Vermont Horror Expansion (fan expansion for Arkham Horror)
Vermont Horror Expansion (fan expansion for Arkham Horror) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What This Expansion Contains
That's quite a lot of material to print, so if you want to get up-and-running faster to see how the game plays, and you don't object to making the occasional house-rule, you should concentrate on printing the board, location encounters, blue and yellow Other World encounters, Mi-go mining effects and the Mining Depth token.
- 1 New board section
- 52 Location Encounter card
- 84 Other World encounter cards
- 39 Mi-go monsters (Mi-go Activist x 4, Mi-go Agent x 6, Mi-go Commander, Mi-go Priest, Mi-go Researcher x 10, Mi-go Scout x 5, Mi-go Soldier, Mi-go Technician x 5, Mi-go Worker x 3, Mister Noyes, Phantom Rickshaw, Walter Brown)
- 24 Mi-go technology item cards
- 1 double-sided Mi-go Mining effects card
- 3 Mi-go Mining Depth Tokens
- 5 New Ally cards
- 35 Prequel Event cards
- 1 Mining Track marker
- 3 Prequel Time cards
- 1 Herald
- 2 Investigators
- 14 Mythos Cards
- 16 Common Items
- 13 Unique Items
- 32 Whispers from Akeley
- 1 Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign Membership
- 1 Insane Insight condition
- 1 Yuggoth Nexus condition
- 3 Brain Transplant Detriments
- 1 Mountain Rescue Volunteer benefit
- 3 double-sided Damaged Radio Mast cards
- 1 Gate token
- 2 Portal Cards
Game Setup
In the Diagram above the Vermont elements are added to the standard Arkham setup:
- The Vermont board is placed next to the Arkham board. In addition a Clue token is placed on each unstable Vermont location (those marked with a red diamond).
- The new location cards for the 4 Vermont neighborhoods are shuffled and placed next to the location decks.
- The new monsters are separated and added to a separate Mi-go cup (see the rules for more details on the Mi-go cup). The exception to this rule is the Phantom Rickshaw, which is only brought into play via a Mythog card.
- If you are using them used place the Herald, Prequel Events deck, Prequel time cards and Whispers form Akeley cards near the Vermont board.
- Shuffle the new allies into the ally deck.
- Place the mining track token on the zero space of the track.
- Put the Mi-go Mining effects card next to the board on the green side.
Put the Mining Depth token in the middle of Mi-go Track on 0.
If you are using the Mi-go Mining herald: put the Mining Mining effects card on the red side instead.
If you are using the Prequel Phase: Place the Mi-go Mining Depth token on the – side instead, so that it will flip to 0 when the Prequel Phase has been concluded.
If you are using the Whispers from Akeley extension (and are not using the Prequel phase): Place one Whisper from Akeley card face down on the Train station and on each train depot on the board.
If you are using the Damaged Aerials option: put the Damaged Radio Mast cards into play on the damaged side.
Determine Allies: Remember that only 11 allies are used in each game. If you are using the deluxe board, place 3 additional Allies at the Monoliths.
Vermont and the Mi-go
The Mi-go Mining Colony
The presence of Mi-go within Vermont presents the main imperative for investigators to visit this board. Without player intervention, the mines that the Mi-go construct will destabilise the region and quicken the arrival of the Ancient One.
The Mining Track
The Mining track has five spaces. It represents the efforts of the Mi-go to extract valuable minerals from parallel planes underneath the earth. Whilst digging down to these inter-dimensional portals the Mi-go are inadvertently disturbing ancient seals buried deep in the ground. These eons old seals are holding the Great Old Ones at bay and as they become disturbed it increases the chances of the Old One stirring from its slumber.
The Mining track is activated at the end of the Mythos phase after the effects of the Mythos (or Prequel event card) has been resolved. The Mining track moves up one space, plus it moves up one additional space for each Mi-go Technician that is at the Mining Colony. Each time the track reaches its fifth space, reset it to zero and roll two dice, sum them and subtract the current mine depth, then apply the effects written on the Mi-go Mining effects depth card.
Whenever the mining track cycles roll two dice, subtract the depth of the Mi-go Mine, and consult the follow table:
- 0 or less: Remove an Elder Sign from Vermont.
- 1: Open a gate at the Forest Ranger's Cabin.
- 2: Open a gate at the Crack'd Manse.
- 3: Open a gate at the Akeley Farmhouse.
- 4: Open a gate at the Monoliths.
- 5+: Remove a depth token from the Mi-go Mine.
Typically this will either increase the depth of the Mi-go Mine (to a maximum of 4) or open a gate in Vermont. Hence as the mine grows deeper, gates will open in Vermont more often.
After resolving the effects of the mine, draw a Mi-go monster from the Mi-go monster cup and place in the location marked Start on the monster.
Any additional counters beyond those needed to take the track to five are saved and added to the track after it has been reset to zero. With multiple Technicians, Prequel events and special effects in play it is possible that the Mining track may reach its fifth space more than once in a turn, thereby creating multiple herald special effects.
