Eldritch Horror: Strange Remnants
Eldritch Horror: Strange Remnants Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Expansion Overview
The Strange Remnants expansion leads investigators to explore the mysterious remnants of past civilizations and the ruins left behind. These ancient sites of power can be harnessed by the worshippers of the Ancient Ones for nefarious purposes or by the investigators to protect humanity. This expansion includes a new Ancient One and new investigators, Monsters, and encounters to be used with Eldritch Horror. It also introduces entirely new mechanics including Adventures, Mystic Ruins Encounters, the Focus action, and Unique Assets.
Components
The Strange Remnants expansion contains these components:
- 4 Investigator Sheets
- 1 Ancient One Sheet
- 86 Encounter Cards
- 4 General
- 4 America
- 4 Europe
- 4 Asia/Australia
- 6 Other World
- 20 Mystic Ruins (4 unique backs)
- 20 Special (2 unique backs)
- 24 Research
- 6 Mystery Cards
- 6 Adventure Cards
- 20 Mythos Cards
- 4 Prelude Cards
- 4 Round Overview Cards
- 4 Artifact Cards
- 16 Asset Cards
- 16 Condition Cards
- 16 Spell Cards
- 24 Unique Asset Cards
- 4 Investigator Tokens with Plastic Stands
- 6 Monster Tokens (4 normal, 2 epic)
- 6 Health Tokens
- 4 Sanity Tokens
- 12 Focus Tokens
- 1 Adventure Token
- 1 Mystic Ruins Token
Expansion Icon
Cards in this expansion are marked with the Strange Remnants expansion icon to distinguish these cards from the cards in other Eldritch Horror products.
Round Overview Cards
The Round Overview cards can be used by players to quickly reference possible actions, encounters, and Mythos card effects.
Using This Expansion
When playing with the Strange Remnants expansion, add all expansion components to their respective decks or pools of Eldritch Horror components except for the components described below.
- Before setup, players draw one random Prelude card. These cards alter game setup and make each game feel unique.
- The Mystic Ruins Encounter cards included in this expansion are used by the Syzygy Ancient One as well as the In Cosmic Alignment Prelude card. Otherwise, they are returned to the game box. See Mystic Ruins Encounters below for rules regarding Mystic Ruins Encounters.
- The Adventure cards included in this expansion are used by the In Cosmic Alignment Prelude card. Otherwise, they are returned to the game box. See Adventures below for rules regarding Adventures.
- Add all Focus tokens and the Adventure token to the general token pool. See Adventures and Focus Action below 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.
The Strange Remnants expansion also introduces a new action, the Focus action, that can be performed by any investigator. See Focus Action below for rules regarding the Focus action.
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 In Cosmic Alignment Prelude card instructs players to setup the Mystic Ruins Encounter deck. The rules for setting up and using this deck are described below.
Adventures
Adventure cards represent various stories that investigators can take part in for additional rewards, such as retreating Doom or advancing the active Mystery.
Example card, "Ruins Under the Stars" (Cosmic Alignment — II): "The true purpose of the standing stones, long thought to be an ancient calendar or temple, has been revealed. The power of the ley lines must be harnessed."
- When this card enters play, place an Adventure token on London.
- When this Adventure is completed, draw the Relics of the Pyramids Adventure.
- As an encounter, an investigator on London may draw and resolve a random Stonehenge Mystic Ruins Encounter from the deck. After resolving that encounter, he may spend 2 Clues to advance the active Mystery by 1. Whether he spends the Clues or not, complete this Adventure.
The Cosmic Alignment Adventures are used only if the In Cosmic Alignment Prelude card is drawn at the beginning of the game. Set aside all Adventure cards to be used as instructed by the Prelude. The Cosmic Alignment Adventures are split into four stages, shown as a trait (I, II, III, IV) on the cards' fronts which will be called out during the game.
After resolving setup, the In Cosmic Alignment Prelude instructs investigators to draw the Adventure for the first stage of the story, Discovery of a Cosmic Syzygy. 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 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. Each Adventure will instruct investigators to draw an Adventure for the next stage of the story until reaching the fourth and final stage.
