Eldritch Horror: Mountains of Madness Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Using This Expansion
• Expansion Icon
• Components
  • Ancient One Sheet: Rise of the Elder Things
  • Round Overview Cards
• Prelude Cards
• Antarctica Side Board
  • Side Board Setup
• Side Board Rules
  • Moving to the Side Board
  • Location Abilities
  • Location Encounters
  • Research Encounters
• Adventures
• Focus Action
• Unique Assets
• Additional Rules
  • Mystery
  • Combat Encounters
    • Alternate Combat Tests
    • Magical Resistance
    • Physical Resistance
• Optional Rules
  • Adjusting Game Difficulty
    • Staged Difficulty
  • Control Your Fate
• Frequently Asked Questions

Using This Expansion

When playing with the Mountains of Madness expansion, add all expansion components to their respective decks or pools of Eldritch Horror components except for the components described below.

• The Round Overview cards can be used by players to quickly reference possible actions, encounters, and Mythos card effects.
• Before setup, players draw one random Prelude card. These cards alter game setup and make each game feel unique.
• The Antarctica side board, Outpost Encounter cards, Mountain Encounter cards, Antarctica Research Encounter cards, and the six Clues and three Gates that correspond to spaces on the Antarctica side board are used by the Rise of the Elder Things Ancient One and the Doomsayer From Antarctica Prelude card included in this expansion. Otherwise, these components are returned to the game box. See page 4 for rules regarding this components.
• The Adventure cards included in this expansion are used by the Doomsayer From Antarctica Prelude card. Otherwise, they are returned to the game box. See page 5 for rules regarding Adventures.
• Add all Focus tokens and the Adventure token to the general token pool. See page 5 for rules regarding these components.
• Shuffle all Unique Assets to create the Unique Asset deck. Place this deck faceup near the Asset deck.

Some components in this expansion require other newly introduced components. For this reason, all expansion content should be included when playing with this expansion.

Expansion Icon

Each card in this expansion is marked with the Mountains of Madness expansion icon to distinguish these cards from the cards in other Eldritch Horror products.

Components

The expansion contains the following components:

• 1 Antarctica Side Board
• 8 Investigator Sheets with Matching Tokens and Plastic Stands
• 2 Ancient Ones Sheets
• 26 Mythos Cards
• 14 Mystery Cards (2 unique backs)
• 12 Adventure Cards (3 unique backs)
• 8 Artifact Cards
• 16 Asset Cards
• 16 Spell Cards
• 42 Unique Asset Cards
• 32 Condition Cards
• 6 Prelude Cards
• 4 Round Overview Cards
• Encounter Cards: 4 General, 4 Americas, 4 Europe, 4 Asia/Australia, 6 Expedition (3 unique backs), 6 Other World, 48 Research (2 unique backs), 24 Special (3 unique backs), 16 Outpost, 16 Mountains, 16 Antarctica Research
• 6 Clue Tokens
• 8 Focus Tokens
• 1 Adventure Token
• 1 Mystery Token
• 6 Gate Tokens
• 14 Monster Tokens and 8 Epic Monster Tokens

The sample cards pictured on the Components page (an investigator sheet, a Cultists Monster, the Gathering Provisions Adventure, the Intervene Spell, For the Greater Good and Hunted) are illustrations of the component types; their full text is printed on the physical cards and is not reproduced here. The Ancient One sheet and the Round Overview card are transcribed below.

Ancient One Sheet: Rise of the Elder Things

Rise of the Elder Things: The Once Dominant Species

• After an investigator resolves an Other World Encounter, he may move to Plateau of Leng.
• When 4 Mysteries have been solved, investigators win the game.
• When Doom advances to zero, flip this sheet and resolve the "A Dark God Awakens!" effect on the back.

Eons ago, the elder things were driven underground by the changing climate, hibernating in the cities they had built into the mountains or in the depths of the ocean. With the disturbance of the Miskatonic Expedition, they have begun to reclaim the world they once dominated.

Setup: Set aside all Rise of the Elder Things Special Encounters. Setup the Antarctica side board.

