The Stars Are Right... for an Arkham Horror LP!

Turn Eight, continued

Arkham Encounters
Kate does not have a standard encounter. It's time for a Gate closing. She can use either Lore or Fight to attempt this, and her Lore is higher so that's our choice. Base Lore 4 - 2 difficulty modifier = 2 dice pool, and both have to be successes for this to work thanks to Yog-Sothoth. Kate applies all her knowledge and...

...whiffs. However, she's sitting on an assload of Clues and has Research Materials. We burn the Research Materials and 1 Clue...

...and get halfway there. One more Clue token burned, and once more into the breach...

...dammitall. We're going to do this until we get it right!

And we did! One Research Materials and 3 Clue tokens later, the Gate is closed and Kate gets it as a trophy. Why did I brute force it like that, you ask? The answer is quite simple.

With that Gate closed, the Warlock and the Witch get sucked into oblivion (aka the monster cup, or in my case, the monster Crown Royal bag) due to their matching icons. I don't get to keep them as trophies, but it makes my life a whole lot easier. Warlocks are straight-up MOTHERFUCKERS in this game.
Now, it's a simple matter to burn 5 more Clue tokens and Seal this location tighter than a snare drum. We don't get to take a marker off the Doom Track like we did with the Elder Signs, but this is still the best way to win the game and not get overrun in the process.


Monty does not get an encounter, as he is in an Other World.

Bob
With only 1 Sanity point, we can't Dragon's Eye our way out of this, but oh how I wish we could, because curses are BAD NEWS. Still, it's not hopeless. Base Sneak 2 + 2 from Ruby Standish - 1 difficulty modifier = 3 dice pool, and we only need one success.

Without a trace. We stay put, and are a little more sane than before.

Gloria uses her encounter to get rid of the pesky Rumor. Her 2 Gate trophies are discarded, the Rumor is passed and goes back in the box (and out of play for the rest of this game), and all four Investigators get a shiny new spell.

Mouseketeer Roll Call!
Kate

Could have used this a couple turns ago.

Monty

So nice, he got it twice. Even if he has no other weaponry options, he can still bring the pain.

Bob

Wow. Bob's first spell of the game is a waste for him, since he's so good at Evasion already. At least spells can be traded between players.

Gloria

Okay, this sounds confusing, but it really isn't. Think of it as a weaker version of Holy Water that allows you to use your Lore rating instead of Fight to take down a monster. It's only purpose is if you get caught with your pants down and your Fight is crazy low and your Lore is crazy high, plus it's a one-shot. I'm sure some people have legendary stories about how this spell saved their asses at one point, but so far I've never been in that position.

Honestly though, these pulls are all just grated cheese on the pasta. The Rumor is finally gone! VICTORY!

To be continued...

Turn Eight, continued

Other World Encounters
Monty
During normal playthroughs of this game, which do not include stumbling around in the dark and knocking decks of cards off tables, this cards is one of the very few ways to legally reshuffle a deck. So we reshuffle, and come up with (no whammies, no whammies)...
*phew*

Mythos
This Mythos card is epic in its ineffectiveness.
First of all, since being lost in time and space is impossible in this game, nothing happens with the Headline.
The Clue pops at the Woods, making it 2 there.
The Gate does not open, and what's awesome about this one is, even if we had failed to close and Seal the gate there, it still would not have opened or caused a Surge due to Kate's unique ability, Science!
No new Gate means no advancement of the Doom Track.
The only thing that does happen is, I get to explain the movement rules for Flying Monsters (yay).

That sky (heh) blue border means that this Monster can fly. Instead of following the arrows on the board, it will move one space in any direction IF there is an Investigator in that spot. If there are no Investigators in any adjacent spaces, then the Monster takes residence in the Sky, which is what happens here.

The Sky is a special location that is considered to be adjacent to every streets area on the board at the same time. This is the biggest reason why there are so many Arkham Encounter cards that end with "move to the streets." When the Flying Monster's icon comes up again, it can swoop down on any Investigator stuck in the streets. With more than one to choose from, it goes after the one with the lowest Sneak rating. Lastly, Monsters in the Sky still count against the Monster Limit, so it's important not to lose track.

