Manual — Elder Sign: Omens of the Pharaoh

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Components
4 Ally Cards
16 Relic Cards
50 Egyptian Adventure Cards
8 Special Adventure Cards
6 Investigator Markers
8 Monster Markers
(Including 7 Mask Monsters)
6 Investigator Cards
1 Cairo/Dashur Entrance Card
8 Expedition Tokens
30 Egyptian Mythos Cards
3 Ancient One Cards
1 Double-Sided Scenario Sheet

I apologize for this, as the request that is to follow will seem utterly absurd, but in this desperate time, I find that I have no other choice. You do not know me, but I know you, and I know what you have secreted away in the back rooms of the museum. And I must have it. Have you heard the tale of Nephren-Ka, the Dark Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt? Defeated centuries ago, his reign of blood was so heinous that it was stricken from history when he was killed. But therein lies the problem. He was never truly defeated. And I believe that the only means to do so lies in that which you and I possess: The Eye of Light and Darkness. Please, you must believe me. Bring your half and make your way to Cairo. I will find you.

- A Friend

Expansion Overview
Based on the Dark Pharaoh expansion for the Elder Sign: Omens digital application, Elder Sign: Omens of the Pharaoh takes the investigators to the deserts of Egypt where a centuries-old evil threatens to walk the land once again. Deep beneath the sands, in the hidden chambers of the Lightless Pyramid, the Dark Pharaoh stirs, hungering to return to his former glory.

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Lightless Pyramid Setup Diagram 6 3-1 3
Entrance Card
(Cairo Side)
3 Faceup "Cairo" Adventure Cards
3 Facedown "Cairo" Adventure Cards
Dark Pharaoh
Special Adventures
Other World Deck
“Cairo” and "Dashur"
Adventure Decks
Scenario Sheet and
Expedition Tokens
Playing Other Game Modes
The Egyptian Adventure cards, the new Mythos
cards, the Expedition side of the scenario sheet,
and the "Cairo"/"Dashur" entrance card found in
the Omens of the Pharaoh expansion are only used
when playing the Lightless Pyramid game mode. All
other content found in this expansion can be played
with the base game or any other game mode.
Using This Expansion
Omens of the Pharaoh provides a new way in which to enjoy
Elder Sign—the Lightless Pyramid game mode. The Lightless
Pyramid game mode takes investigators away from Arkham and
sends them to the Egyptian city of Cairo. It uses new Adventure
cards and Mythos cards, as well as new mechanics exclusive to
the sands of Egypt.
Lightless Pyramid Setup
When playing the Lightless Pyramid game mode, perform the
setup for a normal game, modified in the following manner:
1. Entrance:
Replace the entrance sheet with the entrance card
from
Omens of the Pharaoh. Place it with the "Cairo" side
faceup.
2. The Expedition: Place "The Expedition" scenario sheet near the
play area. Then place the eight expedition tokens near "The
Expedition" scenario sheet.
3. Choose Ancient One: Choose any Ancient One to challenge.
It is recommended for your first Lightless Pyramid game that
you play with one of the new Ancient Ones included in
Omens
of the Pharaoh.
4. New Cards: Combine the Ally cards from the Omens of the
Pharaoh
expansion with the Ally deck from Elder Sign and
any other expansions that are in play. Shuffle the new Relic
cards and place them near the other cards.
5. Add Monsters: Add the new standard monster marker to the
monster cup. Then, add all mask monsters, including those
from the base game of
Elder Sign and any other expansions
that are in play, to the monster cup.

Important Note: If you are playing against the Omens of the
Pharaoh
version of Nyarlathotep, follow the instructions for
mask monsters on Nyarlathotep's Ancient One card instead.
6. New Adventure Cards: Separate the new
Egyptian Adventure cards by stage and shuffle
each stage separately to form a Stage I "Cairo"
deck and a Stage II "Dashur" deck. Then,
replace the Adventure deck from
Elder Sign
with the two new decks made up of only the
new Egyptian Adventure cards provided in this
expansion.
Make sure to include the Hidden
Chamber special adventures in the Stage II "Dashur" deck.
7. Modify Setup:
Replace Step 4 of the core game setup with
the following:
4. Prepare Adventures: Set the Stage II deck aside and
shuffle the Stage I deck under the table. Then deal three
Stage I cards faceup below the entrance card in a single
row and three cards facedown below the faceup cards so
that you have two rows of three cards.
Finally, shuffle the Other World deck and place it and
the Stage I deck near the two rows of adventures. If
an Adventure card shows a locked die icon, place the
appropriate die on that card.
8. Dark Pharaoh Special Adventures:
Shuffle the four Dark
Pharaoh Special Adventure cards together and place them near
the Adventure decks.
9. New Mythos Cards: Replace the Mythos Card deck with a
new deck made up
only of the Mythos Cards from Omens of
the Pharaoh.
Stage
Indicator You may advance the clock
to either regain 1 sanity and 1
stamina or to gain 1 clue.
the dunes
ii

