Monster

Monsters have unique anatomies and behaviours. The bizarre, inscrutable intelligence of monsters is represented in the game by unique components:

• Miniatures that physically represent the monster.
• Story events that define a monster's attributes.
• Unique AI deck that control the monster's actions.
• Hit location decks that describe the parts of the monster that survivors can attack.
• Monster resources gained from defeating monsters.
• Hunt events that occur while hunting a monster.

Monster Miniatures

Monsters are represented by miniatures on the hunt and showdown boards. Monsters come on different base sizes. smaller monsters like minions and encounter monsters use 30 mm bases (1 space), while larger monsters use 50 mm (2x2), 100mm (3x3), and 135 (4x4) bases.

Showdown Story Events

Monster showdown story events describe essential information about encounters with monsters including:

Instinct

Instincits describe what a monster does when it cannot find a target to attack. Each monster has a different instinct.

List of Instincts

• Absorb
• Advance
• All is Ash
• Amnesia
• Cagey
• Catwalk
• Core Countdown
• Defensive Spit Salve
• Disdain
• Finger Strum
• Forget
• Fortune Grift
• Germinate
• Graze
• Growth
• Guard
• Illuminate
• Impatience
• King’s World
• Menace
• Mourn
• Reality Rend
• Seek Out
• Shadow Vibrations
• Sniff
• Song of Smog
• Spin
• The Penalty

Beta Challenge Scenario Instincts

• Other Vortex
• Portal Rush
• Repose
• Snack

Blind Spot

A monster's showdown story event shows a diagram of what spaces on the showdown board are considered the monster's blind spot. Usually these spaces are directly behind the monster. Survivors attacking from a monster's blind spot are outside of its field of view, and gain +1 accuracy when attacking.

When facing monster's in a multi-monster showdown, each monster has an individual blind spot and field of view. Survivors' positions apply to individual monsters, and a survivor can be in one monster's facing, but not another's.

Minion monsters do not have a facing or a blind spot.

Monster Characteristics & Attributes

Monster's characteristics and attributes are organized by level. Monster attributes include movement, toughness, speed, and damage. Monster characteristics include level, AI deck, special AI cards, and bonus tokens. Higher level monsters are more difficult foes. They have more AI cards, as well as higher toughness, movement, and speed than lower level monsters.

Monster Level

A monster's level is represented by the icon. Monster level determines the difficulty of the showdown and the monster's placement on the hunt board. Higher level monsters have longer hunts.

AI Deck

This lists the number of basic, advanced, and legendary AI cards that comprise a monster's AI deck.

Movement

Movement is the number of spaces a monster can move.

Toughness

Toughness is the monster's resilience. Toughness is the number a wound roll result must meet or exceed to wound a monster.

Speed

Speed is added to the speed listed on an attack profile to calculate the total speed of a monster's attack. If a monster has no speed listed in this section, nothing is added to the speed of its attack profiles.

Damage

The monster's damage attribute is only added to the damage listed on an attack profile to calculate the total damage caused by a monster's attack. Monster damage does not affect damage listed outside of attack profiles (e.g. damage fro Grab or brain damage).

AI Cards and Additional Rules

A monster's showdown story event also contains a section that describes any special () AI cards that start in play at the beginning of the showdown. AI cards can change a monster's behavior, attributes, or setup rules. Any other modifications to the monster's level (such as extra attribute tokens or AI cards) are included in this section. The showdown begins with these additions in play.

Monster Tokens

Main Article: Tokens
Monsters have two unique attribute tokens (toughness and damage) corresponding to these unique monster attributes. Negative attribute tokens cannot reduce a monster's damage, toughness, movement, or speed below 1. During the showdown, use attribute tokens indicate positive or negative changes to a monster's movement, speed, damage, accuracy, evasion, and luck. Attribute modifier tokens are double-sided to show gains and loses for that attribute. As the monster gains or suffers changes to its attributes, place the appropriate token on the monster control panel to mark these changes. Monsters and survivors share the following attribute tokens: movement, speed, accuracy, evasion, and luck. With the exception of luck, they affect monster's in the same way as survivors.

Hunt Board Diagram

Main Article: Hunt Phase
Quarry monsters can be hunted. These monster's story events have hunt board diagrams that illustrate how to set up a hunt for that monster.

Showdown Setup - Terrain & Deployment

Main Article: Showdown Phase
Monster story events feature a section that describes what terrain to set up on the showdown board, and where to place survivors and the monster(s).

Aftermath

The Aftermath section of a showdown event describes what follows the end of the showdown, including victory and defeat rules.
Victory Rules
Victory rules describe what happens when the survivors kill a monster, including what resources and bonuses are gained if the survivors prevail. The rules are broken down for each level of the monster.
Defeat Rules
Defeat rules describe what happens when the survivors are defeated by a monster. Follow these rules if all survivors are killed in the showdown or Run Away.
Rewards
This section of the showdown story event describes any specific rewards gained from defeating the monster for each monster level.

Basic Action//Reference Cards

Double-sided Basic Action//Reference cards are included in the game as a small, portable overview of each monster characteristics that are fully described in the monster's showdown story event. These cards serve as a compact reminder of frequently used monster information to be used in each showdown.

A monster's basic action is detailed on the Basic Action side of the Basic Action//Reference card. Generally, a basic action consists of a target action, and an attack action with an attack profile. Monsters will perform a basic action on some AI cards, in some reactions, or if there are no AI cards left to be drawn from the AI deck. Performing a basic action does not count as drawing an AI card. A monster may perform its basic action with a specific target listed. For example, the White Lion's Trap! hit location card directs the monster to perform a basic action targetting the attacker. In this case, instead of choosing a target, target the attacker and use the attack profile on the basic action to attack.

Monster AI

Main Article: AI Card
While a monster's showdown story event describes common traits of a monster, the AI system is used to create unique monster encounters. The recipes for AI decks for each monster level are listed on the monster's story event (and reference card) and make every showdown different from the last. Most AI cards are unique, and describe a myriad of strange and terrifying behavior. However, every AI card has some, if not all, of the following characteristics:

• Monster Crest
• AI Card Name
• Card Level (, , , )
• AI Type (Mood, Trait, Duration, etc.)
• Pick Target Action
• Flows
• Alerts
• Move & Target Actions
• Attack Profile
• Persistent Injury Actions

Monster Hit Locations

Main Article: Hit Locations
Combat is chaos, Flailing thrashing blows rain down from both sides. A monster's complex anatomy, its reactions to being attacked, and the unpredictable nature of battle are represented by the hit location deck. Each monster has a unique hit location deck composed of hit location cards. Hit location cards share the following characteristics:

• Hit Location Name
• Card Artwork
• Hit Location Type (First Strike, Impervious, Super-Dense, etc.)
• Hit Location Special Rules
• Reactions
• Critical Wounds and Persistent Injuries

Monster Hunt Events

Main Article: Monster Hunt Events
Monster hunt event cards are events that are only encountered while hunting a particular type of monster. The describe specific pitfalls and wonders that occur while tracking the monster. Each huntable quarry monster has its own set of hunt event cards. They are used on the hunt board during the Hunt Phase.

Monster Resources

Main Article: Monster Resources
Monster resource cards are resources that are only gained from fighting that type of monster. There are seperate decks of monster resources for each huntable quarry monster. Each monster resource has a resource type (bone, organ, hide, etc.). Monster resources can be used and spent as their resource type or as their specific resource name. some monster resources have additional rules on the bottom of their cards.