Arkham Horror: Dunwich Horror Expansion
Arkham Horror: Dunwich Horror Expansion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Using This Book
The first part of this rulebook contains rules for playing Arkham Horror with the Dunwich Horror expansion. The second part (beginning on page 8) contains clarifications and frequently asked questions for the original Arkham Horror game, as well as several rules revisions to improve play.
Components
- This Rulebook
- 1 Expansion Game Board
- 8 Investigator Sheets
- 8 Investigator Markers
- 8 Plastic Investigator Stands
- 152 Investigator Cards
- 24 Injury Cards
- 24 Madness Cards
- 15 Common Items
- 25 Unique Items
- 21 Spells
- 11 Skills
- 5 Allies
- 20 Special Cards
- 8 Sheldon Gang Membership Cards
- 8 Rail Pass Cards
- 4 Condition Cards
- 7 Replacement Arkham Horror Cards
- 4 Ancient One Sheets
- 180 Ancient One Cards
- 63 Arkham Location Cards
- 42 Dunwich Location Cards
- 36 Mythos Cards
- 32 Gate Cards
- 7 Dunwich Horror Cards
- 28 Monster Markers
- 3 Dunwich Horror Tokens
- 4 Gate Markers
- 7 Rubble Markers
All cards from the Dunwich Horror expansion are marked with a small barn symbol on their fronts, to allow you to separate them from your Arkham Horror cards.
A Note on Arkham Horror Replacement Cards
To improve game play, several Arkham Horror cards were revised after the release of the base game. These revised Arkham Horror cards have been included in this expansion for your convenience. The revised cards are: four copies of Flesh Ward (a Spell), one copy of Healing Stone (a Unique Item), and two copies of Lantern (a Common Item). To use them, simply remove the old cards from your Arkham Horror card decks and replace them with the revised cards before playing.
Component Overview
Below are summary descriptions of the various components included in Dunwich Horror. They should help you identify the components and introduce you to how they are used.
Game Board
The game board depicts the area surrounding the town of Dunwich. Just like the original Arkham Horror board, the Dunwich board is composed of street areas and locations. It is divided into three neighborhoods. At the top of the Dunwich board is the Dunwich Horror Track, which is used to mark the progress of the Dunwich Horror. There are three vortices on the Dunwich board, which are described on page 7. Finally, the Dunwich board adds two additional Other Worlds (Another Time and Lost Carcosa) that investigators may travel to during the game.
New Investigator Cards
The majority of the new investigator cards can simply be shuffled into their respective decks. This includes the new Common Item, Unique Item, Spell, Skill, and Ally cards (remember to remove the old “Flesh Ward,” “Lantern,” and “Healing Stone” cards first).
There is a new type of Common Item card – Tasks – as well as a new type of Unique Item card – Missions. These cards allow an investigator to undertake short-term quests for significant benefits. They are described in full on page 5.
There are also two new investigator card decks. The Injury deck consists of cards that may be drawn when an investigator is reduced to 0 Stamina. See “Injury and Madness” on page 6 for full details.
The Madness deck consists of cards that may be drawn when an investigator is reduced to 0 Sanity. See “Injury and Madness” on page 6 for full details.
The new Special cards include Sheldon Gang Memberships, which may be acquired at the Woods; Rail Passes, which can be acquired at the Train Station; and four Condition cards, which are explained in full on page 6.
Dunwich Horror Cards
The Dunwich Horror cards form a deck that is placed near the Dunwich Horror board. These cards are used when an investigator attempts to combat the Dunwich Horror (see pages 7-8 for full details).
New Monster Markers
There are 28 new monster markers in this expansion, including one new “Mask” monster.
This expansion introduces nine Spawn monsters. Spawn monsters are indicated by a red circle in the lower left corner of their movement side and are discussed in full on page 7.
The Dunwich Horror expansion also introduces stalker movement, a new type of monster movement indicated by a purple border. Stalker movement is described on page 7.
New Investigator Sheets and Markers
These sheets and markers introduce eight new investigators to the game.
New Ancient One Sheets
These sheets introduce four new Ancient Ones to the game. The new Ancient Ones are discussed in more detail on page 8.
New Ancient One Cards
The new gate cards, mythos cards, and Arkham location cards may simply be shuffled into their respective decks in order to use them. The Dunwich location cards form three new location decks that are placed by the Dunwich Horror board. They work just like the original Arkham location cards, but describe encounters that take place in the various Dunwich locations.
Dunwich Horror Tokens
These tokens track the progress of the Dunwich Horror track. When the track is full, the Dunwich Horror appears and begins to terrorize Dunwich. Unless the investigators can quickly defeat the Horror, the final battle will not be far off. See pages 7-8 for the rules governing the Dunwich Horror.
Gate Markers
Simply add the new gate markers to the gate markers from the base game. The new Other Worlds shown on them – Another Time and Lost Carcosa – are found on the Dunwich Horror board.
Rubble Markers
These markers are used only when Shudde M’ell is the Ancient One, and indicate locations that have been destroyed by earthquakes.
Setup
Before you play your first game of Dunwich Horror, carefully punch out the cardboard pieces so that they do not tear. Next, slide the plastic stands onto the bases of the eight investigator markers. Be sure to keep all components out of the reach of small children and animals.