Board, End of Turn Eight



Character Sheets, End of Turn Eight
Kate Winthrop, the Scientist
Sanity: 5/6
Stamina: 4/4
Focus: 1
Speed: 3
Sneak: 3
Fight: 2
Will: 2
Lore: 4
Luck: 2
Money: $1
Clues: 3
Common Items:
Lantern
Unique Items: NONE
Spells:
Find Gate
Mists Of Releh
Heal
Skills
+1 Speed
Allies: NONE
Trophies:
Ghoul (1 pt)
Yuggoth (5pts)
Others: NONE

Monterey Jack, the Archaeologist
Sanity: 1/3
Stamina: 6/7
Focus: 2
Speed: 2
Sneak: 2
Fight: 2
Will: 3
Lore: 3
Luck: 3
Money: $0
Clues: 5
Common Items:
Bullwhip
.38 Revolver
Unique Items:
Enchanted Blade
Spells:
Heal
Flesh Ward
Wither x2
Dread Curse of Azathoth
Skills:
+1 Lore
Allies: NONE
Trophies:
Cultist (1 pt)
Shoggoth (3 pts)
R'lyeh (5 pts)
Others: NONE

Bob Jenkins, the Salesman
Sanity: 2/4
Stamina: 5/6
Focus: 1
Speed: 3
Sneak: 2
Fight: 1
Will: 6
Lore: 3
Luck: 1
Money: $6
Clues: 1
Common Items:
Dark Cloak
Shotgun
Unique Items:
Dragon's Eye
Spells:
Mists Of Releh
Skills:
Stealth
Bravery
Allies:
Ruby Standish
Trophies:
Hound of Tindalos (2 pts)
Plateau of Leng (5 pts)
Others:
Silver Twilight Lodge Membership

Gloria Goldberg, the Author
Sanity: 3/6
Stamina: 3/4
Focus: 2
Speed: 3
Sneak: 1
Fight: 2
Will: 3
Lore: 4
Luck: 2
Money: $7
Clues: 2
Common Items:
Dark Cloak
Bullwhip
Unique Items: NONE
Spells:
Wither
Dread Curse of Azathoth
Bind Monster
Skills:
+1 Will
Allies: NONE
Trophies:
Formless Spawn (2 pts)
Elder Thing (2 pts)
Others: NONE

Whoa. Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a very strong chance that next turn will be the last turn in the game. I haven't discussed the Victory Conditions (VCs) in very great detail yet, but now it is becoming apparent that one could get fulfilled the very next turn.

VC1: Close all Gates on the board and have a number of Gate trophies equal to or greater than the number of players. The last Gate closed does count toward this number.

VC2: Seal 6 locations.

VC3: Defeat the Big Bad in Combat. (ha. hahaha.)

When Monty pops out of his Gate next turn, if he succeeds in closing it before another one opens, then we will have achieved VC1. The next night could very well be our final performance! You won't want to miss it!

Phase 2 will be a collaborative play of the game with myself and 7 other board members playing through the forum.

Unfortunately the roster is currently full, but should someone decide to drop out before we start, you can have dibs on the open slot as first alternate. The current roster is as follows:

Phase 2 Participants:
1.) SladeForrester (Host)
2.) Tefari
3.) Sarcasmorator
4.) Destil
5.) StriderDL
6.) ajr82
7.) Umby
8.) Nodal

Phase 2 Alternates:
1.) Büge

Start date for Phase 2 is still undetermined, but I can say with certainty that it is coming up soon.

VC 3 so tempting must see......hehe.

Just end the game at the next turn, and move on to Phase 2!

Rats. Oh well, it's still fun to watch, if not play!

I'll admit I had never heard of this game before seeing this LP, but it looks really interesting. Let's hope you win next round!

Your LP made me have a dream about it, which was odd, as I've never played the game. An enjoyable way to learn about the game.

The Past

It's amazing how quickly the tide can turn. My four friends seem to have things well in hand now. The townspeople are still somewhat fearful, some folks have moved away and a couple storefronts have been boarded up, but there is a sense of hope in the air. The stories of corpses being desecrated have been put to rest, and the creatures roaming the streets and in the air have been restrained. When that portal got shut down, half of those creatures just vanished. I could see their forms fading into nothingness, but I could feel a portion of energy being pulled back through the portal as it was being closed to... somewhere else.