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An expedition token being placed on the
upper-left space of the scenario sheet
Cairo Entrance Card
Mask Monster
Marker
Lightless Pyramid Rules
This section describes new rules for playing the Lightless
Pyramid game mode.
Cairo and Dashur
The new "Cairo/Dashur" entrance card replaces all other entrance cards. The game begins with the "Cairo" side faceup. An investigator who starts their Clock phase on the entrance card may spend trophies for various effects, including flipping the entrance to travel to the other side.
During an investigator’s Movement phase, they may remain on
their current card, move to another Egyptian Adventure, Other
World, or Special Adventure card in the play area, or move to
the entrance card. When an Adventure card or Other World card
is successfully resolved or otherwise discarded, all investigators
on that card return to whichever side of the entrance card
is faceup.
If a game effect refers to “the entrance,” it refers to either
side of the entrance card. For example, if an investigator must
move to “the entrance,” they move to either "Cairo" or "Dashur"
(whichever side is faceup at that time).
If an investigator is on either side of the entrance card at the
end of their Movement phase, they skip their Resolution phase
and move directly to their Clock phase.
Using The Entrance Card
Each side of the entrance card is unique. During the clock phase, an investigator on "Cairo" or "Dashur" may, instead of resolving another option, advance the clock to flip the entrance card to the other side. Additionally, each side of the entrance card has different options for spending trophies and also affects which deck Adventure cards are drawn from.
When an investigator successfully resolves or otherwise
discards an Adventure card that is in play, they replace it
with the top card of the Adventure deck that corresponds to
whichever side of the entrance is faceup. Thus, if the "Cairo"
side of the entrance is currently faceup, adventures are drawn
from the Stage I "Cairo" Adventure deck. If the "Dashur" side of
the entrance is faceup, adventures are drawn from the Stage II
"Dashur" Adventure deck.
The investigators should gather supplies in Cairo, as supplies in
Dashur are scarce. However, investigators cannot ignore Dashur
for long—the elder signs needed to win the game are located
in Dashur.
Mask Monsters
Mask monsters represent various aspects of Nyarlathotep and are often very difficult to defeat. Usually, during
a game of Elder Sign, mask monsters
are only added to the monster cup when playing against the
original Nyarlathotep. However, when playing the Lightless
Pyramid game mode, all mask monsters are always added to the
monster cup during setup and can appear when drawn from the
cup. Mask monsters can be identified by the mask icon on the
right side of the back of the monster marker.
All mask monsters, including those from the base game and
from any other expansions (13 total, if all expansions are used),
are used in this way. When playing against the Omens of the
Pharaoh version of the Nyarlathotep Ancient One, follow the
setup instruction for mask monsters instead of adding them to
the monster cup.
The Expedition
When playing the Lightless Pyramid game mode, the investigators have the power of the expedition at their disposal through the use of "The Expedition" scenario sheet that is put
into play during setup.
Various game effects and rewards allow the investigators
to gain expedition tokens. When an investigator gains an
expedition token, they choose an empty space on "The
Expedition" scenario sheet and place the expedition token on
that space. While an expedition token occupies a space on "The
Expedition" scenario sheet, the investigators gain access to the
effect indicated by that space.
Some of the effects on "The Expedition" scenario sheet can only
be triggered when their corresponding expedition tokens are
optionally discarded to trigger the effect. Once an expedition
token is discarded, its corresponding effect cannot be used
until another expedition token is placed on that space.
No more than a single expedition token can exist on each space
of "The Expedition" scenario sheet. Additionally, effects and
penalties that cause an expedition token to be discarded do not
trigger the effects of that space.
Egyptian Adventure Cards
The Adventure cards provided in this expansion are referred to as “Egyptian Adventure” cards. Game effects that refer to “Adventure cards” can affect Egyptian Adventure cards, but game effects that refer to “Egyptian Adventures” only affect Egyptian Adventure cards. When a player is instructed to place an Egyptian Adventure card during the game, they place it facedown. (Other World cards are still placed faceup.)
Note: The back side of the top card of both the Stage I "Cairo"
and Stage II "Dashur" Egyptian Adventure decks are always
considered to be open information.
At the top of each Egyptian Adventure card back is a colored
field with a skull and crossbones. The color denotes the card’s
estimated difficulty: green for an easy adventure, yellow for a
normal adventure, and red for a hard adventure.
Easy Normal Hard

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When an investigator moves to a facedown Egyptian Adventure card, they immediately resolve the effect printed on the back of the card. Then they flip the card faceup, resolve all “Entry” effects on the card, and end their Movement phase. “At Midnight” effects on the back of Egyptian Adventures are not triggered at this time, but are instead triggered if the card is facedown when midnight strikes.

