Search the Forums
Options
Keywords search:


Search in Forum...

Search within...

Match...

Antiquity...

Player messages...
You are here: FFG Forums /  Board and Card Games /  Elder Sign

Elder Sign
A fast-paced game of dice and dementia
Moderator: FFGAnton Topics: 178 | Posts: 1074
List of [Question]s
Published on 11 September 2011 - 16:46:41
7
1

These are multiple questions that are unclear (to me at least).:

1. Can you choose to NOT move?
It would seem a bit obvious, but then there lies the question of just sitting at the entrance and healing

2. Is it heal one Sanity AND Stamina, or one Sanity OR Stamina.
If you look at the rule book, it's AND, and if you look at the card, it's OR. I like the card's interpretation better.

3a. Clue tokens: Does it allow you to reroll ONE or ALL, or ANY NUMBER or ALL?
It just says "any or all". The implication is any one die, or all the die, but this probably needs clarification.

3b.  Can I keep using clue tokens after another role to complete a task fails?  
I think this is yes, but I'm unsure. 

4. How the devil does assisting work? Does the person just act as another focus area?
If you read it, it just seems that any ally assisting acts as another focus area, but then it seems just a bit weak.  6 guys in ONE room still doesn't do shit in terms of having an advantage.  

5. Summoning monsters when there are no free monster slots just mean it fizzles, right?

6. Elder Signs don't get lost from being devoured, correct?

7. Can spells be played out of turn, and for other people?

8.  Can characters that affect rolls (such as Mandy Thompson, and Michael McGlen) outside of their turn?  

9.  If an Ancient One devours the investigator representing the player, that player is OUT for the rest of the game, correct?  He does not get reintroduced as another investigator, correct?  

These are all the small inconsistencies/questions I had during 3 playthroughs.  Thanks for answering!

EDIT:  I have another question.

10. When we use trophies at the trophy shop, they just go to the bottom of the deck, right?

 

Without Signature
Page 1 of 3 (39 messages) 1 2 3 ...Last page »
Reply #1 | Published on 11 September 2011 - 01:43:07
7
1

 11.  Can you discard/defeat a monster that isn't in the room with you using a spell?

Without Signature
Reply #2 | Published on 11 September 2011 - 11:25:55

from how I read the rules and play....

1. yes

2. OR

3. "any" simplifies it to me, so if you roll your dice and get 2 things you need and have 3 dice that are not what you need you can choose to reroll those 3 misses.

3 b. yes is how i play it.

4. by "focusing" they mean holding a die result for you.  just like you yourself and hold one die result for use later on an adventure, so can another player who is at the same adventure.  but like you, they can only hold 1 die each.

5. NO.  it says in the rules what happens.  monster markers get added to the bottom of adventure cards if there are no slots for them out. you do get to pick which adventure though, and i would suggest not doing ones that have an arrow.

6. Correct, the rules say elder signs are owned by the grp and don't get lost when a character dies.

7. Not that I know of.

8. Yea, I admit this is a bit unclear.  I have been playing it as, yes they can go outside their turn because their ability says "once per turn" not "once during their turn".

9. ok, I havn't played yet where an ancient one awakens. so I havn't looked closely at rules for devouring.  I think you are correct though, they are out.  But I do know if a player dies before the ancient one awakens, they choose a new investigator. and there are rules for this.

10. that is how I have been doing it, since they deck is soo large they wont come back up that same game.

11. No.  I"m pretty sure you can only use spells and items during your turn and in the room you are in.

 

hope this helps, if someone else has another point of view about it, feel free to add your input.

Without Signature
Reply #3 | Published on 11 September 2011 - 19:54:52

 3.  Oh man, I've been playing this wrong.  I was doing a one-for-one.  So, I have 5 clue tokens, and wanted to re-roll 5 of my 6 dice, I spent all 5 tokens.  Perhaps I should read more closely.

10.  I've been placing them out of play, but I guess either method is ok.  I figured the exhibit has been investigated/solved, and therefore is gone/done for good.

Without Signature

Reply #4 | Published on 12 September 2011 - 00:49:09
7
1

Thanks for the replies so far.  

Responses:

1.  Agreed.

2.  Agreed.

3a.  I think you're wrong.  If that was the case, then there would be no purpose to using spell cards.  The spell cards that allow the hold of a roll are subsequently circumvented completely by individual choices of clue tokens.  

3b.  Thought so.

4.  That's weak as fuck.  :(

5.  Yeah, a subsequent read through the rules makes me notice that.  

6.  Yeah, after a few reads I realized that.  Then I realized there was an Ancient One that removes Elder Signs, and they couldn't be owned personally, subsequently.

7.  Why do the Spell Slot spells seem to refer to active player in the manual?  There shouldn't be a need to specify spell targeting if only the active player can actually use spells.  

8.  I think they should only be able to influence if they are within the same room, if able to affect them at all.  

9.  Agreed.  

10.  Yeah, I logicked that one eventually.  Recycling is more effective.

11.  Okay.  That seems fair. 

Moar questions!

12.  These are all character specifics.

12a.  If Mandy Thompson allows rerolls, is a turn a turn of the clock, or a turn of the player?  I think it does, since otherwise it is BROKE as fuck.

12b.  Does Joe Diamond allow his second reroll to NOT occur on immediately?  I think it occurs when you want it to, but only within that adventure.


 

Without Signature
Reply #5 | Published on 12 September 2011 - 13:02:20

3a. i disagree.  1. because you can burn through clue tokens FAST. 2. It isn't that easy to get clue tokens.  3. spells that hold a die for you can be saved for use later in the adventure, clue rerolls are just for that one roll/one line on that adventure card.

