Saturday, December 31, 2016

Headline:  "I've never had this much money in this game" or "Amanda Sharpe, anime folk hero!"

Ancient One

Atlach-Nacha - looks the most like Trump!

Investigators 

Patrice Hathaway, the Violinist - Suz (In honor of Rachelle, who is too sick to play :(  )
Amanda Sharpe "The Co-ed", the Student - Rob
Joe Diamond, the Private Investigator ("And in this one, he's a little crooked") - Justin

End of Game

We beat the AO!  It took a very long time for him to awaken.  We only attacked twice, and he attacked us only once, taking an Ally.

House Rules/Game Setup
New setup on the table!  I'll try to post a picture.

AO specifically chosen because he looks like Trump.
Herald, Guardian, and Institution all chosen to suit the President-Elect.

We chose any investigator we wanted, out of all investigators.  
We think we'll end up fighting him, since sealing gates will be too difficult.  Justin holds out hope that we can close all of the gates.

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow
Kingsport Horror
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror
The Lurker at the Threshold

Heralds, Guardians, and Institutions

Chosen to align most closely with the impending Trump administration:

Herald:  Father Dagon (fishy, untrustworthy, and has "plans in motion" - "the Putin of the spirit world," according to Justin)
Institution:  Organized Crime (duh)
Guardian:  Hypnos (is this all a bad dream?)

Highlights

  *  Roll to see who'd go first:  1-Rob, 2-Suz, 3-Justin
  *  Patrice and Amanda go shopping at the Curiositie Shoppe because their personal stories both require them to draw Unique Items (Patrice - 2, Amanda - 3)
  *  We are all doing very well with money (thank you, Organized Crime)
  *  Patrice ends the game with 27 clue tokens.  She gives them all to Amanda, who grapples the AO and empties her shotgun into it.
  *  We were in Other Worlds at the same time often, even benefiting from not being in Arkham for a negative Mythos effect.
  *  A rumor came and went, thanks to our Egyptian artifacts.
  *  MANY (3-4?) Mythos cards came out that only caused monster surges and no gates/doom tokens being added.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Headline:  "lots of people got injured and devoured."  or "it's good to have a plan at the beginning."

Ancient One

Ghatanothoa

Investigators

Trish Scarborough, the Spy - Susan (new person!)
Charlie Kane, the Politician - Susan (new person!)
Wilson Richards, the Handyman - Rachelle

Carolyn Fern, the Psychologist - Rachelle
Lola Hayes, the Actress - Rob
Silas Marsh, the Sailor - Rob
Luke Robinson, the Dreamer - Rob

End of Game

We beat him!  (sorta)

House Rules/Game Setup
Rachelle randomly selected 3 Ancient Ones, and Susan selected Ghatanothoa from those three.  We had not played against him yet.

We elected not to use Heralds, Guardians, or Institutions.

We each chose two characters from all of them.

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow
Kingsport Horror
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror
The Lurker at the Threshold

Heralds, Guardians, and Institutions

[none]

Highlights

  *  Silas got devoured by Ghatanothoa!  He picked up 3 clues when going to Devil Reef.
  *  Luke never made it out of the Dreamlands...
  *  Rob went to bed at 8 or 9 doom tokens.  It was a long and rough game for him, full of bad luck.
  *  Lola, Charlie, and Wilson made it to the end.  They fought hard.  They would not have lasted one more AO attack.
  *  Unfortunately, we didn't exactly read the AO's card carefully:  "Each investigator's attack against G deals one less success than normal."  We probably should have lost.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Headline:  "Goat Game."

Ancient One

Shub-Niggurath

Investigators

Ursula Downs, the Explorer - Susan
Roland Banks, the Fed - Rob
Carolyn "Tell Me About Your Mother" Fern, the Psychologist - Justin 

Marie Lambeau, the Entertainer - Rachelle

End of Game

We tried to seal gates, only got 5 (we were one turn away), and Shub woke up.  
We fought hard and lost good men and women along the way.  
Roland Banks was the first to go, being tired after single-handedly defeating the Dunwich Horror.
Ursula followed, screaming "Take Me Instead!"
The only memory remaining of Carolyn Fern were patrons of Hibb's Roadhouse who complained she was a sore loser, having threatened them with a flamethrower rather than paying up at a card game.
Marie saved the day, with one final possible dice throw that had the one necessary success.

