Hello! I've recently bought and played Arkham Horror. No player was left disappointed.

But I have a question. We've seen the Silver Twilight Lodge membership cards along with the others but have so far not discovered any way to actually aquire the membership in-game. So my questions are: when/how will this happen?

By going to the STL. Some of the encounters there can get you the Membership. I frequent the STL pretty much every game and despite there now being 31 encounter card in each of the Arkham neighborhood decks, I keep getting the membership quite often. Whereas the Bank Loans are collecting virtual dust, utterly unused (virtual only 'cos I setup everything for a game that might possibly be needed).

Dam said:

Most games I don't use the bank loans, but they are far from unused. I've used them to buy off a rumour (is it the mad bomber that requires $$$?) and certain investigators get a bank loan almost for free e.g. Jenny will never default, Wilson shouldn't (but has ) a retianer is a good buffer against defaulting and may make it worth your whiloe if starting equipment is poor. The Credit Rating skill from KH will prevent a default, netting you a free bank loan.

The cards I've never used have been the rail pass and the gang memberships from Dunwich. Generally invetsigators don't hop back and forth between towns enough (re-IH anyway) for a pass to be worthwhile. I arrely go to the woods, where I believe gang memberships are to be had (judging from reports I'm odd in avoiding the woods, but only bad things ever happened there in my first few games).

- Mariana the ex-nun cultist

PS I think I've only ever aquired an STL membership once in game, I never plan for one and whenever it comes up I never have the required cash. We do play with Diana very frequently though. Whilst I randomly draw in solos, I let Rachel chose when I play with my daughter and her three favourites are Wendy (hey it's a little girl) , Lily (China, like ancient Greece and Egypt are cool, and she likes the picture) and Diana (not sure why, but if played she has to start with the Enchanted Knife ever seince Rachel noticed the match up in the card pictures). Finn seems to be getting chosen every game since IH came out too (sneaky is good)

Dam said:

Ok. Gotta try visiting STL a bit more often then.

About bank loans, I can say that I take them quite often to get the extra cash. It is especially good to get a bank loan after you manage to get the Deputy of Arkham or if you play as Jenny Barnes or if you have retainer since most of the time you wont lose anything to pay the interest rate.

However I felt kind of sad for the bank of Arkham during our last game, because we faced off against Yog-Sothoth and we had to go through plenty of investigators (due to them getting devoured every time the were lost in time and space). Three of the four lost investigators had bank loans and couldnt pay them back due to them being devoured. One wonders how the bank of Arkham still stays in business after such loan fiascos.

Varnias Tybalt said:

One wonders how the bank of Arkham still stays in business after such loan fiascos.

I think most banks can survive a 10$ loss.. even if it's the 1920's.. after all that's about the same as the cost of two shotguns..

Svavelvinter said:

Varnias Tybalt said:

One wonders how the bank of Arkham still stays in business after such loan fiascos.

I think most banks can survive a 10$ loss.. even if it's the 1920's.. after all that's about the same as the cost of two shotguns..

Yeah, well somehow I feel that the sums of money you pay in Arkham Horror arent really representative of what things are/were really priced at (why would anyone take a bankloan of only 10$? anyway). But thats just a theory.

Also it happened three times during one gaming session (Yog-Sothoth really likes to devour everything).

Mariana the Ex-Nun Cultist said:

I just let Mad Bomber fizzle. While I don't play for score, failed Rumors don't have a negative effect on score, BLs do (since they'd most likely never get paid). And then there's the hassle of trading and re-trading of equipment and money, hoping for an early defaulting.

Mariana the Ex-Nun Cultist said:

The what from what ?

Mariana the Ex-Nun Cultist said:

I've gotten Sheldon's Gang Membership. Never a Rail Pass though, not even when playing AH + DH games. Or I get that encounter but don't have money (or fail the check if there is one). Private Investigator is unused (requires an encounter at Ye Olde Magick Shoppe, a place that's all dust apart from placing a starting char there) and Darke's Blessing. Everything else has seen play.

Mariana the Ex-Nun Cultist said:

I don't really go there with less than $3 or high Will (since they regularly try to rough you if you can't/won't pay for the membership).

Varnias Tybalt said:

However I felt kind of sad for the bank of Arkham during our last game, because we faced off against Yog-Sothoth and we had to go through plenty of investigators (due to them getting devoured every time the were lost in time and space). Three of the four lost investigators had bank loans and couldnt pay them back due to them being devoured. One wonders how the bank of Arkham still stays in business after such loan fiascos.

