Overview
Dimensional gates have begun springing up in Arkham and unspeakable horrors are emerging from them. If too many gates open the fabric of our dimension will be ripped open and a Great Old One will emerge to lay waste to the world. The only thing standing in the way of this happening are the six of you. You must attempt to close the gates and, hopefully, keep the monster population in check at the same time. If you manage to close all of the gates then the world will be safe again. If you fail then you will face off against the Great Old One in a last stand against utter destruction.
Final Game Board
(click to embigify)
Gate Count: 0 Monster Count: 6 Terror Track: 1 Doom Track: 8 of 11 Gate Trophy Total: 8
Great Old One
Spoiler:
Players and Characters
Player 1: Isgrimnur "Carolyn Fern, the Psychologist"
Spoiler:
Sanity:3 of 6 Stamina:1 of 4 Gate Trophies: 1 Monster Trophies:
Maniac: 1 point Money: 1$ Clues: 0 Skills: Luck +1, add one bonus die whenever spending a clue token to augment a luck roll Common Items: Food: Discard food to reduce any stamina loss by 1 Rifle: (2 hands, physical weapon) +5 to combat checks Unique Items:
None Spells:
None Current Stats: Speed: 3 Sneak: 0 Fight: 3 Will: 2 Lore: 5 Luck: 2 (+1)
Player 2: Scoop20906 "Bob Jenkins, the Salesman"
Spoiler:
Sanity: 4 of 4 Stamina: 6 of 6 Gate Trophies: 1 Monster Trophies:
Dimensional Shambler; 1 point
Ghoul; 1 point Money: 1$ Clues: 4 Skills: Stealth: Exhaust to reroll an evade check Common Items: .38 Revolver: (1 hand, physical weapon) +3 to combat checks Ancient Tome: On movement phase, exhaust and spend 2 movement to make a Lore-1 check. Success: Discard tome and draw a spell. Fail: No result Unique Items: Flute of the Outer Gods
lose 3 sanity and three stamina and discard flute to defeat all monsters in your current area. Does not work against great old ones. Enchanted Blade: (1 hand, magical weapon) +4 to combat checks Obsidian Statue: Discard to cancel all Stamina or Sanity loss being dealt to you from one source Spells: Mists of Releh: (Casting modifier: special, Sanity 0) Cast and exhaust to pass an evade check. Casting modifier is equal to the monster's awareness. Current Stats: Speed: 2 Sneak: 3 Fight: 4 Will: 3 Lore: 2 Luck: 2
Player 3: Remus West "Harvey Walters, the Professor"
Spoiler:
Sanity: 5 of 7
Stamina: 3 0f 3 Gate Trophies: 1 Monster Trophies:
Formless Spawn: 2 points Money: 0$ Clues: 3 Skills: Bravery: Exhaust to reroll a horror check Common Items: Map of Arkham: Exhaust to gain 1 movement point. Unique Items: Powder of Ibn-Ghazi: (2 hands, magical weapon) Discard and lose 1 Sanity for +9 to combat check Sword of Glory: (2 hands, Magical Weapon) +6 to combat checks Warding Statue: Discard after failing a combat check to reduce the damage to 0 stamina. May also be used to cancel a Great Old One's attack for an entire turn (!) Spells: Voice of Ra: (casting modifier -1, sanity -1) During upkeep, cast and exhaust to gain +1 to all skill checks for the rest of the turn Storm of Spirits: (2 hands, casting modifier -1, sanity 0) Cast and exhaust to gain +3 to combat checks and to use Lore instead of Fight to make the check until the end of combat Current Stats: Speed: 1 Sneak: 4 Fight: 0 Will: 3 Lore: 5 Luck: 2
Player 4: Lars "Michael McGlen, the Gangster"
Spoiler:
Sanity: 3 of 3 Stamina: 7 of 7 Monster trophies:
Zombie; 1 point Money: 6$ Clues: 1 Skills: Fight: +1 Fight. When you spend a clue token to add to a fight check add one extra bonus die Common Items: Tommy Gun: (2 hands, physical weapon) +6 to combat checks Axe: (1 hand, physical weapon) +2 to combat checks. (+3 if other hand is empty) Unique Items: Gate Box When you return to Arkham from an Other World, you may return to any location with an open gate and gain explored status for that gate. Spells:
