Investigators

When playing Eldritch Horror, each player controls an investigator. The word “investigator” refers to a player, the character he controls, and that character’s Investigator sheet and Investigator token. Before playing the game, during the setup phase, a player can chose from the 55 available investigators, starting with the Lead Investigator and proceeding clockwise. If you don't know who to choose or if you just trust randomness, click on the picture.

### Lead Investigator

At the start of the game, players agree upon one player to receive the Lead Investigator token. If they cannot decide, players assign this token to a random player as they see fit (for example, by rolling a die). He receives the Lead Investigator token and is referred to as the “Lead Investigator” by cards and effects.

When investigators make a decision as a group, the Lead Investigator makes the final decision. When players perform actions during the Action Phase or resolve encounters during the Encounter Phase, the Lead Investigator begins and play proceeds clockwise around the play area. During the Mythos Phase, the Lead Investigator resolves a Mythos card. At the end of the Mythos Phase, the Lead Investigator may pass the Lead Investigator token to another investigator of his choice.

Some cards can refer to the active investigator; it refers to the investigator currently performing actions or resolving an encounter. During the Mythos Phase, the Lead Investigator is the active investigator.

## Investigator Sheet

### Front

#### Abilities

Each Investigator has two abilities that give them uniqueness and a specific gameplay: an active ability which requires a Component Action to activate it, and a passive ability which works anyway. According to the Investigator, some are generic and effective in the majority of cases, while some other may be more situational but open certain combos with specific Possessions or with other investigators.
Abilities are often tied to the Investigators Skills and are the major characteristic which defines their team role.

#### Health and Sanity

*Main article: Health and Sanity*
 Health is the measure of the investigators physical state and  Sanity is the measure of their mental state. Each investigator starts with an amount of Health and Sanity equal to his maximum Health and Sanity, respectively; this maximum is between 4 and 8 depending on the investigator. The sum of each investigator's starting Health and Sanity amount is always 12, except for  Calvin Wright and  Rex Murphy.

An investigator can lose Health and Sanity for any number of reasons; if the investigator's Health or Sanity reaches zero for any reason, he is defeated.

#### Skills

*Main article: Skills*
Each investigator has five different skills listed on the bottom of his Investigator sheet. The number below each skill is the number of dice investigator rolls when resolving a test. The sum of each investigator's starting skill value is always 13. Each skill is represented with a unique icon.

* Lore is often tested when casting Spells and resolving Other World Encounters.
* Influence is often tested when performing Acquire Assets action and resolving General Encounters on  City spaces and Defeated Investigator Encounters.
* Observation is often tested when resolving Research Encounters and Expedition Encounters.
* Strength is often tested when resolving Combat Encounters and Expedition Encounters.
* Will is often tested when resolving Combat Encounters and Other World Encounters.

### Back

#### Starting Information

The starting information includes the starting location of the player and any Possessions, Improvements, and Conditions the player might have. Give all required items to the players before putting any decks in play. If any starting card is not in the deck, discard pile or reserve, such as if another investigator or a defeated investigator has them, the investigator starts without that card. If any starting token is not in the pool, the investigator starts without that token.

#### Defeated Encounters

This is read if another investigator is having an Encounter with this investigator who has had their Health and/or Sanity reduced to zero without being Devoured. Depending on whether it was the investigator's Health or Sanity that reached zero, the player reads that story on the back of the card and resolves any tests or receives any items just like any other kind of encounter. If the player's Health and Sanity both reached zero at the same time, the player may read the back of the card and choose which one to resolve.

Typically, defeated encounters give the player that players Possessions.

## Rulings, clarifications, and reminders

If an effect refers to "investigators" or "an investigator," unless the effect says "other investigators" or "another investigator," it affects any or all investigators, including the one who is using the effect.

## Investigators List

A more detailed list for the investigators with their original set, statistics and roles.

### Roles

The roles for each investigator are not rigid, and each investigator can perform any of the functions required. Rather, the specified role simply states what the investigator's stats, skills, abilities, and starting equipment provide a natural fit for.

It is not necessary to pick one of each type for a successful team. Skill improvements, spells, and equipment can be earned through the course of the game that can augment each investigator's performance in each role.

* Research - A research investigator specializes in obtaining clues, whether by their own abilities or through research encounters (which frequently test Observation). Clues are almost always needed to make progress on Mysteries or to prevent the harmful effects of Rumors.
* Gate Closer - Gate closers complete Other World Encounters to remove gates from the board, preventing doom from advancing. These encounters frequently test Lore and Will, and an ideal gate closer will also have some means of dealing with the monsters that guard gates (or else they can work with a Combat investigator).
* Combat - For defeating monsters that spawn in with gates, or through certain other effects. These investigators have high Strength (taking into account their starting weapon) and moderate to high Will, and ideally a balance of health and sanity.
* Expedition - While expeditions are usually not required to beat the game, investigators who can complete them can retreat doom or obtain powerful artifacts to help the team, making them good support characters. These encounters frequently test Observation and Strength.
* Magic - A magic oriented investigator will typically possesses a high Lore rating and either start with spells or have abilities that facilitate gaining spells. Spells serve a wide variety of functions both in and out of combat, so Magic is more of a bonus to a role than a role itself.
* Support - Support investigators have abilities that assist other investigators in a variety of ways. Most often they perform this role by obtaining Assets (typically with high Influence), while others may assist in recovering health or sanity, granting extra movement, etc.
* All-Rounder - An investigator with well-rounded stats that can quickly adapt to several different roles.