i know, he's pretty awsome (and making up reasons for not being delayed is always fun). but i'm a tad unsure how the "cannot be arrested" part works. cannot be delayed is easily fixed. but if i draw a card like the one in Train Station where it says "..Deputy Dingby catches you breaking it open. You are arrested and taken to the Police Station."

does that mean that Mark still has to go to the station (i don't know, for questioning or something)? or is the "..taken to the police station" just extra clarification of an effect already happening when being arrested, and thus he's immune to that effect too?

Taurmindo said:

Not arrested, not taken, is what I'd think. Going to the police station is the effect of being arrested. So you'd just ignore those sorts of cards and their consequences (unless there's some secondary consequence that for some reason you think has nothing to do with the arrest— but I can't think of any off the top of my head).

Sounds more like expanded fluff to me. There's no way to be arrested and NOT be taken to the police station (or Jail, if you want to cover both the board and Innsmouth) that I know of. So it's just an extra half-sentence on the card so you can read a bit more of it. That's how I feel, anyway

EcnoTheNeato said:

Uh. But he isn't arrested. That's the point ;')

good you agree. i've always played it like he's not arrested, and since arrested means "move to police station and become arrested", the extra part where it says to move to the police station is just extra flavor text and not an extra effect.

the point is that my group suddenly disagreed and claimed i had to explain myself to the deputy in the police station. and OK, i can do that, but it didn't feel right .

Taurmindo said:

Roleplayers... Ugh. ;'D

Mark managed to slip away from Dingby before he could be apprehended.

Avi_dreader said:

it's fun to roleplay some characters and situations. Mark Harrigan is easy to paint. almost takes no time..

There are at least two encounters one can take as proof Mark can't read, he just looks at the pictures .

Unnamable:

"In a dusty and decaying roll-top desk, you find a mysterious manuscript. If you read it, make a Lore (-1) check. If you pass, draw 1 Spell. If you fail, the manuscript is nothing but the insane babbling of a previous renter. Stay here next turn reading it, but gain 2 Clue tokens. "

Historical Society:

"You attempt to get some first-hand accounts of Arkham history from some of the older members of the society. Make a Luck (-1) check. If you pass, you're able to glean several vital facts from their stories. Gain 1 Clue token. Whether you fail or not, stay here next turn. "

Speed-reader indeed.

This is an interesting conversation. According to a literal reading of the Train Station encounter, Mark is immune to being arrested, but he is not immune to being taken to the police station. I looked it up and the encounter was written before Mark came along. I'm guessing that after Mark (i.e., after Dunwich), encounters just said "arrested." For example, here's an encounter from the Innsmouth expansion.

General Store: The shopkeeper entreats you to cover for him. "My wife was in an accident; can you mind the store for me for a few hours?" If you do your job honestly, he pays you $2. However, you could skim a little off the top... If you do, gain $5 and make a Luck (-1) check. If you fail you are arrested.

It looks like the Train Station encounter is another case where our understanding of the rules is based on something more than the rules themselves. We are also expected to think of Mark and Dingby as people and to think of the Police Station as the place where Dingby takes the people he's arrested. If we didn't think about those things and just followed the rules literally, then the Train Station encounter should move Mark to the Police Station. We'd say to ourselves, "there's tons of reason why Mark suddenly went to the Police Station. Maybe Dingby noticed that Mark was a soldier and he asked Mark to help him clean his guns!"

Avi_dreader said:

Well, yeah, but that was also my point :-D That since it all rreally means "you're arrested," Mark ignores it all. Sorry if I caused you to interpret differently :-x And for those people who DEMAND the RP for game stuff, you just gotta know who Mark is. "Hey! You can't steal that! You're coming with me!" "...no..." Mark then walks away and the Deputy doesn't even bother to stop him...

EcnoTheNeato said:

Well, he IS Deputy Dingby. He's not known for his intelligence.

>warning tone< Avec...don't cause trouble.

Pass up an opportunity to make rules literalists look foolish? Perish the thought!

Sister Mary can not be Lost in Time and Space, but her investigator sheet specifically states what to do when she is LiTaS. Since Mary is a base character and Mark came later you would hope that the creators would have added 'clauses' to Mark's ability.

Logically following the rules I would say Mark Harrigan is not taken to the Police Station because that is a consequence of being arrested.

That said, it's a creative interpretation so say he is taken to the Police Station for questioning. The Police verify that he is a soldier and they let him off without having to spend time in a cell. Mark moves as normal next turn.

It's certainly worthy of consideration as a House Rule.