Arkham - Processing Movement and Battle

Newcastle · Post by **Newcastle** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 3:50 pm

i dont midn playing a support toon as well. Or switching to the mobster dude.

The other thing we dont have is a shopper...do we need one of those?

Also, I am ok w/ playing w/ herald...just seems a tougher road to travel...but whatever hte group decides...i will roll with.

bb2112 · Post by **bb2112** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 4:55 pm

Newcastle wrote:i dont midn playing a support toon as well. Or switching to the mobster dude.

The other thing we dont have is a shopper...do we need one of those?

Also, I am ok w/ playing w/ herald...just seems a tougher road to travel...but whatever hte group decides...i will roll with.

I'm too stoopid/ingnorant to be an effective judge of whether we should play the Herald variant or not, so I am going to let Newcastle, Redrun and others that know more than me make that decision. I abstain.

However, that being said, a couple of things come to mind in this instance:

1. We are dealing with a few noobs (me included) so making the game harder may not be in the players best interest the first time around until we get a better base understanding.
2. Remus is the GM. He takes pride in TPK's. People don't believe me when I say he is evil.
3. #1 does not sit well with #2 in my head. But again, I will bow to those with greater knowledge. It will be fun no matter what.

However, I want it noted when I read Redrun's post, it made me think, "Follow me lemmings! Leaping off this cliff is a breeze!"

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:18 pm

I kind of agree with you on the Herald variant, bb2112. I, myself have only played once and making it more difficult may not be the best idea. That being said, I also believe you when you say Remus is evil. If fact, I fear if he doesnt get his measure of blood gaming, then real life people in the Detroit metro area, will start mysteriously disappearing, once again.

Qantaga · Post by **Qantaga** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:24 pm

Oh, my goodness. This turned into a really long day.

Looking through the Investigators now. Will post my choice in an hour or so.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:39 pm

rshetts2 wrote:If fact, I fear if he doesnt get his measure of blood gaming, then real life people in the Detroit metro area, will start mysteriously disappearing, once again.

I prefer to let others share in the glory of my work by letting my art run free when I finish a work so they won't be missing long.

What?

bb2112 · Post by **bb2112** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:43 pm

Remus West wrote:
rshetts2 wrote:If fact, I fear if he doesnt get his measure of blood gaming, then real life people in the Detroit metro area, will start mysteriously disappearing, once again.
I prefer to let others share in the glory of my work by letting my art run free when I finish a work so they won't be missing long.

What?

Did anyone else just get a chill?

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:00 pm

El Guapo wrote:I

Also per his scrounging ability, when I'm drawing from the decks I can draw from either the top or the bottom, and I can always look at the bottom of the deck. As far as I can tell I can use this when I'm drawing my initial item and skill cards, right?

Am I right about this?

Qantaga · Post by **Qantaga** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:09 pm

El Guapo wrote:I'd be willing to switch to Gloria if people want. From her name she also seems likely to be a member of my people, which is a nice bonus.

Heya El Guapo. Do you want to switch to Gloria?

If you don't want Gloria, I'll take her.

I will gladly yield her to you, though, if you want her. I have a couple of other options that I would be just as happy to play.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:29 pm

Qantaga wrote:
El Guapo wrote:I'd be willing to switch to Gloria if people want. From her name she also seems likely to be a member of my people, which is a nice bonus.

Heya El Guapo. Do you want to switch to Gloria?

If you don't want Gloria, I'll take her.

I will gladly yield her to you, though, if you want her. I have a couple of other options that I would be just as happy to play.

You're welcome to have her.

Qantaga · Post by **Qantaga** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:32 pm

Okies. Thanks.

Remus, put me in as Gloria Goldberg.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:52 pm

I guess I'll go with Carolyn Fern.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 1:28 am

El Guapo wrote:
El Guapo wrote:I

Also per his scrounging ability, when I'm drawing from the decks I can draw from either the top or the bottom, and I can always look at the bottom of the deck. As far as I can tell I can use this when I'm drawing my initial item and skill cards, right?
Am I right about this?

Need to check. BRB.

Well, the ability never impacts Skills so no go there. You do get to use it whenever you draw a common or unique item or a spell though so - since I didn't see anything prohibiting it - I would say yes.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:57 am

Is everyone okay with me taking Drake, or do we need some powers somewhere else? Let me know I am not set on the 'ole magician.

bb2112 · Post by **bb2112** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:19 am

Sorry, busy day, otherwise I would do it myself. Can someone put together a quick matrix of the cast of party members at this point? I think we should take a look at it and make sure we are balanced. There seems to be a few of us that would be willing to change characters for the good of the game but are currently in limbo since we don't know where we all stand yet. Thanks in advance!

redrun · Post by **redrun** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:19 am

Newcastle wrote:i dont midn playing a support toon as well. Or switching to the mobster dude.

