Machina Arcana - Official FAQ, version 0.

1
Copyright 2014, Juraj Bilic
machinaarcana.com

Table of Contents

General questions
Q: What are the materials through which I can learn how to play?
Q: Game setup - At the beginning of the game, are all explorers placed on the board
before the explorer phase? If so, where?
Q: Game setup - When creating event deck, the cards without any specific scenario on
them are shuffled in each game, regardless of the scenario being used?
Q: Howling Mountain - Is there a limit to how many times any individual player can use
derelict camp?
Q: Monsters spawn - How many monsters can spawn in a turn, one monster per player
per turn, or just one monster per turn?
Q: Monsters spawn - When a monster spawns and the closest spawn is occupied, do I
get to pick any adjacent square to spawn or should it be the adjacent square closest to
me?
Q: Treasure level - At which points do you add cards to treasure pile that are for higher
level??
Q: Banish monster - Will I gain essence by banishing monsters (map tile scrolling)?
Q: Adjacent - Are things adjacent diagonally? IE can a monster open a door and will a
moon beast be ethereal?
Q: Adjacent - If a monster is adjacent to me and has 1 stamina left, does he move again
to the next square adjacent to me?
Q: Movement - Can monsters move through other monsters, and can explorers move
through explorers?
Q: Endgame - For scenario I, which are the ritual spaces, and how many are there?
Q: Death - If an explorer dies, and the player can chose any of the remaining explorers
to start with, does it mean that as a group, you have 12-15 lives in the game?
Q: Death - When you do get a chance to come back as another character, do you
remain on any quests drawn by the previous character?
Q: Death - I played solo and with scrolling my map tiles, I removed the entry token. Then
I died. How to continue?
Q: Death - Player can place the new explorer figure adjacent or on an existing entry
token. What do you do if there are no entry tokens?
Monster behavior
Q: (general) - If a monster cannot use an ability at the start of its turn, it moves.
However, does it continue to move until it is blocked, or does it just move enough to use
its ability?
Q: (general) - What if it's got enough stamina to use an ability twice?
 Q: KThun - if no monsters are wounded, he gets an attack. Does this mean he attacks
all adventurers everywhere?
Q: KThun - has the text Immobile. Does that mean it does not move during its turn, or
that abilities such as push and pull cannot affect it?
Q: Urhag - has an icon shaped like a side of a ten-sided die with the number six in the
middle. What does that mean?
Q: Elder Things - first attack is melee but the second could be melee or tile range?
Q: Moon-beast - confused with rules saying that monsters ignore all explorers that are
not targetable. By staying out of its range, it will never move toward me?
Q: Moon-beast - Its ability Pull 2 spaces. Does that mean pull explorers from 2 different
spaces, or pull one explorer from 2 spaces away?
Q: Gug - A gug's primary ability is to destroy the nearest action space. Do exploding
barrels, traps, and chapter spaces all count as action spaces? And if he destroys a
barrel or trap, does it activate?
Explorers
Q: (Attributes) - Other attributes on the character cards represent the starting amount,
except Essence, which you start the game out at 0. Am I right to assume the Essence
attribute is the maximum essence you can have?
Q: Phillip Kirrian - He gets a bonus to his weapon attack for augments. Is it supposed to
be that a weapon gets +1 for each augment that that weapon has, or +1 for every
augment?
Abilities
Q: If you can pay for it, can you use an ability more than once?
Q: I upgraded the Rogue Rifle with the Blood-Boost Gun, and attack with the Rogue
Rifle. Is the passive ability from the Blood-Boost Gun also triggered or only the passive
ability from the used weapon?
Inventory
Q: Upgrade - If a card has a connector on the bottom, the card is an upgrade?
Q: Upgrade - If card A is upgraded by card B, and card C augments card B, you would
not apply the benefits of card C to an activation of an ability on card A?
Q: Upgrade - Is there a difference between top and bottom connectors?
Q: Upgrade and Augment - examining different cases
Q: Upgrade - Where is the benefit when I upgrade weapons?
Treasure
Q: (general) - Is there an item limit for your inventory?
Q: Heavy javelin - If the attack kills the monster, does it still get pushed 1 space?
Q: Long ranged Rifle - On hit, attack by using block remainder as attack roll?
Q: Puncturing revolver - It states Attack [3]; reduce attack rolls by 1 this round (max 2).
Does this mean, reduce enemy attack roll by 1?
Q: Barbed whip - I assume that the reduction on attack rolls is on the target of the whip,
and that it applies regardless if the target has been hit?
