Some of these questions I asked in a different forum and were touched on by Julia, but I'm reposting them here simply for substantiation. I also had several rules questions on the new expansion, LatT, and how it interacts with previous additions from other expansions:

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. In the rules clarifications under the heading "Weapons and Spell Limits" it refers to a 'combat round.' I understand the 4 different types of combat bonuses (standard, oneshot, burst, spell) and the duration of their effects, I would simply like a clarification on the meaning of the term 'combat round'. Does 'combat round' mean:

a. one roll of the dice? Or rather, one sequence of combat steps 1-3 (1- Horror Check, 2- Fight or Flee, 3- Monster Damage)? (ie: 1,2,3- NEXT combat round would be another 2,3 on SAME monster if first check failed, or another 1,2,3 on a DIFFERENT monster if first check successful)

b. combat with one monster? Or possible repition of the combat steps until monster is defeated or investigator is knocked unconscious? (ie: 1,2,3,2,3- NEXT combat round would be NEXT monster)

c. combat with all the monsters in one location? Or a series of combat steps 1-3? (ie: 1,2,3; 1,2,3,2,3; 1,2,3; all monsters dead- NEXT combat round would be combat with ANOTHER SET of monsters on the NEXT MOVEMENT phase)

4. 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 until the upkeep of the next turn?

5. 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?

6. Does 1 Dunwich horror token get added to the board PER MONSTER that enters a vortex, just like the terror track goes up by one per monster?

7. Likewise, does 1 Deep Ones Rising token get added to the track PER MONSTER that enters a vortex?

8. With the KH expansion, can a rift and a gate open at the same location with the same mythos card? Or if a rift opens, does it keep a gate from opening thus adding a Deep Ones Rising token to the track?

9. When a rift opens, it does not move until the turn AFTER it first opened. Is this the same with moving gates in LatT? Or do moving gates open AND move with the same mythos card?

10. What happens if a gate would move into a vortex?

11. What happens if a rift would move into a vortex?

12. What happens if a gate would move onto the same space containing a rift? And vice versa?

13. What happens if a moving gate moves onto a monster?

14. Is it possible for a gate to somehow move onto a location containing a seal? If so, what happens to that gate?

15. The rules say that if a Gate of Doom opens at a location containing an investigator to add a doom token. Isn't this what happens anyway? Or does it mean that you add an ADITIONAL doom token, thus, adding 2 doom tokens if it opens on an investigator, and if it had been a gate burst opening at a location containing a seal AND an investigator, adding 1?

16. If gates can now only be sealed at unstable locations, and Akachi can seal gates regardless, can she seal gates in streets and stable locations?

Thank you!

1) No. Hand use is hand use.

2) a

3) If it tells you to search for "the first Tome" or "the first Weapon", then do not reshuffle. If it tells you to search for "an item" or "an item of your choice", reshuffle.

4) We play "Upkeep of next turn", but I don't know for certain.

5) Yes. Also possible to start with an already-passed personal story, if you have enough trophies carried over. (And for some, possible to have both at once, in which case you choose which effect takes precedence)

6) Yes

7) Yes

8) Don't know - I don't have KH - but I don't think the Rift blocks the gate at all

9) I think potentially they could open and move. Gate opening takes place before monster movement. Monster movement triggers rift opening. (So with the two-mythos-per-turn rumours, a rift could move on the same turn)

10) No-one knows yet

11) It falls into the vortex and continues spitting out monsters direct into the vortex until closed. It doesn't itself trigger the vortex effect, but the monsters it produces will.

12) Nothing. Gates and rifts can otherwise coexist.

13) Nothing. Monsters and gates can otherwise coexist.

14) It looks like this requires a fairly obscure set of circumstances involving a BGotW environment, so it probably won't come up, but no-one knows yet.

15) An additional doom token over and above the normal one.

16) No-one knows yet, but consensus seems to be that Akachi's power is only meant to help with "No-one can help you now" and similar temporary effects, rather than a general prohibition against sealing outside unstable locations.