As a minor session report, that was delightful! Very pleased Yog gave ya a whuppin': even with 24 Ancient Ones, Yog is still a top 10 contender, and there is nothing wrong with a little trial-by-fire for a new player.

Welcome to the Carnival, Varnias Tybalt!

jgt7771 said:

Thank you for the warm welcome, im sure i'll lose my last remaining sanity points very soon.

Yog's ability to munch up an investigator every time they're lost in time and space proved to be very deadly in the long run. Luckily we never needed to face him in the final battle as we managed to close enough gates to save Arkham. We were smart enough to slap some elder signs on the board as soon as it was possible (even if that made the game a bit "slow" at the end when we had sealed four unstable locations).

Varnias Tybalt said:

That's why you'll want gate bursts . More unstable locations doesn't hurt either. Oh and while at it, diluting the UI deck helps reduce Elder Sign (the item) sightings .

Dam said:

We rarely take out bank loans. Last time I saw one was when Finn was waiting to discard his without penalty. STL memberships happen fairly frequently. I like the rail pass, as I do move from town to town. Sometimes we house rule that you can give the pass to someone else. I've only gotten the Sheldon gang membership once and didn't find it useful. I don't think we've ever turned over a Darke's Carnival / Coded Messages card. Had the encounters, but didn't have the pre-reqs. I don't even know what the Library and Velma's cards do.

After about 100 games I still turn over mythos cards that I haven't seen before, from time to time. I almost never go to the Magic Shppe for anything bu spell purchases, so I know very few of those encounters. Same for Ma's and the church.

Deputy is another that's started collecting dust. It's never been a popular choice though, even less after adding IH, Deputy basically costs 4 Clues (apart from Tommy, who has not yet seen play). IH GOOs pack Physical Immunity quite a bit, so it's not even worth it for final combat.

really? Deputy of Arkham is a card that I use in almost every game. Basically, as soon as I collect the required number of gate/monster trophies I go for the deputy card. It's almost-reatainer + pretty nice gun + the most important - police car . I consider Patrol Wagon to be one of the most useful item in AH. The ability to "teleport" from one location to another, ignoring distance and way-blocking-monsters is just awesome! It's especially important in my solo games when I'm using only one investigator.

Anvilek said:

I totally agree.. If I suspect the game will be over soon I might go for the Blessing but if it early in the game that patrolwagon and a steady income is well worth the cost. Also it feel kind of sweet to be the deputy, sort of like the community has embraced you compared to the rest of the clueless investigators running around town trying to avoid causing more havoc.

Svavelvinter said:

It takes about 6 turns to get 2 gate trophies and that's assuming you don't care about sealing (Patrice or 1-2 Elder Signs would definately help in sealing) and no delays getting to the gate and during the OW jaunt. Of late my games have been around 14 Mythos cards (so essentially 13 turns), so if you buy Deputy on turn 7, you get $6 before the GOO wakes up. Of course, since getting 2 gate trophies in 6 turns means no sealing for the most part, so GOO might wake up even faster. Getting 1 gate + 5 toughness is probably faster, but then again, I don't really hunt monsters, only those that are blocking paths to gates/Clues, etc.

Dam said:

14 Mythos cards! Average! To me that's just proof that playing all expansions is way too easy and not having Kingsport means lots and lots of the really mean monsters aren't even there. Even so that's very efficient playing. I've been keeping track of turns (mythos cards) for a long time and 14 is about 3 or 4 better than my average. Maybe the difference is that if Emily is playing, she "wastes" resources becoming the deputy. Apparently you trade in gate trophies for clues right away, otherwise it would be difficult to gain the 25-30 clue tokens to seal six gates.

Also the deputy can be achieved by killing monsters too which is usually the way Emily does it. I hardly ever become deputy but she always does. It's even better for her because she sometimes "forgets" to roll after battles and coming home for the outer worlds.

mageith said:

Apart from last game's molestation of Bokrug, most of the games have been with 1 or 2 doomers from going to final combat. I keep seen more report of people using just IH and winning with the doom track barely half-way, even with a gate burst removing a seal, making me think base + IH is ever easier. And of course Elder Signs are scarcer (again, excluding bizarro-fest of doomer removal vs Bokrug).

mageith said:

Absolutely. Clues get you closer to seals, thus closer to winning the game, Deputy for me is just getting side-tracked from the main objective. Last Quachil Uttaus game lasted 21 Mythos cards, but that was because I had to put down 8 seals, due to 2 gate bursts, all with Clues, no Elder Signs. Of course, 30 Clues is minus any you start with (don't know averages, maybe 6-8 Clues for 4 investigators?).