Q: Trench Coat - When your one hand is unequipped, increase attack rolls by 1. I have
the Teleportabulus (2 hands) with the Puncturing Revolver (1 hand) upgrade. If I attack
 with the Puncturing Revolver abilities, does that mean I get the Trench Coat passive
ability?
Q: Reinforced Suit - When hit, increase armor by 1 this round (max 2). Does this mean
that when a monster rolls to attack me, I increase my armour by 1 immediately, or must i
have taken damage already?
Q: Ritual Cloak - Does ritual cloak make *all* my attacks arcane or just the abilities of the
explorer?
Q: Ethereal Gas Bomb - How does the Gas Bomb work?
Events
Q: (Collect) - When an event card says Collect 3 essences, do I have to pay 3
essences for the quest to be completed? The rulebook says that I may lose essences to
meet the condition, but it does not say I HAVE to lose essences to complete the quest?
Q: (Quests) - I have a quest event and The Ancient Puzzlebox says I can use it to
"resolve explorer event". Does this mean I can use it to complete the quest?
Q: Horror event - One horror event states: Attack [1] per monster level to explorers. If
the monster level is 3, does that mean perform 3 attacks with 1 die on all explorers, or
does it mean perform 1 attack with 3 dice on all explorers?
Q: (Ongoing effect) - Can there be more than 1 active ongoing horror event?
Q: Cleansing Ritual (explorer) - Is this destruction different from sealing the spawn? That
is, does it still decrease monster threat, light the chapter and destroy any monster on it?
Q: Deceptive Pheromones (explorer) - There was only one monster so I chose Gug.
Then a couple more monsters came out, but Gug was in the front of the queue so he
went first. Given that it sees itself as an explorer and it is closest to itself, he attacked
itself, and it was kind of funny to see this crazy creature destroy himself. Was this the
correct way to play it?
Chapters
Q: When a quest chapter comes up does the player that activated the chapter space
take it like other quests?
Q: Scenario I endgame - Do any of the bodies count as an obstacle? Also, if you kill a
custodian, do you restore 1 essence?
Map spaces and map tiles
Q: What is the starting map tile?
Q: Action spaces - When you use specific space (i.e. quest ability), do I still get to use it
as its original function?
Q: Action spaces - Does this mean they are impassable and cant be moved on top of?
Q: Action spaces - After you activate a space and place an explored token on it, does it
still block movement/line of sight??
Q: Destroying exploding barrel or trap space, will they be activated?
Q: Workbench - Say I have 2 equipped items and 2 items in my inventory - could I swap
all of them out for the 4 new cards?
Q: Pit - There is one map tile with some spaces that are half pit / half passable. What do
they count as?
 Q: Monster spawn - when sealing a spawn and there is a monster on it, it says to destroy
the monster. Is this the same as the monster dying or is the monster being banished?
Q: Door - Our assumption is that Monsters cannot open doors, but can only destroy
them. Is this correct?
Q: Door - Will the monster treat closed doors as walls?
Q: Barrier - When can you place a barrier and what is the cost?
Variants
Q: Puppeteer - Does the GM have full control over the monsters, or does he have to play
the monsters by the rules in the book?
Easy and normal mode
Q: Drop item - If a card says you have to drop a weapon after you use it, is it destroyed
in easy mode but lies on the board if you are playing normal mode?
Q: Edge token - Once you spend 2 stamina to reveal a new tile you then place an edge
token on those 2 spaces that would connect to the new tile - making the path
impassable?
Q: Edge token - I guess that "activating explorer's map tile" means "the current map tile
from where the explorer will explore the new tile"?
Q: Rating tokens - Monster spawn rating is 6. Player one rolls a 3, so no spawn. Do I
now decrease spawn number to 5 for player two?
Game components
Q: Nobody told me about this Kickstarter, so I missed it. This game looks pretty amazing,
and I'd like to pick it up, but I don't see anything about it going to stores. Will I be able to
buy it at some point?
Q: What are all the red and blue dice to be used for in Exclusive box?
Q: Map tiles are warping, what to do?
Q: Do the extra from the Exclusive content all come in the shrinkwrapped base game
box?
Q: Where are the additional exclusive events from the unlocked stretch goal?
Q: Where are the 15 maps in the Exclusive box?
Q: The monsters and characters are almost impossible to put in the plastic stands
without damaging them?
Q: The enemy tiles' names get covered up by the stands. Is this a misprint?
Q: Card Sleeves - Where can I get card sleeves for my cards?
Q: Box - After putting all the chars into their respective stands, how do you store them in
the box? I'm afraid I'll break something, if I try to squeeze them in too much.

