Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine

Errata / Updates

Spirits and Innate Powers

• Nature Incarnate - 1st printing, 2nd printing
  **Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine** -- When multiple pieces Escape the Endless Dark, they may go to different lands.

  (The relevant sentence in Terror Stalks the Land should read, "When pieces Escape, Move them to non-Ocean lands with your Presence/Incarna; if they have no legal lands to move to, you lose.")
  Tags: Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, Terror Stalks the Land (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine)

Frequently Asked Questions

Effect Rules

• What happens if a Power that references an Incarna is used by a Spirit that doesn't have that Incarna (e.g., if it's transferred via Entwined Power)?
  Resolve the Power exactly as written. Though an Incarna is associated with a particular Spirit, it's still a piece that other Spirits can interact with — they just don't normally have a way to do so.
  

  Depending on the Power and Incarna in question, this may be weaker than when used by the original Spirit. For example, while Frightful Keening can still push the Incarna of Wandering Voice Keens Delirium, and still generates Fear if pushing into a land with Invaders, only Wandering Voice Keens Delirium can use this Power to add Strife via Keening Spurs Grievances.
  Tags: Transferring Power Cards, Incarna, Entwined Power, Blazing Intimidation (Ember-Eyed Behemoth), 7 more...
• If your Incarna and 1 of your Presence are in the same land, is that land a Sacred Site for you?
  Yes, if you choose to count your Incarna as Presence for that action.
  Tags: Sacred Sites, Counts As, Incarna, Ember-Eyed Behemoth, 4 more...
• If both a Beasts and something that counts as a Beasts (e.g., a sacred site of Many Minds Move as One) are in the same land and something destroys a Beasts there, can you choose which one is destroyed?
  Yes. Even if there are two ordinary Beasts tokens in a land, players get to choose which one gets destroyed – it just doesn't usually matter which one you pick.

  Similarly, if a Presence and an Incarna are both in a land and something would destroy Presence there, the Spirit can choose whether to destroy the Presence or the Incarna.
  Tags: Counts As, Incarna, Many Minds Move as One, A Joining of Swarms and Flocks (Many Minds Move as One), 8 more...
• If multiple pieces would be upgraded or downgraded simultaneously (e.g., with the Lair Aspect), is it possible to upgrade or downgrade the same piece multiple times?
  No. Pick all of the pieces you want to replace first, then upgrade/downgrade them all at the same time.

  However, it is possible to upgrade/downgrade a piece multiple times if they are replaced as part of different instructions (e.g., downgrading the same Invader with two different thresholds of Lost in the Endless Dark) or with two different actions (e.g., different players downgrading pieces in the same land with Trade Suffers at Terror Level III). Also, the special rule granted by Serene Waters explicitly allows choosing the same piece twice even if the timing is ambiguous.
  Tags: Timing, Upgrade, Downgrade, Replace, 7 more...
• If a Spirit has a Growth Action that adds or moves its Incarna, can it just leave its Incarna in place (whether on the island or in the supply)?
  No, the Growth Action isn't optional: if the Incarna is in the supply, it must be added; if it's on the island already, it must be moved.

  That being said, you can count an Incarna on the island as Presence for the purpose of checking where it moves. So, e.g., Wandering Voice Keens Delirium can count its Incarna as the Presence it's moving the Incarna to, thereby moving the Incarna to the land it's already in (which would then add Strife with Spread Tumult and Delusion).

  Similarly, with its empowering growth option Ember-Eyed Behemoth can choose to move its Incarna to any land within range 1, including the land it's already in.
  Tags: Move, Counts As, Incarna, Wandering Voice Keens Delirium, 3 more...

General Play

• If a Spirit's Presence counts as Beasts (say, due to Settle Into Hunting-Grounds), and a "destroy Beasts" effect destroys their Presence, is it still considered destroyed Presence? More generally, if Piece A also counts as Piece B, and a "destroy/remove Piece B" effect destroys/removes it, does it go to the supply for A or B?
  It's considered destroyed Presence. When a piece is removed from the board, it goes to the supply (or other destination) for that physical type of piece.
  Tags: Presence, Pieces, Counts As, Beasts, 14 more...
• Can Strife move independently of the Invader piece it is attached to?
  No, the Strife only moves with that Invader and stays attached the entire way.

  For instance, Strife can not be divided separately from the Invader it's attached to when Weave Together the Fabric of Place expires, nor can it be moved independently by Bargain of Coursing Paths.
  Tags: Strife, Weave Together the Fabric of Place, Terror Stalks the Land (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Bargain of Coursing Paths, 1 more...

Power Cards

• When using a land-targeting Power with Range "—," which land is the origin land?
  In the rather rare case that it matters, you can choose any land with your Presence to be the origin of the Power.