The other thing we dont have is a shopper...do we need one of those?

Also, I am ok w/ playing w/ herald...just seems a tougher road to travel...but whatever hte group decides...i will roll with.

-- The shopper is a good point. It is useful to have someone with money and/or choices in shopping. Newspaper Retainers are very popular early in the game.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:08 am

The reporter could be good in that he has a retainer and he also has a good encounter ability (the counter-point to Gloria Goldberg's - she gets to choose encounters in the Other Worlds, he gets to choose in Arkham).

Newcastle · Post by **Newcastle** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:37 am

I put their specialities as far as I know next to their names. PLease correct me if i am wrong.

What we have now:

1. El Guapo - Ashcan Pete (melee)
2. Newcastle - Monterey Jack (melee)
3. rshetts2 - Joe Diamond (melee)
4. Qantaga - Gloria Goldberg (otherworlds specialist)
5. RMC - Dexter Drake (caster)
6. bb2112 - Harvey Walters (caster)
7. redrun - Mandy Thompson
8. pyperkub - Carolyn Fern

Newcastle · Post by **Newcastle** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:37 am

I also dont mind switchin to the reporter if thats what we need. I much rather have a well balanced crew than something too heavy one way or another.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:43 am

FWIW Ashcan Pete has a quasi-shopping ability in "scrounging" in that whenever I draw an item or a spell I get to choose from the card on the top of the deck or the card on the bottom of the deck.

bb2112 · Post by **bb2112** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:30 pm

Newcastle wrote:I put their specialities as far as I know next to their names. PLease correct me if i am wrong.

What we have now:

1. El Guapo - Ashcan Pete (melee)
2. Newcastle - Monterey Jack (melee)
3. rshetts2 - Joe Diamond (melee)
4. Qantaga - Gloria Goldberg (otherworlds specialist)
5. RMC - Dexter Drake (caster)
6. bb2112 - Harvey Walters (caster)
7. redrun - Mandy Thompson
8. pyperkub - Carolyn Fern

Thanks! I can also switch to the doctor if you guys feel that is justified.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:37 pm

Im a bit new at this. Is having 3 melee overbalanced? If we need to add something besides melee, Im open to suggestions. I know this is a team game and want to help out as best as possible.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:43 pm

I dunno, but it doesn't seem like 3 melee characters out of 8 is too many, especially since I don't think Mandy or Carolyn are melee oriented.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 2:23 pm

El Guapo wrote:I dunno, but it doesn't seem like 3 melee characters out of 8 is too many, especially since I don't think Mandy or Carolyn are melee oriented.

I've read that Carolyn can be a pretty good caster, but I've never played her, or a caster. I thought that her sanity-restore would be helpful, maybe in working the gates too.

Newcastle · Post by **Newcastle** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 3:49 pm

one thing that concerns me is do we have many experienced AA players? I keep seeing...tons of "I'm a newbie" statements. Be nice to have some vets here, especially since we're entering the danger zone of that exp. pack.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 3:53 pm

Newcastle wrote:one thing that concerns me is do we have many experienced AA players? I keep seeing...tons of "I'm a newbie" statements. Be nice to have some vets here, especially since we're entering the danger zone of that exp. pack.

I'm not using the Herald as I don't have much set up room and that would require another several piles of cards.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 3:54 pm

In my case I understand the rules and roles bit Im completely unfamiliar with the effect of the Herald variant, hence my question regarding group dynamics.

redrun · Post by **redrun** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 5:49 pm

rshetts2 wrote:Im a bit new at this. Is having 3 melee overbalanced? If we need to add something besides melee, Im open to suggestions. I know this is a team game and want to help out as best as possible.

(I've played about 10 games of Arkham). One big danger with eight players (from what I've read, this is my first time playing with eight) is that a monster surge is eight monsters, the board only holds eleven monsters, so any monsters over eleven get sent to the outskirts - where they increase the terror level. We'll want to be making a big effort to keep the number of monsters down. As the terror level goes up, locations in Arkham become unavailable.