12. I kinda agree.  it does seem broken.  At times the rules say a turn is when a player does their action.  The rules never say a turn is anything else.  It never mentions that a turn is from midnight to midnight, or that it is whe all the players go. If you have 8 players the clock will pass midnight twice, If you only have 2, each player gets 2 actions before midnight.  So unfortunately IMO how the rules read atm is that she can let any player reroll 2 dice on 1 roll during each players  turn.

13.  I havn't looked this up yet.

some of these questions are really good and point out some obvious holes in the rules.  Hopefully after more people play this game and ask thes kinds of questions we can get an errata out soon.

Without Signature
Reply #6 | Published on 12 September 2011 - 13:11:30

Ok for joe diamond, yes.

you would get to pick when you want to reroll a clue reroll, but you can only do it once per turn and only on your turn. 

Without Signature
Reply #7 | Published on 13 September 2011 - 20:47:23
0
0

 I'd like to know exactly what happens when you play Bind Monster or the Horn of somethingIdon'trecall.

1. The monster is "removed"... does it go to the player who cast the spell as a trophy?  Back in the cup?  Removed from the game?

2. If the monster was placed over a task, does "removing" it count as completing that task, or does the player now have to complete whatever task was underneath?

My hunch would be that it goes to the player as a trophy, but doesn't count as completing a task... but that's just my $.02.

Without Signature
Reply #8 | Published on 13 September 2011 - 22:04:50

1. not exactly sure what item/spell you are referring to but on the backs of monster markers you usually get your answer.  some will say 'return to monster cup for 2 clue token" or some are worth point and the player who defeated the monster gets the marker to count as points.

for me the biggest unknown here is what happens when you turn in trophies for rewards, and some of the trophies are monster markers? do they go back into the cup or get put off to the side? i saw no answer in the rules.

2.  yea this is a little unclear too, but I have been playing it as you complete the task.  Reason being is the rules state that the monster marker stays in place until the investigator completes the adventure or fails, but still completed the monster marker task.  So when you put your dice on the monster marker they are locked there until you are done on that adventure.  The monster marker stays and still covers up the task until you are done....win or loose. 

here i only have one question.  if a monster marker is in place that locks a die.  And you beat that monster marker first, do you get the unlocked die back?

I have been playing it as NO, the die stays locked with the monster marker until the marker is removed, which happens at the end of the investigators turn if he completed the task on the monster marker.

that is how I have been playing it so far.

Without Signature
Reply #9 | Published on 13 September 2011 - 22:11:13

 so i cant seem to find what happens when you go to 0 sanity OR 0 stamina. when both go to 0 your devourered, but nothing on what happens with just one of them. Am I just really being blind here?

Reply #10 | Published on 13 September 2011 - 23:06:57

"If an investigator’s Sanity, Stamina, or both are reduced to 0 or less, he is devoured."

Reply #11 | Published on 14 September 2011 - 08:41:50

Yes, Bind Monster is quite confusing, mostly because the word "defeat" is not used in the rules about monsters, so it's clear whether it means "complete its task"or "claim it as a trophy," as well as whether you have to be on the same adventure as the monster.  Personally, I play it as allowing you to claim a monster as a trophy from anywhere (and then, if you're on the adventure, you have to complete the task underneath it), but I could be completely wrong.

SexyMike44: As to the trophies, the obvious answer would be that monsters go back to the cup and adventures go to the bottom of the deck, but that might not be the case.  I agree with you on the locked die issue, since you're not stupposed to remove the marker until the the adventure is resolved.

What remains, it would seem, has no artistic significance.

Reply #12 | Published on 14 September 2011 - 09:07:32

That is how I have been playing it, but putting the monster markers back has an effect on the game while putting the adventure cards on the bottom of the deck does not. Maybe stacking the markers and drawing them like cards would balance this, but who knows maybe the developers want us to use a cup for the markers for a reason, maybe they want the monsters to be constantly random.

guess my point is some clarification would be nice

Without Signature
Reply #13 | Published on 14 September 2011 - 11:04:02

I'm mostly basing my reply on Arkham Horror, where monster trophies are returned to the cup when spent.  Elder Sign borrows many things from Arkham, including the idea of the monster cup, so I expect it would work the same basic way.  I assume that, as in Arkham, the point of the cup is to be random.  Of course, if you don't fastidiously mix the cup when you return monsters to it, you may end up drawing monsters youjust put away.  I'm actually so concerned with making elements like this truly random that I don't even use a cup; I just put the monsters in a line on the side of the playing area and then use polyhedral dice to randomly determine which one to draw.

What remains, it would seem, has no artistic significance.

Reply #14 | Published on 14 September 2011 - 19:39:12

I own most FFG games and I believe this may be the worst rulebook among them.  Too many things are unclear or not answered in the rulebook.  I find this surprising considering this is supposed to be a simple dice game.  When I play it I do have fun but I'm not sure I'm playing as the designers intended.

 
Reply #15 | Published on 14 September 2011 - 20:25:10

Have just run into the Flute of the Outer Gods ("Discard after rolling to defeat one monster").  Similar to Bind Monster.  Not sure if I should just take the trophy, pick out and place the appropriate dice on it to complete the task or something else completely.  Although, just considering the monster "task" as completed seems simplest.

Someday something's coming/From way out beyond the stars

To kill us while we stand here/It'll store our brains in mason jars

                                           Lovecraft in Brooklyn, The Mountain Goats

Page 1 of 3 (39 messages) 1 2 3 ...Last page »
You are here: FFG Forums /  Board and Card Games /  Elder Sign

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are ® of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.  All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact | User Support | Rules Questions | Help | RSS