Potential New Game! Arkham!

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:14 pm

Folks:

I've been toying with the idea of doing an Arkham Horror game here on the forums.

From the website:

The town of Arkham, Massachusetts, is in a panic.

Horrific and bizarre events have begun to occur with increasing frequency - all seeming to point towards some cataclysmic event in the near future that may spell disaster for everyone.

Only one small band of investigators can save Arkham from the Great Old Ones and destruction!

The rules are here

I'd be using my recently purchased copy of the game as a guide.

Does anyone know if this would be possible? Could it be any fun?

Since this is a cooperative game, all information between players will be on the table.

Thoughts?

FTWalker · Post by **FTWalker** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 5:31 pm

I'm all for it

Trikane · Post by **Trikane** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:56 am

I would be interested, I have the game but have never played it.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:51 am

I've never played the game before but folks have talked about it enough on the boards that I would be interested in playing.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:11 pm

This thread almost died.

Ok, that's 3. We'd probably want 3-5 more.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:29 pm

Providing I have some time to read through the rules I'll give it a go. I am 100% blind as to what it's all about though.

FTWalker · Post by **FTWalker** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:41 pm

Stake Austin!
Oh, wait... wrong game.

Would we, as players, need a copy of the game?

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:55 pm

What do I need to know and where do I find out about it? I've read on these board a bunch of time that Arkam Horror is a good game.

Arnir · Post by **Arnir** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:05 pm

I'll need to check out the links, but I'm interested.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:06 pm

LordMortis wrote:What do I need to know and where do I find out about it? I've read on these board a bunch of time that Arkam Horror is a good game.

The PDF of the manual is above. I'll deviate a bit from the boxed game, but not a lot.

Essentially, each of the players will:

Move from location to location within Arkham, having encounters with both friend and foes.
Explore weird planes, and closing gates.
Stop the Elder God from waking.

It's a cooperative game, so the whole point is to work together to battle monsters and investigate as a team.

Dunno if this will fly or not, I think it could be cool.

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:08 pm

I'm interested, but I've never played it before so expect lots of rules questions

Austin · Post by **Austin** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:11 pm

FTWalker wrote:Stake Austin!
Oh, wait... wrong game.

Would we, as players, need a copy of the game?

Lassr, and now you too?

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:25 pm

Austin wrote:
FTWalker wrote:Stake Austin!
Oh, wait... wrong game.

Would we, as players, need a copy of the game?
Lassr, and now you too?

I don't believe you would. I would using the game as the rough outline of what went on, but I could deviant. I mean, deviate.

Chaosraven · Post by **Chaosraven** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:27 pm

I'm always up for a game.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:35 pm

Ok, so:

FTWalker
Trikane
Remus West
Austin
Lord Mortis
Arnir
Zurai
Chaos Raven

Makes 8. Due to the nature of AH, adding and dropping people wouldn't really screw things up.

I'll get things rolling tonight. I'll give a rough outline of each available character, and we will choose who plays who this week. I will be out of town from Wednesday night to Sunday, the actual playing of the game can start next Monday.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:11 am

Characters

Characters have several traits:

Sanity(San): The horrors that surround The Elder Gods can drive you mad, just by their existence. Many things drain Sanity. You’ll have to spend time at Arkham if you lose too much of your mind.
Stamina (Sta): Essentially health. If you’re physically drained, a trip to St. Mary’s could be just the thing you need.
Focus(Foc): Yes, we know that if the Elder One awakens, we are most likely doomed. Does that ruin your concentration? Each turn, you can choose to rearrange your skills by your Focus.

Skills: There are 3 “sets” of Skills: Speed/Sneak, Fight/Will, and Lore/Luck. Each is balanced against the other. Your Focus score determines how much you can vary your skills.

Each character begins with a few fixed possessions, some money, and a few random possessions, and possibly a Clue token or 2.

Clue Tokens are spent in various ways, the most common things are to spend one to get an extra attempt at performing something, or to close/seal Gates. The Old One will continue to slumber if the players manage to permanently seal a number of Gates equal to the number of players.

