Not surprisingly, I suppose, the Bootlegger just picked up an Addiction madness card. I have a few questions:

#1 --- Is this a cost which Finn must pay in spite of his special ability, "Holdout"?

#2 --- Does his Focus drop to 0 for this turn if he doesn't pay?

#3 --- If any other Investigator drew this card, could they choose not to pay (even if they had money) & just accept the consequences instead (i.e. having 0 Focus for this turn)?

If the Addiction penalty applies to Finn, then he is in quite a predicament since Final Battle is only a few Doom tokens away with none other than Yibb-Tstll who specializes in devouring unfocused Investigators.

1. Sure, it's a cost. Finn is immune to effects such as "Taxes come due", but if he wants something to happen that requires a cost to be paid, he needs to pay it in order to gain the benefit

2. Yes, correct, if he doesn't pay, Focus is 0

3. All investigators including Finn may opt to not pay and have Focus reduced to 0. The card gives you an alternative: either you pay, or your focus is 0. If payment were compulsory, the wording would have been "Upkeep: pay $1. If you have $0, then your Focus is reduced to 0"

As for Final Battle: have investigators gain a Bank Loan immediately before FB starts. During FB you don't roll for Bank Loans, so that you have the money to pay for the addiction

Great suggestion about the Bank Loan. I will keep that in mind for future games where money is needed to power up something in Final Battle.

Problem with Finn (who has the Addiction) is that he already has a Bank Loan & only 2 bucks left in his pocket. I play with the House Rule that you aren't allowed to trade if you currently have a Bank Loan. But I just realized that in my House Rules, this restriction does not apply to Final Battle. So other Investigators could take out Bank Loans & give away the money to Finn during FB Upkeep.. But even if I circumvent the addiction, Finn probably won't survive long against this AO with only 1 Focus.

Yeah, that's what I was suggesting: other investigators can get a Bank Loan if you need so much money.

Anyhoo, remember that it's only the first player suffering from Yibb's attack, so that maybe Finn can survive a little bit?

Darkness descends upon Arkham...the ground shakes and splits asunder, as men, women, and children run into homes and shoppes along the streets. The Investigators array themselves before the creature from out of time and space... " W ait...hold that thought, Mr. Cthulhu! I just saw my loan officer. If you don't mind, I'm just going to pop-off to the bank for a moment...just be a titch. "

One more question concerning Finn who now is totally addicted to his own booze & has spent his last dollar with no hope of ever repaying his Bank Loan. His random Skill is appropriate enough for a rum-runner ----- Disguise. During Upkeep, "this card does not refresh unless you spend all of your Focus to do so".

While Yibb-Tstll is sleeping, Finn will probably never have more than zero Focus. Will "Disguise" refresh if Finn spends zero Focus?

I don't think so. In order to trigger an effect that requires a cost to be paid, you're required to have said cost paid. If your Focus is 0, then you don't have Focus to spend on anything, hence you cannot refresh the Skill.

I was really hoping this topic was about how the OP loves Finn Edwards soooo much, s/he can no longer play games of Arkham without using Finn.

I borderline feel this way about some Investigators...but Finn is not on that list.

And who's on the list, Soakman? If you don't mind sharing, I'm curious

And who's on the list, Soakman? If you don't mind sharing, I'm curious

Although I want to use the following in every game I play, I still randomize it because the surprise draw is also part of the fun. My 'list' is basically Agnes Baker, Zoey Samaras, and Jim Culver. I LOVE Jim, but everytime I play him something inevitably goes wrong and he gets to see very little action.

I DO have a friend that always always plays Norman Withers (this is because he is superstitious and sees Norman as his lucky charm [and often he is!]).

And my boyfriend almost always plays Kate Winthrop (he's a chemist), but he is also strangely drawn to Diana Stanley.

So I think this kind of magnetism is normal?

This is almost leading off-topic (but I feel the original question has been sufficiently answered)...

Do YOU Julia have an investigator addiction? Someone you always go back to? Mechanically there are definitely some advantages to some investigators, but is there anyone you find yourself craving to play for no logical reason you know of?

Yes, it's going OT, but at least it's not a new korean spam attack, so, as long as Esto is not unhappy with us talking about our addictions, I think there's no harm in derailing a little bit more the conversation.

As for me, I don't think I have a real addiction. When I started playing, I was more or less relying always on the same investigators, and with the passing of time some of these have become really like "old friends you have supper with before saving the world". Then, I started being a little more conscious of my possibilities at the game, and decided that to be really good, I had to learn how to play at max with all the characters, so that it's years now that I play always random.

In this way, I actually discovered countless little nuances in many characters, learning to love them all (all but Vincent and Monterey, sorry Joe, I know mr. Jack is your fave).

Still, I'm always thrilled when I play Silas. And my husband is always happy to play Hank (you know, back to the Days of Old, when we were more of the idea that whacking monsters in Arkham was of some importance). It's the flavour of salt on your lips, and the smell of blood that brings you the victory.

My fondness for Jack goes back to my very first game, when we beat Cthulhu in a grueling 3-hour adventure in which my ol' boy spent a few rounds in both the hospital and the asylum...good times...good times....