Rules of «Demon Invasion»
This page collects the main rules. The full handbook with demons, investigators, monsters and cards is inside the game itself: the link «Skip to the handbook» is at the top of the game page.
What the game is about
This is a cooperative game: all the investigators win or lose together. A demon wants to break through into our world. Your goal is to uncover the demon's three mysteries. While you search for clues and close gates, monsters appear on the map and Doom goes down. If Doom reaches zero, the demon awakens, and you must defeat it within a limited number of rounds.
The game is inspired by the board game Eldritch Horror, but the rules are simplified and adapted into a text game that can be played without a board or cards. From one to eight people can play, alone or online.
How a turn works
A round is divided into phases, and in each phase the players act in turn. There is no time limit for decisions: discuss your plan as long as you like.
- Action phase: each investigator takes two actions.
- Encounter phase: if there are monsters in your location, you must fight each one. Then you choose one encounter: a clue, a gate, an expedition, a location event or a demon trial.
- Mythos phase: when everyone has gone, the game takes its own turn against you.
Between phases the host gets a button to move on. The host is the investigator holding the host token; if that investigator is out, the token passes to the next one.
Actions
- Move to an adjacent location: one action.
- Train or ship ticket: moves you one or two steps and costs no action. You can hold at most two tickets.
- Rest: restores health and sanity, removes some conditions and restores spells. You cannot rest if there is a monster in the location.
- Focus: a focus token rerolls one failed die. You can have at most two tokens.
- Acquire assets: the reserve holds four items; you pay with successes from an Influence test. You can take a loan, but then you receive a Debt card.
- Learn or cast a spell: a Lore or Will test. You can hold at most three spells.
- Spend clues or perform a ritual: these advance a mystery.
- Trade with an ally in the same location: one action, and within it you can pass any number of items, clues and tickets.
Tests and dice
Every test is a roll of dice for the relevant skill: Strength, Lore, Observation, Will or Influence. The number of dice equals the skill value plus the bonus of your best item, minus condition penalties, plus a die for focusing. At least one die. A success is a 5 or 6. If you are Blessed, a success is 4 or higher; if you are Cursed, only a 6.
Health, sanity and elimination
An investigator has health and sanity. If either drops to zero, the investigator is eliminated. If all investigators are eliminated, the game is lost. Health is lost in combat, sanity from horror and frightening events. They are restored by resting, spells and some events. The conditions (Wounded, Madness, Cursed, Blessed, Debt, Delayed, Despair, Arrested) are described in the game's handbook.
Fighting monsters
A fight has two steps. First a Will test against the monster's horror: if you roll fewer successes than the horror, you lose sanity. Then a Strength test: each success removes one point of the monster's toughness. If it survives, it hits you. Every monster has a special ability; all of them are listed in the handbook.
Encounter phase
After the fight, choose one encounter.
- Clue: take the clue marker in your location.
- Gate: a success closes the gate in the location, and Doom rises by 1.
- Expedition: available in the wild places; a success gives a clue.
- Event: a card matching the kind of terrain.
- Demon trial: available if you are in the location of the current mystery.
Every encounter works the same way: the game reads out the situation and offers two approaches, with the main skill and with a backup skill. If the second one fails, it costs 1 more sanity. Success gives a reward, failure a loss.
Mysteries
Each demon has four mysteries, and you must uncover three. A mystery is one of five types.
- Clues: bring the required number of clues to the mystery's location and spend them.
- Ritual: perform a ritual in the mystery's location, a Lore test; each success gives one point of progress.
- Gates: close the required number of gates.
- Monsters: kill the required number of monsters.
- Expeditions: complete the required number of expeditions.
When a mystery is uncovered, the demon's reward takes effect and the next mystery begins.
Doom, omen and the Mythos phase
Doom is the shared countdown. Each Mythos phase the omen moves to the next colour: crimson, azure, emerald, black. Doom drops by one for every open gate of the new omen's colour, and monsters appear at those gates. In the Mythos phase the demon's ability also triggers, new gates open, a Mythos card is drawn and the monsters use their abilities. Closing a gate raises Doom by 1.
Rumors
Every few rounds a rumor appears: a threat with a countdown. If you do not resolve the rumor in time, a penalty takes effect. A rumor is resolved by spending clues in its location, and the reward is an artifact.
Awakening and the final battle
If Doom reaches zero and the three mysteries are not uncovered, the demon awakens and immediately strikes all investigators. The more mysteries you have uncovered, the weaker it is. The final battle has a limited number of rounds. From then on Doom no longer drops and no new gates open. Fight the demon in combat or with the action «Banish the demon with clues»: each clue deals 2 damage. Every demon has its own weakness and its own strike against the team in each Mythos phase.
Victory and defeat
- Victory: three mysteries are uncovered, or the demon is killed in the final battle.
- Defeat: all investigators are eliminated, or the time of the final battle runs out.
Difficulty, records and saving
There are four difficulty levels: easy, normal, hard and nightmare. The Myth deck can be normal, escalating or insane. A victory is recorded in the hall of fame by number of players, demon and game time, under your account login. You can save a game and continue it later; a save is kept for two weeks.