General questions

Q: What are the materials through which I can learn how to play?
A: Read the introduction to new players:
http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1168142/introduction-new-players
It is advisable to use all the material at your disposal: this FAQ, the manual, and dont
forget our tutorial and gameplay videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/MachinaArcanaGame/

Q: Game setup - At the beginning of the game, are all explorers placed on the
board before the explorer phase? If so, where?
[Page 8. (Game setup, last step) - Observe the first chapter card and resolve its effects.
(Page 13. (Place entry token, step 3) - Place the explorers on unoccupied spaces adjacent to or on top of entry
token.]
A: Game setup is a preparation phase, before the first round. At the end of the setup (just
before the explorer phase), all the explorers are placed and the first round may begin.

Q: Game setup - When creating event deck, the cards without any specific
scenario on them are shuffled in each game, regardless of the scenario being
used?
A: Yes, you can put the Exclusive events as well (they have a star in the upper right
corner).

Q: Howling Mountain - Is there a limit to how many times any individual player can
use derelict camp?
[Page 25. (Howling Mountain)]
A: Once you are back at base, there is no limit on using the three locations. (Armory's
first ability 'to resolve workbench' can be used only once, as a group - not for each
explorer).

Q: Monsters spawn - How many monsters can spawn in a turn, one monster per
player per turn, or just one monster per turn?
[Page 9. (Monsters spawn) - For each explorer being controlled, the player rolls the game die.]
A: One monster per explorer per round (if there are 4 explorers, every round is possible
to spawn 4 monsters). If there are already 4 monsters, then instead of spawning a
monster, increase the monster threat by 1.

Q: Monsters spawn - When a monster spawns and the closest spawn is occupied, do
I get to pick any adjacent square to spawn or should it be the adjacent square
closest to me?
A: You get to pick.
Q: Treasure level - At which points do you add cards to treasure pile that are for
higher level??
[Page 13. (Add treasure level) - When a chapter effect adds a specified treasure level, take all treasure cards of that
level and shuffle them into the remaining treasure deck (ignore the destroyed treasure deck).]
A: You start with level 1 items (if not differently stated on the first chapter card), and
when you resolve the effects on the new chapter card, check if it instructs you to add
items of the specified level.

Q: Banish monster - Will I gain essence by banishing monsters (map tile scrolling)?
A: No, only by destroying them.

Q: Adjacent - Are things adjacent diagonally? IE can a monster open a door and
will a moon beast be ethereal?
[Page 15. (Adjacent) - Anything that is next to, and in line of sight, is considered adjacent to the unit.]
A: You are correct, things are adjacent diagonally.
Monster can't open doors (they will destroy the door for 4 stamina), but yes they can do
that when they are facing the doors diagonally. Moon-beast's ability will be active only if
the monster is facing the wall directly, so it will not work if the wall is diagonally from
him.

Q: Adjacent - If a monster is adjacent to me and has 1 stamina left, does he move

again to the next square adjacent to me?
A: If the monster is already adjacent, he can't be 'more adjacent' (with 1 remaining
stamina, he wont move frontally if he is positioned diagonally).

Q: Movement - Can monsters move through other monsters, and can explorers
move through explorers?
A: Units are obstacles (monsters and explorers), and because of that they can't pass
through each other.

