Edited. Thanks for noticing that.

I was quite excited you know.

I'm off to the range this afternoon, so don't try anything funny with Quachil, or I'll spare a few rounds for...

Here is a link to the relevant Clark Ashton Smith story for QU:

http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/222/the-treader-of-the-dust

All of CAS's stories can be accessed at this site.

I'd also draw attention to Night Shade books which has just published the 4th in a 5 volume series collecting all of CAS's fantastic tales:

http://www.nightshadebooks.com/cart.php?m=search_results&search=ashton

Probably the best single volume collection is Arkham House's "A Rendezvous in Averoigne"

http://www.amazon.com/RENDEZVOUS-AVEROIGNE-Clark-Ashton-Smith/dp/B000P0ZZHS/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248179252&sr=1-10

There is also a large uk pb collection as part of the Gollancz Fantsay Masterworks series "the Emperor of Dreams", with a somewhat eclectic selection:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emperor-Dreams-Fantasy-Tales-Masterworks/dp/057507373X/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248179343&sr=1-8

-Mariana the ex-nun cultist

Last vote Gott

HURT: Abhoth

HURT: Bokrug

Abhoth 3
Bokrug 2
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 8
Quachil Uttaus 7
Shub-Niggurath 5
Y'Golonac 2
Yog-Sothoth 7
Zhar 2

THE BANISHED

11th Cthulhu 12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Last Vote: Gatha

Heal: Shub. Ia ia and all that.

Harm: Zhar, Quachil Uttaus

Abhoth 3
Bokrug 2
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 8
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 6
Y'Golonac 2
Yog-Sothoth 7
Zhar 1

THE BANISHED

11th Cthulhu

12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

What's wrong with Quachil uttaus, you wimpies?

The game's name is "Arkham Horror".

Do you get it? Arkham. Horror.

I'ts not "Hello Kitty's Happy Picnic in Arkham".

That said, that's why I think Quachil Uttaus and Ghatanothoa are great: they're scary.

And the're not so difficult to beat. Come on, there's no big deal in being devoured, unless you're counting victory points, or you had a great equipment (I usually happen to lose much of it, so I'm glad to be devoured 51% of the times it occurs). When it occurs, you just start a new investigator. Period.

If we're collecting so many monster trophy, why don't we give them a minimal chance at least?

In my opinion, Quachil is somehow even more enjoyable than Ghata: it makes you feel the "Damocles sword". It hunts you down ruthlessly.

You can even scale its difficulty up or down my deciding that, say, you only have to spend 1 clue to avoid drawing his cards, or that you draw 1 dust card eveytime you draw (or read?) a Tome- which feels a bit more the original short story.

I wish Kevin and other developers had been so creative from the very beginning of this new edition of Arkham Horror: Cthulhu, Hastur and other GOOs would not have been that big disappointment then.

Last vote: Graksnor

Hurt: Abhoth

Hurt: Glaaki

Heal: Y'Golonac

Abhoth 2
Bokrug 2
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 6
Y'Golonac 3
Yog-Sothoth 7
Zhar 1

THE BANISHED

11th Cthulhu

12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Last Vote: Bel-Shamharoth

Harm: Y'golonac

Harm: Yog-Sothoth

Heal: Abhoth

Abhoth 3
Bokrug 2
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 6
Y'Golonac 2
Yog-Sothoth 6
Zhar 1

THE BANISHED

11th Cthulhu

12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Gott, you asked what's wrong with Quachil Uttaus? I'll be happy to tell you. What's wrong with QU are those two "reshuffle the deck, including all cards" cards in decks 1 and 2! They kept coming up first game and QU devoured NO ONE! There was no "ruthless hunting down", just the light sound of snoring! It was a very boring let-down for me when we sealed QU away with no casualties. Oh, and he's Azathoth if he awakens.

Mariana the Ex-Nun Cultist said:

most cool, thank you very much!

Last vote: Solan

Hurt: Abhoth (too dependent on monster surges and the children are less interesting than the servants)

Hurt: Zhar (too dependent on the luck of the gate openings for power, even if gate bursts just got a bit more interesting...)

