Dam said:

That red was a 2-player-team which somehow turned bad. We're planning to go against Hastur next game. Also, my group takes killing ancient one as a win, so we will abandon sealing all gates and start preparing for final combat if things seem hopeless.

Yes I would consider winning agiant QU a draw, indeed. I closed him down instead though Im not jaded though, just tough 'n ornery It really just never feels like winning to me even when it comes down to the final roll. Its definately fun to 'win' that way, i.e. to have that suspense fall in my favour, but still hollow compared to a win by seals or closing. And boy am I attached to those investigators, they are like the fingers on my hand, which in the course of the game at least I dont mind having bitten off as it moves across the board. Its more entertaining to me to be invested in them that way.

And as for the AOs and the stories, yes some people survive, but they are forever scarred, how can life ever be the same again? Even for hardened mythos scholars with sanity only dribbling out of their ears, actually facing any one of those Things pales in comparison to anything else. If you really think about it, even if they survive (but for how long?), almost every story has the protagonist in this situation. And most of the stories dont even have Ancient Ones appearing personally in the lives of those people!

Knuckles Eki said:

I doubt you'll ever lose against most base game GOOs with that approach. For me that's like having Tough + Killer Instinct + Efficient Killer each game in Doom, while playing scenarios so weapons can't break, boring and easy.

Well, its boring for me too, but I dont think its always easy for those who dont find it boring, it depends when you do it. Close to the end it can be problematic to even get to where you need to be, let alone have the stuff to get what you want, money especially.

I'm currently at 53-24-18, with Zhar left to play in the 3rd rotation of IH GOOs, anticipating a loss. Majority of those are 4-investigator games, meaning final combat is a lot harder than 2-investigator (or even 3, which I think stats say is easiest). All mine are also random investigators, so no cherry-picking the best fighters. While Mandy is overpowered, she really needs a group around her, in a 1-3 investigator final combat, Joe D is heads and shoulders above anybody. Blessed + 10 Clues Joe can easily carry enough load for 2 or even 3 investigators on his own. I think around 4-investigator games, Joe in final combat starts to be anywhere near balanced, 5+ investigators and he can't carry the load by himself. In addition, my approach to gearing (Clue-whoring, getting Blessed, etc.) is: never have, never will.

Even with all of the above, I'm still over .500 in final combat. True, no EB. I can't just imagine how ridiculously easy most final combats would've been if I'd said screw it, looks bad, I'll just gear up. Some, like the Glaaki + failed Terrible Experiment would've been losses regardless (or perhaps TE would've never failed if I'd just ignored gates).

Ken on Cape said:

I'd go with the Patrice the violinist, Mandy the researcher, Daisy the librarian and Wendy the urchin. You Go Girls!

Who would they have trouble with? I never go for a combat win so I wouldn't worry very much about fire power, though Daisy can be just about anything she wants to be!

I might try them against Rhan-Tegoth, though as far as I am concerned its mostly luck against that one anyway.

Dam said:

Do you upload your games to the statistics page?

And when you say you never gear up or go "clue whoring" what exactly does that mean? You never shop or scoop up clues intentionally aiming to amass them, or you never do it in anticipation of final battle? Coz if its the former hats off you are probably mad but, hey, respect!

dj2.0 said:

My games are all listed there. Early games don't have investigators mentioned and up to the Black Goat/KiY mass, didn't keep that close a tab on the special events or Rumors.

Of course I shop, but most of my shopping is turns 1-2, very rarely after that. I don't send people for a mad shopping spree even if I have money when the GOO is 1-3 doomers away, though mostly it would benefit against Ithaqua and Abhoth. I also only shop at Curiositie Shoppe, even if the GOO has Magical Immunity. Elder Sign/KiY -> seal win.

I don't scoop Clues just 'cos they are there, I look to collect 5 and dive in (or 8 vs Hassy), rinse repeat. Clue whoring to me is seeing the GOO at maybe 3 doomers away, start collecting them without any other aim than to collect them, i.e. not looking for 5 and then into a gate. Trading in trophies on the last turn or two for "meaningless" Clues at Science Building. South Church for Blessing. All those are no-nos for me. If you're in the OW with 5 Clues and the GOO wakes up before you can make it back, that's okay, at least there was a risk there of being LiTaS, thus devoured at the start of final combat. But like against Nyarly, I still seal with Clues even if he is 1 doomer away from waking.

You seal or close all the way to the end, doom track be damned. Even if you have only 1 or 2 seals and gates coming out of your ears, you keep at it. Like people would if they didnt know what was coming. Yeah thats a way I look at it most games but sometimes (like when Glaaki pisses me off) I will play dirty.

dj2.0 said:

It is rare that I have only 1 or 2 seals at the end, most of the time it's 4+ (of course, sometimes one get 2+ gate bursts ). Though have to say that the last few games have seen an uncommon amount of wins by closing gates, so haven't sealed that many (though last closing win had 3 seals down in 6 turns). Then again, when you get De Vermiis Mysteriis + Find Gate during setup, suddenly the light goes on and you start looking at the closing win as a real possibility, just chucking people into gates even without Clues to seal. If you get a monster surge or non-gate Mythos, you can start getting ahead of the curve, so to speak. If someone gets an OW encounter that closes a gate or an early return to Arkham, especially in the first area, even better. Nightgaunts can also help, either going in or coming out.

Yeah initial draw is always a consideration for me like drawing Akache with FG. If I go for closing I always try to send everyone through at once, over and over. So Ill spend the first turn or two shopping and clue gathering, then when gate three opens, in goes the team (leaving one behind to dive in 4 if it opens or to deal with any other threat that emerges) and I keep trying to send them in simulaneously because at times this works out just right and the last gates close all at once. Also its amazing how often the strange power fluxes plague the city, returning everyone at once.

Mylo said:

This is the kind of approach I've gone for when I've wanted a break from random. I used to like using a mystic club type theme with gals like Gloria, Marie, Diana, Mary & Jacqueline . This was pre-IH, I'd also include Agnes as a possible member now but not Akachi as she's in town for a visit. Daisy would fit well, but I really dislike using her, the same would hold even more true for Patrice.

This was probably my favourite investigator theme

I also quite liked variations on Arkham entertainers/theatre would chose from the likes of Maria, Jim, Lola, Dexter.

Sometimes nIghtclub from Maria, Jim, and likely types like Michael etc.

or the detective agency with Tony, Joe, and their eyes and ears (usually Pete and someone else like wendy).

Other themes were tried, but the mystic/esoteric club followed by the entertainers then the detective agency were favourites.

I dislike chosing invetsigators for reasons other than theme, and mostly play random.

I haven't run any themed investigator themes since IH came out.

- Mariana the ex-nun cultist

I often play 1human/4investigators with the Underworld team; the Spy, Ex-convict, Ganster and Bootlegger. Despite some obvious drawbacks (physical resistance/imunity is a *****), and the occasional backstabbing (read; failure to remove a monster from a weak characters path), they get along astonishingly well.

They don't win a lot of games, bt at least they all get along untill the world fall apart. Count your blessings and all that.