Saturday, April 23, 2016

Headline:  "Bokrug, we will come back for you!"

Ancient One

Bokrug

Investigators (in the order they were chosen)

Lola Hayes, the Actress - Justin
Monterey Jack, the Archaeologist - Susan
George Barnaby, the Lawyer - Rob
Jenny Barnes, the Dilettante - Justin
William Yorick, the Gravedigger - Susan
Kate Winthrop, the Scientist - Rob

End of Game

We got tired.  6/12 or 13 doom tokens, and we were pooped.

House Rules/Game Setup
Justin selected Bokrug because we had never played him before.

Rob randomly selected 6 investigators, and we took turns selecting two each, ala gym class.
This was a fun, new way to choose the investigators.

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

  *  Hound of Tindolos was the first monster drawn...
*  Due to the monster trophies he starts with, Yorrick was able to complete his personal story on the first turn by being blessed.
*  My lawyer is tainted, wanted and his allies get devoured... I think he is Better Call Sal.-Rob

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, 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.

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

Friday and Saturday, July 8-9, 2011

Headline: "Eihort Sealing Gates ♥"

Ancient One
Eihort

Investigators
Zoey Samaras, the Chef - Susan
Marie Lambeau, the Entertainer, then Lola Hayes, the Actress - Rob
Patrice Hathaway, the Violinist - Rachelle
Finn Edwards, the Bootlegger - Justin
Wilson Richards, the Handyman - Robbilee

End of Game
We closed and sealed 6 gates. We had one or two spots left on the doom track. Patrice's generous clues were again very helpful, and Lola's "Find Gate" spell sped things up.

House Rules/Game Setup
Robbi narrowed the choice of Ancient Ones, and Rachelle made the final choice of Eihort. Justin laid out 8-10 investigators from which we each chose our characters. No Herald, no Guardian, no King in Yellow. We all got very tired, having started the game late Friday (9ish), and we put the game on hold at about 1am. Luie and Greta left it alone, so we finished Saturday night.

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 - although there were no Heralds/Guardians
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Highlights
* On the first turn, Rob was the first player. He summoned a Shan and got devoured. Poor Marie!
* On Rob's second turn, he jumped into a gate, looking forward to using "Find Gate" and beating Susan's character back to Arkham to get Blessed due to a Mythos card. However, he got lost in time & space, due to an other world encounter.
* Finn's ability to move when a moon monster moves was pretty cool.
* Lola became deputy. :)
* Justin's character again quells the rifts by spending quality time in Kingsport.
* Patrice had many admirers: Eric Colt, Anna Kaslow, etc.
* Just as she was about to get out of jail, Patrice got lost in time & space. That was a busy spot on the board this game.
* Patrice also got banned from Miskatonic U, just like when Robbi played Patrice in our last game.
* A lot of people got injuries and madnesses: Finn suffered hearing loss, Zoey had double vision (put the knife down!!), Patrice was delirious (too much practicing?), and Wilson had necrophobia.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Headline: "An unlikely bunch of investigators narrowly escape Cthulhu's awakening"

Ancient One
Cthulhu

Investigators
Norman Withers, the Astronomer - Susan
Lola Hayes, the Actress - Rob
Akachi Onyele, the Shaman - Denis
Patrice Hathaway, the Violinist - Robbilee
Wilson Richards, the Handyman - Justin
Jim Culver, the Musician - Boston

End of Game
We closed and sealed 6 gates. There were 12 doom tokens out of 13 on on Cthulhu's doom track.

House Rules/Game Setup
It's been a while since we've fought Cthulhu, and we've won several of the last games we've played. We were looking for a tough game. So we specifically chose Cthulhu as the Ancient One, and then we discussed winning tactics and chose investigators from all possible cards. (Hence all of the lore-heavy, mystic-types.)

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, since it was Boston's 'first time.'
The Black Goat of the Woods
Innsmouth Horror

Highlights
* There were several expressions of doubt in Boston's ability to win a particular skill check. He had one die to roll. He says, "I only roll 6's" and then proceeds to roll a 6.
* Norman became deputy in 5 turns - he started with Find Gate, Wither, Golden Sword of Y'ha-Talla, Tommy Gun, and Strong Will. flippin' sweet.
* Denis suddenly loses all of his character's stamina, and Rob turns to him and says, in a spirited manner, "Injuries are fun!" But Akachi suffers a concussion and loses all focus.
* Everyone chooses spiritual investigators, to get through Other Worlds more easily and to help close and seal gates. However, Justin says, "I'm Wilson Richards, bitch." Someone's got to stay home and clean up the streets.
* There is a mysterious rash of thefts... and Jim is implicated. He then falls into a coma and stays at the hospital for the remainder of the game.
* Patrice made a lot of allies through encounters - 3 total.