where are you at?

By happy_ythogtha, in Arkham Horror: The Card Game

are you playing a campaign? just doing a single cycle, or going after that blob that ate everything? we need a check-in space to share our journeys!

use the spoiler bars if you mention any details.

i just finished the Dunwich Legacy cycle with Father Mat and Wini Habbamock and man, what a finale! barely made it out alive by the skin of my teeth after thinking things were going too easy. i had no trouble breezing through both Miskatonic Museum and The Essex County Express (which was super-fun; i want to play it again!). Blood on the Altar was great even though i did terrible on the objective (sorry villagers!). i didn't understand Undimensioned and Unseen at all and i don't think i played it right because it was too easy and felt kind of dumb. Where Doom Awaits was awesome ~ this and the train were my favorite. as for Lost in Time and Space, holy moly, the induced anxiety was really almost too much:

had it not been for Wini's ridiculously abundant resources, we would have kept losing our dimensional door and having to fight to cycle the deck every round. i don't know how you can win without keeping it open at the end of every phase. this is also a scenario where it feels smarter to run from the monsters than try to fight them. Wini had just one paltry damage left and escaped to resign on an evade, literally at the last second ~ it was harrowing!

i'm letting Father Mat and Wini take a break from the campaign for now. instead, i'm going to play Nathaniel Cho and Stella Clark through Curse of the Rougarou (so they can gain some xp, hopefully ~ and no, i'm not paying xp to play the side quests because that's just silly). ; o p

so again: where are you at? : D

Just finished the second Innsmouth scenario with Amanda Sharpe. Planning to try a 2-handed go at Innsmouth with Trish and an as-yet-undecided second (Maybe Sister Mary?)

8 hours ago, CaffeineAddict said:

Just finished the second Innsmouth scenario with Amanda Sharpe. Planning to try a 2-handed go at Innsmouth with Trish and an as-yet-undecided second (Maybe Sister Mary?)

oooh, i'm so tempted to open the box to get Sister Mary, but i'm going to behave until i'm a few more expansions deep. : D

Just finished return to the Forgotten Age using Nathaniel and Wini (each limited to just using what came with their packs). Next up is a run through of Barkham, to be followed by Harvey and Jacqueline (also limited to just using what came with their individual packs) going through Web of Dreams.

Am holding off on using any of the Innsmouth investigators until my custom curse / blessed tokens arrive. After than I'll need to pick who to use and where they'll go. One thing for certain: will likely hold off on Innsmouth itself until after the first few mythos packs are out.

Currently doing a run of Return to Dunwich with Trish and Mateo. Good start, so far, but we are only two scenarios in. Trish seems strong. I like the Rogue/Seeker combo. Lola Santiago is her new best friend.

We recently finished RttFA with Ursula, William using a lot of Nathaniel cards (Survivors have a lot of spirit cards) and Jacqueline with her deck cards only.
She ended up being pretty powerful.

Two days ago, we started Innsmouth with some friends which we will play monthly. We usually wait for the whole campaign to release, so this will be interesting. They have the core set, Dunwich and TFA, but nothing else, so we gave them first dibs on any investigator. Jacqueline was chosen by one. He wants to see how well FFG has done with the new investigator pack, so is limiting himself to just her cards and cards released in Innsmouth. The other investigator they chose was my beloved Patrice, who has already made a new convert.
I’m playing Trish who I have been waiting and waiting for and she dies not disappoint. She and Obfuscation are made for each other.
And last, but in no way least, we have “Sister Mary the Boxing Nun” (fresh from running the youth program at the Arkham YWCA), smiling sweetly at her enemies, just before she KO’s them. (Her habit’s wide sleeves hide her gloves, so they never see her coming.)
It’s a gaggle of girls, but we’ll get the job done!

Edited by Mimi61
28 minutes ago, Magnito said:

Currently doing a run of Return to Dunwich with Trish and Mateo. Good start, so far, but we are only two scenarios in. Trish seems strong. I like the Rogue/Seeker combo. Lola Santiago is her new best friend.

If you haven’t already, I suggest getting Pathfinder with Trish, especially of she doesn’t have Leo. It’s almost like having an extra action every round.

Edited by Mimi61
2 hours ago, ricedwlit said:

Am holding off on using any of the Innsmouth investigators until my custom curse / blessed tokens arrive. After than I'll need to pick who to use and where they'll go. One thing for certain: will likely hold off on Innsmouth itself until after the first few mythos packs are out.

