Ocean's Hungry Grasp

Frequently Asked Questions

Adversaries

• When playing with against France, what happens to Towns that end up somewhere other than on the island (e.g., on the Great River panel)?
  They go back into the pool of available Towns for France's loss condition, like if they were removed/destroyed. If the Towns would be used for tracking elsewhere, track that thing with another component. (e.g., swap them for 2 Explorers on the panel for Ocean's Hungry Grasp or use Scenario Markers to represent Towns that escaped in the Great River scenario.)

  The intent of France's Town pool is to track how many Towns are on the island; it's just considerably easier to do this with a limited Town pool than by counting the number on the board every time one gets added. In cases where the Towns permanently leave play, it's appropriate to return them to the supply to keep that count correct, even if they'd otherwise be removed from the game entirely (e.g., by the leather sack in Powers Long Forgotten).
  Tags: The Great River, Kingdom of France, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), Ocean's Hungry Grasp, 1 more...

Power Cards

• If an inland and Coastal land get Woven Together by the Fabric of Place, can Ocean leave their Presence inland during Time Passes?
  No.

  The joint land is Coastal, but the split when Weave Together the Fabric of Place expires is considered a move, and Ocean's Presence cannot move to an inland land.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Weave Together the Fabric of Place, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Volcano Looming High, Mountain Home (Volcano Looming High), 3 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...
• Does the Energy Ocean’s Hungry Grasp gains from Drowning count as gaining Energy for the purpose of Bargains?
  Yes. Ocean doesn’t get to skip out of paying for its Bargains just because its main source of Energy isn’t one of the common sources.

  That being said, Ocean is not required to exchanged Drowned Invaders for Energy at a particular time, so it can save up Invaders on turns when it will not gain much Energy (avoiding fully paying for its Bargains on those turns) and then cash them out on a turn when it will gain a lot of Energy.
  Tags: Energy, Bargain, Drowning (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), Ocean's Hungry Grasp, 2 more...

Range and Targeting

• Can you place Presence during Growth based on range from your Presence in the Ocean?
  Yes, even though the Oceans are not a land at that time (since Growth is not a Power or Blight).

  Once Presence is in the Ocean, it is treated normally until/unless the Ocean is no longer in play (because Ocean's Hungry Grasp loses all Presence on that board).
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp)

Setup

• If a Spirit has multiple legal ways to set up on the island, can it choose the one it likes best?
  Yes, when there are multiple choices that equally meet the setup conditions, the player gets to choose the one they like. For some Spirits, this will only happen on the thematic side or against specific Adversaries/Scenarios.
  Tags: Spirit setup, Thunderspeaker, A Spread of Rampant Green, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, 10 more...
• Can every Spirit be played in a solo game?
  Yes, it is possible to play and win with each Spirit in a solo game.

  It is possible to win even with Spirits with special restrictions like Ocean's Hungry Grasp or Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares. Some Spirits will be harder to win with than others (particularly against certain Adversaries), but the difficult Spirits may not be the ones you expect.
  Tags: Solo games, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares

Spirit Phase

• 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

Spirits and Innate Powers

• If Finder of Paths Unseen gets Presence in the Ocean, can it make lands Coastal?
  Yes, if an Ocean with Finder's Presence is a land.

  Whether a land is Coastal is defined by whether the land is adjacent to the Ocean. Open the Ways can create an adjacency between two of Finder's lands, allowing it to make lands (temporarily) Coastal.

  Ocean's specification of "for Powers and Blight" makes this question really murky, but allowing it is much more thematic and fun, so that's the way the ruling is going. If it proves a problem later, it'll get changed then.
  Tags: Open the Ways (Finder of Paths Unseen), Coastal Lands invader card, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), Finder of Paths Unseen, 1 more...
• What happens to items left in the ocean if the last Presence of Ocean's Hungry Grasp is removed from the Island Board?
  Pieces not representing humans physically remain where they are, but are considered out of play until/unless that Ocean returns to play. Invaders and Dahan are cleaned up to the nearest legal land (though it's rare for this to be relevant, since they're also cleaned up to the nearest legal land every time you complete a primary action.)

  This answer used to be different, but Jagged Earth development resulted in general-case rules for what happens to pieces left in an illegal state/location.
  Tags: Illegally placed pieces, Changed rulings, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), 0 more...
• Can you get around the Serpent's presence limitation using Indomitable Claim? <i>(Add a Presence, even if target land is a type of land you can’t normally have Presence in)</i>
  No. The Serpent's limit isn't a restriction based on land type, so Indomitable Claim doesn't help.

