I just want a quick heads up, becaue I don't believe there's anything wrong with how we do this, according to the rules.

The following situation has occasionally come up for us:

Investigator A is standing on an open gate with an explored marker, but he doesn't have enough clues to seal it. Investigator B moves onto the gate, trades him Research Materials/King in Yellow/Old Journal or something similar, and then moves off the gate again with his remaining movement points.

Is that as perfectly legal as we think it is, or have we overlooked something?

Hannibal Rex said:

Sure. Of course, you're probably hoping the turn order is B first, then A, otherwise, A can't use KiY/OJ this turn. Research Materials/Elder Signs don't need turn order.

Then again, if the turn order is A, then B, if A manages to close/seal the gate in his Arkham Encounter Phase, there is no gate for B to get sucked into, so he'd have a normal encounter. That is if you didn't have enough movement points to move on or just didn't want to (just made a hard Evade on the street to get there).

This is something that ofthen happens to us. I knew we could trade and I know you can't decide to fail a roll but there's one thing I wonder.

From the rules:

Page 9:

"While he remains in the gate’s location, he is no longer drawn through the gate, but may instead try to close or seal the gate..."

Page 17:

"If, during the Arkham Encounters Phase, an investigator is on a location that contains an open gate and that investigator has acquired the explored marker, he may now attempt to close the gate."

To me the word "may" implies no obligation. So you don't "have" to try, you can just stay there and loose your time. Usually, you wouldn't because, well, you're loosing time. But if you have a way of making clues to seal the gate instead of closing it (king in yellow, the Violinist, etc...) or your friend is coming with research material or an elder sing for you, you have a good reason.

Has anything been written about this? By the way, I'm only interested in official sources, not home rules or personnal views.

Vokhev said:

You cited the official source yourself. When you have an Explored token, your two options during the AE phase are:

• Attempt to close the gate
• Do nothing

Waiting for people to come and bring you stuff to help you seal (or rarely, help you close) is a legal tactic, and is something I rely upon once in a while.

Tibs said:

I thought you took a an encounter at the space (or do text on the space) instead of doing nothing.

Locutus Zero said:

Gate replaces location. If there is an open gate, you follow the Gate section of the Arkham Encounters phase.

Indeed, which means you try to close/seal it or just sit there

Unless the someone is Patrice, what help can they be? As soon as they step on the location, they are sucked through the gate. They can't stand there and hand you stuff. And then, if you close it, they will be LiTaS unless another gate to that location is open.

RevGiark said:

They aren't sucked in right away, only in the Arkham Encounter phase and only if they are still at the location when their Arkham Encounter rolls around (and the investigator with the Explored marker doesn't have his/her turn first or fails to close/seal the gate).

they a ren't sucked because they're in movement phase. so they can go there, trade, and leave location