There's a separate thread for comments now, and a cleaned up rules thread [i try to keep it tightly edited— the rules thread, no extraneous information, from myself included, so people who just want to get to the next scenario and plot point without any interruption— can do it with a smooth transition].

Comments thread

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp?efid=113&efcid=1&efidt=306738

Rules & Scenarios thread

http://arkhamleague.blogspot.com/2010/03/arkham-horror-fan-creation-league.html

Okay, I've also decided which investigators would go with each section of the four part 23 game Fan Creation league, and how item or trophy carry over would work (it works differently in each of the four sections— in the last section it barely functions at all). I won't say exactly how much of other people's stuff I'll be incorporating, I will say it will only be Ancient Ones or Heralds, and it's somewhere between 10 and 20 of them— every game will have at least one custom Herald or Ancient One. I've also decided on a general plot (the beginning and end are mostly thought through, the rest won't be a problem). I think I'll start releasing these either this Friday or next Friday (depending on Feedback). I'll set out a few rules for character selection and carry over (and of course will be available for clarifications).

You can play a team of one to eight investigators from a pre-selected pool of 11 for the first three segments and 18 for the last segment (I'll explain how that'll work more later). The Kingsport board, encounters, and mythos cards will be removed for all the scenarios (except two near the end where you'll need them).

Within each section of the scenarios, difficulty level scales (the last part of each section of the scenarios will be very difficult— though I can't promise it will be the most difficult part of each scenario section, I hope it will be). Sometimes there will be a lull. This won't be deliberate. This is intended to be fun and challenging, not competitive (there won't be a score system, everyone who makes it from the beginning to the end will be a winner ;') but that'll be easier said than done).

I'll release them bi-weekly unless there's forum consensus that they should be spread out more or less (if it's biweekly, the entire series could be run through in about a year).

Call Ancient One will be the only banned card :')

This is intended for completionists. It uses components from every expansion over the course of the scenarios (up to and not including Lurker at the Threshold). Of course, you can skip scenarios that require small box components ;') but that's no fun (you'll miss four minimum, but two of those are among my favorites— involving corruptions). You can probably play almost every scenario except two or three if you're only missing Innsmouth or Kingsport (I wouldn't recommend it mind you, you might need to *still* use arkhamhorrorwiki for a few Ancient One consultations, and epic battles were intended, so, you'd be making the game much easier for yourself— there's really only one of those scenarios I'd consider unplayble, and that'd only be if you didn't have Innsmouth).

I should probably also post a notification on Boardgame Geek (or see if someone else who is already subscribed there would do it). I probably should :'/ Bleh.

The Key to the Gate of the Worlds

Vision burned the light from her eyes. She had seen It. Now blind in her natural eyes, she could only see with her inborn sight. The great darkness that consumed all worlds, all galaxies, all dimensions. Jaqueline knew, she knew it was coming for her world too, but it would not end there. The Endless End. She would prepare, but she had already seen the darkness and despaired. Now, save for her vision, all she saw was darkness. Gloria, Gloria would know what to do, perhaps. She would have seen it too. Not so vivid. Not so horrid. Perhaps she still kept her eyes. Certainly the magician would.

***

Sister Mary could not believe what she had read. A strange and blood-soaked journal sent to her by someone claiming to be a student at Miskatonic University. Its tales were unbelievable. Blasphemous. And yet… She had seen unexplainable things since coming to Arkham. Just last night, as she looked up from the book, she saw out the window and saw strangely pale men in strange garb outside the Church, sniffing, sniffing at the Church like animals, but never entering. She moved the book, and they all moved as one. She moved it again, and they moved again. As if they could see or smell it. But that would be impossible. It terrified her.

Attached to the journal was a note, cosigned by Dr. Fern (an authority she knew), and Professor Withers (an authority she did not) begging her to come to the University, to bring what help she could.