None Special Retainer: + $2 per upkeep phase. Chance of loss during Upkeep Phase) Current Stats: Speed: 3 Sneak: 3 Fight: 3 (+1) Will: 4 Lore: 0 Luck: 3
Player 5: DocD "Dexter Drake, the Magician"
Spoiler:
Sanity:2 of 5 Stamina: 5 of 5 Gate Trophies: 1 Money: 0$ Clues: 0 Skills: Stealth: Exhaust to reroll an evade check Common Items: .45 Automatic: 1 hand, +4 to combat checks Unique Items: Cultes Des Goules: (Tome) On movement phase, exhaust and spend 2 movement points to make a Lore-2 check. Pass: Draw 1 spell, gain 1 clue, lose 2 sanity and discard. Fail: no result Nameless Cults: Exhaust and spend 1 movement point to make a lore -1 check. Pass: Discard and draw 1 spell, lose 1 sanity. Fail: No result Spells: Shrivelling: ( 1 hand, casting modifier -1, sanity -1) cast and exhaust for +6 to combat checks until the end of this combat Voice of Ra: (casting modifier -1, sanity -1) During upkeep, cast and exhaust to gain +1 to all skill checks for the rest of the turn Find Gate: (casting modifier -1, sanity -1) On movement phase cast and exhaust to immediately return to Arkham from an Other World. You will get credit for having explored the Other World and have the opportunity to close the gate Flesh Ward: (casting modifier -2, Sanity -1) Cast and exhaust to ignore all stamina loss being dealt to you from one source. Discard this spell when the great old one awakens Current Stats: Speed: 3 Sneak: 3 Fight: 1 Will: 3 Lore: 5 Luck: 0
Player 6: Chaosraven "Vincent Lee, the Doctor"
Spoiler:
Sanity:3 0f 5 Stamina:4 of 5 Money: 5$ Clues: 0 Gate Trophies: 2 Monster Trophies:
Chthonian: 3 points Skills: Marksman: Exhaust to reroll a combat check Common Items: Tommy Gun: (2 hands, physical weapon) +6 to combat checks Unique Items:
none Spells: Find Gate: (casting modifier -1, sanity -1) On movement phase cast and exhaust to immediately return to Arkham from an Other World. You will get credit for having explored the Other World and have the opportunity to close the gate Wither: (1 hand, casting modifier 0, sanity 0) Cast and exhaust to gain +3 to combat checks until the end of this combat) Current Stats: Speed: 3 Sneak: 2 Fight: 0 Will: 4 Lore: 4 Luck: 2
Player 7: Stessier "Sister Mary, the Nun"
Spoiler:
Sanity:2 of 7 Stamina: 3 of 3 Gate Trophies: 1 Money: 8$ Clues: 0 Skills: Fight: +1 Fight. When you spend a clue token to add to a fight check add one extra bonus die Common Items: Rifle: (2 hands, physical weapon) + 5 to combat checks Unique Items: Cabala of Saboth: exhaust and spend 2 movement points to make a lore-2 check. Pass: draw 1 skill and discard Cabala. Fail: no result Spells: Red sign of Shudde M'ell (1 hand, Casting modifier -1, Sanity -1) Cast and exhaust to lower a monster's toughness by 1 and ignore one special ability (other than magical immunity) Shrivelling: (1 hand, casting modifier -1, sanity -1) cast and exhaust for +6 to combat checks until the end of this combat Mists of Releh: (Casting modifier: special, Sanity 0) Cast and exhaust to pass an evade check. Casting modifier is equal to the monster's awareness. Special Retainer: + $2 per upkeep phase. Chance of loss during Upkeep Phase) Current Stats: Speed: 4 Sneak: 1 Fight: 2(+1) Will: 2 Lore: 2 Luck: 5
Player 8: Semaj "Monterey Jack, the Archaeologist"
Spoiler:
Sanity:2 of 3 Stamina:6 of 7 Monster Trophies:
Byakhee; 1 point
