Monsters vs. Heroes: Volume 2 – Cthulhu Mythos
Monsters vs. Heroes: Volume 2 – Cthulhu Mythos Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Each deck contains:
- 30 character cards (each card with a special skill)
- 6 faction cards (3 for "Heroes" and 3 for "Monsters")
Set Up
Each player receives a randomly dealt faction card that he keeps face down, in front of him, during the game. Remember to remove any remaining faction cards from the game, without looking at them.
Before the game starts, players must check their faction, being sure to keep it secret until the end of the game.
Shuffle the character cards to form a deck, show the top card and place it face up next to the drawing deck, starting a discard pile. Then, each player draws three cards to form his starting hand of cards.
Before play begins, each player can decide to keep the starting hand, or discard it to draw three new cards, which he must keep. At this point, the game starts.
The last player to have read a Lovecraft's book goes first (the youngest, if there is a tie). Then, game turns go on clockwise.
How to Play
During his turn, every player has two options: play a card from his hand or draw a card from the top of the deck.
When the player plays a card from his hand, he always plays it in his area, in front of him on the table. The cards on the table will affect the player's score at the end of the game. It's not possible to play a card in another player's area (unless allowed by the played character card).
A player may only have a maximum hand of three cards, which means, if he already has three cards in his hand, he is forced to play one of them, and cannot draw any cards from the deck.
If a player doesn't have any cards in his hand, then he must draw a new card from the deck.
When the player plays a card from his hand, he reads its skill aloud and applies all effects. If the text says, "you may," it means the player is not forced to use that skill. All other skills are mandatory, even if they have a negative effect on you!
Note: There is no limit to the number of cards in play in a player's area.
If a player plays a card whose effect is mandatory, but it cannot be applied (for example, if it discards a card not in play at the moment), then the card is played in his area, but the skill just doesn't apply.
When a card is "discarded," the card must be put into the discard pile. The cards in the discard pile are public information.
When a skill targets a card "on the table," it refers only to cards in play in any player's area, not in the discard pile or in the deck.
Character Cards
The black or white icons in the upper-right corner of the card will affect the players' final score.
The rulebook shows three example cards:
- Cards with an orange name and at least one white sun symbol (Hero icon) are considered Hero cards. The example is "Investigator of the Occult" (9/30), with the skill: "Look at another player's hand. If he/she has Mother Hydra or an Innsmouth Folk, discard this card. Otherwise, choose one of his/her cards and add it to your own hand."
- Cards with a green name and at least one black skull symbol (Monster icon) are considered Monster cards. The example is "Innsmouth Folk" (1/30), with the skill: "You can discard a hero card on the table, except US Soldier, Francis Morgan, or Professor Armitage."
- Cards with a purple name are neutral cards and may or may not have a point value. The example is "Horrifying Hieroglyph" (30/30), with the skill: "If you have more cards in your area than the player on your right, this card is worth 1 point. If you have less cards in your area than the player on your right, this card is worth -1 point."
Neutral Cards
A neutral card is always immune to all effects targeting "Heroes" or "Monsters," but not to effects targeting just "cards."
In The Shadow over Innsmouth, there aren't any neutral cards. In At the Mountains of Madness, the only neutral cards are the "Horrifying Hieroglyph."
End of the Game
When the last character card is drawn, the game ends immediately. Cards in each player's hand are discarded and do not count for the final score.
All players now reveal their faction cards, showing their alliance for the game: "Heroes" faction card for Hero player, "Monsters" faction card for Monster player.
How to Win
Check all the cards in every player's area, adding up the number of Hero icons (white sun) and Monster icons (black skull) present on their cards.
A player who plays for Heroes scores 1 point for each Hero icon, but loses 1 point for each Monster icon.
A player who plays for Monsters scores 1 point for each Monster icon, but loses 1 point for each Hero icon.
Remember, some character cards have more than one icon, so count them all!
Each faction card also shows the names of two characters: if a player has one or both characters in his area, he scores 2 additional victory points. The rulebook's example Monsters faction card names "The Elder One" and "The Star Spawn," with a +2 and a Monster icon.
Whoever scores the highest number of points is declared the winner of the game. In case of a tie, the winner is the highest scorer who was the last to play.
The rulebook also shows an example card in this section, whose printed skill reads: "Move as many heroes as you want from a single player's area to another area of your choice." (The card's name is not legible in the rulebook scan, so it is not transcribed.)
Expert Rules for 2 Players
With these rules you can customize your deck and challenge your friend with your personal decks.
Set Up
Each player must build a new deck using 30 cards combining different sets of your choice (currently there are 4 different sets, two in Vol. 1 Victorian Nightmares and two included in this box). The new deck can't have a higher number of cards compared to those existing in the set they come from (for example, in the new deck can't be more than 3 Imp or 4 Albin Penguins). Furthermore, each player's deck must include at least 6 Hero cards, 6 Monster cards, and NO MORE than 6 Neutral cards.
Before starting the game, each player must discard two cards from his own deck, creating the discard pile. Then, each player draws three faction cards from the two chosen sets. After looking at them, place them in front of you without showing them to your opponent.
How to Play
The game follows the standard rules of the basic game. Unlike the basic game, each player only draws cards from his customized deck, instead of drawing from a common deck.
End of the Game
The game doesn't end when the last card is drawn. When the last card from one of the two players' deck is drawn, the opponent is allowed one last turn to play.
At the end of the game, each player chooses ONE of the three faction cards he placed in front of him (usually, the most profitable) to take into account for scoring. Points are calculated as in the basic game.