Arkham Horror

Rules for Vassal

Main >> The Game Turn >>Phase 1:Upkeep>>Phase 2:Movement>>Phase 3:Arkham Encounters>>Phase 4:Other World Encounters >> Phase 5:Mythos

During the Mythos Phase, the first player draws a mythos card and performs the following actions:

 

  1. Open Gate and Spawn Monster
  2. Place Clue Token
  3. Move Monsters
  4. Activate Mythos Ability

A. Each mythos card has a trait just below its title that tells you what its subtype is. Mythos cards are either Headlines, Environments, or Rumors. Each subtype behaves slightly different, and all are explained below.

Each of these actions is performed as follows.

1. Open Gate and Spawn Monster

The first player begins by looking at the lower-left corner of the mythos card he has drawn to see where the dimensional forces are assaulting Arkham this turn. One of three things happens, depending on whether there is an open gate, an elder sign marker, or neither at that location.

A. Location Has Elder Sign

If an elder sign token has been placed at the location, nothing happens. No gate opens and no monster appears. The elder sign has permanently sealed the gate at this location, and no new gates can open here.

B. Location Has Open Gate

If there is already an open gate at the location, a monster emerges from every open gate currently on the board.

This is called a monster surge. When a monster surge occurs, the number of monsters drawn and placed is equal to the number of open gates or the number of investigators, whichever is greater. The first player draws monster markers from the cup at random and places them on each location with an open gate. When placing monsters, they should be divided as evenly as possible among the open gates, with no gate having more monsters placed on it than the gate where the monster surge occurred this turn. If there are more monsters to be placed than allowed by the monster limit, the players should decide where monsters will be placed. They players must make this decision before monsters have been drawn from the cup. If the players cannot agree where the monsters are to be placed, the first player decides the placement.

Example: There are 3 open gates (at the Black Cave, Science Building, and Unvisited Isle), 7 players, and no monsters in play when a mythos card is drawn that opens a gate at the Black Cave. This causes a monster surge: 7 monsters are drawn from the cup and placed on the open gates. They must be distributed as evenly as possible, so each of the 3 gates gets 2 monsters placed on it, and the 7th monster is placed on the Black Cave, where the monster surge occurred. The Black Cave now has 3 monsters, while the other 2 open gates each have 2 monsters on them.

C. No Elder Sign or Gate

If there is neither an open gate nor an elder sign marker at the location, a new gate opens and a monster emerges from it. This means that the following things happen, in order:

1. The Doom Track Advances

The first player places a doom token with the eye symbol face up in the first available space on the Ancient One's doom track. If the marker is placed in the last available space on the doom track, the Ancient One has awakened and the end of the game has begun! If the Ancient One awakens, you do not need to complete the rest of the Mythos Phase: Proceed immediately to the final battle.

Note that it is also possible for the Ancient One to awaken because there are too many gates open in Arkham at once.

2. A Gate Opens

The first players draws a gate marker from the stack of gate markers near the board and places it face up on the location. Discard any Clue tokens that were on the location: The investigators have missed their opportunity to follow up on those leads.

3. A Monster Appears

The first player draws a monster marker from the cup at random and places it on the location. If this would bring the number of monsters over the monster limit, the first player places the monster in the Outskirts instead.

Exception: If there are five or more investigators playing, then draw and place two monsters instead of one.

Important: Unlike investigators, monsters are never drawn through gates.

Example: Wade is the first player and draws the mythos card shown above. The lower-left corner of the card shows Black Cave, which has neither an open gate nor an elder sign marker. First, Wade adds a doom token to the Ancient One's doom track. There are still open spaces on the track, so Wade draws the top gate marker from the stack and places it on top of Black Cave. The revealed gate is one that leads to Yuggoth. Finally, Wade draws a monster from the cup (a Dark Young) and plces it on Black Cave as well.

Gates Opening on Investigators

If a gate opens at a location that contains an investigator, he is immediately drawn through the gate to the first area of the corresponding Other World. As a result of the sudden disorientation cased by the gate swallowing him, the investigator is delayed. Right-click the investigator marker and select 'delayed'. The investigator will not move during the next Movement Phase.

2. Place Clue Token

Most mythos cards indicate a location where a Clue token appears. Place a Clue token on the indicated location unless there is an open gate there. If one or more investigators are at that location, one of them (they should decide among themselves) may immediately take that Clue token. If the players cannot agree on who gets the Clue token, the first player decides.

3. Move Monsters

Although monsters start out in locations as they emerge from gates, they soon leave those locations to roam the streets of Arkham. In order to determine monster movement, the first player looks at the lower-right corner of the mythos card he has drawn for the turn. This area describes which monsters move during the turn as well as the direction they move on the board.

Each mythos card has two movement areas on it, represented by black and white boxes. Each location and street area on the board likewise features a black or white arrow (sometimes both).

