Solo games

Frequently Asked Questions

Power Cards

• In a solo game, do you get bonuses on powers like Boon of Vigor that usually only happen if you target another player?
  No.

  You can target yourself with powers that say 'Another Player', but any effects that are conditional on targeting someone else do not activate. (Rulebook p. 22)
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Solo games, Boon of Vigor (River Surges in Sunlight), Gift of Constancy, Elemental Boon, 6 more...
• What happens if you play Entwined Power in a solo game?
  As usual, you can use it on yourself. As the power is worded, you can gain two powers and, if you hit the threshold, gain 6 Energy.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Solo games, Entwined Power

Scenarios

• When the players collectively perform the Ritual of Terror, whose Action is it?
  Rituals that are not explicitly associated with one Spirit are Spirit Actions for the purpose of anything that cares what type of Action they are (e.g., Vengeance as a Burning Plague destroying its Presence as part of a Ritual of Terror), but are not an individual Spirit's Action for the purpose of their Special Rules. (No, not even in solo play, for the sake of consistency.)

  In Rituals of the Destroying Flame, it is an individual Spirit doing the Action, and so is that Spirit's Action and can benefit from special rules that apply to their actions.
  Tags: Solo games, Actions, Rituals of Terror, Vengeance as a Burning Plague, 3 more...

Setup

• 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

Spirits and Innate Powers

• How does Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island work in a solo game?
  The Presence limit from its special rule Deep Slumber still applies. It can use Absorb Essence on itself [p. 22]. Presence on its Deep Slumber track is not "on the Island" and does not count against the limit. It cannot get a double benefit from the Serpent Wakes in Power innate power.
  Tags: Solo games, Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island, Deep Slumber (Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island), Absorb Essence (Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island), 1 more...
• When playing Fathomless Mud of the Swamp solo, can it gain 2 Power Cards with Exaltation of Tangled Growth?
  Yes. It can pay 1 Energy to gain a Power Card as “target Spirit,” and then can pay 2 Energy to gain a Power Card as “you.”
  Tags: Solo games, Exaltation of Tangled Growth (Fathomless Mud of the Swap), Fathomless Mud of the Swamp
• When playing Fractured Days Split the Sky solo, is Pour Time Sideways useless?
  In a one-board game, yes, it's nearly useless. (JE p. 31) This is why you get 1 Time as compensation during Setup. Solo games are no longer strictly single-board, however, with the addition of "use an additional board" as a Play Option.

  In a one-board game, Fractured Days Split the Sky is apt to want at least one Major Power if not more, so it can be useful for Forgetting.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Solo games, Pour Time Sideways (Fractured Days Split the Sky)
• When Relentless Gaze of the Sun is the only Spirit in the game, can it choose itself for the Plant thresholds of Consider a Harmonious Nature?
  No, the "another Spirit" exception in solo play only applies to the "Target" box, not the effects of the Power. The last two thresholds will simply fail to do anything, since choosing another Spirit is impossible.
  Tags: Solo games, Consider a Harmonious Nature (Relentless Gaze of the Sun), Relentless Gaze of the Sun