The Abyss Gazes Back (Heroes)

The Abyss Gazes Back is Haunt 22. **This page is for the Heroes.**

> *"The house shudders and groans. A wave of heat envelops you. Another shudder, and then the sound of wood tearing and concrete collapsing. One of your fellow explorers screams, “Hang on, everyone! We’re all goin’ to HELL!” A flickering glow paints the walls, and gray mist rushes into the room. A portion of the house crumbles and falls down into a burning lake of fire. You scramble to safety, desperately wondering how to prevent the house from collapsing into Hell and taking you with it.”*
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## Right Now

Set aside a number of triangular Sanity Roll tokens equal to the number of players. Set aside an equal number of triangular Knowledge Roll tokens.

## What You Know About the Bad Guys

The traitor welcomes the Abyss—and wants to make sure everyone else goes along for the ride.

## You Win When...

…you successfully perform an exorcism to keep the house from collapsing.

## How to Perform the Exorcism

You must perform an exorcism to keep the house from being sucked into the Abyss. This requires a number of successful **exorcism rolls** equal to the number of players. Each roll requires a specific room or item, and each one requires a Sanity roll or a Knowledge roll. Each hero can make only one exorcism roll each turn.

* You can attempt a Sanity roll of 5+ to perform the exorcism while in the Chapel, Crypt, or Pentagram Chamber, or while carrying the Holy Symbol or Ring.
* You can attempt a Knowledge roll of 5+ to perform the exorcism while in the Library or Research Laboratory, or while carrying the Book or Crystal Ball.

Each time you succeed at an exorcism roll, put a Sanity or Knowledge Roll token (depending on the trait used) on the room tile or item card that you used for that part of the exorcism. An token still counts toward your total even if the room or item with which it was accomplished is destroyed.

If you successfully use an item or room as part of an exorcism roll, no hero can use that item or room in an exorcism again. (For example, if you successfully perform a Sanity roll in the Chapel, then no one can use the Chapel again.)

When the heroes have placed a number of tokens equal to the number of players, the house stops collapsing.

## You Must Do This on Your Turn

At the end of your turn, the traitor will tell you to turn over one or more room tiles in the house. These rooms have collapsed and are now part of the Abyss.

## Dealing with the Abyss

* The traitor is keeping track of the passage of time with the Turn/Damage track.
* If you’re carrying the Holy Symbol and you’re in a room adjacent to a destroyed room, you can sacrifice the Holy Symbol instead of turning over room tiles. (The adjacent room must have a connecting door.) When you do, discard that card; you no longer need to turn over those tiles. Doing this also prevents the house from collapsing until the end of your next turn. It does not, however, stop the Turn/Damage track from advancing.
* If you’re in a room when the Abyss engulfs it, you must attempt a Speed roll of 4+. If you succeed, you can escape by jumping to an adjacent discovered room with a connecting door (if there is one) that is not collapsing. If the roll fails, or if there isn’t a room you can use, you are sucked into the Abyss and killed.
* If an event or the Mystic Elevator sends you to a room or floor that has collapsed, then you plummet into the Abyss and are killed.
* The Entrance Hall, Foyer, and Grand Staircase each count as a separate room. Use a pentagonal item token to mark when each is sucked into the Abyss.

## If You Win

> *The last incantation is over. The exorcism is finished. You wait, mentally pleading, praying, promising anything if only you are saved . . . The house ceases rumbling. The gray mist pulls back. The red glow is extinguished. You sigh. Hell won’t claim you today.*
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