I know what you mean. I made our tokens by stealing an idea off of Etsy (I feel kind of bad, but saved a bundle). My husband loves to really mix the tokens in the chaos bag and the coin covers kept cracking. So luckily, I was able to make the blessing/curse tokens while we were waiting.

Edited by Mimi61
4 hours ago, ricedwlit said:

Just finished return to the Forgotten Age using Nathaniel and Wini (each limited to just using what came with their packs). Next up is a run through of Barkham, to be followed by Harvey and Jacqueline (also limited to just using what came with their individual packs) going through Web of Dreams.

Am holding off on using any of the Innsmouth investigators until my custom curse / blessed tokens arrive. After than I'll need to pick who to use and where they'll go. One thing for certain: will likely hold off on Innsmouth itself until after the first few mythos packs are out.

i can't wait to take Wini through the Forgotten Age! i think she'll be fabulous for that cycle, though my Wini has a mix of things in her deck since i brought her up through Dunwich already.

i'm holding off on Innsmouth as well, but moreso because i have a lot of stuff to play before it. i'm hoping by the time i get to it, a good number of packs will be out.

2 hours ago, Magnito said:

Currently doing a run of Return to Dunwich with Trish and Mateo. Good start, so far, but we are only two scenarios in. Trish seems strong. I like the Rogue/Seeker combo. Lola Santiago is her new best friend.

i had a lot of fun with Father Mat in Dunwich! i agree the Rogue/Seeker combo was big fun!

2 hours ago, Mimi61 said:

We recently finished RttFA with Ursula, William using a lot of Nathaniel cards (Survivors have a lot of spirit cards) and Jacqueline with her deck cards only.
She ended up being pretty powerful.

Two days ago, we started Innsmouth with some friends which we will play monthly. We usually wait for the whole campaign to release, so this will be interesting. They have the core set, Dunwich and TFA, but nothing else, so we gave them first dibs on any investigator. Jacqueline was chosen by one. He wants to see how well FFG has done with the new investigator pack, so is limiting himself to just her cards and cards released in Innsmouth. The other investigator they chose was my beloved Patrice, who has already made a new convert.
I’m playing Trish who I have been waiting and waiting for and she dies not disappoint. She and Obfuscation are made for each other.
And last, but in no way least, we have “Sister Mary the Boxing Nun” (fresh from running the youth program at the Arkham YWCA), smiling sweetly at her enemies, just before she KO’s them. (Her habit’s wide sleeves hide her gloves, so they never see her coming.)
It’s a gaggle of girls, but we’ll get the job done!

i'm taking a gaggle of girls to Carcosa (Stella and Akachi), but i'm looking forward to playing Sister Mary down the road. my first outing with Nathaniel was a huge disaster, so i don't know who will be the better boxer in the end at this point ~ ha!

~ * ~

i just played through Curse of the Rougarou--twice (with Stella and Nathaniel). the first playthrough i botched so bad; there was so much to keep track of and i blew it every turn (sometimes in my favor, sometimes not). the first time i went after the Rougarou even though my heart wasn't in it (poor werewolf!).

after i realized i had botched the playthrough, i decided to take a different strategy the second time through (though i feel like it was kind of cheating because even though i didn't know what the outcome would be, i had a sense of where i needed to go and what i needed to accomplish). hilariously, the different choices resulted in some unexpected impacts (spoiler below):

and now my poor Stella is a werewolf after only just one outing! it's sad, but also surprisingly delightful, i have to admit. XD

At our house, Mat and Wini are Returning to the Forgotten Age, having just completed Heart of the Elders and looking forward to City of Archives. My Mateo deck is full of bloody curses and pacts. He's the nastiest priest you've ever met.

We've got Mary and Trish on deck for the Blob.

Edited by Carthoris

I've got multiple games going.

I've got a 3 player Innsmouth started with Trish, Mary, and Stella. We always play new cycles on easy, and while it has been somewhat of a challenge, we've managed to get every VP in scenario 1 and complete both scenarios.

I've also got a 4 player Dunwich Game using Zoey, Agnes, Finn, and Eunice Goulding (a custom seeker creation of my own). That one is going fairly well, but we are moving into Lost in Time and Space next.