Integrating the Expansion and the Base Game
Perform the three steps below before your first game of Dunwich Horror. Assuming that you don’t later separate out the Dunwich Horror components, you will only need to perform these steps once.
1. Prepare Decks
Shuffle the new Common Item, Unique Item, Spell, Skill, Ally, Arkham Location, Mythos, and Gate cards into their respective decks.
2. Prepare Gate Markers
Shuffle the new gate markers into the existing gate markers.
3. Prepare Monster Markers
Separate out the “Mask” and Spawn monster markers. Set them aside with the “Mask” monster markers from Arkham Horror. Then, shuffle the other new monster markers in with the non-Mask monster markers from Arkham Horror.
Game Setup
The setup diagram is not reproduced; its numbered callouts are transcribed below.
In the diagram above, the following Dunwich elements are added to the standard Arkham setup.
- The Dunwich board is placed next to the Arkham board. In addition, a Clue token is placed on each unstable Dunwich location (those marked with a red diamond).
- The new location cards for the 9 Arkham neighborhoods are shuffled into their respective location decks.
- The new monsters (but not the Mask and Spawn monsters) are added to the monster cup.
- The 3 new Dunwich location decks are placed near the Dunwich board.
- The new gate cards are shuffled into the gate deck, and the new gate tokens are mixed in with the existing gate tokens.
- The new mythos cards are shuffled into the mythos deck.
- The 3 Dunwich Horror tokens and the Dunwich Horror monster marker are placed next to the Dunwich Horror deck.
- The 4 Condition cards are placed facedown near the boards.
- Shuffle the appropriate cards from this expansion into the following investigator decks:
- Unique Item
- Common Item
- Ally
- Skill
- Spell
In addition, there are 2 entirely new investigator decks (the Injury and Madness decks) and 2 new special investigator decks (the Rail Pass and Sheldon Gang Membership decks).
Determine Allies: Remember that only 11 Allies are used in each game.
Expansion Setup
When playing with the Dunwich Horror expansion, perform the normal setup of the game as instructed in the Arkham Horror rulebook, with the following additions and changes listed below:
1. Prepare Playing Area
Place the Dunwich board next to the Arkham board, above the Downtown area. Line the expansion board up with the Arkham board so that the Other Worlds are all on the same side. Place the Dunwich Horror monster marker and the Dunwich Horror tokens in a pile near the Dunwich board.
2. Place Initial Clues
Place Clue tokens on the unstable locations (those with a red diamond above them) in Dunwich as well as those in Arkham.
6. Separate Decks
See the “Game Setup” diagram in this rulebook for the placement of the new Dunwich Horror cards. The Condition cards (see page 6), in particular, should be placed facedown in a row near the other investigator cards.
Determine Allies: Although five new Allies are included in this expansion, only 11 total Allies should be used in each game. When preparing the Ally deck, shuffle it and deal out 11 cards faceup, returning the others to the box. Players may examine the allies to see which ones will appear. Then turn the Ally cards facedown and shuffle them again. Allies that are taken as starting equipment in setup step 9 will come from this deck of 11 cards.
If a specific Ally is part of an investigator’s fixed possessions, then that Ally must be one of the 11 Ally cards used.
11. Create Monster Cup
As with the “Mask” monster markers from Arkham Horror, do not place the Spawn monsters in the monster cup (unless the Ancient One sheet instructs otherwise).
14. Draw and Resolve Mythos Card
If you draw a Rumor card during setup, discard it and draw again until you get a card that isn’t a Rumor. With five or more players, place two monsters on the gate indicated by the mythos card instead of one.
Expansion Rules
These rules are used in addition to those in Arkham Horror when playing with the Dunwich Horror expansion.
The Dunwich Board
The following rules govern how the Dunwich expansion board works with the Arkham Horror board.
The Phrase “in Arkham” on Cards
Cards that refer to “Arkham” also apply to locations and areas in Dunwich. So, for example, an Environment card that adds +1 to Fight checks and subtracts –1 from Will checks in Arkham also affects investigators who are in a Dunwich street area or location.
The Monster Limit and the Outskirts
Monsters on the Dunwich board do not count against the monster limit and do not go to the Outskirts. Instead, their numbers are kept under control by the vortices (see page 7).
The Sky
Flying monsters in Dunwich may move to the Sky as normal. In addition, Dunwich streets are also considered to be adjacent to the Sky. Thus, flying monsters in the Sky may move into Dunwich streets just as they would into Arkham streets.
Returning from Lost in Time and Space
Investigators who are lost in time and space may choose to return to a street area or location in Dunwich, just as they would return to an Arkham street area or location.
Traveling Between Towns
To move between Arkham and other towns (such as Dunwich), an investigator must be in either the Train Station in Arkham or a depot location (indicated by a train icon) in another town during his movement. He then spends $1 and one movement point to move from his current location to either the Train Station or any depot location in any other town. This movement does not interrupt the investigator’s normal movement.
Example: Joe Diamond begins his movement in the Northside streets. He has 4 movement points and $1. Wanting to travel to Dunwich, he first moves to the Train Station for 1 movement point. Next, he catches the train to Dunwich, spending $1 and 1 movement point to move to Dunwich’s depot, which is at Bishop’s Brook Bridge. From there, he still has 2 movement points left, so he could move elsewhere in Dunwich. He could not, however, return to Arkham, since he has no money to pay his fare.
