Strangers From Another World (Arkham Game)

[Hunter Sopko]

All Quiet in Arkham!

Headline

Each player may pass a Luck (-1) check to be Blessed.

A gate attempts to open in the Woods, but it is blocked by the Elder Sign! A clue appears at the Historical Society.

Hex monsters move on White. Dash, Triangle and Star monsters move on Black, sending the Nightgaunt back to the Sky.

A White Hex/Black Dash, Triangle, Star rift progress token is added. It is for St. Erasmus House.

[Strago]

Norman is Blessed and successfully Finds a Gate. So, uh... good game, Nultros. As soon as I drop the Elder Sign during Encounters, I guess we've won this.

> Can I get a witness?
<Taishyr> Hello hello
<Taishyr> late, but
> No worries, I'll take it.
> So let's see if I get blessed.
> 2 Luck, + Luck skill x2, -1 mod.
> 3d6
* Hatbot --> "Strago rolls 3d6 and gets 13."12 [3d6=5, 3, 5]
> Nice.
> And now I Find Gate.
> 5 Lore, -1 mod, using my last use of Crystal of the Elder Things to obviate the San damage.
> 4d6
* Hatbot --> "Strago rolls 4d6 and gets 12."12 [4d6=6, 2, 2, 2]
> Aaaaand there we go.


Norman Withers, the Astronomer

- Stats -

Sanity 3/4
Stamina 1/4

In the Stars - Any Phase: Whenever Norman closes or seals a gate, he may choose any dimensional symbol other
than the moon. The gate is considered to have that dimensional symbol instead of its normal dimensional symbol
for purposes of removing monsters from the board.

- Skills (Focus: 2) -

Speed  0 1 2 [3] (+2)
Sneak  4 3 2 [1]

Fight  0 [1] 2 3
Will   4 [3] 2 1

Lore  2 3 4 [5]
Luck  5 4 3 [2] (+2)

- Inventory -

$0
2 Clue Tokens

1 Monster Trophy (Witch)
2 Gate Trophies (Yuggoth, R'yleh)

Blessing (4s equal successes; roll a die each Upkeep, on a 1 discard Bessing)

Eric Colt, Ally (+2 Speed, take no damage from the Nightmarish ability)

Luck (+1 Luck, when spending a Clue token on a Luck check add one extra die)
Luck (+1 Luck, when spending a Clue token on a Luck check add one extra die)

Voice of Ra (casting mod -1, san cost 1, cast and exhaust to gain +1 to all skill checks for the turn)
Find Gate (casting mod -1, san cost 1, Cast and exhaust to immediately return to Arkham from an Other World.)

Yithian Rifle (magical weapon, 2 hands, exhaust to gain +6 to combat check, spend all Focus to refresh)
.45 Automatic (physical weapon, 1 hand, +4 to combat checks)
Enchanted Jewelery (Put 1 Stamina token from the bank on Enchanted Jewelry to avoid losing 1 Stamina. If there are 3 Stamina tokens on it, discard Enchanted Jewelry.)
Elder Sign (When sealing a gate, lose 1 Stamina and 1 Sanity and return this card to the box. You do not need to make a skill check or spend any Clue tokens to seal the gate. In addition, remove one doom token from the Ancient One's doom track.)

- Personal Story -

Pass: If the Ancient One awakens, roll 4 dice and remove 1 Doom Token for each success. [2/3 Gate Trophies]
Fail: Norman's Focus is reduced to 1. [Not yet Lost in Time and Space]

[Sierra]

Arianna takes a turn which totally doesn't matter.

<Cidward> Who's around to witness rolling for blessing vs nightmares?
<taigraine-owpainowpain> sure, i guess?
<Cidward> Okay!
<Yakumo> I have kinda a "why bother" attitude at the moment but sure. <_<
<Cidward> I know.
<Yakumo> Then again I'm tempted to go get in a fistfight with the golem for giggles, so.
<Cidward> But I am a stickler for detail!
<Cidward> So.
<Cidward> Will is at 4, -1 mod.
<Cidward> roll 3d6 for lack of nightmares?
* Hatbot --> "Cidward rolls 3d6 for lack of nightmares? and gets 8."12 [3d6=3, 4, 1]
<Cidward> Not it!
<Cidward> And luck is at 1, so.
<Cidward> Accomplishment!
* Cidward get eaten again, gets a clue, if it actually matters.

[VySaika]

Harkan Ashland, the Magic Student

Sanity: 3/6
Stamina: 4/4

Focus: 1

Skills
Speed  1  2  3  [4]
Sneak  4  3  2  [1]

Fight  1  2  [3]  4
Will    5  4  [3]  2

Lore  2  3  4  [5]
Luck  4  3  2  [1]

Familiar: When Cham is his ally, the bonus for her ability is +2 instead of +1.
Happy Family: If both Cham and Jennifer Ashland are allies, Focus becomes 2.

