Cthulhu Wars: Duel Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• What's Different?
  • Differences between Cthulhu Wars and Cthulhu Wars: Duel
• Game Components
  • Core Game Components
  • Great Cthulhu Faction
  • Black Goat Faction
• Introduction
• Set Up
  • Place the Components
  • Factions
  • Start Areas
  • The First Player
• Game Basics
  • Object of the Game
  • Phases of Play
  • The Map
  • The Water Portals
  • Units and Faction Pool
  • Gates
• Special Abilities & Spellbooks
  • Types of Special Abilities
  • Target Chooses Unit
  • Earning Spellbooks
  • Elder Sign Trophies
  • Faction Cards
• Action Phase
  • The Decay Marker
  • The Four Types of Actions
  • The Eight Common Actions
  • The Two Unlimited Actions
  • Ongoing Special Abilities
  • Between Action Effects
• Gather Power Phase
  • How to Earn Power
  • Minimum Power Rule
• Determine First Player Phase
• Doom Phase
  • Rituals of Annihilation
  • Instant Death
  • Special Events and Abilities
  • Earning Doom Via Eliminates & Kills
• Battle
  • Pre-Battle Abilities
  • Combat Dice Calculation and Rolls
  • Post-Battle Abilities and Assigning Battle Results
  • Applying Battle Results
  • Battle Examples
• Victory: Ending and Winning the Game
• Rule Omega: The Final Question
• Tips & Tricks
  • Early Game
  • Late Game
  • Other Factions
• Credits
• Phases of Play (Quick Reference)

What's Different?

Differences between Cthulhu Wars and Cthulhu Wars: Duel

If you are familiar with Cthulhu Wars, you'll already know most of the rules in this book. However, there are some important changes, so you may wish to read through it before your first game anyway. Here is a summary of these changes:

• Magic Portals: The Areas containing the Portal icons are considered to be the same Area in every way. Thus, only a single Gate can be placed in Devil's Reef and Miskatonic River combined, and a unit in Loblolly Cove is also adjacent to Salem, since it is part of the Mystic River Area as well.
• Decay Marker: You'll want to read the rules on Decay closely, since this is a new feature introduced in Duel. Basically, it increases the cost of taking an Action once a player is out of Power.
• Doom Phase: You do not earn automatic Doom points in the Doom phase based on your Gates, though a Ritual of Annihilation still earns Doom equal to your Gates and Elder Signs equal to your Great Old Ones.
• Doom for Kills & Elimination: When a Unit is Eliminated or Killed by its opponent's act, that opponent earns Doom equal to that Unit's Power cost. (This does not happen if you Eliminate your own Unit.)
• Unlimited Battle: When either player is at 6 Spellbooks, Unlimited Battle is unlocked for BOTH players.
• Victory Condition Change: You do not need to have all 6 Spellbooks to win the game.

Cthulhu Wars: Duel is for two players. You may notice references to other factions in the rules below that are not in this game. Forthcoming Cthulhu Wars: Duel games will be compatible - if you own any games within the system, you can mix and match maps and factions freely.

Game Components

Core Game Components

• 12 Elder Sign Trophy Tokens
• Decay Marker
• Ritual of Annihilation Marker
• 10 Six-Sided Dice
• 12 Gates
• 19 Plastic Stands
• Rulebook
• Game Board

Great Cthulhu Faction

• Great Cthulhu (Great Old One)
• 2 Shoggoths
• 2 Starspawn
• Power Marker
• 6 Acolyte Cultists
• Faction Token
• 4 Deep Ones
• 6 Spellbooks & Faction Card

Black Goat Faction

• Shub-Niggurath (Great Old One)
• Power Marker
• 4 Fungi from Yuggoth
• 6 Acolyte Cultists
• Faction Token
• 2 Ghouls
• 3 Dark Young
• 6 Spellbooks & Faction Card

Introduction

Cthulhu Wars: Duel is a two-player game about the rise of the Great Old Ones and the end of the world. Each player represents a Great Old One, its cosmic horrors, and its cult. You'll battle to defeat your opponent, a rival Great Old One. It is based on the multiplayer strategy game Cthulhu Wars, but is its own beast, so read the rules well even if you are familiar with the earlier game.

Set Up

Place the Components

1. Set the Lovecraft Country Map between the players. We like to place it so that the names are readable by the game's owner, but it's up to you.
2. Place the Ritual of Annihilation Marker pointed at the lowest number (5) of the Annihilation Track.
3. Place each player's Doom Marker on the 0 slot of the Doom Track.
4. Place the Decay Marker on the 0 slot of the Doom Track.
5. Place the Gates and Dice within easy reach of all players to form the general Pool.
6. Place the Elder Signs in an opaque bag, then shake them up. Alternately, you may simply turn these Tokens face-down on the table (with the glyph on top) and mix them up.
7. Phases of Play quick reference is located on the back of the rulebook.

Factions

8. Each player must select a Faction. You can do this randomly, or just choose. In case of a dispute, we usually let the youngest player take first choice.
9. Each player takes their Faction Card, Spellbooks, and all Standees and tokens belonging to their color.
10. Each player places their Power Markers at 8 on their Faction Card's Power Track.

Start Areas

11. Your Start Area is indicated on your Faction Card and on the Map with your Faction's Glyph. All players start with a Controlled Gate and 6 Acolyte Cultist counters in that Area. Each player should place one of their Acolytes on top of their Gate.

The First Player

If your game includes Great Cthulhu, he is always the First Player at the start of the game. If Great Cthulhu is not in the game, you may choose the First Player by any means you wish.

Note: If your game includes the Windwalker Faction, it may never be the First Player at the game's start.

Game Basics

Object of the Game

At the end of the game, the player who has the highest Doom on the Doom Track is declared the winner. See Victory: Ending and Winning the Game (p. 32) for more details.

Phases of Play

Cthulhu Wars: Duel is played out in four distinct Phases:

1. Action Phase (Page 15)
2. Gather Power Phase (Page 23)
3. Determine First Player Phase (Page 24)
4. Doom Phase (Page 25)

Play begins with the Action Phase and proceeds through each Phase as listed above, returning to Phase 1 after Phase 4. This cycle continues until the end of the game is triggered. A typical game of Cthulhu Wars: Duel takes approximately four or five cycles through these Phases.

The Map

The Map is divided into Areas. Each Area represents a single part of the world, and is defined as either water or land. On the Lovecraft Country Map, water Areas consist of the Merrimac River, Gardner Reservoir, Martin's Cove, Devil's Reef / Miskatonic River, Loblolly Cove / Mystic River, and Jersey Reef / Charles River.

For most game purposes there are no differences between water and land. Any Units can freely Move between land and water, perform Actions in either type of Area, etc. Abilities occasionally distinguish between water and land (notably Great Cthulhu's Y'ha Nthlei and Submerge.) In certain Maps, the terms "sea" and "ocean" may be used as synonyms for water when referring to Areas.