And lastly, I've got a new friend hooked and we're playing Return to Carcosa as Stella and Dexter Drake. Stella had some really amazing moments in scenario 3, while I seem to be fumbling around a lot with Dexter. It's not that I'm not enjoying him, but I've just had monumentally bad luck so far (but no trauma! [other than arcane research]). I have both Shriveling and Azure Flame and it seems no matter what spell I use, I always pick the token that hurts me. I've also elected to take the Spirit Familiar, so it's fun to think of him accidentally lighting himself on fire and horrifying himself with poor displays of showmanship while that mean 'ol cat continues to tell me that I'm not worthy. I seem to do quite well with Sixth Sense though...

It's particularly fun when Dexter shouts "Watch This!" to Stella and then autofails and catches his robes on fire with Azure Flames. Pretty sure Stella thinks I'm useless at this point, lol.

Edited by Soakman

Halfway through Dunwich Legacy on Blood on the Altar. After this am hoping to go through Return to the Night of the Zealot with the starter decks. After that more than probable Campaign B of the Dream Eaters with new investigator(s). Beyond that not too sure. Possibly start Innsmouth (being a slower player it is possible by the time I start it could be at 4 or 5 mythos packs) and then after that Return to Dunwich but that is dependent upon if I can get the remaining mythos packs for Carcosa. As with all scenarios will look for ways to stick in a standalone scenario either as a standalone or side campaign.

RM

Edited by OC Architect

We are 3 scenarios into the circle undone with Tommy Muldoon and Harvey Walters!! Which is going particularly well so far on standard!!

although our experiences in the Secret Name seem to have thrown us through some kind of gate into Cairo where there is some serious £&”@ going down... so just finished the Eternal Slumber... going to hopefully complete the Night’s Usurper before the gate to Arkham sucks is back....

really enjoyed the Eternal Slumber and can highly recommend it... hoping the Night’s Usurper is just as good!!

Also having fun playing Harvey with some fragments of onyx & an interpreted dream diary....and now a worn copy of the necronomicon found in the Museum of Egyptian Anriquities... the scholars there are not all they seem...

2 hours ago, Carthoris said:

At our house, Mat and Wini are Returning to the Forgotten Age, having just completed Heart of the Elders and looking forward to City of Archives. My Mateo deck is full of bloody curses and pacts. He's the nastiest priest you've ever met.

We've got Mary and Trish on deck for the Blob.

oooh, i can't wait to take Wini and Mat through Forgotten Age! bwhahaha ~ the nastiest priest! mine's still on the right side of the Light, though he does have the Necronomicon a mean Shriveling going for him! and there was that incident in Dunwich where Wini didn't cheat because she didn't want to do it in front of the priest, but then later he had no qualms about sitting down at the bar and knocking back a drink (or two)! these characters are so much fun.

1 hour ago, Soakman said:

I've got multiple games going.

I've got a 3 player Innsmouth started with Trish, Mary, and Stella. We always play new cycles on easy, and while it has been somewhat of a challenge, we've managed to get every VP in scenario 1 and complete both scenarios.

I've also got a 4 player Dunwich Game using Zoey, Agnes, Finn, and Eunice Goulding (a custom seeker creation of my own). That one is going fairly well, but we are moving into Lost in Time and Space next.

And lastly, I've got a new friend hooked and we're playing Return to Carcosa as Stella and Dexter Drake. Stella had some really amazing moments in scenario 3, while I seem to be fumbling around a lot with Dexter. It's not that I'm not enjoying him, but I've just had monumentally bad luck so far (but no trauma! [other than arcane research]). I have both Shriveling and Azure Flame and it seems no matter what spell I use, I always pick the token that hurts me. I've also elected to take the Spirit Familiar, so it's fun to think of him accidentally lighting himself on fire and horrifying himself with poor displays of showmanship while that mean 'ol cat continues to tell me that I'm not worthy. I seem to do quite well with Sixth Sense though...

It's particularly fun when Dexter shouts "Watch This!" to Stella and then autofails and catches his robes on fire with Azure Flames. Pretty sure Stella thinks I'm useless at this point, lol.

wow! i don't know if i could keep up with all of that, though i am still sorely tempted to up my solo game to a three-investigator hand.

and i am laughing so hard at Dexter setting himself on fire! XD

i love Stella and had similar frustrations playing her with Nathaniel ~ couldn't get him to be useful for anything in Rougarou!

