Rulebooks & Game FAQs

• Bigfoot = 6
• Single claw = 1

Related discussion: What does a Bigfoot result on the die mean?

• Blue = 1 Aether
• Red = 3 Aether
• Gold = 5 Aether

The token stays on the map and the card stays next to the board. Any player can attempt the capture again later.

The discard rule for failed standard Cryptid captures does not apply to Legendary Cryptids. A Legendary remains until captured or removed by another rule effect.

Related discussion: Failed Legendary Cryptid capture and card handling

No. A re-roll or repeat attempt allowed by an Item or Event is a continuation of the same capture attempt.

• You do not need to leave and re-enter the location.
• Do not discard the Cryptid before resolving the re-roll.
• Do not gain a Clue token for the initial failed roll, because the capture attempt has not ended.

Related discussion: Tracker Spray and repeat capture attempts

Choose the ability and pay its Aether Coin cost before making the Skill Check. You cannot wait until after rolling to decide.

Related discussion: Crew abilities

The standard hand limit is 4 Cryptid cards.

• With the Seer: pay 1 Aether Coin per round to draw 2 additional Cryptid cards. Your maximum hand limit increases to 8.
• End-of-turn draws: do not draw Cryptid cards if you already hold 4 or more.

The higher maximum does not change that end-of-turn draw restriction.

Related discussion: Seer Crew card and hand limit

Follow the normal Return to HQ steps, including depositing your caged Cryptids.

Because you are not the active player, do not shop or collect end-of-turn income.

Related discussion: Returning to HQ through an Event card

Yes. You generate income at the end of every turn, wherever you are.

Generating income and transferring it are different: income moves into your wallet only when you perform the Return to HQ action.

If you are already at HQ, you can perform that action to heal and transfer your generated income.

Related discussion: Generating income while at HQ

This is an optional setup variant for groups who want Legendary Cryptids to appear earlier in a two-player game.

The Event deck can progress more slowly with two players. Try one of these alternatives:

• Shuffle the Legendary Cryptids into the Event deck so they can appear from Round 1.
• Alternatively, split the Event deck into 5 piles instead of 4 during setup, increasing the chance of Legendaries appearing before Round 10.

Related discussion: Event deck setup and Legendary Cryptid timing

Deck empty, discard pile available: reshuffle the Cryptid discard pile to form a new deck as normal.

Deck and discard pile both empty: Cryptid Exhaustion begins.

• Players no longer refill their Cryptid hands.
• Resolve other Cryptid draws and NPC captures as far as possible with Cryptid cards that become newly available.
• In Round 10, finish the current round. Otherwise, the next round becomes the Final Round.

If The Dead Signal ritual card succeeds and there are not enough Cryptids to draw, draw as many as possible. For each Cryptid that cannot be drawn, gain 4 points instead. The +12 team bonus is awarded as normal.

In Co-op Mode, 3 Legendary Cryptids should remain in the box for the Round 10 milestone.

If your Event deck was set up using 5 Legendary Cryptids in each of the 3 piles, the following is a correction to the first-edition rulebook. Instead:

• Set aside 8 Event cards.
  
• Split the remaining Event cards as evenly as possible into 3 piles.
  
• Shuffle 4 Legendary Cryptid cards into each pile, using 12 in total.
  
• Keep the remaining 3 Legendary Cryptids in the box for Round 10.
  
• Stack the 3 piles without shuffling, then place the 8 set-aside Event cards on top.
  

If you have already reached Round 10 using the printed setup, take any 3 unrevealed Legendary Cryptids from the Event deck and place them into play for the Round 10 milestone.

The expo-exclusive Flatwoods Monster is a collectable promo card supplied without its own hexagonal token.

To represent it on the map, use a plastic standee base to hold the card upright.

Related discussion: Expo exclusive card

Unlock the Hidden Contract

Where the world of Kryptothera thins, the Order leaves its marks. A stray letter, a wrong capital. Most hunters pass them by...

Across the card text, artwork, and even the box itself, a message lies scattered in fragments. It was not meant for all. Those who look too closely may feel it drawing them in, quiet and patient.

No keys are needed; only wits, only eyes, only a willingness to follow what should be ignored. And when the final round ends, you must bring what you have learned to where the Order gathers.

Those who stand alone upon that name accept this message as a hidden contract.

The prize is 30 end-game points.

But what is offered comes at a cost the Eye does not forget.

The Order cares about where you finish the game. The Order cards contain clues that help identify the correct city.

This secret cannot be completed before the final round.

The requirement involves both your location and the contents of your cages.

Count your captured cryptids carefully. The exact combination matters.

You must stand alone.

The city is famous for its ghost tours.

STEP 1 – DISCOVER THE CONTRACT

Open the Kryptothera base game box and remove all components, including the plastic inlay.

Beneath it lies the Symbol of the Order surrounded by a pattern of circuits and symbols.

Careful examination reveals fragments of a hidden message:

"Brin the"

"bea ts"

"to th Ord r,"

"upon the name"

"you gathered."

"One low,"

"One medium,"

"One legendary"

"in your cages."

"Stand alone!"

"If another stands"

"with you"

"the door closes"

"thirty is counted"

This is the secret message, but several letters are missing.

STEP 2 – COMPLETE THE CONTRACT

Take the Cryptid Deck and locate the thirteen cards illustrated by Anthony Williams that feature:

• The Symbol of the Order in the bottom-left corner.
• A misspelt yellow capital letter.