When a monster appears, it may be placed on any faceup or facedown Adventure card, following normal rules. When a facedown Adventure card with a monster is flipped faceup, that monster is placed on any monster task at that adventure. If that adventure has no monster tasks or there are more monsters than monster tasks available, the monsters that cannot be placed on a monster task are placed below the card’s bottom task as normal.

Special Adventure Cards

Omens of the Pharaoh introduces two new kinds of Special Adventure cards: Dark Pharaoh and Hidden Chamber special adventures.

Dark Pharaoh Special Adventures

Several game effects, including the new doom icon, can bring Dark Pharaoh special adventures into play facedown. Dark Pharaoh special adventures represent the evil machinations of the Dark Pharaoh and his attempts to destroy the expedition.

Dark Pharaoh special adventures cannot be taken as trophies. When a Dark Pharaoh special adventure is successfully resolved, it is discarded in a special discard pile next to the other Dark Pharaoh cards. Once all four Dark Pharaoh cards have been drawn or discarded, if another Dark Pharaoh card needs to be drawn, shuffle the Dark Pharaoh discard pile and draw from the new pile. If another Dark Pharaoh card needs to be drawn, but all four Dark Pharaoh adventures are already in play, fill the Ancient One's doom track with doom tokens; the Ancient One immediately awakens.

Markers and tokens, such as monster markers, cannot be placed on Dark Pharaoh Special Adventure cards.

Hidden Chamber Special Adventures

Hidden Chamber special adventures represent long-lost burial chambers located deep beneath the pyramids of Dashur, and are a rich source of elder signs.

Hidden Chamber special adventures are part of the Stage II Adventure deck, and are shuffled in with the rest of the Stage II adventures. Each Hidden Chamber special adventure can be easily identified by a single task on the lower part of the card.

In order to move to a chamber, an investigator must first succeed in unlocking it by completing the task on its back. To do this, before moving, a special roll must be made. The standard die pool an investigator can use to make this roll is six green dice. Items, clues, and other effects that manipulate and add dice can be used on these rolls. If the roll is not successful, the investigator must either move to a different adventure or stay on their current card. This is only a single roll—do not discard a die and roll again. Cursed and blessed dice from the Unseen Forces expansion are not used when unlocking chambers, and cannot be lost or discarded in this way.

Whether the chamber is successfully unlocked or not, any dice added to the roll to unlock the chamber are lost.

Each Hidden Chamber has a “Chamber” effect listed at the top of the adventure. These effects can only be resolved by the investigator who unlocked the chamber, and only when they first flip the card. Chambers cannot be flipped by game effects unless that game effect specifically states that a chamber is "unlocked," after which the unlocking investigator may perform its "Chamber" effect.

When a Hidden Chamber special adventure is completed, it is returned to the box. It cannot be claimed as a trophy.

Additional Rules

This section contains additional rules for Elder Sign introduced by Omens of the Pharaoh.

Relics

Relics are a new type of item. Relics display a die along with a refresh icon. This icon indicates that relics can be discarded before rolling dice to add the indicated dice to the dice pool, even if those dice have already been removed by a failed roll. This cannot be used to increase the number of dice beyond the available components (for example, you cannot use a relic to have two red dice or seven green dice in a single roll).

Some relics have special effects that trigger after they are used or if another relic that it is paired with is in play. Collecting these relics can dramatically increase the power of the investigators.

The Exhibit

If investigators wish to use relics in a game mode other than the Lightless Pyramid game mode, they may put “The Exhibit” scenario sheet into play. "The Exhibit" scenario sheet adds an additional effect to the current entrance—it is not a space that can be moved to on its own. This effect allows investigators to spend trophies to acquire relics, while also introducing the Dark Pharaoh special adventures and the deadly mask monsters into other game modes.

New Doom Icon

a single roll Some relics have special effects that trigger after they are used or if another relic that it is paired with is in play Collecting these relics can dramatically increase the power of the investigators The Exhibit If investigators wish to use relics in a game mode other than the Lightless Pyramid game mode they may put The Exhibit scenario sheet into play The Exhibit scenario sheet adds an additional effect to the current entrance it is not a space that can be moved to on its own This effect allows investigators to spend trophies to acquire relics while also introducing the Dark Pharaoh special adventures and the deadly mask monsters into other game modes New Doom Icon

A new doom icon appears on each of the three Ancient Ones included in Omens of the Pharaoh. When a doom token is placed on one of these icons, draw a Dark Pharaoh special adventure and place it into play facedown. If all four Dark Pharaoh special adventures are already in play when doom reaches this icon, fill the Ancient One's doom track with doom tokens; the Ancient One immediately awakens.