The Water Portals

To keep their conflict isolated from the larger realm, the Great Old Ones have placed magic Portals in some water Areas. These Portals combine into a single Area made of two parts, even though they are on opposite sides of the map. Combined Areas include:

1. Devil's Reef and Miskatonic River
2. Loblolly Cove and Mystic River
3. Jersey Reef and Charles River

The Innsmouth Bridge: Note that Devil's Reef is directly adjacent to Gardner Reservoir, and Innsmouth is directly adjacent to Rockport.

These pairs are considered the same Area in every way. For instance, only one Gate can be placed in a combined Area, you can Move from either part of a combined Area to any Area adjacent to the other part, and so forth.

Great Cthulhu starts with a Gate in Jersey Reef. This means that no Faction can place a Gate in Charles River, because it is combined with Jersey Reef. It also means that Great Cthulhu can Move a unit from Jersey Reef to Boston or the Mystic River immediately. Of course, Mystic River is itself a part of Loblolly Cove.

Units and Faction Pool

Each player has a Pool in which they keep Spellbooks, Standees, Cultist counters, and tokens of their player color that are not currently in play. Players' Pools should be set up near their Faction Cards.

Each Faction has Units, which fall into three categories: Cultists, Monsters, and Great Old Ones. (A few Factions add a fourth category: Terror.) In the Core Game, the only type of Cultist is an Acolyte Cultist, and every Faction has exactly 6 of them. Cultists are distinguished by the fact that they are cardboard tokens. Each Faction has more than one type of Monster, and each of these has different characteristics. No two Factions share the same type of Monster. Great Old Ones are individual beings, and thus every single Great Old One has a unique name; no two are the same.

The number of Units available to you is limited. You can never have more than 6 Acolyte Cultists in play, nor can Great Cthulhu have more than 4 Deep Ones. During play, if all of your Units of a particular type have been placed on the Map, you cannot place another until one has been returned to your Pool.

Units in your Pool are not considered to be in play, and vice versa. A Unit can be removed from play and returned to your Pool by being Killed during a Battle, or by otherwise being Eliminated. Eliminations can result from Actions, abilities, or as part of Battle.

Gates

Each player starts the game with a Controlled Gate, meaning that one of their Acolyte Cultists has been placed atop that Gate, identifying its Controller. A Gate can never have more than a single Cultist on top of it. Thus, a particular Gate may only ever be Controlled by a single Faction. Gates can also be Abandoned, as indicated by the lack of a Cultist on top. Monsters and Great Old Ones cannot Control Gates, and they may never be placed on top of them (with the exception of Black Goat's Dark Young, once their Red Sign Spellbook is in play).

More Gates will be Created during the course of the game, and no Area can ever hold more than a single Gate. Gates are highly valuable, as they provide both Power (which enables you to perform Actions) and Doom (which enables you to win the game).

Special Abilities & Spellbooks

Each Faction in Cthulhu Wars: Duel is strikingly different, largely due to their unique abilities. These are derived from three sources:

1. Unique Faction abilities, found on Faction Cards and available from the start of the game
2. Spellbooks, which are unique to each Faction and become available during play
3. Each Great Old One has its own unique ability, available while that Great Old One is in play and as described on each Faction Card
4. Each Faction has unique monsters.

Types of Special Abilities

Every Special Ability belongs to a category that determines when that ability takes effect. There are five basic types of Special Abilities:

1. Actions: Use these during the Action Phase.
2. Battle: These take effect only during a Battle.
3. Gather Power Phase: These take effect in this Phase.
4. Doom Phase: These take effect in this Phase.
5. Ongoing: These abilities can be used to benefit your Faction at any time.

The use of all Special Abilities is considered optional, unless designated as mandatory in the description. This means that at the moment you would use the ability, or when the ability's effect would do something (including an Ongoing ability), you may choose for the effect to not take place. Because Special Abilities are intended to help your Faction win, it is usually better to use them at every opportunity, so the default assumption is that unless you speak out, an ability is used. However, you may occasionally encounter a circumstance in which you may not want an ability to take effect.

Some abilities are not optional, and they must take effect at the appropriate time. In such a case, this is made clear in the ability's text.

Target Chooses Unit

If an ability targets an enemy's Unit, the victim typically selects which of his Units is targeted by that ability. There are some rare exceptions which are stated in the text of the ability. If an ability does not specify who chooses the Unit affected, then the choice always belongs to the Unit's owner.

Earning Spellbooks

Earning Spellbooks is similar to earning achievements in video games. When you fulfill one of the requirements written on your Faction Card, you must cover that requirement with a Spellbook from your Pool (this is mandatory). No particular Spellbook is tied to any particular requirement; you may choose any Spellbook to cover any slot. Spellbooks may never be lost, even if their requirements are no longer true. Once earned, Spellbooks remain on your Faction Card and may be used throughout the game.

It is possible to earn more than one Spellbook at a time, as long as all requirements are met at that time. However, there are some Spellbooks that can only be earned simultaneously if performed in a specified way. In such a case, this will be explained on the Faction Card (see the Faction Card for Great Cthulhu for an example).

Important Note: If you gain a Spellbook as part of, or during, a Battle (for example, Great Cthulhu's requirement that demands a Devour and/or Kill in Battle), you do not receive that Spellbook until the Battle has been fully resolved, including Post-Battle effects.

Example: Black Goat has a requirement which states, "Have Units in 4 Areas." As soon as this requirement is met, Black Goat gains a Spellbook and places it over that slot on her Faction Card. Even if on the next turn someone drives her Units into three or fewer Areas, Black Goat retains the relevant Spellbook for the rest of the game.

Tip: Each individual Spellbook enhances your Faction significantly and, therefore, a major part of your game strategy is tied to when and in which order you obtain your Spellbooks.

Elder Sign Trophies

Elder Sign Trophies symbolize the shattering of the bonds that once held the Great Old Ones in check. Throughout most of the text, these are simply referred to as "Elder Signs."

Whenever you earn an Elder Sign, take an Elder Sign token from its holder and, without revealing it to the other player, place it face down by your Faction Card. You may freely examine your own Elder Sign tokens, each of which is marked with a number: 1, 2, or 3. These numbers indicate that Elder Sign's value in Doom. Half of the Elder Signs are worth 1 Doom, a third are worth 2 Doom, and the rest are worth 3 Doom each.

While these numbers indicate the Elder Signs' Doom values, this Doom is not immediately marked on the Doom Track. Instead, it is up to players to decide when to gain Doom from their Elder Signs. To do so, players must reveal their Elder Sign(s) and then advance their Doom Markers an appropriate number of spaces along the Doom Track. This may be done at any time, including during any of the four Phases of play, or even at the very end of the game. It is typical for most Elder Signs to remain unrevealed until the end of the game, thus concealing each player's true Doom.

