Questions tagged [elder-sign]

Elder Sign is a fast-paced, cooperative dice game of supernatural intrigue. Players take the roles of investigators racing against time to stave off the imminent return of the Ancient Ones. Investigators must put their sanity and stamina to the test as they adventure to locate Elder Signs to seal away the Ancient Ones and win the game.

Elder Sign is a fast-paced, cooperative dice game of supernatural intrigue for one to eight players by Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson, the designers of Arkham Horror. Players take the roles of investigators racing against time to stave off the imminent return of the Ancient Ones. Armed with cards for tools, allies, and occult knowledge, investigators must put their sanity and stamina to the test as they adventure to locate Elder Signs, the eldritch symbols used to seal away the Ancient Ones and win the game.

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To locate Elder Signs, investigators must successfully endure Adventures within the museum and its environs. A clever and thematic dice mechanic pits their exploration against monsters and the sheer difficulty of staying sane and healthy, all within the standard game duration of one to two hours.

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Difficulty Ranking of the Ancient Ones in Elder Sign?

Is there a list (formal or informal) of how difficult each Ancient One is in Elder Sign? Clearly, some of them have powerful static abilities (like Cthulhu) and some of them have attacks with the potential to devour investigators. I'm interested in…
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What are some good strategies for Elder Sign: Omens?

I recently bought Elder Sign: Omens for my iPhone, and I really like it, but it seems to be VERY difficult. Does anyone have some good strategies on how to play? Specifically: What is a good team to start with for a beginning player? When should I…
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What are the differences between Elder Sign and Elder Sign: Omens?

I've played the board game Elder Sign. I have read some reviews and seen a gameplay video of Elder Sign: Omens, the iOS app based on the board game, but I haven't been able to find info on exactly how similar the two are. I see that they even share…
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In Elder Sign, does the "Bind Monster" card avoid an Ancient One effect?

When playing Elder Sign against Yig, I ran into a question I couldn't quite puzzle out from the rules and FAQ. Yig's card reads "Each time an investigator complets the task on a Cultist monster marker [...] the investigators lose 1 Elder Sign, if…
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Using Spells Effectively in Elder Sign

I'm a little confused about how to use spells effectively in Elder Sign. I understand that you play the spell before a task roll and then you can set aside as many dice as the spell has icons, whether you succeed or fail at the task. When is the…
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How to Handle Red/Yellow Secured Dice

In Elder Signs, you can cast a spell to secure a die. Let's say this is the situation: A player needs two terror results to complete the final task in an adventure and rolls 2 green dice and the red die. The two green dice come up with terror and…
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How does Ithaqua's "Icy Winds" ability work with Healing Stone?

The Ancient One Ithaqua's "Icy Winds" ability reads as follows: Each time an investigator uses either a unique item or a spell, he loses 1 stamina. The unique item "Healing Stone" reads as follows: Before rolling, discard to fully restore your…
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When can abilities be used in Elder Sign?

Some Elder Sign abilities seem really powerful in big groups. One of them allows you to re-roll 2 dice every turn, and several others do things like switching a die from Terror to Scroll, or similar. When can these abilities be used? Are they only…
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Locking Assigned Dice During Resolution Phase in Elder Sign

I came across a situation when attempting a mystery that had a terror effect that spawned a monster. The player had completed one of the tasks using the yellow die. On the next roll, the terror effect triggered, spawning a monster that was supposed…
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In Elder Sign how does removing a monster via a card effect work?

I am trying to figure out how to resolve "Flute of the Outer Gods" and "Bind Monster". The Flute removes a monster after rolling. The Bind Monster does it at any time. Can either item/spell be used mid-adventure? When the monster is removed, does…
Andrey
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Elder Sign Terror Effect Timing

Terror effects are applied after a roll when you cannot complete a task and at least one of the dice shows a terror icon. Is it possible to avoid the terror effect by 'securing' the terror die on a spell (assuming no other dice show a terror icon),…
link64
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How long does it take to play Elder Sign?

This dice game version of Arkham Horror is about to be published by Fantasy Flight but a lot of gamers have already picked it up or at least demoed it at GenCon and PAX Prime. I've read a few comments that stated Elder Sign did not play in one hour…
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In Elder Sign, can I use Jenny Barnes' ability to discard a spell when the mythos lingering effect bars investigators from using spells?

Can I use Jenny's ability to discard a spell to gain the dice, because discarding is not the same as 'using' a spell?
Joey
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Can i cast a spell after collecting rewards for an adventure?

Page 13 says a player can only use his items, clues, spells, and allies during his own turn. Does this mean I can use a spell immediately after collecting adventure rewards, such as opening an other world gate?
Joey
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In Elder Sign, does defeating a monster with a spell count as a completed task?

My understanding is that a 'completed' task is one in which you fulfill the roll requirements and thus can roll the remaining dice without discarding one as a penalty. If I use a spell to defeat a monster after I roll, do I then need to also…
Joey
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