Mystic Ruins Encounters
The Mystic Ruins Encounter cards in this expansion allow investigators to explore strange and unexplained places around the globe.
The Mystic Ruins Encounter cards are used only if Syzygy is the Ancient One or when using the In Cosmic Alignment Prelude card.
To setup the Mystic Ruins Encounter deck, shuffle all Mystic Ruins Encounter cards into a single deck. Then another player cuts the deck.
- Mystic Ruins Encounters are complex encounters that may require an investigator to resolve multiple tests.
- Each Mystic Ruins Encounter's back indicates the space it corresponds to.
- The Mystic Ruins token is placed on the space corresponding to the top card of the Mystic Ruins Encounter deck. This space is referred to as the "Mystic Ruins space." If the top card of the Mystic Ruins Encounter deck changes for any reason, move the Mystic Ruins token to the appropriate space.
- During the Encounter Phase, an investigator on a space containing the Mystic Ruins token may encounter it by drawing and resolving the top card of the Mystic Ruins Encounter deck.
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 a Unique Asset 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.
Example card, Stone Tablet (Unique Asset), Item — Relic: "When you perform a Rest action, you may attempt to decipher the carvings on the tablet (Lore test −1). If you pass, flip this card."
Additional Rules
This section lists additional rules regarding Combat Encounters and Mysteries.
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.
Physical Resistance
Some Monsters and Epic Monsters 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 dice pool except from Magical possessions and Spells. Effects that allow the investigator to reroll dice or manipulate dice results can be used as normal.
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.
Optional Rules
Some players may wish to adjust the game's difficulty. This section lists optional rules for adjusting the game's difficulty and setup instructions of Prelude cards.
Insane Game Difficulty
If players wish to have a more challenging game experience than Hard game difficulty from the base game, they can make the game significantly more difficult by building the Mythos deck using only hard Mythos cards.
Note: This optional rule may require additional expansions depending on the chosen Ancient One.
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. When an investigator moves to another space using the Kopesh of the Abyss Artifact's effect, does that investigator encounter the Monsters on his new space?
A. No. The investigator will encounter each Monster on his space. Then, if he defeats all Monsters on his space, he may move to the nearest space containing a Monster. He will not encounter those Monsters in the same round. If he remains on that space until the Encounter Phase, he will then encounter each Monster on that space as normal.
Q. If an investigator discards a Relic Unique Asset as a part of its flip effect, can he still place an Eldritch token on the Relics of the Ancient World Mystery?
A. Yes. The Mystery gives the investigator the option to both place an Eldritch token on the Mystery and discard the Relic Unique Asset. The investigator may choose to resolve this effect even if he can resolve only part of the full effect.
Q. What happens if an effect would cause the Omen to advance to the red space while it is already on that space?
A. "Advance the Omen to the red space of the Omen track" means to advance the Omen until it is on the red space. If the Omen starts on the red space, it will advance four times in total and return to the red space of the Omen track.
If Syzygy is the Ancient One, this will trigger its "When the Omen advances to the red space of the Omen track" effect.
Q. When playing against Syzygy, do investigators need to solve two Mysteries to win the game?
A. No. When the Syzygy Ancient One sheet is flipped, one Clue will be placed on the Ancient One sheet for each solved Mystery. However, the Sealing the Portal Special Encounters will also place Clues on the Ancient One sheet. Solving the Mysteries is not required to attempt the Special Encounters or win the game. However, solving Mysteries greatly reduces the difficulty of the Final Mystery.
Q. Does the Crystal of the Elder Things Artifact from the Forsaken Lore expansion negate the Health loss from the Out of the Aeons Mythos card?
A. Yes. An investigator with the Crystal of the Elder Things Artifact cannot lose Health or Sanity from Mythos card text effects even if that Health or Sanity loss cannot be prevented. The Crystal does not create a prevention effect that "prevents" the loss of Health or Sanity if it would occur. Instead, it prohibits Mythos card text effects from causing the investigator to lose Health or Sanity.