Hidden Chamber Adventure Card

Die Refresh Icons

The Exhibit Scenario Sheet

Dark Pharaoh Adventure Card

New Doom Icon

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New Mythos Cards
Omens of the Pharaoh contains new Mythos cards which are
used only when playing the Lightless Pyramid game mode and
should not be combined with other Mythos cards.
When players draw and resolve a Mythos card, they are
presented with a dilemma and must choose as a group
between one of the two options listed on the card. Players may
choose either option. If players cannot decide as a group, the
investigator who took the last turn chooses an option.
Expert Mythos Variant
The Expert Mythos variant allows players
to increase the challenge of the game.
When using the Expert Mythos variant,
each time the players resolve a Mythos
card option that has a turquoise Expert
Mythos watermark in the background,
they add 1 additional doom to the doom
track after resolving the effects of that
Mythos card.
Entry Effects
Some Adventure cards in Omens of the Pharaoh feature Entry
effects. Immediately after an investigator moves to a card with an “Entry” effect, they must resolve the “Entry” effect, if able. In addition, if an investigator flips over an Adventure or Other World card while at that adventure, they immediately resolve its “Entry” effect.
If an investigator fails an adventure with an “Entry” effect and
stays there on their next turn, they do not resolve the “Entry”
effect again. However, if a different investigator moves to the
adventure, resolve the “Entry” effect for that investigator.
Calvin Wright
The Calvin Wright investigator is included with this expansion. Remove the Calvin Wright Ally card (Gates of Arkham
expansion) from the Ally deck. It is no longer used.
Split Rewards and Penalties
Some rewards and penalties in Omens of the Pharaoh are split
into two groups by a diagonal line. When receiving rewards or suffering penalties that are split, an investigator must choose which group of rewards or penalties to receive or suffer.
An investigator cannot choose to suffer a penalty that they
cannot fulfill. For example, an investigator cannot choose a
penalty that causes them to lose a common item if they have
zero common items.
Some split rewards and penalties include a blessing or a curse,
which were introduced in the Unseen Forces expansion, or
skills, which were introduced in Gates of Arkham and Omens
of the Deep expansions. If not playing with those expansions,
investigators must choose the reward or penalty which does not
include a blessing, curse, or skill, respectively.
Midnight Icon on Monsters
The Sand Dweller monster marker in Omens of the Pharaoh has a midnight icon on its task
list. This icon indicates that the monster has a midnight effect printed on the back of the marker. At midnight, resolve all “At Midnight" effects printed on the back of monsters with this icon.
New Rewards & Penalties
There are 15 new icons that can appear on adventures. When receiving rewards or suffering penalties, the current player resolves the following effects (if able) for each icon that appears on the card:
Healing: Any one investigator regains 1 stamina.
Respite: Any one investigator regains 1 sanity.
Clock: Advance the clock once.
Expeditious: Do not advance the clock during the
Clock phase this turn.
Remove Monster: Return 1 monster on an
adventure to the monster cup.
Lost Common Item: Discard 1 common item.
Lost Unique Item: Discard 1 unique item.
Lost Spell: Discard 1 spell.
Lost Ally: Discard 1 ally.
Lost Elder Sign: Remove 1 Elder Sign from the
Ancient One card. If there are no Elder Signs on
the Ancient One card, add 1 doom token to the
doom track instead.
Gain Relic: Draw 1 card from the relic deck.
Lost Relic: Discard 1 relic.
Gain Expedition Token: Take 1 expedition
token from the pile and place it on an empty space
of the scenario sheet.
Lost Expedition Token: Choose and discard
1 expedition token from the scenario sheet. If
there are no expedition tokens on the scenario
sheet, add 1 doom token to the doom track.
Curse Icon Blessing Icon Skill Icon
Split Penalty
Expert Mythos
Watermark
Midnight Icon

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Midnight Effect Timing
When resolving multiple effects that occur at
midnight, use the following order:
1. Resolve all “At Midnight” effects on cards
currently in play, in the following order:
a. “At Midnight” effects on the Ancient One
b. “At Midnight” effects on monsters, in
order of the investigators’ choosing
c. “At Midnight” effects on Adventure
and Other World cards, in order of the
investigators’ choosing