  If you don't have any Presence to use as the origin (e.g., because all of your Presence is under Absolute Stasis or in the Endless Dark), you can't use the Power.
  Tags: Range, Absolute Stasis (Fractured Days Split the Sky), Emerge from the Dread Night Wind (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Frightful Keening (Wandering Voice Keens Delirium), 7 more...
• What happens if you use Entwined Power to give another Spirit a card with Spirit-specific effects? (E.g., Absorb Essence, Swallow the Land-Dwellers)
  As usual, do as much as you legally can, skipping instructions you can't perform. However, Special Rules can define new types of effect (like "Drown") usable by anyone with a Power referencing it.

  More specifically:

  • Absorb Essence effectively becomes "Gain 3 Energy. Target Spirit gains Any Element and 1 Energy." (You cannot follow the instruction "Move 1 of target Spirit's Presence to your 'Deep Slumber' track", because you do not have a Deep Slumber track.)
  • Ocean's Special Rules define what "Drown" means: "Destroy Drowned pieces, placing Drowned Invaders here [on Ocean's playmat]." So if another Spirit Drowns an Invader, it is Destroyed (by that Spirit), then goes onto Ocean's playmat. Similarly, since Terror Stalks the Land defines what "Abduct" means, abducted pieces go to The Endless Dark whether or not Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine is the one using the Power.
  • Elemental Teachings lets other Spirits prepare Element Markers, but what what they can do with them depends on whether or not Shifting Memory of Ages is using an Aspect.
  • Powers that reference specific Incarna can still interact with that Incarna, but may be less effective.
  • While any Spirit could perform the effects of many of Fractured Days' Unique Powers, they can't pay the time cost to use them in the first place.
    Tags: Transferring Power Cards, Drowning (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), Entwined Power, Swallow the Land-Dwellers (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), 8 more...
• If Pent-Up Calamity removes a Spirit's Presence to deal damage (via that Presence counting as, e.g., Beasts): can the threshold replace that Presence?
  No, it will replace an actual token of the type you chose to remove.

  When a piece is removed from the board, it goes to the supply (or other destination) for that physical type of piece, it doesn't "remember" what it was while on the island.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Pieces, Counts As, Incarna, Pent-Up Calamity, 4 more...
• If a Spirit with an Incarna uses Settle Into Hunting Grounds, can the Incarna still move that turn?
  Yes, but only if you choose not to count it as Presence for that action (and therefore not count it as Badlands or Beasts with Settle Into Hunting Grounds either).

  For instance, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine using Leave a Trail of Deathly Silence can't get the Badlands bonus if they choose to Push the Incarna.
  Tags: Counts As, Incarna, Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, Leave a Trail of Deathly Silence (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 1 more...

Presence and Sacred Sites

• When Blight is moved into a land, does it destroy Presence or cause cascades?
  No, Blight only destroys Presence when it is added to the board, not when it is moved from one land to another. Likewise, moving Blight does not cause cascades. [B&C p. 15, JE p. 28]
  (Discussion elsewhere) (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Presence, Blight, Absorb Corruption, Flow Like Water, Reach Like Air, 8 more...

Range and Targeting

• Does Shadows of the Dahan <i>("...you may pay 1 Energy to target a land with Dahan regardless of the Power's Range")</i> let you ignore other targeting requirements?
  No. Only Range - the number of lands distant - is ignored.

  All other targeting requirements still apply. This includes source restrictions, so if, e.g., a Power must be targeted from a Sacred Site and you have none, Shadows of the Dahan won't let you use it, or if it needs to be targeted from a Jungle, you need Presence in a Jungle to use it. The same applies for target restrictions other than Range, like lands with Invaders, unblighted lands, or restrictions on the target terrain; these must also be obeyed.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Range, Targeting, Shadows of the Dahan (Shadows Flicker Like Flame), Finder of Paths Unseen, 3 more...

Scenarios

• Is it possible to add an Incarna that was never in the game in the first place (e.g., if a Power Card that adds an Incarna is carried over in Second Wave)?
  No, Incarna for Spirits not in the game are left in the box.

  All other effects of the Power Card still work normally.
  Tags: Incarna, Second Wave, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, Emerge from the Dread Night Wind (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 0 more...

Setup

• When setting a Spirit on a the thematic map, what happens if the setup instructions are impossible (e.g., adding Presence to a land with Blight when that board has no Blight).
  Either don't start that Spirit on that board or follow the instructions as best as you can, choosing freely when no lands meet the criteria given. [Jagged Earth Rulebook p. 6]

  When choosing freely, use theme as your guide — you're playing on the thematic map, after all!
  Tags: Thematic map, Spirit setup, Vengeance as a Burning Plague, Starlight Seeks Its Form, 6 more...