Mary thought of the verse, “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone.’” And thus she would go, God’s will would fortify her, and so would his grace. She would speak with several of her parishioners who she had heard strange tales from. And who was that? William Yorick kneeling in the Pews? Why was he in Church? And what of that fanatic chef, or that strangely ethereal waif with haunted eyes who seemed more interested in free soup than salvation? And of course, Diana Stanley, that woman who Father Michaels said had given the most ridiculous confession he had heard in all his life (though he would not, of course, say what).

Frowning, and trembling slightly, she began rereading the most disturbing passage of the journal yet again, the so-called “Last Will & Testament of Dr. Herbert West.”

“This is it! Professor Winthrop and I have found it! The Key to the Gate of the Worlds! I have seen… I have seen! I have seen myself in a thousand nightmare dreams, and I have warned myself how many thousand times more. When I survived. We came together. We died together. Beware of Dr. Herbert West. He hunts me. One of many. One of few. They kill each other too. Surely I am not the last, yet I know of no more, like me. He is in league with Death, even as it hunts him. Even as he hunts me. You must take the Key, defend it, travel to the end of worlds if you must. Perhaps only there is there hope to defeat it.

“That which comes comes, oozing death through the dimensions. I thought I could control it, he thought he could control it. Usurp its power? Was I a near-sighted fool in every world? And now, The Nightmare Crafter sends forth servants from the Abyss. Or is he their servant? Another abominable being born of an endless nightmare, or does he bear them? I do not know, but you must defend the Key! In all worlds, it is the only Key across all space and time. It is the true Resurrection and the Life! You must defend it! It is our only chance against the coming chaos and consumption! Use my device if you must. It is the Key to infinite life! Oh, God, oh Hell, I feel its sharpened quill, cold and ever tearing through my guts! Now I understand. It was not I who wrote this note, though I swear it to be Truth.”

Surely these words were the mere ravings of a madman. Mary prayed.

Sounds great. Count me in.

Waiting for the first release, though sounds like I'm going to have to money on Dunwich.

Veet said:

Oh nooooo ;.( Dunwich is crucial. There won't be much Dunwich in the next few months. (The earliest is, on the second release, but you could theoretically get around it with a proxy system). There's 10 or 11 that use Dunwich components for the heralds or Ancient Ones. But look on the bright side :') you should have gotten Dunwich by now anyways (it's a great set— *great* monsters, good investigators, good ancient ones, a decent town, good items). Hrm. And only two of the investigators from the first investigator pool are from Dunwich.

General Rules

The Clues per Seal (you can only use a number of clues during each round of final combat equal to the number of seals on the board) and remove Epic Battle cards (remove 6 minus the number of seals on the board from the green Epic Battle card deck when the Ancient One awakens) rules are in use (unless stated otherwise).

Call Ancient One is banned from all scenarios (remove it from the decks, or discard and redraw it if it shows up).

If a team of investigators has more than four investigators (before counting expansion boards), investigators with bank loans can not trade away items or money even though they can still receive them.

Do not use the Kingsport Board or encounters (except for a couple scenarios that will be named later). If you *must* use the Kingsport Board (either because you really like it or because you don't want to separate your encounter decks), please remember not to use the Olney encounter exploit :') you're on the honor system. It is intended that you use all other Arkham Horror components up to and not including Lurker at the Threshold (although as I stated above, you can work around that if you really want to).

Scenarios 1-5

For the first five “scenarios” (they’re not technically scenarios, but lacking a better word, I’ll keep calling them that) the investigator pool will be:

Sister Mary
Amanda Sharpe
Gloria Goldberg
Carolyn Fern
Dexter Drake
Jacqueline Fine
Diana Stanley
Wendy Adams
Norman Withers
William Yorrick
Zoey Samaras

For the first five scenarios, surviving investigators can carry one item (or skill) in their possession (this means a spell, skill, common item, or a unique item) across scenarios, except an Elder Sign. This item must be exchanged with either a random or fixed possession of the same sort during the start of the next scenario. All other items and skills are discarded and redrawn.

Investigators can not be removed from an investigator team at the beginning of a new scenario without losing all their items (if the same investigators are redrawn later); however, you can expand or contract your team size between scenarios, if you want.

