Cthulhu: Death May Die – R'lyeh Rising
Cthulhu: Death May Die – R'lyeh Rising Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
- This episode must always be played with 5 investigators. Some players may control more than 1 investigator, distribute them as you prefer.
- The Mythos deck is composed solely of the 10 cards contained in this box.
- This episode can have any 2 monsters by using their Unknown Monster cards. The cards are used only to reference the basic monster stats: health, attacking dice, and special ability. Ignore the effect "When the Elder One Advances". The Episode Monsters card slot will hold 2 Unknown Monster cards. Randomly choose any 2 Unknown Monsters and place them side by side on the slot (see image). The card on the left side of the slot is the "Left Monster" and the one on the right side of the slot is the "Right Monster", as referenced in the episode setup and some Mythos cards. For the monster's setup, use only the episode setup indication, adding any effects from the Unknown Monster card. For example: Zoog's setup effect indicates "Summon with another Zoog". If Zoog is the Left Monster, 2 Zoogs are placed at the Red Gate during setup, and you do not spawn any in a random Gate.
- On each Unknown Monster card, place Energy tokens according to the number of figures in its pool (see table below). Place the token on top of the "When the Elder One Advances" text box, both to cover the effect (to remember that it doesn't apply), and to indicate their Energy Drop (how many Energy tokens that monster drops when it dies).
| Pool | Energy Drop |
|---|---|
| 1 figure | 3 Energy tokens |
| 2 or 3 figures | 2 Energy tokens |
| 4 or more figures | 1 Energy token |
- R'lyeh Spawn: Use the Star Spawn figure from the Death May Die core box or 1 Amorphous Scion figure from the Fear of the Unknown core box to represent the R'lyeh Spawn monster.
- There is only 1 Elder One card in this episode. Cthulhu starts already in its Final Stage.
- Place the Elder One token on the first space of the track, seeing as in this episode the Elder One begins already summoned. This means the death of an investigator does not end the game.
Spaces and Cthulhu Body Parts
The Gate and Vortex tokens positioned around Cthulhu each represent a space the figures can occupy. The Cthulhu figure is considered to contain 5 spaces associated with its body parts: 2 Legs, 2 Arms, and 1 Head. When a figure is in those spaces, players may position them as they prefer (on the ground next to a foot; on the hand, shoulder, or pillar top; on the back or the top of the head…).
As indicated on the Episode card setup, adjacent spaces are linked by dotted lines. The Gates and Vortexes are linked in a circle. The Final Vortex is adjacent to the Yellow Gate and to both Legs. Each Leg is also adjacent to its corresponding Arm. Both Arms are also adjacent to the Head.
The leaflet's setup diagram labels these spaces: North Vortex, Death Vortex, Horror Vortex, Head, Right Arm, Left Arm, Blue Gate, Left Leg, Right Leg, Red Gate, Final Vortex, Night Vortex, Moon Vortex, and Yellow Gate.
The 5 Cthulhu body part spaces have a few restrictions:
- Tokens can't be placed on them. If a token would be placed on them, it is discarded instead.
- Enemies can never enter body part spaces.
- Investigators may only move to a body part space by using a Climb action.
- If a special effect would make any figure move from a Gate or Vortex into a body part, it stops at the Final Vortex instead. If the investigator is already on a body part, they simply don't move.
- Only 1 investigator may stay on each body part space at a time, but they may move through each other using a Climb action.
- Investigators can't Rest on body part spaces.
R'lyeh Energy
Whenever an enemy dies, place in its space the number of Energy tokens as indicated by the Energy Drop value on their enemy card.
Investigators may use an Attune Energy action to pick them up for use in their Incantations against Cthulhu. These tokens are not limited, if there are not enough tokens, you may add any substitutes.
Discovery
Each space may only be Investigated while it has a Discovery token on it. Once an investigator has drawn a Discovery card on that space, remove the token.
Attacking Cthulhu
Each of Cthulhu's body parts are considered an enemy for attacking and effect purposes. You may only attack a body part if in range and if it is Vulnerable. At the start of the Episode, all body parts are invulnerable; they cannot be damaged until the Discovery card with the correct Condition is attached to them on the Cthulhu dashboard.
Each body part has its own independent health listed on the dashboard. When they lose health, place wound tokens on the corresponding space of the diagram on the Cthulhu dashboard. When a body part is destroyed, replace the wound tokens with a Destroyed token.
A destroyed body part is neutralized, but still there: investigators can still move over them.
Once the Head and at least 2 other body parts are destroyed, players win!
Expert Cultists
If using Expert Cultists in this Episode, they drop 1 Energy token like regular Cultists.
Unknown Monsters
If you are using the Unknown Rules in this Episode, the Unknown Monsters also drop Energy tokens when they die.
During setup, after setting up the Unknown Monsters on the Unknown Dashboard and summoning them on random Gates, also place Energy tokens on their cards following the Energy Drop rules.
NOTE: for Unknown Monsters you SHOULD NOT COVER THE TEXT BOX, since their "When the Elder One Advances" will be in effect during the game.