Spirits and Innate Powers

• Can Fear/Event actions destroy Invaders in The Endless Dark?
  Yes. While Event and Fear Card actions generate Fear rather than removing Invaders, those actions are free to destroy, damage, replace, or otherwise harm the Invaders in any way that doesn't use the keyword "Remove" (other than downgrading Explorers, since that's defined as removing them).

  Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine has no such restrictions with its own Powers, and is free to Remove Invaders or Downgrade Explorers like normal.
  Tags: Remove, Replace, Damage, Destroy, 3 more...
• Can Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine use bonus Damage from Badlands to Abduct Invaders?
  No, Badlands increase an existing instance of Damage rather than creating a new one. Either:

  • Breath is doing Damage to an Invader that is already alone and thus abducts it even before Badlands can increase the Damage; or
  • Breath is doing Damage to Invaders that are not alone, so no amount of extra Damage can result in abductions.

  Tags: Badlands, Terror Stalks the Land (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine
• If Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares uses Mists of Oblivion, do they get the Power Card's bonus fear for destroying Towns/Cities? (Relatedly, can they trigger Vengeance of the Dead?)
  No. No Towns/Cities are actually destroyed, so Mists of Oblivion grants no bonus Fear. And similarly, Vengeance of the Dead doesn't do any Damage.

  To Dream a Thousand Deaths only changes what happens when Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares would destroy/damage Invaders. It doesn't change what happens if an effect checks whether or not Invaders got destroyed.
  (Discussion elsewhere) (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Fear, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, Mists of Oblivion, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), 4 more...
• How does Reach from the Infinite Darkness work with Presence from Spirits with restrictions on where they can move Presence?
  Since Reach from the Infinite Darkness ignores these restrictions, Presence from those Spirits can be abducted without any issue. However, that Presence can only escape to lands that it could normally be moved to, whether Coastal lands (Ocean’s Hungry Grasp), Inland lands (Lure of the Deep Wilderness), or Mountains (Volcano Looming High). If Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine doesn’t have Presence or its Incarna in any legal lands, you must choose to let a different piece escape or lose the game.

  Every Growth option has a way to add or move Presence or the Incarna into a new land, so this generally won't be a loss threat unless multiple such Spirits have their Presence abducted and Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine is unusually low on Presence.
  Tags: Move, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, Reach from the Infinite Darkness (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 7 more...
• Can Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine abduct pieces that can't move (e.g., because they're at the Lair Incarna)?
  No, abduct is a special form of movement and prevented by things that prevent movement.

  Similarly, escape is a special form of movement and is affected by things like Bargain of Coursing Paths.
  Tags: Move, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, Terror Stalks the Land (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Lair Aspect (Lure of the Deep Wilderness), 3 more...
• When playing on an archipelago, do two Spirits with Presence in The Endless Dark count as being on the same islet?
  Not unless they were already sharing an islet anyway. The Endless Dark isn't on any island board, so it's not part of any islet.
  Tags: Archipelago, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine
• Does Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine need to do lethal Damage to a lone Invader to abduct it?
  No, any positive amount of Damage will do.
  Tags: Damage, Terror Stalks the Land (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Leave a Trail of Deathly Silence (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, 0 more...
• If Many Minds Move as One uses Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, do the two "may count as Beasts" rules stack?
  No. A land with 2 of their Presence could count as 1 Beasts (via their Special Rule) or 2 Beasts (via the Major Power), but not 3.
  Tags: Counts As, Many Minds Move as One, Settle Into Hunting-Grounds, A Joining of Swarms and Flocks (Many Minds Move as One), 2 more...
• When Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine faces the Tsardom of Russia Level 2+, can Breath abuct lone Explorers by doing Damage to them or directly destroying them?
  Yes, it can and must, even if it'd rather let the Explorer flee to get 1 Fear.

  Terror Stalks the Land abducts lone Invaders if Breath would attempt to damage or destroy them, while A Sense for Impending Disaster only makes an Explorer flee if that Explorer would actually otherwise be destroyed.
  Tags: Action Modifiers, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, Terror Stalks the Land (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Tsardom of Russia, 0 more...
• Is The Endless Dark a land for Spirit-targeting Powers?
  No, no matter which Spirit uses the Power or is the target of the Power, the Power isn’t targeting The Endless Dark.
  Tags: Targeting, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Shadow-Touched Realm (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 0 more...
• Can Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine choose Strife as one of the pieces escaping the Endless Dark?
  No, because Strife can't move independently of the Invader it's attached to. If you must choose two pieces to let escape, they must both be non-Strife pieces.