Q: Endgame - For scenario I, which are the ritual spaces, and how many are there?
A: On the bottom of the endgame chapter card, you can see the ritual spaces being
presented as Custodians. There are 5 of them.

Q: Death - If an explorer dies, and the player can chose any of the remaining
explorers to start with, does it mean that as a group, you have 12-15 lives in the
game?
[Page 18. (Death)].
A: (from one user): I did a solo play on normal mode. After the second player died, it
became apparent that I was not going to survive the game due to the existing monsters,
the monster threat and monster level, and the dwindling amount of items I had. I could
have thrown all 15 explorers into the mountain one after the other, but they would have
almost assuredly met the same fate that my first two explorers met. At that point, I
decided to accept my defeat.
When is the time to stop trying? I think that is the subjective matter and depends from
session to session. Although, the game is a ticking game over, sometimes it is really
irrational to continue.

Q: Death - When you do get a chance to come back as another character, do you
remain on any quests drawn by the previous character?
A: The quest cards will stay, linked to the new explorer.

Q: Death - I played solo and with scrolling my map tiles, I removed the entry
token. Then I died. How to continue?
A: Game over.

Q: Death - Player can place the new explorer figure adjacent or on an existing
entry token. What do you do if there are no entry tokens?
[Page 18. (Death)].
A: Then you cant place new explorers. Endgame tile have visually represented entry
tokens (could be more than one), and you always start (or continue if back to base) with
placing an entry token. If there is no entry token, that player must wait for an endgame or
back to base effect, before joining with others.

Monster behavior

Q: (general) - If a monster cannot use an ability at the start of its turn, it moves.
However, does it continue to move until it is blocked, or does it just move enough
to use its ability?
[Page 9. (Monster queue) - After moving 1 space, the monster tries to play active abilities again before continuing its
movement.]
A: It checks after every movement, if it can play abilities.

Q: (general) - What if it's got enough stamina to use an ability twice?

A: Suppose the monster has 5 stamina, its ranged attack costs 2 stamina, and it is just
one more space from being adjacent to explorer.
It attacks first time, then the second time, then it moves adjacent to explorer.
Q: KThun - if no monsters are wounded, he gets an attack. Does this mean he
attacks all adventurers everywhere?
[Page 15. (Abilities) - Unless stated differently, abilities can only affect targeted units and spaces, or units and spaces
inside the map tile of the activating unit.]
A: All explorers on its map tile.

Q: KThun - has the text Immobile. Does that mean it does not move during its
turn, or that abilities such as push and pull cannot affect it?
[Page 17. (Push / Pull) - Immobile units cannot be pushed or pulled.]
A: Both.

Q: Urhag - has an icon shaped like a side of a ten-sided die with the number six in
the middle. What does that mean?
[Page 16. (Ability roll) - Roll the game die, and if the ability roll is equal or greater than x (the number in the middle),
resolve that ability.]
A: (from one user): roll a d10 if it's 6 or higher the effect takes place, in the case of the
Urhag, every turn he either attacks you or sucks you in. It only affects explorers on the
same map tile.

Q: Elder Things - first attack is melee but the second could be melee or tile
range?
A: Both of Elder Thing abilities affect all explorers within the same maptile.

Q: Moon-beast - confused with rules saying that monsters ignore all explorers that
are not targetable. By staying out of its range, it will never move toward me?
[Page 16. (Ethereal) - If a unit is ethereal, it cannot be targeted (unless some specific ability enables them to).
Monsters ignore all explorers that are not targetable.]
A: This tells you that if you, as an explorer are ethereal, the monsters will ignore you.

Q: Moon-beast - Its ability Pull 2 spaces. Does that mean pull explorers from 2
different spaces, or pull one explorer from 2 spaces away?
[Page 15. (Targeting) - Most active abilities have a target component that specifies the unit or space where the ability
effects will be resolved.]
A: One target is pulled 2 spaces toward Moon-beast location.
Q: Gug - A gug's primary ability is to destroy the nearest action space. Do
exploding barrels, traps, and chapter spaces all count as action spaces? And if he
destroys a barrel or trap, does it activate?
A: The trap space, exploding barrel and chapter space are action spaces.
Trap space and exploding barrel will be activated when affected by the 'destroy' effect (as
when the units are pulled/pushed into those spaces).

