The Azathoth Expansion is not a playable Faction. Instead, it has Neutral Units and Spellbooks that are available to any player. Players may individually access Azathoth itself, as well as its Monsters and Spellbooks. One player may earn one Neutral Spellbook, while another player might earn a different one. These Spellbooks are mix-and-match. Similarly, two players may each Control a different type of Monster.
Azathoth is an Independent Great Old One, and as such is governed by the same basic rules for all Independent Great Old Ones.
The 4 Neutral Monsters in the Azathoth expansion are governed by the same basic rules for all Neutral Monsters.
These Spellbooks are unique gameplay items. When you fulfill one of your Faction’s Spellbook requirements, you may take an Azathoth Spellbook instead of a Faction Spellbook from your Pool.
Once you take a Neutral Spellbook, it is yours; no one else can earn it. You retain that Spellbook throughout the game (exception: Recriminations). This means that you will NOT have access to one of your Faction Spellbooks in this game, so choose wisely.
A Neutral Spellbook counts as one of the 6 Spellbooks needed on your Faction Card to allow you to perform Unlimited Battle and win the game, as well as counting for any other rules or abilities that reference your Faction Card’s Spellbooks (such as Nyarlathotep’s Combat rating or the Moonbeasts’ ability).
Example:
Black Goat Awakens Shub-Niggurath for the first time, which fulfills one of her Spellbook requirements. Instead of taking one of her own Spellbooks, she selects a Neutral Spellbook (in this case, The Mao Ceremony).
Remember:
Azathoth’s own Spellbook, Nuclear Chaos, is NOT a Neutral Spellbook—it can only be placed on Azathoth’s Loyalty Card by the player who Controls Azathoth. It can never be placed on a player’s Faction Card.
Pay 2 Doom points to obtain this Loyalty Card, then place 1 Dimensional Shambler onto your Faction Card.
Cost: 2
Combat: 2
Walk Between World (Ongoing):
When Summoning a Dimensional Shambler, place it onto your Faction Card. After any Action (by any player), you may place one or more Dimensional Shamblers from your Faction Card into any Area. Once placed, Dimensional Shambler remain on the Map (until Killed or otherwise Eliminated).
A player may purchase a Neutral Monster's Loyalty Card during the Doom Phase. A player may never purchase more than one of these in a given Doom Phase, but there is no limit to the number of Neutral Monster Loyalty Cards a player may possess.
To purchase on of these Loyalty Cards, pay 2 Doom when it is your turn to perform a Ritual of Annihilation. If you wish, you may still perform the Ritual. When spending Doom, choose a Neutral Monster Loyalty Card from among those available, placing that card and its associated Monsters by your Faction Card. You will typically have the opportunity to immediately place one of these new Monsters for free.
Once you have purchased a Neutral Monster Loyalty Card, it is yours for the rest of the game. From then on only you may Summon and Control its associated Neutral Monsters.
Pay 2 Doom points to obtain this Loyalty Card, then place 1 Elder Thing at one of your Controlled Gates.
Cost: 2
Combat: 2
Mind Control (Ongoing):
If an Elder Thing shares an Area with an enemy Great Old One, the latter may not use its Special Ability.
A player may purchase a Neutral Monster's Loyalty Card during the Doom Phase. A player may never purchase more than one of these in a given Doom Phase, but there is no limit to the number of Neutral Monster Loyalty Cards a player may possess.
To purchase on of these Loyalty Cards, pay 2 Doom when it is your turn to perform a Ritual of Annihilation. If you wish, you may still perform the Ritual. When spending Doom, choose a Neutral Monster Loyalty Card from among those available, placing that card and its associated Monsters by your Faction Card. You will typically have the opportunity to immediately place one of these new Monsters for free.
Once you have purchased a Neutral Monster Loyalty Card, it is yours for the rest of the game. From then on only you may Summon and Control its associated Neutral Monsters.
Pay 2 Doom points to give this Loyalty Card to another player. That player now keeps this Card for the rest of the game. Do not place a Servitor.
Cost: 1
Combat: 1
Adulation (Ongoing):
You may not Summon any Monsters except for Servitors if any Servitors remain in your Pool. (You may still place other Monsters on the Map via abilities or means other than the Summon Action.)