Example: The Mi-go Mine has reached Depth 3 and the Mining Track is on 2, with 3 Mi-go technicians present at the Mining Colony. In the Mythos phase the track will therefore move up by four.
Because this takes the track to its fifth space the effects of the Mi-go Mine are resolved. The first player rolls two dice and gets a total of 6 – subtracting 3 for the depth – this means that the result is a 3 and a gate opens at the Akeley Farmhouse (triggering the usual increase in Doom) Next a monster is drawn from the Mi-go monster cup. It's a Mi-go Researcher and it appears at Velma's Diner.
Mi-go Start: Velma's Diner. Instead of moving, roll a dice. On a 5-6 the Researcher kidnaps locals from their beds for experimentation, raise the terror level by 1. If you fail a combat check against the Mi-go Researcher you are immediately abducted.
Finally, as it only took 3 of the 4 Mining counters, the last counter is added after the track has been reset leaving it on 1 for next turn.
Note: As the Mining track is activated at the end of the Mythos phase, any creatures spawned from the Mi-go cup do not move in the turn they come into play.
The Mi-go Cup
The Mi-go monster cup is unique to this expansion and contains specific thematic monsters that are generated by Location encounters, Prequel events and the Herald's special ability. The Mi-go cup starts the game containing:
- 4 Mi-go Activist
- 6 Mi-go Agent
- Mi-go Priest
- 10 Mi-go Researcher
- 5 Mi-go Scout
- 5 Mi-go Technician
- 3 Mi-go Worker
- Mister Noyes
- Walter Brown.
Each monster spawns in a specific location as defined below, typically listed in the Start location on the reverse side of the Mi-go chit. Any encounter, Prequel card or Mythos card states a monster appears from the Mi-go cup overrules these location placements.
A few exceptions exist:
- If you are using the herald, the Mi-go Commander starts on the board at the Mining colony and Mister Noyes starts on the board at the Akeley Farmhouse.
- The Phantom Rickshaw only comes into play via the Straight out of a Book Mythos card and
- The five Mi-go soldiers are placed on the Herald card and are spawned by the Defend the Colony! herald effect or if a Mi-go technician winning a round of combat against an investigator.
Abduction
Some monsters in the expansion have the Abduction ability. Normally this comes with a caveat such as 'If the investigator fails a combat check against [Monster] they are Abducted'. When investigators are abducted they are immediately placed in the first space of the Yuggoth Mine Other World location. There are also a number of location encounters that cause an investigator to be Abducted, the same rules apply. If investigators are Abducted whilst in the Yuggoth Mine due to an encounter or a monster they must move to the first area of the mine and become Delayed.
Yuggoth Mine
The Yuggoth Mine is a blue-yellow Other World and operates slightly differently from normal Other World areas.
As there is only one gate token that leads back to Arkham, the main way to escape from the Yuggoth Mine is to Return from Yuggoth. An investigator starts movement in the first area of the mine, they then move to the second area of the mine, finally they move to the 'Return from Yuggoth' area. The following turn the investigator can be placed on any street or location in Arkham.
This special mechanic to return to Arkham is similar to the 'Lost in Space and Time' mechanic, however a clear distinction should be made as 'Return from Yuggoth' is not affected in anyway by anything! This includes encounter cards and Ancient One effects or Investigators special abilities (such as Sister Mary's inability to be Lost in Time and Space). This delay represents a space-mead fuelled journey back to Earth.
It is also possible that through the course of their encounters, the investigators may activate a condition called the Yuggoth Nexus. This condition allows the investigators to move or from Yuggoth to the Yuggoth Mine and vice versa.
Yuggoth Nexus — Movement: Investigators who began their turn in the second area of the Yuggoth Mine may choose to move to the first area of Yuggoth, instead of taking their normal move. Likewise, Investigators who began their turn in the second area of the Yuggoth may choose to move to the first area of the Yuggoth Mine, instead of taking their normal move.
The Yuggoth Mine is a very dangerous environment. If an encounter or combat in the Yuggoth mine causes an investigator to be reduced to 0 Stamina or 0 Sanity that investigator is immediately devoured, and the investigator's brain is encased in a metallic cylinder for all of time. The player must choose another investigator to continue the game with.
Example: Whilst in combat with the Mi-go commander in the Movement phase, Bob Jenkins loses a round of combat and after taking combat damage, is Abducted.
Bob is placed in the first area of the Yuggoth Mine and has an encounter there in the Other World encounters phase. The subsequent turn he moves to the second area of the mine and has a second encounter. As there is no gate leading to the Yuggoth Mine, and the Yuggoth Nexus has not been actiavted, the next turn Bob moves to Return from Yuggoth and is delayed for the rest of the turn. Finally in his next movement phase Bob can return to Arkham.
Whispers from Akeley
Setup
In this variant, the investigator can track down Akeley's correspondence with Albert Wilmarth in the hopes of learning more about their enemy. They must be careful though, as their enemy is cunning and may attempt to deceive them.