Task/Mission Example
Tasks and Missions are short-term quests that the investigators can attempt in order to gain significant benefits.
In this example, Jim Culver has the “Joining the Winning Team” Mission. The Mission has 4 steps that he must perform in order to complete it. He must sacrifice an Ally at each of 4 different locations in the order listed on the card.
His first stop is at St. Mary’s Hospital, where he sacrifices Professor Rice in his bid for power. Sacrifices occur during the Upkeep Phase, so Jim must have an Arkham encounter at the hospital before he can make the sacrifice. Assuming the encounter doesn’t move him to another location, he can proceed with his sacrifice. Once Professor Rice is discarded, Jim’s player places a Clue token on the “Joining the Winning Team” card.
The second stop is at Arkham Asylum, where Jim sacrifices Ammi Pierce. Any number of turns may have passed since Jim sacrificed Professor Rice, as long as he hasn’t discarded “Joining the Winning Team” or given the card to another player.
Jim then goes to the third and fourth stops, South Church and Lost in Time and Space, respectively. At South Church he sacrifices Earl Sawyer, and he sacrifices Corinna Jones while he is Lost in Time and Space. Once Corinna is sacrificed, the effect of Joining the Winning Team immediately activates, and Jim is declared the sole winner of the game.
Had Jim been working on a Task instead of a Mission, he would not have needed to make a sacrifice at each location. Instead, merely being present in the location during the Upkeep Phase would have sufficed.
Important: Remember, if a gate is open in a location, it isn’t possible for an investigator to actually visit that location. Therefore, if you must visit Hibb’s Roadhouse to complete a Task or Mission, but there’s an open gate there, then the gate must be closed before you can visit Hibb’s Roadhouse.
Tasks and Missions
Tasks are a type of item found in the Common Item deck, while Missions are items found in the Unique Item deck. Both Tasks and Missions consist of a short list of locations and/or street areas that must be visited in the listed order. The investigator must end his movement at each listed area and then perform the proper action (see below), placing a Clue token (from the general supply) on the card to indicate that he has completed a step of the Task/Mission. There is no time limit on completing a Task/Mission, but if it is discarded or given to another investigator, all Clue tokens are removed from the Task/Mission card. Once all the steps have been completed, the investigator receives the Payoff (for a Task) or the Effect takes place (for a Mission), and the player returns the Task/Mission card to the box and discards the Clue tokens on it.
For Tasks, merely spending an Arkham Encounter Phase in the listed areas is enough to complete each step. However, for Missions, the investigator must additionally discard or spend the listed sacrifice at each location at the start of the Upkeep Phase. The investigator may only discard or spend the listed sacrifice if he is still in the listed area during the Upkeep Phase.
Monster Surges
When, at the beginning the Mythos Phase, the first player draws a mythos card that shows a location that already has an open gate (and therefore a monster is placed at every location with an open gate), this is now called a monster surge. Several cards in the Dunwich Horror expansion refer to “monster surges.”
Stalker Movement
If there are no investigators adjacent to the stalker monster (in a location directly connected to the stalker monster’s location by one yellow line), stalker monsters follow the arrows, just as if the stalker were a normal, black-bordered monster.
If there is an investigator in an adjacent street area or unstable location (unstable locations are marked with red diamonds), a stalker monster ignores the arrows and moves towards the investigator.
Stalker monsters can even move across lines with no arrows to reach investigators (such as the line between the Merchant District and Rivertown street areas on the Arkham map).
If there are investigators in more than one adjacent street area or unstable location, a stalker monster moves towards the investigator with the lowest Sneak skill. If there is a tie, the first player decides who the monster moves towards.
Gate Bursts
Certain mythos cards have their gate location colored red. These indicate gate bursts. A gate burst works the same as a normal mythos card, unless the listed gate location has an elder sign token on it, in which case the gate bursts open, causing the elder sign token at that location to be removed from the board. A gate then opens at that location and a monster appears there as usual. However, a doom token is not placed on the Ancient One’s doom track when a seal is burst open by a gate burst. Also, this does not cause a monster surge.
Additionally, whenever a gate burst is drawn, all flying monsters move, regardless of their dimensional symbol.
Stalker monsters cannot enter stable locations (those locations marked with green diamonds) to reach an investigator. In the diagram above, the Rat-thing cannot enter the Police Station to pursue Jim Culver, so it follows the normal movement arrow instead.
Injury and Madness
When an investigator is reduced to 0 Stamina, he may choose to gain an Injury card. If he does this, he does not lose any items or Clue tokens for being knocked unconscious, and his Stamina is restored to its maximum value instead of to 1. However, the investigator must still move to either St. Mary’s Hospital or Lost in Time and Space, as appropriate. In addition, he must draw one Injury card. Injury cards inflict long-term penalties of a physical nature to the investigator and are extremely difficult to get rid of (there is a slight chance to cure them through an encounter at St. Mary’s Hospital). Injury cards are not items and cannot be discarded or traded as such.