Inventory:
$3
0 Clues
Enchant Weapon: 0 Casting Mod, 1 San cost. Cast and Exhaust to make one Physical Weapon a Magical Weapon for this combat.
Cham: Awesome Little Cat Ally. Exhaust for a +2 bonus to any check.
Shotgun: 2h Weapon, +4 combat, 6s count double

Trophies
Witch - 1 toughness
Elder Thing - 2 toughness
Vampire - 2 toughness
Unknown Kadath - Gate Trophy
Great Hall - Gate Trophy

Quest Status:

Pass: 0/4 tokens on this card.
Fail: Cham is still an ally.

------------------------------

Harkan waves hello to the vampire. With a shotgun~

> may as well take my turn anyway
> anyone around?
<AishaRomandine> Yo.
<Cidward> Sure.
<Cidward> What's with the new name, Tal?
> 1 luck, so can't get blessed
<AishaRomandine> Playing Last Rebellion.
> roll 2d6 for nightmares
* Hatbot --> "Gatewalker rolls 2d6 for nightmares and gets 6." [2d6=3, 3]
<Cidward> Oh noes!
> roll 3d6 horror check vs mr. vampier
* Hatbot --> "Gatewalker rolls 3d6 horror check vs mr. vampier and gets 10." [3d6=3, 1, 6]
> roll 5d6 enchant shotgun
* Hatbot --> "Gatewalker rolls 5d6 enchant shotgun and gets 19." [5d6=6, 2, 4, 6, 1]
> 3 fight + 4 shotgun + 2 cat -3 monster mod
> roll 6d6 magical kitty shotgun
* Hatbot --> "Gatewalker rolls 6d6 magical kitty shotgun and gets 23." [6d6=2, 5, 3, 5, 6, 2]
> Bang
<Cidward> Dead.

[Talaysen]

Keith Chiemi

Location: Southside Streets

Stats
Sanity: 2 / 2
Stamina: 3 / 6

Speed: [3] 4 5 6
Sneak: [3] 2 1 0

Fight: [3] 4 5 6
Will: [4] 3 2 1

Lore: [0] 1 2 3
Luck: [4] 3 2 1

Focus: 2

Unique Abilities
TAKE THE SHOT! - Any phase: With any 2-handed weapon equipped, Keith does 2 successes on a 6.

Unique Fighting Style - Any phase: Keith cannot give weapons to or receive weapons from any investigator.

Inventory
1 Clue token

Common Items
.18 Derringer - Type: Physical weapon / Bonus: +2 Combat check / .18 Derringer cannot be lost or stolen unless you choose to allow it. / Hands: 1 / Price: $3
Cavalry Saber - Type: Physical weapon / Bonus: +2 Combat check / Hands: 1 / Price: $3
.38 Revolver - Type: Physical weapon / Bonus: +3 Combat check / Hands: 1 / Price: $4

Unique Items

Skills
Marksman - Any Phase: Exhaust to re-roll a Combat check.

Spells

Special
Blessing - Upkeep: Roll a die and discard this card on a 1. / When rolling dice, you score successes on a 4, 5, or 6. If you are Cursed, discard this card instead of gaining a Curse card.

Gate Trophies
R'lyeh

Monster Trophies
Star Spawn (3)
Dimensional Shambler (1)
Moon Beast (3)
Serpent People (1)

Personal Story
Pass- Be devoured.
Effect- Loses all money, equipment, gate trophies, and monster trophies not on his fixed possessions list, as well as all penalties such as Cursed, Injury, Madness, or lowered stats. Place him back on his Home Location and draw Enchanted Crossbow. If that is already in play, search the common items stack and draw the first two handed weapon from the bottom of the deck that is not discard after use.

Fail- The Terror Level reaches 3 or above.
Effect- Gain 1 Tabloid Paper

Current Action
Move to Southside Streets, kill the Serpent People.  Passed the Blessing check.

