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[Mr. Handy]

Elisabeth's First Aid skill does not increase.

[Cearlan]

Skill Rolls for Dr Henry Renwick - in alphabetical order - First Aid (75%) - Fail; Grapple (25%) - Success; Listen (25%) - Success; Medicine (45%) - Fail; Speak Mandarin (26%) - Success and Spot Hidden (45%) - Fail.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4244971/

Again in alphabetical order, the increases are - Grapple (+9%), Listen (+7%) and Speak Mandarin (+4%).

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4244981/

[Tabs]

The next chapter, starting with "Peking-Hankow Express," will start on Friday 11th.

[aine]

Experience checks for Santiago. First Aid 30 Grapple 25 Listen 55 Punch 50** Rifle 65 Sneak 30 Spot Hidden 65 Throw 25

1d100=49, 1d100=23, 1d100=43, 1d100=23, 1d100=69, 1d100=71, 1d100=73, 1d100=19
1d10=6, 1d10=9, 1d10=9, 1d10=2

First Aid now 36: Rifle now 74: Sneak now 39: Spot Hidden now 67

**Santiago twice successfully clubbed a soldier with his rifle butt. As there is no club skill - shall I use punch?

[Mr. Handy]

There are two club skills: Small Club and Large Club. Both have a base of 25%. Using a rifle as a club would probably fall under Large Club. However, the roll is still too low.

[aine]

Aha, thank you. I've got 5th Ed rules and there's no clubbing of any sort. Not even a disco.

[Mr. Handy]

Disco is not dead which can eternal lie.

[Mr. Handy]

I'll be away at conventions October 31-November 3 and November 8-10, so I probably won't be able to post then. I'm not sure if I'll even be able to post between them, as I work during the week and will have little time to catch up, though I am off November 11.

[Tabs]

Okay, thanks.

[Cearlan]

So sorry that we have been away from playing for so long, but we are back now and raring to go on all fronts. Thanks for your patience guys.

[DrPeterson]

I'll be gone till Monday.
Feel free to npc my character should the need arise.

[Tabs]

No probs. Mr. Handy is away as well.

[Mr. Handy]

I played my first game of Eldritch Horror this afternoon, and it was a blast! I'll put my account of it in a spoiler button in case you don't want to be spoiled about the sorts of things that could happen in a game, but it's very different every time.

Eldritch Horror,I played as Leo Anderson, the Expedition Leader, and I was up against Cthulhu. I started in Buenos Aires with HIred Muscle. A Gate opened in Rome, and a Cultist spawned there. The Active Expedition was in the Amazon, which was luckily right next door. A Clue token appeared in the Australian outback. The initial mystery I faced was that Cthulhu's daughter Cthylla surfaced in the sea between Buenos Aires and Antarctica. Even though she was only one space away, I didn't see how I could defeat her, but I had to do it in order to advance to the next mystery. The first thing I did was try to Acquire Assets. On offer in the Reserve were a .38 revolver (cheap), a double-barrelled shotgun (very expensive), a card that would heal all Health and Sanity (didn't need it yet), and an Agency Quarantine (also very expensive). This last card deals 4 damage to all monsters on a given space. I was lucky enough to roll boxcars on my Influence roll, and with the help of a Bank Loan I was barely able to get it. It did enough damage to take out Cthylla, who would have been hard to beat in a fight even with the shotgun - not to mention that it would have taken me extra travel time and I'd have lost Sanity and possibly Health in the process. This way, I took her out and cleared the mystery on the first turn (lucky I did, or she'd have sent Deep Ones after me periodically)! Actually, i was only halfway done the first turn, as I still had my second action, so I went to the Amazon. I encountered the expedition and found an Artifact, a Gate Box. I never ended up using it, as I didn't get around to encountering any Gates and exploring Other Worlds. I also picked up a Clue. In the Mythos phase, another Gate opened in San Francisco and a Ghoul emerged. No sooner had I taken out the loan than someone came after me to collect, but he didn't want money - he was after my very soul! Fortunately, I was able to withstand him (my bonus die for being in the wilderness helped there) There was an earthquake that destroyed the Active Expedition (currently the Pyramids) and injured anyone in or next to that space. It would have been the Amazon had I not encountered that expedition. The next mystery was also revealed. The stars were now right, and Cthulhu's worshippers began to take to the seas and gather, anticipating his return. The Clue in Australia moved into the South Pacific between Sydney and Buenos Aires, and all I needed to do to complete that mystery was to get a Clue from a research encounter there. I returned to Buenos Aires and went shopping, but I flubbed my Influence roll and got nothing. I discarded the healing Asset card, which was replaced by a helpful Ally, the Arcane Scholar. I encountered some Deep Ones performing a ritual, but I failed my Lore roll and wasn't able to learn a spell; I just lost some Sanity instead. However, the Mythos card helped me out, and I was able to get that Sanity right back. It also opened a Gate in London, and a Gnoph-Keh entered the world and made its way to the Himalayas. On the third turn, I went shopping again and picked up the Lucky Rabbit's Foot, which was replaced by a Personal Assistant. Then I set out to sea to search for the Clue. A Deep One surfaced and attacked. I lost a Sanity, but I was able to defeat it easily and picked up that Clue (which I used to solve the mystery) and an extra one. The next Mythos card was a Rumor, which spawned the Spinner of Webs in Greenland. Eventually it would cause me to lose the game if I didn't defeat it first, but I was confident I'd be able to win before that happened, as I'd now solved two of the required three mysteries in three turns. A Clue also appeared at the Pyramids. The third mystery was that R'lyeh rose from the sea - exactly in my current location! I needed to explore the island and get an Eldritch token from the special encounters there to win. On the fourth turn, I spent one action to use my special ability to try to recruit an Ally, but I failed the Influence roll. Then I rested to recover my Sanity. I failed the Lore roll in my R'lyeh encounter, and the Doom track advanced, but it still had quite a way to go before Cthulhu awoke. The Mythos card was another Rumor, this one in the North Atlantic. I could have dealt with it, but I was right where I needed to be to win the game. On the fifth turn, I tried to recruit again, and this time I succeeded. I chose the Arcane Scholar, as I had a feeling I'd need Lore, and I was right. A Witch Doctor replaced him in the Reserve. I passed on the second action, as there was nothing else I could do on that spot. My next R'lyeh encounter required a hard Will roll first, which I passed. Then there was a hard Lore roll, which I passed with the help of my Arcane Scholar. The Mythos card and active Rumors had some effects before the game officially ended, but I had won handily. I'd figured out how to send R'lyeh back to the bottom of the sea, returning Cthulhu to his slumber...until the next time the stars come right! It was a great game, and I haven't even seen most of it yet. I spent all of my time on only three spaces (and half of it on a single space), and I'd won in just five turns, which was quick, but I was lucky. The special decks for each Ancient One ensure that the core encounters remain thematic, and that the game plays differently for each of them. I'd like to play again, but I do have a pile of other games I haven't even tried once yet that I'd like to play first before I give it another go.