Explorers

Q: (Attributes) - Other attributes on the character cards represent the starting

amount, except Essence, which you start the game out at 0. Am I right to assume
the Essence attribute is the maximum essence you can have?
A: Yes. You can't go above your non-blocking attributes (health, essence, stamina).

Q: Phillip Kirrian - He gets a bonus to his weapon attack for augments. Is it

supposed to be that a weapon gets +1 for each augment that that weapon has, or
+1 for every augment?
A: You are correct, only an attacking weapon gets +1 for each augment that that weapon
has (not for an apparel augment, or for an augment of a not used weapon in the attack).

Abilities

Q: If you can pay for it, can you use an ability more than once?
[Page 15. (Abilities) - Everything that a unit does is an ability. Attacking, interacting with map tile spaces, and using
equipped items are all considered abilities.]
A: Yes, if you can activate an ability, you can play it.

Q: I upgraded the Rogue Rifle with the Blood-Boost Gun, and attack with the Rogue
Rifle. Is the passive ability from the Blood-Boost Gun also triggered or only the
passive ability from the used weapon?
[Back of manual - (Default rulings): 'On kill' and 'on hit' abilities of weapons are resolved only if the item in question
was the one that triggered the ability.]
A: Only the passive ability from the used weapon (in this case Rogue Rifle).

Inventory
Q: Upgrade - If a card has a connector on the bottom, the card is an upgrade?
A: No. You don't know by only observing the items card if it's an upgrade or not. The
item is an upgrade, only if it is connected on top of the equipped item.

Q: Upgrade - If card A is upgraded by card B, and card C augments card B, you

would not apply the benefits of card C to an activation of an ability on card A?
A: No. Suppose you have equipped a Pneumatic hammer (2 handed weapon), and you
upgrade it with Blood-boost gun (1 handed weapon). Then you augment the Blood-boost
gun with Stabilizing rail (Increase weapon's attack roll by 1).
When you attack with your gun, you have +1 on attack rolls, but NOT when you attack
with Pneumatic hammer.

Q: Upgrade - Is there a difference between top and bottom connectors?

[Page 20. (Upgrade item) - Some items can be upgraded with items of the same type and with a matching upgrade
symbol. (You can't upgrade an item that is already an upgrade.)]
A: The image is the same for the top or bottom upgrade symbol. If the item has an
upgrade symbol on top - you can put another item that has the upgrade symbol on the
bottom (validate with other upgrade rules).

Q: Upgrade and Augment - examining different cases

Not Ok? Displacer Vest with Grotesque Mask on top - due to 2 augment symbols.
True, not ok. (the rule was made to deny the concept of wearing two body armors, and I didn't
want to include another icon)

Not Ok? Displacer Vest, Hobnailed Boots on bottom and prismatic lens on top because can't
upgrade Displacer Vest twice.
True, not ok. The real reason is that Displacer Vest is an upgrade in this case, so it can't be
further upgraded.

Ok? Grotesque Mask with Leather Holster augment and Hobnailed Boots attached - seems
weird that holster can augment a mask.
Yes, ok. Because of simplicity, there is only one possible symbol within apparel type (triangle).
The rationalization flavor for this augment could still be that it augments torso, not the head (as
is in the case with Grotesque mask).

Ok? Charging Boots with prismatic lens

Yes, ok.

Ok? Displacer Vest with either prismatic lens or hobnailed boots, but not both and leather
holster as augment
True.

Q: Upgrade - Where is the benefit when I upgrade weapons?

A: It increases your possible active and passive abilities. Two examples:
a) you have a Penumatic hammer (two handed weapon), upgraded with a Blood-boost
gun (one handed) - you may use any weapon you choose (even augment the gun with
additional abilities); otherwise only one of those weapons could be equipped at the same
time.
b) one hand: Shield, upgraded with a gun; second hand: Heavy javelin.

Treasure

Q: (general) - Is there an item limit for your inventory?

A: No, there is no item limit (only equipping limitations).