1. Axe and Gladius of Carcosa give you an extra +1 if there is nothing equipped in your other hand. A spell is something. The idea is that you deal more because you're gripping the weapon with both hands, and you can't do that when there's a spell in your hand.

2. One "combat round" means you've made one combat check against the monster, where you either pass by rolling the required number of successes, or fail because you haven't rolled enough. A one-shot weapon only works for one roll (Dynamite). A "standard" works for as many rolls as you want (Rifle). A "burst" is only found in expansions (Carbine Rifle): you exhaust the weapon to get only one roll, so you can only use it once per turn. You have to wait until Upkeep for the weapon to be refreshed so that it can be used again. Most spells offer their bonus for as many rolls as it's equipped in your hand. If you didn't kill the monster on the first combat round and you want to try again, you don't have to re-cast the spell. But if you un-equip the spell or the combat ends somehow, you no longer may use the spell for the rest of the round.

So a combat round means "a."

3. The general rule is that if you search for a particular item, you reshuffle the deck. If you're instructed to "take the first X off the deck" then you draw until you find X and discard the rest to the bottom, in the order they were drawn.

4. I don't know this one actually. I've never known... ordinarily I put the character into effect immediately, but the remainder of that turn is skipped by that character.

5. Yes, you can fail or pass a personal story instantly when a new character is started. Ursula would instantly fail, since the terror level has already reached 3.

6 and 7. Yes: vortexes count each monster that entered individually. Good luck with that

8. Rifts and gates can be in the same location, yes. They do not interfere with each other, and an elder sign will not prevent a rift from appearing.

9. The rules for Lurker do not specify, but a gate opens before monster movement occurs, so I'd assume that yes, it can move immediately after opening.

10. Who knows!

11. Rifts moving into vortexes remain there. They still add doom tokens and spit monsters directly into the vortex; it is the movement symbol that triggers a rift effect, not its actual movement across the board.

12. Rifts and gates do not interfere with each other.

13. Nothing.

14. It should not be possible, but currently we don't know. The best answer is that it cannot move onto a seal at all.

15. It only makes sense that an additional token is added. Same story with a burst: it would add one doom token instead of none.

16. We don't know. I say, "no" because I think the bar against sealing is a universal rule meant to stop uncomfortable situations like an elder sign in a street when a gate tries to move onto it.

Musha Shukou said:

As soon as an Investigator is devoured, and while the other players are finishing their turns, we get the new investigator set up and ready to rumble. If its a new player to the game, we will wait for the Upkeep phase to do this. After all..

'Phnglui mglw nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah nagl fhtagn'

questions no. 8 is still unanswered and also unclear to me. tibs quoted the rulebook ("Rifts and gates can be in the same location. They do not interfere with each other, and an elder sign will not prevent a rift from appearing.") but the rulebook does not say if a gate opens the same time as a rift appears, or if the rift appears instead of the gate. it just talks about static observations.

for me, the rules read like the rift is placed instead of a gate. this is mostly because it just says a rift opens at the gate location and it is explicitely stated that seals do not block a rift (as it would a gate). the example pictures on page 9 also support this, because no gate is shown there (and nothing else that would prevent a gate from appearing).

the explanation text on page 9 however, supports the oppinion that both appear, but it's not 100 % clear either. it says "it doesn't matter if a gate opened as well since they don't interfere". this can be meant as "it doesn't matter if a gate opened at the same time" or "it doesn't matter if a gate opened later" or "it doesn't matter if a gate had opened in previous rounds".

it then says "rifts and gates do not interfere with each other". this can be understood as "also their appearance don't interfere with each other" which is probably the intention but not quite true, because when appearing the rift does use the gate location. therefore it can also be understood as "don't interfere when they are on the board", saying nothing about how they enter the game.

we play that both open at the same time (to make rifts a greater threat), but i wish the rules were clear on that.

