn” on page 19). If the encountered enemy has no spawn direction, the enemy spawns engaged with the investigator encountering the card and is placed in that investigator’s threat area.

See ”1.4 Each investigator draws 1 encounter card” on page 24.

A ready, unengaged enemy engages any time it is at the same location as an investigator (see ”Enemy Engagement” on page 10).

If an investigator is engaged with a ready enemy and takes an action other than to fight, to evade, or to activate a parley or resign ability, that enemy makes an attack of opportunity (see ”Attack of Opportunity” on page 5).

Enemies with the hunter keyword move during the Enemy Phase (see ”III. Enemy phase” on page 25).

Engaged enemies attack during the Enemy Phase (see ”III. Enemy phase” on page 25).

While an enemy card is in play, it is either engaged with an investigator (and placed in that investigator’s threat area), or it is unengaged and at a location (and placed at that location). Each enemy in an investigator’s threat area is considered to be at the same location as that investigator, and should the investigator move, the enemy remains engaged and moves to the new location simultaneously with the investigator.

Any time a ready unengaged enemy is at the same location as an investigator, it engages that investigator, and is placed in that investigator’s threat area. If there are multiple investigators at the same location as a ready unengaged enemy, follow the enemy’s prey instructions to determine which investigator is engaged. There is no limit on the number of enemies that can be engaged with a single investigator.

For example, a ready unengaged enemy immediately engages if:

• It spawns at the same location as an investigator,
• It moves into the same location as an investigator,
• An investigator moves into the same location as it.

An exhausted unengaged enemy does not engage, but if an exhausted enemy at the same location as an investigator becomes ready, it engages as soon as it is readied.

Note: An enemy with the Aloof keyword does not engage in the manner described above. See ”Engage Action” below.

See ”III. Enemy phase” on page 25.

”Engage” is an action an investigator may take during his or her turn in the investigation phase.

To engage an enemy at the same location (for example, this could be done to engage an exhausted enemy, an aloof enemy, or an enemy engaged with another investigator), an investigator places the chosen enemy in his or her threat area. The investigator and the enemy are now engaged.

An investigator may perform the engage action to engage an enemy that is engaged with a different investigator at the same location. The enemy simultaneously disengages from the previous investigator and engages the investigator performing the action.

An investigator cannot use the engage action to engage an enemy he or she is already engaged with.

(Added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.3) When an investigator engages an enemy, that enemy has also engaged that investigator, and vice-versa. There is no difference between engaging an enemy and being engaged by an enemy. Effects that trigger ”after an enemy engages you” will trigger at the same time as effects that trigger ”after you engage an enemy.”

The phrase ”enters play” refers to any time a card makes a transition from an out-of-play area into a play area (see ”In Play and Out of Play” on page 13).

If an ability (either on the card itself or from another card) causes a card to enter play in a state different from that specified by the rules, there is no transition to that state. It merely enters play in that state.

”Evade” is an action an investigator may take during his or her turn in the investigation phase.

To evade an enemy engaged with an investigator, that investigator makes an agility test against the enemy’s evade value (see ”Skill Tests” on page 18).

If the test is successful, the investigator successfully evades the enemy (see below). (This occurs during step 7 of the skill test, per ”ST.7 Apply skill test results” on page 26.)

If the test fails, the investigator does not evade the enemy, and it remains engaged with him or her.

If an ability ”automatically” evades 1 or more enemies, no skill test is made for the evasion attempt.

Any time an enemy is evaded (whether by an evade action, or by card ability), the enemy is exhausted (if it was ready) and the engagement is broken. Move the enemy from the investigator’s threat area to the investigator’s location to mark that it is no longer engaged with that investigator.

Unlike the fight and engage action, an investigator can only perform an evade action against an enemy engaged with him or her.

Event cards represent tactical actions, maneuvers, spells, tricks, and other instantaneous effects at a player’s disposal.

If an event card does not have the fast keyword, it may only be played from a player’s hand by performing a ”Play” action during his or her turn. You must follow all play permissions/restrictions that card has.

A fast event card may be played from a player’s hand any time its play instructions specify (see ”Fast” on page 11).

Any time a player plays an event card, its costs are paid, its effects are resolved (or canceled), and the card is placed in its owner’s discard pile after those effects resolve (or are canceled).

If the effects of an event card are canceled, the card is still considered to have been played, and its costs remain paid. Only the effects have been canceled.

Playing an event card from hand (or not playing it) is always optional for a player, unless the event uses the word ”must” in its play instructions.

An event card cannot be played unless the resolution of its effect has the potential to change the game state.

Exceptional is a deckbuilding keyword ability.

A card with the exceptional keyword costs twice its printed experience cost to purchase.

A player’s investigator deck cannot include more than 1 copy (by title) of any given exceptional card.

Occasionally, a card ability or game step will cause a card to exhaust to indicate it has been used to perform a function. When a card exhausts, it is rotated 90 degrees. A card in this state is said to be exhausted.

An exhausted card cannot exhaust again until it is ready (typically by a game step or card ability).

Some player cards in The Dunwich Legacy cycle must be exiled when they are used. When a card is exiled, it is removed from the game and returned to your collection. During campaign play, a card that has been exiled must be purchased again with experience points (between scenarios) if you wish to re-include it in your deck. If exiling 1 or more cards would reduce your deck below your investigator’s deck size, when purchasing cards between scenarios, you must purchase cards so that a legal deck size is maintained (when purchasing cards in this manner, you may purchase level 0 cards for 0 experience cost until a legal deck size is reached).

See ”Campaign Play” on page 5.

Some abilities in this campaign (and others) are identified with an ”Explore” action designator. Such abilities are generally used to find new locations to put into play, and are initiated using the ”activate” action.

”Explore” abilities instruct you to draw the top card of the ”exploration deck,” which is a separate deck that is constructed during the setup of some scenarios. This deck consists of several single-sided locations and treachery cards.

Each ”Explore” ability indicates a particular type of location that you are seeking to draw. If a location of that type is drawn, it is put into play, and you move to that location. This is considered a ”successful” exploration.

If any other location is drawn, place it next to the exploration deck, and draw the next card from the exploration deck. Repeat this process until a location of the indicated type is drawn, or a treachery is drawn. After this action has ended, shuffle each location next to the exploration deck back into the exploration deck.

If a treachery card is drawn, it is resolved as normal. If it is discarded, place it in the encounter discard pile as you would normally. There is no discard pile for the exploration deck. This is considered an ”unsuccessful” exploration.

As a single-sided location is put into play from the exploration deck, place clues on that location equal to its clue value.

Example: Agenda 1a — “Expedition into the Wild” has the following ability: Explore. Draw the top card of the exploration deck. If it is a connecting location, put it into play and move to it.” Ursula Downs is at the Expedition Camp and wishes to find a new location to travel to. She spends her first action to explore, drawing the top card of the exploration deck. The card she draws is Circuitous Trail. Because Circuitous Trail is a location that is not connected to the Expedition Camp, it is placed next to the exploration deck, and Ursula draws the next card in the exploration deck. This time, she draws the Low on Supplies treachery card, which she resolves as normal and places in the encounter discard pile. Her exploration is unsuccessful, and she must shuffle the Circuitous Trail that she drew previously back into the exploration deck. Ursula decides to explore one more time, spending a second action. This time, she draws Path of Thorns, which is connected to the Expedition Camp. Her exploration is successful. Path of Thorns is put into play with clues on it equal to its clue value, and Ursula immediately moves from the Expedition Camp to the Path of Thorns.

Some card effects instruct investigators to put a card into play at the location farthest from all investigators. This is determined by finding the location with the highest combined distance from each investigator (with no investigators at it, if able). In the event of a tie, as usual, the lead investigator decides.

For example: Location A is 5 connections away from investigator A and 1 connection away from investigator B. Location B is 3 connections away from investigator A and 4 connections away from investigator B. Location B is therefore the farthest from both investigators, because the total distance for each investigator to get to location B is higher than location A. (This is true even though location A is farther from investigator A.)

Fast is a keyword ability. A fast card does not cost an action to be played and is not played using the ”Play” action.

A fast event card may be played from a player’s hand any time its play instructions specify. If the instructions specify when/after a timing point, the card may be played as if the described timing point were a triggering condition for playing the card. If the instructions specify a duration or period of time, the card may be played during any player window within that period. If the instructions specify both a when/after timing point and a duration or period of time, the card may be played in reference to any instance of the specified triggering condition within that time period.

A fast asset may be played by an investigator during any player window on his or her turn.

Because fast cards do not cost actions to play, they do not provoke attacks of opportunity (see ”Attack of Opportunity” on page 5).

”Fight” is an action an investigator may take during his or her turn in the investigation phase.

To fight an enemy at his or her location, an investigator resolves an attack against that enemy by making a combat test against the enemy’s fight value (see ”Skill Tests” on page 18).

If the test is successful, the attack succeeds and damage is dealt to the attacked enemy. The default damage dealt by an attack is 1. Some weapons, spells, or other special attacks may modify this damage. (This occurs during step 7 of the skill test, per ”ST.7 Apply skill test results” on page 26.)

If the test fails, no damage is dealt to the attacked enemy. However, if an investigator fails this test against an enemy that is engaged with another single investigator, the damage of the attack is dealt to the investigator engaged with that enemy.

An investigator may fight any enemy at his or her location, including: an enemy he or she is engaged with, an unengaged enemy at the same location, or an enemy engaged with another investigator who is at the same location.

Flavor text is additional text that provides thematic context to a card and/or its abilities. Flavor text does not interact with the game in any manner.

Throughout this campaign, scenario card effects can flood locations. Each location has one of three different flood levels: it is either unflooded, partially flooded, or fully flooded. A location’s flood level can be tracked using the double‑sided flood tokens included in this deluxe box. A location’s flood level has no inherent game effect. However, some card effects may change or become stronger while you are at a flooded location, particularly if that location is fully flooded.

