Growth

Frequently Asked Questions

Elements and Elemental Thresholds

• If you gain Elements from a Growth option, do they go away at the end of the turn?
  Yes. (Core rulebook, p. 10)
  Tags: Elements, Growth, Fractured Days Split the Sky, Lure of the Deep Wilderness, 1 more...

General Play

• What are some more-common mistakes in your first games?
  See "Rules semi-commonly misplayed".
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Presence track, Targeting, Growth, Build, 2 more...

Presence and Sacred Sites

• Can you place Presence into lands with Blight?
  Yes. Blight destroys Presence only when it's added.

  If a Spirit is so sensitive to Blight that it has trouble adding Presence to lands having any, its Growth choices will explicitly reflect that. (eg: Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds, Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island.)

  To draw a parallel: if you're in a house when it catches fire, you can die. But if you move into the half-charred ruin a year later, you don't suddenly burn to death.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Presence, Blight, Growth
• Can Presence tokens destroyed by Blight be added to the island?
  Only if an effect explicitly says to add "destroyed Presence".

  Very few effects currently let you add destroyed Presence, like the Steady Regeneration special rule for A Spread of Rampant Green or the major power Blazing Renewal.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Presence, Growth
• If all my Presence from my Spirit Panel is placed on the board, how do I add more?
  Whenever adding Presence, instead of taking from your Presence Tracks you can use Presence (of yours) already on the island instead. [sidebar, p. 14]. You can take it out of any land.

  While this option is most often relevant if your Presence tracks are empty, it's not a requirement for doing so.

  You cannot place destroyed Presence unless an effect explicitly says so.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Presence, Growth

Spirit Phase

• With Spirits that get to choose multiple Growth options, if more than one option has "Gain Power Card", can I gain a Power Card *then* pick which Growth choice I was using?
  No. You choose a set of things to do, then do them all. If you have multiple Growth choices, you then do this again, and cannot choose one you already picked this turn.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds, Sharp Fangs behind the Leaves, Starlight Seeks Its Form, 0 more...
• When you reposition Presence on the board rather than adding new Presence, where can you measure the range from?
  You can measure the range from any Presence, including the one you are about to reposition.

  The sequence of events for adding Presence during growth, you

  1. Choose a land to add Presence to. This must be measured from your Presence on the board at that moment.
  2. Add a Presence to that land.

  Normally this is picked up from your Presence track, but you can pick it up from anywhere on the island instead if you want. The sequence is similar when a Power lets you add Presence.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Repositioning Presence, Presence, Gift of Proliferation (A Spread of Rampant Green), 3 more...
• Can I wait for the results of another Spirit's Growth before making my own Growth choice? E.g., see if they draw into a Power Card which handles a bad situation before making my own choices?
  Yes.

  The only rules constraints are that each individual Spirit must Grow / Gain Energy / Play Power Cards in that order, and that all Spirits must complete the Spirit Phase before anyone starts resolving Fast Powers. [p. 8] Other than that, players play simultaneously and may confer as they wish, so for instance, one Spirit could plan out their whole turn before another decides which Growth they're taking, or two Spirits gaining Power Cards could base their decisions on what to keep based on each others' draws. How lenient you are about individual Spirits rewinding - eg, going back to choose a different Growth option - is ultimately a playgroup decision, but most people seem to be fine with it so long as you're not rewinding "gain a Power Card".

  In some cases outside of the core game, a Spirit's Growth may even change the board - waiting for this is also fine. (E.g., Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds could push Dahan by making a Sacred Site, changing what lands Thunderspeaker could add Presence to.)
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Timing, Gaining Power Cards, Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds, 1 more...
• Can you use a Presence track action in the middle of Growth?
  Yes, so long it's in between actions (or before them). Generally, each icon is one Action(†).
  

  For instance, Downpour Drenches the World could choose its second growth option (which has 2 "Add a Presence" icons), add 1 Presence to uncover a "Move Presence 1" space, use the Move 1 to shift a Presence, then place a second Presence from the new position. Or Many Minds Move as One could gain Energy with its 3rd Growth option, then use it to gain a Power Card before deciding where to place Presence.