When revealing an Elder Sign to gain Doom, do not replace that Elder Sign with the others not yet revealed. Instead, place that Elder Sign back into the box; it is gone and may never be redrawn.

In the unlikely event that all Elder Signs have been earned and a new Elder Sign is to be drawn, simply give that player 1 Doom on the Doom Track instead; this would not be kept secret.

Faction Cards

Your Faction Card contains a great deal of information.

1. Faction Name
2. Faction Portrait: A handy spot in which to place any Cultists you have Captured.
3. Power Track: This is where you keep track of your available Power.
4. Unique Ability: Your Faction's unique ability, available throughout the game.
5. Setup Information and Faction Glyph
6. Cultist and Monster Information: Describes your Cultists and Monsters, including their names, silhouettes, costs, and Combat values, plus any notes. Next to each Unit's name is a number indicating how many Units of that type are available in your Pool.
7. Great Old One Information: Shows your Great Old One's silhouette, cost, and Combat rating, plus notes. All Great Old Ones have extensive notes that describe how to Awaken that Great Old One, provide its Combat formula (if any), and describe its Special Ability.
8. Spellbook Requirements: Each of these spaces describes the requirements which must be met in order to place a Spellbook in that particular slot.

Action Phase

The Action Phase is where the Great Old Ones destroy the world as they fight for supremacy. Most of the game takes place during the Action Phase. In this Phase, each player in turn Moves Units, casts spells, engages in Battle, and otherwise interacts with their opponent.

The Action Phase always starts with the current First Player, who takes a single Action. When this player has finished, the other player takes an Action. Then the First Player can take another Action, and so forth.

Each Action costs a certain amount of Power, which must be spent before the Action can be performed. To take an Action, simply adjust your Power Marker by the appropriate amount and then perform that Action. If you do not have enough Power to perform an Action, you must select an Action that you can afford.

You may never take more than a single Action on your turn, and you cannot decline to take an Action if you still have enough Power remaining to do so. You must choose an available Action and spend the appropriate amount of Power to perform that Action. If you do not have enough Power to perform any Action at all, then your Power drops to 0 (exception: if you are Windwalker, you can Hibernate).

Example:

1. Rich spends his last power.
2. Frank has 8 and moves a unit (7 left)
3. Rich is out of power, so moves the Decay Marker to 1
4. Frank Pays 1 Power for decay and then declares Battle for 1. (5 left)
5. Rich moves the Decay to 2
6. Frank pays 2 Decay and recruits (2 left)

If you have no Power left when it is your turn to take an Action, you are skipped. You may not even perform Actions costing 0 Power. However, if you are at 0 Power and you are granted Power by an ability or a Spellbook, you must take an Action as normal on your turn (bearing in mind any Decay penalty).

The Action Phase continues with each player who still has Power, until both players are finally out of Power and no more Actions can be taken. At this point, the Decay Marker is returned to the 0 slot on the Doom Track, the Action Phase ends, and play continues to the Gather Power Phase.

Tips: Think of the Action Phase as chess—you have many options, but may only take a single Action each time. After taking that Action, the other player has a chance to respond.

If your opponent runs out of Power first, then this is good for you, as you are the only one who can still take Actions. This means you can do as you like while your opponent helplessly watches you mess with their stuff. Bearing in mind the Decay penalty which may cut short your rampage, of course.

The Decay Marker

If you are out of Power (or if your game includes Windwalker, if you are Hibernating) when it would be your turn to take an Action, instead advance the Decay Marker by 1. Then the other player takes their turn.

If the Decay Marker on the Doom Track is at 1 or higher, you must first pay the Decay cost (equal to its position on the track) before you take an action. If paying for Decay leaves you with 0 Power or you can't fulfill the Decay penalty, you are reduced to 0 Power and your turn ends.

The Four Types of Actions

There are four categories of Actions in Cthulhu Wars: Duel—Common, Unique, Spellbook Requirement, and Unlimited.

Common Actions

These are available to all Factions. On their turn, a player may choose to perform one of the eight Common Actions, as detailed later.

Unique Actions

These are only available to your particular Faction. Some Unique Actions have requirements which must be met before they can be performed. For example, Great Cthulhu's Faction cannot perform the Submerge Action unless Great Cthulhu himself is in play. Likewise, you cannot execute a Unique Action unless you are able to perform it completely. For example, Yellow Sign cannot use Zingaya to Eliminate an enemy Acolyte if there are no Undead in its Pool.

Spellbook Requirement Actions

These can be found on your Faction Card's Spellbook requirement slots. Most Spellbook requirements are not Actions; those that are will begin with the words, "As an Action," or, "As your Action." Spellbook Requirement Actions only cost Power if indicated; otherwise, they have a cost of 0 Power. A Spellbook Requirement Action is always a distinct Action, and you cannot double it up with another Action.

Example: Crawling Chaos has the Spellbook requirement of "As your Action, pay 4 Power." This means that you would simply pay 4 Power to fulfill this requirement and gain a Spellbook. This cannot be combined with another Action, nor can it be triggered by performing one of those Actions. Moving four Units also costs 4 Power, but you can't use that cost to fulfill this Spellbook requirement. Because earned Spellbooks are never lost, any Spellbook Requirement Action may only be performed once per game.

When it is your turn to take an Action, you must choose to perform a single Common, Unique, or Spellbook Requirement Action. You cannot take one of each; you may only take one such Action on your turn!

Unlimited Actions

The fourth category, Unlimited Actions, allow you to break the "one Action on your turn" rule. Unlimited Actions are special, as you can perform them in addition to your turn Action. Unlimited Actions are not unique to any Faction and are available to both players. Unlimited Actions sometimes have requirements that must be met before they can be performed.

Tips: If you are not sure what to do on your turn, look at your Spellbook requirements. You cannot go far wrong so long as you strive to gain new Spellbooks, or try to set yourself up for more Power in the next Gather Power Phase.

Tips: Once Cthulhu has the Dreams Spellbook, you should never leave an Acolyte Cultist alone on a Gate in a critical Area! Placing a second Cultist in the Area won't prevent Dreams, but it makes it more expensive for Cthulhu to steal the Gate. You may also consider guarding your Cultist with a Monster; if Great Cthulhu Dreams him away, you can Capture his replacement.

The Eight Common Actions

1. Recruit Cultist — Cost 1 Power (requires any of your Units)

The Recruit Cultist Action allows you to place a Cultist from your Pool onto the Map. One of your Units must be in the Area into which you Recruit the Cultist. This Unit can be of any type: another Cultist, a Monster, or even a Great Old One. If you have no Units on the Map, you may recruit a Cultist at any location. This allows you to return to play even if you have been wiped off the Map.

You may only Recruit 1 Cultist per Recruit Cultist Action. This even applies to Black Goat, whose Fertility Cult Ability only applies to Monsters.