• A location with no flood token is unflooded.
• If a location becomes partially flooded, place a flood token on it with the partially flooded side faceup to designate this.
• If a location becomes fully flooded, place a flood token on it with the fully flooded side faceup (or if it is already partially flooded, flip its flood token over) to designate this.
• If a location’s flood level is ”increased,” it changes from unflooded to partially flooded, or from partially flooded to fully flooded. A fully flooded location cannot have its flood level increased.
• If a location’s flood level is ”decreased,” it changes from fully flooded to partially flooded, or from partially flooded to unflooded. If a location becomes unflooded, remove its flood token

For the purposes of card effects, both partially flooded locations and fully flooded locations are considered to be ”flooded.”

(Added in FAQ, section ’Frequently Asked Questions’) Frequently asked Flood questions:

If an investigator starts their turn at a fully flooded location, enters an unrevealed location with no flood token, and that location becomes flooded ”after it is revealed,” does the investigator still ”struggle for air?” Or does this count as entering an unflooded location? Technically the investigator has entered an unflooded location, which then became flooded after it was revealed, so they would not struggle for air.

Some card effects instruct an investigator to perform an effect multiple times for each instance of a particular condition (e.g. ”for each horror on you,” or ”for each card in your hand”). If such an effect can be calculated and resolved simultaneously, it should be resolved (and may be canceled, ignored, or prevented) as a single cumulative effect. If it cannot be resolved simultaneously (for example, if it has multiple steps or other dependencies), each instance should be resolved as a separate effect (and must be canceled, ignored, or prevented independently of each other effect).

For example: A treachery card instructs you to ”take 1 horror for each point you fail by.” Since you can calculate how many points you fail by and resolve the dealt horror simultaneously, it should be resolved as a single instance of horror.

A different treachery card instructs you: ”For each point you fail by, you must either lose 1 action or take 1 horror. This treachery must be resolved as separate effects; each point failed by requires you to make a choice, whether that choice is to lose an action or to take a horror. Each instance must be resolved separately, even if the resulting outcome only causes you to take horror.

See ”Ability” on page 2.

The word ”gains” is used in multiple contexts.

• If a player gains one or more resources, the player takes the specified number of resources from the token pool and adds them to his or her resource pool.
• If an investigator gains an action, that investigator is permitted one additional action to spend during the specified time period.
• If a card gains a characteristic (such as an icon, a trait, a keyword, or ability text), the card functions as if it possesses the gained characteristic.

”Gained” characteristics are not considered to be ”printed” on the card. If an ability refers to the printed characteristics of a card, it does not refer to gained characteristics.

A ’game’ consists of a single scenario, not an entire campaign. In a campaign, the beginning of a new scenario marks the start of a new game.

See ”IV. Upkeep phase” on page 25.

”Heal” is an instruction to remove the indicated amount of damage or the indicated amount of horror from a card.

If a card is healed for more damage or horror than it currently has on it, remove as much of the indicated amount as possible.

Haunted is a new ability that appears on some locations. Each time an investigator fails a skill test while investigating a location, after applying all results for that skill test, that investigator must resolve all ”Haunted –” abilities on that location.

A location is ”haunted” for the purposes of other card effects if it has at least one ”Haunted –” ability (printed or otherwise).

Health represents a card’s physical fortitude. Damage tracks the physical harm that has been done to a card during a scenario.

• Any time a card takes damage, place a number of damage tokens equal to the amount of damage just taken on the card (see ”Dealing Damage/Horror” on page 7).
• If an investigator has damage on him or her equal to or greater than his or her health, that investigator is defeated. When an investigator is defeated, he or she is eliminated from the scenario (see ”Elimination” on page 10).
• In campaign play, an investigator that is defeated by taking damage equal to his or her health suffers 1 physical trauma. Taking physical trauma may cause an investigator to be killed (see ”Campaign Play” on page 5 for more information).
• If an enemy has damage on it equal to or greater than its health, that enemy is defeated and placed in the encounter discard pile.
• If an asset with a health value has damage on it equal to or greater than its health, it is defeated and placed on its owner’s discard pile.
• An asset card without a health value is not considered to have a health of 0, cannot gain health, and cannot have damage assigned to it.
• A card’s ”remaining health” is its base health minus the amount of damage on it, plus or minus any active health modifiers.

See also: ”Direct Damage, Direct Horror” on page 9.

An encounter card or weakness with the hidden keyword has a revelation ability that secretly adds that card to your hand. This should be done without revealing that card or its text to the other investigators.

• While a hidden treachery is in your hand, treat it as if it were in your threat area. Its constant abilities are active, and abilities on it can be triggered, but only by you.
• While a hidden enemy is in your hand, it is not considered to be engaged with you or in your threat area, and it does not attack unless otherwise specified. However, its constant abilities are active, and abilities on it can be triggered, but only by you.
• A hidden card counts toward your hand size, but it cannot leave your hand by any means except those described on the card.

For the best experience, players are encouraged to stay ”in character” and not share information about hidden cards in their hand.

When an investigator is eliminated, each encounter card in their hand with the hidden keyword should be placed in the encounter discard pile, in the same way as encounter cards in their threat area.

Hunter is a keyword ability.

During the enemy phase (in framework step 3.2), each ready, unengaged enemy with the hunter keyword moves to a connecting location, along the shortest path towards the nearest investigator. Enemies at a location with one or more investigators do not move.

• If there are multiple equidistant investigators who qualify as ”the nearest investigator,” the enemy moves towards the one of those who best meets its prey instructions. If none do, or if the enemy has no prey instructions, the lead investigator may choose an investigator for the enemy to move towards.
• If a hunter enemy would be compelled to a location to which the move is blocked by a card ability, the enemy does not move.

See also: ”Prey” on page 17.

Some abilities have triggering conditions that use the words ”at” or ”if” instead of specifying ”when” or ”after,” such as ”at the end of the round,” or ”if the Ghoul Priest is defeated.” These abilities trigger in between any ”when…” abilities and any ”after…” abilities with the same triggering condition.

See also: ”At”.

If a card is immune to a specified set of effects (for example, ”immune to treachery card effects,” or ”immune to player card effects”), it cannot be affected by or chosen to be affected by effects belonging to that set. Only the card itself is protected, and peripheral entities associated with an immune card (such as attached assets, tokens placed on, or abilities originating from an immune card) are not themselves immune.

• If a card gains immunity to an effect, pre-existing lasting effects that have been applied to the card are not removed. If a card loses immunity to an effect, pre-existing lasting effects of that nature are not applied to the card.
• Immunity only protects a card from effects. It does not protect a card from costs.

The cards that a player controls in his or her play area are considered in play.

The current act, the current agenda, each location in the play area, and each encounter card in an investigator’s threat area or at a location, are all considered in play.

Out of play refers to the cards in a player’s hand, in any deck, in any discard pile, in the victory display, and those that have been set aside and/or removed from the game.

A card enters play when it transitions from an out-of-play origin to an in play area.

A card leaves play when it transitions from a in play area to an out-of-play destination.

Tokens on in play cards are considered in play. Resources in each investigator’s resource pool are also considered in play.

If the players are instructed to perform a sequence ”in player order,” the lead investigator performs his or her part of the sequence first, followed by the other players in clockwise order. The phrase ”the next player” is used in this context to refer to the next player (clockwise) to act in player order.

The word ”instead” is indicative of a replacement effect. A replacement effect is an effect that replaces the resolution of a triggering condition with an alternate means of resolution.

• If multiple replacement effects are initiated against the same triggering condition and create a conflict in how to resolve the triggering condition, the most recent replacement effect is the one that is used for the resolution of the triggering condition.
• The word ”would” is used to define the triggering condition of some abilities, and establishes a higher priority for those abilities than abilities referencing the same triggering condition without the word ”would.” (For instance, ”When X would occur” resolves before ”When X occurs.”)
• If a replacement effect that uses the word ”would” changes the nature of a triggering condition, the original triggering condition is replaced with the new triggering condition. No further abilities referencing the original triggering condition may be used.

”Investigate” is an action an investigator may take during his or her turn in the investigation phase.

Each time an investigator takes this action, he or she makes an intellect test against the shroud value of that location (see ”Skill Tests” on page 18).

If the test is successful, the investigator has succeeded in investigating the location, he or she discovers one clue at the location. (This occurs during step 7 of the skill test, per ”ST.7 Apply skill test results” on page 26.)

Any time an investigator discovers a clue from a location, that player takes the clue from the location and places it on his or her investigator card, under his or her control.

If the test is failed, the investigator has failed in investigating the location. No clues are discovered during step 7 of the skill test.

See ”II. Investigation phase” on page 24.

A player’s ”investigator deck” is the deck that contains that player’s asset, event, skill, and weakness cards. A reference to ”your deck” refers to the investigator deck under your control.

As a private eye, Joe Diamond has learned to follow his instincts, and therefore he has a separate hunch deck, which is constructed during step 4 of the setup of each scenario. The cards in this hunch deck are chosen from Joe’s 40-card deck and therefore count toward his total deck size. With the exception of these setup instructions, all references to Joe’s ”deck” refer to Joe’s standard investigator deck and not his hunch deck. Joe’s hunch deck has no discard pile; cards from your hunch deck are discarded to your standard discard pile when played.

This expansion introduces key tokens that represent important objects or pieces of information that can be claimed and used during scenarios.

Key tokens have two sides. When facedown, all seven keys have the same universal key symbol, so they can be randomized without the investigators knowing which is which. When faceup, each key is color coded with a unique color (red, blue, green, yellow, purple, black, white).

If a scenario uses one or more keys, the setup of that scenario indicates how many are set aside and whether they should be faceup or randomized facedown. Keys can enter play via several different card effects, and they are usually placed on an enemy, location, or story asset. Keys can be acquired in any of three ways:

• If a location with a key on it has no clues, an investigator may take control of each of the location’s keys as a ability.
• If an investigator causes an enemy with a key on it to leave play, that investigator must take control of each of the keys that were on that enemy. (If it leaves play through some other means, place its keys on its location.)
• Some card effects may allow an investigator to take control of keys in other ways.