Q: Heavy javelin - If the attack kills the monster, does it still get pushed 1 space?
[Page 16. (Multi effect) - An ability can have multiple resolving effects. If that is the case, resolve them in the order
they are presented inside the ability text.]
A: No; the first effect destroys the monster (its figure is removed), so the second effect
will not resolve.

Q: Long ranged Rifle - On hit, attack by using block remainder as attack roll?
A: (from one user): Effectively, if you roll double or more the value you need, do two
points of damage instead of one.

Q: Puncturing revolver - It states Attack [3]; reduce attack rolls by 1 this round
(max 2). Does this mean, reduce enemy attack roll by 1?
[back of manual (Default rulings) - Active effects of abilities with target component are applied to the target.]
A: When you use that ability on your target, your target has reduced attack rolls this
round (this effect may stack up to 2 times). This effect will apply even if you don't hit the
target.

Q: Barbed whip - I assume that the reduction on attack rolls is on the target of the
whip, and that it applies regardless if the target has been hit?
[Page 16. (Multi effect) - An ability can have multiple resolving effects. If that is the case, resolve them in the order
they are presented inside the ability text.]
A: Exactly.
Q: Trench Coat - When your one hand is unequipped, increase attack rolls by 1.
I have the Teleportabulus (2 hands) with the Puncturing Revolver (1 hand)
upgrade. If I attack with the Puncturing Revolver abilities, does that mean I get
the Trench Coat passive ability?
A: No. With your equipped Teleportabulus, the condition on the Trench Coat is not met.

Q: Reinforced Suit - When hit, increase armor by 1 this round (max 2). Does this
mean that when a monster rolls to attack me, I increase my armour by 1
immediately, or must i have taken damage already?
A: You must first take the hit, in order to trigger the passive ability (it stacks up to 2
times).

Q: Ritual Cloak - Does ritual cloak make *all* my attacks arcane or just the abilities
of the explorer?
A: All. Even from traps and exploding barrel.

Q: Ethereal Gas Bomb - How does the Gas Bomb work?

A: Ethereal gas bomb is a consumable that has 2 abilities (after using either ability, the
item is destroyed).
To play first ability, lose 4 stamina and all the units within same map tile (both explorers
and monsters) will lose 1 health.
To play second ability, just destroy the item, and this round no one is going to lose
health from attacks ('to hit' effects will still apply).

Events

Q: (Collect) - When an event card says Collect 3 essences, do I have to pay 3

essences for the quest to be completed? The rulebook says that I may lose
essences to meet the condition, but it does not say I HAVE to lose essences to
complete the quest?
[Page 21. (Collect) - An explorer can at any time lose health or essence in order to meet a quests condition with the
Collect effect.]
A: It is not mandatory to complete the quest cards (they stay near your explorer card).
Additionally, you can wait 2 rounds, collect 1 essence, then wait 1 more round then
collect 2 essence - and at that moment you would have completed the quest (no need to
lose all 3 at the same time).
Q: (Quests) - I have a quest event and The Ancient Puzzlebox says I can use it to
"resolve explorer event". Does this mean I can use it to complete the quest?
A: To 'resolve explorer event' means to play the top card from the explorer event deck.
(With 'complete any quest' ability you could complete your quest event, and you would
be the activating explorer).

Q: Horror event - One horror event states: Attack [1] per monster level to
explorers. If the monster level is 3, does that mean perform 3 attacks with 1 die
on all explorers, or does it mean perform 1 attack with 3 dice on all explorers?
A: It means you roll once with 3 dice, and use that attack roll against all explorers.

Q: (Ongoing effect) - Can there be more than 1 active ongoing horror event?
[Page 21. (Events - Ongoing) - Some events are ongoing, which means they remain active as long as they are the
topmost destroyed event card. Ongoing events will affect units on all map tiles.]
A: No, there can be only 1 ongoing horror event, and only 1 ongoing explorer event. (as
topmost destroyed cards, in their respective destroyed decks).

