The Harbingers

*"To really experience this game, spend some time creating the perfect atmosphere. Turn the lights down and volume up and welcome to the Other Side."*
-Voice-over, during the opening of the rules presentation.
***Atmosfear: The Harbingers*** is the fifth overall installment of the *Atmosfear* series. A retool of the original *Nightmare* and hosted once more by the Gatekeeper, it was released in 1995 and went on to become one of the best-selling games in the US and the UK.

## Brief

Experience ATMOSFEARTM

ATMOSFEARTM is not just a Board Game but an amplified **experience** in interactive home entertainment. A game of skill, strategy and suspense wrapped up in a race against the 60 minute video clock. Collect 6 different Keystones within the hour and then STOP the clock to win.

There is only one problem. The Gatekeeper - and he's going to cause plenty of trouble as you negotiate the 6 Provinces of The Other Side.

### Contents

* *Harbingers* VHS tape, including Rules Presentation.
* 6-piece double-sided game board (with many different combinations)
* Central Hub with Well of Fears and lid.
* 6 Slabs (character card and Keystone holders)
* 36 Keystones (6 of each character's color)
* 12 playing pieces (Harbinger pieces and Numb Skulls)
* 36 Fate Cards
* 36 Duel Cards
* 9 Character cards (6 Harbingers and 3 Soul Rangers)
* 3 Quick Reference cards
* 4 Gates (with holders)
* Paper pad and pencil
* 2 dice
* Rules leaflet with step-by-step instructions

## Characters

**The Gatekeeper** - Your 'Host'
**Gevaudan** - The Werewolf
**Hellin** - The Poltergeist
**Khufu** - The Mummy
**Baron Samedi** - The Zombie
**Anne de Chantraine** - The Witch
**Elizabeth Bathory** - The Vampire
**Soul Rangers**
## Overview

The tape begins with a fifteen minute long summary of the game's rules along with initial set-up and a few interjections from the Gatekeeper himself. This is bookended by two short countdowns to prime players ahead of time. The rest of the tape plays out in a similar fashion to the original game's tape and its expansions with the Gatekeeper interrupting at various irregular intervals, only with a timer that ticks down from sixty minutes to zero instead of the other way around. To ease replying to the Gatekeeper in this game, instead of having to answer "Yes, my Gatekeeper!" whenever the Gatekeeper tells the player whose turn it is next to "Answer Me!", they now have to raise their hand when he tells them "Hands up!". Players must also thank him whenever he tells them to, or be penalized for it. Time and Chance cards are removed for this game as are the Fate spaces, so Fate cards can now only be picked up whenever the Gatekeeper tells a player to.

The board in this game is separated into modular pieces that each resemble the Provinces presided over by each of the six playable Harbingers. Before the game begins, a Chosen One is selected by highest dice roll before slotting the Provinces into place around the Central Hub in whichever arrangement they desire. After placing each Harbingers' Duel cards and playing pieces on the respective Headstones in the centre of their respective Provinces and then placing each Province's Keystones on their spaces, the Chosen One then hands out a Keystone Slab and Numb Skull playing piece to every player, each of which has a number grooved on the top that matches each Slab's number. All players write down their worst fear, but this time instead of laying each fear on top of each other and shuffling them like a deck of cards, these fears are written on blank slips of paper before they are crumpled up and placed inside the Well of Fears at the centre of the hub.

When play begins, players start out as Soul Rangers and must dedicate the first ten minutes to move their Numb Skull out from their number-matching "home" starting area in the Central Hub to the Headstone at the centre of a desired Province by exact roll to "become" the Harbinger that rules over it, earning that character's playing piece, Duel cards and character card in the process while placing their Numb Skull piece onto their Slab; if more than one player has their sight on a particular Headstone, the first to that Headstone wins. On a journey to the Headstones, Keystones cannot be picked up, nor can any special spaces be activated; these must be ignored. When ten minutes have elapsed, any Provinces that have not been claimed by a player are flipped over to reveal the "Sewer" on the opposite side, with any remaining Keystones repositioned on those in the Sewer; any Harbingers caught in a Province when it is turned over must return to their Headstone. Any player who has not yet become a Harbinger will be forced into the role of a Soul Ranger, taking a Soul Ranger card and continuing to use their Numb Skull piece for the duration of the game, starting out from the skull space in any Sewer. If more than half of the players fail to become Harbingers in the first ten minutes, the entire game is forfeit and the Gatekeeper is declared the winner by default.