These cards are:

• British Columbia's Giant Raven
• Oklahoma Octopus
• Sharlie (Slimy Slim)
• Gee Gee Bird
• Knobby
• Taku-he
• Stony Plain Sasquatch
• Flathead Lake Monster
• Kelly–Hopkinsville Goblins
• Kingstie
• Champ
• Momo the Missouri Monster
• White River Monster

Set aside:

• British Columbia's Giant Raven
• Oklahoma Octopus
• Sharlie (Slimy Slim)

These three cards restore the missing letters:

"Brin the" + G = "Bring the"

"bea ts" + S = "beasts"

"to th Ord r," + E = "to the Order,"

The completed contract reads:

"Bring the beasts to the Order, upon the name you gathered.

One low, one medium, one legendary in your cages.

Stand alone.

If another stands with you, the door closes.

Thirty is counted."

This reveals the requirements of the contract:

• Reach a specific location.
• Arrive during the final round.
• Possess exactly one Low-Threat Cryptid.
• Possess exactly one Medium-Threat Cryptid.
• Possess exactly one Legendary Cryptid.
• Be completely alone.

If another hunter joins you, neither player fulfils the contract.

STEP 3 – DISCOVER THE LOCATION

The remaining ten cards contain the final secret. You are one step closer to fulfilling the contract.

Arrange them in the following order:

• Gee Gee Bird = N
• Knobby = E
• Taku-he = W
• Stony Plain Sasquatch = O
• Flathead Lake Monster = R
• Kelly–Hopkinsville Goblins = L
• Kingstie = E
• Champ = A
• Momo the Missouri Monster = N
• White River Monster = S

The hidden location revealed is:

NEW ORLEANS

FINAL REQUIREMENTS

At the end of Round 10:

• Be located in New Orleans.
• No other hunter may occupy that location.
• Have exactly 1 Legendary Cryptid in your cages.
• Have exactly 1 Medium-Threat Cryptid in your cages.
• Have exactly 1 Low-Threat Cryptid in your cages.

If all conditions are met, you have accepted the Hidden Contract of the Order, you discard the Cryptid in your cages and gain 30 additional end-game points.

You have betrayed the Kryptothera Initiative and advanced the Order's secret agenda.

Welcome to the dark side.

Unlock The Cryptic Path

Ten fragments lie across beast and fate; in dim silence, six beasts guard the outer circle, while four trials reveal the Order’s true goal.

Stillness gathers at the circle’s centre where lies the Eye.

Step lightly; seek the hubs and the Order’s gaze begins.

T.S.E. (The Treacherous Land, 1921)

Some say the Order grows desperate to seize the Eye of Kryptothera. They already know the positions of several power hubs, yet the true location remains elusive, hidden somewhere beyond their reach.

Look closely: a few cards bear unusual capital letters woven into their text. Together, these fragments spell out a secret, pointing to the place where the Eye truly lies...

The answer is not hidden in the gameplay mechanics.

The ten fragments reveal a location far to the north.

The phrase created by the fragments points to a real place on the Kryptothera map.

The hidden letters are scattered across a mixture of Cryptid and Event cards.

The location is famous for its inland Inuit community.

Take the Event Deck, the Legendary Cryptid cards, and the Cryptid Deck out of the box.

Find the ten cards that contain misspelt capital letters highlighted in yellow, but do NOT contain the Symbol of the Order in the bottom-left corner.

The cards are:

• Akhlut — Legendary Cryptid = B
• Bigfoot — Legendary Cryptid = L
• Alchemist's Elixir — Event Card = A
• Cutting-Edge Gear — Event Card = E
• Black Market Bargain — Event Card = A
• Ceremonial Honour — Event Card = K
• Wampus Cat — Cryptid Card = K
• Dover Demon — Cryptid Card = R
• Giant Manta — Cryptid Card = E
• Toronto Tunnel Monster — Cryptid Card = !

Once you have collected these cards, you will have an anagram to decode. If arranged in the correct order, the hidden location of the Eye of Kryptothera is revealed:

• Akhlut — Legendary Cryptid = B
• Alchemist's Elixir — Event Card = A
• Wampus Cat — Cryptid Card = K
• Cutting-Edge Gear — Event Card = E
• Dover Demon — Cryptid Card = R
• Bigfoot — Legendary Cryptid = L
• Black Market Bargain — Event Card = A
• Ceremonial Honour — Event Card = K
• Giant Manta — Cryptid Card = E
• Toronto Tunnel Monster — Cryptid Card = !

BAKER LAKE!

---

REWARD OF THE EYE

Now, proud Hunter, you can travel to Baker Lake knowing the true location of the Eye and stand against the forces of the Order.

The Eye watches over those who uncover its resting place.

Once per game, if you are in Baker Lake and have one of the following cryptids in your hand, you may capture it without suffering any damage from the encounter.

Base Game

Ijirait — High-Threat Cryptid

Location: Baker Lake

Points: 6

Health: -1

Skill Required: Intelligence 3+ / Agility 4+

From the Mountains to the Sea Expansion

Erqigdlet — High-Threat Cryptid

Location: Baker Lake

Points: 6

Health: -1

Skill Required: Might 3+ / Wisdom 4+

To claim this blessing, you must possess the cryptid card in your hand during the encounter. The Eye's protection prevents all damage that would normally be suffered from that capture attempt.

Congratulations. You have solved the mystery and completed "The Cryptic Path" side quest.