Note: Do not resolve the “At Midnight”
effect on a Dark Pharaoh special adventure
if it came into play during step a.
d. “At Midnight” effects on all other cards, in
order of the investigators’ choosing
2. Draw and resolve a new Mythos card
3. Refresh any “Once per day” abilities
New Ancient Ones
Haunter of the Dark Average
An aspect of Nyarlathotep also known as "The
Father of Bats." A being that can exist only in
pure darkness, he whispered into the ear of
Nephren-Ka, the Dark Pharaoh, and drove him
to madness.
Nephren-Ka Hard
Nephren-Ka—the Dark Pharaoh—has been
sealed inside the Lightless Pyramid for many
centuries. His escape would spell doom for
Egypt, and the rest of the world to follow.
Nyarlathotep Insane
Harbinger of the Outer Gods, he sows chaos and
madness into whatever—or whomever—falls
under his sway. He inhabits a thousand masks,
each more horrifying than the last.
Omens of the Pharaoh
Expansion Icon
Most components in this expansion
are marked with the Omens of the
Pharaoh expansion icon to distinguish them from the base game components.
CreditsFantasy Flight Games
Expansion Design and Development: Dane Beltrami
Producer: Molly Glover
Editing and Proofreading: Andrea Dell'Agnese, Julia Faeta, and
Allan Kennedy
Board Game Manager: James Kniffen
Arkham Horror Story Review: Matthew Newman, Katrina Ostrander,
and Nikki Valens
Graphic Design: Monica Helland
Graphic Design Manager: Brian Schomburg
Cover Art: Aurore Folny
Interior Art: Amy Ashbaugh, Cristi Balanescu, Tiziano Baracchi, Ignacio
Bazán Lazcano, Dimitri Bielak, Lin Bo, Grzegorz Bobrowski, Yoann
Boissonnet, Raymond Bonilla, Joao Bosco, Joshua Cairos, Nicole Cardiff,
Miguel Coimbra, Matthew Cowdery, Mauro Dal Bo, Thomas Denmark,
David Demaret, Vincent Devault, Matt Dixon, Lino Drieghe, Guillaume
Ducos, Alexandr Elichev, Fabien Fernandez, Anders Finér, Aurore Folny,
Guy Gentry, Sebastian Giacobino, David Griffith, Rafal Hrynkiewicz,
Clark Huggins, Lukasz Jaskolski, Julepe, Priscilla Kim, Chun Lo, Henning
Ludvigsen, Antonio Mainez, Ed Mattinian, Patrick McEvoy, Brynn
Metheney, Mark Molnar, Jacob Murray, Andrew Olson, Diane Ozdamar,
Ted Pendergraft, Borja Pindado, Chris Rallis, Nicola Robinson, Emilio
Rodriguez, Adam Schumpert, Marc Simonetti, Stephen Somers, Josh
Stewart, Preston Stone, Angela Sung, Cory Trego-Erdner, Brian Valenzuela,
Jose Vega, Cristina Vela, Magali Villenueve, Jacob Walker, Drew Whitmore,
Doug Williams, Jarreau Wimberly, Sara Winters, and Andrea Zafiratos
Art Direction: Crystal Chang
Managing Art Director: Melissa Shetler
Quality Assurance Coordinator: Zach Tewalthomas
Senior Project Manager: John Franz-Wichlacz
Senior Manager of Product Development: Chris Gerber
Executive Game Designer: Corey Konieczka
Creative Director: Andrew Navaro
Asmodee North Americ a
Production Management: Jason Beaudoin and Megan Duehn
Publisher: Christian T. Petersen
Playtesters
John Bradford, Carl Coffey, Michelle Coffey, Andrea Dell’Agnese, Caterina D’Agostini, Julia Faeta, Alene Horner, Jason Horner, Julien Horner, Skyler Latshaw, Michael Lawrence, Jamie Lewis, Michelle McCarthy, Maegan Mohr, Erik Miller, Lacey Miller, Chris Moore, Shay Moore, Patrice Mundinar, Mark Ortego, Rosemary Ortego, Jake Tighe, Regine Mualla Tighe, and Matt Tyler Special thanks to all of our beta testers!
© 2017 Fantasy Flight Games. Fantasy Flight Supply is a trademark of Fantasy Flight Games. Elder Sign, Arkham Horror, Fantasy Flight Games, and the FFG logo are registered trademarks of Fantasy Flight Games. Fantasy Flight Games is located at 1995 West County Road B2, Roseville, Minnesota, 55113, USA. Actual components may vary from those shown. Made in China. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A TOY. NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY PERSONS 13 YEARS OF AGE OR YOUNGER.

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