House Rules/Game Setup
Rob specifically chose Shub-Niggurath and the corresponding Herald, Black Goat of the Woods.
Based on that, Justin and Rob chose Hypnos as Guardian and The Bureau of Investigations as Institution.

We each chose a character from four dealt at random.  Then we determined relationships:

Ursula and Roland – Take Me Instead

Carolyn and Marie – Hunted

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow
Kingsport Horror
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror
The Lurker at the Threshold

Heralds, Guardians, and Institutions

Black Goat of the Woods
Hypnos
The Bureau of Investigations

Highlights

It was a tough game, with lots of twists and turns.  It looked bleak for a while, but there was always a glimmer of hope, as Rob reminded us.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Headline:  "Rubble Rubble"  [ala Hamburgler]

Ancient One
Shudde M'ell

Investigators
Luke Robinson, the Dreamer - Susan
Vincent Lee, the Physician - Rob
Jacqueline Fine, the Psychic - Justin
Mandy Thompson, the Researcher - Rachelle

End of Game
We fought and defeated Shudde M'ell

House Rules/Game Setup
Rachelle randomly chose 3 AOs, and we picked Shudde M'ell, since we hadn't played him in a while.

We chose Investigators out of 4 random ones based on their anticipated balancing of abilities and skills, and based on their "Personal Stories."  We're using both the Personal Stories and the "Relationship" cards this time. 

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow
Kingsport Horror
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Heralds, Guardians, and Institutions
Rachelle chose these at random:
Tulzscha, The Freen Flame
Hypnos, Lord of Sleep
Miskatonic University, Academic Institution

Highlights
*  Rob's character's story required him to discard 5 clues.  He started with the spell "Vision Quest," which allows him to pick up clues from an entire neighborhood, which sped up the process of passing the personal story!

*  Rob's guy's special ability is to restore stamina.  However, he constantly won items, etc., that allowed him to get MORE stamina.
*  Susan's guy was about to sacrifice the ally Basil Elton to the AO to skip an attack, but she didn't need to.  The investigators beat Shudde.  Basil!  It's summertime currently, with really great basil.  ;)

Monday, April 1, 2013

Headline:  "We won!  APRIL FOOLS!"

Ancient One
Cthugha

Investigators
Ursula Downs, the Explorer - Susan
Monterey Jack, the Archaeologist - Susan  (exciting people doing exciting things!)
Anges Baker, the Waitress - Rob
Daisy Walker, the Librarian - Rob  (both strong, magical people)
Norman Withers, the Astronomer - Justin
Minh Thi Phan - Justin  (academic theme!  Norman's special skill is sweet, and Minh is his secretary )

End of Game
We lost the final battle.

House Rules/Game Setup
We chose Investigators based on their anticipated balancing of abilities and skills, and based on their "Personal Stories."  We're using both the Personal Stories and the "Relationship" cards this time. 

Justin selected Cthugha as AO at random.

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow
Kingsport Horror
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Heralds, Guardians, and Institutions
Father Dagon
Bast
Bureau of Investigations

Highlights
*  Minh's synergy is doubled with the VOICE OF RA.
*  Norman and Minh got pulled through a gate during a mythos phase.  Norman came back due to his other world encounter and Minh then used find gate to follow him back.  They closed and sealed the gate the turn after they were pulled through.
*  We were only able to get rid of 8/13 doom tokens, even with Norman's special Personal Story removing 2 of them at the start of battle.
*  Agnes and Daisy were Book Club members (relationship card), making it possible for Agnes to read anything Daisy read, and Daisy could read tomes without losing sanity (librarian).

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Headline:  "Epic Adventure Begins!"

Ancient One
Abhoth

Investigators
Joe Diamond, the Private Eye - Susan
Patrice Hathaway, the Violinist - Susan
Tony Morgan, the Bounty Hunter - Rob
Luke Robinson, the Dreamer - Rob

End of Game
Our first strategy:  Complete "Personal Stories" and just have a good time.
Our second strategy:  "Oh look! We have closed almost all of the gates!"  Close all gates.
Our final strategy:  Beat up Abhoth.  Many gates opened, making our second strategy futile.