  Strife tokens will escape with the Invader they are attached to, but do not count towards the number of pieces escaping.
  Tags: Move, Strife, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 1 more...
• If Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares does shadow damage to a damaged Town, causing Fear and Pushing it, does the damage get healed?
  No, Towns and Cities remain at whatever Damage they had taken before Bringer of Dreams and Nightmare used its power.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Damage, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Terror Stalks the Land (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 1 more...
• What happens when Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine abducts Presence belonging to Heart of the Wildfire?
  While Abducting Wildfire’s Presence does move it, The Endless Dark isn’t a land for Blazing Presence. On the other hand, Blazing Presence will trigger when the Presence eventually escapes.
  Tags: Triggered Actions, Move, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 4 more...
• When Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine targets The Endless Dark, which targeting restrictions can The Endless Dark meet?
  Breath's Power can target The Endless Dark if they do any of the following:

  • Have no targeting restrictions;
  • Only target Inland lands (e.g., Here There Be Monsters);
  • Can't target specific terrains (e.g., Dry Wood Explodes in Smoldering Splinters);
  • Check for pieces that are currently in The Endless Dark (e.g., Territorial Strife targeting The Endless Dark if a City is present there); or
  • Specifically target The Endless Dark (e.g., Lost in the Endless Dark).

  Breath can't target The Endless Dark with Powers that target specific terrains or Coastal lands, check for pieces that aren't currently in The Endless Dark, or that have origin requirements that Breath doesn't satisfy (e.g., The Jungle Hungers if Breath has no Presence in Jungles).
  Tags: Targeting, Terrain, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 2 more...
• Can Invader Actions happen in a place that isn't a land (e.g., in The Endless Dark)?
  No. If a Power would cause an Invader Action there (e.g., Manifest Incarnation causing a Ravage), skip that instruction because it can't be resolved.
  Tags: Ravage, Build, Blur the Arc of Years (Fractured Days Split the Sky), Manifest Incarnation, 4 more...
• Can Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine add Presence to The Endless Dark in Growth?
  No, Growth actions aren't Powers.
  Tags: Growth, Adding Presence, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 1 more...
• If an effect changes the Health of all pieces that meet a particular condition, does that affect pieces in The Endless Dark?
  Yes, so long as it checks the traits of the piece itself (e.g., what type it is, how much Strife it has) rather than the traits of the land it’s in (e.g., if Blight is present, if at least 3+ Invaders are present).
  Tags: Health, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Kingdom of England, 9 more...
• When is the Range bonus of Reach from the Infinite Darkness determined?
  When measuring Range for a Power. Count up your Presence in The Endless Dark to determine your bonus Range at that moment.

  This could be different than the amount of Presence that was in The Endless Dark when Reach from the Infinite Darkness was used earlier in the turn!
  Tags: Timing, Range Boosts, Reach from the Infinite Darkness (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 1 more...
• When does Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine check if a piece is alone for the purpose of abducting it?
  Just before resolving the sentence with the Damage/Destroy instruction.

  The "+" before Damage in Power thresholds (e.g., on Accelerated Rot) is non-functional; that's a separate Damage instruction from the one in the main Power effect.
  Tags: Damage, Destroy, Timing, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, 1 more...
• When Roiling Waters Bleeding adds a non-Beasts piece that counts as a Beasts token (e.g., the Presence of a Spirit under Settled into Hunting-Grounds), does it deal Damage?
  Generally, no. Lands of Blood and Savagery checks if the piece that's being added is already a Beasts, not if it will be a Beasts once it arrives.

  Nevertheless, Roiling Waters Bleeding deals Damage if repositioning a piece on the island that already counts as a Beasts, whether that's the Incarna of Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, the Presence of a Spirit under Settle Into Hunting Grounds, or a Sacred Site belonging to Many Minds Move as One.
  Tags: Counts As, Repositioning Presence, Roiling Waters (Wounded Waters Bleeding), Wounded Waters Bleeding, 4 more...
• When Breath of Darkness Down your Spine targets The Endless Dark with a Power, which effects don't work there?
  Effects that can't resolve:

  • Anything that interacts with adjacent lands, including Push and Gather (since there are no adjacent lands);
  • Invader Actions;
  • Anything conditional on having a particular terrain or being Coastal;
  • Anything that references the board that target land is on.

  Effects that do resolve, but generally not in a useful way:

  • Defend and other Damage penalties to Invaders;
  • Isolate;
  • Skipping Invader Actions.

  All other standard effects (Fear, Damage, Destroy, Remove, Replace, Add, Upgrade, Downgrade) work as they normally would, albeit with the exception that adding Blight doesn't destroy Presence or cascade, since the Endless Dark isn't a land. (Thematically, there isn't a real ecosystem to damage.)

  The Endless Dark counts as "target land" for the purpose of resolving any of the Power's effects, since that's meant to refer to the place you are targeting rather than being an additional check if that place is a land.
  Tags: Blight, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Shadow-Touched Realm (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 0 more...