Mandy Thompson: Starts with four clues (so can hopefully get a fifth and start a quick gate closing/seal). Also, once per turn can allow a player to reroll dice - while with eight players this might a bit watered down, it still means that for the critical action of the turn she can allow a second chance of making it.

I don't think there is any perfect set of sleuths for the game. Having some good melee is important (IMO, even more important with eight players), however as long as we balance things out I don't think there is any sleuth we must have/omit to win. If folks have a preference for a sleuth they should say so - it appears to me that there are several of us who don't have a big preference and are willing to switch around if needed.

Oh, one more thing. For some reason, on each monster card, they put a picture of Remus. Different angles, but they all look just like him (well, to be fair, the photographer did pretty up the pictures somewhat).

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:13 pm

redrun wrote:One big danger with eight players (from what I've read, this is my first time playing with eight) is that a monster surge is eight monsters, the board only holds eleven monsters, so any monsters over eleven get sent to the outskirts - where they increase the terror level. We'll want to be making a big effort to keep the number of monsters down. As the terror level goes up, locations in Arkham become unavailable.

From DA RULEZ:

If the terror level reaches 3, place a closed marker on the General Store. It is closed for the rest of the game and no one may enter that location. Immediately move any investigators and monsters currently at the General Store to the Rivertown street area.

If the terror level reaches 6, place a closed marker on the Curiositie Shoppe. It is closed for the rest of the game and no one may enter that location. Immediately move any investigator or monster currently at The Curiositie Shoppe to the Northside street area.

If the terror level reaches 9, place a closed marker on Ye Olde Magick Shoppe. It is closed for the rest of the game and no one may enter that location. Immediately move any investigator or monster currently at Ye Olde Magick Shoppe to the Uptown street area.

“Look at All the Monsters.”
If the terror level reaches 10, the town of Arkham is overrun by monsters and the monster limit is completely removed from the game. There is no longer any limit on the number of monsters that can rampage through town.

So if you want something from the General Store, get it early.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:31 pm

And if a bunch of monsters show up with the same symbol, let's focus on that gate. If your sanity is low, sing out, and stay in range, because I can talk you through your fears.

Also, with our Old One, it looks like we're going to need a lot of monster trophies.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 12:16 pm

So are we all settled on investigators? Seems like we have a good team.

Newcastle · Post by **Newcastle** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 1:40 pm

actually....do we need a "shopper"? and do we need a healer?

like say the salesman or dilletante? what are your guys thoughts? I am not even sure what they would provide...except access to items. I assume they would simply camp the general store.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 1:44 pm

I'll get stuff going later today. Meant to do it yesterday and just got caught up in a lot of stuff (I actually went out and had fun instead, sorry).

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 1:51 pm

just throwing this out there so people are aware: Be advised that our ancient one has physical immunity.

Physical Immunity is a monster special ability.[1] A Weapon or Spell that adds a physical bonus provides none of its normal bonus against monsters with physical immunity.
Example: Using a Tommy Gun (normally a +6 Physical bonus) against a monster with Physical Immunity gives a +0 bonus.

That means our melee will be far less effective in the final battle unless there is some form of non physical damage they can deal.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 1:55 pm

Newcastle wrote:actually....do we need a "shopper"? and do we need a healer?

like say the salesman or dilletante? what are your guys thoughts? I am not even sure what they would provide...except access to items. I assume they would simply camp the general store.

When I've played, it's usually Jenny Barnes, Dilletante. I camp at the Curiosity Shoppe and burn through money looking for Elder Signs to hand off.

Newcastle · Post by **Newcastle** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 2:03 pm

REMUS-
switching to Jenny Barnes...the dillettante then...also partially due to the monster being physical resistant...

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 2:16 pm

I start with $7 and I'm near the bank for a possible loan. I think we'll still need the melee for getting monster trophies, as any investigator without one when the old one appears is instant toast.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 2:17 pm

Or we could go all in to try to prevent the Old One from appearing to begin with.

I think people should just play whatever investigator they like thematically, and let the chips fall where they may. Which may be in the maw of an ancient creature beyond our understanding, but what can you do.

bb2112 · Post by **bb2112** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 2:37 pm

El Guapo wrote:I think people should just play whatever investigator they like thematically, and let the chips fall where they may. Which may be in the maw of an ancient creature beyond our understanding, but what can you do.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:01 pm

Setup begun. Please set you sliders. I need Ashcan Pete to make his choices on his items before finishing setup and beginning the first turn.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:06 pm

Speed/Sneak: 4/2
Fight/Will: 2/2
Lore/Luck:3/2

Starting sliders...