Nightgaunt; 2 points Gate Trophies: 1 Money: 11$ Clues: 1 Skills: Speed: +1 Speed. Add an extra bonus die when spending clue tokens on a speed check. Common Items: Bullwhip: (1 hand, physical weapon) +1 to combat check. Exhaust to reroll 1 die after making a combat check .38 Revolver: (1 hand, physical weapon) +3 to combat checks .45 Automatic: (1 hand, physical weapon) +4 to combat checks Motorcycle: Exhaust to gain 2 movement points Unique Items: Lamp of Alhazred: (2 hands, magical weapon) +5 to combat checks Ruby of R'lyeh: You get 3 extra movement points Pallid mask: +2 to evade checks Spells: Wither: (1 hand, casting modifier 0, sanity 0) Cast and exhaust to gain +3 to combat checks until the end of this combat) Special Retainer: + $2 per upkeep phase. Chance of loss during Upkeep Phase) Current Stats: Speed: 2 (+1)(+3 Move) Sneak: 2 Fight: 2 Will: 3 Lore: 3 Luck: 3
-There can be a maximum of 5 gates open at a time. If there are 5 gates open and another one tries to open then the Old One will awaken.
-The monster limit is 11. Any monsters in excess of 11 go to the Outskirts and go towards raising the terror level. However, the Outskirts limit is zero. In other words, each monster over the limit of 11 causes the terror level to go up a point. If the number of monsters on the board manages to hit 22 then the Old One awakens
-Whenever a new gate opens on an unstable, unsealed location it spawns two monsters instead of one.
-Considering that the maximum number of allowable gates is less than the number of players, monster surges will spawn 8 monsters (equal to number of players). This is definitely something to keep in mind as if there are already 3 or more monsters on the board this is going to cause the terror level to increase, possibly quite significantly
Last edited by Gryndyl on Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:01 pm, edited 90 times in total.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken
I must be seventh on that list... Who do I kill to make 6th? (a la Amy the Cheerleader, Buffy)...
"Where are you off to?"
"I don't know," Snufkin replied.
The door shut again and Snufkin entered his forest, with a hundred miles of silence ahead of him.
stessier wrote:I am intrigued, but it's gonna take me a while to get through those rules. When were you thinking of starting?
Pretty quick. Don't worry too much about total rules comprehension-I'm handling most of that behind the scenes and will cheerfully give any info needed as we go along.
stessier wrote:Take Chaos first and if there's still room, I'll jump in. I'm only on Page 5, but it sounds neat.
i don't want to steal your spot d00d, it really is pretty simple to play
"Where are you off to?"
"I don't know," Snufkin replied.
The door shut again and Snufkin entered his forest, with a hundred miles of silence ahead of him.
"Where are you off to?"
"I don't know," Snufkin replied.
The door shut again and Snufkin entered his forest, with a hundred miles of silence ahead of him.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken
All character info is posted under the spoiler tag by your name in the first post. This is where all character info is going to be kept and adjusted as the game progresses. You are free to look at each others characters and gear, the spoiler tag is just to keep things tidy.
I've done the equipment draws for the characters that have been selected so far. Naturally, some odd draws came up I'd be leery of that doctor...
We are going to go ahead and be insane and do an 8 player game due to demand So we're also waiting for confirmation from an 8th player as I move down the sign-up list.
Also, if you've already selected your character, feel free to let me know your initial stat settings (or wait until you see the initial board set-up). For new players: If you look at the character sheets you'll notice that the stats are paired off at the bottom. You'll need to select the grouping for each pair. We'll use Isgrimur's character as an example. If he wants Carolyn's speed to be 2, then Carolyn's sneak will then be set at 1. If he wants a fight of 3 then will is going to be 2.