When an investigator is reduced to 0 Sanity, he may choose to gain a Madness card. If he does this, he does not lose any items or Clue tokens for being driven insane, and his Sanity is restored to its maximum value instead of to 1. However, the investigator must still move to either Arkham Asylum or Lost in Time and Space, as appropriate. In addition, he must draw one Madness card. Madness cards inflict long-term penalties of a mental nature to the investigator and are extremely difficult to get rid of (there is a slight chance to cure them when having an encounter at Arkham Asylum). Madness cards are not items and cannot be discarded or traded as such.
If an investigator’s maximum sanity or maximum stamina is reduced to 0, that investigator is devoured.
Retiring Investigators
A player may voluntarily retire an investigator with two or more total Injury and/or Madness cards. The player simply skips his turn, announces that the investigator is retiring, and draws a new investigator as though his old investigator had been devoured. However, effects that trigger from having an investigator devoured (such as Glaaki’s ability to raise the terror level by 2 when an investigator is devoured) do not trigger when an investigator retires.
Condition Cards
Condition cards are used to indicate a long-term situation or benefit. Condition cards begin the game facedown, and are normally turned faceup by means of an encounter at the location shown on their card back. Once a Condition is faceup, it is active, and remains active unless another encounter or card turns it facedown again, making it inactive once more. A Condition that is exhausted to use is turned sideways instead of turning it facedown. This means that exhausting a Condition does not cause it to revert to its inactive state, but rather that a Condition that must be exhausted to be used can effectively be used only once a turn. An exhausted Condition refreshes during the Upkeep Phase.
Example: The “Darke’s Blessing” Condition card is turned faceup by an encounter at Darke’s Carnival. Its ability says, “Any Phase: Any investigator may exhaust this card to re-roll a failed skill check.” Darke’s Blessing now gives the investigators the permanent ability to re-roll one failed skill check a game turn. This ability would only be lost if a later card or encounter specifically said to turn the Darke’s Blessing card facedown once more.
Exhausted Allies
An Ally that is exhausted still grants its bonuses (skill or otherwise) to the investigator controlling it. However, abilities that require the Ally to exhaust cannot be used while it is exhausted. Exhausted Allies refresh during the Upkeep Phase, like other cards.
Handless Weapons
This expansion introduces a few weapons that do not require any hands to use. This is indicated by an X in the lower left corner of the card. These cards may be used in addition to the normal two hands’ worth of weapons or spells allowed in combat.
Spawn Monsters
- At the beginning of the Mythos Phase, a mythos card is drawn, which causes the Cultist to move into the vortex above the Blasted Heath.
- The Cultist is removed from the board and returned to the monster cup.
- The terror level is increased by 1.
- A Dunwich Horror token is added to the Dunwich Horror track on the Dunwich board.
- If there are 3 Dunwich Horror tokens on the Dunwich Horror track, the Dunwich Horror enters play. Place its monster marker on the Sentinel Hill street area in Dunwich.
Spawn monsters are indicated by a red circle in the lower left corner of their movement side, next to their dimensional symbol. Like “Mask” monsters, Spawn monsters are not added to the monster cup. Instead, they enter play through special rules. For example, the Dunwich Horror enters play when the Dunwich Horror track on the Dunwich board fills up, while the Servants of Glaaki enter play through Glaaki’s “Undead Servants” ability.
Additionally, Spawn monsters do not count against the monster limit and never go to the Outskirts, nor can they ever be claimed as monster trophies.
Stalker Movement
Dunwich Horror introduces a new type of monster movement: stalker. Stalker movement is indicated by a purple border. Stalker monsters move like normal monsters unless there is an investigator adjacent to them (in a location directly connected to the stalker monster’s location by one yellow line), in which case they move toward the investigator. See the “Stalker Movement” diagram on page 8 for a full discussion of stalker movement.
Vortex Spaces
Vortex spaces represent dimensional instability in Dunwich caused by the wizard Whateley and his dark pact with Yog-Sothoth. As monsters wander into the vortices, they increase the terror level and may cause the Dunwich Horror to appear, as shown in the example below.
Investigators cannot move into vortices under any circumstance (not even through the use of an item). Any monster that enters a vortex is immediately returned to the cup. For each monster returned to the cup in this fashion, raise the terror level by one. In addition, if there are fewer than three Dunwich Horror tokens on the Dunwich Horror track, add one Dunwich Horror token to the track. If this brings the total to three Dunwich Horror tokens, the Dunwich Horror appears (see below).
Remember, monsters in Dunwich do not count against the monster limit and are never placed in the Outskirts.
The Dunwich Horror
Wizard Whateley, a powerful warlock living in Dunwich, made a pact with Yog-Sothoth many years ago, and the Dunwich Horror was created. It has lurked in Dunwich all these years since, waiting for its chance to rise up and destroy the village. Now, its hour is almost at hand.
Whenever the Dunwich Horror track is filled with three Dunwich Horror tokens (accomplished by monsters moving into the vortices on the Dunwich board), the Dunwich Horror enters play. When this happens, take its monster marker and place it in the central street area named Sentinel Hill.
The Dunwich Horror is a terrible creature, more powerful than any normal monster but not as powerful as the Ancient Ones. While it remains in play, each time it moves, there is a chance that another doom token is added to the Ancient One’s doom track.