When an investigator takes control of a key, they flip it faceup (if it is facedown) and place it on their investigator card. If an investigator who controls one or more keys is eliminated, place each of their keys on their location. As an ability, an investigator may give any number of their keys to another investigator at the same location.

Keys have no inherent game effect. However, some card effects may change depending on which keys an investigator controls. Additionally, keys may sometimes be required in order to progress during a scenario.

The Scarlet Keys campaign features a new cardtype: keys. Keys are powerful artifacts that may be ”shifted” to either aid or hinder investigators, depending on whom they are attached to and whether their Stable or Unstable side is faceup.

• During the resolution of a scenario, a key may become bound to a single bearer, whose name is marked in the Campaign Log. A key may be bound to an investigator, a story asset, or an enemy.
• A key always enters play attached to its bearer (as marked in the Campaign Log). At the start of each scenario, each investigator who is the bearer of 1 or more keys attaches those keys to their investigator card. Whenever a story asset or enemy enters play, if it is the bearer of 1 or more keys, those keys also enter play attached to their bearer.
• If a key’s bearer is an investigator or a story asset, it enters play Stable side faceup.
• If a key’s bearer is an enemy, it enters play Unstable side faceup.
• A key cannot leave play unless its bearer leaves play. If the bearer of 1 or more keys leaves play, each key they control is set aside, out of play. (Those keys do, however, remain bound to their bearer for future scenarios unless explicitly noted otherwise.)
• While a key is attached to an investigator, that investigator may trigger its shift ability during any player window as a ability. This is called ”shifting” the key. As part of this ability’s resolution, it will instruct the investigator to flip the key to its other side, so its other shift ability is active. The investigator will then have to perform the shift ability on its Unstable side in order to flip it back over again.
• While a key is attached to a story asset, it may be shifted by any investigator who controls that asset in the same way.
• Each key (by title) attached to an investigator or story asset can only be shifted once per round.
• While a key is under an enemy’s control, its shift ability only resolves when a card or game effect instructs an investigator to shift that key, after which it remains Unstable side faceup.
• A key attached to an enemy cannot be flipped to its Stable side.
• There is no limit to the number of times a key attached to an enemy can be shifted.
• Some card effects may directly flip a key attached to an investigator or story asset from its Stable side to its Unstable side, or vice versa. This is not the same as shifting a key, and does not resolve its shift ability.

A keyword is a card ability which conveys specific rules to its card. Each keyword has its own rules which can be found in the keyword’s own section of the glossary. The keywords in this game are: aloof, fast, hunter, massive, peril, retaliate, surge, uses.

There are also two deckbuilding keywords: exceptional and permanent. Deckbuilding keywords affect deck customization while building and/or leveling up a deck. They have no effect during gameplay. There are no exceptional or permanent cards in the core set – each of these keywords will be presented in future expansions.

A single card that has and/or is gaining the same keyword from multiple sources functions as if it has one instance of that keyword.

The initiation of any keyword which uses the word ”may” in its keyword description is optional. The application of all other keywords is mandatory.

See ”Ability” on page 2.

During campaign play, investigators who are killed or driven insane must be recorded in your campaign log and cannot be used for the remainder of the campaign.

• An investigator with physical trauma equal to or higher than his or her printed health is killed.
• An investigator with mental trauma equal to or higher than his or her printed sanity is driven insane.
• An investigator may also be killed or driven insane by card ability, or during a scenario’s resolution.

When playing a standalone scenario, there is no practical difference between being killed, driven insane, or defeated.

See ”Campaign Play” on page 5.

Some card abilities create conditions that affect the game state for a specified duration (for example, ”until the end of the phase” or ”for this skill test”). Such effects are known as lasting effects.

• A lasting effect persists beyond the resolution of the ability that created it, for the duration specified by the effect. The effect continues to affect the game state for the specified duration regardless of whether the card that created the lasting effect is or remains in play.
• If a lasting effect affects in-play cards (or cards in a specified area), it is only applied to cards that are in play (or the specified area) when the lasting effect is established. Cards that enter play (or the specified area) after its establishment are not affected by the lasting effect.
• A lasting effect expires as soon as the timing point specified by its duration is reached. This means that an ”until the end of the phase” lasting effect expires before an ”at the end of the phase” ability or delayed effect may initiate.
• A lasting effect that expires at the end of a specific time period can only be initiated during that time period.

The lead investigator is sometimes required to make important scenario decisions. At the beginning of a scenario, the investigators choose a lead investigator. If they cannot agree on a choice, a lead investigator is chosen at random.

• If there are ever multiple valid options for a choice or decision that must be made (for example, a hunter enemy that could move in two different directions), the lead investigator is the final arbiter in choosing among those options.
• If the lead investigator is eliminated, the remaining players (if any) choose a new lead investigator.

The phrase ”leaves play” refers to any time a card makes a transition from an in-play state to an out-of-play state (see ”In Play and Out of Play” on page 13).

If a card leaves play, the following consequences occur simultaneously with the card leaving play:

• All tokens on the card are returned to the token pool.
• All attachments on the card are discarded.
• All lasting effects and/or delayed effects affecting the card while it was in play expire for that card.

While the effects of an event or treachery card are being resolved, or while a skill is committed to a skill test, it is neither in play, in the discard pile, nor is it in an investigator’s hand. For the purposes of rules clarification, this liminal state is called ”limbo.”

An event card enters limbo during step 3 of the Initiation Sequence, after costs are paid and attacks of opportunity are made (see ”Appendix I: Initiation Sequence”). A treachery card enters limbo after it is drawn, while its revelation ability is being resolved. A skill card enters limbo as it is committed to a skill test. While in limbo, the card is typically placed on the table to show that its effects are being resolved. It is no longer considered to be in any investigator’s hand, but it has not yet been placed in any discard pile. It is technically not in play, and does not count as being in play for the purposes of other card effects, however its effects may still alter the game state. After resolving the card’s effects in full, it is placed in its relevant discard pile and is no longer in limbo. If its effects cause it to enter play (such as attaching to another game element or placing it in an investigator’s threat or play area), it leaves limbo and enters play at that point in time.

”Limit X per ” is a limit that appears on cards that remain in play through the resolution of an ability’s effect. Each instance of an ability with such a limit may be initiated X times during the designated period. If a card leaves play and re-enters play during the same period, the card is considered to be bringing a new instance of the ability to the game.

”Limit X per [card/game element]” is a limit that appears on attachment cards, and restricts the number of copies of that card (by title) that can be attached to each designated card or game element.

Unless stated otherwise, limits are player specific.

A ”group limit,” however, applies to the entire group of investigators. (For example, if an investigator triggers an ability that is ”group limit once per game,” no other investigator may trigger that ability during that game.)

”Max X per ” imposes a maximum across all copies of a card (by title) for all players. Generally, this phrase imposes a maximum number of times that copies of that card can be played during the designated time period. If a maximum includes the word ”committed” (For example, ”Max 1 committed per skill test”), it imposes a maximum number of copies of that card that can be committed to skill tests during the designated period. If a maximum appears as part of an ability, it imposes a maximum number of times that ability can be initiated from all copies (by title) of cards bearing that ability (including itself), during the designated period.

If the effects of a card or ability with a limit or maximum are canceled, it is still counted against the limit/maximum, because the ability has been initiated.

Limits Pertaining to Play Areas (added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.3)

Some limits may pertain to a particular play area, such as ”Limit 1 per deck,” ”Limit 1 in the victory display,” or ”Limit 1 in play.” This limit restricts the number of copies of that card (by title) that can exist in the specified play area. Another copy of that card cannot enter the specified play area if this limit has already been reached. Remember that limits are player specific unless otherwise noted. For example, a card with ”Limit 1 per deck” can exist in two different investigator decks.

Note: ”Limit X per investigator” is a limit that pertains to an investigator’s play area.

Location cards represent the places the investigators may explore during a scenario.

• Use each investigator’s mini-card to indicate which location he or she is at.
• While an investigator is at a location, that investigator, each of his or her assets, and each card in that investigator’s threat area is at the same location.
• Locations enter play in an ”unrevealed” state, so that the side with no shroud value and/or clue value is faceup. Do not read the ”revealed” side at this time.
• The first time a location is entered by an investigator, that location is revealed by turning it to its other side and placing a number of clues on it equal to its clue value (this may occur during setup). Most clue values are conveyed as a ”per investigator” value.
• A location with its shroud/clue value side faceup is in the ”revealed” state.

Being at No Location (added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.21)

Unless explicitly specified by game text, enemies and investigators must always be at a location during gameplay. If an effect (such as a ”cannot move” effect) would cause an investigator or enemy to not be at a location, ignore that effect.

As a renowned actress, Lola Hayes can play many different roles. At the beginning of each scenario, after investigators draw opening hands, Lola Hayes must choose a role (Neutral, Guardian, Seeker, Rogue, Mystic, or Survivor). Lola can only play cards, commit cards to skill tests, or trigger , , or abilities on Neutral cards or cards whose class matches her role. This restriction only applies to player cards, not to encounter cards or weaknesses. Note that Constant and Forced abilities remain active on cards whose class does not match Lola’s role.

Massive is a keyword ability. A ready enemy with the massive keyword is considered to be engaged with each investigator at the same location as it.

• An exhausted enemy with the massive keyword is not considered to be engaged with any investigators.
• An enemy with the massive keyword cannot be placed in an investigator’s threat area.
• When an enemy with the massive keyword attacks during the enemy phase, resolve its (full) attack against each investigator it is engaged with, one investigator at a time. The lead investigator chooses the order in which these attacks resolve. The massive enemy does not exhaust until its final attack of the phase resolves.
• When an enemy with the massive keyword makes an attack of opportunity, that attack only resolves against the investigator who provoked the attack.
• A massive enemy does not move with an engaged investigator who moves away from the massive enemy’s location.
• If an investigator fails a combat test against a massive enemy, no damage is dealt to the engaged investigators.

The word ”may” indicates that a specified player has the option to do that which follows. If no player is specified, the option is granted to the controller of the card with the ability in question.

Some abilities cause values or quantities of characteristics to be modified. The game state constantly checks and (if necessary) updates the count of any variable value or quantity that is being modified.