Sample Characters:

Code: Select all

Harvey “The Professor” Walters:
 7 San/3Sta
Speed 0 to 3/Sneak 5 to 2
Fight 0 to 3/Will 3 to 0
Lore 3 to 6/Luck 4 to 1
Fixed: 5$, 1 Clue, Random: 2 Uniques, 2 Spells, 1 Skill
Focus : 2
Harvey reduces all Sanity losses by 1, to a min. of 0

Code: Select all

Bob Jenkins "Salesman":
 4 San/6Sta
Speed 2 to 5/Sneak 3 to 0
Fight 1 to 4/Will 6 to 3
Lore 0 to 3/Luck 4 to 1
Fixed: 9$, Random: 2 Commons, 2 Uniques, 1 Skill
Focus : 1
Bob gets to look at 1 extra item each time he finds a Common item, and choose which one he wants

Code: Select all

Ashcan Pete:
 4 San/6Sta
Speed 0 to 3/Sneak 6 to 3
Fight 2 to 5/Will 5 to 3
Lore 0 to 3/Luck 3 to 0
Fixed: 1$, 3 Clue, 1 Ally(Duke)(see below) Random: 1 Common, 1 Unique, and 1 Skill
Focus : 2
Pete can draw from the top or bottom of the Common, Item, Unique Item, or Spell deck. He can look at the bottom of these decks at any time

Code: Select all

Michael McGlen, the Gangster:
3 San/7Sta
Speed 2 to 5/Sneak 4 to 1
Fight 3 to 6/Will 4 to 1
Lore 0 to 3/Luck 3 to 0
Fixed: 8$, Dynamite and Tommy Gun, Random: 1 Unique, 1 Skill
Focus : 1
Mike reduces all Stamina losses by 1, to a min. of 0

Other characters: (PM Me for more detailed Descriptions)

The Doctor: Can heal someone of 1 Sta at his location at the beginning of each turn, for free
The Researcher: She can cause any investigator to reroll all failed skill dice.
The Psychologist: Can restore 1 San per turn to someone at her location, for free
The Scientist: Gates and Monsters do not appear at her location. Monsters and gates do not, however, disappear when she moves to a location
The Nun: She never becomes Lost in Time. She automatically returns to the Church, the Hospital or Asylum if she is reduced to 0 San/Sta
The Author: When she is on a Another World, she chooses which of two encounters happen to her
The Dilettante: She gains 1$ from a trust fund each turn.
The Private Eye: Has a 45 Automatic gun, and rolls a bonus die when he spends clue tokens to add to a roll
The Magician: When he gets a Spell, he can draw one extra one, and discard one of them
The Student: When she gets a Skill, she draws an extra Skill, discarding one of them
The Archaeologist: Comes with a Whip and a 38 revolver. When he gets a Unique Item, he draws one extra card, discarding one
The Photographer: When having encounters in Arkham, he gets a choice of which to take

This is what I am thinking:

Each turn, I will PM each of you where you can go. I'll give a turn summary of what happens. Players can freely team up do things. I'll give a Monster summary as well. I'll keep your current Speed, Will, etc. I've got a spot in my dining room I'll keep track of things. I will roll dice for you, and give you the number of successes or failures. In the actual game thread, I will throw out a quick description of what leads where, probably a simple map of Arkham. I don't believe I will be giving the exact stats of a Monster, but I will let you know if it's looking grim before you face something.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:54 am

As an example of what a character does, let's take a look at the ol' Prof here(thanks to BGG for the image:

Harvey has very high sanity. He can take a lot before he cracks, especially with his unique ability. His Stamina means he probably needs to not mix things up with monsters in hand to hand.

Let's say, at the beginning of the game, Harvey decides to leap into action. However, being a bookish chap, he's not exactly light on his feet. Since his Speed/Sneak is 0-3/5-2, he can choose any combination that adds to 5. So he can have a Speed of 3, but that drops his Sneak to 2. Sneaking lets you get by Monsters without having to stop and fight. Handy, since Harvey has the constitution of a damp paper bag.

In turn two, poor Harvey sees a horrible, writhing figure up ahead. Focusing, he lowers his Speed by 2, and increasing his sneak by 2, to a total of 1 and 4. So if he needs to sneak past something, he needs to get a 5+ a certain number of times to succeed. With 4 dice, he's got pretty good odds. In our example, Harvey, holding his breath, slowly creeps past the horrible abomination...for now.

Harvey starts out with decent cash, and two spells. Spells cost sanity, but Harvey just brushes that off. He's got to keep it together, before the Sleeping God awakens.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:30 am

Lars · Post by **Lars** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:04 am

This looks like a great idea, Spacelord. I thought about doing something like this for the game "A Game of Thrones", but I would have no idea how to do it on the forums.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:35 am

I want to be Herbert West, please.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:47 am

Are the characters in the PDF file? If so I will look over them tonight and send you my choice. Otherwise I am leaning towards the student right now.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:49 am

LordMortis wrote:I want to be Herbert West, please.