The goal after becoming a Harbinger is to land on the Keystone spaces across each Province to collect the colored Keystone placed on top of them. Soul Rangers cannot move beyond their Sewers and cannot collect Keystones by landing on them and so, they must steal Keystones from other players by landing on the same space as them or winning duels. More than one of each Keystone can be collected if a player wishes to make it harder for their opponents to win. Collecting Keystones gives players access to various advantages as defined by a Keystone index on the back of their character card. While the power to release themselves from the Black Hole if they stumble into one or the Gatekeeper banishes them to one is retained, there are several new powers replacing the others from the original game. These include duelling with other players (either by Duel cards with other Harbingers or by the dice with Soul Rangers by landing on the necessary space), flying from one Province to another, the ability to roll one or two dice on each turn and stealing another Harbinger's space by landing on it and imposing a punishment on them in the process (such as having to roll a 6 to play again or return to their own Headstone). Gates are gradually introduced that can block the passage of the players and can only be passed if the player can roll their number or, if they're a Harbinger, they have the Keystone that grants them passage (which also allows them to reposition it elsewhere). These Keystone powers can only be accessed if the respective Keystone is in a Harbinger's possession; losing that Keystone will disable that power until it is collected again. Harbingers cannot use the Ring Road surrounding the Central Hub to travel to other Provinces, they must use any track from either side of each Province to travel between them.

Any player who has remained as Soul Rangers play by their own set of rules, preying on any other players that dare venture into the Sewers in which they are found. Those who end up as Rangers must first, as explained upward, turn over the unclaimed Provinces, reposition any Keystones and then take a Ranger card, after which they continue the game from any skull space in any Sewer with their Numb Skull pieces. Soul Rangers are confined to the Sewers and can only steal Keystones from the Harbingers either by chasing them down and landing on the same space they are on should they enter a Sewer or by winning dice duels, but the Rangers' own lack of morals means that they can steal Keystones from each other as well. Soul Rangers can only venture out into the Provinces if the Gatekeeper allows them to or they have at least one Keystone in their possession; in the event of the latter, it also allows Rangers to ignore any imposed curfews that would otherwise force them back into the Sewers. Unlike Harbingers, Rangers can use the Ring Road at any time to access the Provinces. They are also exempt from banishment and can instantly release themselves from a Black Hole regardless of whether they landed on one or the Gatekeeper banished them to it. They cannot pass through the Gates however and must follow the same rule of rolling their number to pass through.

Players, regardless of whether they are Harbingers or Soul Rangers, must have at least one Keystone of each color in their possession in order to return to their "home" starting area and, upon landing on it by exact roll and then rolling a 6 on a subsequent turn, have the Chosen One select a slip of paper from the Well of Fears at random to read out. If it is not their fear, they must declare "Not" and they win. If it is, they return to their Headstone or skull space and try to make the journey again. If nobody manages to face their worst fear before sixty minutes have elapsed, the game is over.

## See also

* *The Soul Rangers*
* *Atmosfear: The Third Dimension*
* Booster Tapes
* Transcript
* Rules
* Card List

## Trivia

* In early releases of the game, the rules presentation was shown after the main game. Later releases of the game moved the rules presentation to before the main game, with a brief minute timer between them.
* In 1997, both this game and *The Soul Rangers* were packaged into one bundle edition titled *Atmosfear: The Ultimate Conflict*, with an exclusive tape that covered both games along with all their contents.

## References

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors. The Harbingers. Retrieved on April 24, 2022.