As I look in on my friends now, I can see that only one portal remains open, and I can feel the energy flows from that immense evil at the edge of the Universe pushing outward, desperately trying to maintain a hold on this place. Whatever energy that is holding me here, showing me these things, is also somehow connected to these portals, tied to them in some way. Wait a minute... that's it! The portals are the key!

There must be at least one of these portals open in my own city! How else could this evil be so pervasive for so long? The energy that I feel coming from this final portal feels different than it has the whole time I have been here, a silent witness to these events. It used to feel unstoppable, immense. Now, it feels desperate, flailing, weaker somehow, like a driver fighting falling asleep at the wheel. The act of opening up all these portals must have taken a toll on the great beast's energy reserves, and I get the distinct impression that, should my friends succeed in shutting this one down, then the evil won't have enough of a tangible hold on this place to open another one. Now all that remains is to see what happens when this final portal is closed. If I am right, then the evil will be so exhausted that it will be unable to open another fresh portal, and should fall back into slumber. And yet I wonder...

When that last portal closes, what will become of me?

Turn Nine

Board, Start of Turn Nine



Character Sheets, Start of Turn Nine
Kate Winthrop, the Scientist
Sanity: 5/6
Stamina: 4/4
Focus: 1
Speed: 3
Sneak: 3
Fight: 2
Will: 2
Lore: 4
Luck: 2
Money: $1
Clues: 3
Common Items:
Lantern
Unique Items: NONE
Spells:
Find Gate
Mists Of Releh
Heal
Skills
+1 Speed
Allies: NONE
Trophies:
Ghoul (1 pt)
Yuggoth (5pts)
Others: NONE

Monterey Jack, the Archaeologist
Sanity: 1/3
Stamina: 6/7
Focus: 2
Speed: 2
Sneak: 2
Fight: 2
Will: 3
Lore: 3
Luck: 3
Money: $0
Clues: 5
Common Items:
Bullwhip
.38 Revolver
Unique Items:
Enchanted Blade
Spells:
Heal
Flesh Ward
Wither x2
Dread Curse of Azathoth
Skills:
+1 Lore
Allies: NONE
Trophies:
Cultist (1 pt)
Shoggoth (3 pts)
R'lyeh (5 pts)
Others: NONE

Bob Jenkins, the Salesman
Sanity: 2/4
Stamina: 5/6
Focus: 1
Speed: 3
Sneak: 2
Fight: 1
Will: 6
Lore: 3
Luck: 1
Money: $6
Clues: 1
Common Items:
Dark Cloak
Shotgun
Unique Items:
Dragon's Eye
Spells:
Mists Of Releh
Skills:
Stealth
Bravery
Allies:
Ruby Standish
Trophies:
Hound of Tindalos (2 pts)
Plateau of Leng (5 pts)
Others:
Silver Twilight Lodge Membership

Gloria Goldberg, the Author
Sanity: 3/6
Stamina: 3/4
Focus: 2
Speed: 3
Sneak: 1
Fight: 2
Will: 3
Lore: 4
Luck: 2
Money: $7
Clues: 2
Common Items:
Dark Cloak
Bullwhip
Unique Items: NONE
Spells:
Wither
Dread Curse of Azathoth
Bind Monster
Skills:
+1 Will
Allies: NONE
Trophies:
Formless Spawn (2 pts)
Elder Thing (2 pts)
Others: NONE

Upkeep
Kate pushes her Lore to 5, dropping her Luck to 1.
Monty maxes his Lore at 4 which pushes his Luck to 2.
Bob makes no adjustments.
Gloria makes no adjustments.

Movement
Kate is going to try to get away from the Hound of Tindalos, since it will be able to smack her if this is not the last turn of the game and she stays put.

Kate's Sneak score isn't so great, so she will cast Mists of Releh. The basic gist of this spell is that it allows her to Evade a Monster using her Lore instead of her Sneak, and it has no Sanity cost. Base Lore 5 - 1 Awareness modifier = 4 dice pool.