Heal: Bokrug (well, I think they're fun, even if no-one else does)

Abhoth 2
Bokrug 3
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 6
Y'Golonac 2
Yog-Sothoth 6
Zhar 0

THE BANISHED

10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Solan said:

Should those reshuffle cards have been replaced with the devour cards ? So 1 in 4 shot with each deck of being devoured ! I like challenging things, but even I'd probably draw the line there . Mainly due to having to pause to re-fit a new investigator though.

Last vote: Solan

Hurt Y'Gol and Shub: Least interesting left.

Abhoth 2
Bokrug 3
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 5
Y'Golonac 1
Yog-Sothoth 6

THE BANISHED

10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Last vote: mageith

ATTACK: Y'Golonac. I like reading.

ATTACK: Abhoth. I don't like digging out so many Cultists.

REGENERATE: Quachil Uttaus. (We can still heal, right?)

Abhoth 1
Bokrug 3
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 5
Yog-Sothoth 6

THE BANISHED

9th Y'Golonac

10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Last vote: Jgt

No more healing

Brazier of Souls: Abhoth

Bokrug 3
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 5
Yog-Sothoth 6

THE BANISHED

8th Abhoth 9th Y'Golonac 10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Yeah, jgt7771 was the last one allowed to heal.

Last vote: Renderfalls

Hurt: QU -- gee, I sure do like having to set up a new investigator every couple of turns. Not to mention a final battle which might as well just be Azathoth's, to save time. Has anyone ever beaten this thing in FB? The only way I can see is by having Zoey along with the allies which ignore resistance, along with a ton of players and maybe the "cancel the AO's attack" ally. If she's last then maybe they have a chance.

Bokrug 3
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 5
Shub-Niggurath 5
Yog-Sothoth 6

THE BANISHED

8th Abhoth

9th Y'Golonac

10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

mattherobot said:

Quchil Uttaus makes you discard ALL allies at the beginning of his Final Battle, remember?

Solan said:

Oh, right. I guess I didn't pay attention because we've never bothered fighting him. Furthers my point that all that text is just a long-winded way of saying "game over."

URG. Sorry, folks. I screwed up. I got in the last heal, but missed adding it to the list. Gott and Jedit, you may both smack me.

Here's how things should be after mattherobot's latest vote:

Bokrug 3
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 5
Yog-Sothoth 6

THE BANISHED

8th Abhoth
9th Y'Golonac
10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Last vote: mattherobot

Hurt Bokrug

Bokrug 2
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 5
Yog-Sothoth 6

THE BANISHED

8th Abhoth
9th Y'Golonac
10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

(Are we down to only 1 "hurt" per posting?)

Last vote: Flamethrower49

Hurt: Yog-soap- except for it, all the remaining GOOs are among my very favorites.

Bokrug 2
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 5
Yog-Sothoth 5

THE BANISHED

8th Abhoth
9th Y'Golonac
10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

dj2.0 said:

You are welcome - Mariana the ex-nun cultist

Solan said:

I think you'll find the text actually reads "discard all hope at the beginning of the Final Battle".

Or maybe it just feels that way.

- Mariana the ex-nun cultist

Last vote: Gott

Hurt: Gott

Bokrug 2
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7

Gott 0
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 5
Yog-Sothoth 5

THE BANISHED

7th Gott

8th Abhoth
9th Y'Golonac
10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Sorry just my little joke

Last vote: Me, but not really.

Hurt: Shub. Nothing personal though, like.

Bokrug 2
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 4
Yog-Sothoth 5

THE BANISHED

8th Abhoth
9th Y'Golonac
10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Hurt: Shub-Niggurath. Least interesting of the ones left.

Bokrug 2
Eihort 7
Ghatanothoa 8
Glaaki 7
Quachil Uttaus 6
Shub-Niggurath 3
Yog-Sothoth 5

THE BANISHED

8th Abhoth
9th Y'Golonac
10th Zhar
11th Cthulhu
12th Cthugha
13th Shudde M'ell
14th Nyogtha
15th Yibb-Tstll
16th Chaugnar Faugn
17th Nyarlathotep
18th Tsathoggua
19th Hastur
20th Azathoth
21st Ithaqua
22nd Rhan-Tegoth
23rd Atlach-Nacha
24th Yig

Last vote: Mariana