OFFICIAL FAQ

CLARIFICATIONS:

In many Dreams, the code letters on the backs of Secret Cards and Tiles are arranged in a strange way, e.g., [A, B, B, B, C, D] or [A, B, C, E, F], etc. Some letters are duplicated, some appear to be missing – is it a mistake, are there any cards or tiles missing, or is it intentional?

> It is intentional.

If you want to make sure that you have all the cards and tiles of a given Dream, the full list and numbers of Secret cards and tiles can be found in the section "List of all Secret cards and tiles" of this FAQ page.

What exactly are we supposed to do when we enter any Dream?

> Start by reading the Dream Gate tile for this Dream.

For rules, see page 10 of the manual in the DREAM GATE TILES chapter.

First, prepare your Dream (steps: Setup, Number of Turn cards, Introduction), then enter Dream (steps: Discard the Slumber Dreamscape, Flip the Dream Gate tile).

Typically, Dreamgate tile allows you to Unseal a few cards or cure a few Distress markers at the very beginning before starting a given Dream.

Remember not to discard any cards in your hand that you had when you entered this Dream. Also, do not discard any cards from your Progress zone or any Shining Gems you have! Remember that once you have resolved the Dream Gate tile's Setup of this Dream (place the Dreamscape Setup tiles of this Dream, prepare a Turn deck, set up Dreamers, and spawn any Entities if they should be present from the beginning of the Dream), the first Turn begins. Normally, you draw the appropriate number of Influence cards, according to the Turn Order rules on page 8 of the manual.

When exactly do we reshuffle the Fate deck, the Slumber deck, the Turn deck, etc.?

> Only if any game element or a general rule clearly instructs to do it, e.g .:

Turn deck – reshuffle at the beginning of each Dream / Slumber before drawing the appropriate number of Turn cards to prepare Turn cards for this Dream.

Fate deck - reshuffle when you are resolving a card that instructs to do so (e.g., the Awakening Wisdom card).

Slumber deck – reshuffle when you are resolving a card that instructs to do so (e.g., Awakening Wisdom card, Delta Phase tile).

Influence Market, Item Market – reshuffle when you are resolving a card that instructs to do so (e.g., the Awakening Wisdom card).

Secret cards, Secret tiles – never.

Flaw deck – only during setup.

If we again find ourselves in the same Location that gives us a Key while traveling around the Dreamworld Map, do we get the Key again? Can we travel around in this way and get more Keys every time we reach such a Location?

> Yes.

How many miniatures may originate from one Entity card? For example, the "Dogs" entity tile states that it summons a dog every time morphing activates. If Entities can have multiple miniatures, what's the limit?

> According to the "LACK OF COMPONENTS" rule on page 8, the limit for Entities using Creature Shapeshifter miniatures or Human Shapeshifter miniatures is 4 – because there are only 4 Creature Shapeshifter miniatures and 4 Human Shapeshifter miniatures in the game.

If entities have multiple minis, does that mean that each of them activates separately during the Entity Phase?

> Entities run simultaneously. For example, if a Turn card tells you to resolve BASIC EFFECTS, you should resolve all BASIC EFFECTS (from the currently displayed Entities, but also from the currently displayed Dream Gate tile, etc.) as if they were happening simultaneously. The order of the resolving does not matter because it happens simultaneously in the game's world.

Note that most entities do not perform player targeting actions – this game works a bit differently. It is player characters who check to see if they are within a certain range from the Entity miniature – and if so, something happens to them (the number of Entity miniatures in range mostly doesn't matter).

A situation in which considering the actions of individual Entities separately is actually important to the game is the Entity Movement, described in the "ENTITY MOVEMENT" chapter on page 8 of the manual.

So in the Dogs Entity example, if I have 3 shapeshifter minis around me and the Turn card states a basic action, do I get 3 distress immediately?

> No. As the number of miniatures around you doesn't matter (you have to be in the specific range of at least 1 miniature), you suffer only 1 Distress. In other words, miniatures essentially represent "the single Entity reaching you more easily."

FEELINGS:

At the beginning of the campaign, there are 2 Slumbers that are skipped in the Slumber deck (thus ending the Slumber Location resolution) unless the player meets the conditions listed on them. This means that we can walk on the Dreamworld Map almost without worrying about Slumbers. Why?

> It just makes the game easier at the beginning – it allows you to travel relatively safely in the early stage of the game and reach the first few Dreams without much of a problem. However, as characters develop, they will meet the conditions given on those Slumber tiles – and the situation will change.

When playing solo, is there a recommended number of Dreamers I should be manning? Is playing with a single character more difficult?

> The game is balanced so that the difficulty of a solo game for 1 character is similar to a multiplayer game for 2, 3, or 4 characters. There are a lot of balancing mechanisms (including limited pools of Ether, Distress, and Shining Gems, effects that hurt all characters at once, the increasing difficulty of many actions depending on the number of players, limited resources or rewards in many Dreams, and sometimes, for example, the requirement to reach one place with all characters simultaneously). However, there are slightly more difficult dreams for 1 character, and there are dreams that are slightly easier for 1 character.

NOTE: We strongly advise against playing 2 characters simultaneously by 1 player. That would be far too difficult (two decks of Influence cards, two hands full of cards, etc) and would take away a lot of the fun. In Etherfields 1 player should play 1 character at a time.

The difficulty level seems too high for me. Am I doing something wrong?

> First, make sure you are not overlooking any of the following game tools:

1) Slumbers

– Do you get Loot from Slumbers? Very often, they give you precious Ether, for which you can buy new Influence cards – and they increase the power level of your character significantly.