With a wave of her hand, Kate is surrounded by magical mists and walks right past the Hound. She uses her 4 movement points to get down to the Woods to claim 2 Clue tokens there, just in case.

Clue tokens = 5

Monty finished exploring the Gate, returning to Independence Square.


Bob stays put, taking refuge under the Seal. Just in case.


Gloria gets off the streets and moves to the Black Cave, also to take refuge under the Seal. Also just in case.


Arkham Encounters
In a typical game, the honor of First Player rotates around the table, changing the movement order every turn. In this playthrough, I've been running them in the same order each turn since there was never a strategic need to switch things up. However, in this case there is a definite need to change the order. Monty is going first, and if he manages to close this Gate, that's the game.

Monty cranked his Lore to help him close this Gate down with the aid of his Skill. Base Lore 4 + 1 from Skill - 0 Gate modifier = 5 dice pool, and we need 2 successes thanks to Yog-Sothoth.
He has 5 Clue tokens, and since the VC is dependent on simply closing the Gate, not Sealing, we can spend them at will. Since each Clue token is worth 2 extra dice instead of 1 thanks to his Lore skill, that makes a theoretical pool of 15 dice to get 2 successes.
Feeling as though the fate of the whole world rests on his shoulders, Monty applies every last bit of knowledge he has gained toward shutting this Gate down...

...and succeeds without having to spend a single Clue. Monty claims the Gate as a trophy.

The last remaining Gate closes.

All Monsters disappear.

The clouds part, the sun shines on Arkham for the first time in days.

And Yog-Sothoth falls back into slumber for another eon.

Our intrepid investigators will feel the effects of this for the rest of their lives, but they may rest comfortable in the knowledge that, in the face of overwhelming odds, they prevailed.

I can't think of anything more fitting.

When a store closes, is it as though it is no longer on the map, or can you just no longer buy things there?

Can gates or clues appear there normally? (This and the other events in shops are the only things I can think of making the question non-moot.)

The Past

I watched with trepidation as the Archaeologist worked to close the portal. The creature didn't notice him until it was almost too late. It turned to face him just as the portal swirled shut. The monster disappeared without a trace, just like the other tow, as did all the remaining monsters in this town. Just as the portal shut completely, the Archaeologist turned in my direction. I think he may have seen me for a second, or it could have been a squirrel. Wait, a squirrel? But all the wildlife vanished when the evil started infecting this place... that must mean... They did it! I was right! And now I knew...

That was when I felt the pulling. I was getting sucked through the portal, just as I had been on that fateful night in my own house. I could not fight against the current, but this time, I did not even try. If oblivion was all that awaited me, then at least I would go to my eternal reward knowing that I was able to help these people succeed where I had failed, that I had helped another town avoid my city's fate.

I closed my eyes...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I opened my eyes to darkness. Wait, not total darkness... moonlight, through a window. I looked at my surroundings. Chalk lines on the floor, burnt-out candles, scattered paper, broken glass. My head hurt like I had taken a fastball to the 10-spot. Hold on. My head hurt? I looked at my hand, and I could see it clearly. I was solid again! I was back in my own room!

I picked myself up off the floor and went downstairs. It appeared my electricity was off. Figures. I took a can of warm pop out of the fridge, grateful that I didn't have anything in there that could melt or spoil. I noticed a pile of rolled-up newspapers on my front doorstep. How long was I out? I use a flashlight to rifle through the stack, trying to find the latest date. The headlines I saw did not fill me with a ton of confidence. The census data came out; record numbers of population loss across the area. A high school freshman shot and killed. Snow and cold weather that would not break. Finally, I tracked the date.

April 1, 2011.

I was out for almost a whole month! And yet, it only felt like waking from a night's sleep.

I saw that the house next door had power, so I went downstairs to the breaker box to see if any were tripped. Sure enough, I started flipping breakers until the power came back on. I went straight to my computer. I had to see what became of Arkham.

There were no records. The only thing I could find was that it was a fictional city in several horror stories written roughly 75 years ago. Can it be that the things I had witnessed, the people I helped, never existed? What had I been shown then? And who was responsible? All I knew was, these same things were happening here, now, and I had to stop them. But I needed help.