[DrPeterson]

Thanks for the review, Mr. H!

How does it compare to Arkham Horror? I'm seeing a lot of parallel technical terms there, is it different enough or is the same game on a different board?

[Tabs]

I googled Vilma Banky and found lots of great photos. I like this one:



Which board other games did you get?--I guess you visited a game convention the other week? I haven't read about your first game of EH yet, so no comments at the moment. Unfortunately I didn't receive my copy this weekend.

[Mr. Handy]

Nice picture!

I went to two conventions on consecutive weekends. At the first one I picked up Friday (a quick solo game, tried it once so far but didn't win), the Firefly board game (played it twice so far and won both times, lots of fun!), and the new Pandemic expansion, On the Brink. At the second convention I bought Yggdrasil, which I played once before a few years ago. In the last six weeks I've also gotten several other new games. Four of them I had backed on Kickstarter, and I haven't had time to play any of them yet (Dark Darker Darkest, Zombicide, Freedom: The Underground Railroad Game, and 12 Realms). I also got a bunch that I ordered through CoolStuffInc, which gives normal discounts of about 33% off of everything and has daily deals and a Black Friday sale with even steeper discounts, not to mention free shipping for orders of $100 or more - and I never have any problem finding enough games to buy. I haven't had enough time to try any of them yet except for Eldritch Horror. I got both expansions for Fortune and Glory (Rise of the Crimson Hand and Treasure Hunters), the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game with the character add-on and second adventure set expansions, The Hobbit (the one designed by Reiner Knizia), and Awakening the Bear. This last one is a WWII game set on the Russian Front in 1941-2. I had thought it had solo rules, but the solo expansion is actually not available yet and won't be until February, so I'll have to wait to play that one anyway. And now I'm tempted to buy A World at War, which is a monster of a WWII game with over 2800 counters that normally sells for $200. CoolStuffInc has it on sale for less than $100 right now, and there's another little game on sale there I want that will push it high enough to get free shipping.

Eldritch Horror does have themes, elements, and mechanics in common with Arkham Horror, but it is very much its own game and well worth getting. I'm sorry to hear that yours hasn't arrived yet, and I hope you get it soon.

[Tabs]

I've got Friday, probably the last game I bought before EH, but I haven't played it! Zombicide and Dark etc. have cool minis, I was tempted to get these games because of them . . . no, no, my will is good--I've decided to cut down on board games, and have had a clear out; however one game that does sound very interesting to me is Robinson Crusoe. . . . Have you tried Space Hulk Death Angel card game?--it's a good solo game.

Edit: Re. your game of Eldritch Horror, it sounds like what I want AH to be more like, namely more theme and less bookkeeping.

[Mr. Handy]

Yes, that's a pretty good description of Eldirtch Horror.

Robinson Crusoe does sound cool. I did buy Space Hulk Death Angel last year and played it several times. It was fun and very challenging; it took me a bunch of attempts before I finally won once!

I need to cut back on board games too. I ended up not buying A World At War, but only because I wanted to wait until I'd had some sleep before making a decision. It fell off the sale somehow, though other items that were up there yesterday remain there. So did Dungeon Roll, the other game that interested me. Now AWAW is back up to its regular discount price of $130, a good deal more than the $95 it had been. I'll wait on it, and if it ever goes on sale again I'll probably pick it up. Still, I have enough games now, plus there are quite a few I've backed on Kickstarter that should deliver in the next year or so.

I played the tutorial mission of Zombicide, which was pretty easy, but it's supposed to be. It was still fun. The regular missions look very hard indeed, and it's hard to see how they're winnable. It looks like the zombies will spawn faster than you can kill them. I also played a game of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, half last night and half today. It's fun too, and well designed, as I expect from Reiner Knizia. You need to carefully manage your resources to get you through each board. This game has two of them, and there will be expansions with additional boards based on the next two Hobbit movies that allow you to continue. I intend to play 12 Realms next, as it's a short game, but I won't have time until next weekend. I need to catch up on reading the games on this site that I'm not playing. I had finally caught up on October 30, right before I left for my first convention, and I was never able to find time to do all the back reading since then.

[Tabs]

All the gaming you do: I still don't know how you manage it!

[DrPeterson]

Since most of my Keepers visit this place, I'm posting it here. I'll be out of town for the next three days and won't be able to catch up actively till thursday at best and monday at worst. Feel free to NPC my characters.