2. Summon Monster — Cost: Varies (requires a Controlled Gate)

The Summon Monster Action allows you to place a Monster from your Pool onto the Map. You must Control a Gate in the Area into which the Monster is Summoned. Pay the Monster's cost (found on your Faction Card), and place it on the Map.

You may only Summon 1 Monster per Summon Monster Action (exception: Black Goat).

Sometimes an ability allows you to place a Monster on the Map (such as Yellow Sign's Desecrate Action, or Great Cthulhu's Devolve Spellbook). These do not count as Summon Monster Actions, and as such do not necessarily require a Gate in the Area.

3. Awaken Great Old One — Cost: Varies (specific requirements apply)

The Awaken Great Old One Action allows you to bring your Great Old One into play. Just as each Great Old One itself is unique, so is the way in which each is placed on the Map. Your Faction Card has a series of steps (always at least two) that must be done to Awaken your Great Old One. All of these steps combined comprise the Awaken Great Old One Action.

You may only Awaken a single Great Old One per Awaken Action. Of course, most Factions only have a single Great Old One.

Once your Great Old One is in play, its Special Ability is now available to use. If your Great Old One leaves play, its ability is unavailable until the Great Old One has been Awakened once again.

Tips: Since a Great Old One can be "Killed" (after which it must be re-Awakened), do not bring it out before you can protect it with other Units. Two exceptions are the King in Yellow and Cthulhu, since they are (comparatively) inexpensive to replace.

4. Create Gate — Cost: 3 Power (requires Cultist)

To Create a Gate in an Area, you must have a Cultist in that Area and a Gate must not already be present there. Only one Gate can ever exist in any Area, including the two-part water Areas connected by Portals, such as Devil's Reef / Miskatonic River. Pay 3 Power and place the Gate. You may immediately place your Cultist atop the Gate to indicate that it is Controlled by you. (Technically, this is a use of the Unlimited Control Gate Action, detailed later).

You may only Create 1 Gate per Create Gate Action.

5. Move — Cost: 1 Power per Unit Moved

To Move Units, spend 1 Power for each Unit you wish to Move. A Unit may Move from its current Area into an adjacent one. Movement is flexible; you can Move Units from several different Areas into a single Area, or from a single Area into several different ones, or any combination you please.

You may Move as many Units as you like (and can afford) with a Move Action. However, each Unit may only Move once per turn.

Example: Great Cthulhu Moves 3 Units at once in a single Move Action, costing him 3 Power.

6. Battle — Cost: 1 Power (requires Unit with at least 1 Combat)

To Battle your opponent, choose any area in which both you and your enemy have at least one Unit. In Battle, each side rolls dice equal to their Combat totals and inflicts results upon each other. Combat totals are determined by adding up the Combat ratings (found on your Faction Card) of your Units in the Battle. You must have at least 1 Combat on your side in order to declare a Battle. You may Battle an enemy who has 0 Combat.

You may only Battle once, and in one Area, per Battle Action. Battle has several other rules and characteristics, all of which are detailed later.

Remember: Monsters with Combat 0 are surprisingly useful. They can protect Cultists from being Captured by other Monsters, they can Capture Cultists themselves, and they can be assigned as casualties in Battle, sparing more expensive Units.

7. Capture Cultist — Cost: 1 Power

The Capture Cultist Action is a means of removing enemy Cultists from the Map and then later sacrificing them to your Great Old One to gain Power. A Captured Cultist is Eliminated, and is therefore no longer in play. However, unlike a normal Elimination, it does not immediately return to its Faction's Pool until the next Gather Power Phase. When it returns, it provides the Faction who Captured it with 1 Power. To signify that a Captured Cultist is neither in play nor in its Faction's Pool, place it on your own Faction Card.

To Capture an enemy Cultist, you need a Monster or Great Old One in the same Area as that Cultist. However, the enemy Cultist you wish to Capture cannot have a protector in the same Area. Cthulhu Wars: Duel has a pecking order of protectors ("Avoiding Capture by Monsters"). Great Old Ones outrank Monsters, which in turn outrank Cultists. A Great Old One can Capture an enemy Cultist in its Area unless the target is protected by its own Great Old One in that Area. A Monster can capture an enemy Cultist unless the target is protected by its own Monster or Great Old One. Cultists cannot capture Cultists. Note that even a single Monster protects a Cultist against any number of enemy Monsters that wish to Capture it.

You may only Capture 1 enemy Cultist per Capture Cultist Action.

If more than one Cultist is in the Area, the player whose Cultist is being taken chooses which is Captured. Thus, you need not allow a Gate-Controlling Cultist to be Captured, unless it is the last remaining Cultist in the Area.

Example: Frank has a Cultist Controlling a Gate in Arkham. Guy Moves two Deep Ones and a Cultist into the Area. Frank, on his next turn, simply Summons a single Monster (a ghoul) at his Gate, which is enough to protect his lone Cultist from being Captured by Guy's Monsters.

Notes: Capturing and being Captured has nothing to do with the Combat ratings of the Units involved. A Monster with Combat 0 can Capture a Cultist with Combat 1 or more. If the Cultist wanted to fight back, its owner should have declared Battle in a previous turn.

8. Pass — Cost: All Remaining Power

If you have nothing you wish to do, you may Pass. You lose all remaining Power and your turn ends. If you later gain power from some source, you can once again take actions on your turn.

The Two Unlimited Actions

These are special in that they are the only type of Action you may perform beyond the one Action allowed on your turn. They can be performed either before or after your "main" Action, so that a turn in the Action Phase can be expressed as four steps, like this:

1. Pay the current Decay penalty.
2. Take any number of Unlimited Actions (including 0).
3. Take a single Common, Unique, or Spellbook Requirement Action (must be exactly 1).
4. Take any number of Unlimited Actions (including 0).

Special Notes: The Yellow Sign Faction has 2 Spellbooks of note, named The Screaming Dead and He Who is Not to be Named. Each of these Spellbooks reads, in part, "…immediately after, you may take a second, different Action." These Spellbooks allow Yellow Sign to take two non-Unlimited Actions in a row. However, you may not perform an Unlimited Action between the two Actions from these Spellbooks, as it says "immediately." The use of one of these Spellbooks would make up the entirety of Step 3, above.

Two Unlimited Actions are available to players: Control or Abandon Gate, and Unlimited Battle.

1. Control or Abandon Gate — Cost: 0 Power

If you have a Cultist in an Area with an Abandoned Gate (e.g., no enemy Cultist atop it), this Unlimited Action moves your Cultist onto the Gate to claim Control. When you Create a Gate, you can immediately Control it. So, if on your turn you have a Cultist in an Area with an Abandoned Gate, you can Control it as part of your turn, no matter what other Action you may be taking.

