Omens of the Deep
Announcing the Omens of the Deep Expansion for Elder Sign
“But although They no longer lived, They would never really die. They all lay in stone houses in Their great city of R’lyeh, preserved by the spells of mighty Cthulhu for a glorious resurrection when the stars and earth might once more be ready for Them. But at that time some force from outside must serve to liberate Their bodies.”
–H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Scraps of text that tell of a great evil hidden beneath the waves of the Pacific have long fascinated your old friend, Dr. Mason Phillips. For a time, it seemed that he had put his obsession to rest, but, as those immersed in the struggles against the Elder Gods know, that which slumbers may one day awaken anew.
Dr. Phillips has now come into possession of a strangely alluring amulet. It is the sole surviving artifact of a previous expedition into a remote region of the Pacific Ocean that had met with a disastrous end, and Mason has written to you that the odd trinket “calls” him to once again take up his search for the sunken metropolis. The good doctor has enlisted a crew to follow the amulet’s clues, and he has asked you to join him in his mad oceanic quest. Though the legend of R’lyeh has never gripped you as it had Mason, the combination of certainty and intense fear in the tone of his letters has convinced you to join him on this dangerous expedition. Let’s hope you don’t regret leaving the confines of the museum...
The murky waters hide untold horrors in Elder Sign: Omens of the Deep, an expansion for Elder Sign, the cooperative dice game steeped in the lore of H.P. Lovecraft’s terrifying mythos. Omens of the Deep adds the Pacific Adventure decks, new Mythos cards, The Ultima Thule entrance card, eight brave new investigators, and three horrifying Ancient Ones. The addition of mission markers and an array of new spells, skills, allies, and items will help you arm yourself for this voyage into long forsaken waters. Based on the popular The Call of Cthulhu expansion for the Elder Sign: Omens app, players can now venture forth from the within the familiar walls of the museum and board The Ultima Thule to combat the Ancient Ones that have begun to stir in the depths of the Pacific.
The Slumbering City Stirs
As the weird glow of the amulet pulses and shines, resonating with an unknown source, your crew is drawn further and further into the unexplored reaches of the Pacific Ocean. Your steady progress will reveal new challenges as The Ultima Thule chases down the location of the lost city of R’lyeh. The Omens of the Deep expansion explores this through two stages of the R’lyeh Rising mode.
The R’lyeh Rising mode of gameplay features two stages, each with their own risks and rewards. In the first stage, you and your fellow investigators will navigate the Dark Waters track to explore the remote location to which the amulet has drawn The Ultima Thule. In the second phase, your team will assemble the Amulet of R’lyeh and collect Elder Signs to seal away the evils that inhabit the sunken city of R’lyeh, in an attempt to defeat the slumbering Ancient One. However, savvy investigators should beware of lingering too long in the dark waters or plunging too eagerly into the amulet’s mysteries! Each stage is fraught with fresh horrors, so tread with care as you seek out the secrets of the deep.
A Fresh Fear of The Unknown
The dark waters of the Pacific Ocean conceal countless mysteries, and these terrifying perils lurk just beneath these frigid waves. Only by balancing calculated risk with careful exploration can the investigators hope to seal away the deeper darkness that stirs in the lost city.
The specific contents of Pacific Adventure cards are hidden until some brave soul ventures into that region, though the cards hint at just how daunting the perils within the region may be. The investigators will encounter a variety of Entry effects that trigger when they reach a new destination, and must contend with difficult choices as they encounter split penalties and rewards for failing or surviving an adventure.
An Army Beneath the Surface
While R’lyeh sleeps, other denizens of the deep have already begun to stir and will stop at nothing to bring the Ancient One back to a waking state. The Deep One Legion is particularly tenacious. Even when defeated, these creatures will just slither to a new adventure and wait for another chance to strike unless extraordinary measures are taken to dispose of them. These formidable foes can also overrun The Ultima Thule, destroying the investigators’ only safe haven.
Though The Ultima Thule’s charted course is perilous and these foes are many, all hope is not lost for the sanity and safety of the those who seek the Elder Signs. Completing the challenges on the new mission tokens provides an additional way to spend trophies for extra rewards. The Omens of the Deep expansion also comes with new items, investigators, allies, and spells to be leveraged against the coming of the Ancient One. The depths of the Pacific are filled with fresh terrors that only the bravest can attempt to seal with the power of the Elder Signs in the Omens of the Deep expansion for Elder Sign!
