Hail, traveller…
All players should be reading this section from their devices. If ALL players are familiar with ELDER and have played before, click the button below.
If any players are unfamiliar with the game, scroll down instead. The ELDEST member of the group should read aloud. They are the first Reader.
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(The Reader reads aloud:)
Welcome to ELDER!
In this game, you will play a group of travellers who must pass through the terrifying Elder Wood. But be warned; the Elder Wood almost always claims its price. In the end, only the cards — and your actions — will determine who perishes and who survives.
Roleplay. ELDER is a roleplaying and storytelling game. It can be dark, dramatic and also — at times — silly.
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1. “Yes, and…”
Agree with any details that your fellow players are establishing. This does not mean your character has to like it, only that they acknowledge its truth. Good roleplay is additive; go beyond agreeing with established details and add your own on top.
2. Be a good team player
Create opportunities for other players to play into the traits they want their character to have. If they want to be the kindest person on the journey, set them up to do so; if they want to be evil, set them up that way.
Make the other players look and feel good through your actions by supporting their ideas and being an active listener.
3. The Don’ts…
— DON’T go for the joke. We all love a pun, euphemism, or pop culture reference, but leaning into those can keep players at arm's length from the fantasy you’re creating.
— DON’T go to Crazy Town. It’s okay to have a strange or unusual thing, but too many unrelated strange and unusual things breaks any sense of group logic being built.
— DON’T make others uncomfortable. If you insist that your character NEEDS to be racist or sexist, we recommend discarding your Character Card, packing up your things, and going home. It’s a good idea to set up ground rules before a session. Are people comfortable having romance featured in the session? Violence? Gore?
— DON’T feel like you have to always know the answer (necessarily). If you don’t know what to say, just blurt something out. You literally cannot be wrong. If your fellow players are playing with the above guidelines in mind, they will be eager to support what you say and add to it.
Atmosphere. If you have not already done so, we suggest that you now take a moment to commit to the game’s atmosphere. You could:
Put on some music (perhaps the ELDER playlist?).
Burn a candle.
Turn down the lights.
When the atmosphere is adjusted, scroll past the hourglass symbols below.
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————How to read these pages
Over the course of the game, you will be reading a lot of text from pages like this one. To ensure this process goes smoothly, every traveller should know the below rules:
Text in italics, like this, is RULES TEXT. It is the current Reader’s job to communicate this text to the rest of the group in whatever way they wish. You can do this by reading the text aloud, by paraphrasing it, or by any other method — just get the message across to your fellow travellers!
When text has a box around it, like this, that means it’s STORY TEXT! Story text must be read aloud to the group.
When you see a line of hourglasses as below…
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————… stop reading immediately. Wait for the above action to finish before continuing.
Finally, when you see a book symbol as below…
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… this means that the role of Reader rotates left. The person to the current Reader’s left becomes the new Reader.
When everyone is clear on these rules, continue to the next section.
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(This means the Reader rotates left, remember?)
Building the Path
This game will take you on a journey through the Elder Wood, represented by a deck of fifteen cards called the Path. The Path symbolises the party’s unique journey through the Wood, with each Elder Card forming a new encounter with a spirit, obstacle or element.
Reader:
Take the complete deck of cards in the Elder box.
Remove the Set-Up card from the game.
Remove any blank Elder Cards from the game.
Separate the Elder Cards from the Chapter Cards.
Set aside the Tutorial Elder Card (you will use this in a minute).
Shuffle the Elder Cards thoroughly.
You should be left with forty Elder Cards (more, if anyone has added customised cards to the deck), six Chapter Cards (I-V, plus the Epilogue) and the separate Tutorial card.
Build the Path deck from the bottom to the top as follows, with QR codes facing downwards:
Epilogue (bottom card)
Chapter V: The Heart of the Wood
3x facedown Elder Cards (randomly dealt)
Chapter IV: The Gorge
3x facedown Elder Cards (randomly dealt)
Chapter III: The Mire
2x facedown Elder Cards (randomly dealt)
The Tutorial card
Chapter II: The Thicket
Chapter I: The Inn (top card)
Stack the Path to one side of your play space with the Chapter I card on top.
Once the above is complete, continue to the next section.
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Assigning Character Cards
Throughout this game, you will roleplay as travellers on the road. You will create those characters from randomly-dealt cards. This is a fun moment!
Gather the rest of the Elder Cards that have not been dealt into the Path.
Deal a single random Elder Card facedown to each player. These are your Character Cards. These cards represent each traveller at the table and cannot be discarded. Travellers should DISREGARD the Bargain rule written on their Character Card; it is not relevant to you.
Finally, place the rest of the Elder Cards that have not been dealt into the Path or as Character Cards into the centre of the table. This is the deck. The deck is distinct from the Path and is sometimes used in encounters. Discarded cards are shuffled back into the deck.
Once the above is complete, continue below.
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You are now ready to begin the game. When all players are settled:
Flip over the first card in the Path (Chapter I).
Place the Chapter I card face-up next to the Path, so that the current chapter is always on display (this is important). Discards from the Path should go here, to distinguish them from the deck.
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To begin, ONLY the new Reader scans and reads the Chapter I QR code!