Mythos Deck (number of Mythos cards of each color in each stage):

Stage	Green	Yellow	Blue
Stage I	2	2	1
Stage II	3	3	1
Stage III	4	4	0

The effect printed on the back of this sheet, "A Dark God Awakens!", is not part of this document.

Round Overview Cards

Actions

Each action can be performed once per round.

• Travel: Move 1 space and spend travel tickets to move additional spaces.
• Prepare for Travel: Gain 1 travel ticket.
• Acquire Assets: Test Influence and gain Assets of equal or lesser value from reserve.
• Rest: Recover 1 Health and 1 Sanity.
• Focus: Gain 1 Focus.
• Trade: Trade possessions with another investigator on your space.
• Component Actions: Perform the action or local action of a component. Each component action counts separately.

Encounters

Resolve a Combat Encounter against each Monster on the space. Then, if there are no Monsters on the space, choose one:

• Location Encounter: Resolve an encounter based on the space's type or art.
• Token Encounter: Resolve an encounter that corresponds to a token on the space.

Prelude Cards

When playing with this expansion, players draw one random Prelude card before setting up the game. These cards alter game setup and make each game feel unique.

The card's effect is resolved immediately after drawing the card, unless it specifies different timing, such as "after resolving setup."

The Doomsayer From Antarctica Prelude card instructs players to setup the Antarctica side board. The rules for setting up and using this side board are described below.

Antarctica Side Board

The Antarctica side board featured in this expansion allows investigators access to a previously unexplored region of the world full of clues about the ancient history of the Earth and a wealth of alien artifacts.

This side board is only used if Rise of the Elder Things is the Ancient One or when using the Doomsayer From Antarctica Prelude card.

While the side board is in play, "game board" refers to both the main board included in Eldritch Horror and the side board. "Side board" refers to the side board but not the main board.

Side Board Setup

Follow the steps below to setup the Antarctica side board.

1. Place Side Board. Unfold the side board and place it near the main board within reach of all players.
2. Add Clues and Gates. Add the six Clues and three Gates that correspond to spaces on the side board to the Clue pool and Gate stack, respectively, and randomize the Clue pool and Gate stack.
3. Set Aside Monsters. Set aside the following Monsters from the Monster cup: 1 Elder Thing Monster, 1 Giant Penguin Monster, 1 Proto-Shoggoth Monster, and 1 Shoggoth Monster. If any of these components would be returned to the Monster cup, it is set aside instead.
4. Separate and Place Decks. Separate all Outpost Encounters, Mountain Encounters, and Antarctica Research Encounters into decks and shuffle each deck. Place these decks near the side board.

Side Board Rules

The following rules relate to the Antarctica side board.

Moving to the Side Board

Traveling to Antarctica can be a challenge. Below are the two options available to investigators to reach their destination.

• Antarctica on the main board and Miskatonic Outpost on the side board are connected by a Local path. During the Action Phase, an investigator may move from Antarctica to Miskatonic Outpost or from Miskatonic Outpost to Antarctica.
  • Each investigator may perform this movement only once per round.
  • This movement does not require an action but cannot be performed by a Delayed investigator.
• Alternately, when an investigator performs an Acquire Assets action, he may spend two successes to move to Miskatonic Outpost.

Location Abilities

Each space on the Antarctica side board has one or more location abilities that affect investigators on that space.

A space's "Local Action" ability can be performed only by investigators on that space. Each investigator may perform the "Local Action" ability of each space only once per round.

Location Encounters

Investigators on the Antarctica side board have access to thematic encounters related to the Antarctic adventure.

• During the Encounter Phase, an investigator on Miskatonic Outpost, Lake Camp, or Frozen Waste may encounter that space by drawing an Outpost Encounter and resolving the effect that corresponds to his space.
• During the Encounter Phase, an investigator on Snowy Mountains, City of the Elder Things, or Plateau of Leng may encounter that space by drawing a Mountain Encounter and resolving the effect that corresponds to his space.

Research Encounters

When an investigator encounters a Clue on the Antarctica side board, he does not resolve a Research Encounter for the chosen Ancient One. Instead, he draws and resolves an Antarctica Research Encounter.