Regarding question 10: I'm assuming a gate cannot move to a vortex since there's no way it can be closed then(other than via some special encounter or item).

Correct: a moving gate cannot enter a vortex. In the case of Dunwich this will mean a dead-end for the gate in question, and it cannot be sealed.

I never thought I'd say this, but it would be great luck to have one open on Devil's Reef or Y'ha-N'thlei, because then it will remain on the unstable location and therefore could be sealed.

Zealot: I'm afraid I don't see how the rules are unclear.

"Rifts and gates do not interact" mean exactly that. Whether one opens onto or moves onto another, they still behave as if the other isn't there.

Also, gates and rifts don't open at the same time. During a Mythos phase, the gate opens first. After the gate opens, the clue appears, and then monster movement occurs. It is at this point in the Mythos phase that a rift will first open, or that an already open one will move.

One will never be placed in lieu of the other. A rift opening will not prevent a gate opening that otherwise would have opened, or vice-versa.

Quick note: your question 6 asks about the Dunwich Horror track moving up per individual monster entering a vortex. That's true, but I got the impression from your following statement that you thought the Terror Track also increases by 1 per individual monster. That is not true - the terror track only increases by 1 whenever the Outskirts monsters are returned to the cup, not 1 per monster.

Einlanzer80 said:

Of course, Outskirts has nothing to do with this question, since it is about Dunwich vortices. Both DH and IH vortices, when a monster enters, Terror +1 for each monster that enters (and depending on the board in question, a DH or DOR token).

Musha Shukou said:

Well the experts have already weighed in with an answer of "shrug," so take my impudent response with a grain of salt, but I don't see any reason why the seal would make a difference. Seals stop gates from opening. A gate is known to completely overwrite the location it's in while it's there. If a gate gains the ability to move and tries to move onto a sealed location, I would think the seal should get overwritten as part of the location. After all, this gate isn't opening, it's just moving around. While the gate remains in that location, it is treated for all purposes as a regular open gate there, meaning it can trigger monster surges if more gates try to open there (the seal is overwritten until this gate leaves.) If the gate moves off, the seal is still there to prevent future openings.

As far as going for a Seal Victory, I would say seals underneath moving gates don't count until the gate moves away (the seal is completely overwritten.)

Musha Shukou said:

Akachi says she can seal "regardless of other game effects." At least in my opinion, "game effects" are things that come from cards, tokens or other sources that crop up during play. The Rules are not a "game effect," they are the baseline which game effects alter. If there's a new Rule that gates can only be sealed at unstable locations, then Akachi's ability doesn't let her get around that. If this were coming from an environment card or something, then her ability would get her around it, but if its written in the rulebook then it's not a "game effect." That's just my opinion.

That said, I really don't know why you would WANT to seal at a stable or street location anyway. No gates will ever open there, and since gates moving onto seals is apparently a question of Unknowable Proportions, you're only causing yourself more headaches by doing this.

Steve-O said:

Love it. Very well put.

Steve-O said:

When playing against Atlach-Nacha, maybe.

Steve-O said:

Does anyone know how many game effects Akachi's "may always seal gates" ability applies to? Like cim pointed out, there's the "No One Can Help You Now" mythos card. Is there anything else?

De Vermiis Mysteriis specifically states can't seal the gate you close with it, so Akachi should bypass that restriction.

That's it? A tome and a mythos card? Weak. Good thing her Guardian of the Veil ability is so strong or she'd be a laughing stock.

avec said:

Yes exactly. The ability to seal despite restrictions was most definitely an afterthought. +1 bonus and -1 clue is well worth it.

avec said:

Well, you could combo her with Ashcan Pete for De Vermiis spamming, sealing gates from the Curiositie Shoppe .

Steve-O said:

To acquire a seal victory.

Dam said:

With a steady supply of clue producing tomes, no doubt.

avec said:

and its not a sane strategy against Y'golonac.