Big Bang Burger Bar

Battle Evil in the Museum on your Digital Device

An Introduction to Elder Sign: Omens

Something terrible has begun to awaken within our museum... something unsatisfied with mere exhibition or human study, writhing with ancient evil and terrible purpose. This entity must, at all costs, be prevented access to our world. From my studies, I am convinced that such dangers are not new to the human experience. The very fact that humanity survives to this day, I attribute to our forebears’ success in resisting the tormented realities beyond our own. I have been fortunate enough to uncover one particular emblem that seems significant. A symbol of considerable power... they called it the Elder Sign.

A few weeks ago, we explored Elder Sign, a board game of luck and deduction in which a few brave investigators battle against the emergence of an Ancient One at Miskatonic University Museum. Today, on Halloween itself, we’ll continue our highlights of some of Fantasy Flight’s games set in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos with the digital version of Elder Sign – Elder Sign: Omens.

In earlier overviews, we explored the perils of the museum in Elder Sign and the dangers that can lurk within the Mansions of Madness, as well as the mind-bending horror of Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game. You’ll enter the world of paranormal horror again in Elder Sign: Omens, but this time, you’ll do it digitally. Elder Sign: Omens is an application for your iOS, Mac OS X, or Android digital device, that delivers the tense excitement of Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson’s popular dice game in an all-new digital medium. Whether you play by yourself, or pass and play with up to four players, every game will bring you face-to-face with some of the most terrifying tasks and monsters imaginable.

Battle Insanity on Your Digital Device

In Elder Sign: Omens, you take on the role of a bold investigator, bent on penetrating the depths of the mysteries in the museum and forestalling the destruction of the world. In order to keep the Ancient One from bursting into our dimension, you must collect a number of Elder Signs before the Ancient One’s doom track can be filled with doom tokens. If you can claim enough Elder Signs before time runs out, the world is saved. If not, you and your friends are devoured and suffer a most awful death.

In order to claim Elder Signs at exhibits around the museum, you must go to these locations and successfully complete a number of tasks. In Elder Sign, players completed tasks by rolling dice, but in Elder Sign: Omens, you’ll conjure glyphs in your attempt to confront the horrifying tasks before you. The results on the glyphs you conjure must match the results you need to complete a task. If you cannot complete a task, you must discard a glyph and conjure again, attempting to obtain the results you need. If you can complete every task at a location, you receive rewards, including items, spells, and possibly, mighty Elder Signs. If you fail, on the other hand, you must suffer the penalties, whether through losing stamina or sanity, or even adding doom tokens to the doom track.

Although the rules of Elder Sign: Omens are similar to those of Elder Sign, some changes were made to make battling evil digitally even more difficult than in the real world. Monsters are both more horrifying and harder to defeat than before, requiring more effort from the investigators. Furthermore, the Mythos cards drawn at midnight have become even more punishing, ensuring that your time in this world is limited unless you can stop the Ancient One. If you want to seal the approaching Ancient One in its own dimension and ensure the survival of Earth, your investigations will need to be top-notch.

Want to see the results in action? Click the link below to view the first installment of Elder Sign: Omens’ in-game instructional guide. As the first of four videos accessible within the application, this short overview presents the basics of Elder Sign: Omens.

Expand on the Terror

In addition to new Ancient Ones, investigators, and locations that have been introduced with updates, Elder Sign: Omens also features a variety of expansions available via in-app purchase. Now you and your friends can leave the museum behind and travel the world to face supernatural evil in strange lands. Embark on a voyage of terror and dread on-board the Ultima Thule, as you seek to uncover the location of R’lyeh and stop Cthulhu himself from awakening and devouring the world.

Other adventures wait for you in the icy wastes of Alaska, where you will seek to both rescue a colleague and defeat the machinations of Ithaqua. The most recent expansion for Elder Sign: Omens takes you to Egypt for a three-part campaign. When you first arrive, you must find allies in Cairo to aid you once you leave the city. After two days have passed, you depart for the Necropolis of Dahshur, in search of the pharaoh Nephren-Ka. If you manage to find the tomb you search for, you will enter a maze of tunnels through the darkness, culminating in a final showdown with the Dark Pharaoh himself! Although each of these campaigns are unlocked via in-app purchase, each update to the game has also introduced new free content, including new investigators, Ancient Ones, and gameplay enhancements.

 

Play an Arkham Game this October

You can celebrate Halloween with games set in H.P. Lovecraft’s eerie universe. Whether you hope to stay safe in the Miskatonic University Museum or travel to exotic regions of the world in Elder Sign: Omens, you’ll never know what challenges you might face along the way. Keep checking back for highlights of other games set in the Cthulhu mythos, and remember to pre-register for Arkham Nights 2013!

...

Source: Battle Evil in the Museum on your Digital Device (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=4461)