You can also use this Unlimited Action to take a Cultist off a Gate, thus Abandoning it, but leaving the Cultist in the same Area. Normally you would not voluntarily Abandon a Gate; however, if your turn Action was to Move a Cultist who was on a Gate into another Area, you would be Abandoning the Gate first as an Unlimited Action, then performing the Move as your turn Action. Another common use of Abandon Gate occurs when Black Goat has her Red Sign Spellbook in play. She might Summon a Dark Young, Abandon the Summoning Gate, then Control that selfsame Gate with the newly-Summoned Dark Young, all in the same turn. In other words, she took the Summon Action as her Action, followed by the Unlimited Actions of Abandon Gate and then Control Gate.

You can perform the Control or Abandon Gate Action on your turn as many times as you like. However, it can never be the only Action you perform. You must still perform a Common, Unique, or Spellbook Requirement Action.

Since Unlimited Actions occur on your turn, you cannot Control an Abandoned Gate with a Cultist except when it is your turn to take an Action. If both players have Cultists in an Area with an Abandoned Gate, the first player to take an Action will be able to Control that Gate.

2. Unlimited Battle — Cost: 1 Power (requires a player to have 6 Spellbooks)

When any player has 6 Spellbooks on their Faction Card, then Unlimited Battle is unlocked for both players. Each Unlimited Battle you perform still costs 1 Power, allowing you to initiate as many Battles as you wish before and/or after your single Common, Unique, or Spellbook Requirement Action.

Unlimited Battle has one important restriction, however—you can still only initiate one Battle per Area. You cannot declare a Battle as a Common (or Unlimited) Action, and then do an Unlimited Battle in the same Area. If, as a result of Battle, your Units retreat to another Area, you can do Unlimited Battle in that new Area. However, if they then retreat back into the original Area, they can't initiate a Battle there because of this "one Battle per Area" rule.

You can still Battle as a Common Action, if that is all you want to do on your turn. Unlimited Battle is simply an option once a player has 6 Spellbooks.

Since Battle can be either Common or Unlimited once you have all of your Spellbooks, you can execute a Battle and then decide whether it was Common or Unlimited. You may do this even after seeing the results of the Battle. After the Battle, you can then choose to do a single Common Action or another Unlimited Battle elsewhere.

Example: Zoran has 6 Spellbooks and it is his turn. First, he performs the Move Action and Moves several of his Monsters into an Area containing 2 of Ben's Units, both of which are Cultists. Ben has the Devolve Spellbook. Fearing that Zoran will declare an Unlimited Battle after Moving into the Area, Ben uses Devolve immediately after Zoran's Move Action, to replace one of his Cultists with a Deep One. Zoran can still choose to Battle Ben, since it is his turn and he has the option to perform Unlimited Actions. But he may no longer want to do so now that Ben has a Monster of his own!

Ongoing Special Abilities

Ongoing Special Abilities are not Actions but can take effect during the Action Phase. Because they are not Actions, they do not have a Power cost, and you can still do them (at the appropriate time) even when you are out of Power. The rule about your turn being skipped when out of Power only applies to Actions—it does not apply to Ongoing or other types of Abilities. For instance, if an enemy declares Battle against you when you are out of Power, you can still use your Spellbook Battle Abilities.

Between Action Effects

A few Ongoing abilities use the phrases, "After any player's Action…" or "At the end of any player's Action…." You can choose to use these abilities, as written, after another player's Action, but before the next Action takes place. They can even be used in the middle of a player's turn while performing Unlimited Actions.

If both players want to use such an ability after a player's Action, resolve it by having the active Player go first.

Note: Yellow Sign's The Screaming Dead and He Who Is Not To be Named Spellbooks, which give that Faction two Actions in a row, do not prevent an Ongoing Special Ability from being used in between those two Actions.

Gather Power Phase

The Action Phase ends once both players are out of Power.

When the Gather Power Phase begins, return the Decay Marker to the 0 spot on the Doom Track.

In the Gather Power Phase, both players regain Power, adjusting their Power Markers to reflect new totals. Players perform the Gather Power Phase simultaneously. If this is anyone's first game of Cthulhu Wars: Duel, it may be best to take turns doing it.

How to Earn Power

• Earn 1 Power per Cultist you have in play.
• Earn 2 Power per Gate you Control (this is in addition to the 1 Power for that Controlling Cultist).
• Earn 1 Power for each Abandoned Gate on the Map (both players gain this per Abandoned Gate).
• Earn 1 Power for each Captured Cultist on your Faction Card, then return all Captured Cultists to your opponent's Pool. You may not choose to keep a Cultist—they must be returned.
• Check for Special Abilities and Spellbooks that provide Power during the Gather Power Phase.

Example: Alyssa has 2 Controlled Gates and 3 Cultists in play. She has also Captured an enemy Cultist. She gets 3 Power from her Cultists and 4 Power for her two Controlled Gates. One Gate on the Map is currently Abandoned, so she gets 1 Power from that source (as does her opponent). She must sacrifice her Captured Cultist, which earns her an additional 1 Power. Finally, she is playing Great Cthulhu and has the Y'ha Nthlei Spellbook on her Faction Card, and her opponent has one Gate in a water area, so she gets 1 more Power from this. Her total Power is set to 10.

Non-Cultist Units such as Monsters and Great Old Ones do not produce Power (with rare exceptions). Only Cultists produce Power. Remember that certain Factions have special ways of gaining Power during the Gather Power Phase. These differ with each Faction and might require particular Spellbooks.

The Power track goes to 20, but you may have more than 20 Power. If you reach 21 or more Power, you'll need to keep track of it by other means. The easiest way is to "wrap around," so if your Power is 23, you'd place your marker on the 3 space, and remember that it is really 23, not 3. Then when it drops to the 0 space, immediately place it on 20 instead (e.g., when at 21 Power and you spend 1 Power, move your marker to 20 rather than 0).

Minimum Power Rule

At the end of the Gather Power Phase, after both players have recorded their earned Power on their Power Tracks, apply the Minimum Power Rule. If either player's Power is less than half of the other's Power, increase that player's Power so it is at half of the higher Power total, rounding up.

Example: After a disastrous turn, Tony finds himself at the end of the Gather Power Phase with a total of 4 Power. Fortunately for Tony, Alyssa has 11 Power, so Tony gets to set his Power to 6 (half of 11, rounded up).

Once everyone has recorded their new Power totals and applied the Minimum Power Rule, the Gather Power Phase ends. Play then moves to the Determine First Player Phase.

Determine First Player Phase

The player with the greatest amount of power becomes the new first player. If the players are tied for most Power, then the player who was the First Player in the preceding round decides which of the two becomes the new First Player.

Once the First Player has been determined, play continues to the Doom Phase.

Tips: If you can arrange matters so that you get to take two actions in a row, this is sometimes very useful. You'd do this by taking the last action in the previous turn, then being First Player this turn. It's also sometimes useful to see what your opponent is going to do first, so you may not want to reflexively always be the First Player every time you have the chance.

