Nature Incarnate

Errata / Updates

Spirits and Innate Powers

Frequently Asked Questions

Adversaries
Aspects
Blighted Island cards
Definitions
Effect Rules
Elements and Elemental Thresholds
  • Can the different thresholds of an innate power be used separately?
    No, the thresholds are all part of a single power. All effects must be used on the same target land (or same target Spirit), and you use the effects of every threshold you meet{1}, in the order they're printed{2}.
    For example, Lightning's Swift Strike's innate power of Thundering Destruction used with 5 Fire, 4 Air, and 1 Water can destroy two buildings in the same land, but it cannot destroy two buildings in different lands. Even the final threshold on Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island's Serpent Rouses in Anger targets a single land, although it affects all lands on the board in addition to the one that it targets.
    One sort-of-exception: innate powers that say "Repeat this Power," like A Spread of Rampant Green's innate Creepers Tear into Mortar. When a power is Repeated, you use the power from the beginning, which means you can target a new land.
    {1} = You are allowed to pretend you have fewer Elements than you really do — e.g., to activate only the lower level of an innate — but that decision is made for the entire Power, not each threshold individually. Once you've chosen, you must activate every threshold those elements qualify for. Particularly, for Shadows Flicker Like Flames' innate power Darkness Swallows the Unwary, there is no set of elements which can activate the second threshold without also activating the first threshold. If you destroy 2 Explorers to earn fear, you must first gather an explorer (if able).
    {2} = Effects which modify Speed, Range, or targeting obviously apply when you check Speed / Range / targeting.
    (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Elements, Lightning's Swift Strike, A Spread of Rampant Green, Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island, 15 more...
  • This can happen, e.g., if the first part of Indomitable Claim reveals an Element on a Presence track, or if the land gets Blighted and the card is Aid from Lesser Spirits.
    Likewise if you lose Elements in the middle of resolving the Power, you may lose further thresholds.
    Note that any parts of the power that have already happened cannot be modified — those thresholds are either already hit or already missed. In particular, any thresholds that modify Speed or Range are checked first (before the rest of the power), and ~or~ choices are made before resolving either option.
    (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Elements, Unrelenting Growth, Indomitable Claim, Slip the Flow of Time (Fractured Days Split the Sky), 5 more...
Event Cards
General Play
Invader Actions
Play Options
Power Cards
Range and Targeting
Scenarios
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...
  • Can one person play more than one Spirit?
    Practically speaking, sure. Because the game doesn’t usually have secret information that only one player knows, one person can play as many Spirits as they’d like. However, that one person is taking on the roles of multiple Players, e.g., simultaneously being the Red Player, the Blue Player, and the Yellow Player. The game mechanics scale with the number of Players, not the number of people who are participating.
    Two scenarios involve secrets and thus get easier if a person plays multi-handed:
    • A Diversity of Spirits introduces communication barriers between the people playing the game. When playing multiple Spirits, only gain the Strength in Diversity benefits when a Spirit you are playing adds Presence to the land of a Spirit being played by a different person. If you are the only person playing, don’t play this Scenario — it will have no effect on the game.
    • Destiny Unfolds adds extra setup steps where no communication is allowed. Playing multi-handed considerably reduces the Difficulty of this Scenario and changes the dynamics of the extra setup. If some of the participants are each playing multiple Spirits, it is strongly recommended that there be at least three people participating, e.g., by each playing 2 Spirits using the 6-Player rules.
      Tags: Player count, A Diversity of Spirits, Destiny Unfolds
Spirit Phase
Spirits and Innate Powers
~ Expansions, Promos, and Publishing
    • Sea Monsters (Major Power in B&C) - new version in JE (capping Fear)
    • Draw Towards a Consuming Void (Major Power in JE) - new version in NI (wording - no functional changes)
    • Growth Through Sacrifice (Minor Power in B&C) - replacement Minor in NI (Roiling Bog and Snagging Thorn)
    Retired:
    • Outpaced (Event in B&C) - retired as of NI
    • War Touches the Island's Shores (Event in B&C) - retired as of NI (which has a new Event with similar theme)
    • A Strange Madness Among the Beasts (Event in B&C) - retired as of JE/NI
    • Tipping Point (Blighted Island Card in B&C) - retired as of NI
    Farmers Seek the Dahan for Aid has not yet been replaced, because that replacement would best be done as part of a Dahan-centric expansion.
    It's fine - but not required - to retire game items "early" (ie, without buying the expansion which officially says they're retired). That's awkward for replacing game items - since you need the replacement - though some players opt to omit Growth Through Sacrifice, finding the elemental distortion from its absence to be less impactful than it seeing use in play.
    Outpaced, War Touches, Strange Madness, and Tipping Point were all retired for an overly swingy play experience. Original Sea Monsters was so good with Many Minds that it trivialized the game. Growth Through Sacrifice was nearly always game-warpingly good. Draw Towards a Consuming Void was one of the very few things that moves other Spirits' Presence without explicitly stating so, and Nature Incarnate had space on the card sheet, so we printed a replacement.
    Tags: Retired or Replaced Game Items, Sea Monsters, Draw Towards a Consuming Void, Growth Through Sacrifice, 5 more...
  • What Spirit Island games / expansions exist? Is there any required order to the expansions?
    The Spirit Island Wiki has this information in both list and graphical form, along with recommendations for frequently asked purchasing questions at the bottom. You can also click through to see the contents of different expansions.
    Retail and crowdfunding versions of Spirit Island products are equivalent; there is no exclusive content.