User Manual

ManualsBrandsAsmodee ManualsAsmodee All Board GamesArkham Horror Strategy Board Game

LOCATION ICONS

Above each location on the game board is either a green or red

diamond. This diamond indicates the relative danger of the loca-

tion.

Locations with green diamonds are stable. Monsters and gates

will never appear in these locations, although it is possible for

monsters to move to them in certain circumstances.

Locations with red diamonds are unstable. Monsters and gates

can appear in these locations, sometimes even as a result of

encounters. These locations should be approached with caution.

Each location on the map also has several icons associated with

it. These icons tell the players the most likely outcomes they can

expect when they go to that location. The following is a key to

the icons you will find at different locations on the board:

Allies

Blessing

Clue Tokens

Common Items

Money

Additionally, each unstable location gives players the possibil-

ity of encountering an Ally, and Clue tokens will often appear

in these locations as a result of resolving mythos cards.

Some locations have special location icons that have their col-

ors reversed, such as the Sanity icon on Arkham Asylum.

These icons indicate that there is a guaranteed method of

acquiring the described item at that location.

MONSTER SPECIAL ABILITIES

Common monster special abilities are described in detail below.

Ambush: Once combat has begun with this creature, the investiga-

tor no longer has the option to flee it, but must instead fight until one

or the other is defeated.

Endless: A monster with this ability cannot be collected as a monster

trophy. Instead, each time it is defeated, return it to the cup.

Physical/Magical Resistance: A Weapon or Spell that adds a bonus of

the resisted type can only provide half its normal bonus (rounded up).

Example: Using a Tommy Gun (normally a +6 Physical bonus)

against a monster with Physical Resistance only gives a +3 bonus.

Physical/Magical Immunity: A Weapon or Spell that adds a bonus

of the resisted type provides none of its normal bonus.

Example: Using a Tommy Gun (normally a +6 Physical bonus)

against a monster with Physical Immunity gives a +0 bonus.

Nightmarish X: Any investigator that passes a Horror check when

facing this monster still loses X Sanity. This ability doesn’t apply if

the investigator fails the Horror check.

Example: A Dark Young (Nightmarish 1) causes an investigator to

lose 3 Sanity if the investigator fails his Horror check or 1 Sanity if the

investigator passes. The Sanity loss from Nightmarish 1 doesn’t apply

if the investigator has already failed the Horror check.

Overwhelming X: Any investigator that defeats this monster in

combat still loses X Stamina. This ability doesn’t apply when the

investigator fails his Combat check against the monster.

PHASE SUMMARY

The phases of the turn are as follows:

Phase I: Upkeep

Phase II: Movement

Phase III: Arkham Encounters

Phase IV: Other World Encounters

Phase V: Mythos

During Upkeep, players perform any upkeep actions that are

required of them from turn to turn. This can include collecting

their pay, making payments on loans, refreshing their equip-

ment, and adjusting their skill sliders.

During Movement, investigators in Arkham move according to

their current Speed value. Investigators in Other Worlds

advance to the next area of the Other World, returning to

Arkham if they were already in the second area of the Other

World.

During Arkham Encounters, any investigator in a location

without a gate draws one location card from the location deck

for that neighborhood and follows the instructions on it.

Usually, Arkham encounters involve a skill check.

During Other World Encounters, any investigator in an Other

World draws cards from the gate deck until he gets a gate card

matching the encounter symbol of the Other World he’s in, then

follows the instructions on it. Like Arkham encounters, Other

World encounters often involve skill checks.

During Mythos, the first player draws 1 mythos card and

resolves it. First, one or more new monsters appear in Arkham,

sometimes along with a new gate, and a Clue token will usually

be placed as well. Next, some of the monsters on the board may

move through the city. Finally, the special effects of the mythos

card take place, which can cause the rules of the game to

change, either momentarily or for multiple turns.

SKILL CHECKS

Investigators are often called upon to perform skill checks in

order to avoid harm or gain advantages. These skill checks list

the skill to be used, which determines the number of dice the

player rolls for the check; the modifier to the check, which may

provide a bonus or penalty to the number of dice the player rolls;

and the difficulty, which determines the number of successes the

player must roll to pass the check (die results of 5 and 6 count

as successes).

SPECIAL SKILL CHECKS

There are four special types of skill checks that players should be

aware of: Evade checks, Horror checks, Combat checks, and

Spell checks. Each of these special skill checks use the value of

one of the six basic skills. Bonuses to the skill that a special

check uses apply to the special check as well. However, bonuses

to special checks cannot be used when making normal checks.

Evade checks are based on Sneak (see “Evading Monsters”, pg. 13).

Combat checks are based on Fight (see “Fight”, pg. 14).

Horror checks are based on Will (see “Horror Check”, pg. 14).

Spell checks are based on Lore (see “Casting Spells”, pg. 15).

TOO MANY GATES

If too many gates are open at once, the Ancient One can imme-

diately awaken.

Number of Players The Ancient One Awakens at:

1–2 8 Open Gates

3–4 7 Open Gates

5–6 6 Open Gates

7–8 5 Open Gates

Very Important: If the Ancient One awakens this way, fill

the doom track with doom tokens before proceeding to the

final battle!

MONSTER LIMIT

The number of monsters allowed on the board at one time is lim-

ited by the number of players. Any monsters that would be

placed on the board beyond this limit are instead placed in the

Outskirts.

Monster Limit = (Number of Players) + 3

Important: If the terror level reaches 10, Arkham is overrun,

which means that the monster limit is removed for the rest of the

game.

MONSTERS IN THE OUTSKIRTS

If adding a monster to the board would bring the total number of

monsters in Arkham above the monster limit, then the monster

is placed in the Outskirts instead. Monsters in the Outskirts remain

there until the Outskirts becomes too full, as shown below:

Number of Players Maximum Monsters in Outskirts

When the number of monsters in the Outskirts of Arkham

exceeds this limit, place all of those monsters back in the cup

and raise the terror level by 1.

TERROR LEVEL SUMMARY

To summarize the effects of the terror level:

For every step the terror level increases, return one Ally at ran-

dom from the Ally deck to the box.

Additionally, the following events happen when a certain ter-

ror level is reached:

Terror Level Event

3 The General Store closes.

6 The Curiositie Shoppe closes.

9 Ye Olde Magick Shoppe closes.

10 Arkham is overrun (no monster limit and

add one doom token).

Sanity

Skills

Spells

Stamina

Unique Items