Hello,

I am in the process of correcting the French version of Arkham.
And I try to correct a few kinks in the French version but also in the english one.

For example :
* The Elder Sign is usable only during the Arkham Encounter Phase (dixit K. Wilson) why is it written Any Phase? Can I put Arkham Encounter Phase on the card?

* Ruby of R'lyeh is not exhausted ,when used. So I could use it, give it to someone who could use it give it to somebody else etc???

* Healing Stone is not exhausted ,when used. Multiple players in the same space could use it?

Many thanks for your help!

grouik said:

As far as I know, you can use Ruby of R'lyeh for extra movement points by trading it during the movement phase. It's a bit difficult to pull off though.

Healing Stone does exhaust. It's also supposed to be discarded when final combat begins.

Elder Sign is problematic. It was an FAQ issue. I would say leave that one alone until the official FAQ is released (but no, I have no idea when that might be).

Healing Stone does exhaust... I was sure of it and did not understand why it did not in the official file I received...

Many thanks for all your info.

Ruby of R'lyeh probably needs a revision. I believe everything else that gives you extra movement points says "exhaust," and the fact that the Ruby just says "Movement:" would seem to imply that you can use it as many times as you want, which is...probably not the intent. Personally, I just house-rule that it exhausts like the other movement items, but that may not be the intent.

Most likely, the Ruby was supposed to be exhausted, which means you can't trade it off and use it multiple times. In fact, the very suggestion that it can be used multiple times by trading it between investigators would imply that it could be used multiple times by a single investigator. Nine extra movement points is nine extra movement points, whether three investigators each use it once, or a single investigator uses it three times. My assumption is that the thing provides three movement points, no more and no fewer—and following the outline laid by other similar items, it should be exhausted.

As for the Elder Sign, that's a "misprint." You can use it any phase that you seal a gate, but 99% of the time that's during the Arkham Encounters phase. There is some debate going on about whether gates that are closed in atypical ways can be sealed too.

Tibs said:

I agree for the Ruby and that I do not really like... Any investigator could kill Ghatanotoa with the Ruby, provided he has more then 6 dice to roll in combat...

Tibs said:

It is possible that the Ruby costs so much, and it doesn't specify exhaustion, because its movement points can be split among multiple investigators as it's passed. Maybe one investigator uses one of its movement points and trades it off to someone who uses two more.

Or, maybe it does grant the full three to each investigator who takes it, because it grants its user 3 movement points at the start of that user's movement phase (thus preventing multiple use by a single investigator). But it would be the only item of its type in that regard, so we'd be forced to deduce that from the fact that it doesn't say to exhaust.

Or, lastly, I could take the nerdy route and say that when an item grants X movement points, it costs $(2^X). But I'm inclined to believe that values should scale linearly.

Arkham Map : 2$ -> 1pt

Motorcycle : 4$ -> 2pts

Rubis : 8$ -> 3pts ....

Sounds exponential

Tibs said:

I assumed it worked that way (since the infinite movement exploit is ridiculous ;') just like Finn's infinite food bug). The first way would also make sense to me though.

I think the Ruby should just be exhausted after use. Sure, $8 is a quite pricey for it, but an investigator can do a LOT with 3 movement points. I just don't feel comfortable about the whole "trading and giving another investigator movement points" idea.

There's really no precedent for an item that divvies its movement. The Patrol Wagon can be traded and used multiple times in a turn, but it needs to be coordinated. And, of course, movement points are not involved.

Hugues said:

Nicely done.

Tibs said:

Good, then I'm going to keep playing it the way I've always played with it ;')

Come to think of it, movement points have a diminishing return property, so an exponential price is not appropriate. To account for this discrepency, I will allow it to be used multiple times if traded (especially considering that this instance is very rare). Of course, during battle with Ghatanothoa, I will count the "movement phase" to be after the "upkeep phase," so only one investigator may gain its benefit during the attack.

Tibs said:

Phase II: Movement If the player’s investigator is located in Arkham (i.e., his
investigator marker is in the town area of the game
board), he receives movement points equal to his Speed
value, as found on his investigator sheet

Ghataonothoa's attack is that each investigator has to spend 1 movement point or be devoured, increasing by 1 point each round. So for Ghatanothoa's final combat, there has to be a time where movement points are received, even if they can't be spent on anything except defense.

Tibs said:

Just thought I'd throw my share in about the ruby.

The way I've understood it and have come to use it is that you never use the ruby, per se. It being in your possession grants you 3 movement points on top of whatever movement points you have (usually being just your Speed, of course).

So lets say someone starts off in the Historical Society with 4 Speed and plans to trade the ruby with someone in South Church. He uses two movement to get there, but immediately upon the ruby leaving his possession he can only move up to his current Speed, so he can only move two more spaces. Now in the same situation only the original investigator has 1 Speed - he can still move to South Church because the ruby is still in his posession, but as soon as he loses possession of it, he has to stop in South Church because he has no movement left to spend.

I think this way is the best balance, so multiple investigators can take advantage of extra movement in one turn, but only depending on the situation.

So you're saying you only get the movement points at the beginning of your movement phase?

Nope, i think he says that you can't use Ruby's movement points when you don't have it. And that you use them as your last movement points.

For example. A guy with Speed 4. With the Ruby, he has 7 movement points.

If he spends 2 movement points, and then trade the Ruby he has 2 movement points left.

If he spends 6 movement points, and then trade the Ruby, he has no more movement points left.

It changes some little things but i like it. Several guys can have the benefices from the Ruby, but you have to do it the right way.

Hugues said:

Oh, I see what you're saying. But I would assume you'd get the movement points at the beginning of the phase, just because it's less mechanically complicated. FAQ! FAQ! ::Sigh:: unfortunately no one ever asked about Ruby when making the FAQ :'/

Official answer :

The Ruby can be traded from one investigator to another during movement, and each investigator who has the Ruby during the Movement Phase can use its ability. Of course an investigator can only give the Ruby to another investigator in the same street area, location, or Other World, so it does require a little coordinating. But it is legal.

And what about that scenario :

Having the Ruby, and Speed 4.

I'm moving two steps and i trade the Ruby. How many movement points left ? 2 (cause MP from Ruby are used last), 4 (cause MP from Ruby are used first) or 5 (cause you keep MP from Ruby even if you don't have the Ruby anymore) ?

grouik said:

So it sounds like the way I'm playing it is official? ;') I could live with that.