During the set-up phase, unless you are using the Prequel variant (see below), add a Whisper card to the train station and to each train depot on the board play. Furthermore, whenever the Mining Track ticks over from 0 to 4, add a Whisper to Brattleboro Depot, unless there is already one there.
After having an encounter at a location with a whisper, an investigator has two choices, they may either have an additional encounter, drawing the whisper and resolving its effects, or they may discard the Whisper from play without looking at it.
The Damaged Aerials
Setup
This variant can be included with the other variants. It represents Mi-go attack on the radio masts in order to cut off Arkham and its environs from the outside world.
This variant incorporates one of the Radio and Science keywords features from the Door to Saturn expansion.
At the start of the game place the Radio Mast Damaged cards into play. Typically there are two cards, but if you are also using the Kingsport Horror expansion, you should also put the Radio Mast Damaged (Wireless Station) card into play.
In order to repair the masts the investigators must travel to the relevant location, either the Forest Ranger's Hut, Administration or Wireless Station, and then pass a Science check. Science checks use Luck as their primary attribute. If the check is passed, the card should be flipped to the Radio Mast Repaired side.
Repaired masts provide investigators with the Radio ability. This ability allows investigators to share their clues with other investigators with the Radio ability. The Radio ability can be acquired by fixing masts, Scientific Items (typically found in the Door to Saturn expansion) or the Comms Node Mi-go Tech.
Arkham Encounters: After having an encounter at the Forest Ranger's Hut, you may make a Science (+0) check. If you pass, flip this card.
The Prequel Variant
Prequel setup
The Arkham board is set up in exactly the same way as it is normally with Clue tokens placed on unstable locations. However there is no initial gate and monster; instead the first gate appears at the end of the Prequel game. In addition, no Whispers from Akeley are added to the board.
The Ancient One card is kept secret and is placed face down next to the board.
The Prequel Event deck
The Prequel Events represent the gradual increase of strange activity in Arkham prior to the stirring of the Ancient One and contains thematic elements to give the atmosphere of the Mi-go operations in the mountains.
Because this Prequel variant is staged before the Ancient One begins to stir in its slumber, there are no Mythos cards to be drawn from the Mythos deck during the Prequel game of the game.
Instead, in the Mythos phase where you would normally draw a Mythos card, draw a Prequel Event card. These cards operate in much the same way as the Mythos deck except that:
- They do not open gates
- Instead of adding clues to the board, they add Whispers from Akeley (see above)
- They cause mi-go monsters to appear in specific locations.
Some Prequel Event cards require you to turn over the next Prequel Time card (such as the example below), see 'Ending the Prequel' for further information.
Example Prequel Time card: Livestock Slaughtered! (Headline) — Investigators in Arkham may not collect any money, in any way next turn as a financial crisis strikes after herds of cattle are mysteriously slaughtered. Prequel Time Elapses: Turn over the next Prequel time card! Mi-go Monster Appears At: Independence Square. Whisper Appears At: Bank of Arkham.
Open Gates in Arkham
Because there is no Mythos deck in play during the Prequel variant it is unlikely that gates to the Other World are opened. This may occasionally occur however due to Location encounters, e.g. 'A Gate and monster appear'. As the Investigators are unaware of threat of the Ancient One no gates may be sealed in the Prequel game.
The investigators are able to deal with the short-term threats by closing the gate but they are not aware of the significance of sealing gates until the Ancient One reveals itself.
It is highly likely that investigators will want to close gates though, as these gates will inevitably add to the number of open gates on the board when the Prequel game ends and, should the Ancient One awaken, they will hasten the end of the game with too many gates open (see main rulebook – too many open gates).
These gates operate as in the standard game with a few crucial differences during the Prequel game:
- Any doom tokens generated as a result of open gates are placed on the Ancient One. When the Ancient One is revealed, the doom tokens are added to the Ancient One.
- The Ancient One cannot awaken due to too many open gates, until it has been revealed.
- The Investigators cannot win the game during the Prequel game by closing all open gates on the board, although may collect gate trophies as normal.
Ending the Prequel game
The Prequel game proceeds until, in the Mythos phase, the third Prequel time card is revealed; 'The Great Old One Stirs!'
When the 'The Great Old One Stirs!' Prequel time card is turned face up the Prequel game of the game ends. Follow instructions on that card Prequel time card:
Immediately reveal the Ancient One and place any Doom tokens that have accumulated on the back of the card onto the Doom track.
After the Ancient One card is turned over, take the first Mythos card and open a gate and place a monster in the same way as the start of the standard game, do not resolve any other effects from this Mythos card though.
Place the Prequel events deck back in the box and in each subsequent turn use the Mythos deck instead. Any environments or effects from the Prequel variant immediately end with the exception of the rumour card that continues as normal.
In addition Ancient One's abilities and special effects now come into effect, e.g. enhancing worshippers, imposing penalties of the investigators…
The Mi-go Herald card remains in play as does the Mi-go cup. The Mi-go mining operations continue during the main game, so the threat will still need to be constrained.