Each character has a Focus number listed on the card. This is how many spaces you can adjust your stats on each upkeep phase. Carolyn has a focus of 2, meaning that, for example, on her first upkeep phase she could adjust her speed to 0, giving her a sneak of 3. Or she could adjust to speed 1/sneak 2 and fight 4/will 1, etc.
Last edited by Gryndyl on Tue May 18, 2010 10:39 am, edited 6 times in total.
Well it's no TARDIS and sonic screwdriver, but it will have to suffice
"Where are you off to?"
"I don't know," Snufkin replied.
The door shut again and Snufkin entered his forest, with a hundred miles of silence ahead of him.
For those of you who have not played before, check out the board to figure out a couple of moves ahead... Then set your starting stats appropriately based on your plan.
"Where are you off to?"
"I don't know," Snufkin replied.
The door shut again and Snufkin entered his forest, with a hundred miles of silence ahead of him.
I'll take Michael McGlen. I've never got to play as him before; I have a friend that is a gangster/mob fanatic, and always takes him every game. Now's my big chance!
Oooooh. You'll look good in a habit. You sexy beast.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken
Ok, all the details and equipment for the characters selected so far is up. DocD and Scoop have equipment decisions to make-details on their respective characters.
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” - H.L. Mencken
stessier wrote:What type of check is Luck generally used for? I just finished the rules, but I'm having trouble finding that one.
Page 12, lower left corner
"Luck: Used to determine the whims of chance. It is the most common skill used in encounters."
Page 13 has an example in the first and second columns.
Ahhh, okay. So beyond the specific skill checks (Evade, Horror, Combat, & Spell), an encounter frequently calls for a Luck check as well. Is that correct?
Since my Focus is only a 1, maybe it is better to start on
Lore: 2
Luck: 5
That should give me good odds in the randomness category, but still let me roll for my spell if something goes horribly wrong and I actually get into combat.
Luck rolls usually come up as part of encounters for situations that don't fall under the other skills. It comes up reasonably often and being able to make the roll when it does usually nets a pretty decent reward.
essentially you move somewhere, do something, and have an encounter. having a low focus means you don't adjust quickly to changing board conditions (the MONSTERS)
"Where are you off to?"
"I don't know," Snufkin replied.
The door shut again and Snufkin entered his forest, with a hundred miles of silence ahead of him.
A mysterious Man in Black has appeared in the streets of French Hill.
Investigators who end their movement in the streets of French Hill may deal with the Man in Black to gain power. Investigators doing so roll dice equal to their current Sanity. For every failed die they will lose 1 Sanity. If this reduces them to 0 they are DEVOURED (character is perma-killed and you'll need to start from scratch with a new one). A success gains you a clue token and a spell. The Man in Black is represented on the gameboard by the red square with the black figure in it.
A gate has opened in The Witch House. A shoggoth oozes forth from it followed by a zombie who shambles its way into the French Hill streets...perhaps to speak with the Man in Black?
Turn 1 Move order:
Isgrimnur
Scoop 20906
Remus West
Lars
DocD
Chaosraven
Stessier
Semaj
GM commentary:
I quite like that in a game with Nyarlathotep as the Great Old One that the Man in Black (an aspect of Nyarlathotep) decided to show up at the start of the game. Offering Investigators a chance to risk their minds in order to gain an inkling of power to resist him? That is SO Nyarlathotep
Last edited by Gryndyl on Wed May 19, 2010 2:10 am, edited 7 times in total.
stessier wrote:Could you use the Big Image tag on the boards?
I was left out of the move order - between Chaos and Semaj.
Anyone have a suggestion on where I should head? I have no money to buy spells or anything.
Fixed.
As a general rule of thumb, the beginning of the game is a good time to start trying to collect as many clues as possible. Clues can be used to seal gates and will also be vital should Nyarlathotep awaken. Another good option is always to jump right on top of doing some monster control.
You may also wish to try and improve your money situation. An encounter at the Newspaper has a chance of netting you a Retainer which will provide you with an income each turn.
I'm willing to push it to 7