[16:39] <AishaRomandine> I guess I can go ahead and take my turn as well.
[16:39] <Shale> Meow-BANG-Splat
[16:39] <Shale> The sound of progress.
[16:39] <AishaRomandine> 3d6 for Blessing!
[16:39] * Hatbot --> "AishaRomandine rolls 3d6 for Blessing! and gets 9." [3d6=2, 6, 1]
[16:39] <AishaRomandine> Woo~
[16:39] <AishaRomandine> 3d6 Nightmares
[16:40] * Hatbot --> "AishaRomandine rolls 3d6 Nightmares and gets 9." [3d6=3, 3, 3]
[16:40] <AishaRomandine> ...
[16:40] <AishaRomandine> Mocking.
[16:40] <Shale> Indeed.
[16:40] <Gatewalker> hahaha
[16:42] <AishaRomandine> Hm, think I'll try and off one of those Serpent Peoples just because.
[16:43] <AishaRomandine> 1d6 to evade/engage in combat
[16:43] * Hatbot --> "AishaRomandine rolls 1d6 to evade/engage in combat and gets 5." [1d6=5]
[16:43] <AishaRomandine> 3d6 horror
[16:43] * Hatbot --> "AishaRomandine rolls 3d6 horror and gets 15." [3d6=5, 4, 6]
[16:44] <AishaRomandine> 6d6 to kill
[16:44] * Hatbot --> "AishaRomandine rolls 6d6 to kill and gets 26." [6d6=5, 3, 5, 6, 2, 5]
[16:44] <AishaRomandine> splat
[16:44] <Shale> Whee!

[Yakumo]

Hunter Sopko

Sanity 1/5
Stamina 2/5

Focus: 2

Speed: 1 2 [3] 4
Sneak: 4 3 [2] 1

Fight: 1 2 3 [4]
Will:  4 3 2 [1] (+1)

Lore: [1] 2 3 4
Luck: [5] 4 3 2 (+1)

Diehard: Other than during the battle with the Ancient One, if at any time Hunter's Sanity or Stamina are reduced to zero, he may make a Luck (-2) check.  On a success, he gains 1 of the appropriate stat.

Untrustworthy: Hunter must get double the number of successes needed to get or keep an ally.


Inventory:

1 Clue Token
Blessing
Dragon's Eye - Exhaust and lose 1 Sanity after drawing a gate or location card to draw a new card in its place.
Persuade - +1 Will, once per Will check, you may reroll all dice showing a result of 1.
Listen - +1 Luck, Once per Luck check, you may reroll all dice showing a result of 1.
4 toughness in monster trophies(Formless Spawn, Flesh Golem)


Personal Story: Passed!  Can use Diehard in the battle against the Great Old One, instead rolling to prevent himself from being devoured.
------------
Punching that annoying golem in the face because why not?

[18:01] <@Yakumo> I could try to have a fistfight with a golem but it would likely end in tears.
[18:01] <@Yakumo> Oh why not.
[18:01] <@Yakumo> Just because he annoys me.
[18:01] <@Yakumo> 6 luck, so 5 dice for a blessing.
[18:01] <@Yakumo> 5d6
[18:01] * Hatbot --> "Yakumo rolls 5d6 and gets 22." [5d6=6, 4, 5, 5, 2]
[18:01] <@Yakumo> Very blessed.
[18:02] <+Shale> Blessing hog.
[18:02] <+AishaRomandine> Draw 3 Blessings.
[18:02] <+AishaRomandine> Or is it 4???
[18:03] <@Yakumo> Now, the question is do I leave Fight/Will where it is for a die on the horror check, or lean on the 5 dice for Diehard?
[18:03] <+AishaRomandine> Latter, probably.  Doesn't the golem have like 3 toughness or something ridiculous?
[18:03] <@Yakumo> Think I'll pump up to 4 fight so I get three dice to punch the two toughness golem with.
[18:03] <@Yakumo> 2.
[18:04] <@Yakumo> 5d6 to not go nuts from failing the horror check.
[18:04] * Hatbot --> "Yakumo rolls 5d6 to not go nuts from failing the horror check. and gets 15." [5d6=1, 5, 5, 2, 2]
[18:04] <@Yakumo> 3d6 to punch the golem in the face?
[18:04] * Hatbot --> "Yakumo rolls 3d6 to punch the golem in the face? and gets 8." [3d6=2, 2, 4]
[18:04] * @Yakumo gets punched in the face. Let's try that again.
[18:04] <@Yakumo> 3d6 to punch golem in the face for real this time?
[18:04] * Hatbot --> "Yakumo rolls 3d6 to punch golem in the face for real this time? and gets 14." [3d6=5, 5, 4]
[18:04] <+Shale> PAWNCH
[18:04] <+Gatewalker> Sopko PAWNCH!

[Shale]

Niniel, the Tattooed Lady

Sanity: 3/4
Stamina: 3/6

Focus: 2

Skills
Speed  [1]  2  3  4
Sneak  [5]  4  3  2

Fight  2  3  [4]  5
Will    4  3  [2]  1

Lore  0  [1+1]  2  3
Luck  3  [2]  1  0

Attack From The Shadows: Once per turn, after a successful evade check in the streets, make a combat check. If it succeeds, claim the monster you just evaded as a trophy. If it fails, nothing happens. Either way, continue the turn as normal.

