Saturday, November 17, 2012

Headline:  "You're drunk, Cthulhu, go home."

Ancient One
Cthulhu

Investigators
Luke Robinson, the Dreamer - Susan
Patrice Hathaway, the Violinist - Rachelle

Silas Marsh, the Sailor - Rob
Rex Murphy, the Reporter - Denis

Tony Morgan, the Bounty Hunter - Justin

Dexter Drake, the Magician - Heather

Wendy Adams, the Urchin - Chris

Akachi Onyele, the Shaman - Robbi

End of Game
We sealed 6 gates, and Cthulhu's doom track was filled 9/13

House Rules/Game Setup
Chris specifically chose Cthulhu, since he is new to the game. Seeing as we'd probably lose, we each picked our own Investigator out of the whole lot.  Our strategy: close and seal gates.  Use Patrice's ability to give clues to others and Wendy's starting Elder Sign to that end.

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow (we use the new cards from this, but we never have actually had the 'play' enter play)
Kingsport Horror (we left out Heralds and Guardians)
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Miskatonic Horror

Highlights
* During the first turn, we missed out on getting 3 allies through Arkham encounters!  (Rob, Denis, Chris)  Finally, Rachelle got an ally through an encounter a little bit later on (her first ever ally).

*  Silas had a dream that he went to the administration building and tried to sell them a photograph.  (a Kingsport encounter sent him to the Dreamlands for 1 encounter, which sent him to the Administration Building for an encounter)

*  Denis:  "Dexter doesn't suck as much as expected."  Dexter kicked some monster butt!

*  Patrice had been giving Akachi clues to avoid losing all of her stamina, and after 2 fails in a row exclaimed "Roll better!"  Immediately afterward, Akachi got a success.

*  Rob draws 5 Innsmouth Looks cards and comes out Blessed!
*  Denis tries to get Rex un-Cursed by hanging out at the church, which doesn't end up working out (Luke un-Curses him with a gate trophy).  Later on, Rex gets Blessed, but he loses the Blessing soon afterwards.
*  We voted on whether or not to let a rumor trip - "World Torn Asunder" (again?!).  We decided as a group to solve it, even though it meant that no one would become Deputy of Arkham in the end.  In hindsight, it was a good decision. (Rob says, as he reads what , "I think we would have been okay the other way, too... We would have had more trophies and more bad-ass people.")
*  Patrice gave people lots of clues - very helpful/"inspiring".
*  Silas kept Kingsport's rifts and Innsmouth's monsters under control - very important, and enabled other investigators to focus on closing and sealing gates.  He also had a few special moments with Gladys Pickman of Kingsport.
*  Dexter kicked monster booty.
*  Luke sealed 2/6 gates.
*  The street rat and magician proved helpful additions to the game.  Who knew?

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Headline:  "Call Hastur, Maybe?"

Ancient One
Hastur

Investigators
Leo Anderson, the Expedition Leader - Susan
Zoey Samaras, the Chef - Robbi
Agnes Baker, the Waitress - Justin
Harvey Walters, the Professor - Rob

End of Game
Harvey used the "Call Ancient One" spell to awaken Hastur when he only had half of the doom track filled.
Then we kicked Hastur's ass.

House Rules/Game Setup
Justin randomly chose Hastur. Then we shuffled and dealt 3 investigators to every player. We discussed strategy, then selected 1 investigator each. Our strategy: control the # of monsters in Arkham (keep the terror track down), increase your luck with allies, spells, & unique items, gain many magical weapons, and fight him.

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow (we use the new cards from this, but we never have actually had the 'play' enter play)
Kingsport Horror (we left out Heralds and Guardians)
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Highlights
* Robbi got rid of a rumor by discarding a Blessing and a Skill @ Misk U: the "World Torn Asunder" rumor
* Rob quote: "Susan makes more retroactive decisions than Romney."
* Harvey has a really slow speed and never really leaves the administrative building @ Misk U, except when he went to the Dreamlands and got a clue. (or just fell asleep?)
* Leo keeps hanging out at the newspaper (hoping to get a job and buy unique items). But he spills ink and gets annoyed that his book reading keeps getting interrupted.
* After kicking major ass, Harvey uses the spell "Call Ancient One."