Worse, every time an investigator enters combat against the Dunwich Horror, that player shuffles the Dunwich Horror deck and draws a card from it. The drawn card indicates the creature’s abilities and most of its combat statistics (although the Dunwich Horror’s listed toughness is always 5). The drawn card is used for the duration of the combat, and is discarded only after the Dunwich Horror is defeated, the investigator is defeated, or the investigator escapes from the combat.
If the Dunwich Horror is defeated, the Dunwich Horror track is emptied of Dunwich Horror tokens and the Dunwich Horror is set aside next to the board. However, if the Dunwich Horror track fills up again later on in the same game, the Dunwich Horror will appear again!
Additionally, when an investigator defeats the Dunwich Horror, that player may search the Common Item, Unique Item, Skill, Spell, or Ally deck for any one card and take it. This is the investigator’s reward for defeating one of the greatest threats in Dunwich.
New Ancient Ones
The following rules clarifications apply to the four new Ancient Ones included in this expansion.
Abhoth
When Abhoth attacks during the final battle, each investigator must discard a total of 3 Clue tokens, monster trophies, gate trophies, and/or items to avoid being devoured. This can be in any combination. For example, one investigator might discard 3 monster trophies, while another investigator discards 1 gate trophy, 1 Clue token, and 1 item. As long as some combination of 3 possessions from the list are discarded, the investigator lives to fight on.
Glaaki
The Servants of Glaaki can come into play – and their special abilities take effect – even during the final battle, although the Servants cannot directly participate in the fight. At the end of the game, keep track of which Servants of Glaaki were in play. Those Servants not in play can still enter play as Glaaki’s attack raises the terror level, causing Allies to be discarded. Once all of the Servants have “entered play,” they have no further effect on game play.
Example: Four Servants of Glaaki are in play at the start of the final battle, leaving only 1 Servant on Glaaki’s Ancient One sheet. When Glaaki attacks, he raises the terror level by 1. There is 1 Ally left in the Ally deck and, because the terror level was raised, that Ally card is discarded, which causes the final Servant of Glaaki to enter play. That particular Servant states, “When Servant of Glaaki enters play, all investigators must discard 1 Skill.” So, each investigator loses a Skill as a result of the Servant entering play. However, the Servants cannot participate in the battle, and they are all in play, so the players can now ignore them for the rest of the fight.
Shudde M’ell
When Shudde M’ell destroys a location with its rubble tokens, any investigator or monster in that location is moved to the street (just as if the location had closed).
Tsathoggua
The location special abilities referred to by Tsathoggua’s “Malaise” ability are the special abilities printed on the board. Thus, for example, while Tsathoggua is the Ancient One, investigators cannot use the Science Building’s “Dissection” ability or Harney Jones’ Shack’s “Hospitality” ability. Investigators may only use the special abilities of the locations listed by the Malaise ability.
Scoring Victories
The following two score modifiers are added to those listed on page 12 of the Arkham Horror rulebook:
+1 per Task or Mission completed during the game
–1 per investigator retired during the game
Using Only Part of the Expansion
While the Dunwich Horror expansion is intended to be used in its entirety, players are welcome to play Arkham Horror using only some of the elements of the expansion, such as only the new investigators, investigator cards, or Ancient Ones.
Arkham Horror Rule Changes and Clarifications
The following rules have been changed or clarified to improve the game.
Game Setup
(page 5 in the Arkham Horror rules)
If a Rumor is drawn during step 14 of Game Setup, discard it and draw again until you draw a mythos card that isn’t a Rumor.
Perform Upkeep Actions
(page 6 in the Arkham Horror rules)
Bless, Curse, Bank Loan, and Retainer cards do not require an upkeep roll during the first Upkeep Phase after an investigator acquires them.
Arkham Encounters
(pages 8-9 in the Arkham Horror rules)
If an investigator is drawn through a gate that appears as a result of an encounter (such as “A gate appears!” or “A gate and a monster appear!”), then he is delayed, just as if he had been drawn through a gate in the Mythos Phase.
Open Gate and Spawn Monster
(page 9 in the Arkham Horror rules)
When opening a gate in a location where there is no elder sign or gate, if there are five or more investigators playing, then draw and place two monsters instead of one.
When, at the beginning the Mythos Phase, the first player draws a mythos card that shows a location that already has an open gate (and therefore a monster is placed at every location with an open gate), this is now called a monster surge. When a monster surge occurs, the number of monsters drawn and placed is now equal to the number of open gates or the number of players, whichever is greater. When placing monsters, they should be divided as evenly as possible among the open gates, with no gate having more monsters placed on it than the gate where the monster surge occurred this turn. If there are more monsters to be placed than allowed by the monster limit, the players should decide where monsters will be placed. The players must make this decision before monsters have been drawn from the cup. If the players cannot agree where the monsters are to be placed, the first player decides the placement.
Example: There are 3 open gates (at the Black Cave, Science Building, and Unvisited Isle), 7 players, and no monsters in play when a mythos card is drawn that opens a gate at the Black Cave. This causes a monster surge: 7 monsters are drawn from the cup and placed on the open gates. They must be distributed as evenly as possible, so each of the 3 gates has 2 monsters placed on it, and the 7th monster is placed on the Black Cave, where the monster surge occurred. The Black Cave now has 3 monsters, while the other 2 open gates each have 2 monsters on them.