Q: Cleansing Ritual (explorer) - Is this destruction different from sealing the

spawn? That is, does it still decrease monster threat, light the chapter and destroy
any monster on it?
A: Yes, these are different effects. To destroy the monster spawn, just put an explored
token on top of it. As with monsters, the explorer who stands on top of destroyed/sealed
monster spawn is destroyed as well, and the activating explorer will gain essence.

Q: Deceptive Pheromones (explorer) - There was only one monster so I chose Gug.
Then a couple more monsters came out, but Gug was in the front of the queue so
he went first. Given that it sees itself as an explorer and it is closest to itself, he
attacked itself, and it was kind of funny to see this crazy creature destroy himself.
Was this the correct way to play it?
A: No, but you said something that must be the guiding factor in this game: 'it was kind
of funny to see..' - it was not intended to be played like that, but if you are still learning
the game, and are not sure if the idea works? Go for the game experience, check rules
later.

Chapters
Q: When a quest chapter comes up does the player that activated the chapter
space take it like other quests?
[Page 13. (Chapter Space, Quest)]
A: There is a small difference in event and chapter quests. Quests in chapters may be
activated many times, also normal game progress is halted (no more activating chapter
space for next chapter). You can best describe this mechanism as a type of a minigame.

Q: Scenario I endgame - Do any of the bodies count as an obstacle? Also, if you kill
a custodian, do you restore 1 essence?
A: The central point is an obstacle. You don't restore 1 essence when you kill custodian.

Map spaces and map tiles

Q: What is the starting map tile?

A: You are supposed to remove the end tiles, then shuffle the remaining (shuffling
includes randomly flipping some). The starting tile is whichever tile is on the bottom of
the pile. There is no dedicated start tile, unless it is specified in the first chapter card.

Q: Action spaces - When you use specific space (i.e. quest ability), do I still get to
use it as its original function?
A: No, you don't get to use the original function of the space.

Q: Action spaces - Does this mean they are impassable and cant be moved on top
of?
A: Exactly. They don't obstruct line of sight, but they count as obstacle (impassable).

Q: Action spaces - After you activate a space and place an explored token on it,
does it still block movement/line of sight??
A: Yes, but it doesn't obstruct line of sight (you can't shoot through with Blood-boost
Gun, but you can with Force Alternator).

Q: Destroying exploding barrel or trap space, will they be activated?

A: Trap space and exploding barrel will be activated when affected by the 'destroy' effect
(as when the units are pulled/pushed into those spaces).
Q: Workbench - Say I have 2 equipped items and 2 items in my inventory - could I
swap all of them out for the 4 new cards?
[Page 24. (Workbench) - You can swap any of those cards with the ones from your inventory or equipped items.]
A: Yes, then even take one item (or give that item to adjacent explorer), and in the end
resolve use your inventory.

Q: Pit - There is one map tile with some spaces that are half pit / half passable.
What do they count as?
A: I have created an image to help you demonstrate passable spaces (green point), and
ttp://i.imgur.com/avFygNI.jpg
where the unit falls down (red point): h

Q: Monster spawn - when sealing a spawn and there is a monster on it, it says to
destroy the monster. Is this the same as the monster dying or is the monster being
banished?
A: You gain essence (the same as with destroying monster spawn). You don't gain
essence by banishing monsters, but you do with destroy effects.
As with monsters, the explorer who stands on top of destroyed/sealed monster spawn is
destroyed as well, and the activating explorer will gain essence.

Q: Door - Our assumption is that Monsters cannot open doors, but can only destroy
them. Is this correct?
A: (from one user): Yes, but remember that doors start open and are not a barrier to
monsters unless an explorer shuts them.

Q: Door - Will the monster treat closed doors as walls?

A: On the contrary, monster will ignore doors when calculating shortest path.
The explorer A is 3 spaces away from the monster, and explorer B is 2 spaces away from
the monster but behind the closed doors - the monster will go toward explorer B.

Q: Barrier - When can you place a barrier and what is the cost?
A: You may only place it with an ability that enables you to do so (for example an item, or
through an event).
For example: Void booster (level 2 artifact). This item has an ability that enables you to
use 4 stamina and 1 essence to place a barrier token (between any two adjacent spaces).