Justin's storytelling of the game:

It was a warm September afternoon in late 1931. Professor Harvey Walters leaned back in his wooden rolling chair in the 
great empty wooden lecture hall at Miskatonic University. He had been looking up references regarding the latest trend that 
was enthralling the city: a new play known as the King in Yellow. Other than some uninformative but enthusiastic reviews, it seemed
that no one knew of who its author was nor even the publisher. Truly a curiousity.

It would be several hours before the first class of the semester. So Professor Walters decided to open the book and begin 
reading. The first scene was almost entirely unremarkable except that it had a mesmerizing meter to it. Between that and the 
warm stuffiness of the lecture hall, the professor felt his eyes getting heavy. The play took a turn toward the fantastic with 
one of the characters singing,

"Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa"

The professor closed his eyes a moment, imagining such a place. He moved his glasses down his nose and pressed on his itchy eyes.
Sparks of green relief swirled around the image of a beach on a distant planet. He felt as though he were slowly sinking backward and smiled as the dream overtook him,
never noticing the glowing green portal that had formed in the floor beneath his chair, tipping him back into the great unknown.

--

"Hastur!," shouted Zoey Samras, her cleaver neatly slicing an onion. The rest of the kitchen staff stared at her.
She had occasionally had these outbursts since she was a little girl. She knew that it was God talking to her. Her
father insisted that it was just a way to scare away husbands. That's how she became a chef.

"What did I say?" she demanded of the line cook.  "You said 'Hastur', ma'am."  
She shoved an onion wedge in his mouth. "You watch your mouth!". She dried her hands on a towel. "Mind the stew, there's something I need to take care of."

--

"Are you sure?," growled the weather-beaten face of Leo Anderson as he stabbed the remains of some meatloaf. 

"Quite sure," snapped Zoey, poking at her tuna melt. Her tone was irritated but her eyes were darting around the diner like some terrified woodland prey.
"Something horribly wicked is coming this way and we will need the very grace of God to stop it!"

Leo snarled. He wasn't a particularly religious man. Especially not since his last trip to the Yucatan, which he drank 
heavily to forget. What he found there were portents that the end of the world was coming in September. Had it not been 
for the ghastly things he saw, things that murdered his fellow expedition mates, he would have called Zoey crazy and have been
done with it. Instead he took her with the utmost seriousness.

"I'll let the others know. Stay out of trouble!"  He grabbed his hat and headed out the door.

--

Agnes Baker collected the tip, such that it was, and watched Zoey leave out the door to Velma's Diner. Her sixth sense,
as she was coming to call it since reading up on her heritage, was informing her that this was not just some idle talk amongst townsfolk.
She jotted some notes on her order pad and glanced at the electric clock on the wall. Her shift would be over in an hour.

Agnes had recently discovered her heritage as a witch while changing a light bulb not long ago. She paid a week and a half's wages
for some moldy old book on the occult which supposedly told how to cast a spell of withering. It looked simple enough.

She caught a toad and tried the spell on it, mortally embarrassed to even be attempting it. When the creature shrivelled to the size of a prune she knew
she felt a burning need to know more about her past lives. She was sure that's what was calling her. It was herself from eons long ago. 

Whatever Leo and Zoey were talking about was connected to something that killed her before. She knew she had to be careful though. 
The last thing she needed was to alert the evil of her presence. Or worse, to burn at the stake if some zealot like Zoey found out about her powers.

As her shift ended, Agnes collected her time card and purse. Where would one even look for information about something like this, she wondered.
At a bar, she reasoned. She said good night to her coworkers and headed out to Hibbs Roadhouse.

--

Zoey made the sign of the cross on the altar at the South Church. Father Michael read aloud a prayer and blessed her.
Her visions worsened since coming over from the diner. Whatever it was came from beyond space and time. It thrived on terror.
She felt that's what its goal was, it was going to seduce the city into some maddening terror somehow. She wished she knew how she even knew that.

The priest finished his benediction and she clutched at her cross, reluctantly rising from the altar.
There was only one way to get these godless liberals of Massachusetts to listen and it was going to take drastic measures to get their attention.
 
--

Professor Walters stared at the magnificent terrain. Sheer plateaus of red rock towered above him with streams of almost purple
water streaming off its edges. An enormous ringed moon hung in the greenish afternoon sky. Some kind of winged reptile flew in the distance.