• Any time a new modifier is applied (or removed), the entire quantity is recalculated from the start, considering the unmodified base value and all active modifiers.
• When calculating a value, treat all modifiers as being applied simultaneously. However, while performing the calculation, all additive and subtractive modifiers are calculated before doubling and/or halving modifiers.
• Fractional values are rounded up after all modifiers have been applied.
• A quantity on a card (such as a stat, an icon, a number of instances of a trait or keyword) cannot be reduced so that it functions with a value below zero. Negative modifiers in excess of a value’s current quantity can be applied, but, after all active modifiers have been applied, any resultant value below zero is treated as zero. (For example: Danny tests agility and reveals a –8 chaos token. When applied to his agility of 4, this would reduce his skill value to –4. However, his agility cannot be reduced so that it functions with a value below zero. While the –8 modifier still exists, his agility is treated as zero. If Danny were to play ”Lucky!” to receive a +2 bonus to the test, this bonus would not be applied to the functioning skill value of zero; but rather, it is applied in conjunction with all active modifiers. Danny’s agility would then be calculated as follows: base skill 4, –8 from chaos token, +2 from ”Lucky!” for a total of –2, which is still treated as zero.)

Any time an entity (an investigator or enemy) moves, transfer that enemy card or investigator’s mini card from its current location to a different location.

• Unless otherwise specified by the move effect or ability, the moving entity must move to a connecting location. Connecting locations are identified on the location card representing the entity’s current location, as shown below.
• Any time an entity moves, it is considered to leave the previous location, and to enter the new location, simultaneously.
• If an entity is ”moved to…” a specific location, the entity is moved directly to that location, and does not pass through other locations en route.
• If an investigator moves to an unrevealed location, that location is revealed by turning it to its other side, and placing a number of clues on it equal to its clue value. Most clue values are conveyed as a ”per investigator” value.
• If an enemy moves to an unrevealed location, that location remains unrevealed.
• Game elements (tokens or cards) may also be moved by card abilities from one card to another, or from one game area to another game area.
• When an entity or game element moves, it cannot move to its same (current) placement. If there is no valid destination for a move, the move cannot be attempted.

”Move” is an action an investigator may take during his or her turn in the investigation phase.

When an investigator takes this action, move that investigator (using his or her mini card) to any other location that is marked as a connecting location on his or her current location (see ”Move” on page 15).

After a player draws a starting hand during setup, that player has a single opportunity to declare a mulligan on any number of the drawn cards he or she does not wish to keep in his or her starting hand. These cards are set aside, and an equivalent number of cards are drawn and added to the player’s starting hand. The set-aside cards are then shuffled back into the player’s deck.

Players take or forgo the opportunity to mulligan in player order.

A multi-class card is a card which bears multiple class icons instead of one, and is a card of each of those classes. For example, a card with both a Rogue () and a Guardian () icon is both a Rogue card and a Guardian card for all purposes. Generally, a multi-class card can be included in an investigator’s deck if that investigator has access to either of that card’s classes.

If an investigator has limited access to one of the classes on a multi-class card and unlimited access to one of the other classes on that card, it will still occupy one of the investigator’s limited slots unless their deckbuilding options contains the word ”other” in it (see Deckbuilding Options).

The following section clarifies how multi-class cards operate depending on how an investigator’s deckbuilding options are presented.

• Investigators with unlimited access to more than one class (i.e. All Core Set investigators, Minh Thi Phan, Sefina Rousseau, William Yorick, Leo Anderson, Joe Diamond, Preston Fairmont, Diana Stanley): A multi-class card can be included in that investigator’s deck if it falls into either of the listed classes.
• Investigators from The Dunwich Legacy expansion (i.e. Zoey Samaras, Rex Murphy, Jenny Barnes, Jim Culver, ”Ashcan” Pete): A multi-class card will not occupy one of these investigator’s five ”out of class” slots if one of its classes is the class they have unlimited access to. A card cannot take up more than one ”out of class” slot, regardless of how many class icons the card bears.
• Investigators with unlimited access to one class and limited access to one or more ”other” classes (i.e. Marie Lambeau, Finn Edwards, Carolyn Fern, investigators from Edge of the Earth): A multi-class card will not occupy one of the investigator’s limited slots, because it falls into the unlimited category (see Deckbuilding Options).
• Lola Hayes: A multi-class card will count as a card of each of its classes toward her Deckbuilding Requirement.

If an investigator is instructed that he or she ”must” choose among multiple options, the investigator is compelled to choose an option that has the potential to change the game state.

In the absence of the word ”must” while choosing among multiple options, any option may be chosen upon the resolution of the effect – even an option that does not change the game state.

An investigator may include up to three copies of a player card with the myriad keyword in their deck (by title), instead of the normal limit of two copies. Additionally, when you purchase a myriad card for your deck, you may purchase up to two additional copies of that card (at the same level) at no experience cost.

(Added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.20) When counting the total amount of experience in your deck, each copy of a Myriad card after the first copy does not count towards your experience total.

See ”I. Mythos phase” on page 24.

Some card abilities reference the ”nearest” entity. Nearest refers to the entity of the specified kind at a location that can be reached in the fewest number of connections, even if one or more of those connections are blocked by another card ability. The path to the nearest entity is the ”shortest” path to that entity.

Each time a triggering condition occurs, the following sequence is followed: 1) execute “when…” effects that interrupt that triggering condition, (2) resolve the triggering condition, and then, (3) execute “after…” effects in response to that triggering condition.

Within this sequence, if the use of a or Forced ability leads to a new triggering condition, the game pauses and starts a new sequence: (1) execute “when…” effects that interrupt the new triggering condition, (2) resolve the new triggering condition, and then, (3) execute “after…” effects in response to the new triggering condition. This is called a nested sequence. Once this nested sequence is completed, the game returns to where it left off, continuing with the original triggering condition’s sequence.

It is possible that a nested sequence generates further triggering conditions (and hence more nested sequences). There is no limit to the number of nested sequences that may occur, but each nested sequence must complete before returning to the sequence that spawned it. In effect, these sequences are resolved in a Last In, First Out (LIFO) manner.

For example: Roland and Agnes are embroiled in a fierce battle. Roland has a Guard Dog in his play area, and is engaged with a Goat Spawn with 2 damage on it. Agnes is engaged with a Ghoul Minion. Roland wishes to play a .45 Automatic, which provokes an attack of opportunity from the Goat Spawn, dealing 1 damage to Roland. Roland assigns this damage to his Guard Dog, which has a ability: “When an enemy attack deals damage to Guard Dog: Deal 1 damage to the attacking enemy.” Before resolving the playing of Roland’s .45 Automatic, Guard Dog’s ability resolves, and 1 damage is dealt to the Goat Spawn, which would defeat it. Goat Spawn has the following Forced ability: “When Goat Spawn is defeated: Each investigator at this location takes 1 horror.” Before resolving the damage dealt to the Guard Dog, 1 horror is dealt to each investigator at the location, including Agnes, who has a ability: “After 1 or more horror is placed on Agnes Baker: Deal 1 damage to an enemy at your location.” Before resolving the Goat Spawn’s defeat, Agnes deals 1 damage to the Ghoul Minion engaged with her. Now that there are no further or Forced abilities to trigger, the players return to the previous triggering condition and resolve the Goat Spawn’s defeat, and resolve any “After…” effects that might occur when it is defeated. Then, the players resolve the damage dealt to the Guard Dog, and resolve any “After…” effects that might occur from that damage. Finally, the players return to the original triggering condition, and Roland is able to put his .45 Automatic into play.

A skill test cannot initiate during another skill test. If during the resolution of a skill test another skill test would initiate, instead the second skill test does not initiate until the first skill test has finished resolving. If the first skill test was part of an action, the second skill test does not initiate until that action has finished resolving.

For example: Ursula performing an investigate action. As part of this investigate action, she must perform an test. During the resolution of that skill test, she plays Expose Weakness, a fast event which initiates another test. Instead of resolving the second test during the first one, the initiation of the second test is delayed until after the first skill test (and therefore the investigate action) has finished resolving.

A card’s owner is the player whose deck (or game area) held the card at the start of the game.

A player controls the cards located in his or her out-of-play game areas (such as the hand, deck, discard pile).

The scenario controls the cards in its out-of-play game areas (such as the encounter, act, and agenda decks, and the encounter discard pile).

Cards by default enter play under their owner’s control. Some abilities may cause cards to change control during a game.

If a card would enter an out-of-play area that does not belong to the card’s owner, the card is physically placed in its owner’s equivalent out-of-play area instead. The card is considered to have entered its controller’s out-of-play area, and only the physical placement of the card is adjusted.

Some abilities are identified with a Parley action designator. Such abilities are initiated using the ”Activate” action (see ”Activate Action” on page 4).

Partner is a keyword ability that appears on the nine story assets in the Expedition Team encounter set. Each of these assets represents a powerful ally whom investigators can bring along during scenarios in this campaign to improve their chances of success. However, bringing an asset with the partner keyword endangers that asset, with the risk of losing them permanently.

• At the start of each scenario in this campaign, each investigator is given the option to choose a partner asset and put it into play. Partner assets cannot be added to an investigator’s deck. An investigator may choose a different partner (or no partner) to bring each time they are given this choice.
• A partner asset cannot leave play unless it is defeated (for example, it cannot be discarded by card effects unless it is explicitly defeated). If an investigator is defeated, any partner asset they have with them is also defeated.
• If a partner asset is defeated, remove it from the game. Then, cross off that character’s name in the Expedition Team section of the Campaign Log.
• Damage or horror on a partner asset is recorded in the Expedition Team section of the Campaign Log at the end of each game. (The Campaign Guide will instruct you when to do this.)
• If an investigator resigns from a scenario, their partner asset leaves play, but is not defeated. Keep all damage and horror on it, as it will be recorded in the Campaign Log after the game ends.

Some enemies have the patrol keyword. During the enemy phase (in framework step 3.2), each ready, unengaged enemy with the patrol keyword moves to a connecting location along the shortest path toward the designated location (as described in parentheses next to the word patrol).