  As of 2020, the only published Spirits for whom getting around land-type restrictions is relevant are Ocean's Hungry Grasp (base game, cannot normally have Presence in inland lands), Lure of the Deep Wilderness (Jagged Earth, cannot normally have Presence in coastal lands), and Volcano Looming High (Jagged Earth, can normally only have Presence in Mountains).
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Presence, Indomitable Claim, Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, 2 more...
• With Sweep into the Sea, can you push Invaders into the Ocean on a board where Ocean's Hungry Grasp has presence?
  Yes, absolutely.

  If the Invaders are in a Coastal land, with Sweep into the Sea you can choose to either push them into the nearest Ocean (which is right there) or destroy them; with Ocean's Hungry Grasp in play, it will usually be better to push and Drown them.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Sweep into the Sea
• What happens if the Durable Towns of Habsburg Monarchy (Livestock Colony) Level 4 are moved into the Ocean? Do they Drown? Does Ocean's Hungry Grasp gain Energy?
  Maybe. Drowning is a special form of Destroy, so it works just like a restricted Destroy effect ("2 Damage to those Towns only" per Town moved into the Ocean). It only grants Energy for Invaders successfully destroyed by that Destroy instruction.

  E.g., After you move a Town into an Ocean, the Town takes 2 Damage. If that’s enough to Destroy it (because the Ocean has Blight or the Town was already Damaged), then it Drowns normally. Otherwise, it follows the usual rules for Invaders/Dahan that fail to drown in the Ocean: you Push it to a non-Ocean land. If the land it goes to has Blight, it will immediately be Destroyed, but Ocean’s Hungry Grasp will not gain Energy.

  If 4 undamaged Towns are pushed into the Ocean with a single Action, that results in “8 Damage to those Towns only”, which you could distribute as you wished. If you used it to immediately Destroy 2 of the Towns, those Towns would be successfully Drowned and grant Energy.
  Tags: Destroy, Durable, Habsburg Monarchy (Livestock Colony), Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), 2 more...
• How can Ocean's Hungry Grasp get Presence on inland lands?
  With the base set and Branch & Claw, only by using Indomitable Claim (which explicitly says to ignore land-type restrictions - other presence-adding powers do not allow you to ignore the restriction). With Promo Pack 2, Finder of Paths Unseen can potentially make inland lands Coastal with Open The Ways; if you add Presence to such a land while it's Coastal, it doesn't need to remain so for your Presence to remain there.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Adding Presence, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Indomitable Claim, Finder of Paths Unseen, 0 more...
• When Ocean's Hungry Grasp is in play, can Blight, other Spirit Presence, Beasts, or other tokens end up in the Ocean?
  Yes, the Ocean is a Coastal Wetland for many purposes, and Blight and any of the tokens from Branch & Claw can end up there. Spirit Presence from other spirits cannot be placed there during the Growth phase, but can end up there as a result of cards like Indomitable Claim or Flow Like Water, Reach Like Air. So long as Ocean has Presence on the board, non-human pieces in the Ocean continue to behave normally and are considered "in play" - so a Disease would count for an Event which checks if the board has Disease, for instance, even though that's an Event Action.

  Invaders will never take actions there, so many of the tokens will have no effect.

  See also What happens to items left in the ocean if the last Presence of Ocean's Hungry Grasp is removed from the Island Board?.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Indomitable Claim, Growth Through Sacrifice, Unrelenting Growth, 6 more...
• When does Ocean's Hungry Grasp get to Drown invaders?
  Apart from specific power cards, Invaders are Drowned after they are moved into the ocean on a board where Ocean's Hungry Grasp has any Presence. They do not get drowned when moved in to any other land, and Ocean's Hungry Grasp does not need to have Presence that is actually in the ocean, just on the same board.

  They also do not get Drowned by any other means of Destroying the Invaders, even if it seems thematically appropriate. However an Invader is Drowned, they are Destroyed (causing Fear) and then placed on Ocean's mat for later conversion to Energy.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Drowning (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Cast Down into the Briny Deep, Tsunami, 0 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...
• Does Drowning Dahan give energy to Ocean's Hungry Grasp?
  No. If Dahan are Drowned they are destroyed with no benefit.

  Thematically, the Energy gained is canceled out by the loss of propitiation from other Dahan.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Dahan, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Drowning (Ocean's Hungry Grasp)
• If Ocean's Presence is moved/destroyed entirely off a board in the middle of an action, when does "treat the Ocean as Coastal Wetlands" expire?
  It stays in effect until the end of the action tree (you're not in the middle of an action, and have no triggered actions about to happen).
  Tags: Presence, Actions, Action tree, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), 1 more...
• When Ocean’s Hungry Grasp is on a board, can Powers and Special Rules measure Range through that board’s Ocean?
  Yes, Powers and Special Rules can treat the Ocean as a land via Ocean in Play, so they can measure Range through it. Measuring Range through Land 2 is usually just as good, so this only matters if something has altered the board layout in some way:

