Hy there,

some time ago I had an encounter in R'lyeh and drew the red/yellow-dual-color-card and had to fight Cthulhu on my own. It was a close call, but I finally warded him off (my equipment was quite nice as I was playing Joe Diamond and wielded dual .45 automatic handguns). So I was asking myself, does his attack lose it's effect after the battle and my health and sanity-maximums are returned to normal or is the effect permanent?

Permanent.

It is permanent. In addition, in a game against Cthulhu, his "slumber" ability is in effect during final combat, so you don't get your "original" maximums back. Lastly, in a game against some AO other than Cthulhu, if you bump into Cthulhu in an OW encounter, you don't have to immediately lose one maximum sanity and stamina.

Hope this helps!

Hm, okay. That's heavy stuff, since normally after that battle your character might very well be practically unplayable... There's no benefit for defeating him, other than directly returning to Arkham and closing the gate behind you without having to roll a dice, or is there?

Don't forget—defeating an AO in an Other World encounter means that the gate is closed and sealed .

But yeah, unless you're playing with Injury/Madness cards (and so can retire investigators), it can be tough to get rid of your crippled hero.

Remember in the story of the two guys who actually escaped the encounter with Cthulhu one lasted literally 2 seconds before dying and the other was never the same, his wife saying the encounter had "Broken" him. It makes sense that meeting Cthulhu would leave you changed like that.

Ah, okay, I didn't know that it's sealed as well, maybe I overread it or it isn't made that clear in the German translations, thanks for clarifying anyway.

@Veet: Yeah, you're right, encountering Cthulhu might leave an impact on you

Unless you're blessed Joe Diamond with akimbo'd .44 automatics, grapple/fight and some clues