What is the turn order?
The main points to remember are:
1. Players get a turn, then the shadows get their turn.
2. On the players' turn:
A. Players can go in any order they want from turn to turn.
B. Each player gets movement and one action.
C. Players may move and wait for another player to go before they take their action.
D. After all the players take their movement and action, they all get to recover.
E. After all players recover, the Shadows get their turn.
3. On the Shadows' turn:
A. Events in the Shadow Realm transpire first. The order is:
i. Unseal a random Shadow Gate (if possible)
ii. If there is a Shadow in the Shadow Realm, move it randomly one hex
iii. If there is no Shadow in the Shadow Realm, spawn one
B. Events in Aethos happen after events in the Shadow Realm:
i. Each Shadow in Aethos gets to move toward the closes stronghold with an unrevealed Well
ii. When a Shadow reaches a stronghold with an unrevealed Well, it begins its assault
C. Shadows only attack avatars in response to bring attacked.
D. Shadows don't recover.
E. When the last Shadow in Aethos is done, it is the players' turn again.
What are and are not “Actions”?
Actions require the avatar to dedicate itself to accomplishing a dedicated task or acquiring a dedicated service and end avatar movement for its round. Non-actions may be performed before, during, or after movement.
ACTIONS:
Engaging in combat
Provoking an encounter (and engaging in combat with that encounter)
Using a service of a mystic
Using a service of a city
Dedicated recovery (foregoing movement to recover)
Forming a new body after returning to light
NON-ACTIONS
Invoking a soulshard
Using a mastery
Normal movement (including proceeding through a launch)
Invoking a fate card
Trading items with band members
Revealing a city or mystic as you move through it's hex
Revealing a well after defeating a guardian
Forming, entering, or leaving a band
How do I use the Creature Generator to determine a creature's power, combat bonus, wounding ability, life points and special abilities?
To generate a creature's power, combat bonus, wounding ability, and life points, use section 2 of the Creature generator. Roll 1d6 to determine the creature's power (adding one to the die roll if it was encountered in a lair). This section of the Creature Generator is reproduced below:
The GREEN (left) area is for all creatures that are NOT Guardians -- even Shadows and Xulthûl use the GREEN (left) area – although Shadows only have the life tokens that they accrued in the Shadow Realm prior to entering Aethos. The BLUE (middle) area is specifically for Guardians and potentially for Shadows and Xulthûl. All Guardians are fixed as power 4 creatures!.
If a Shadow manifests as a power 4 creature, it would use the BLUE (middle) area only for its combat and wounding bonuses, as its life token total is determined by its time in the Shadow Realm. If Xulthûl manifests as a power 4 creature, it will use the BLUE (middle) area for its manifestation just as a Guardian would. The RED (right) area is ONLY for Xulthûl and ONLY comes into play in very large games in which Xulthûl spawns as a power 5 creature.
So, a die roll of a "3" for a creature in a lair would be a "3+1=4" and result in a power 2 creature that has +1 to its combat rolls, does +1d-star additional wounds to its target when it scores a hit, and has 4 life tokens. A Guardian is always a power 4 creature, has +3 ro its combat roll, does +3 d-star wounds to its target when it scores a hit, and has 8 life tokens.
So, what about special abilities? The number of special abilities a creature possesses is determined by section 3 of the Creature Generator. This section of the Creature Generator is reproduced below:
The GREEN (left) area in section 3 is for all creatures that are NOT Guardians, Shadows, or Xulthûl . The BLUE (right) area is ONLY for Guardians. All Guardians have 2 abilities. Shadows and Xulthûl have a number of abilities determined by the number of avatars in the game.
Suppose a creature is encountered on a map with 2 revealed Dark Wells the players roll a "2" for its abilities. The modified roll would be "2 +1 (first Dark Well) +1 (second dark Well) = 4." So the players would look under the "4" column: the creature would have 1 ability.
How do I provoke an out-of-lair encounter?
Two conditions must be met to provoke an out-of-lair encounter:
1. the avatar's band must move onto a new terrain hex, and
2. the band must succeed in a LR against a 4.
The terrain hex the band ends its movement on may be of the same terrain type as the hex they started out on, but it may not be the same hex (i.e., no circling back to start). This only applies to out-of-lair encounters: entering a lair hex always ends movement and results in combat with the (possibly new) lair inhabitant.
So, how many life tokens do Shadows and Xulthûl have?