Doom Phase

When the game ends, the player with the highest Doom is the winner. The Doom Phase is a common time for players' Doom to advance; it is also the Phase in which the end of the game is most likely to be triggered. During the Doom Phase, some Special Abilities can be triggered, and the players each choose whether or not to perform a Ritual of Annihilation.

The First Player must decide first whether to perform a Ritual of Annihilation, after which his opponent can make that choice.

Rituals of Annihilation

Each player can only perform a single Ritual of Annihilation per Doom Phase. To perform one:

• Spend Power equal to the current position of the Ritual Marker on the Ritual of Annihilation Track (this ranges from 5 to 10 Power).
• Advance the Ritual Marker one step up on the Ritual of Annihilation Track. This may increase the cost for later Rituals.
• Advance your Doom Marker one space along the Doom Track for each Gate you Control.
• Gain 1 Elder Sign for each of your Faction Great Old Ones in play (normally no more than 1).

Example: Alyssa is the First Player. She has three Controlled Gates and Shub-Niggurath in play. As the First Player, Alyssa has first choice of whether to perform a Ritual of Annihilation; she chooses to do so. The Ritual Marker is on the "5" space, so Alyssa pays 5 Power and advances the Ritual Marker to the "6" space. Alyssa now advances her Doom Marker 3 spaces—for her three Gates—plus receives an Elder Sign for Shub-Niggurath. She also decides to use her Blood Sacrifice Spellbook and Eliminates one of her Cultists in order to gain 1 Elder Sign. (Eliminating the Cultist does not give her opponent a Doom because it was instigated by Alyssa.) If Alyssa had not performed the Ritual of Annihilation plus her Blood Sacrifice, she would have had 5 more Power and 1 more Cultist upon entering the Action Phase, but she would not have gained the 3 extra Doom and 2 Elder Signs.

Instant Death

If the Ritual Marker is on 10 and a Ritual of Annihilation is performed, the Ritual Marker advances to the Instant Death space. This means that the game will end at the completion of this Doom Phase, and the victor will be determined. See the Victory: Ending and Winning the Game section (p. 32) for more details.

If the First Player advances the Marker to Instant Death, his opponent can still perform a Ritual afterwards. The Power cost for this last Ritual is 10.

Special Events and Abilities

Some Spellbooks, Special Abilities, or even Spellbook requirements take effect in the Doom Phase. These usually occur when it is your turn to perform a Ritual of Annihilation, whether you perform the Ritual or not. Examples include Black Goat's Blood Sacrifice Spellbook and Great Cthulhu's two Doom Phase Spellbook requirements. Some other events may also occur at this time.

If you have multiple abilities or events, you can choose the order in which you perform them.

Example: Sleeper has a Serpent Man on an enemy's Faction Card, as per his Ancient Sorcery Spellbook. The current cost of performing a Ritual of Annihilation is 8, yet Sleeper only has 7 Power. He returns his Serpent Man to the Map and gains 1 Power, then has enough Power to perform the Ritual.

Once all players have had a chance to perform a Ritual of Annihilation and enacted any special abilities, play moves on to the Action Phase, thus restarting the cycle of Phases.

Earning Doom Via Eliminates & Kills

When a Unit is Eliminated or Killed by an effect or action of the opposing player, that player gains Doom equal to that Unit's Power cost. The player who lost their Unit receives no Doom.

Here are some examples:

• Black Goat Eliminates two Cultists for her Spellbook requirement. Her enemy gains zero Doom.
• A Shoggoth Absorbs a Cultist for Battle. Its enemy gains zero Doom.
• Yellow Sign uses Zingaya to transform an enemy Acolyte into an Undead. Yellow Sign gains 1 Doom.
• Cthulhu Devolves an Acolyte into a Deep One. No Doom is gained by the enemy.
• Opener of the Way promotes a Unit to a Monster via Million Favored Ones. No Doom is gained by the Enemy.

Some units have variable Power costs. In this case, the Doom gained is equal to the average of the Unit's various Power costs added together, whether or not the Power benefit is currently in effect. Always round up the final total.

• Example 1: Cthulhu's Power costs are 10/4, so Killing him is worth 7 Doom.
• Example 2: Black Goat's Units have a Power cost of potentially 1 less, thanks to Thousand Young. Hence, Ghouls have an average Power cost of (1+0)/2 or 0.5, which is rounded up, so they give the opponent 1 Doom when they die. The same goes for the other Black Goat Units, all of which give the opponent Doom equal to their baseline cost due to the rounding factor.
• Example 3: Windwalker's Gnoph-Kehs have a Power cost of 4/3/2/1 which, when averaged, is 2.5, so Killing a Gnoph-Keh is worth 3 Doom.

Units which avoid death by means of abilities or Spellbooks still provide Doom to the enemy which "Killed" them, but only half as much (rounded up).

• Example 1: Windwalker's Rhan Tegoth uses Eternal to avoid dying. The enemy gets 3 Doom for "Killing" him.
• Example 2: A Regenerating Starspawn who takes a single Kill and thus avoids death gives the enemy 2 Doom (half their cost of 3, rounded up).

You only get Doom once for a Unit per Battle.

Example: Nyarlathotep avoids death thanks to Emissary of the Outer Gods, which would normally give the enemy 5 Doom for "Killing" him. But then Nyarlathotep, the last Unit in that Area, can't retreat from the Battle because every adjacent Area contains enemy Units, so he is Eliminated anyway, giving the enemy 10 Doom. The enemy does not also get the 5 Doom for the "virtual death."

Battle

Battle is the most complex of all events in Cthulhu Wars: Duel. It is a player-initiated Action and is described in the Action Phase section (p. 18).

A Battle takes place in a single Area. The Faction initiating the Battle must have at least 1 Combat amongst its Units in the Area. Though Battle can be an Unlimited Action (once either player has earned all 6 Spellbooks), an Area may only host a single Battle on a given player's turn.

All Units in the Area must participate in the Battle.

After the Battle Action has been paid for by the player who initiated it, the Battle proceeds through the following steps:

1. Pre-Battle Abilities
2. Combat Dice Calculations and Rolls
3. Post-Battle Abilities and Assigning Battle Results
4. Applying Battle Results

Pre-Battle Abilities

The first step is for players to use (or choose not to use) any Pre-Battle Spellbooks or abilities. As with all abilities, Pre-Battle abilities are optional unless the text says otherwise.

Because these are not Actions, they typically do not require Power to use. Some Pre-Battle abilities require a particular type of Unit to be present in the Battle to take effect, while others may merely require one of your Units to be in play, but not necessarily in the Battle itself!

The Faction that initiated the Battle (the attacker) uses all of their Pre-Battle abilities first, and in any order desired. The Faction being attacked (the defender) then does the same.

This means that all of the attacker's Pre-Battle abilities take effect before any of those chosen by the defender. If the attacker refrains from using a Pre-Battle ability, they can't "change their mind" and use any of these after the defender has chosen and used their own Pre-Battle abilities.