Inventory:
$2
1 Clue
Lore: +1 Lore stat, clue tokens spent to add to a Lore check add two dice each
Bravery: Exhaust to reroll a horror check
Spear: Two-handed physical weapon, +3 to combat checks. Exhaust for a +2 bonus to one evade check.
Cross: +1 to horror checks. Acts as a +3 one-handed magical weapon against undead.
Dark Cloak: +1 to Evade checks.
Crystal of the Elder Things: Cancel the sanity cost of a spell three times. 3/3 uses remaining.

9 Toughness worth of monster trophies (Skeleton, Cultist, Nightgaunt, Zombie, Skeleton, Serpent People)

Quest Status:

Pass: 1/4 monsters killed with Attack From The Shadows.
Fail: Terror Level at 1

The other Serpent People are also dead, as are the nightmares.

<Shale> Whee!
<Shale> Think I'll do the same.
<Shale> Focusing sneak and luck up one each.
<Shale> 2d6 blessing
<Hatbot>
ACTION --> "Shale rolls 2d6 blessing and gets 6." [2d6=1, 5]
<AishaRomandine> Blessing roll is before upkeep, I think.
<Shale> Curses.
<Shale> Ah well. Sneak up two, then.
<Shale> 5d6 to find lizard people
<Hatbot>
ACTION --> "Shale rolls 5d6 to find lizard people and gets 21." [5d6=2, 6, 5, 2, 6]
<Shale> 2d6 to not be scared by lizard people
<Hatbot>
ACTION --> "Shale rolls 2d6 to not be scared by lizard people and gets 9." [2d6=5, 4]
<Shale> 5d6 to stab lizard people in the face
<Hatbot>
ACTION --> "Shale rolls 5d6 to stab lizard people in the face and gets 15." [5d6=4, 1, 1, 6, 3]
<Shale> Ta-da.
<Cidward> Yay rampant monster slaughter to round out the game?
<Shale> d6 nightmares, incidentally.
<Hatbot>
ACTION --> "Shale rolls d6 nightmares, incidentally. and gets 6." [d6=6]

I made a mistake with my Sneak - it should have been four dice, not five - but I pass either way.

[Hunter Sopko]

Keith- Southside Streets
KILLING SPREE!

Niniel- Uptown Streets
You have at least vanquished your Elusive foe.

Hunter- Harborside Streets
Finally!

Harkan- Graveyard
Pass a Luck -2 check to find a valuable clue within your tombstone rubbings. Gain 2 clue tokens and you may move to any location or street area in arkham. If you move to a location, immediately have an encounter there.

Arianna- Merchant District Streets
My Dying coach says I'm a natural!

Norman- Unvisited Isle
Victory looms...

[Strago]

Norman will invoke his Elder Sign, using the Enchanted Jewelry to keep from going unconscious. Not that it matters, since... I guess we win!

[Hunter Sopko]

As Norman placed down that last elder sign, all the investigators heard in their heads was not the angry screams of a struggling lich, but laughter.

It wasn't until later that they realized they closed the very last gate. Surely, they cut off Nultros' access to Earth, but without sealing him away, they left him free to roam wherever else he may end up.

Worse yet, they realized that in closing the final gate that there is no longer any way home for them. The Chrysalis crew, trapped on Earth, in Arkham, for the rest of their lives, they grow old and eventually die, never seeing their homes again. Meanwhile, Hunter and Aria, doomed to wander the Earth forever, eventually meet up with Isaac and Miria and have many zany adventures. But thats another story.

As for Norman? Well... he became Senator Norman Blutarsky.

Congratulations, heroes. You've won?

[Hunter Sopko]

So... congrats to everyone... initial thoughts from everyone?

Investigators? Good? Bad? Just right?

Monsters? Good? Bad? Just right? You saw all but one of them.

Expansion encounters? You managed to miss most of the flavorful ones.

Items/Spells/Etc? You missed pretty much all of these.

Just get the ball rolling...

Some initial notes, I'll probably be increasing the Nightmare checks to -2, but since I didn't get to test it as the playercount lowered it's hard to call.

Fixed the wording on Attack from the Shadows.

Sorry I sort of fell off of the scenes. Just kinda burned out on them. 800-1500 words every day is hard to keep up, but I managed 10 or so days straight!