• If there are multiple locations that qualify as the designated location, the lead investigator may choose which location the enemy moves toward.
• If an enemy with patrol would be compelled to move to a location which is blocked by a card ability, the enemy does not move.

• When the symbol appears after a value, that value is multiplied by the number of investigators who started the scenario.
• The ”per investigator” multiplication is done before all other modifiers, and the product of this multiplication is treated as the printed value of the card.
• Text that uses the phrase ”per investigator” also counts the number of investigators who started the scenario, and is applied before all other modifiers.
• If investigators have been eliminated from the scenario, they still count toward ”per investigator” values.

Peril is a keyword ability.

While resolving the drawing of an encounter card with the peril keyword, an investigator cannot confer with the other players. Those players cannot play cards, trigger abilities, or commit cards to that investigator’s skill test(s) while the peril encounter is resolving.

Permanent is a deckbuilding keyword ability.

• A card with the permanent keyword does not count towards your deck size.
• A card with the permanent keyword still counts as being part of your deck and must therefore adhere to all other deckbuilding restrictions.
• A card with the permanent keyword starts each game in play and is not shuffled into your investigator deck during setup.
• A card with the permanent keyword cannot leave play (except by elimination).
• Once added to your deck, permanent cards cannot be removed from your deck or swapped out of your deck unless explicitly stated otherwise.

See also: ”Controlling and Attaching Permanent Cards”.

To play a card, an investigator must pay the card’s resource cost and meet any applicable play restrictions and conditions. Most cards can only be played by taking a play action (see ”Play Action” on page 16).

• A card with the fast keyword is not played during a play action. Such a card may be played any time its specified triggering condition is met or, if it has no triggering condition, during an appropriate player window (see ”Fast” on page 11).
• Any time an event card is played, its effects are resolved and it is then placed in its owner’s discard pile.
• Any time an asset is played, it is placed in the investigator’s play area and remains in play until an ability or game effect causes it to leave play. Most assets take up one or more slots while in play (see ”Slots” on page 19).
• Skill cards are not ”played.” These cards are committed to a skill test from a player’s hand in order to use their abilities.

See also: ”Appendix I: Initiation Sequence” on page 22, ”Play Restrictions, Permissions, and Instructions” on page 17.

”Play” is an action an investigator may take during his or her turn in the investigation phase.

When an investigator takes this action, that investigator selects an asset or event card in his or her hand, pays its resource cost, and plays it (see ”Play” on page 16).

Cards with the ”fast” keyword are not played by using this action (see ”Fast” on page 11).

Skill cards are not ”played.” These cards are committed to a skill test from a player’s hand in order to use their abilities.

Many cards and abilities contain specific instructions pertaining to when or how they may or may not be used, or to specific conditions that must be true in order to use them. In order to use such an ability or to play such a card, its play restrictions must be observed.

• A permission allows a player to play a card or use an ability outside the timing specifications provided by the game rules.
• A play instruction describes the timing point at which, and/or time period during which, an event card may be played.

Given the opportunity, some enemies will pursue a defined investigator. These enemies are identified with the bold word ”Prey” in their text box, followed by instructions on whom they should engage.

• If an enemy that is about to automatically engage an investigator at its location has multiple options of whom to engage, that enemy engages the investigator who best meets its ”prey” instructions (if multiple investigators are tied in meeting these instructions, the lead investigator may decide among them) (see ”Enemy Engagement” on page 10).
• If an enemy that is moving towards the nearest investigator has a choice between multiple equidistant investigators, that enemy must select among those investigators the one who best meets its ”prey” instructions. (If multiple equidistant investigators meet the prey criteria, the lead investigator decides among those investigators. See ”Hunter” on page 12.)
• If an enemy’s prey instructions contain the word ”only,” that enemy only moves towards and engages that investigator (as if it were the only investigator in play), and ignores all other investigators while moving and engaging. Other investigators may use the engage action or card abilities to engage the enemy.

Prey has no immediate effect on where an enemy will spawn (see ”Spawn” on page 19).

The word ”printed” refers to the text, characteristic, icon, or value that is physically printed on the card.

If an effect affects multiple players simultaneously, but the players must individually make choices to resolve the effect, these choices are made in player order. Once all necessary choices have been made, the effect resolves simultaneously upon all affected entities.

• If two or more forced abilities (including delayed effects) would resolve at the same time, the lead investigator determines the order in which the abilities resolve.
• If two or more constant abilities and/or lasting effects cannot be applied simultaneously, the lead investigator determines the order in which they are applied.

The four investigator cards depicted here (Gavriella Mizrah, Jerome Davids, Penny White, and Valentino Rivas) are marked with the Disappearance at the Twilight Estate encounter set icon and can only be used in the prologue for The Circle Undone. They cannot be used in other scenarios. Keep them with the rest of the scenario cards for Disappearance at the Twilight Estate, and do not integrate them into your collection of player cards.

Some card abilities cause a card to be ”put into play.” Such abilities place the card directly into play from an out-of-play state.

• The resource cost of a card being put into play is not paid.
• Unless otherwise stated by the put into play ability, cards that enter play in this manner must do so in a play area that satisfies the standard game rules associated with playing or drawing (for encounter cards) that card.
• A card that has been put into play is not considered to have been played or drawn.

If card text includes a qualifier followed by multiple terms, the qualifier applies to each term in the list. (For example, in the phrase ”each unique ally and item,” the word ”unique” is a qualifier that applies both to ”ally” and to ”item.”)

When a triggering condition resolves, investigators are granted the opportunity to resolve abilities in response to that triggering condition. It is only after all investigators have passed their reaction opportunity that the game moves forward.

Using a ability in response to a triggering condition does not prevent other abilities from being used in response to that same triggering condition.

For example: Roland has just defeated an enemy and wishes to trigger his ability: “After you defeat an enemy: Discover 1 clue at your location.” He discovers 1 clue at his location. He may then play Evidence! in response to defeating that same enemy. As both cards have the same triggering condition (“After you defeat an enemy”), triggering one of these reactions does not prevent Roland from triggering the other.

A card that is in an upright state so that its controller can read its text from left to right is considered ready.

• The default state in which cards enter play is ready.
• When an exhausted card readies, it is returned to the upright state. It is then said to be in a ready state.
• A ready card cannot ready again (it must first be exhausted, typically by a game step or card ability).

Often the players will be instructed to record a key phrase in the Campaign Log. This should be written under “Campaign Notes” unless specified otherwise. Because the players may be instructed to check the Campaign Log for this phrase at a later time in the campaign, the indicated phrase should be recorded as it appears, without alteration.

For example: If the players are instructed to record in the Campaign Log that “the investigators were four hours late,” this shouldn’t be rewritten as “the investigators were pretty late,” because the exact number of hours might be important in a later scenario.

Sometimes a scenario card will instruct the investigators to “remember” a key phrase, often based on an action they have taken or a decision they have made within that scenario. This phrase may come up later during that scenario, and may trigger additional or different effects. There is no need to record this phrase in the Campaign Log, because it will only ever matter during that scenario, or during that scenario’s resolution. The players do not need to “remember” any such instruction beyond the end of the scenario in which it appears.

A card that has been removed from the game is placed away from the game area and has no further interaction with the game in any manner for the duration of its removal.

If there is no specified duration, a card that has been removed from the game is considered removed until the end of the game.

If an ability replaces an investigator’s opening hand with a different set of cards, that set of cards is considered to be their new opening hand for the purposes of effects which would alter the number of cards in their opening hand.

If an ability replaces an investigator’s opening hand with a number of cards ”kept” from a larger set of cards, an effect which alters the number of cards in that investigator’s opening hand alters both the cards originally drawn to replace that opening hand, and the number of cards ”kept” from that larger set.

For example, the ability on Sefina Rousseau reads: ”When you would draw your opening hand: Draw 13 cards,instead. Choose up to 5 events to place beneath this card and keep 8 cards as your opening hand. Discard the rest.” If a card effect or game effect alters the number of cards in Sefina’s opening hand, it would alter both the number of cards drawn from her ability and the number of cards she keeps as her opening hand.

Researched is a keyword ability that appears on some higher-level cards (most prominently on Seeker cards.)

• To be included in an investigator’s deck, a card with the Researched keyword must first be ”identified” or ”translated” by performing a task on the lower level version of that card and recording the result in your Campaign Log.
• You can only include a researched card in your deck by upgrading it from its lower level version.
• You may only include a researched card in your deck if, in your Campaign Log, you have recorded the completion of the task described in the lower level version of that card.
• After an investigator has completed this task and recorded it in the Campaign Log, any investigator in that campaign may upgrade the relevant card following the normal rules for upgrading player cards.
• For example, Archive of Conduits (Gateway to Tindalos) has the ”Researched” keyword. Therefore, an investigator cannot purchase Archive of Conduits (Gateway to Tindalos) directly. They must instead upgrade it from Archive of Conduits (Unidentified), and they can only do so if they have ”identified the gateway.”

Some abilities are identified with a Resign action designator. Such abilities are initiated using the ”Activate” action (see ”Activate Action” on page 4).

When an investigator resigns, the investigator is eliminated by resignation (see ”Elimination” on page 10.) An investigator who resigns is not considered to have been defeated.

”Resource” is an action an investigator may take during his or her turn in the investigation phase.

When an investigator takes this action, that investigator gains one resource by taking it from the token pool and adding it to his or her resource pool.

Resources represent the various means of acquiring new cards at an investigator’s disposal – supplies, money, tools, knowledge, spell components, etc.

• In order to play a card or use an ability that costs resources, an investigator must pay that card or ability’s resource cost by taking the specified number of resources from his or her resource pool and returning them to the token pool (see ”Costs” on page 7).
• Resources can be gained by performing the ”Resource” action (see ”Resource Action” on page 17).
• Investigators acquire one resource during each Upkeep phase (see ”4.4 Each investigator draws 1 card and gains 1 resource” on page 25).
• (Added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.8) If an ability refers to the number of ”resources you have,” ”your resources,” or any variation on the above, it is only referring to the number of resources in that investigator’s resource pool. Resources on other cards that investigator controls do not count toward this total unless explicitly stated.

