1. If using the axe and a one-handed spell, is the hand devoted to the spell still considered to be empty since no physical object occupies that hand, thus allowing the axe to give its +3 bonus?

2. If an encounter tells you to search a deck for a particular item, is that deck then reshuffled?

3. Does trading require movement points or can 2 players in the same space simply trade freely?

4. In the Innsmouth Horror expansion, how do you move out of the Devil's Reef and Y'ha-nthlei spaces? Can you charter a boat out of there or can you only leave via encounter cards?

5. When starting a new character after a previous character is devoured, at which turn phase does the new character start? If my character is devoured by a monster during the movement phase, does the new character start at the Arkham encounter phase or does it wait til the upkeep of the next turn?

6. When starting a new character after a previous character is devoured, is it possible to start the game with a failed personal story? For example, if, at the time my first character is devoured, the terror level has reached 5, and I draw for my new character Ursula Downs, whose personal story fails at terror level 3, is it automatically failed? Or do we count 3 increases of the terror level from when she enters the game, in this case, failing at terror level 8?

Thank you!

Musha Shukou said:

1. The other hand is devoted to the spell, so the axe bonus counts as +2 only

2. Yes

3. it's free, no movement point required, but remember, you cannot trade during combat

4. Via encounter cards, or thanks to someone in Falcon point using the special ability of that location (paying 2 bucks to have another investigator arriving in Falcon point from a different aquatic location)

5. Rules says that you immediately discard the old one and draws a new one; however, I think there are some open questions at this regard (basically, timing questions) and hopefully they will be answered in a FAQ (in a short or long time, don't know). As far as my way of playing it's concerned, I start playing with the new character in the Upkeep of the round following the one my previous investigator was devoured

6. Yes, it's possible

Sorry for the quick answers, but I'm in a hurry. Hope this helps!

Thanks for those answers Julia. I have thought of another question:

What is meant by "a round of combat" in terms of weapon/spell usage in combat?

1. Is it one roll of the dice? Or rather, one sequence of combat steps 1-3 (1- Horror Check, 2- Fight or Flee, 3- Monster Damage)?

2. Is it combat with one monster? Or possible repition of the combat steps until monster is defeated or investigator is knocked unconscious?

3. Or is it combat with all the monsters in one location? Or a series of combat steps 1-3?

Musha Shukou said:

Well, it's not an easy question, since there are tons of cases to consider. We can say a single combat is a combat between an investigator and a monster. It lasts until the monster is successfully defeated / evaded, or the investigator is driven insane / unconscious or devoured (being devoured is not that common, but with a couple of monsters it's still possible).

A combat then consists in one or more rounds, where "round" means "combat check".
Example: you're in a location with a Formless spawn and a Cultist. Two different combats. You start fighting the cultist, so

- First combat, first round: no horror check (not required by the cultist), 7 dice to roll, a 6 is scored: cultist killed, combat over in one round

then you move to the Formless spawn

- Second combat, first round: horror check - passed; then you try to fight the monster barehanded; 4 dice to roll, no successes; you pay the stamina damage and move to the second round
- Second combat, second round: after noticing that you might need something stronger to beat that damnes thing, you cast a Wither; the lore check is successfull, so you have 3 extra dice to roll; so you roll 7 dice, obtaining only one '5', which isn't enough to beat the Formless spawn; you take another 2 stamina damage; considering you had a starting stamina of 5, you have still 1 point left, so alive even if a little aching, you go for a third round
- Second combat, third round: the spell still lasts (and will last until you devote hands to it), so you roll again 7 dice, scoring a '5' and a '6': two successes, and the monster is now collected as a trophy

On the main page of the main Arkham forum there is a very important thread where official answers (by Kevin Wilson) are reported. From this thread, we can read the following specification on the topic you touched:

Type 1: (Standard Weapons) "+X to Combat checks"
Examples: .38 Revolver, Shotgun, Axe.
These bonuses last as long as you devote the required hands to them. You can use them for multiple rounds of combat, and in multiple battles each turn.

Type 2: (One Shot) "+X to Combat checks (discard after use)"
Examples: Dynamite, Molotov Cocktail.
The wording on this type is somewhat archaic, but the idea is that you only use it for 1 combat check, and then you discard it.

Type 3: (Burst) "Exhaust before making a Combat check to gain +X to that check."
Examples: Flamethrower, Carbine Rifle.
This type is used for only a single combat check, and it is then exhausted and cannot be used again until refreshed.

Type 4: (Spells) "Cast and exhaust to gain +X to Combat checks until the end of this combat."
Examples: Wither, Shrivelling.
A spell that gives a combat bonus like this will last until the end of the combat (i.e. for multiple combat rounds until the combat is over) once you cast it. HOWEVER, you must still devote the proper number of hands to keeping the spell going, or it will end. In any case, the spell is exhausted after casting, so it can only be used to fight one monster each turn. Also note that in a battle vs. the Ancient One, you will need to recast the spell each attack, since it gets refreshed and ends between attacks.

Hope this helps! Anyway, if you have rules questions, post them in them main forum. Here is the "Reference material section" and simply it's a section that most of the people writing regularly on the forum doesn't visit very often. Writing on the main section, you'll receive tons of answers in a very short time!