We won!  We only needed to get rid of all of our clues, a few gate and monster trophies, and very few items.  Patrice had the "Changed" card in the end, which allowed for her to gain more clues.

House Rules/Game Setup
We chose Investigators based on their anticipated balancing of abilities and skills, and based on their "Personal Stories," which we were using for the first time this game.  

Rob selected Abhoth as AO at random.  Susan's reaction:  Patrice will come in handy for the Attack ("Each investigator must discard a total of 3 Clue tokens, monster trophies, gate trophies, and/or Items or be devoured.")

Expansions in play
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
Dunwich Horror
The King in Yellow
Kingsport Horror
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Heralds and Guardians
Nodens
Tulzscha (but with Abhoth, there are no Cultists!  ha!)

Highlights
*  On the first turn, Patrice and Joe meet up in the Graveyard to exchange stuff, and they both have encounters that would give them Allies, but they don't qualify.
*  There was a monster surge, followed by "Manhunt in Arkham" (Mythos card), which sent all monsters 'in locations' back to the cup.
*  Not a "highlight," more like a lowlight:  Patrice constantly made bad rolls.  So much for an abundance of extra clues.
*  Luke is usually pretty lame, but even though he failed his "Personal Story," he became pretty badass in the end.
*  "The Great Ritual" rumor was dispelled, giving everyone 2 clues - very helpful in defending against Abhoth.
*  There were very few monsters out, in general, until the end, when we decided to stop trying to close gates and just get ready to fight.  There were a few monster surges then, and that brought out a few Children of Aboth, but they were always avoided by evade checks, by gates being closed with their symbol, or by encounters or Mythos cards that returned monsters in certain areas to the cup.

Continuing the Game...
If we choose to keep playing with these characters, this is what they had when they won:

Joe
Skills:  Sneak
Allies:  Ryan Dean
Injury/Madness:  Anxiety
Common Items:  Axe, Cross, Shotgun
Unique Items:  The Light of Reason, Golden Sword of Y'ha-Talla
Spells:  Dread Curse of Azathoth x2
Other:  5 toughness of monster trophies, 1 gate trophy
Clues:  none
$:  none
Stamina/Sanity:  3/3
Personal Story:  not passed or failed
Speed: 4
Fight: 5
Lore: 2
Location: River Docks

Patrice
Skills:  Bravery, Painter
Allies:  David Packard
Injury/Madness:  -
Common Items:  Flamethrower, Dark Cloak
Unique Items:  Soul Gem, Sacrifices To Make
Spells:  -
Other:  1 gate trophy, Blessing, Blessing of Noden (+1 Horror), Changed, The Great Seal
Clues:  none
$:  1
Stamina/Sanity:  5/2
Personal Story:  passed
Speed: 2
Fight: 4
Lore: 5
Location: Gardner's Place

Tony
Skills:  Expert Occultist
Allies:  -
Injury/Madness:  Jinxed
Common Items:  Axe, .45 Automatic, Athame
Unique Items:  -
Spells:  -
Other:  Blessing, Blessing of Noden (+1 Combat)
Clues:  none
$:  4
Stamina/Sanity:  2/7
Personal Story:  passed
Speed: 4
Fight: 4
Lore: 0
Location: South Church


Luke
Skills:  Run
Allies:  -
Injury/Madness:  -
Common Items:  Shotgun, Bullwhip, Understudy's Script, 
Unique Items:  Gladius of Carcosa, Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan, Gate Box
Spells:  Arcane Insight, Find Gate, Dread Curse of Azathoth
Other:  1 gate trophy
Clues:  none
$:  1
Stamina/Sanity:  5/1
Personal Story:  failed
Speed: 1
Fight: 4
Lore: 4
Location: Rivertown Streets


Rules for continuing game:
Investigators stay in the last location from previous game.
All Investigator cards remain (items, abilities, Personal Stories, injuries/madnesses).
All board changes are reset, since the AO left - including clues, gates, monsters, rifts, terror track, etc.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Headline:  "Strange Sightings!  An Ancient One Fights Back!"

