The manual says "Unlike a normal battle, the Ancient One cannot be defeated in a single attack" - is that true for a solo game? I haven't seen every permutation of skills and items, but in my last game I came pretty close. My fight was 4 and I had a rifle (+5) and a +1 fight skill. Without any other modifiers, that gives me 10 dice to roll, right? If I got REALLY lucky and rolled all 6's, wouldn't I defeat Yig in a single attack? I know this is not quite a true statement because Yig has a -3 combat, but couldn't I have more skills and allies to make up for it and POSSIBLY defeat Yig in a single attack?
Final Battle Question
When using one investigator, it is entirely possible to beat an AO in a single attack. That's why playing with 1 investigator stinks.
I think that was more of the developers saying "Don't think this is like fighting a Gug." It's more about expectations and the differences between the battles with monsters one previously had, and the current battle with an Ancient One. It seems like more of a general statement than an actual rule.
EcnoTheNeato said:
I think that was more of the developers saying "Don't think this is like fighting a Gug." It's more about expectations and the differences between the battles with monsters one previously had, and the current battle with an Ancient One. It seems like more of a general statement than an actual rule.
Yeah, I always question when people use words like "never" or "always" - they should have phrased that sentence differently.
Rodzilla68 said:
Yeah, I always question when people use words like "never" or "always" - they should have phrased that sentence differently.
@Jhaelen: Touche, sir.
In response to the OP's question; while I won't deny that Arkham Horror can be played solo (quite easily) I don't think it's fair to criticize the game designer for assuming there would be more than one person/investigator at the table for the final fight. I mean, you're pushing some pretty long odds in your example there. You've found ONE A.O. (the weakest of them all, by far, btw) who COULD be beaten in a single combat round IF your LONE investigator has A LOT of bonuses going for him AND he rolls REALLY REALLY REALLY well. I mean, we're talking odds of 1 in (6^10) that you would get all sixes on ten dice in a single roll.
That's a single corner case, and a highly unlikely one at that. Considering all of the other possible combinations of AOs and investigator head counts that the game allows, not to mention the statistical probabilities, I don't think they're out of line for writing the rules the way they did.
Less ambiguous I think would be the phrasing "need not" rather than "cannot". The important distinction is that - unlike a Gug - you don't need in a 3-Investigator game to get all thirty successes (or even all three successes for a single doom token) in a single attack.
Steve-O said:
In response to the OP's question; while I won't deny that Arkham Horror can be played solo (quite easily) I don't think it's fair to criticize the game designer for assuming there would be more than one person/investigator at the table for the final fight. I mean, you're pushing some pretty long odds in your example there. You've found ONE A.O. (the weakest of them all, by far, btw) who COULD be beaten in a single combat round IF your LONE investigator has A LOT of bonuses going for him AND he rolls REALLY REALLY REALLY well. I mean, we're talking odds of 1 in (6^10) that you would get all sixes on ten dice in a single roll.
That's a single corner case, and a highly unlikely one at that. Considering all of the other possible combinations of AOs and investigator head counts that the game allows, not to mention the statistical probabilities, I don't think they're out of line for writing the rules the way they did.
Take then the example of Joe Diamond with a fist full of clues vs any ancient one except Azathoth.
Lone Joe Diamond with a swath of clues and a Shotgun can take any AO to town ('cept Az of course).
However, Epic Battle exists for a reason.
Kevin Wilson's suggestions that clue expenditure should be limited by seals during final combat was formulated for this particular reason.
Veet said:
Take then the example of Joe Diamond with a fist full of clues vs any ancient one except Azathoth.
And Yibb-Tstll and Tsathoggua (both of whom have you discard all Clues at the Start of Battle).
Sounds like a band name: Fist Full of Clue Tokens.
TONIGHT! AT the Paddock! It's Fist Full of Clue Tokens! With their hit single, from the album With a Shotgun!
Band members being Joe Diamond, Mandy Thompson, Patrice Hathaway, Ashcan Pete, and...Sister Mary. Why not.
Crap, broke the cardinal rule of these forums, never edit after someone has replied.
That's okay, I posted about 3 seconds after you. And it had nothing to do with your post
I'm glad that you felt the guily enough to tell us!
Actually, just posted something sorta relevant so as to get the permanent "new" tag off that post.