I went to a message board I frequented, and sent out the call for aid. Perhaps some brave souls would answer. Until then, I would tell my story, so in case I failed, my experiences would not be forgotten...

"March 9, 2011, 3:06 AM

Finally, after weeks of preparation, it was time...."

When a store or other location closes, it's as if it no longer exists. Nothing can move there or interact with anything there. All store locations are stable, so Gates or Clues will never show up there anyway.

Solo-Play Wrap-Up

Another incursion into Arkham has been defeated, but just how well did we do? Believe it or not, there is a scoring system to this game, and it follows a rather interesting formula.

Start with the highest printed number on the Doom Track = 12
Subtract the terror level at the end of the game: 4 = 8
-1 for every unpaid/defaulted Bank Loan: 0 = 8
-1 for every Elder Sign played during the game: 2 = 6
+1 for every unspent Gate trophy at the end of the game: 4 = 10
+1 for every 3 unspent Monster trophies at the end of the game (we have 6): 2 = 12
+1 for every sane, surviving Investigator at the end of the game: 4 = 16

Grand Total Score: 16

Not too shabby I would say. There are ranked games sponsored by Fantasy Flight where this comes into play, if that's your thing.

I hope everyone enjoyed reading my solo playthrough as much as I enjoyed putting it together, and found it informative as well as entertaining. Special thanks go out to all those who helped me with rules clarifications and errata. I couldn't have done it without you.

Phase 2, the live play, will be ready to go as soon as I get confirmation from everyone who signed up, but I would like to have everyone on the roster confirmed by Tuesday, April 5, so I can get characters and starting load-outs generated.

And if you (and/or a monster, there were some that moved to players rather than just circling the streets) are there when it closes?

Kicked out to the streets.

Thanks Sarc =)

15 dice for two successes? Not a very close finish. Humanity always kicks dimensional interlopers butts.

Very nicely written, I loved the setting and thoughts you gave to the characters. Very much looking forward to the second phase.

It would be much more exciting if you actually "edited" the dice pool so that the 15th die was the final success in closing the gate.

Great jobthe LP was very entertaining.

It was kinda like an RPG where you grind and grind for the final boss, only to score a crit and turn it into a fine red mist.

Do you mean, like, confirm in this thread? Because I'll totally do that. I'm totally doing that.

CONFIRMED

Why are you laughing about defeating the Great Old Ones? It's just a check at -5, right?
Oh. I...see. Still makes them less scary than the old "devours d6 investigators per turn" that used to be Cthulhu's only listed stat.
Nevermind.

Confirmed.

Let us do this. In.

Phase 2 Participants Confirmed:
1.) SladeForrester (Host)
2.) Tefari
3.) Sarcasmorator
4.) Destil
5.) StriderDL
6.) ajr82
7.) Umby
8.) Nodal

Phase 2 Alternates:
1.) Büge

The plan as of this moment is to start in the next couple of days, so I would like the rest who have not confirmed to do so by Noon on Wednesday the 6th, EDT.

Characters will be determined by random draw. Each player, myself included, will have 2 characters drawn at random from the list, and then each player may pick their favorite of the two. I will post character sheets here on the board, as well as PMing each player's individual sheet for them to better keep track. Players will post their moves here on the board, and First Player will rotate as normal. Anyone may PM me for rules clarification if they wish.

I kind of can't believe you pulled it off. Things were looking real, real bad thanks to that last pack of monsters that spawned. I guess the winds of fate can be turned to your backs as well as the bad guys'!

Also, confirming my spot!

I am hereby confirmed.

Mwahahahaha!

I'm in!

Good thing we had a reserve roster!

Sorry for the delay, real life decided to metaphorically kick me down the stairs.

Here is our final roster:
Phase 2 Participants Confirmed:
1.) SladeForrester (Host)
2.) Tefari
3.) Sarcasmorator
4.) Destil
5.) StriderDL
6.) ajr82
7.) Nodal
8.) Büge

Check your PM boxes for your 2 character options within the next 24 hours. I have to break out the new scanner. =)