Weapons and Spell Limits
(page 15 in the Arkham Horror rules)
A spell or weapon that gives you a bonus (even one that says it lasts until the end of combat) only continues to give you the bonus while you devote the required number of hands to it. You can choose to switch weapons/spells in later combat rounds, but as soon as you “release” a spell or weapon, it stops working for you. Similarly, spells that are refreshed (such as at the beginning of each combat round in the Final Battle) cease to work and must be re-cast.
Investigator Status
(page 16 in the Arkham Horror rules)
If an investigator is reduced to both 0 Sanity and 0 Stamina at the same time, that investigator is devoured.
If an investigator’s maximum sanity or maximum stamina is reduced to 0, that investigator is devoured.
The Terror Track
(page 18 in the Arkham Horror rules)
Once the terror level has reached 10, if it ever increases again (via a mythos card special ability, for example), instead of moving the terror track marker, add one doom token to the Ancient One’s doom track for each point the terror level should have increased.
The Ancient One Awakens
(pages 18-19 in the Arkham Horror rules)
The Ancient One also awakens if a monster should be drawn from the monster cup, but there are no monsters in the cup.
The Ancient One also awakens if the terror level has reached 10 and there are monsters in play equal to twice the normal monster limit (for example, 16 monsters in a five-player game).
The Final Battle
(page 19 in the Arkham Horror rules)
Before the final battle begins, discard any active mythos cards. Additionally, once the final battle begins, investigators should no longer collect money or roll for Retainers or Bank Loans.
Monsters in Encounters
(page 20 in the Arkham Horror rules)
Many encounters state that “A gate and a monster appear!” For these encounters, both the monster and the gate stay on the board. However, many other encounters state that just a monster appears. For example, one of the Black Cave encounters states “A monster appears!” and one of the Hibb’s Roadhouse encounters states “A horrible monster appears!” When a monster but not a gate appears in an encounter, the monster does not stay on the board. If such a monster is defeated, players may take it as a trophy (unless its special ability states otherwise). If the monster is not defeated, it is returned to the monster cup, regardless of whether the investigator evades the monster or is knocked unconscious or driven insane by it.
Investigator Cards
Jenny Barnes should start with 2 Common Items rather than 1, and Bob Jenkins should start with $9 rather than $8.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following questions have been frequently asked about Arkham Horror.
The Sky and Flying Monsters
Q: Please clarify how flying monsters move.
A: Flying monsters move according to the following rules:
- Flying monsters only move when their symbol comes up in the Mythos Phase, just like other monsters.
- Flying monsters will not leave a space that already contains an investigator.
- When a flying monster in a street area or location moves, it will either move to an adjacent street space that has an investigator in it, or failing that, move to the Sky.
- When a flying monster in the Sky moves, it will move to any street space on the board with an investigator in it. If there’s more than one investigator to choose from, the monster moves into the space of the investigator with the lowest Sneak value. If the investigators’ Sneak values are the same, the first player chooses which investigator the monster moves toward, as usual. If there are no investigators in a street space, the monster remains in the Sky.
The Outskirts and Monster Limits
Q: Can you give an example of how the monster limit and the Outskirts work?
A: The monster limit is equal to the number of players plus three. If adding a monster to the board would bring the number of monsters above the monster limit, the monster is placed in the Outskirts area instead. When the Outskirts become too full, the terror level is increased by 1 and all the monsters in the Outskirts are returned to the monster cup. The maximum number of monsters that may be in the Outskirts without raising the terror level is 8 minus the number of players, as listed in the chart on page 18 of the rulebook.
Example: In a 3-player game, the monster limit is 6 and the maximum number of monsters in the Outskirts is 5. There are 3 open gates on the board, 6 monsters in Arkham, and 4 monsters in the Outskirts. During the Mythos Phase, you draw a location that already has an open gate, so you have to draw 3 more monsters. You would first draw 2 monsters and place them in the Outskirts. The Outskirts limit would be exceeded upon placing the second monster, so you would then increase the terror level by 1 and return the six monsters in the Outskirts to the cup. Finally, you would draw the third monster and place it in the Outskirts.
Locations
Q: If a card causes a location to temporarily close, what happens to any monsters or investigators at that location?
A: They are immediately moved into a street area as if the location had closed permanently.
Q: How exactly do location special abilities work?
A: The investigator may use the printed action on a location rather than draw an encounter card for that location during the Arkham Encounters Phase. When he does so, he must be able to meet the requirements (have at least $1 to shop with, or have Clue tokens, gates trophies, or monster trophies to spend, etc.). In other words, players may not use the special ability of a location if they cannot actually resolve it.
Q: When spending monster trophies, do you count any modifiers to toughness currently in effect?
A: Yes, use the modified toughness. This bonus applies to the use of any monster trophies spent at any location.
Q: Why wouldn’t investigators just camp out at the Curiositie Shoppe and buy the four elder signs?
A: If an investigator shops at the Curiositie Shoppe or General Store, the investigator must purchase one of the three items drawn if he or she has enough money to do so. The other two items drawn are discarded to the bottom of the deck. This makes it significantly harder to “browse” the Unique Item deck looking for elder signs.
Arkham Encounters
Q: If a location card tells an investigator that he may move to another location and have an encounter there, what happens if the location has a monster and/or gate on it?