An Antarctica Research Encounter is considered a Research Encounter for all game effects.

Adventures

The Adventure cards in this expansion represent the Antarctic expeditions that investigators can undertake for various rewards, such as retreating Doom or advancing the active Mystery. The Antarctica Adventures are used only if the Doomsayer From Antarctica Prelude card is drawn at the beginning of the game. Adventures are split into three stages, shown as a trait on the card's front (I, II, III), and tell the story of the Miskatonic Expedition to Antarctica that will uncover the history of the elder things.

When an Adventure is drawn, the active investigator places it faceup in play and resolves that card's "when this card enters play" effect.

Each Adventure has an effect that allows investigators to complete the Adventure. When an Adventure is completed, the active investigator resolves that card's "when this Adventure is completed" effect, which often includes drawing another Adventure representing the next chapter of the story. Then the active investigator discards the Adventure, any tokens on it, and any tokens placed by its effects.

Focus Action

This expansion introduces a new action that can be performed by any investigator. As an action, an investigator on any space gains one Focus token.

• An investigator may spend one Focus token to reroll one die when resolving a test. There is no limit to the number of Focus tokens he can spend to reroll dice.
• An investigator cannot have more than two Focus tokens.

Unique Assets

Some encounters in this expansion reward investigators with various Unique Assets. Like Spells or Conditions, Unique Assets are double-sided cards. An investigator cannot look at the back of Unique Assets unless an effect allows him to.

• Unique Assets are possessions and may be traded using the Trade action. There is no limit to the number of Unique Assets an investigator can have.
• "Asset" refers to both Assets and Unique Assets. "Non-Unique Asset" refers to Assets but not Unique Assets.
• When a Unique Asset is discarded, also discard all tokens on it.

Additional Rules

This section lists additional rules regarding Combat Encounters and Mysteries.

Mystery

This expansion introduces a new mechanic: "advance the active Mystery." Due to the complexity of Mysteries, this can result in a number of different effects. When investigators are instructed to advance the active Mystery, the active investigator resolves one of the following effects that applies:

• If the active Mystery requires one or more tokens to be placed on the card, place one token of that type on the card.
  • Clues, Gates, and Monsters placed on the active Mystery in this way are drawn from the Clue pool, Gate stack, and Monster cup, respectively.
• If the active Mystery requires an Epic Monster to be defeated, place two Health on the card. The Epic Monster's toughness is reduced by one for each Health on the active Mystery.
• If the active Mystery requires an investigator to spend one or more Clues, place one Clue from the Clue pool on the card. Any investigator may spend Clues placed on the active Mystery when resolving an effect of that card.

Combat Encounters

During the Encounter Phase, an investigator must encounter each non-Epic Monster on his space before encountering each Epic Monster on his space.

Alternate Combat Tests

If a Monster has another skill icon in place of either the Will or the Strength test indicator, the player tests the indicated skill in place of the skill it replaced.

Magical Resistance

Some Monsters and Epic Monster in this expansion have the Magical Resistance ability. When resolving a Combat Encounter against a Monster with the Magical Resistance ability, an investigator cannot apply any bonus to his die pool from Magical possessions or Spells.

Effects that allow the investigator to reroll dice or manipulate dice results can be used as normal.

Physical Resistance

Some Monsters and Epic Monster in this expansion have the Physical Resistance ability. When resolving a Combat Encounter against a Monster with the Physical Resistance ability, an investigator cannot apply any bonus to his die pool except from Magical possessions and Spells.

Effects that allow the investigator to reroll dice or manipulate dice results can be used as normal.

Optional Rules

Some players may wish to adjust the game's difficulty. This section lists optional rules for adjusting the game's difficulty.

Adjusting Game Difficulty

If all players agree at the start of the game, they can use the optional rules listed below to alter the difficulty of the game.

Staged Difficulty

Players can make the game's difficulty increase in stages by building stage I of the Mythos deck using only easy Mythos cards, building stage II of the Mythos deck using only normal Mythos cards, and building stage III of the Mythos deck using only hard Mythos cards.