1 hour ago, OC Architect said:

Halfway through Dunwich Legacy on Blood on the Altar. After this am hoping to go through Return to the Night of the Zealot with the starter decks. After that more than probable Campaign B of the Dream Eaters with new investigator(s). Beyond that not too sure. Possibly start Innsmouth (being a slower player it is possible by the time I start it could be at 4 or 5 mythos packs) and then after that Return to Dunwich but that is dependent upon if I can get the remaining mythos packs for Carcosa. As with all scenarios will look for ways to stick in a standalone scenario either as a standalone or side campaign.

i'll be starting Carcosa next weekend. like you, by the time i get to Innsmouth, quite a few packs might be out.

i'm looking forward to replaying Blood on the Altar in the Return to version. I really enjoyed the Dunwich cycle a lot!

34 minutes ago, gazzagames said:

We are 3 scenarios into the circle undone with Tommy Muldoon and Harvey Walters!! Which is going particularly well so far on standard!!

although our experiences in the Secret Name seem to have thrown us through some kind of gate into Cairo where there is some serious £&”@ going down... so just finished the Eternal Slumber... going to hopefully complete the Night’s Usurper before the gate to Arkham sucks is back....

really enjoyed the Eternal Slumber and can highly recommend it... hoping the Night’s Usurper is just as good!!

Also having fun playing Harvey with some fragments of onyx & an interpreted dream diary....and now a worn copy of the necronomicon found in the Museum of Egyptian Anriquities... the scholars there are not all they seem...

this sounds awesome! Secret Name was one the last packs i had to get to finish out the collection.

i haven't yet built a Seeker deck ~ thinking of going with Mandy Thompson, but Harvey Walters also sounds like a blast! : D

9 hours ago, Soakman said:

It's particularly fun when Dexter shouts "Watch This!" to Stella and then autofails and catches his robes on fire with Azure Flames. Pretty sure Stella thinks I'm useless at thi

Watch This! was one of his staples when we played him too. He never set any cats on fire, but needed “You take this One” because he kept getting his hand stuck in his hat looking for stuff and pulling out something completely useless!

8 hours ago, gazzagames said:

We are 3 scenarios into the circle undone with Tommy Muldoon and Harvey Walters!! Which is going particularly well so far on standard!!

although our experiences in the Secret Name seem to have thrown us through some kind of gate into Cairo where there is some serious £&”@ going down... so just finished the Eternal Slumber... going to hopefully complete the Night’s Usurper before the gate to Arkham sucks is back....

really enjoyed the Eternal Slumber and can highly recommend it... hoping the Night’s Usurper is just as good!!

Also having fun playing Harvey with some fragments of onyx & an interpreted dream diary....and now a worn copy of the necronomicon found in the Museum of Egyptian Anriquities... the scholars there are not all they seem...

Guardians of the Abyss stands the test of time for me. Still one of the best standalones in the game. Last time we played it, it was as a prequel to Dream Eaters. We didn’t carry our XP over, but did bring our goodies back to Arkham. It was very thematic.
The mangy mutt who kept following me around in the Bazaar kind of became my Guard Dog. I couldn’t just leave him behind to become someone’s dinner, so in gratitude he followed me everywhere (or maybe it was because of the stinky Egyptian cheese I always had on hand. I was never sure). I do have to say he was very uncomfortable in Ulthar. Never showed his face once!

On 10/11/2020 at 4:50 PM, happy_ythogtha said:

* ~

i just played through Curse of the Rougarou--twice (with Stella and Nathaniel). the first playthrough i botched so bad; there was so much to keep track of and i blew it every turn (sometimes in my favor, sometimes not). the first time i went after the Rougarou even though my heart wasn't in it (poor werewolf!).

I remember our first time through Rougarou, we somehow missed one of the instructions on an act card and actually did what we were supposed to without knowing it, so continued running around until we were defeated. We had to play the whole thing over again and almost missed the same instruction again! I can’t remember what it was, but doing it right did help! Stupid werewolves, they are so distracting!

Edited by Mimi61

Trish and Silas are going through Innsmouth at my house. I am also making a solo Dexter deck to try and tackle Return To TFA, but I haven't tried it yet.

I had my first game yesterday. Played the first scenario of the core box as two-handed solo. Went horribly wrong. I guess having played a lot of Marvel Champions before was a bad influence, as I went through the cards in hand too quickly, and when the Ghoul Priest arrived, both investigators had nearly depleted hands and not much in fighting help. An encounter card and an attack from the Priest later and Roland was taken by madness.

Of course, Wendy fled.

Can't wait to try again! :D

I’m stuck at the dream-eaters campaign because 3b and 4a packs were all sold out in my area. So I’m starting Innsmouth with Father Mateo and Sister Mary. Don’t know yet if this mean too much competition of bless mechanics and mystic cards, or will it be turbo up the mechanics instead.