See also: ”Tokens, Running out of” on page 20.

Retaliate is a keyword ability.

Each time an investigator fails a skill test while attacking a ready enemy with the retaliate keyword, after applying all results for that skill test, that enemy performs an attack against the attacking investigator. An enemy does not exhaust after performing a retaliate attack.

• This attack occurs whether the enemy is engaged with the attacking investigator or not.

A revelation ability may appear on encounter cards or on weakness cards.

• When an investigator draws an encounter card, that investigator must resolve all ”Revelation – ” abilities on the card. This occurs before the card enters play, or in the case of a treachery card, before it is placed in the discard pile.
• When a weakness card enters an investigator’s hand, that investigator must immediately resolve all revelation abilities on the card as if it were just drawn.

Dilemmas and Revelation Abilities (added in The Scarlet Keys): Some player cards (namely those with the Dilemma trait) possess revelation abilities. As with revelation abilities on other cardtypes, these abilities resolve when the card is drawn or otherwise enters your hand, not when the card is played.

• These cards have no cost (“–”). These cards cannot be played; their effects only resolve when they are drawn or added to your hand.
• After resolving a revelation ability on a player card, place it in its owner’s discard pile.
• Revelation abilities do not resolve during setup. If one or more player cards with revelation abilities are drawn during setup, wait until the game begins, then each player (in player order) resolves all of their own revelation abilities in the order of their choosing.
• Revelation Ability Priority (added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.25): If an investigator has both a Dilemma card and a weakness and/or encounter card in their hand, the weakness and/or encounter card must be resolved first. If a Dilemma card is drawn while resolving a skill test, resolve the skill test in full before resolving the Dilemma’s Revelation effect.

Sanity represents a card’s mental and emotional fortitude. Horror tracks the harm that has been done to a card’s psyche by exposure to the Mythos.

• When a card takes horror, place a number of horror tokens equal to the amount of horror just taken on the card (see ”Dealing Damage/Horror” on page 7).
• If an investigator has horror on him or her equal to or greater than his or her sanity, that investigator is defeated. When an investigator is defeated, he or she is eliminated from the scenario (see ”Elimination” on page 10).
• In campaign play, an investigator that is defeated by taking horror equal to his or her sanity suffers 1 mental trauma. Taking mental trauma may cause an investigator to be driven insane (see ”Campaign Play” on page 5 for more information).
• If an asset with a sanity value has horror on it equal to or greater than its sanity, it is defeated and placed on its owner’s discard pile.
• A card’s ”remaining sanity” is its base sanity minus the amount of horror on that card, plus or minus any active sanity modifiers.
• An asset card without a sanity value is not considered to have a sanity of 0, cannot gain sanity, and cannot have horror assigned to it.

See also: ”Direct Damage, Direct Horror” on page 9.

As an additional cost for a card with the seal keyword to enter play, its controller must search the chaos bag for the specified chaos token and place it on top of the card, thereby sealing it. If there is a choice of which token to seal, the card’s controller chooses. If the specified token is not in the chaos bag, the card cannot enter play. A sealed chaos token is not considered to be in the chaos bag, and therefore cannot be revealed from the chaos bag as part of a skill test or ability.

When a chaos token is ”released,” it is returned to the chaos bag and is no longer considered sealed. If a card with one or more chaos tokens sealed on it leaves play for any reason, any chaos tokens sealed on it are immediately released.

Some cards (with or without the seal keyword) may also have abilities that seal one or more chaos tokens as part of their effect. This is done following the same process as above: searching the chaos bag for the specified token, removing it from the chaos bag, and placing it on the card. If the specified token is not in the chaos bag, the effect fails.

When a player is instructed to search for a card, that player is permitted to look at all of the cards in the searched area without revealing those cards to the other players.

• If an effect searches an entire deck, the deck must be shuffled upon completion of the search.
• When resolving a search effect, a player is obligated to find the object of the search should one or more eligible options be found within the searched area.
• While cards are in the process of being searched, they are not considered to have left their game area of origin.
• ”Looking at,” ”Searching,” and ”Finding” (added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.13): These three terms all involve sifting through out-of-play cards (typically an investigator’s deck or the encounter deck), but do not count as one another for the purposes of other card effects. For example, if an investigator ”looks at” the top 3 cards of their deck, this is not a search effect. Additionally, while ”finding” a card does typically involve searching through out-of-play areas, this is also not considered to be a search effect.
• Searching During Setup (added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.26): If an investigator is instructed to search a deck for 1 or more cards during setup, abilities that trigger when a deck is searched (such as Mandy Thompson’s ability or abilities on Research cards) cannot be resolved, as the game has not yet begun. If an investigator is instructed to search a deck for 1 or more cards during setup, abilities that trigger when a deck is searched (such as Mandy Thompson’s ability or abilities on Research cards) cannot be resolved, as the game has not yet begun.

When a card’s ability text refers to its own title, it is referring to itself only, and not to other copies (by title) of the card.

Self-referential abilities using the word ”this” (e.g. ”this card”) refer only to the card on which the ability is located, and not to copies of that card.

Some scenarios instruct the players to set aside specific cards. Set-aside cards have no interaction with the game until they are referenced by instructions within the scenario or by a card ability.

(Added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.7) If an effect instructs an investigator to take control of a card that is currently set-aside, that effect puts that card into play in that investigator’s play area.

An investigator’s ”signature cards” are the cards that are only available to that investigator, and cannot be included in another investigator’s deck. This includes player cards with the text “(Investigator Name) deck only,” as well as non-basic weaknesses that are listed under “Deckbuilding Requirements” and therefore can only be included in that investigator’s deck.

Signature cards are governed by the following additional rules:

• The number of each signature card listed under an investigator’s ”Deckbuilding Requirements” is the exact number of copies of that card that is to be included in that investigator’s deck. If no number is specified, that number is 1.
• For example: Under ”Deckbuilding Requirements” for Roland Banks, the following cards are listed: ”Roland’s .38 Special, Cover Up, 1 random basic weakness.” Roland Banks must include exactly 1 copy of his signature cards—Roland’s .38 Special and Cover Up. He is not permitted to include more than 1 copy of either of these cards.
• An investigator cannot play another investigator’s signature cards, control another investigator’s signature cards while they are in play, or possess another investigator’s signature cards in their hand (amended in FAQ, section ’Definitions and Terms’, v.2.0). If a game effect would force a player to take control of a card with another investigator’s signature card attached to it, that signature card is discarded (amended in FAQ, section ’Definitions and Terms’, v.2.1).
• For example: Roland has the Roland’s .38 Special card in play. He has the card ”Teamwork” which can allow investigators at the same location to trade or give assets among one another. However, because Roland’s .38 Special is one of Roland’s signature cards, he cannot give it to another investigator.
• Signature cards need not abide by typical deckbuilding restrictions, and do not count toward any deckbuilding limitations if other cards share the same title.

Skill cards represent innate or learned attributes or character traits that improve an investigator’s skill tests.

Skill cards are not played from a player’s hand. In order to resolve their abilities, skill cards must be committed to a skill test.

If a skill card is committed to a skill test, its ability may be used during the resolution of that skill test, as specified on the card.

See ”Skill Test Timing” on page 26.

During Step 7 of Skill Test Timing (”Apply skill test results”), all of the effects of the successful skill test are determined and resolved, one at a time. This includes the effects of the test itself (such as the clue discovered while investigating, or the damage dealt during an attack), as well as any ”If this test is successful…” effects from card abilities or skill cards committed to the test.

or Forced abilities with a triggering condition dependent upon the skill test being successful or unsuccessful (such as ”After you successfully investigate,” or ”After you fail a skill test by 2 or more”) do not trigger at this time. These abilities are triggered during Step 6, ”Determine success/failure of skill test.”

A number of situations in the game require an investigator to make a skill test, using one of his or her four skills: willpower (), intellect (), combat (), or agility (). A skill test pits the investigator’s value in a specified skill against a difficulty value that is determined by the ability or game step that initiated the test. The investigator is attempting to match or exceed this difficulty value in order to succeed at the test.

A skill test is often referred to as a test of the specified skill. (For example: ”agility test,” ”combat test,” ”willpower test,” or ”intellect test.”)

See ”Skill Test Timing”.

Each investigator has a number of specific slots that can be filled at any given moment. Each asset in an investigator’s play area or threat area with a slot symbol is held in a slot of that type. Slots limit the number of asset cards the investigator is permitted to have in play simultaneously.

The slots normally available to an investigator are:

• 1 accessory slot
• 1 body slot
• 1 ally slot
• 2 hand slots
• 2 arcane slots

If an asset has no slot symbols on it, it does not take up any of the above slots. There is no limit to the number of slot-less assets an investigator can have in play. The following symbols (on an asset) indicate which slot(s) that asset fills:

• 1 accessory slot
• 1 body slot
• 1 ally slot
• 1 hand slot
• 2 hand slots
• 1 arcane slot
• 2 arcane slots

If playing or gaining control of an asset would put an investigator above his or her slot limit for that type of asset, the investigator must choose and discard other assets under his or her control simultaneously with the new asset entering the slot.

Shifting Slots (added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.24): Some card effects allow an investigator to put assets of one slot type into one of their other slots, allow one of an investigator’s slot types to carry assets of a different slot type, or cause assets to no longer take up slots. In such an event, the investigator must decide which slot is holding which asset at the moment it is played. This cannot be adjusted later unless the contents or quantity of the investigator’s slots changes, at which point the investigator may switch which slots are holding any of their assets.

For example: Kōhaku has Occult Reliquary in play when he plays Blessed Blade. He chooses to have Occult Reliquary grant him a hand slot to hold Blessed Blade. If he later plays another Blessed card, such as Hallowed Mirror, he can choose to have the new card take up the additional slot and define the slot type, while he moves Blessed Blade to his default hand slot.

Some enemies, when drawn from the encounter deck, spawn in a particular location, indicated by a bold ”Spawn” instruction in the text box.

