FAQ

Chants for the Old Ones

Chants for the Old Ones box

Since the release of Chants for the Old Ones, we have received some inquiries from players regarding questions about the game. On this page, we will compile frequently asked questions to clarify any uncertainties about the rules and gameplay. Most of these issues are explained in the rulebook, but we believe it’s helpful to specify some questions and answers that can provide clearer information. This section will be updated periodically as new questions arise.

We would like to give special thanks to all the players who have contributed by sending questions and answers through our channels, on Kickstarter, or on BGG. Please note that this FAQ applies to the first edition of the game.

CORE GAME (multiplayer)

Components

My tokens does not match with the components list

In one of the last production revisions we realized that having so many draw tokens was not necessary, so we decided to leave only the necessary amount and put more power and knowledge tokens instead. The problem is that we missed to update the list of components, sorry for this error. This is the correct amount of tokens:

  • 12 draw tokens
  • 50 Knowledge tokens (different values)
  • 50 Power tokens (different values)

In addition, there are 6 Knowledge and Power tokens that were left in large size (like those of higher value) although they are of value 1 (like all those that do not have a number printed on them).

Why are there sacrifice tokens in both wood (coffins) and cardboard? Which ones should I use?

The sacrifice tokens are pieces featuring a coffin image, included in the punchboard with different values. During the Kickstarter campaign, an upgrade was unlocked that replaced the coffins with wooden tokens. Since there was still space available on the punchboard, both options were kept in that edition, and players can use either type interchangeably.

Which are my starting cultist cards?

All players start with the same six characters in the base game. Each starting deck has a different color, which is reflected both in the characters and the icon on the left side of the card. The cultist icon on the left side of the card matches the player’s color.

Additionally, these starting cards have no abilities, invocation power, or acquisition cost, unlike the cultist cards distributed across the cities on the board.

There are also 6 starting cultist cards (with grey icon)

Yes, they are used for the solo mode.

There are 6 cards with a book-symbol in the lower left corner - what are they for?

They are used only in the campaign expansion (you have an expanded edition that includes The Last Cult expansion). You start using them on Episode 5.

Danger Zone

How many investigators do I take if I perform the Devour action in the danger zone?

You take one investigator at the end of the action, regardless of whether your creature card devoured one or more investigators. This is a penalty for acting in the danger zone.

Does the dotted border of these worker placement field mean that the space is not limited to 1 pawn?

You can play only 1 pawn, the red dotted border only indicates that this place is available only if the main place is occupied, and that it has a danger.

Investigators

What happens if I run out of investigators to draw?

When you are returning and can’t avoid an investigator, but there are no more left in the deck, you must place that pawn in the stealth zone (it will remain there until your next return phase). Then, you may discard one card if you wish and refill your hand.

(As you can only place a pawn if you can perform the action) - When the action is to pay 3 knowledge points to remove 2 investigators, can you visit this location if you only have one investigator in your cult?

This question refers to a specific position of Innsmouth with this actions in icons: «pay 3 knowledge points to remove 2 investigators / gain 1 stealth token).

If you pay 3 knowledge points you can discard up to two investigators. So yes, you can go to this position even if you have only 1 investigator in your cult.

You can also go to that location to only gain the stealth token. The actions that require a payment are not mandatory if you can do something else.

Abilities

It is mandatory to use the cultist abilities or can the player decide to use it or not?

It’s optional “Character abilities may be performed at any time during your turn”

Can I resolve the ability before taking an action?

You can resolve it either before or after the action, in any order you prefer. In some cases, performing an action may only be possible if you first use the ability (for instance, an ability that provides power, which you need to acquire a card from the space where you are playing).

where do I search a card using the "Call" ability?

In your cult. Remember that your cult consists of the cards of your draw deck, discard pile and your hand. So, let’s say you play a card with the «Temple Call» ability: you can look for a card with a temple icon (Temple Action icon in the top left side of the card) in your discard pile or in your draw deck, and took this card for your hand. If you look into your draw deck, remember to shuffle the cards.

Other questions

RAID expansion

Can thread tokens be accumulated?

Yes, the tokens can be accumulated. For example, if you have 3 pursuit tokens, your next draw will be -3 cards. Or, if you receive 2 surveillance tokens, each time you play a card with an ability, you will remove one surveillance token and negate the ability of the played card.

CTHULHU AWAKENING expansion

When using the "Summon creature" action you can still pay "Arcane Knowledge" to reveal a second creature card even there is no space for that anymore, right?

Right, you can place the second card next to the stack, there’s no need to have more cardboard below to place the cards.

SOLO-PLAYER

is it correct that during a solo game if I do a tactical withdrawal I get two investigators and have to add one block token?

Yes, if you can’t avoid them, have to draw 2 cards of investigator. And you must bblock one of the locations of the city that you are returning.

For the rest action I pay two power points but don't get any investigators or blocks?

You confront investigators when your pawn comes from the main board. By performing the Rest action, your pawns stay on your board, so there’s no encounter with an investigator. However in solitaire mode, you must pay 2 power tokens if you want to rest.

THE LAST CULT expansion (campaign)

Iconography

(1) Episode Objective
As explained below in the text, this section summarizes the objective of the episode. In this example, it requires establishing 2 temples, accumulating 10 points of arcane knowledge and having at least 10 cultists in your cult.

(2) Cultists setup
Unlike the multiplayer game, not all cultist cards are available in the cities. Before starting the episode, look for the indicated cards in the list. Then, shuffle them and distribute them evenly among the three cities on the board.

(3) Creatures setup
As with the cultists, prepare the creature deck. If there is no list, it is because they do not play creatures in this episode.

(4) Episode setup
In each episode you start with a different number of resources. This section indicates how many temples, stealth tokens, power and knowledge you have at the beginning of the episode. In some episodes (e.g. E6) the setup of other elements is also indicated as explained in the introduction of the episode.

(5 & 7) Reward
When an episode ends, you can choose a card from the list (7) as a reward. Write it down in the reward space of the next episode (5). There is space if you want to copy the names of the cards won in previous episodes to keep them handy. In the campaign rules it is indicated how to get the reward cards (see Ceremony section).

(6) Investigators
The investigators’ deck is always composed of 6 cards, but in each episode they can be different cards, as indicated in this space. There are 6 blockade tokens available.

(8) Setup Points
This is an optional section to complete your setup (4), playing on easy mode.

There is a specific number of points available to spend on the setup of each episode, marked on a green sphere (in this image, 5 points). Below is a list of options on which to spend those points, with the cost of each item in red. For example, in this episode you start with only 1 temple token (4) but you can add 1 more temple token to your setup by spending 3 points, and you would still have 1 point available to add, for example, 2 power tokens.

Episode 2

The objective picture shows only 4 sacrifices are required but in some text translations it is 6

The correct amount of coffins is 4, the picture is right, but an error slipped into the translation of some languages in that section.

Episode 5

Regarding the reward, what happens if I have found 4 or more books, do I only keep 3 and if so do I pick what books to keep?

You can keep all the found books, but you will need to «read» them again in each episode (paying their cost).

Episode 8

Setting up episode 8

The other temples
The image that shows a red temple in Arkham is not right. As the episode states, you must follow the episode 6 description, that places the temple blocking a different position (Power 2 / Stealth token).

Investigator blockade card

Marked with the (7) notes reference number in page 53, this card and the notes explanation applies to Episodes 6 & 7 as well.

Any more questions?

    If you have more questions about the game, you can send us your question and we will review it as soon as possible. Please note this is not a contact form and we will not send any response. Add as many details as possible to understand your question and the situation in the game that was unclear to you.