If an investigator is devoured or retired, he or she can be replaced by any other investigator remaining within the investigator pool. The investigator pool refreshes at the beginning of each scenario.

If a team of investigators is devoured, the same team or a new team can restart the scenario it is on (or a previous scenario) but without any previously obtained items.

I'll post the first scenario tomorrow :'D good luck!

Oh, if any of you find these scenarios too hard, send me a private message and I'll provide you a strategy for taking it on. Some of them will operate kind of like puzzles, so I hope you try to solve them first :') or to just ram your way through them by brute force.

I changed my mind, they're definitely scenarios now (I've been going through them for the last few hours, adding additional parameters and start of game conditions to them). I'm about half done. What fun :')

Well... It's 3AM and I've designed 20 scenarios (to go with the Herald/Ancient One combinations)... Three more to go. I have 26 weeks before getting to them though, so there's no rush ;'D But I'll probably finish them tomorrow.

Rules Clarification:

Record the items you intend your investigators to carry over (if any) after you beat a scenario

You're not intended to be able to cherry pick them once you know what's coming next— obviously if you do, I can't stop you :') but I hope you don't.

Avi_dreader said:

This could help *really* a lot to understand the game. I think I'll ask you anyway, even if I'll be able to beat the scenario :-)
But first... let's play! It's friday my friend ::laughing::

If a team of investigators has more than four investigators (before counting expansion boards), investigators with bank loans can not trade away items or money even though they can still receive them.

I know what you're trying to do here, but I think you're being ridiculous (or perhaps a tad tyrannical). If Mary has two Shotguns, she can't give one away? Unless this is critical to your scenarios, might I suggest the Law of Equivalent Exchange? If I wanted to trade for a Bank Loaner's Shotgun, can I trade an equivalent of $6 in items and/or money? This way, the Bank Loaner's net worth will never go down, and even if you give them every worthless item collectively, that's still a LOT to lose.

. . . please remember not to use the Olney encounter exploit :') you're on the honor system.

I'm not sure what saddens me more: that such an exploit exists...or that the Scenario Creator thought of it first.

I like the Investigator Pool. What's the word? Damaged. (And rather gunless.) Only Dexter seems a bit untragic; everyone else was dragged into this, but he went LOOKING.

For the first five scenarios, surviving investigators can carry one item (or skill) in their possession (this means a spell, skill, common item, or a unique item) across scenarios, except an Elder Sign. This item must be exchanged with either a random or fixed possession of the same sort during the start of the next scenario. All other items and skills are discarded and redrawn.

So no one can keep an Elder Sign between scenarios...but then you include Wendy in the Pool? Should I be assuming that the five Elder Signs may only be used once per the entire 26-scenario saga? Because I might have to call you ridiculous again.

I'm not sure I'll participate, but I am eager to see what you've come up with. Today, you get to edit the FAQ; tomorrow, they give you your own box!

jgt7771 said:

Oh, there will be no top tier characters in the final investigator pool (even though it's quite large). There's a couple top tier characters in the second and third investigator pools.

Well, the thing about Wendy is you can start games with her, and she'll draw a new Elder Sign as her fixed item each game. She's not passing it along to herself (part of the reason for that rule in this first set of scenarios is I didn't want investigators potentially hording Elder Signs to break a later scenario— which would have been even easier, if Wendy could pass her Elder Sign on and generate a new one each round).

I don't think it's ridiculous to close up a potential loophole that allows investigators to gain 70 dollars on the first two turns before they start defaulting. I do see what you mean though. I'm not entirely happy with your fix, but it should be good enough. Although I'm going to make it so the exchange is a little more difficult than you suggested.

I do hope you'll participate. I promise you fun. And eternal torment! And fun :')

Clarification:

Fixed items are not considered the items carried between scenarios— in other words, they do not count as the item.

Rules Change:

Items held by investigators with bank loans (in a game with 5 or more investigators), can be traded for, if they are given items with with an equivalent or higher money value in exchange.