There is a location in the game where you can perform autopsies.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:07 am

Remus West wrote:Are the characters in the PDF file? If so I will look over them tonight and send you my choice. Otherwise I am leaning towards the student right now.

The problem I found with the student: skills are good. The student is really poor. Since there's a way to get a loan or two at the bank, she could head there early in the game, and then go get some skills.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:43 am

SpaceLord wrote:
Remus West wrote:Are the characters in the PDF file? If so I will look over them tonight and send you my choice. Otherwise I am leaning towards the student right now.
The problem I found with the student: skills are good. The student is really poor. Since there's a way to get a loan or two at the bank, she could head there early in the game, and then go get some skills.

I haven't read the rules at all yet, does money make a huge difference? Your post seems to imply I will need it to buy skills which would be a drag.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:47 am

Remus West wrote:
SpaceLord wrote:
Remus West wrote:Are the characters in the PDF file? If so I will look over them tonight and send you my choice. Otherwise I am leaning towards the student right now.
The problem I found with the student: skills are good. The student is really poor. Since there's a way to get a loan or two at the bank, she could head there early in the game, and then go get some skills.
I haven't read the rules at all yet, does money make a huge difference? Your post seems to imply I will need it to buy skills which would be a drag.

I remember reading here somewhere that Arkham Horror was a better, more cooperativer version of the game you bought. (Can't remember the name. Originally it was going to be a gift for Bob when Ida was in the hospital)

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:12 am

LordMortis wrote:
Remus West wrote:
SpaceLord wrote:
Remus West wrote:Are the characters in the PDF file? If so I will look over them tonight and send you my choice. Otherwise I am leaning towards the student right now.
The problem I found with the student: skills are good. The student is really poor. Since there's a way to get a loan or two at the bank, she could head there early in the game, and then go get some skills.
I haven't read the rules at all yet, does money make a huge difference? Your post seems to imply I will need it to buy skills which would be a drag.
I remember reading here somewhere that Arkham Horror was a better, more cooperativer version of the game you bought. (Can't remember the name. Originally it was going to be a gift for Bob when Ida was in the hospital)

Runebound.

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:01 pm

I think I'm gonna have to go for Indiana Jones (The Archaeologist). Can you PM me the rest of his stats?

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:30 pm

Zurai wrote:I think I'm gonna have to go for Indiana Jones (The Archaeologist). Can you PM me the rest of his stats?

I could do that tonight. I forgot to bring the cards to work, so I don't have them handy.

Eureka! Boardgame Geek FTW.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:37 pm

Is there a link to BGG that provides the character cards like that?

Chaosraven · Post by **Chaosraven** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:47 pm

I'll be the Private Eye

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:49 pm

Remus West wrote:Is there a link to BGG that provides the character cards like that?

I just found Arkham Horror on the site, and searched through the pages of images.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:52 pm

Chaosraven wrote:I'll be the Private Eye

I couldn't find a single picture of a wookalar to post.

Chaosraven · Post by **Chaosraven** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:01 pm

LordMortis wrote:
Chaosraven wrote:I'll be the Private Eye
I couldn't find a single picture of a wookalar to post.

How many times do I have to tell you there's no such thing as a wookalar?
-Inspector Winship

Austin · Post by **Austin** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:21 pm

Dexter Drake looks like fun. Can I be him?

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:44 pm

Austin wrote:Dexter Drake looks like fun. Can I be him?

Sold!

Remember, spells cost your sanity. It's a cost you should pay gladly, of course.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:00 pm

can scroll using the pictures at the top through the characters

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:04 pm

I think I'll go with this one.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:05 pm

That is unless you'll let me use the "Marv from Sin City" card that was on that site.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:09 pm

So far we have:
Austin: Dexter Drake, Magician
ChaosRaven: Joe Diamond, Gumshoe
Zurai: Monterey Jack, Archaeologist
Remus West: Dilettante
FTWalker: ???
Trikane: ???
Lord Mortis: ???
Arnir: ???

I'd suggest someone being The Doc. His ability is nice, because it's not always easy trekking across town/alternate dimensions to get healed. Same thing for the Shrink. Since you already have two characters with guns, and good STA, one more mid-to-high STA guy should be good.

Suggestions only. I'm not, by any means, an expert here.

PMs sent to those who haven't picked yet.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:18 pm

I picked the one I chose because she has cash to spend for us.

More toys = good for team I'm guessing.