Some Pre-Battle abilities Eliminate, Kill or otherwise remove a Unit from the Battle. (This usually provides Doom to the player.) If this happens, that Unit does not participate for the rest of the Battle, including the remainder of the Pre-Battle step. For example, if Cthulhu himself is in a Battle as the attacker, Cthulhu may use his Devour Pre-Battle ability to Eliminate an enemy Unit. Any Battle-related ability possessed by that Unit cannot then be used, because that Unit is no longer involved in the Battle.

However, if that Eliminated Unit had already used an ability that generated an effect throughout the rest of the Battle, the effect remains.

Example: Crawling Chaos can initiate a Battle and use its Flying Polyp's Invisibility to "exempt" Great Cthulhu's Shoggoth. Even if Cthulhu then Devoured that Flying Polyp, the Shoggoth would remain invisible and "exempted" throughout the rest of the Battle. The Flying Polyp, of course, is still Eliminated (providing Great Cthulhu with 2 Doom as per its cost).

If all Units of one Faction are somehow removed during Pre-Battle, you do not need to continue to the next step—the Battle is over, and no further abilities can be used. For example, if Great Cthulhu initiates a Battle against Black Goat and Devours Black Goat's sole Unit, the Battle would end. Black Goat could not even use Necrophagy, as the Battle is already over.

Combat Dice Calculation and Rolls

After all Pre-Battle abilities on both sides have taken effect, it is time to calculate Combat and roll dice. Each Unit has a Combat rating listed on its Faction Card, which represents how powerful that Unit is in Battle. Some have 0 Combat, and some require a simple calculation (such as Yellow Sign's Monsters, or many Great Old Ones). Your Faction's Combat in the Battle is equal to the sum of the Combat rating of all of your Units involved in the Battle. For example, if you are playing as Great Cthulhu and have an Acolyte and 2 Starspawn in the Battle, your combat would be 0+3+3 for a Combat total of 6.

Both sides then roll a number of dice equal to their individual Combat totals. Players can roll simultaneously, or they may take turns.

Count up the number of 6s you rolled; these are "Kill" results. Then count up the number of 4s and 5s you rolled; these are "Pain" results. Rolls of 1, 2, or 3 are misses; they have no effect. (Roll of 6 = Kill; rolls of 4-5 = Pain; rolls of 1-3 = Miss.)

A few abilities are written simply as Battle abilities (as opposed to Pre- or Post-Battle). These abilities modify this step. For example, Opener of the Way's Channel Power Spellbook permits him to re-roll dice that did not score a Kill or Pain result.

Tip: Because Pre-Battle abilities can modify Combat totals, wait until all Pre-Battle abilities have taken effect before calculating the final Combat total.

Post-Battle Abilities and Assigning Battle Results

After counting up each side's Battle results, players must assign their enemy's results to their own Units.

First, assign Kill results (rolls of 6). Kills are always assigned first. Killed Units are returned to their owner's Pool. If the number of Kills exceeds the number of vulnerable Units, ignore the excess.

Example: In a Battle, Alyssa's enemy scored one Kill against her two units—an Acolyte and a Dark Young. She chooses to apply the result to her Acolyte, who is far cheaper to replace.

When assigning Kill results, players may use any available Post-Battle abilities. These abilities typically modify Battle results or how they are assigned. Post-Battle abilities can also add a third type of result: Elimination. If a Post-Battle ability adds an Elimination, it must be assigned at the same time as any Kills. As with Kills, excess Eliminations are ignored.

Post-Battle abilities are not like Pre-Battle abilities, as Kills, Eliminations, or any other removal from the Battle does not prevent that Unit from using its own Post-Battle abilities. In other words, in this step, both sides can always use any available Post-Battle abilities.

After Kills and Eliminations are assigned, assign Pains to the remaining units, ignoring any excess. Each Pained Unit must Retreat to an adjacent Area.

Post-Battle abilities that modify Pains may be appropriate to use when assigning Pains, rather than when assigning Kills. For example, Windwalker's Eternal ability could be used at this point, rather than when assigning Kills. Also, Crawling Chaos' Harbinger can be activated both when a Kill and a Pain are assigned. Yellow Sign's Vengeance is used when assigning Kills, Eliminations, and Pains.

Importantly, once a Post-Battle ability has been triggered (whether while assigning Kills or Pains), its effect takes place, regardless of whether the Unit with that ability is also (or later) Killed, Eliminated, etc. In other words, Post-Battle abilities may not retroactively prevent other Post-Battle abilities from taking place. However, they may modify how Battle results are assigned.

Many Post-Battle abilities are triggered by Kills or Pains. These are specific results, meaning that if an Elimination occurs, it would not trigger such an ability. For example, Windwalker's Cannibalism requires an enemy Unit to be Killed, not Eliminated; Sleeper's Demand Sacrifice does not protect against Elimination, only actual Kills; and so forth.

Applying Battle Results

Once Battle results are determined, apply them. Kills and Eliminations remove Units from the Map, returning them to their Faction's Pool. As with assigning results, Kills and Eliminations must be applied before Pains. Both sides remove Eliminated Units and Killed Units at the same time.

After applying Kills and Eliminations, it is time to apply Pains. Pained Units Retreat and are moved to Areas adjacent to the Battle Area. As with assigning Kill results, you choose the Areas to which they retreat. They do not need to all go to the same Area—they can be split among multiple Areas. A Pained Unit's Retreat does not count as a Move Action, and Move abilities do not apply.

The player who initiated the Battle (attacker) applies all of their Pains first, followed by the defender.

You cannot Retreat a Pained unit to any Area that contains enemy Units (regardless of whether you also have Units there). If this prevents your Pained Units from Retreating, select a single Unit among them and Eliminate it. Your other Units remain in the Battle Area as if they were not Pained.

Tip: If you are the attacker in a Battle and receive several Pains, sometimes a good tactic is to Pain those Units to all the Areas around the Battle Area to completely surround your enemy and force an extra Elimination!

Some Post-Battle abilities take place during the application of Battle results, or how results are assigned. A key example is Crawling Chaos's Madness, which allows Crawling Chaos, rather than his opponent, to choose the Area(s) where his opponent's Pained Units go.

Battle Examples

Simple Battle Example

Angela initiates a Battle against Frank in Arkham. She has three Deep Ones and two Acolyte Cultists. Frank has two Acolyte Cultists. As Angela's Deep Ones have Combat of 1 each, she rolls 3 dice (1+1+1). Frank is playing Black Goat, and his Frenzy Spellbook is in play, so his Cultists each have a Combat of 1, letting him roll 2 dice.

Angela rolls 2 Pains and no Kills, while Frank rolls a Kill and no Pains. Angela chooses to Kill one of her Cultists, and Frank must Retreat both Cultists out of the Area.

Complex Battle Example

Anthony has Shub-Niggurath and a Fungus; he initiates a Battle against David, who has 2 Deep Ones.