  (†) = With an exception for icons that explicitly indicate "do this thing multiple times", like Fractured Days' "xN"s or Ocean's "....to/from EACH Ocean".
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Presence track, Actions, Downpour Drenches the World, 2 more...
• If you have a Growth option which lets place two Presence, can you chain them, placing the second one within range of the first one?
  Yes, you can do this. In general, after you choose a Growth option, you do everything under that option, in any order you wish. (p. 8)
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Presence, Growth, Thunderspeaker, Lightning's Swift Strike, 1 more...
• With the growth of A Spread of Rampant Green, can I gain a power card and then choose where to use the first (non-optional) growth option?
  Yes, you can choose where to place your Jungle/Wetlands presence based on a power card you gain that turn.

  This is more explicit in the Branch & Claw rulebook, where there are more spirits with multiple growth choices.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Ordering, A Spread of Rampant Green, Relentless Gaze of the Sun, 0 more...
• How does one move Presence during Growth?
  When a Growth choice says "Move Presence" (with a curved arrow), move one of your Presence up to the shown number of lands away from where it currently lies. When the Growth option says "Add Presence", but instead of adding from your Presence track you choose to add one already on the board (per the p. 14 sidebar), you can take it from anywhere. (This is still considered "adding a Presence", not "moving a Presence"; later reprints of the rulebook use the term repositioning.)

  Ocean's Hungry Grasp also has Growth choices with "Push Presence" and "Gather Presence"; these work just as Gather and Push usually do (to/from an adjacent land). They are mandatory.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Presence, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island, 0 more...
• Do I have to do everything shown in a Growth option I pick?
  Yes. You can do them in any order, but must do everything shown if possible.

  Usually, there's no downside: Reclaiming, gaining Energy/Power Cards, and adding Presence are strictly good. (You can always move a Presence already on the island when adding Presence [p. 14], so "running out" isn't a concern.) Spirits with "Move a Presence up to Range N" Growth effects can Move it 0. However, a few Spirits do include things you'll have to work around - eg:

  • Ocean's Hungry Grasp often requires you to Push or Gather Presence;
  • Heart of the Wildfire often adds Blight along with Presence, so being required to add Presence can be dangerous.

  If you can't do something in a Growth option, you do as much as you can and skip the rest. (Eg: if you're supposed to Push Presence from each Ocean, and there's a board where none of your Presence is in the Ocean, you don't Push on that board.)

  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Heart of the Wildfire
• With Spirits that choose more than 1 Growth option, can I see the results of one choice before picking the next?
  Yes — you can completely finish resolving your first Growth choice before making your second choice.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Sharp Fangs behind the Leaves, Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds, Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island, 3 more...
• What happens if Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island is at its Presence limit and attempts to add Presence?
  It cannot add more Presence, by its special rule, so nothing happens. (True for both Growth and Presence-adding Powers.)

  It may choose to instead reposition a Presence already on the island (sidebar, p. 14).
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island, Unrelenting Growth, Gift of Proliferation (A Spread of Rampant Green), 0 more...

Spirits and Innate Powers

• Can you take the second growth option of Downpour Drenches the World if you have only 0 or 1 Power Cards in hand?
  Yes.
  

  Discarding two cards is not listed as a requirement or cost, but as a Growth effect. You must perform that effect to the extent possible. (In this case, you would be left with no cards to play.)
  Tags: Growth, Downpour Drenches the World, Ember-Eyed Behemoth
• When Relentless Gaze of the Sun uses its Growth Action to move up to 3 Presence, must those Presence come from the same land?
  Yes.

  "Move X Together" means "X must be together for the entire movement," not "X must move in a way that they are all together at the end of the movement."
  Tags: Move, Growth, Relentless Gaze of the Sun
• In Growth, can Relentless Gaze of the Sun add fewer than 3 Destroyed Presence or move fewer than 3 Presence?
  Yes.

  Thematically, Gaze should have to restore as many Destroyed Presence as possible (max. 3), but enforcing this in the few cases it matters (e.g., preventing Blazing Renewal combos) wasn’t worth the trouble of players thinking that they could only take that Growth Action if they could return exactly 3 Destroyed Presence, or in extreme cases, that they couldn’t choose that Growth Option — and its critical Reclaim All Power Cards Growth Action — unless they had at least 3 Destroyed Presence.
  Tags: Growth, Relentless Gaze of the Sun
• What do the "x2" and "x3" mean in the Growth choices for Fractured Days Split the Sky?
  They represent 2 (or 3) separate choices: N times, choose either (option A) or (option B).