Despite the arid climate he felt comfortable and almost weightless. It was quite pleasant. He continued on a path through the wilderness until he
turned a corner and happened on a monstrous winged bug -- it looked almost like a crab with housefly wings made out of fungus. It was clawing at a book.

The Professor felt the urge to kill the horrible thing, and looked around for a weapon. He wished for a gun and was puzzled to feel a sudden weight inside his jacket.
He reached inside and pulled out a pistol. He took aim and fired at the creature, who shrieked in surprise. He fired again and it slumped over.

He picked up the book it was clawing at. It had a strange yellow symbol, like three question marks around a point. He flipped open to the first page but heard a tearing sound.
The bug's skin swelled and pulsed at a mound on its back. The professor stood horrified as the hump split open to reveal the hilt of a sword.

He carefully reached out and grabbed at it, using his foot to draw the blade out of the carcass. He shook his head at the sight and continued on the strange path.

--

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Headline: "TEAMWORK and Good Luck Save Us All!"

Ancient One

Atlach-Nacha

Investigators
Leo Anderson, the Expedition Leader - Susan (chosen because he's good all-around, and helpful)
Luke Robinson, the Dreamer - Susan (chosen so we could have someone go to Other Worlds)
Lola Hayes, the Actress - Rob (chosen for skills)
Silas Marsh, the Sailor - Rob (chosen for mobility)

End of Game
We fought Atlach-Nacha, and he ate all but 3 of our allies (we had 8 total).  We kicked butt.  In 3 hours.

Of particular help in the end fight:  

• Luke used the Library Use skill and Storm of Spirits spell, along with some help from Prof. Armitage (so much for your Magical Resistance, Atlach-Nacha!).  He didn't fight much in the game, and pretty much went wherever Lola went, but in the end, the dreamer was one of the best fighters - because he used his Lore instead of his Fight.
• Lola had mad skillz.
• Silas had  Richard Upton Pickman (so much for your Physical Resistance, Atlach-Nacha!)
• Leo had lots of tasty allies.

House Rules/Game Setup
It had been a while since we played, so I suggested that we choose our favorite Investigators, without knowing who the Ancient One would be.  Then I shuffled the A.O.s, fanned them out, and Rob chose one at random.  Our strategy, once we chose Atlach-Nacha:  gain allies and fight him.

Expansions in play

Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow (we use the new cards from this, but we never have actually had the 'play' enter play)
Kingsport Horror - we left out Heralds and Guardians
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Highlights

* We had a nice day and a tasty dessert before the game, so we were feeling good and the game was surprisingly kind to us.

* We started with a good number of weapons between the 4 Investigators - nothing huge, but a good amount.

* Lola "Called a Friend," Luke, to her underwear - I mean, the Underworld.  Since Luke had the Gate Box, he could be called to an other world and return through any gate.  We almost closed all of the gates at one point.  Due to all of the closed gates, it was easy to buy allies.

* Leo used clues in order to defeat a Yithian monster.  I expressed that it was a funny/lame way to win, and Rob said, "Leo read a book that said 'if you ever meet a Yithian, kick it in the knee cap.'"

* Leo gained an ally at the start (Duke), and at least one or two more in encounters.  For example, in Independence Square, he helped someone fight a Child of the Goat that popped up (shwing!), then rolled the success from combat to get an ally.  

* Silas is an "able seaman," so any female investigators in his area gain pregnancy and lose movement.  (Actual special ability:  "Movement: When in an Aquatic location, Silas may pay 2 movement points to move to any other aquatic location. Silas also gains a +2 bonus to all skill checks in aquatic locations.")

* Leo had a Carcosan Page, who delivered stuff and helped people share.  Good job, expedition leader.

* It's worth noting again that the Library Use skill + Storm of Spirits spell = awesome.

Saturday, January 28, 2012 ...later

Headline: "How 'Bout Nyarlathotep?  He's Always Fun." - Rob

Ancient One

Nyarlathotep

Investigators
Roland Banks, the Fed - Susan
Lola Hayes, the Actress - Rob
Hank Samson, the Farmhand - Robbilee
Luke Robinson, the Dreamer - Denis


End of Game
We won!

I'm pretty sure we ended up fighting the A.O.  We assumed that with a short doom track, we'd have to fight him, and then the game ended up giving us Mythos cards that didn't add doom tokens.

House Rules/Game Setup
See the post headline for how we chose the A.O.