• An enemy’s spawn instruction resolves as the enemy enters play, regardless of how it entered play.
• If an enemy has no spawn instruction, it spawns engaged with the investigator who drew it.
• If an enemy has no legal location to spawn at (for example, if its spawn instruction directs it to a specific location that is not in play, or if no location in play satisfies its ”spawn” instruction), it does not spawn, and is discarded instead.
• If an enemy’s spawn instruction has multiple valid locations, the investigator spawning that enemy decides among those locations.
• If a card ability instructs the players to spawn an enemy in a particular location (for example: ”Search the encounter deck for an Acolyte and spawn it in Southside”), treat the ability causing the card to enter play as the enemy’s spawn instruction, overriding any other spawn instruction.

Spawning an Enemy (added in FAQ, section ’Quick Reference’)

1. If an enemy is being spawned without an investigator drawing it, the effect spawning the enemy will typically indicate where that enemy should spawn. After spawning the enemy at that location, it will automatically engage investigators at its location using the rules for ”Enemy Engagement”, unless it is aloof.
2. If an investigator draws an enemy, check to see if the enemy has a ”Spawn –” instruction.
• If the enemy has a ”Spawn –” instruction, the enemy spawns at the indicated location. After spawning the enemy at that location, it will automatically engage investigators at its location using the rules for ”Enemy Engagement”, unless it is aloof.
• If the enemy does not have a ”Spawn –” instruction, the investigator drawing the enemy spawns it engaged with him/her, unless it is aloof.

”Prey –” instructions have no direct impact on which location an enemy will spawn at. The only time ”Prey –” instructions will impact this process is when an enemy spawns unengaged at a location with multiple investigators, and you use the rules for ”Enemy Engagement” to determine which investigator it should automatically engage.

When playing a standalone game (i.e., playing a single scenario as a one-off adventure, removed from its campaign), the following rules apply:

• When building a deck for a standalone game, an investigator may use higher level cards in his or her deck (so long as they observe the deckbuilding restrictions of the investigator) by counting the total experience of all the higher level cards used in the deck, and taking additional random basic weaknesses based on the following table:

• 0-9 experience: 0 additional random basic weaknesses
• 10-19 experience: 1 additional random basic weakness
• 20-29 experience: 2 additional random basic weaknesses
• 30-39 experience: 3 additional random basic weaknesses
• 40-49 experience: 4 additional random basic weaknesses

A player cannot include 50 or more experience worth of cards in a standalone deck.

After choosing a scenario to play, refer to the Campaign Guide for the campaign that scenario is a part of, starting at the setup for that campaign, and continuing on to the first scenario for that campaign. Read through that scenario’s introduction, then skip directly to that scenario’s resolution and choose a resolution that is amenable to you. You may choose any resolution you wish. (For an added challenge, choose resolutions that put the investigators in an unfavorable state). If the players are unsure which resolution to choose, or are indifferent, choose Resolution 1. Record the results of the chosen resolution in a Campaign Log as if you were playing through in campaign mode, except do not count experience points.

Repeat this process for each scenario up to the scenario you wish to play. Then, setup and play that scenario as normal.

If a story decision would occur during gameplay, choose the outcome and record it in your campaign log.

Do not apply trauma for having been defeated during gameplay, but if trauma is inflicted during a scenario resolution, apply it.

If a scenario weakness or asset is earned that is in an expansion you do not own, simply continue without that card.

Story cards serve as an avenue for additional narrative and typically appear as the reverse side of another scenario card. When you are instructed to resolve a story card, simply read its story text and resolve its game text, if any.

At certain points throughout The Forgotten Age campaign, investigators are given the opportunity to choose supplies to bring on their expeditions into the wilds. These supplies are recorded in the Campaign Log, under each investigator’s ”Supplies” section.

Supplies are purchased with supply points, which are granted to investigators whenever they are given the opportunity to purchase supplies. Leftover supply points are not recorded, and are lost.

An investigator’s supplies will determine the possible options available during gameplay and throughout the story of this campaign. Each supply has no effect on its own. Some card effects, story options, and resolutions may change or become available depending on the supplies carried by the investigator(s).

Surge is a keyword ability.

After drawing and resolving an encounter with the surge keyword, an investigator must draw another card from the encounter deck.

If a card with the surge keyword is drawn during setup, the surge keyword does resolve.

An enemy with the swarming X keyword is actually a pack of enemies operating in unison. After you put any enemy with the swarming X keyword into play, place the top X cards of your deck facedown underneath the enemy as swarm cards, without looking at them. The enemy they are underneath is called the ”host enemy.” Some scenario card effects may also instruct a player to add swarm cards to an enemy. This is done using the same process.

• If it is ever unclear which investigator should add swarm cards, the lead investigator does so.
• Each swarm card underneath the host enemy acts as a separate instance of that enemy for most purposes. Each swarm card has the same values and text as its host card. (For example, if an investigator is engaged with a host enemy with 2 swarm cards underneath it, that investigator is engaged with 3 enemies in total.)
• Each swarm card attacks separately when enemies attack during the enemy phase. Once the host enemy and all of its swarm cards have attacked during this step, exhaust all of them.
• Each swarm card can be attacked or dealt damage separately, but the host enemy cannot be defeated while it still has swarm cards underneath it. When a swarm card is defeated, any excess damage may be dealt to another swarm card underneath the same host enemy or to the host enemy itself. (For example, Tony Morgan uses a .41 Derringer to attack a Stealthy Zoog with 2 swarm cards. The attack deals 2 damage. The first point of damage defeats 1 of the 2 swarm cards, so the excess point of damage may be dealt to another swarm card, defeating it as well.)
• Anytime a swarm card leaves play, place it on the bottom of its owner’s deck. If you are unsure of the owner of the swarm card, you may look at it to determine its owner.
• The host enemy and all of its swarm cards move, engage, and exhaust as a single entity. (For example, if a host enemy or any of its swarm cards are evaded, all of them exhaust and become disengaged.)

”Take X damage” is shorthand for ”deal X damage to your investigator.” ”Take X horror” is shorthand for ”deal X horror to your investigator.”

See ”Dealing Damage/Horror” on page 7.

The term ”choose” indicates that one or more targets must be chosen in order for an ability to resolve. The player resolving the ability must choose a game element (usually a card) that meets the targeting requirements of the ability.

• If an ability requires the choosing of a target, and there is no valid target (or not enough valid targets), the ability cannot be initiated.
• If multiple targets are required to be chosen by the same player, they are chosen simultaneously.
• An effect that can choose ”any number” of targets does not successfully resolve (and cannot change the game state) if zero of those targets are chosen.
• A card is not an eligible target for an ability if the resolution of that ability’s effect could not change the target’s state. (For example, an exhausted enemy could not be chosen as the target of an effect that reads, ”choose and exhaust an enemy.”)

Tarot slots are a new type of asset slot introduced in this expansion. The following symbol indicates that an asset fills a tarot slot:

As with other slots, tarot slots limit the number of asset cards of that slot type an investigator is permitted to have in play simultaneously.

By default, an investigator has only one tarot slot available.

All other rules governing slots apply to tarot slots, as usual.

This campaign includes an encounter set of 16 weaknesses, each with the title ”Tekeli-li!” These cards are shuffled together to form a special Tekeli-li deck during the setup of each scenario of this campaign.

Like normal weaknesses, if one of these cards is added to an investigator’s deck, it becomes part of that deck and stays with that investigator from scenario to scenario. However, the resolution of each Tekeli-li! weakness instructs the investigator to return it to the Tekeli-li deck (removing it from their own deck). As a result, the number of cards in the Tekeli-li deck varies based on how many of these weaknesses are in each investigator’s deck.

Note: While all Tekeli-li! cards share the same title, they may have differing effects.

If the effect of an ability includes the word ”then,” the text preceding the word ”then” must be successfully resolved in full before the remainder of the effect described after the word ”then” can be resolved.

• If the pre-then aspect of an effect does successfully resolve in full, the post-then aspect of the effect must also resolve.
• The post-then aspect of an effect has timing priority over all other indirect consequences of the resolution of the pre-then aspect. (For example, if an effect reads: ”Draw an encounter card. Then, take 1 horror,” and a player controls an ability that reads ”After you draw an encounter card,” the post-then ”take 1 horror” aspect occurs before the ”After you draw an encounter card” ability may initiate.)
• If the pre-then aspect of an effect does not successfully resolve in full, the post-then aspect does not resolve.

An investigator’s threat area is a play area in which encounter cards currently engaged with and/or affecting an investigator are placed.

The cards in an investigator’s threat area are at the same location as the investigator.

There is no limit to the number of tokens (of any type) which can be in the game area at a given time. If players run out of the provided tokens, other tokens, counters, or coins may be used to track the current game state.

Most cards have one or more traits listed at the top of the text box and printed in bold italics.

Traits have no inherent effect on the game. Instead, some card abilities reference cards that possess specific traits.

See ”Campaign Play” on page 5.

Treachery cards represent curses, afflictions, madnesses, obstacles, disasters, or other unexpected occurrences an investigator may encounter throughout the course of a scenario.

When a treachery card is drawn by an investigator, that investigator must resolve its effects. Then, place the card in its discard pile unless otherwise instructed by the ability.

See ”1.4 Each investigator draws 1 encounter card” on page 24.

Treachery cards do not have a header for their subtitle. If the title of a treachery card contains 1 or more words in parentheses, that is considered to be its subtitle. Other cards with the same title and a different subtitle are still considered to be copies of one another. e.g. Restless Journey (Fallacy) and Restless Journey (Hardship) are both copies of Restless Journey.

A triggered ability is an ability that is optionally triggered by a player. A triggered ability can be identified by one of the following icons.

• The icon indicates an action-costed triggered ability.
• The icon indicates a free triggered ability that does not cost an action and may be used during any player window.
• The indicates a reaction triggered ability that does not cost an action and may be used any time its triggering condition is met.

See also: ”Ability” on page 2, ”Appendix I: Initiation Sequence” on page 22.”