Scenario One

Mary approached the church door, with William Yorick behind her. The vaulting chamber was dimly lit by the scattered candles flickering in the darkness. The horrid…. Indescribable…. Things! The things he had shown her destroyed her doubt. Some, at least. The story could not be entirely true. God would not allow it. The banging at the door grew louder. One of the dark garbed men from the night before slammed on the outside of the door and would not stop. She tore it open. He did not enter.

“Show some respect for a house of God!”

The man sneered for a moment before trying to hide his reaction, “We have not come to hear you preach, we have come for the book and to learn of whom you have received it. We are ready to offer much money for it and for information of its provenance. We can bequest much to your church. Much good can you do with it. Come walk with us, talk with us, the night air is fresh. We can discuss its price as we stroll together. Long will you be remembered for the legacy of good works this sale shall bring.”

Mary stood inside the Church, thinking. The words were persuasive, but the timing was absurd, and their earlier behavior suspicious and peculiar beyond . Then jumped slightly, startled as William grasped her shoulder, “Don’t go!”

“I had no intention to. Please remove your hand.”

“I saw those things skulking through the graveyard, rising from the ground. Those are no humans. Not any more. Look how it squints at the cross you wear and licks its lips, this creature. I saw one feed. Beware.”

The vampire stepped back and snarled.

“Foolish human! We could spare your life! Or grant you immortality and an escape from this meaningless world and the fairy tale dreams you live for. We shall soon suck this earth dry, but there are infinite lands for us to feast on. You know it to be true, for you too have read the book, one of its endless copies. All your wishes could be made real, if you but bring us the book. This book of truth, quite unlike the paper idol your church of fools worships. Join us and live forever in delight and triumph. Spurn us, and you shall regret it beyond your grave.”

“Demonspawn!” cried Mary, “Blasphemy! Get thee behind me Satan!”

The vampire laughed, “If only I could, so I could sup from your sweet neck. Yet that shall be my master’s privilege, yes, I sense he has marked you for his own, perhaps he shall keep you as a pet. How dare you stand against us! My master is just a mere general in the endless army of our great Lord, the slayer of worlds! It is futile for you to stand against us. Submit! Submit! Or suffer a fate of unthinkable horror.”

Mary slammed shut the door and barred it. The creature outside made no further sounds. And if the legends of such beasts were true (as its actions seemed to indicate), it did not seem to be able to enter. But they would wait and watch until morning, taking turns at guard, and then they would begin their quest. Perhaps father Michael would bless them before they departed.

William went to sleep first. As he lay on the uncomfortable pew, he heard the tick tick ticking that didn’t seem to stop. Was it the clock on the wall? The clock was dead. Strange that it should be so. So where did the sound come from? That awful ticking. William wondered how he would sleep.
When he closed his eyes, it seemed as if he could see that dreadful skull which he had held in his hand just a while ago, grinning, grinning horribly at him, the face of the Vampire and the face of Death becoming one, one horrible being.

He slept restlessly, dreaming himself hitched to a cart, a beast of burden, an immortal slave, dragging an infinite faced abomination behind him as it cut down endless fields of wheat— wheat that bled like men.

Custom components can be found here:
http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/avi_dreader/

Ancient One: Dracula and Death
Herald: Janus
Required Investigators: Sister Mary, and William Yorrick

Start of game: Place one cultist in the Southside Streets. It is stationary until both Mary and Yorrick leave the Church.

Clarifications: Dracula’s undead bonuses do not apply to the Cultist/Vampires or Maniac/Vampires (Dark Druid and Child of the Goat are treated as ordinary Cultist/Vampires, ignore their special text). Cultist/Manic-Vampires do not go to the outskirts and are not counted towards the monster limit. If one would be placed in the outskirts, place it on the gate nearest The Graveyard instead (1st player's choice if a tie).

Notice:

I'm uploading a revised version of Janus in a couple minutes. It won't effect the playing of this scenario (although it might clarify its double evade mechanic a little). Since its main differences are flavor text and a double herald mechanism.