In Pre-Battle, Cthulhu uses his Devour ability. Cthulhu can't devour Shub-Niggurath, so Black Goat must lose her Fungus.

Now they roll the dice. Both players roll 1 kill and 1 pain. Anthony must assign the Kill to Shub-Niggurath, his only unit remaining. David chooses to assign the Kill and Pain to his Deep Ones.

Post-Battle Black Goat brings in a Ghoul using her Necrophagy Spellbook. This Pains Cthulhu out of the area, leaving the Ghoul behind.

Victory: Ending and Winning the Game

The end of the game is triggered in one of two ways: either when a player reaches 30 or more Doom or when the Ritual of Annihilation Track reaches "Instant Death."

When a Faction reaches 30 or more Doom on the Doom Track, the game will end. Your Doom Marker can be flipped over to the +30 side, allowing you to keep track of points above 30 by returning it back to the 1 spot and continuing. Since Doom often increases during the Doom Phase, the game may end during that Phase. In this case, complete the entire Doom Phase before declaring final victory—including permitting both players a chance at a Ritual of Annihilation and any Doom Phase effects.

A player can also accrue Doom or reveal Elder Signs during the Action Phase; if this new Doom increases his total to 30 or more, the game ends at the end of the current player's turn, even if the player whose Doom reached 30+ is not the player taking his turn.

Example: Alyssa is attacked by Tony. Both players have 25 Doom on the track. Tony only manages to roll a bunch of Pains, but Alyssa scores 2 Kills on Tony's Units. He takes the Kills on a pair of Acolytes, so Alyssa scores 2 Doom. She then reveals her three Elder Signs for 4 more Doom, giving her a total Doom of 31. At the end of Tony's turn (assuming he has anything else he wants to do), the game ends.

The game can also end during the Doom Phase, when the Ritual of Annihilation Marker reaches the Instant Death space. If one player has not had a chance to perform a Ritual of Annihilation, they may still do so. The game ends at the completion of that Doom Phase, even if no one has 30 or more Doom.

No matter how the end of the game is triggered, both players reveal their Elder Signs before the victor is declared. After the end of the game, and after adding everyone's Elder Signs to their Doom totals, the player with the most Doom is declared the winner.

If the two players tie for the most Doom, the game ends in a draw. You may rejoice in your shared victory!

Rule Omega: The Final Question

We have tried diligently to cover all possible rules questions and to make this game as true to Lovecraft as we can, but we are mere mortals. As such, we are subject to error. If you come across a conflict with an ability or Spellbook and cannot find the answer in one of our FAQs (online or otherwise), we recommend that you discuss the desired outcome. The game's owner should have his opinion weighted in his favor. In the end, Cthulhu Wars: Duel is your game. If you feel compelled to add house rules to cover such an issue, please do so with our blessing.

Tips & Tricks

The Power loss from the Decay Marker is significant, and strongly affects the game flow. Keep it in mind at all times. When your opponent runs out of Power, you can then perfectly calculate how many extra turns you are going to have, based on the Decay Marker's progression.

Keeping your Old One alive is extremely important, because its death gives the enemy a major Doom boost. It is vital to use and understand your Spellbooks. Ghroth, for example, is one of the mightiest weapons available to Black Goat.

Choosing when to not use abilities is a critical decision. For example, Yellow Sign may not always want Passion's Power gain, since it's not always beneficial.

Early Game

The gameplay can be divided into two main periods—the early game and the late game.

In the first and second Action Phases, you should try to acquire Spellbooks, build up a influence, and Summon a minimal army. Be choosy about when you Awaken your Great Old One, because this leaves you weak for the rest of that Action Phase. It is sometimes wise to Awaken yours in the same turn as your opponent. Battle in the early game is sometimes opportunistic, based on attempts to seize enemy Gates or fulfill Spellbook requirements.

Late Game

The late game begins when you have three or four Spellbooks and a Great Old One in play. You still may want to finish up your last Spellbooks, but perhaps you can afford a Ritual of Annihilation. Remember, the earlier you Ritual, the cheaper it is (and the more expensive for your foe). Use Battle not only to score Doom off your opponent, but to reduce your enemy's Gates, lowering both his Ritual possibilities and his potential Power.

Other Factions

Petersen Games is releasing other Cthulhu Wars: Duel versions with new Maps and new Factions. You have noticed references to these in this text. If you own more than one Duel version, you may freely mix and match Factions between your games.

Credits

• Design: Sandy Petersen
• Art: Richard Luong
• Additional Art: Graey Erb
• Project Director: Arthur Petersen
• Business Manager: Christine Graham
• Art Director: Tony Mastrangeli
• Art Layout: Andrew Frisch, Tony Mastrangeli
• Map Illustration: Damien Mammoliti
• Balance / Playtesting: Lincoln Petersen
• Sales Manager: George Botelho
• Shipping Manager: Christy Crace
• Customer Support: Nathan Bishop, George Botelho
• Community / VF Support: Pierre "Pit" Lanrezac
• Editing and Proofreading: Ben Kocher
• Additional Proofreaders: Kyle Guptil, Jamie Bergman, Squire Kershner, Kristof Brodeoux, Elliot Jenner

"He spoke very gently of how human beings might accomplish—and several times had accomplished—the seemingly impossible flight across the interstellar void. It seemed that complete human bodies did not indeed make the trip, but that the prodigious surgical, biological, chemical, and mechanical skill of the Outer Ones had found a way to convey human brains without their concomitant physical structure."

—H.P. Lovecraft

Phases of Play (Quick Reference)

1. Action Phase

• Gain Doom equal to Unit cost whenever your opponent loses Units due to your action or response.

Actions:

• If the player has any Power, he performs 1 Action. Add the Decay marker's position to all action Power costs.
• -1 Power to Recruit 1 Cultist (requires Unit)
• -? Power to Summon 1 Monster (requires controlled Gate in area)
• -? Power to Awaken 1 Great Old One
• -3 Power to Create 1 Gate (requires Cultist in area)
• -1 Power per Unit moved
• -1 Power to Battle (requires Unit with 1+ Combat)
• -1 Power to Capture 1 Cultist
• Pass – Lose all Power

OR

• If the player has zero Power, move the Decay marker up by 1 and end turn.

2. Gather Power Phase

• Return the Decay marker to 0.
• +1 Power per Cultist
• +2 Power per Controlled Gate
• +1 Power per Captured Cultist (return to owner's pool)
• +1 Power per Abandoned Gate
• +? Power for Special Abilities

3. Determine First Player Phase

• Player with the most Power becomes First Player.

4. Doom Phase

• (Optional) Rituals of Annihilation: Spend Power equal to the current position of the Ritual Marker to earn 1 Doom per Controlled Gate and 1 Elder Sign per Faction Great Old One. Max one Ritual per player per Phase.
• Special Events and Abilities

(Reminder: No Doom is gained from Controlled Gates except via Rituals.)