The only bonus you get when rolling a horror check is your will, while on the combat check you have bonuses from weapons etc. etc. The Horror checks are way more difficult. In addition you spend sanity casting spells and therefore you usually turn insane before unconcious.

I haven't played the game that long, but my group noticed that our sanity dissapeared a lot quicker than stamina. It's difficult to regain as well.

Am I missing out on something here? Perhaps it has been updated in a later expansion? How do you guys do this?

Thanks a lot

Vio

You're correct about Weapons and Spells adding on Combat checks, but you only check for Horror once per monster and need only one success, whereas Combat checks often require multiple successes, so it kind of evens out. Perhaps you're just having your Fight / Will sliders wrongly adjusted? If you have both a physical and a magical weapon, you can usually have your Fight at min and Will at max.

Also, buy yourself a Cross and some Whiskey - they are very cheap and keep your investigators sane much longer. Also, don't forget to pay a visit to the Asylum once in a while.

-Villain

You're right, sanity does indeed disappear a lot faster than Stamina. Villain has already suggested some good ways to try to deal with the problem. I would add the importance of trying to get at least one or two high Sanity and/or high Will characters in each game, and reiteriate what he said about adjusting the sliders to pass the Horror checks.

There are also some skills and items that help with Horror Checks, specifically. But I agree that they are tough... sometimes you just have to go in expecting to lose some sanity.

If you don't like Horror checks, hope to draw Hank Samson, suddenly, Horror checks become very rare indeed.

Also remember that some Skills and Allies may boost your Will.

Otherwise, try to play with Carolyn Fern, who is able to heal sanity on a 1 point / round basis, or with Daisy Walker (if you have the Kingsport expansion), whose special ability allows her to reduce the Sanity cost of each spell she casts.

And there are some very useful items in Unique Items Deck, like the Gruesome talisman or the Healing stone that should make life a little easier

Julia said:

*fondly remembers one game where Joe Diamond got John Legrasse (+2 Will), started with +1 Will Skill and got +1 Fight and +1 Will Skills during the game. Maxed Fight, still Will 4, each Clue buys 4 dice for a Will (or Horror check) . Only time Yog-Sothoth has lost in final combat that game.

Of course, also remember said game for double sequence at Graveyard: seal gate with Clues, gate burst there same turn. Later, seal Graveyard again with Clues, bam, gate burst there same turn.

Villain said:

Two great tastes that taste great together!

The Violinist said:

You're going insane at about the right rate :') (you need to manage your will better, be more cautious, visit the Asylum in advance, and, well, despite all those things, go insane occasionally and draw a madness card— assuming you already own Dunwich). Sanity is a more important resource than stamina in most cases (I think is the typical agreement). I mean, this *is* based on Lovecraft :')

Avi_dreader said:

Agree, the whole point is to avoid going insane, the difficulty in avoiding becoming so only adds to the desperation of the situation.

Markings of Isis saved my butt last game. I ended up running three investigators with a penchant for going bonkers (3 sanity) and Minh. She ended up with Markings, Storm of Spirits, Mystical Gift, a +1 lore skill (thanks to Wilson Richard's being psychic) and that unique item granting +2 to spell checks. She ultimately wound up dealing with some real nasty customers, including a Hound of Tindalos and pretty much anything that called for a serious horror check.

Deek said:

Did we ever hear about the Markings of Isis, was the hand printed on it an error or not? Proto-FAQ touch on this?

Dam said:

That's not in the Proto-FAQ, and it probably should be. I'll add it. Arkham Horror wiki claims it's a misprint and no hands are needed, but it doesn't cite a source for that claim.

If you turn insane all the time, then the game has achieved its purpose! =)

Anyway, Sanity is not made equal to Stamina and I would say that Sanity is a more valuable resource than Stamina. One strong reason is you will to pass the horror check before you get to fight the monster. If you turn insane first, you won't get to 'exhaust' your Stamina.

I always try to put my Will at 3 and use weapons to compensate for the low Fight. Weapons in general are far easier to get than Cross, Whiskey, and the like. Of course, if you do get them, then you can afford to have a lower Will.

Even though you try your best to stay sane, the game will always find a way to screw you over.

Oh wow. I didn't even NOTICE it required a hand 'cause I didn't bother looking for one. I assumed it was hand-less as it has no direct bearing on a combat check. Assumptions, making me look the fool. Hmm.