• To increase the difficulty of this optional rule, players can use normal blue Mythos cards when building stage I of the Mythos deck and hard blue Mythos cards when building stage II of the Mythos deck. Players may also start with an easy blue Mythos card in play following the "Starting Rumor" rule in the Eldritch Horror Reference Guide.

Control Your Fate

Instead of drawing a random Prelude card before setup, players as a group may choose one Prelude card, following the card's effects as normal.

Alternatively, players may choose to not use a Prelude card.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What space type are spaces on the Antarctica side board?

A. The spaces on the Antarctica side board do not have a space type. When an investigator encounters a Clue on the Antarctica side board, he draws and resolves an Antarctica Research Encounter.

Q. Are two spaces connected by a Local path adjacent?

A. Yes. Two spaces connected by a Local path are adjacent.

Q. How does Finn Edwards's active ability work?

A. When Finn Edwards uses his active ability, he chooses himself, another investigator on his space, or both himself and another investigator on his space.

If Finn chooses only himself, he moves to an adjacent space connected by a Ship or Train path.

If Finn chooses only another investigator on his space, that investigator may move to an adjacent space connected by a Ship or Train path.

If Finn chooses both himself and another investigator on his space, Finn moves to an adjacent space connected by a Ship or Train path, and the chosen investigator may choose to move to that space as well. Finn and the chosen investigator cannot move to separate spaces.

Q. How does Ursula Downs's passive ability work?

A. Once per round, Ursula may choose to spend one fewer Focus when paying for an effect, including spending a Focus to reroll a die when resolving a test. This can reduce the cost of an effect to zero Focus.

Q. Does Wilson Richards's passive ability allow him to reroll a single die twice?

A. No. If Wilson or another investigator on Wilson's space spends a Focus to reroll a die and his dice pool is only one die, that investigator cannot use Wilson's passive ability.

Q. How does the Blunderbuss Asset's effect work?

A. Similar to the Double-barreled Shotgun, an investigator with the Blunderbuss gets two successes for each 6 he rolls when resolving a Strength test during a Combat Encounter. However, for each 1 he rolls during that test he negates one success. This means that when calculating his total successes, he subtracts one from the test result for each 1 he rolled to a minimum of zero successes.

Q. Can an investigator have multiple copies of the same Unique Asset?

A. Yes. There is no limit to the number of Unique Assets an investigator can have.

Q. Can an investigator gain a random Unique Asset when told to gain a random Asset?

A. No. If an effect says, "gain 1 random Asset from the deck," the investigator gains the Asset from the Asset deck, not the Unique Asset deck. An investigator gains a Unique Asset only if the effect specifically calls for a Unique Asset.

Q. Can investigators trade Task Assets?

A. Yes. Task Assets, like other Assets, may be traded using the Trade action. If a Task Asset has one or more tokens on it, those tokens remain on the card when traded.

Q. What happens if an investigator gains a Courier Run Unique Asset and there are no Clues in the Clue pool that correspond to City spaces?

A. The investigator should discard the Clue on the nearest City space containing a Clue, placing that Clue faceup on his Courier Run Unique Asset.

Q. Can an investigator benefit from both the Storm of Spirits Spell and a Weapon Asset?

A. No. The Storm of Spirits Spell allows an investigator to resolve a Lore test in place of the Strength test during a Combat Encounter. If he does, bonuses to his Strength do not apply to the Lore test. However, bonuses to the investigator's Lore apply to the test.

Q. When can an investigator discard a Debt Condition with a Funding Condition?

A. If an investigator would gain a Debt Condition and he already has a Funding Condition, he may discard the Funding Condition instead of gaining the Debt Condition.

If an investigator has both a Debt Condition and a Funding Condition, he may discard both cards at any time.

Q. Does an investigator recover additional Health from effects, such as the Provisions Unique Asset, if he has a Hypothermia or Infection Condition?

A. No. An investigator with a Hypothermia or Infection Condition does not recover Health from a Rest action nor does he recover additional Health from other effects during a Rest action.

However, effects that cause an investigator to recover Health without performing a Rest action, such as the Private Care Asset, affect that investigator as normal.