Variants
Q: Puppeteer - Does the GM have full control over the monsters, or does he have
to play the monsters by the rules in the book?
[Page 28. (Puppeteer) - He controls the monster queue, the monster movement, and activating the monster abilities.]
A: Puppeteer may use the monsters in any way he wants (except targeting barrels or
activating traps).

Easy and normal mode

Q: Drop item - If a card says you have to drop a weapon after you use it, is it
destroyed in easy mode but lies on the board if you are playing normal mode?
A: Yes.

Q: Edge token - Once you spend 2 stamina to reveal a new tile you then place an
edge token on those 2 spaces that would connect to the new tile - making the path
impassable?
A: Entry, exit and edge tokens do not prevent movement, and are not treated as
obstacles.

Q: Edge token - I guess that "activating explorer's map tile" means "the current
map tile from where the explorer will explore the new tile"?
A: Yes.

Q: Rating tokens - Monster spawn rating is 6. Player one rolls a 3, so no spawn. Do

I now decrease spawn number to 5 for player two?
[Page 26. (Rating tokens) - When you roll an equal or greater value, reset the monsters rating slider to the value that
is indicated on the chapter card, otherwise, lower the monsters rating slider by 1.]
A: Yes.

Game components

Q: Nobody told me about this Kickstarter, so I missed it. This game looks pretty
amazing, and I'd like to pick it up, but I don't see anything about it going to stores.
Will I be able to buy it at some point?
A: Who owns the box will be the sole owner of Machina Arcana for some time, there is
currently no ongoing or planned production.
Q: What are all the red and blue dice to be used for in Exclusive box?
A: These are attribute dice, they help you to keep track on your current armor (red) and
will (blue) values.

Q: Map tiles are warping, what to do?

A: (from one user) : I put a 20lb weight on everything for a couple days and now all is
well. I know it is hard to set it aside as we have all waited for a while and just want to
play, but that is how I fixed mine.

Q: Do the extra from the Exclusive content all come in the shrinkwrapped base
game box?
A: It's all in the box. Dive in and enjoy the game!
Additionally, this unboxing video from Aaron Pope is very useful; in the description of
the video, you can find a listing of Exclusive box content (made by Weresheep of
BAAAH): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSuTBy3OK7s

Q: Where are the additional exclusive events from the unlocked stretch goal?
A: There are 6 additional events (3 explorer, 3 horror) in the Exclusive box - unlocked by
the stretch goal. To identify them, they have a little star on the upper right corner.
(Normally you will treat them as base events).

Q: Where are the 15 maps in the Exclusive box?

A: 10 map tiles from Core box (5 double sided map tiles), 2 map tiles (1 double sided map
tile: unlocked from stretch goal), and 3 endgame map tiles (3 one sided map tile: scenario
1, 2 and bonus). You need to have 15 maps, divided over 9 map tiles (6 double sided, and
3 single side boards).

Q: The monsters and characters are almost impossible to put in the plastic stands
without damaging them?
A: Once the figures enters the stand, there is no reason to ever remove it.
I am using the method that enables me to do so easily (use very carefully and cautiously,
dont apply too much force): http://i.imgur.com/KCdivfo.jpg

Q: The enemy tiles' names get covered up by the stands. Is this a misprint?
A: The design of the components was completed before we received the sample
components from the manufacturer.
Before, we planned other type of plastic stands (the same from Arkham Horror), but it
was later established that manufacturer is unable to provide them. It was possible to
change the design, and dimensions of the figures; the only problem was time: files were
already uploaded, and if we went with updating the figures, we would need to update the
punchboards as well, and I made a decision to go with the current design and start with
the production asap.
As a mitigating fact, the names of the monsters weren't even in the initial design, and we
added it for additional clarification (as a visual aid). Once you are accustomed to the
monsters, the labels are not so important anymore.

Q: Card Sleeves - Where can I get card sleeves for my cards?

A: (from one user): http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1079871/card-sleeves

Q: Box - After putting all the chars into their respective stands, how do you store
them in the box? I'm afraid I'll break something, if I try to squeeze them in too
much.
A: (from one user): Just a few images showing all the content boxed up when stands
attached: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1205522/keeping-it-all-boxed