9 hours ago, Ser Nakata said:

I had my first game yesterday. Played the first scenario of the core box as two-handed solo. Went horribly wrong. I guess having played a lot of Marvel Champions before was a bad influence, as I went through the cards in hand too quickly, and when the Ghoul Priest arrived, both investigators had nearly depleted hands and not much in fighting help. An encounter card and an attack from the Priest later and Roland was taken by madness.

Of course, Wendy fled.

Can't wait to try again! :D

Yeah the two games have very different philosophies about cards in hand. In Marvel it's basically an efficiency puzzle each turn. Running your hand down usually signals that you did a decent job solving the puzzle. In Arkham if you run your hand down to zero that's usually extremely bad since you have no options. So alot of the pilot skill comes from knowing what to commit/play and when. Alot of that comes from getting comfortable with the bag statistics and evaluating risk.

The only class that gives you any benefit to running your hand down is Survivor once you get cards like Madam Labranche or Last Chance. Even then I think it's an extremely risky way to play. That said if you play as Patrice you might feel right at home coming from Champions.

Edited by phillos
10 hours ago, Mimi61 said:

I remember our first time through Rougarou, we somehow missed one of the instructions on an act card and actually did what we were supposed to without knowing it, so continued running around until we were defeated. We had to play the whole thing over again and almost missed the same instruction again! I can’t remember what it was, but doing it right did help! Stupid werewolves, they are so distracting!

ha! i probably did the same thing the first time through because i had to walk the rounds back ~ i could just tell something was wrong because the gameplay wasn't making any sense as i wandered around killing alligators and leeches. i think it's that mashed up instruction on the agenda about shuffling the encounter deck, adding the Rougarou encounter cards, and spawning the Rougarou itself. it tells you to do three different things and it all runs together in teeny tiny print!

8 hours ago, phillos said:

Trish and Silas are going through Innsmouth at my house. I am also making a solo Dexter deck to try and tackle Return To TFA, but I haven't tried it yet.

nice! i am looking forward to playing Silas in this one!

7 hours ago, Ser Nakata said:

I had my first game yesterday. Played the first scenario of the core box as two-handed solo. Went horribly wrong. I guess having played a lot of Marvel Champions before was a bad influence, as I went through the cards in hand too quickly, and when the Ghoul Priest arrived, both investigators had nearly depleted hands and not much in fighting help. An encounter card and an attack from the Priest later and Roland was taken by madness.

Of course, Wendy fled.

Can't wait to try again! :D

ha! welcome to the game! i had the same experience trying to learn it, having never played an lcg before. it literally took me four times through the first scenario to really grasp the mechanics and start to form a strategy. the good news is, it gets easier (understanding how to play, not the scenarios themselves; some of them are tough!). anyway, glad to know Wendy made it out alive at least! : D

2 hours ago, rexhaha said:

I’m stuck at the dream-eaters campaign because 3b and 4a packs were all sold out in my area. So I’m starting Innsmouth with Father Mateo and Sister Mary. Don’t know yet if this mean too much competition of bless mechanics and mystic cards, or will it be turbo up the mechanics instead.

you'll have to let us know how it works out! i'd like to play Sister Mary and Father Mat together, but i have the same concern, though I suppose building Mary's guardian deck might help balance it.

7 hours ago, rexhaha said:

I’m stuck at the dream-eaters campaign because 3b and 4a packs were all sold out in my area. So I’m starting Innsmouth with Father Mateo and Sister Mary. Don’t know yet if this mean too much competition of bless mechanics and mystic cards, or will it be turbo up the mechanics instead.

You are probably ok. The blessing tokens from Sister Mary seem to impact the chaos bag more the fewer investigators there are. We are playing with 4 and they come back out fairly quickly. Except when Patrice puts 4 more in! This mechanic does mess with Jacqueline Fine’s ability somewhat, but I think Father Mateo should be ok. He should play with Sister Mary, if for no other reason than to thank her for some more “blessed” cards to work with!

Edited by Mimi61

I've just finished Boundary Beyond in RttFA, playing as Winifred alongside Ursula and having a blast (though I don't think she makes it into my top 10 investigators). Have just purchased some bigger guns from my arms dealer in Mexico City before we head to Return to the Heart of the Elders Part 2.

I'm also playing a Dunwich campaign over OCTGN introducing a friend of mine to the game - with Jenny and Agnes, we're about to head into the final scenario!