A: First, the investigator must successfully evade or fight any monsters at the location. If successful, the investigator has a normal Arkham Encounters Phase at the new location, following either the “Gate” or “No Gate” instructions on pages 8-9 of the rulebook.
Q: When a location card says “a gate and a monster appear,” which appearance is resolved first?
A: The gate appears first, and any investigators at the location are drawn through the gate. Then the monster appears. Monsters that appear as a result of these encounters stay on the board, count against the monster limit, can go to the Outskirts, etc., as normal.
Q: When a location card says “a gate and a monster appear,” is a doom token added to the doom track?
A: Yes.
Q: If an encounter, when failed, tells the investigator he must “stay here for 2 turns and gain 2 Clue tokens” but before the 2 turns have ended a gate appears at the location and draws the investigator into an Other World, does the investigator lose the 2 Clue tokens?
A: No. The investigator immediately receives the Clue tokens when he or she agrees to meet the requirements of the encounter. If a gate opens in the meantime, the investigator is sucked through the gate and becomes delayed in the Other World. He no longer has to miss two turns if sucked through on the first – the new condition (being delayed in the Other World) is in effect.
Gates and Other Worlds
Q: Do I receive an “explored” marker if I enter the first area of an Other World, have an encounter, and become lost in time and space?
A: No.
Q: Do I receive an “explored” marker if I enter the first area of an Other World, have an encounter, and am sent back to Arkham?
A: Yes.
Q: Do I receive an “explored” marker if I enter the first area of an Other World, cast “Find Gate,” and return to Arkham?
A: Yes. In general, whenever you “return to Arkham,” you reappear at a gate that leads to the Other World you were in and gain an “explored” marker.
Q: Why is an investigator delayed when a gate opens up in their location, but not delayed if he enters the gate normally?
A: If the investigator was not delayed by a gate opening up in his location, he would be able to get through the Other World having only one Other World Encounter rather than two.
Q: If an investigator is delayed in the Other Worlds and draws an encounter that returns him to Arkham, is he still delayed when he returns?
A: Yes. Returning to Arkham doesn’t affect the fact that he is delayed.
Q: If a gate with the + symbol is closed, are + symbol monsters removed from the Outskirts too?
A: Yes. All monsters showing the same symbol as the gate being closed or sealed are returned to the monster cup, even those in the Outskirts.
Q: What happens to a monster that emerges from a gate that appears at a closed location? Or if a location closes while there is a monster and a gate at the location? Is the monster trapped inside the closed location?
A: The gate replaces the location, so while the gate is open there is no closed location for the monster to be “trapped” in. Put the gate over the closed marker. If the gate is later closed, then resolve the effects of a closed location – i.e., any monster or investigator at the location that appeared with the gate is tossed out into the street.
Q: When exactly can Flesh Ward be cast?
A: When you are told to lose 1 or more points of Stamina, you may cast Flesh Ward to prevent that loss. For instance, this can work on the Stamina from a single failed Combat check. This does not make the investigator immune to further harm from that source, it only prevents it one time.
Q: Characters in Other Worlds receive no movement points. But if a character in an Other World has an item that gives the character movement points, such as the Motorcycle or the Ruby of R’lyeh, can the character use an item that requires the character to spend movement points, such as the Necronomicon?
A: No. You cannot receive movement points or use any items requiring movement points while in an Other World.
Investigator Cards
Q: If I discard a card to pay a cost (e.g., to get rid of the Rumor “The Stars Are Right”), do I also get the listed benefit for discarding that card (e.g., the ally Duke may be discarded to immediately restore your Sanity to its maximum)?
A: No. If you discard a card to pay a cost of some kind, you get no other benefits for discarding the card.
Investigator Abilities
Q: Are spells considered items? When an encounter instructs you to discard items, can you discard spells?
A: Yes. Spells are considered items for all purposes. This doesn’t always make perfect thematic sense, but it keeps things simple.
Q: What happens when characters that get to draw extra encounter cards at locations (Darrell Simmons for Arkham encounters and Gloria Goldberg for Other World encounters) have an encounter that instructs them to draw 2 cards and choose 1 to encounter?
A: When instructed to draw 2 cards and choose 1, these investigators draw an extra card – which means they draw 3 cards and choose 1 to encounter.
Q: The Skill card “Sneak” (and other Skill cards named after skills) says “+1 Sneak” in bold letters, then says in normal font “When you spend a Clue token to add to any Sneak check, add one extra bonus die.” Are there two potential bonuses on this card, or is the text in normal font explaining what the bolded “+1 Sneak” means?
A: These are two different bonuses. The Sneak card gives you a permanent +1 Sneak bonus, as well as the separate ability to add one extra die to Sneak checks whenever you spend a Clue token.
Q: When using the Patrol Wagon, do you need to find a route to your chosen destination that is free of monsters, or do you simply relocate your investigator to the chosen location?
A: You simply relocate your investigator to the chosen location, ignoring monsters that would be passed through. However, if you begin or end your movement in a space with monsters, they must still be evaded as usual.
Q: Do I have to be using the Bullwhip or Cross in combat to gain their special abilities?
A: No, in the case of these two cards, you do not have to use them in combat to make use of their secondary abilities.
Q: Does the Strong Mind ability (reduce all Sanity loss by 1) of the professor, Harvey Walters, apply to the casting of spells?
