Hi! First I'd like to compliment FFG for making this unique and outstanding board game!

Second, I would like some answers on a couple of rules questions I have.

Question 1: When I move onto a location with a gate and a monster, do I follow standard procedures like if the gate was not there? In the following order: Evade or battle monsters / Go into gate / Have other world encounter?

Question 2: If I come back from a location to a gate that has a monster on it and I close the gate, does the monsters on the location vanish as the gate closes or do they only vanish if the symbol of the gate matches their symbol?

Question 3 : When battling the ancient one does the players get to trade with eachother before combat as they are basically at the same location? Or do you have to make sure the trading you want to do is completed before the ancient one awakens?

Question 4: A location encounter tells me to perform a Combat skill check. May I use weapons and spells for this check or can you only use them in combat with a monster?

ishinken said:

1) It's all in the phase order. You deal with monster on the movement phase, so monsters first (gates don't affect your movement phase unless you're already in them!). If you are on a gate during the Arkham Encounters phase, you enter the gate. If you're in an Other World during the OW encounters phase, you get an OW encounter.

2) It only vanishes when its symbol matches that on the gate you've just closed. Note that there is a suggested house rule by Richard Launius in which the monsters "guarding" the gate are also removed. Also keep in mind that you can choose not to deal with any monsters on a gate on the turn you return from an Other World. That essentially means that you have to come back during the Movement (or possibly Upkeep) phase to take advantage of this freebie. Any other phase and there will be a new turn before your next movement phase.

3) A round of final combat is as follows:

• Upkeep. Do upkeep-related actions and investigators may trade with each other! Note that you never gain money during final combat, and thanks to an oversight in an Innsmouth investigator and personal story, you should probably never allow investigators to gain clues during final combat, either.
• Investigators attack! Deal your damage now.
• Ancient One attacks! Kiss your asses goodbye.

So yes, you can trade before making an attack.

4) Yes; it is a Combat check, so you may use anything that adds to a combat bonus, such as weapons and attack spells. Note that you need one success to pass the check, and that Combat checks during encounters are quite rare.