[VySaika]

Harkan is fine as an investigator on his own merits. I don't think his PS is remotely feasable to ever pass, though. Requires $20 all told? Yeah. It is a huge bonus, netting him two allies, but. Also on the subject of allies, I'm not really seeing how he's the "ally whore" he was hyped up as outside of his PS. He doesn't seem like he'd be any better or worse then anyone else at getting them, just needs to luck into finding an ally encounter and having the stuff to pass it. He's a good mage though, and not a bad fighter either.

Cham is awesome, especially against Nultros. Really makes Harkan a heavy hitter there, if he can get a good physical weapon.

No real comment on the monsters, don't think I tangled with any expansion ones.

Nightmare checks could go to -2, yeah. They were pretty much a non-factor this game.

No sweat on the scenes.

[Shale]

Nightmare checks to -2 is definitely a good thing. That or require more than one success (maybe one per player, or per two players?). Attack From The Shadows seems balanced enough; the monsters in the streets were just never ones I could/wanted to use it against.

[Hunter Sopko]

The original check was different and much, much harsher. It was originally... +0? Anyone who failed lost a Sanity and the terror level went up 2 levels on an all-fail. Was one of the first things to be pulled back to what you saw here.

The rewording was just clearing up the question about damage that came up during the game. The new wording is thus:

Any Phase: Once per turn, after a successful evade check in the Streets, she may make a combat check. If it succeeds she claims the monster as a trophy. If it fails, she loses no Stamina. Either way, she continues the turn as normal.

[Yakumo]

One thing I noticed somewhere along the way is that these new investigators are very poorly suited for their expansion GoO.  In order to win in most cases(this was a fluke, to be sure) they will need to seal gates.  The problem there is that they have a grand total of four clues between the lot of them, two each on Arianna and Niniel.  Also, aside from the Pillar of the World and failing Keith's PS, they don't have any special ways to get any either.  On the other hand the overall high Fight(or middling fight/Cham or Diehard) do make it hard for Nultros to kill them back, so take that as you will.

[Shale]

A long game where the investigators need to build up resources while the GoO slowly wears them down sems about right for this setup, really.

[VySaika]

Oh, on the subject of Kieth's PS, I really don't like that passing his means Arianna fails hers. It really hurts for them to be used together like that then. Maybe that was on purpose since Kieth's PS is pretty awesome so you wanted him passing it to have a drawback somewhere, but it's one of those things that grates on my particular flavor of OCD a bit. <_<

[Yakumo]

True, Shale, but I'd like to at least have some sort of ability that gets clues instead of waiting and relying on luck from Mythos clues or encounters to get any clues at all.  Though I guess the Science Building is an option, and nobody ever really seems to use it, so maybe that's not such a bad thing after all?  I dunno.  Honestly, though, it feels like both Nultros and these investigators have trouble killing each other off, and it could degenerate into a slog after a point.

[Hunter Sopko]

Oh, on the subject of Kieth's PS, I really don't like that passing his means Arianna fails hers. It really hurts for them to be used together like that then. Maybe that was on purpose since Kieth's PS is pretty awesome so you wanted him passing it to have a drawback somewhere, but it's one of those things that grates on my particular flavor of OCD a bit. <_<

Done purposely. I noticed that PSes sometimes make people play a bit selfishly and hamper teamwork. This plays into that. It's meant as a fallback rather than a I MUST DIE thing, because Keith is the last person ever who wants to die flavorwise.

Lots of expansion encounters give clues now, though some of the negative ones can be pretty bad. And yeah, you also kept forgetting that you can get clues via the Science Building. I kept reminding you guys about that.

And slog is actually the intent of the game. It's an endurance match to see who wears down and dies first. Obviously you still want to go as fast as possible like a normal Arkham game, but unless something like what happens in this game happens, it's just not gonna work. The combo of max sanity damage, -5 and the terror level increases are also to make forgetting the seals and gearing up more difficult as well, since there's a lot working against you.

The investigators starting without clues is double-flavor. It reflects that they haven't been in the world long, and notice that only the women have any clues. Tee hee.

Would the investigators be too strong for normal Arkham?

[Shale]

We could also get clues just by going to the science building, since it seemed like every other Mythos dropped one there.

[Hunter Sopko]

Edited the first post with links to the scenes (if people want the map back up, let me know). I might write a few more later. I had a couple ideas just never got them down on paper. Mostly the Nultros fight, Keith getting lost and Arianna getting drunk while killing a zombie. Getting that ending on paper probably wouldn't be bad either.

Thoughts on the scenes in general? Open to those outside the game too. Writing style comments, etc. appreciated.

[Sierra]

Meanwhile, Hunter and Aria, doomed to wander the Earth forever, eventually meet up with Isaac and Miria and have many zany adventures.

I call this a happy ending.