Ancient One
Rhan-Tegoth

InvestigatorsLily Chen, the Martial Artist - Susan
Patrice Hathaway, the Violinist - Rachelle
Usrula Downs, the Explorer - Rob
William Yorrick, the Gravedigger - Justin ("I knew him well!")Mandy Thompson, the Researcher - Robbi


End of Game
We fought and defeated Rhan-Tegoth.  It was a relatively short game, with doom tokens adding on quickly. The "Sealing the Beast's Power" Mission made the end battle much easier!

House Rules/Game Setup
Robbi chose Rhan-Tegoth out of 6 or so AOs that we don't normally play (based on frequency of certain labels).  She said he looks like he's not too bad when he's slumbering.

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
*  many "Strange Sightings"!  drawn 2x in 3 turns.

Usrula Downs, the Explorer - RobWilliam Yorrick, the Gravedigger - Justin ("I knew him well!")

Mandy Thompson, the Researcher - Robbi

we fought 'em.  we beat 'em.  "end of story." - Rachelle

Miskatonic Horror

*  rumor drawn and discarded on first turn!  no mistrust!
*  no gate opened on the actual first Mythos card in play.  this actually happened a few times during the game - no gate opening.

*  William and Lily both lost a turn on the first turn - Justin cuz he had to go to City of Great Race and have an encounter, and Susan cuz she chose to select a reward.

*  Gladiuos of Carcosa x 3!!!!

*  AO actually "fought back" with his attack against the best stamina and then turning it into a bounce-back type action.

*  luckily, Justin's character drew a mission that made the AO's combat rating lowered by 2: "Sealing the Beast's Power"

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.

Friday, June 10, 2011

since i was so tired that i fell asleep while playing this game, i don't remember what happened.

Rob says we fought the AO and won. go us!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Headline: "Exciting new adventurers make many delicious friends"

Ancient One
Atlach-Nacha

Investigators
Anges Baker, the Waitress - Susan (chosen for being a badass)
Silas Marsh, the Sailor - Rob (chosen to travel easily between boards, what with 3 board expansions and all)
William Yorick, the Gravedigger - Denis
Patrice Hathaway, the Violinist - Robbilee (¡cluez!)
...latecomers:
Ursula Downs, the Explorer - Justin
Roland Banks, the Fed - Rachelle (Rach asked Susan to choose for her - never running out of clues or $)


End of Game
We successfully defeated Atlach-Nacha, and no investigators were sacrificed.
However, all allies were sacrificed. We would like to observe a moment of silence for:

...Tom "Mountain" Murphy...
...Erica Carlyle...
...Professor Armitage...
...Terrible Old Man...
...Professor Rice...
...Ruby Standish...

House Rules/Game Setup - We just bought the Innsmouth Horror expansion
Ancient One chosen randomly, after the new AOs from Innsmouth Horror were added [Rob shuffled the deck of AOs, Susan drew Glaaki, but we had him last time, so our second card was Atlach-Nacha]
Investigators chosen from 4 possible randomly dealt NEW (Innsmouth) investigators, after finding out the Ancient One's abilities and discussing winning tactics.
Rachelle and Justin entered the game around the 7th doom token.

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 this time, so we could learn the additional IH rules
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Highlights
* Silas became both the Captain of the White Ship and the Deputy. Fitting, since he's a sailor and wins for "well-traveled."
* Denis optimistically took his character to the Woods first, like Justin had done a few times recently, and had a bad encounter, like Justin always does there.
* Patricia ROCKED, and was very Inspiring throughout the game.
* Patricia was also often sent to the streets to busk after being kicked out of locations due to band encounters. 4 times in a row!
* Agnes had 3 Wither spells!
* Ursula cleaned up the rift openings in Kingsport with the tommy gun but didn't get to use it!
* We all earned skills right at the end, thanks to defeating the rumor The Terrible Experiment. Agnes, Silas, and William went to Misk U, kicked @$$ and took names - I mean, monster trophies. In particular, Silas took out a Leng Spider with a toughness of 4 due to Atlach-Nacha, Agnes took out a Ghost and a Dark Young, and William took out another Dark Young and a Deep One. Rockin'!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Headline: "This is the game that never ends, yes it goes on and on, my friends..."

