The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine)

Frequently Asked Questions

General Play

• If you damage an Invader/Dahan and then replace it with another Invader/Dahan, does the new piece enter the game damaged?
  Yes. (Rulebook p. 18) When you replace a piece with another piece, the new piece comes in with whatever Damage the original piece had.
  

  For example, if you deal 2 Damage to a City and then replace it with a Town, that Town is immediately destroyed.

  If you replace a damaged piece with two or more pieces (as when "Dissolve the Bonds of Kinship" replaces a City with two Explorers), the damage (and Strife tokens, if applicable) get divided between the new pieces as you choose.

  Note that if a piece is replaced as part of being saved from destruction (as is done by the Transforming Aspect), then Damage is cleared before the piece is replaced, so there's no Damage to divide. (Strife tokens are still divided normally, if relevant.)
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Damage, Replace, Strife, Crops Wither and Fade (Shadows Flicker Like Flame), 22 more...

Power Cards

• 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...
• 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...

Spirits and Innate Powers

• Are pieces in The Endless Dark still on the island?
  Yes, they are still on the island for all purposes, even though they aren't in a land or on a board.

  In particular:

  • Invaders in The Endless Dark block a Terror Level victory.
  • Presence in The Endless Dark prevents loss from Spirit elimination.
  • Beasts in The Endless Dark count towards preventing a loss against the Tsardom of Russia.
  • Towns in The Endless Dark count towards a loss against the Kingdom of France.
  • Presence in The Endless Dark can be destroyed by Events and Blight Cards that destroy Presence from each Spirit (but not those that destroy Presence from specific boards).

  However, _showLink didnt receive the expected type {1}, and thus:

  • The Endless Dark does not count for loss conditions that are based on contents of a particular land, like Habsburg Mining Colony or the Kingdom of England.

  Tags: Victory and Defeat, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Tsardom of Russia, 14 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 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 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...
• 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 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...
• 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...
• When Relentless Gaze of the Sun uses Consider a Harmonious Nature to destroy Presence instead of adding Blight, which Presence can it pick?
  It can destroy any of its own Presence anywhere on the island, which includes Presence in The Endless Dark.

  Gaze can't destroy Presence that's not on the island, including:

  • On its Presence Tracks
  • Removed from the game, e.g., by a Bargain
  • Under the effects of Absolute Stasis
  • On Serpent's Deep Slumber Track
    Tags: Destroy, Absolute Stasis (Fractured Days Split the Sky), Deep Slumber (Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island), Consider a Harmonious Nature (Relentless Gaze of the Sun), 2 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...
• 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 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...
• 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 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
• 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...