We were dealt random investigators and chose one from the 4 we were dealt, since we chose the A.O. specifically.  We found it amusing how we went from a "smartypants" theme (see the game we played before this) to the ones we were dealt.  It seemed that there was a theme to the 4 we each got, and that each set of characters would make an interesting movie:

Susan got an action movie:  Fed, Private Eye, Gangster, Bounty Hunter

Rob got a romantic comedy:  Bootlegger, Dilettante, Actress, Scientist

Robbi got a documentary, or possibly gay porn:  Farmhand, Astronomer, Doctor, Magician

Denis got a Russian Soviet-era independent film:  Gravedigger, Handyman, Dreamer, Spy

Expansions in play

Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow (we use the new cards from this, but we never have actually had the 'play' enter play)
Kingsport Horror - we left out Heralds and Guardians
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Highlights

* Roland couldn't get past a warlock.

* Roland's encounter in The Dreamlands:  Space 1 - gained 2 sanity, space 2 - went to the Hospital and gained 4 stamina.

* Roland escapes devouring several times, two of which were in a row.

* We constantly got Mythos cards that had a gate opening at the Unnameable and a clue appearing at the Woods.  Again, several times in a row.

* Hank's encounter in the Other World:  "You inadvertently summon the Haunter of the Dark to carry you through the void.  You must lose sanity equal to your current stamina, or stamina equal to your current sanity, but gain 2 clue tokens for each monster in the sky."

* With 2 doom tokens needed to fill the doom track, we assumed the game would be over any time.  "There's no time to seal gates!" ...2 hours and at least 10 turns later, we won.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Headline: "Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here"

Ancient One
Yibb-Tstll  ♀ 

Investigators
George Barnaby, the Lawyer - Susan
Monterey Jack, the Archaeologist - Rob
Norman Withers, the Astronomer - Robbilee
Mandy Thompson, the Researcher - Denis

End of Game
We abandoned the game at 6 out of 11 doom tokens, with no gates closed or sealed in 1 hour of play.  Two rumors came out (one at a time), and there were plenty of clues for Yibb-Tstll to use against us.  However, there was no way to pick up the clues, due to the mummies in our environment (see below).

House Rules/Game Setup
Other possible headlines: 
"A Bunch of Brains Can't Save You!" (lawyer, archaeologist, astronomer, researcher)
"This Game Continues to Suck." - Rob
"Yibb's Secret Band of Mummies Keep Investigators from Fighting Back" (get it? "band"? lol...)

We most likely chose an Ancient One at random, but it's possible that Denis chose this one, since he hadn't played in a while.

Investigators were most likely chosen from 4 possible randomly dealt investigators, after finding out the Ancient One's abilities and discussing winning tactics.

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow (we use the new cards from this, but we never have actually had the 'play' enter play)
Kingsport Horror - we left out Heralds and Guardians
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Highlights
* The game began in a promising way, with unique items and skills during Arkham encounters.
* Rob toasts and shows off an actual glass of whiskey:  "I'm preventing sanity loss."
* Mummies are worse than rumors!  Due to a "clothing drive," we could barely move for 3 full rounds at the beginning of the game.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Headline: "i think we did alright..." - suz, 7 months later

Ancient One
Bokrug & his beings of IB

Investigators
Skids O'Toole, the Ex-Con - Susan
Silas Marsh, the Sailor - Rob
Tommy Muldoon, the Rookie Cop - Bryan
Ursula Downs, the Explorer - Robbilee
Rita Young, the Athlete - Rachelle
Lola Hayes, the Actress - Justin

End of Game
This is being posted significantly after-the-fact, and I don't remember. Maybe Justin remembers and will comment.

House Rules/Game Setup
Again, I do not recall, but I vaguely remember that we played because "hey! Halloween is tomorrow! we should totally play Arkham Horror!"

So we might have gone through and chosen an Ancient One that we had not used very often. There were a bunch of them that were new from the latest expansion that we hadn't used yet. If someone remembers better, please let me know.

Investigators were most likely chosen from 4 possible randomly dealt investigators, after finding out the Ancient One's abilities and discussing winning tactics.

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow (we use the new cards from this, but we never have actually had the 'play' enter play)
Kingsport Horror - we left out Heralds and Guardians
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Highlights
This is all that I wrote:
"Robbi bought lots of stuff. That's pretty exciting." - Rob