Dam said:

??? Where are you seeing/hearing that? Without at least one elder sign, I'm in trouble in Innsmouth. We recently lost with three. Didn't even get them all placed. It's not just doom tokens that kill you in Innsmouth. Its the Deeps Ones Rising. As elsewhere debated, unless the Devil Reef gate is activated, the Deeps Ones probably won't rise. If you are going to play a whole big bunch of Mythos cards, that won't happen in lots of games.

Still, 14 turns/mythos card games is impressive.

mageith said:

Tibs' stat sheet. Whenever I log a session of mine, I check the games between my current and previous session. Also check to see I didn't make any errors in reporting my current one. Okay, half-way is a bit of a stretch, but several that have only checked the IH box that have been won around 8-9 on the doom track (a few even less). awp832 seems have quite a few of them, but you have a Shudde game won on seals with 7 on the doom track.

Dam said:

I went through the last 40 games of IH only games: (Doing it by hand gave me a headache, but I think it's pretty close.)

W-L 22-18 55% (slightly below average)

Wins by seals (14)

#Doom tokens at victory: 6< 2

7-1

8 -3

9-3

10+ 4

Final Combat wins (6)

Unknown method wins (2)

AWAKENINGS (24)

Doom 8

Too many Gates 6

Deep One rising 9

Unknown 1

Today's game went 13 Mythos, aided by starting ES for Darrell and a Parchment during the game. Starting team also had 9 Clues total among them (and Roland in the mix, also Norman with Find Gate). Countered by 1 gate burst. Key though was Roland doing a Task that required a visit to the Library, there he drew a Lore check encounter, which if you pass gains you one die of Clues, he passed and rolled a 6. In my previous Ghatanothoa game, Dexter Drake got that same encounter, passed (duh, I keep his Lore always maxed) and he rolled a 5 (and drew a blank visage counter). IH GOOs do appear to be somewhat lacking in their slumber-party power.

One thing I do have to say I've gotten pretty lucky of late is Rumors, most of the time I seem to cut the deck just right, with the first Mythos card being a nasty Rumor, which of course gets bounced due it being the pre-game Mythos. Even during games not getting Rumors that often (here not sure how the dilution works), or they are ongoing as the game ends, so can't really check Pass or Fail box.

Dam said:

Me too. Short games. I think I once calculated there's about a rumor every 10 or 11 turns. So in a 13-14 Mythos game, 1 rumor most of the time. Lots one times none. One out of 10-11 games, that rumor will be at the beginning as you note. Also, I think with so many cards, the spread is larger, not that that should make any difference but maybe it does.

Also I think the kind of rumors are changing. Dunwich had horrible rumors but the rumors have become kinder and less demanding. For example, a rumor that effects you on a 1-2 (or only on moon monsters moving) can go half a 14 turn game before its important. If it comes in the last half, you can pretty safely ignore it.

I always leave the Terrible Experiment out to prevent further rumors too. The Southside Strangler always seems to come out, but it will last 9 or ten turns since we so seldom get allies anymore.

mageith said:

I can't do that anymore. Not that I've ever tried, I always either tackle a Rumor ASAP or just let it fizzle (Mad Bomber mostly, Virulent Disease in a recent game as it ended one turn before I won). But I recall one time when I failed to keep TE in check, and someone failed to kill a 1-toughness monster (probably the only one on the TE), got sent to the Hospital, TE failed, GOO woke up.

Dam said:

The mix of monsters with Kingsport is more terrible than your mix (twist ) and my investigators are not usually equipped to take out the mnsters on TE. We're usually a more sneaky bunch. Usually only Emily has the equipment to handle them and she doesn't always. Also she becomes the Deputy as soon as possible and each combat (should) entail a demolish check on the patrol wagon.

Wow, mageith, sealing Hastur in 20 turns, nice (even if 3.5h time-wise). Of course the picky-choosy on investigators is a bit iffy for me , but at least you picked before the GOO.

Speaking of picky-choosy, where did that "selected after knowing the GOO" bit come from? Or cherry-picking as I call it. Definately nothing in the rules. League scenarios?