Each movement box on the mythos card also has one or more dimension symbols printed on it. Each monster marker likewise features such a dimension symbol on its movement side. Monsters currently on the board whose dimension symbols are listed in either movement box on the mythos card move to a connected location or street area, as follows:

Important: The arrows leading out of some locations are black on one side and white on the other. These arrows count as both a black arrow and a white arrow, so monsters listed in either the black or white movement box of the mythos card follow that arrow.

Monster Movement and Investigators

A monster that already shares a location or street area with one or more investigators does not move and remains in place. Certain monsters move several times (see Fast Monsters, below); when such a monster enters an area that contains one or more investigators, it must immediately stop moving. No encounter with the monster takes place during this phase, but the investigators will be forced to evade or fight the monster during the Movement Phase.

Example: A Star Spawn moves into Uptown, where Joe Diamond and Ashcan Pete are currently located. During their next Movement Phase, one or possibly both of these investigators will need to deal with the Star Spawn.

Example 1: The mythos card at the left is drawn. Monsters showing the symbols in the white area (slash, triangle, star) move, following the white arrows. Monsters showing the symbols in the black area (hexagon) also move, following the black arrows. Specifically, in this example:

A: The Gug, with its slash symbol, follows the black and white arrow (1) out of its current location.

B: The Dark Young does not move. Although it has a hexagon symbol, its border is yellow, indicating that it is a stationary monster that never moves.

Example 2: The mythos card to the right is drawn. Monsters showing the symbols in the white area (square and diamond) move, following the white arrows. Monsters showing the symbols in the black area (circle) also move, following the black arrows. Specifically, in this example:

A: The Dimensional Shambler, with its square symbol, follows the white arrow leading out of its current location (1). Then, because it has a red border, signifying that it is fast, it moves one more time (2), again following the white arrow.

B: The Dhole does not move. Although it has a circle symbol, it is sharing a location with Amanda Sharpe, so it remains there instead of moving away from her.

 

Monster Movement Specialties

Most monsters move as described above, but some monsters have special movement abilities that follow special rules. There are five different types of monster movement in Arkham Horror. These are indicated by the colored borders on the movement side of the monster monster markers:

Normal (Black Border): Normal monsters move as described above.

Stationary (Yellow Border): Stationary monsters never move. They always remain at the location where they entered play.

Fast (Red Border): Fast monsters move twice, following the appropriate arrows for both steps of their movement. Fast monsters stop moving immediately if they encounter an investigator.

Unique (Green Border): Monsters with unique movement (such as the Hound of Tindalos) have special movement abilities listed on the combat side of their monster markers. Turn such a monster marker over and follow the instructions there.

Flying (Blue Border): Flying monsters generally move directly towards the nearest investigator in a street area, or move to the "Sky" holding area if they can't reach any investigators this turn. Flying monsters are explained below:

If the flying monster is in a location or street area with one or more investigators, it stays where it is.

If the flying monster is in a location or street area with no investigators and there are one or more investigators in a connected street area, it moves into that street area. If there is more than one connected street area containing investigators, it moves towards the investigator in those street areas with the lowest current Sneak skill (including any relevant equipment and skills; if there is a tie, the first player chooses which investigator the monster moves towards).

If the flying monster is in a street area with no investigators and there are no investigators in a connected street area, it moves to the Sky.

The Sky is a holding area considered to be a street area that is connected to every street area in Arkham. Flying monsters in the Sky can swoop down on investigators anywhere in the streets of Arkham. Note that monsters in the Sky count against the monster limit.

 

4. Activate Mythos Ability

Finally, the first player looks at the special text on the mythos card, examining the trait listed at the top of the card, examining the trait listed at the top of the card. The various traits indicate different types of mythos cards, and they are resolved in different ways as described below.

Headline: The first player immediately resolves the special text of a Headline mythos card. He then discards the mythos card to the Mythos discard deck.

Environment: The special text of an Environment mythos card remains in play for several turns, possibly even until the end of the game. The first player places the card in the 'Active Environment Card' spot on the board, replacing any currently active environment card. This means that only 1 Environment card can be in play at a time.

Rumor: The special text of a Rumor mythos card remains in effect until either the Pass or Fail condition on the card is met, at which point the card is resolved and is discarded to the mythos discard deck.

Only one Rumor can be in place at once. If there is already a Rumor mythos card in play, ignore the special text of a newly drawn Rumor and discard it to the mythos discard deck after resolving its other effects for the turn (such as gate opening and monster movement).

Other Effects: Additionally, the mythos card may call for one or more Activity or Closed markers to be placed on specific locations. Simply place the respective markers on the locations indicated by the card. If the card leaves play, remove the markers from the locations as well.

Turn End

Once the first player resolved all steps of the Mythos Phase, the first player marker is passed to the next player. The turn is now over and a new one begins with Upkeep Phase. Play continues in this way until the end of the game.