Shadows have ONLY those life tokens that they accumulated while in the Shadow Realm. That’s it. And they cannot recover tokens lost to wounds or drains. Xulthûl has the appropriate number of life tokens for the power level at which it manifests. So, if Xulthûl manifests as a power 4 creature, it will have 8 life points. Xulthûl can recover tokens lost to wounds or drains.
How do you use potions and scrolls?
An avatar may use a potion or a scroll at anytime outside of combat. During combat, an avatar may use a only one potion or one scroll each combat phase.
Precombat Phase: An avatar may freely use any one potion or any one scroll during the precombat phase. This is a freebie use.
During Combat: During a combat phase, an avatar may use any one potion or any one scroll. However, the avatar must defend during that combat phase and does not contribute to joint combat.
Does using a potion, book, or scroll out of combat count as an action?
No. Consumable items may be freely used out of combat and during the pre-combat phase. Once combat phases begin, however, using a consumable item requires the avatar to defend during the phase in which it is used.
How do I deal with defending avatars in joint combat?
The main points to remember are:
1) Rulebook section 10c on page 12 (Joint Combat) states that "X is the number of non-defending avatars engaged in joint combat." The next sentence that gives the example states "... 3 avatars actively engaged..." The "actively engaged" means "non-defending."
2) An avatar that is defending to read a scroll or use a potion completes the action at the start of the combat phase. Regardless of the degree of success (e.g., the grenade does not kill the monster), the avatar must defend for that combat phase. That means that the defending avatar does not contribute a die to the joint combat roll of another avatar targeted by the creature that phase. If the creature targets the defending avatar that phase, the defending avatar gets a combat roll that is made at a -1 to the die roll. The defending avatar's combat roll is the made with a number of dice equal to the number of other, non-defending avatars engaged in the joint combat. If the avatar is alone, or if all the other avatars engaged in the joint combat are also defending, it will get 1 die for itself so that is can actually make a combat roll. Yes -- this means that defending creatures still get a combat roll (at a -1 as well). If the defending combatant is hit and wounded by its opponent, it takes the appropriate number of wounds for the combat; if the defending combatant out-rolls its opponent (and would normally hit an wound it), it does zero wounds and the attack does not count as a hit (e.g., for abilities triggered by hitting a foe).
3) Since the effects of non-combat actions (e.g., scroll damage) resolve first each phase, a creature must survive those effects before it can engage in combat (or use its abilities) that combat phase.
What is the power 5 column for on the Creature Generator?
It is used for Xulthûl. In games with more than 4 avatars, Xulthûl will manifest as a power 5 creature. In games with fewer than 5 avatars, the column will not be used.
When an avatar Returns to Light, who can take its stuff?
Only that avatar's band members can take its stuff, and they can only take stuff that remains in Aethos. Items not taken are returned to their appropriate troves at the end of the turn.
What happens when there are more than 6 Shadows in the game?
If there are more than 6 Shadow in the game, then you are in a world of hurt. There are two house rule you can choose from:
HOUSE RULE 1: Use additional tokens (e.g., coins) for Shadows beyond the 6th.
HOUSE RULE 2: From the start, limit the number of Shadows in the game to 6 (i.e., if there are 6 Shadows in Aethos, no more can spawn in the Shadow Realm).
What happens if a Shadow moves onto a sealed Shadow Gate in the Shadow Realm, and then that Shadow Gate becomes unsealed at the beginning of the next Shadows' turn?
Okay, here goes... Suppose the Shadow in the Shadow Realm moves onto a sealed Shadow Gate. As stated in the rule book, the Shadow loses 1d2 life tokens. If it still has life tokens remaining, it ends its turn on the same hex as the sealed Shadow Gate.
This is where order of events becomes important. The order of events in the Shadow Realm is: 1. unseal a randomly determined sealed Shadow Gate, 2. add a life token to and move the Shadow in the Shadow Realm, 3. if there is not a Shadow in the Shadow Realm at the start of the Shadows' turn, spawn one.
So, now we have the Shadows' turn starting with a Shadow in a hex with a sealed Shadow Gate. If the Shadow Gate remains sealed, the Shadow gains a life token and moves in the Shadow Realm. If, on the other hand, the Shadow Gate is the one that becomes unsealed, the Shadow immediately enters Aethos through the Shadow Gate just as though it had moved onto an unsealed Shadow Gate, This happens before the Shadow can gain a life token, so the Shadow does not get its life token but it does enter Aethos. Typically, a Shadow may not enter Aethos and move on the same turn; however, the players are free to use any house rule they desire to deal with the Shadow's movement in this case.