  Each is a separate action, if that ever becomes relevant.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Fractured Days Split the Sky
• On the last Growth option of Relentless Gaze of the Sun, when do you gain the extra Energy?
  In the rare case that this matters, gain this Energy when you gain Energy normally during the second part of the Spirit Phase.

  Doing it this way, you are not penalized if you need to move Presence with this Growth Option before you add Presence off the top Presence track with the first Growth Option.
  Tags: Growth, Relentless Gaze of the Sun
• Does Grinning Trickster's rightmost Growth Option just use the Card Plays revealed on the Presence Track, or does it include modifiers *(eg, Back Against the Wall, or Invader benefit 4 in Powers Long Forgotten)*?
  The printed number on the Plays track. In general, effects that scale via the Energy/Plays on Presence tracks use the printed numbers rather than the amount of Energy or Plays actually usable during a given Spirit Phase, whether or not they explicitly say so.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Grinning Trickster Stirs Up Trouble, Back Against the Wall, Powers Long Forgotten, 4 more...
• If you gain a flexible Element (e.g., an "Any" Element, or multiple Elements separated by slashes) from something other than a Presence Track, when do you choose which Element to gain?
  When directly gaining flexible Elements from an Action mid-turn, like from Absorb Essence or Lure of the Deep Wilderness’ 3rd Growth option, you must choose a specific Element immediately.

  Passive Elements on Presence Tracks or in Bonus Spaces can be chosen at any time. [Core rulebook, p. 14, last item under Presence Tracks]
  Tags: "Any" element, Elements, Growth, Presence track, 9 more...
• Does "Reclaim half" on the first growth track of Starlight Seeks its Form mean half of the discard, or half of all your cards?
  Half of the discard.
  Tags: Reclaim, Growth, Starlight Seeks Its Form
• Can a Spirit like Finder get its Presence in an in-play Ocean using "Move 1 Presence" on a growth track?
  No, because that is not a Power or Blight.

  The same applies to Presence placement during Growth or Growth options allowing movement.

  You can use Mists Shift and Flow to move Presence into the Ocean, as that happens as part of the targeting of a Power.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Growth, Move, Finder of Paths Unseen, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, 8 more...
• When using Dances Up Earthquakes' third growth option, can you pick the same impending card twice? Can you gain extra Energy onto one impending card and less Energy onto another impending card?
  No and yes, respectively. You first choose which 0-2 cards you're going to affect and then separately decide which of the chosen cards (if any) will gain +1 Energy and which (if any) will gain -1 Energy when you gain Energy later that Spirit Phase.
  Tags: Growth, Action Modifiers, Rhythmic Power Builds to a Cataclysmic Crescendo (Dances Up Earthquakes), Begin a Dance of Decades (Dances Up Earthquakes), 1 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...
• When Finder of Paths Unseen reveals its "+1 Range" space by placing a Presence, can it use that to extend the range at which it places that Presence?
  No. The Presence goes straight from the Spirit Panel to the island, there's no point at which the +1 Range is revealed but the Presence isn't already on the island.
  Tags: Range, Presence track, Adding Presence, Growth, 1 more...
• During Growth, can Lure of the Deep Wilderness see which Power Card its gains before it decides whether to Reclaim or Add Presence?
  Yes. The only difference between Lure and other Spirits that freely choose 2 or 3 Growth Options is that Lure can't pick both from the left pair or both from the right pair.
  Tags: Ordering, Growth, Lure of the Deep Wilderness
• What's the timing on using new Growth options?
  Growth choices are made one at a time, so if you unlock a new Growth option by placing Presence, you can choose it immediately if you still have choices left. If you return Presence to a Growth row for some reason, you can’t use that Growth option until the row is unlocked again, and your selection of which Growth to cover remains. (You don’t get to revisit that decision.)
  Tags: Growth, Starlight Seeks Its Form
• Can Dances Up Earthquakes use its third growth option to delay an impending card from being played even if there's no Energy on that card to remove?
  Yes. That growth option doesn't immediately change the amount of Energy on the impending card — it changes how much Energy will be gained onto that card later in the Spirit Phase. It's possible to delay a 1-cost card with 0 Energy on it by gaining 1 fewer Energy onto it that turn.
  Tags: Growth, Action Modifiers, Rhythmic Power Builds to a Cataclysmic Crescendo (Dances Up Earthquakes), Begin a Dance of Decades (Dances Up Earthquakes), 1 more...