  • The Thematic Map has some Oceans that are adjacent to more than three lands.
  • Land 2 is temporarily removed from play via Absolute Stasis.
  • Finder of Paths Unseen is using Open the Ways to connect a land to an Ocean.
    Tags: Range, Thematic map, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), Ocean's Hungry Grasp, 3 more...
• If two distinct Oceans are made adjacent somehow (e.g., via Open the Ways), can Ocean’s Hungry Grasp Push/Gather Presence between them with its Growth Options?
  Sure! It’s a bit ambiguous whether or not this works (and why) based on the exact wording of Ocean in Play, but there isn’t any harm in being permissive in this case.
  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), Open the Ways (Finder of Paths Unseen), Deeps Aspect (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), 0 more...
• How much energy can Ocean's Hungry Grasp gain for Drowned invaders?
  For every X health worth of invaders, Ocean gains 1 energy, where X is the number of players. For instance, in a 4-player game, Ocean can trade 1 Town and 2 Explorers for 1 energy.

  You can make change as needed. For instance, in a 2-player game, Ocean can trade 1 City for 1 energy and 1 Explorer.
  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Drowning (Ocean's Hungry Grasp)
• When Ocean's Hungry Grasp is in play against Brandenburg-Prussia, can the extra Towns from the Stage II Escalation be placed in the Ocean (and drowned immediately)?
  No. The Ocean is only a land for the purpose of Powers and Blight, and not, for instance, for Events, Fear cards, or Stage II escalation effects.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Fear, Events, Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Kingdom of Brandenburg-Prussia, 0 more...
• When Invaders have increased health, does Ocean's Hungry Grasp get a bonus when exchanging them for Energy?
  No. As the Special Rule says, ignore modifiers to Invader Health when trading Invaders for Energy.

  This applies to all modifiers, whether permanent (e.g., England Level 5) or temporary (e.g., the Event card Tight-Knit Communities).
  (Discussion elsewhere) (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Health, Kingdom of England, Tight-Knit Communities, Drowning (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), 2 more...
• 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 Ocean's Hungry Grasps drowns a Town or a City, is the Fear earned immediately?
  Yes.

  The Fear is earned immediately, not when the invader piece is eventually spent for Energy.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Drowning (Ocean's Hungry Grasp)
• If a Power moves Dahan into the Ocean when Ocean's Hungry Grasp is in play, can Thunderspeaker move its Presence with them into the Ocean?
  Yes, Presence can end up in the Ocean this way. The same is true with Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves moving with Beasts.

  These special rules modify the action of the Power, which is allowed to to target the Ocean as a Coastal Wetland by the special rule Ocean In Play.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Thunderspeaker, Sharp Fangs behind the Leaves, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), 0 more...
• If playing with Ocean's Hungry Grasp and you Weave Together a land with an Ocean, how does that work? What if Ocean's Hungry Grasp loses all their Presence from that board?
  The joined land and all adjacent lands will be Coastal for all purposes, including Invader Actions. Invaders/Dahan already in the joined land don't trigger Ocean In Play (which Drowns after they move in), but when Weave Together wears off you can "move" pieces to the Ocean and Drown them. The joined land is a land all the time, not just for Powers/Blight, so other actions (Fear/Event/Invader/etc) affect it normally. Note that adding a piece (from, eg, a Build) is not the same as moving it; moving triggers Drowning, while adding does not.

  If OHG loses all Presence from the board, the joined land remains in play (and retains the printed Ocean area as part of its topology, so makes adjacent lands Coastal), but Ocean In Play no longer applies to it, so Invaders/Dahan aren't Drowned after moving there and it's no longer a Wetland for purposes of Powers/Blight (unless it's a Wetland for other reasons).

  In the extremely weird event that two Oceans are Woven directly together (via Finder of Paths Unseen) and OHG loses their Presence from both of them, the joined land stops being a land, but remains topologically joined. (This is possibly relevant if playing with an Archipelago.)
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Land Types, Archipelago, Weave Together the Fabric of Place, Open the Ways (Finder of Paths Unseen), 3 more...
• Can Ocean add Presence to the Ocean when choosing the third growth option?
  No.

  You cannot treat the Ocean as a Coastal Wetland during Growth, since it is not a Power use.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp
• 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...
• What happens if Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares uses its special rule to push a Town into the sea on a board where Ocean's Hungry Grasp has presence?
  The Invader is Drowned, by Ocean's Hungry Grasp's special rule. It is Ocean's Hungry Grasp doing the destroying, so that works as normal.

  This generates 3 total Fear: two for the "destruction" by Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, plus another 1 Fear for the actual destruction by Ocean's Hungry Grasp.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares
• With Ocean's Hungry Grasp, what does it mean that "Oceans are treated as Coastal Wetlands for Blight" *(in addition to powers)*?
  You can place Blight in the Oceans as part of a cascade if you like.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp