Play@YSDC

OOC,Action 1: Play [b]Dr. Milan Christopher[/b]. 4 Resources spent Action 2: Investigate (Intellect 5 + 1[[b]Dr. Milan Christopher[/b]] = 6 vs. 2 Shroud): [dice]0[/dice] Success! 1 Clue gained from Study, 1 Resource gained from [b]Dr. Milan Christopher[/b]. Action 3: Investigate (Intellect 5 + 1[[b]Dr. Milan Christopher[/b]] + 1[Deduction] = 7 vs. 2 Shroud): [dice]1[/dice] Success! 2 Clues gained from Study, 1 Resource gained from [b]Dr. Milan Christopher[/b]. Does the Tome have to be played as an Asset for the Elder Sign to allow me to draw an extra card, or is the fact that it's in my hand enough? In any case. we've completed Act 1 with 4 Clues between us! :D

OOC,Wow, that's even better than I'd hoped! If I have three Tomes in my entire deck (including my hand), then yes, I'd draw three cards. I haven't counted them myself. Shouldn't the next Act have kicked in as soon as we got four Clues?

OOC,Shouldn't the Grim Rule apply, then? If we advance the Act now, the monsters would spawn in the Hallway with us rather than be discarded. Advancing from Act 2 to Act 3 specifically says that the Clues must be spent at the end of the round (i.e., after Upkeep), but not in this case. EDIT: On p.10 of Learn to Play, Advancing the Act says that Clues are spent during any Investigator's turn, so we would have done it before the Upkeep Phase. I suppose we could wait until the start of the next Investigation Phase and then leave any monsters stranded. The only exception is if an Act has an Objective (such as Act 2).

OOC,That Necronomicon is nasty! :shock: Got to get rid of it as soon as I can. Fortunately, my special ability lets me get a free Activate Tome Action during each of my turns. Since I drew this card during my turn, I can use it on the first turn, so I'll do that. I played the first scenario solo again, and this time it was easier now that I knew what to expect and could prepare for it. I won, but it was a near thing. I had the Machete and Beat Cop early on in the game. Paranoia hit me, but I didn't lose much and still had an Emergency Cache. I was able to avoid the Flesh Eater spawning since the Attic wasn't in play yet. The Icy Ghoul spawned in the Cellar while I was up in the Attic, but I took care of it. I found both Clues in the Attic and went down to the Hallway, where the Encounter card that Mythos Phase was Obscuring Fog, which did absolutely no harm. Then I went down to the Cellar and finished off the Icy Ghoul with two swipes of my Machete for an extra VP, and I used my special ability to get one of the Cellar Clues without having to Investigate down there. I lost my Vicious Blow when advancing from Act 1 to 2, but fortunately I kept my Dynamite Blast (that's how I lost in in my first game, not the Crypt Chill). I made sure I had enough Resources when I advanced to Act 3. A Ghoul Minion spawned at the same time the Ghoul Priest appeared, which made things harder, but the Dynamite Blast took care of them. Unfortunately, they both got Attacks of Opportunity, so I took 3 damage and 3 horror, plus another 3 damage from the Dynamite Blast. Fortunately, I was able to finish the Ghoul Priest with my next Machete attack. However, I ended up taking a point of mental trauma anyway for watching my house burn down, but I think it's better in the long run.

ooc,It certainly helps to know what's round the corner! I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the next scenarios, I found 'em tough going.

OOC,It'll probably be some time before I get to the other scenarios in solo play. I'll probably end up playing them here first. I have a huge backlog of games I haven't even played once yet, and I'd like to try some of them. [b]Luca[/b] is awesome! It's a shame you lost him. It's a shame no monsters popped up, as they'd have been discarded anyway when we advance the Act. Still, it could have been worse. There's nothing that can be done about Ancient Evils, but we're still making good time even with 2 Doom tokens.

ooc,Such as? I had Scythe for Christmas, but I've only admired the minis.

OOC,Are you allowed to look through your deck to discard a card, or does it have to come from your hand or play area? We don't both have to go the same way, which will cut down on the automatic losses for entering the Cellar and Attic. However, having us two rooms away from each other could be dangerous. In any case, I'm best suited to search the Cellar, but I'd like to get rid of the Necronomicon first. I can use it once as a free Action, and spend an actual Action to finish it. Then I can play my Flashlight and move to the Cellar, so that I can start Investigating next turn. Or, if I wait until next turn to finish off the Necronomicon, I can Investigate once this turn, though there is a greater chance of automatic failure. The Parlor should be in play too, it's just inaccessible for now. I have too many games to list them all. Scythe is one of them. I backed it on Kickstarter, but I haven't even opened my copy yet. I also recently got the expansion. I have played someone else's copy a couple of times, though. I also have Mansions of Madness, both first and second editions, and haven't tried either one yet. The next game on my playlist is Tiny Epic Western, which I've been wanting to try for a while. Other games I'm eager to play are Black Orchestra, a cooperative game where the players conspire to assassinate Hitler and overthrow the Third Reich, and Days of Ire: Budapest 1956, about the Hungarian uprising against the Soviets. And I have expansions for Elder Sign and Eldritch Horror I haven't tried yet. And I have plenty, plenty more. I just haven't had time to play them,

ooc,MoM 2nd edition is iffy solo, I think--too many bits to setup. I love the idea of Black Orchestra and Days of Ire. I'm bored with Eldritch Horror, and sold Elder Sign. I'm toying with the idea of playing Arkham Horror again, which I've not played since doing so here--that's 2012.

Cellar unlocked,[img]https://arkhamdb.com/bundles/cards/01114.jpg[/img]

OOC,But are you allowed to actually look through your face-down deck for a card to discard? I haven't played Arkham Horror since then too, and I'd like to play it again as well. I never did play with the revised version of Curse of the Dark Pharaoh, and I'd like to try combining various expansions with Miskatonic Horror. Then there's my absolutely insane idea of playing with all of the expansions at once. Free Action: Activate Necronomicon. 1 horror removed from Necronomicon. 1 horror taken. Action 1: Activate Necronomicon. 1 horror removed from Necronomicon. 1 horror taken. Necronomicon discarded. Action 2: Play Flashlight, spending 2 Resources. Action 3: Move to Cellar. 1 damage taken.

ooc,AH board game pbp... maybe. I s'pose I could use Arkham Horror wiki for the cards?

OOC,Yes, that makes sense. If you get rid of Burglary, then you'd do something else with that Action instead. I'm beginning to wonder if [b]Daisy[/b]'s Elder Sign effect really does count cards in my entire deck, including those that aren't visible. Maybe I should have only drawn 1 card (the Necronomicon) instead of 3, and the other two should still be on top of my deck waiting to be drawn next. Arkham Horror pbp would be fun again. I was also thinking of playing solo with my own copy (I have it and all the expansions), but it will probably be ages before I get to it with my backlog.

OOC,Nice! You could actually play him next turn with the resources you have. And Manual Dexterity is great for me! I may need to evade something or avoid Grasping Hands.

OOC,I definitely agree. You'll need that Sanity later. Let's just hope you don't lose [b]de Luca[/b],

OOC,That could have been a lot worse. Rats are one of the few enemies we can actually beat, and Perception is probably the one card in my hand I can most afford to lose (though it would have been nice to have at the end for parleying with [b]Lita[/b]). This turn I plan to fight the rats and, if I have any Actions left, use the Flashlight to start finding Clues. I could also play my Medical Texts and then use them for free, but it's more important that I find at least two Clues down here fast before something I can't handle pops up here. Do you want to go first, or should I?

OOC,Action 1: Fight Swarm of Rats (Combat 2 vs. Swarm of Rats' Fight 1): [dice]0[/dice] Success! Swam of Rats discarded. 3 cards drawn due to Elder Sign. I'll wait to see what those are before I take my remaining Actions.

OOC,Fast Action: Spend 2 resources to play Working a Hunch. 1 clue gained from Cellar. Action 2: Activate Flashlight. 1 supply spent. Intellect roll(5 + 1[[b]Dr. Milan Christopher[/b]] = 6) vs. (4 - 2[Flashlight] = 2 Shroud): [dice]0[/dice] Success (thanks to the Flashlight)! One clue gained. 1 resource gained from [b]Dr. Milan Christopher[/b]. Action 3: Play Medical Texts. 2 resources spent. Free Action: Activate Medical Texts. Intellect roll(5 + 1[[b]Dr. Milan Christopher[/b]] = 6) vs. 2 Difficulty: [dice]1[/dice] Success! 1 damage healed.

OOC,Yeah, that was awesome! I'm lucky I got Working a Hunch. Those are some nice cards for us. They'll help against the Ghoul Priest. With the Knife and Lita Chantler, I' may actually be able to help in the fight. I forgot to move the Medical Texts, but I've done it now.

OOC,Thanks! I'll use Fearless too, to increase my odds and heal one horror. You should go first this turn and try to get that last Clue in the Attic, then go down to the Hallway. If for some reason you can't get it in four actions, I'll try to find another one in the Cellar before going back upstairs (which takes two actions), but I'd prefer to have a spare action to ready my Knife and ditch my Flashlight.

OOC,I hadn't realized that you needed to clear all clues from a location to score its victory points, but I don't think I should bother getting the other two down here, even though I could with the Flashlight. We've lucked out in the encounters so far, and they're only going to get harder. Let's just get to the endgame as fast as possible. Action 1: wasted Action 2: Move to Hallway Action 3: Play Knife. 1 resource spent. Flashlight discarded. Will roll (3 + 2[Guts] + 1[Fearless] = 6 dice vs. 3): [dice]0[/dice] Success! Frozen in Fear discarded. 1 horror healed.

OOC,Nice! Playing the Switchblade is a fast action too, so not only can you do it without spending an action, but it also doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity. I like mine too. I should probably go first next turn. That way I can move to the Parlor and parley with [b]Lita[/b] so that you get the bonus damage on your turn. I'll also be out of range of any dynamite you decide to throw.

OOC,Sounds good, but don't we need to draw encounter cards for the Mythos Phase first? We may both need to evade.

OOC,The agenda should have two doom now (it had one last turn). It's a good thing I didn't stay in the Cellar looking for those last Clues! We're in pretty good shape now. When you evade on your turn, I'll commit Manual Dexterity towards that test. If your first attempt fails, I'll commit Research Librarian for the second. Will test (3 + 2[Daisy's Tote Bag] = 5 vs. difficulty 4): [dice]0[/dice] Success!

OOC,I'd known I'd have to go first anyway because of the Dynamite. Aside from that, the Ghoul Priest would automatically engage me if you left the room while I was still there. I should have just taken my turn last night, but I wasn't thinking. I'd forgotten you had to be in the same room to commit a card to another investigator. In that case, your best bet is to just Move to the Parlor and take the hit, then throw the Dynamite for 3 damage and grab two resources on your turn. It's a Hunter, so it'll follow us there, and then we'll have seven actions to deal with it and hopefully kill it next turn. You'll be able to Backstab it for 4 damage (maybe 5 if you can use it in conjunction with the Switchblade), and my Manual Dexterity will help you with that attack. You can also commit the Switchblade for the Agility if you can't use its ability with Backstab. Then we should be able to finish it. I'll also be able to heal 1 damage you've taken for free with my Medical Texts on my turn. Or, since my next draw is the Old Book of Lore, I can equip that next turn and use it for free to get a card of my choice out of the next three into my hand. Action 1: Move to Parlor Action 2: Parley with [b]Lita Chantler[/b] Intellect roll (5 + 1[[b]Dr. Christopher Milan[/b]] +1[Scrying] = 7 dice vs. 4): [dice]0[/dice] Success! [b]Dr. Chirstopher Milan[/b] discarded. [b]Lita Chantler[/b] enters play under my control. Action 3: Gain 1 resource

OOC,Don't do that! :o We need Backstab to have any chance of defeating the Ghoul Priest. If you had to commit a card, it should be the Switchblade, but you don't even need to do that, and you'll need to commit the Switchblade when you use Backstab. You have 5 Sanity, so you can get hit twice and still survive.

OOC,It's better to give up the Switchblade than Backstab, but you don't have to do either. Your investigator post says that you currently have 5 Sanity, not 4. You started with 6, and you took 1 horror for entering the Attic. Did you lose another somewhere? If not, you can take two hits and keep both cards. That way you can commit Switchblade to your Backstab attack along with my Manual Dexterity to maximize your chances. If the Backstab misses, we'll probably have to resign. You have two resources now, but if you move instead of spending an action to evade, you can gain another one. You'll also get a resource during Upkeep, so you can use Backstab next turn no matter what (as long as you get through the Mythos phase without losing it).

OOC,No, we're fine. The Dynamite Blast went off during your turn, and we were all in the Parlor while the Ghoul Priest was in the Hallway. It only moved to the Parlor afterwards, during the Enemy Phase. If you're thinking about using the second Dynamite Blast, don't worry about it. You probably won't have enough resources to use it anyway, and Backstab causes more damage. You can do 4 damage with it, and I can do 3 damage with the Knife if I manage to hit. If that doesn't work, the second Dynamite Blast could do the job on the following turn if you're lucky enough to get an Emergency Cache or two. Also, don't forget to put Backstab back in your hand.

OOC,Oh, I hadn't known that rule. In that case, you'll have to use your first action to evade and commit the Switchblade. Your second action is then to move, your third is to use the Dynamite Blast, and for your fourth action you gain one resource, not two. This means you only get hit once, during the Enemy Phase. You'll only have two resources, but you'll gain a third during the Upkeep Phase and still be able to use Backstab next turn.

OOC,The Ghoul Priest still hit you once, during the Enemy Phase. Since it's a Hunter, it did follow us into the Parlor, which is exactly where we want it. I think we're in a good position now, especially with Unexpected Courage, and the Ghoul Minion isn't that bad. With [b]Lita[/b], it can be killed in a single hit. Both of us are effectively at Combat 4, so either of us could do it with normal attacks. It may not be necessary, but you have plenty of actions. You need to reserve one to attack the Ghoul Priest with the Backstab, which will do 4 damage (+2 from Backstab, +1 from [b]Lita[/b]). I'll use Manual Dexterity to help you, which will raise your effective Combat to 6, so you'll only miss on a -3, -4, or tentacles. That will knock it down to 3 health as long as you hit. To maximize our chances, you should save Unexpected Courage for my turn. I can use my Knife's stronger attack (discarding it in the process) to do 3 damage on my turn, finishing off the Ghoul Priest as long as I hit. I'll effectively have Combat 5 with that action, and Unexpected Courage will raise that to 7, meaning I'll only fail on a -4 or tentacles.

OOC,That won't leave you with enough resources for the Backstab, but you might be able to get them next turn, and automatic damage is awesome. I say go for it! If you take more than one action to kill the Ghoul Minion, though, just collect as many resources as you can after killing it in hopes of using it later (even if it hits us too). If you are able to use the Dynamite Blast, we'll only need 4 more damage, and either of us can do it. I'll play Hyperawareness, move to the Hallway, and collect a resource after your turn. [b]Lita[/b] can survive a hit from the Ghoul Priest. As long as you don't draw an enemy or a card that costs you an action next Mythos phase, next turn you can collect two resources (plus a third you gain from Upkeep), move to the Hallway, and Backstab. If that fails, I can engage, attack with my Knife for 3 damage, and then use Blinding Light for the final point.

OOC,Actually, Hyperawareness doesn't really help me. I'd blow three resources just to get what I'd get for free by committing the card even if one of those tests happens. I'll just collect more resources instead in case I draw something awesome and then move to the Hallway. Action 1: Gain 1 resource Action 2: Gain 1 resource Action 3: Move to Hallway

OOC,There are 5 Doom tokens now, not 4. Ancient Evils raised it to 4 last turn. We're still in excellent shape, though. There's nothing to stop you from collecting two resources, moving to the Hallway, and attempting to Backstab the Ghoul Priest and finish it, with help from my Manual Dexterity. You won't have a spare action to engage it, but that's okay. Even if you miss (only on a -3, -4, or tentacles), I can survive the 4 damage (barely), and you can survive the Retaliate ability. Alternatively, you can commit Unexpected Courage along with Manual Dexterity and only miss on tentacles, which I think is better. Then you can help me out with Physical Training when I attack if you miss. In the event you miss, I'll need Unexpected Courage or Physical Training from you in order to have a good chance of hitting the Ghoul Priest with the Knife for 3 damage. Then I could use one of your Will cards along with my Old Book of Lore to cast Blinding Light on the Ghoul Priest for the last point to finish it. I may go down in the process if I get a result that causes me damage (or [b]Lita[/b] may have to take the hit and go down instead), but as long as I knock the Ghoul Priest down to 0 or 1 HP, you have a good chance of pulling through without me. Hopefully it won't come to that, however.

OOC,Nicely done! The resolution I chose when I played was the first one, but I did glance at the other one afterwards. I don't know the consequences of burning the house or not in later scenarios, but I think we'll be much better off in them if we burn it. The house doesn't get burned when you fail to resolve the scenario (which happened the first time I tried it), so that would probably make things harder later.

OOC,Don't we each get 5 experience points, not 4?

OOC,Nice choices! I can just look through the cards in my copy of the game, but I don't have time to do it tonight. This weekend I can go through them, choose my new cards, and decide what gets replaced if they're not straight upgrades. There are also neutral cards available to buy (such as the Elder Sign).