A: No. The professor’s ability works on losses, not costs. The same distinction applies to the gangster, Michael McGlen, and his ability to reduce Stamina losses.
Mythos Cards
Q: Is the Deputy subject to the “Curfew Enforced” mythos card? In other words – if the Deputy stays on the streets at the end of his turn, can he be sent to jail?
A: No. The Deputy is not subject to the penalty for being on the streets when Curfew is active.
Q: Do cards that affect monsters at Miskatonic University (such as the “Campus Security Increased” mythos card or the “Flute of the Outer Gods” Unique Item) affect monsters spawned by “The Terrible Experiment”?
A: No. Those monsters are not actually on the board; they can only be fought as if they were.
Q: What do activity markers do? Are they just referenced by cards that I haven’t seen yet?
A: Activity markers are just reminders of activity that is occurring in an area. They are most often used to mark where a Rumor is active, but may be used for other activities that occur from the mythos cards as well.
Monster Abilities
Q: What happens if you draw a nightgaunt (special ability: if you fail a Combat check against a nightgaunt, you are drawn through the nearest open gate) as an Other World Encounter?
A: The nearest gate is the gate back to Arkham, so you are immediately returned to Arkham and given an “explored” marker. Thematically, as servants of Nodens, nightgaunts sometimes helped investigators.
Q: Who determines where a Hound of Tindalos moves if two investigators are tied in being nearest to the hound?
A: As per the rules governing flying monsters, the hound will go after the investigator with the lower Sneak value. In case of a tie, the first player chooses.
Q: Does Physical/Magical Immunity/Resistance prevent the secondary effects of a Physical/Magical Weapon or Spell?
A: No. These monster abilities only reduce and/or eliminate the bonus to the combat check provided by a weapon. This has no effect on the item’s other abilities.
Q: Does the Cthonian’s ability to inflict Stamina loss instead of moving affect investigators in Other Worlds?
A: No, the Chthonian creates an earthquake that only affects Arkham and the investigators located there. This is one of the few times investigators are safer in Other Worlds.
Ancient One Powers
Q: Ithaqua’s “Icy Winds” power says “All Weather cards are discarded without their special effects taking place.” What happens in a game with Ithaqua if a non-Weather Environment is already in play, and a mythos card with a Weather Environment effect is drawn?
A: Do not replace or discard the existing non-Weather Environment card. Do the basic upkeep portions of the new Weather mythos card (gate, clues, monsters move), but ignore its special ability and then discard it.
Q: Yog-Sothoth’s The Key and the Gate power states that “the difficulty to close or seal a gate increases by 1.” Does this mean 6 Clue tokens are required to seal gates?
A: No. It means only that 2 successes are required on the Lore or Fight check to close gates.
Battling the Ancient One
Q: In combat with Ancient Ones, do investigators get a full Upkeep Phase, or is the Upkeep Phase limited in some way during the final battle?
A: Investigators get a full Upkeep phase.
Q: In combat with an Ancient One, how do cumulative successes in the “Investigators Attack” step work?
A: To defeat the Ancient One, the players must do a total number of successes equal to the number of players multiplied by the number of doom tokens on the Ancient One. So, if 4 players are facing Yig (doom track of 10), they need 40 successes to win. For every 4 successes they do, they remove 1 doom token to track their progress. If the investigators get 9 successes in the first round of combat, they would remove 2 doom tokens, and 1 success would carry over to the next round of combat.
Q: At the start of battle with Ithaqua, how do you roll to see if you lose items? Do you choose each item one at a time and and roll to see if you lose it, or do you roll all the dice at once and then choose which items you lose?
A: You roll separately for each item.
Miscellaneous
Q: Exactly where, when, and what can investigators trade?
A: Investigators may trade any time they are in the same location except during combat. They may trade before, during or after movement, which means trading does not end a move. They may trade Common Items, Unique Items, Money, and Spells. They may not trade Clue tokens, Allies, and Monster and Gate trophies.
Q: If a card tells you to “lose your next turn,” does this mean skip all phases, including Upkeep?
A: Yes. Note that this is different from being told to “stay here next turn,” which means you are delayed.
Q: When can a character perform actions during a phase? For example, if a player with the ally Duke (“discard to immediately restore your Sanity to its maximum”) draws an encounter and has to roll a die and lose that much Sanity, when can he discard Duke to restore Sanity: not at all once the encounter card is drawn, before the roll, or after the roll?
A: Actions can be performed at any time during their listed phase as long as any given conditions are met. However, once an encounter is drawn, it must be resolved before any more actions can be performed. So, in the case of Duke, you can use him before or after drawing an encounter card, but if you draw the encounter card and it inflicts Sanity loss that reduces you to 0 Sanity, you go insane before you can use Duke. Flesh Ward is one exception to this rule because it prevents a Stamina loss and is intended to be used in response to such events.
Q: How does a re-roll work? Can you re-roll only the skill dice that you have before spending Clue tokens, or can you re-roll all the dice you’ve rolled on a given check, including the extra dice gained from spending Clue tokens?
A: You re-roll all the dice you’ve rolled for the skill check so far, so you can re-roll dice gained from spending Clue tokens as long as you spend your Clue tokens before using your re-roll.