Okay, that last part is arguable, but he's certainly the most formidible according to the statistics lovingly kept by Tibs.

I specifically chose Norman out of the six we had randomly selected this game because I am convinced that passing his personal story might well be the key to victory against an AO we could not otherwise defeat in final battle. When we drew Atlach-Nacha I had to supress a groan; I knew we were never going to defeat him in combat whether Norman found his weakness or not.

Our initial draw for starting items was very low on weapons, but Norman did wind up with the Walking the Ley Lines mission. Now usually we win against Atlach-Nacha by sealing, but we had triumphed by completing this mission against him once before, and our last couple of attempts to seal the Spider God away had been dismal failures. And Norman did have his starting Find Gate spell, and we also had Jacqueline and Marie's character abilities. All and in all, it was about as perfect circumstances for attemping the mission as we were going to get. My teammates were up giving it a shot, so we went for it!

Our second Mythos card was Tempest, and because of the "No Mystic Environments" rule we kept Tempest the whole game. Needless to say, it was a godsend! One of the most annoying things about playing against Atlach-Nacha is the way flyers move every turn, but with Tempest they were killed as soon as they reached the sky. The +1 speed was also a big help to max three speed Norman.

The whole game was a nailbiter, with us frantically trying to complete the mission as Atlach-Nacha's doom track seemed to climb every turn. Marie used her Witch Blood twice and it barely seemed to slow him down. If we hadn't sealed the Witch House and Gardener's Place he would have had us; as it was Jacqueline still has to use her Precognition twice. When Norman sacrificed the -4 Ry'leh/Abyss gate at Unvisited Isle to complete the mission the Doom Track stood at twelve and we had eight gates open.

Now our games often come down to the last turn or two. I enjoy a close game even when it goes against me, but this is a win I'm especially going to savor, and I wanted to share the story with my fellow Arkham afficionados.

Sounds fun. But I am still too residually arachniphobic to attempt fighting Atlach (thanks, Stephen King).

Nice, winning by completing a mission is something I have yet to try

But one question: how did you use Witch Blood twice? Isn't it a once per game deal? Maybe I'm missing something because I only have DH and BGotW.

If Marie passes her personal story (IH) I believe she can use it a second time.

Tibs said:

Yes.

Tox said:

Tibs and Avi answered you before I could. If you complete Marie's Personal Story, you can indeed use her Witch Blood twice, and each time you do so you get to draw two Spells for her and keep one.

Good luck on winning by completing a mission! It's difficult enough with "Walking the Ley Lines"; it's nearly impossible with "For the Greater Good" and "Joining the Winning Team." I should know, I've tried.

Solan said:

Good luck on winning by completing a mission! It's difficult enough with "Walking the Ley Lines"; it's nearly impossible with "For the Greater Good" and "Joining the Winning Team." I should know, I've tried.

Who dunnit?

*raises arm*

One "Join the Winning Team" victory to go please .

Dam said:

One "Join the Winning Team" victory to go please .

Now do it with three other people in the game. Somehow "I win, and the three other mes lose!" doesn't feel quite so victorious.

Hey, come back when you've done it in a solo game, without picking people and all that . All random stuff, hell, getting Allies from encounters with the decks at 30+ cards isn't easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. Not to mention actually drawing the darn Mission in the first place, it's just 1 card. As far as challenges and difficulty goes, it's really up there.

Well, jgt does have a point there...if you're playing solo, you win once and lose thrice, assuming you're playing with four investigators. Soo....

Hey, if you have a shot at JtWT when I'm in the game, if I can help you complete it (get Dhol Chants, trade it, buy the Mission, trade it, clear paths, etc.), I'm all for "winning" via the Mission (darn it Tibs ). Hell, AH needs challenges like For the Greater Good (still hope to win via that one day) and JtWT, winning via 6 seals is the most common way, but it's also on the easy side.

Hey, credit where credit is due! I was impressed when you pulled it off. Join the Winning Team (and For the Greater Good) isn't easy by any means, and there was an amazing confluence of preternatural circumstances that allowed you to accomplish it at all. Serious kudos, Dam!

My problem is...I wager you weren't playing as if three of your Investigators were trying to stop the fourth from helping the Ancient One out. Perhaps those other three were performing a few delaying tactics to facilitate the fourth getting what was needed: getting a few monsters out of the way, keeping the Gate Limit down, etc. So you were playing the Ancient One, maneuvering his High Priest and his three minions to get it done, yes?

I wouldn't call that a "victory". Definitely an "accomplishment" (and a half)...but not a victory.

Dam said:

Erm... you do realise that a JTWT resolution is a defeat for all Investigators, right? You're not "giving up your win" to defeat the GOO. The guy who completes the mission wins because he's not an Investigator any more - he's a cultist.

Pfft, card says "you win the game", that's all that counts.

Wins a win, unless it comes in final battle .

And why couldn't this so-called cultist have his buddies raised or something (hey, zombie-life > limbo, right ?) , especially if they helped him accomplish the mission. If four investigators fought the GOO and only one survived, I'm sure he'd give a nod to the fallen ones, why couldn't the "cultist" do the same ?

Avi_dreader said:

because of the Mordred thing in the Dark Tower series or because of It?