It's important to be aware that you will need the revised version later (so if you downloaded it, or printed it, replace it with the new copy).

Good luck!

New Rule:

You can not carry more than four items between scenarios.

You can only trade spells for other spells when having a bank loan with more than 4 investigators (again, 4 prior to board reductions). Characters with bank loans can trade with each other without any restrictions (without equal exchange requirements).

From now on include Kingsport encounters for Arkham (if possible, but still not for Other Worlds or Kingsport— if you draw the Train Station encounter that has a train going to Kingsport, and there is no Kingsport Board, nothing happens for your encounter).

Clarification:

If an Ancient One has an ability that adds doom tokens to its doom track, Janus adds the doom tokens to the doom track of the active Ancient One (whether before or after final combat).

Denying the Ancient One will not change cultistvampires and maniac/vampires into cultists or maniacs for a turn.

So Are you going to put these scenarios in a herald format like the official league?

Veet said:

No. But when it's over I'll make sure that there's some sort of organized text document that's posted in an public continually accessible place (if necessary I'll create a place for it on the Arkham Horror wiki— or see if someone else knows how to do it, or I'll figure something else out).

So... I ran through the first scenario to try and get some sense of how it worked. It wasn't too bad (I played six investigators) although I did get blitzed by cultist/vampires which was really annoying (since I couldn't get rid of them by closing gates). Don't think it'll stay this easy though :') It was a bit annoying having to get all my investigators together later in the game so that I could have them trade eachother items I wanted them to start off the next game with (I could have won three turns earlier otherwise). I finished with a doom track at 10 (out of 12), but I didn't really feel rushed or panicked. I was almost tempted to change the scenario to allow the sub-vampires to have 4 toughness too, but :') I really didn't want to start you guys off with something too difficult (I wanted you to be able to build up your characters a bit before I start throwing the real challenges at you).

I decided to keep Livre D'Ivon with Jaqueline (instead of enchanted Jewelry), Find Gate with Norman (instead of his random spell, so he'll start with 2 find gates next game), an Enchanted Blade with William, and Illuminated Manuscript with Mary (instead of Holy Water). Don't assume that my investigators or items were chosen based on foreknowledge of the next match, I tried to be fair and play as if I lacked foreknowledge (i.e. I tried to pick a somewhat balanced mix of items that would allow me a certain amount of flexibility).

I'll post a fully updated rules list in a few days so all these Rules Changes and clarifications aren't scattered around. I'm thinking about hosting a one page blog, just so I can keep a continually edited version. Hopefully there won't need to be many more changes to the rules structure (I'm pretty sure there won't need to be that much, but I'll adjust things if it turns out I made a balancing mistake elsewhere).

Rules Change

If you lose a scenario, you can restart it with your carried over starting items.

Veet said:

I think I'm going to set up a blog soon. It allows for a much better organization of this kind of information [which requires frequent editing] than a forum thread.

Shouldn't this be "hidden" away in the Fan Creations section? That way it doesn't get bumped up to the top in the main section, but stays in a section where I never visit, thus doesn't bother me .

Dam said:

Hmmm... Maybe. I'm not really sure. It's not really a fan creation (or maybe it is, I'm not exactly sure), or a league, that's why I thought I'd stick it on the main page. If it'll make you feel better, once I post the blog (I'm working on setting it up right now), this should be less active (since I'll put the new updates there), save for small notifications.

Do these come in KH then :

"Ancient One: Dracula and Death
Herald: Janus"

IMO, if it requires homebrewed/fan creations stuff to play, it belongs under Fan Creations.

Dam said:

Like all of FFG's rules, even its guide to forum use is unclear ;'D

Okay, I set up a blog for this, you can leave comments here or there, I don't care, I'll respond to them anywhere, but I can finally present things in a more organized fashion there. There's just not enough control in this forum thread (not that I'm perfectly satisfied with Blogspot either, but it's a big improvement).

http://arkhamleague.blogspot.com/