An investigator is permitted to use triggered abilities (, , and abilities) from the following sources:

• A card in play and under his or her control. This includes his or her investigator card.
• A scenario card that is in play and at the same location as the investigator. This includes the location itself, encounter cards placed at that location, and all encounter cards in the threat area of any investigator at that location.
• The current act or current agenda card.
• Any card that explicitly allows the investigator to activate its ability.

A triggering condition indicates the timing point at which an ability may be triggered. Most triggering conditions use the word ”when” or ”after” to establish their relation to the specified timing point.

• Each eligible ability that triggers in reference to a specified timing point may be used once each time that timing point occurs.
• If multiple instances of the same ability are eligible to initiate, each instance may be used once.

See also: ”Ability” on page 2, ”After” on page 4, ”When” on page 21.

A card with the symbol before its card title is a unique card. There can be no more than one instance of each unique card, by title, in play at any given time.

• A player cannot bring into play a unique card if a copy of that card (by title) is already in play.
• If a unique encounter card that shares a title with a unique player card would enter play, discard the player card simultaneously as the encounter card enters play.

Some locations have abilities that prevent you from entering or using a particular ability unless all of the clues have been discovered from a particular location; for example, the Engine Car. When interpreting such an ability, if the location is unrevealed (and therefore has no clues on it), this does not satisfy the ability; it must have been revealed at some point.

See ”IV. Upkeep phase” on page 25.

Uses is a keyword ability.

When a card bearing this keyword enters play, place a number of resource tokens equal to the value (X), from the token pool, on the card. The word following the value establishes and identifies the type of uses this card bears. The resource tokens placed on the card are considered uses of the established type, and are not considered resource tokens.

• Each card bearing this keyword also has an ability which references the type of use established by the keyword as a part of its cost. When such an ability spends a use, a token of that type must be removed from the card bearing the ability.
• Other cards may reference and interact with uses of a specified type, usually by adding uses of that type to a card, or using uses of that type for other purposes.
• A card cannot bear uses of a type other than that established by its own ”Uses (X type)” keyword. (For example, a card with ”Uses (4 ammo)” cannot gain charges.)
• Some cards with this keyword bear text that causes the card to be discarded if it has no uses remaining. If the card contains no such text, it remains in play even if out of uses.

Some encounter cards are worth vengeance points. The text Vengeance X indicates that a card is worth X vengeance points.

Like Victory X, when an encounter card with Vengeance X is overcome by the investigators, it is stored in the victory display until the end of the scenario. However, unlike victory points, vengeance represents the awareness and animosity of the Father of Serpents, and it is generally a good idea to avoid accruing vengeance points whenever possible.

• Vengeance points in the victory display have no impact upon the game unless specifically referenced by another encounter card.
• As an enemy with Vengeance X is defeated, place the card in the victory display instead of in the discard pile.
• At the end of a scenario, take each location with Vengeance X that is in play, revealed, and has no clues on it, and place it in the victory display.
• As a treachery card with Vengeance X completes its resolution, place it in the victory display instead of in the discard pile.
• Cards worth vengeance points are not also worth victory points unless the card has both Victory X and Vengeance X.

Some encounter cards are worth victory points. The text Victory X indicates that a card is worth X victory points.

An encounter card worth victory points that is overcome by the investigators is stored in the victory display until the end of the scenario. The victory display is an out-of-play game area shared by all players. Upon completion of the scenario, the cards in the victory display provide experience, which can be used to upgrade an investigator’s deck (see ”Campaign Play” on page 5).

• As a victory point enemy is defeated, place the card in the victory display instead of in the discard pile.
• At the end of a scenario, place each victory point location that is in play, revealed, and with no clues on it in the victory display.
• As a victory point treachery card completes its resolution, place it in the victory display instead of in the discard pile.

Weakness is a card sub-type. These cards represent character flaws, curses, madnesses, injuries, tasks, enemies, or story elements that are part of an investigator’s backstory, or that are acquired over the course of a campaign. Weakness cards are resolved differently depending upon their cardtype.

• When an investigator draws a weakness with an encounter cardtype (for example, an enemy or a treachery weakness), resolve that card as if it were just drawn from the encounter deck.
• (Added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.12) Weaknesses with an encounter cardtype (such as enemies or treacheries) are considered to be player cards while they are in their bearer’s deck, and are considered to be encounter cards while they are being resolved, and once they have entered play. Before a weakness with an encounter cardtype is resolved, it is still considered to be a player card.
• When an investigator draws a weakness with a player cardtype (for example, an asset, an event, or a skill weakness), resolve any Revelation effects on the card, and add it to that investigator’s hand. The card may then be used as any other player card of its type.
• If a weakness enters an investigator’s hand in a manner that did not involve drawing the card, that investigator must resolve the card (including any Revelation abilities) as if he or she had just drawn it.
• The bearer of a weakness is the investigator who started the game with the weakness in his or her deck or play area.
• If a weakness is added to a player’s deck, hand, or threat area during the play of a scenario, that weakness remains a part of that investigator’s deck for the rest of the campaign. (Unless it is removed from the campaign by a card ability or scenario resolution.)
• A player may not optionally choose to discard a weakness card from hand, unless a card explicitly specifies otherwise.
• Weaknesses with an encounter cardtype are, like other encounter cards, not controlled by any player. Weaknesses with a player cardtype are controlled by their bearer.
• Some card and game text references a ”basic weakness.” A basic weakness can be identified by the presence of the words ”Basic Weakness” and the symbol indicated below.
• Weakness Events and ”changing the game state” (added in FAQ, section ’Game Play’, point 1.27) Some weakness events such as Quantum Paradox do not change the game state in the traditional sense when played, but nevertheless provide negative effects if they are in your hand. These weakness events may still be played to avoid their negative effects.

The word ”when” refers to the moment immediately after the specified timing point or triggering condition initiates, but before its impact upon the game state resolves. The resolution of a ”when” ability interrupts the resolution of its timing point or triggering condition. (For example, an ability that reads ”When you draw an enemy card” initiates immediately after you draw the enemy card, but before resolving its revelation ability, spawning it, etc.)

See also: ”Ability” on page 2, ”Priority of Simultaneous Resolution” on page 17.

A Wild () skill icon on a player card may be used to match any other skill icon for the purposes of both card abilities and counting how many matching icons are committed to a skill test. When using Wild icons for the purpose of resolving a card ability, a player must state which icon the Wild is matching at the time the card is used.

Wild icons committed to a skill test are considered ”matching” icons for the purposes of card abilities.

Each scenario has a number of different possible endings.

The act deck represents the progress of the investigators through a scenario. Some instructions in the act deck (as well as on other encounter cardtypes) contain resolution points, in the format of: ”(→R#).” The players’ primary objective is to advance through the act deck until a (hopefully favorable) resolution point is reached. Should the act deck invoke a resolution, the players have completed the scenario (they may even have ”won!”). Instructions for resolving the designated resolution are found in the ”do not read until end of game” section of the campaign manual.

The agenda deck represents the objectives and progress of the malicious forces pitted against the investigators in the scenario. Some instructions in the agenda deck (as well as on other encounter cardtypes) also contain resolution points, in the format of: ”(→R#).” Should the agenda deck invoke a (usually darker) resolution, the players have lost the scenario. Instructions for resolving the designated resolution are found in the ”do not read until end of game” section of the campaign guide.

Should the scenario end with no resolution being reached (for example, if all investigators have been eliminated or have resigned), instructions for resolving the scenario can be found in the ”do not read until end of game” section of the campaign guide.

If playing in a campaign, players will proceed to the next scenario in the campaign regardless of the outcome of the scenario. Even if players ”lose” a scenario, they still continue their campaign (although with some negative consequences from their failure).

When playing a standalone scenario, players either win or lose the scenario. They win if they complete a resolution on an act card. Any other resolution is considered a loss (see ”Standalone Mode” on page 19).

See ”Act Deck and Agenda Deck” on page 3.

The value of the letter X is defined by a card ability or a granted player choice. If X is not defined, its value is equal to 0.

For costs involving the letter X, the value of X is defined by card ability or player choice, after which the amount paid may be modified by effects without altering the value of X.

(Expanded in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.1) The following guidelines are used to interpret which investigator is referenced by the words ”you” and ”your.”

• A Revelation ability that references ”you/your” refers to the investigator who drew the card and is resolving the ability.
• When resolving a triggered ability (, , or ability), ”you/your” refers to the investigator triggering the ability.
• If an ability contains a clause identifying whom it is targeting, ”you/your” in that ability refers to those investigators. For example, Stubborn Detective reads: ”While Stubborn Detective is at your location…” This clause identifies ”you” as any investigator at his location. Young Deep One reads: ”After Young Deep One engages you…” This clause identifies ”you” as any investigator who engages Young Deep One.
• Any other instance of ”you/your” that does not fall into the above categories refers to the investigator who controls the card, the investigator who has the card in his/her threat area, or who is currently interacting with the card.

A card may have multiple different abilities in which ”you/your” may be interpreted differently. “You/your” may refer to a different investigator in each of these abilities.

For example: Dreams of R’lyeh reads:

”Revelation – Put Dreams of R’lyeh into play in your threat area. You get –1 and –1 sanity. : Test (3). If you succeed, Discard Dreams of R’lyeh.”

These three abilities reference ”you/your” in different ways. For the Revelation ability, ”your” refers to the investigator who drew Dreams of R’lyeh and is resolving its Revelation. For its constant ability, ”you” refers to the investigator who has Dreams of R’lyeh in his or her threat area. For its ability, ”you” refers to the investigator who is performing the ability.

Interpreting ”You” When Taking or Being Dealt Damage (added in FAQ, section ’Card Ability Interpretation’, point 2.12)

When an ability refers to ”you” in response to taking damage or being dealt damage, it also includes any assets you control.

For example: The ability on Survival Knife triggers ”after an enemy attack deals damage to you during the enemy phase.” This ability triggers even if the damage from that attack is assigned to one or more of your assets, and not your investigator card. However, if all of the damage from that attack is assigned to another investigator or their assets (through the use of a card effect that allows them to do so), then no damage has been dealt to you.