Ancient One
Glaaki [randomly chosen by Rachelle]

Investigators
Jim Culver, the Musician - Susan (chosen for the "Dead Man's Stomp," to stomp Cultists)
"Ashcan" Pete, the Drifter - Rob (chosen to select from unique items, to find magical weapons for the end fight)
Joe Diamond, the Private Eye - Justin (twice in row... time to branch out ;))
Amanda Sharpe, the Student - Robbilee (¡skillz!)
Mandy "Tits McGee" Thompson, the Researcher - Rachelle (chosen for the re-roll option, of course)
Harvey Walters, the Professor - Denis (¡sanity!)

End of Game
We successfully defeated Glaaki, and no Servants of Glaaki ever entered play (Praise Lovecraft!).

We intended to fight Glaaki from the beginning, rather than trying to control gates. Having 6 players rather than our usual 4, the limits were different from "normal," and this seemed to be the best way to go.

However, the game was dragging on, with many gate surges and no new gates, as well as rumors that diverted our resources and efforts. We were all getting tired, so we decided to just end things in Arkham and the Other Worlds and wake Glaaki up. Yes, this is illegal. There were only 8 out of 12 doom tokens on at the time. We had few magical weapons, but slowly and surely we hacked away at Glaaki, shriveling him, and then attacking him with an Elephant Gun. The Terror Track got pretty high, but we made it with rounds to spare.

House Rules/Game Setup
Ancient One chosen randomly by Rachelle, since she isn't always in town when we play.
Investigators chosen from 3 possible randomly dealt investigators, after finding out the Ancient One's abilities and discussing winning tactics.
I forget how we chose the Guardian and Herald...

Expansions in play
Dunwich Horror
Kingsport Horror - this time we tried out both a Guardian (Bast) and a Herald (Tulzscha)
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
The King in Yellow
Black Goat of the Woods

Highlights
* Due to Glaaki and Tulzscha, Cultists were complicated.
* "Ashcan" Pete was barred from Miskatonic U for burning books. ("Ashcan"! ha!)
* Mandy got sucked through to Another Time and stayed there for a good 4-5 turns. (not exactly a 'highlight,' but something of note..)
* Several of us went to get a Bank Loan to pay off the Mad Bomber, and hoping to have leftover cash for Magical Weapons, and ended up defaulting. There was a lot of meeting up and hastily handing over all items before defaulting.
* No one wants the Milk of Shub-Niggurath. Who would?
* There were a lot of Allies. Not enough weapons, but plenty o friends. Too bad we weren't fighting Atlach-Nacha.
* There were lots of double-entendres. Amanda Sharpe caught John LeGrasse "playing with a bone." She then "pumped Eric Colt for information."
* There were lots of double-encounters. "Go to X location and have another encouter there."

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Headline:  "Dexter Drake's bad luck doesn't hamper Joe Diamond's grappling skillz!"

Ancient One
Yig [specifically chosen, shortest doom track (weeknight)]

Investigators
Amanda Sharpe, the Student - Susan
Leo Anderson, the Expedition Leader - Rob 
Joe Diamond, the Private Eye - Justin 
Dexter Drake, the Magician - Robbilee 

End of Game
successfully defeated Yig, even though 3 out of 4 investigators were cursed.

House Rules/Game Setup
Ancient One chosen specifically, because we wanted a quick game for a weeknight.
Investigators chosen from 3 possible random investigators, after finding out the Ancient One's abilities and discussing winning tactics.
Expansions in play: 
Dunwich Horror
Kingsport Horror - this time we tried out a Guardian for the first time:  Noden
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh
The King in Yellow
Black Goat of the Woods


Highlights
*  Noden was a cool Guardian.  We will do a Herald next time.
*  Dexter had a ton of awesome shit, but shitty luck.  He raised the terror level on the first turn and closed the bank on the second turn.
*  We let a lame rumor run its course:  investigators in the streets would have been devoured
*  Leo, the expedition leader, was always "not invited."  (The other 3 investigators were often in one location, and Leo was in the complete opposite direction - by chance, of course.)
*  Joe, cursed, but with grapple, lead the fight against Yig with Dexter's shotgun.  Go Joe!