So a friend just purchased Arkham Horror and the Kingsport expansion and being as we are who he games with my household gets to hold onto it for him

anywho... We've made a two practice games so far, keeping a list of rules clarifications we needed, and after going through the instructions more closely and readings the FAQ/Eratta in Kingsport have got most of them answered, one seems to be unfindable so I figured i'd ask here. I have spent the last half hour looking through the forum for the answer but seems no one has asked... making me almost feel like this is a stupid question

When making your fight/lore rolls to close a portal do items influence this at all. We discussed it during the game, and while some items obviously don't thematically make sense (Shotgun) several do, mainly magic items or spells which thematically could be used to help close a portal.

Thanks in advance for the input

From my reading of it...Mostly no.

Anything you have that specifically says +# to Fight (Or Lore) would add the dice. But most weapons are +# to Combat Check. And you're not doing a combat check here.

There is a world of difference between a Fight and a Combat check. A Fight check uses only your Fight score including any modifiers from Skills, Allies and the like that state they are a Fight bonus (so Tom "Mountain" Murphy, who gives +2 Fight, would help on this check, but David Packard, who gives +2 Combat, would NOT add to this check), while a Combat check involves your Fight score plus any modifiers to both Fight and Combat checks, so on a Combat check, both Tom "Mountain" Murphy's AND David Packard's modifier would be added to the check.

Similar strictures apply to Lore and Spell checks, and Sneak and Evade checks. Lore and Sneak checks only include the base skill plus any modifiers that directly state they are for either Lore or Sneak. Spell and Evade checks, however, use the base skill of Lore or Sneak respectively, plus any modifiers to that skill, plus any modifiers that state they are for Spell or Evade.

Are you playing a version that is not in English? I think I remember a French player saying that the same word was used for Fight as for Combat. This would confuse the issue.

When you close a gate, you use your base Fight or Lore stat. This of course includes innate bonuses to that stat: skills or allies. Things that add to combat checks (weapons and some spells) or to spell checks (some unique items) do not count.

Thank you much for the quick answer - I'm using an English version just overthinking things I suppose I appreciate the help.

One more question I have, I was gonna edit my OC post to add this question to the topic but these forums don't seem to allow that - anyway, to prevent spam and unneccessary threads.

Question Two:

In the Rules, during set up it says "place the clue tokens on any space with a red diamond above it, these are unstable and places where gates can occur"

Following that there is no further explanation on the rules or differences between unstable and stable - it seems kind of silly. Am I reading that anytime I draw a portal card for a stable/green location I should ignore it unless a (i assume mythos) card has made stable locations unstable?

Stable locations—i.e. those with a green diamond—never have gates. There are no Mythos cards that open a gate on a stable location. Stable locations don't become unstable, and vice-versa.

However, not all the unstable locations have the same chances of getting a gate! After a few plays, you may notice that some gates open far more often than others. But I'm not going to ruin the surprise

Nevermore said:

I'm not sure of what you're trying to ask, but I hope the following will help. Take a look at Location Icons on the last page of the rulebook for an explanation of stable vs. unstable locations. So you won't get a Mythos Card with a green location, such as Ma's or the Asylum.

There is no effect that makes stable locations unstable. There are no gate cards that picture a stable location.

If I remember correctly, there is nothing in the rules themselves to differentiate between stable and unstable locations, except for the placing of initial clue tokens and stating that these are the locations gates can open in (not necessarily true, see below). However, it is a useful label.

First, players without much experience in the game can feel safe in the stable locations, because no mythos (or location card for that matter) opens a gate there, and I think something on those lines was mentioned in the rulebook where it explained the term, as MonsieurPoulet reminded me. When I began playing, the label "stable" felt, rightly, a safe place to have an encounter in -- even if it turned out to be relative. It helps to be able to make this distinction right away, rather than with experience. (I'm not sure if not having gates open naturally anywhere else is necessarily an actual game rule -- it wouldn't have to be -- but it's certainly been a design rule. )

Second, some monsters with special movement differentiate between stable and unstable locations, further driving home the point of them being safer. So, even if the rules themselves have very little to differentiate between "stable" and "unstable" it's a useful design tool. Much like "undead." If a monster is labeled "undead," it has no special rules but some cards reference them (such as the item Cross).

Third, flavor. Stable locations include places like the library, general store, police station... Everyday places where the horrific lovecraftian atmosphere is furthest from the mind. Unstable locations include places like the graveyard, the unvisited isle, the witch house... Places where you'd expect something dreadful to happen if you were inside a horror story. I find it clever that they have a different label, which manifests itself as a warning red diamond instead of a comforting green one... Well, maybe my writing is getting a bit silly now, but I blame the whiskey...

Anyway, the second reason is the most important, in my opinion. As it allows game designers to refer to the places gates can open in, without having to list them every time.

Oh, and I believe there's a Unique Item called the Naacal Key from the Black Goat of the Woods expansion; it allows you to (attempt to) open a gate in any location in Arkham, not just the stable ones, but as far as I can tell, it's the only exception. Note: it doesn't explicitly state that you can use it in a stable location, it just says "current location" (and requires movement points so it's naturally restricted to Arkham only) but I think it would be confusing if you couldn't use it in the, say, Train Station just because it's stable. The text should've added "if you're in an unstable or street location" in that case. (Unless they were short on space, as the item is already pretty wordy. Have others interpreted Naacal key differently?)

Bel-Shamharoth said:

Only on your use of the term "street location". Rules may be less than precise on some parts (area/space/etc.), but locations are clearly defined, and streets aren't/don't have locations.

The rule book does mention that allies can only be randomly acquired in unstable locations. That's about the only mention in the rules of stable vs unstable, except for the fact that stable locations never get gates.

Tibs said:

Except that allies can also be acquired from stable locations in Kingsport, so even that rule is broken now.

Bel-Shamharoth said:

What theirs one AH Ma's encounter that allows you to gain a ally but your also cursed...not sure if there are others in AH but YES KH does have its encounters that let you gain allies but I feel all of King's Port is a unstable location due to the rifts!