A player may purchase a Neutral Monster's Loyalty Card during the Doom Phase. A player may never purchase more than one of these in a given Doom Phase, but there is no limit to the number of Neutral Monster Loyalty Cards a player may possess.
To purchase on of these Loyalty Cards, pay 2 Doom when it is your turn to perform a Ritual of Annihilation. If you wish, you may still perform the Ritual. When spending Doom, choose a Neutral Monster Loyalty Card from among those available, placing that card and its associated Monsters by your Faction Card. You will typically have the opportunity to immediately place one of these new Monsters for free.
Once you have purchased a Neutral Monster Loyalty Card, it is yours for the rest of the game. From then on only you may Summon and Control its associated Neutral Monsters.
Pay 2 Doom points to obtain this Loyalty Card, then place 1 Star Vampire at one of your Controlled Gates.
Cost: 2
Combat: 1
Vampirism (Ongoing):
Roll each Star Vampire's combat dice separately. Each Pain they roll drains 1 Power from the enemy Faction. Each Kill they roll drains 1 Doom point from the enemy Faction. The drained point(s) are transferred to you immediately. If the enemy Faction lacks Power or Doom points, you get nothing. The Pains and Kills rolled still count towards you Battle results.
A player may purchase a Neutral Monster's Loyalty Card during the Doom Phase. A player may never purchase more than one of these in a given Doom Phase, but there is no limit to the number of Neutral Monster Loyalty Cards a player may possess.
To purchase on of these Loyalty Cards, pay 2 Doom when it is your turn to perform a Ritual of Annihilation. If you wish, you may still perform the Ritual. When spending Doom, choose a Neutral Monster Loyalty Card from among those available, placing that card and its associated Monsters by your Faction Card. You will typically have the opportunity to immediately place one of these new Monsters for free.
Once you have purchased a Neutral Monster Loyalty Card, it is yours for the rest of the game. From then on only you may Summon and Control its associated Neutral Monsters.
How to Awaken Azathoth (Cost 0):
Combat: Equal to the position of the Azathoth Glyph on the Doom track.
Daemon Sultan (Ongoing): If Azathoth is assigned a Kill in Battle, roll 1 die. Lower the Azathoth marker by the amount shown on the die. If the marker reaches 0, Azathoth is Killed.
All players have at least one Great Old One in play.
Awakening: Take the Independent's Loyalty Card, Spellbook and tokens, and add them to you pool. Place the Independent's figure on the Map, under your Control. There are no limits to how many Independents you may Control, and you may use one Independent to help you Awaken another.
Death: If your Independent is Killed, place it's Loyalty Card, figure, unused tokens, and Spellbook back into the general Pool (tokens already on the Map remain there). If you had earned its Spellbook, it "falls off" the Loyalty Card and is no longer in effect. If this Independent is Awakened again, even by the same player, the Spellbook must be earned anew.
Spellbook: Each Independent has its own Spellbook to be earned. When a Spellbook's requirements have been met, place the Spellbook on the Independent's Loyalty Card; you may reap that Spellbook's benefits as lon as you control that Independent. This Spellbook does not count as one of your "Faction" Spellbooks for any purpose, and it cannot be placed on your Faction Card.
Doom Phase: When you perform a Ritual of Annihilation, do NOT gain an Elder Sign for any Independent Great Old Ones you Control.
Note: For your first game with Independents, it is recommended to use one fewer Independent than the number of players.
Each player rolls 1 die. The player(s) with the highest roll gains that much Power. The player(s) with the lowest roll gains that many Elder Signs. You may choose to add or subtract 1 to your die roll after seeing all results. Flip this Spellbook face-down (it cannot be used again this Action Phase). Flip it face-up again during the Gather Power Phase.
Gates cost you 1 less Power to Create.
Rearrange your Units among their Areas as you see fit. You may completely empty an Area, but you may not place Units into any Areas you did not occupy immediately before using this ability.
At the end of the Gather Power Phase (after applying the Minimum Power Rule, but before Determine First Player), you may Eliminate any of your own Cultists, gaining 1 Power for each Eliminated in this way.
During the Doom Phase, if you turn in Elder Signs for Doom points, you also immediately receive Power equal to their value.
Select an enemy Monster or Cultist in the Battle. That Unit is Eliminated and its owner receives Power equal to the Unit’s cost.
Remove any Spellbook (including this one) from your Faction Card and replace it with another available Spellbook.