– Do you use the "Skip" option, which can be found on many Slumber Entities? You don't have to play it (e.g., if it's too hard to win) – just get a penalty at the start of the Slumber and move on.

– Do you use special actions from Slumber Dreamscape Map tiles? (i.e., Shining Gem Slots)?

– Slumbers are often a good way to place your Progress cards in your Progress zone or get Shining Gems using the Basic Actions card. They stay with you and may be used in other locations.

– Are you sure you place the resolved Slumber tiles on the bottom of the Slumber deck?

2) Overall difficulty

– Do you use actions from the Basic Action cards?

– Do you use Mask actions?

– Do you use Items cards (using their actions or discarding them as Intent)?

– Are you sure you don't discard Item cards after using their actions unless they clearly state that they should be discarded after use?

– Do you use special Locations on the Dreamworld Map tiles, where you can refresh Items for free or remove your Flaw cards (of course, if such Dreamworld Map tiles are already available in your game)?

– Do you use the Clock and Hours (to move or to add additional Turns)?

– Do you use the Luck Die to boost your Intent (for example, during movement)?

– Do you gain and use Shining Gems?

– Do you try to place and use your Progress cards?

– After ending Slumber / Dream DO NOT discard cards from your hand, from your Progress zone, and do not discard your Shining Gems!

– Do you use special actions available on the back of your Dreamer Influence cards?

– Do you remember about new rules from gathered Wisdom cards?

– During Slumbers / Dreams, do you activate only those actions from the Entity tile that are indicated by the current Turn card?

– Are there no Storage Items (for example Vehicles), that lets you travel through the map, skipping dangerous places or interrupting Slumbers?

– Do you remember that after finishing a Dream, you can automatically resolve the Awakening card (i.e., automatically cure all Distress, Unseal all cards, and restore 3 Items – but you must also discard all cards from hand and from your Progress zone, discard all Keys and Shining Gems, etc.)?

– Do you remember that you can always resolve the Awakening card after resolving any Location on Dreamworld Map?

– Do you remember that when you reshuffle your Influence deck after it's depleted, you may Seal 3 cards instead of suffering 1 Distress (which is sometimes less penalizing)?

If that doesn't help, try to identify what exactly is most difficult for you and write below. We will try to help and check if you have missed any of the key rules of the game or if you are not using it in a way that hinders your gameplay.

Is the death of the Dreamers too punishing?

> The next cards in the Death mini-deck that are resolved during the Death of Dreamers are different but not increasingly difficult. We don't want to spoil it, but you'll see for yourself – they're not getting worse, they're just different.

But remember that as long as you manage to survive to the end of the current Dream or Slumber and you are back on Dreamworld Map, it is very easy to refresh your condition with the Awakening Wisdom card, and thus pushing the threat of the Dreamer's death away.

ERRATA:

PENALTY FOR RESHUFFLE INFLUENCE DECK

We have marked the changed fragments (from "Draw Step" to new excerpts) in green. It should be like this:

RESHUFFLE

Every time you reshuffle your Influence deck while drawing cards,, you suffer 1 Distress or Seal 3 cards (after reshuffling).

To push away the menace of death, you will have to choose between suffering dangerous Distress or sacrificing cards from your deck by Sealing them. One way or another, you will have to find ways of curinging your Distress or Unsealing your cards in order to get back into shape.

You will have to rest from time to time to regain your strength. The easiest way to do this is the special Delta Phase tile, hidden in the Slumber deck.

Sometimes, the game allows you to reshuffle your Influence deck, even though you still have some cards in it – take all cards from your deck and Discard, reshuffle them, and make a new Influence deck , from them. Remember that when you reshuffle while not drawing cards, you don’t suffer the reshuffle penalty.

So, it should be:

- Every time you reshuffle your Influence deck due to any draw - you must consider a penalty.

- If you perform a reshuffle not related to the draw card - you will not consider the penalty.

FIRST MEMORIES CARDS

These cards are disposable. After the condition is met and the card's effect is resolved, remove it from the game.

SECRET SCRIPTS BOOK, script 200:

Add tile II-32 F (Nightmare Janitor) to the Slumber deck.

Should be:

Add tile II-37 F (Nightmare Janitor) to the Slumber deck.

SECRET SCRIPTS BOOK, script 977:

Add tile Z (Faceless Creeps) to the Slumber deck if it’s not there already.

Should be:

Add tile II-37 H (Faceless Creeps) to the Slumber deck if it’s not there already.

SECRET SCRIPTS BOOK, script 169:

If you encounter this exact situation: "Season of Watchers" is active, while Pandemonium tile is not available on Dreamworld Map yet), please ignore "Change the Season to Season of Watchers." sentence in this script.

We get the info that it is a bit too difficult for players for the initial phase of the game and it would be one of the most difficult moments in the campaign.

For details, you can read this discussion.

SECRET SCRIPTS BOOK, script 169:

Please note that script 601 has doubled and we now have two scripts 601:/ When you run into it, make sure you look at the correct script that fits your Dream.

The first belongs to the Dream I-10.

The second belongs to Dream I-09.

SECRET SCRIPTS BOOK, script 268:

Remove the “Blue Key” Blank token from the game. Gain card D (the 6th Silver Key).

Should be:

Remove the “Blue Key” Blank token from the game. Find the 6th Silver Key card (I-18 D) in the removed game elements and gain it.

STATE TOKENS:

In case of Dazed and Paralyzed tokens placed on Dreamers - they should be active for the NEXT entire Turn.