i enter the abyss through a gate in black cave. then i get the encounter:

the caverns split. make a luck (+1) check and consult the chart below. successes:

(0-1) move to black cave
2: move to dreamlands
3+: draw a unique item

i rolled 1 success and moved to black cave. i have returned to where i came from. i played that i do get an explored marker since i returned from that other world to a gate that leads to that other world. of course the card did not say that i moved back through a gate, but it didn't say anything else either. gates are the usual way to travel through worlds, therefore i would assume it was one.

on the other hand a low roll would imply a negative effect, but sometimes the negative effects can be positive (nightgaunt attack comes to my mind immediately, you also get an explored token if it happens to you in an other world)

how would you play my encounter?

I'm pretty sure it has to say "Return to Arkham" for you to get an explored token. Besides, Your gate was coincidentally on the Black Cave. How would you have resolved it if it had been somewhere else?

The 0-1 result puts you at the black cave, and you do not get an explored token because you didn't return to Arkham in the expected way. The designer actually stated this officially with regards to this encounter once, long ago.

a nightgaunt attack isn't the expected way to return either, and it does give you an explored token. i am surprised this has been ruled differently.

my understanding of this encounter is, that i moved through a gate. since i have returned to a gate to that other world i see no reason why i shouldn't get an explored token. of course the question becomes interesting if i return, but to a gate from a different other world.

Paraphrasing Kevin:

The OW encounter "spits you out" unexpectedly. You don't get an explored token, because that wasn't "the way out."

The Nightgaunt is sending you through the nearest gate, which happens to be the way out. Since Nightgaunts are servants of Nodens, sometimes they help the investigators.

I agree with Tibs. You appear at a random location, as it's not the one from which you've entered. Although you could rule differently if you actually have entered the OW through a gate at Black Cave(or if there's a gate at Black Cave that is identical to the OW in which you've received that encounter).

letsdance said:

I can understand your logic on this one. However, even without the ruling from Kevin I would be inclined to say you don't get the explored marker by way of Arkham's Razor ("Always rule against the investigators in ambiguous situations since anything that makes the game harder keeps it interesting for longer.")

This is actually a rule I apply to all co-op games since the board cannot react with intelligence to player behaviour. Co-op games have a way of becoming less interesting once you know you can beat them easily enough. Someone coined the term Arkham's Razor for AH, though, and I think it's a delightful term that I will use whenever I see an opportunity. =)

Steve-O said:

well, i'm currently testing variants and lost my last 4-5 games or so maybe that was one reason why i ruled it in my favor in this game (still lost it).