1) If an investigator is delayed in an OW, and is returned to town (by mythos card perhaps). Is he still delayed the next turn? I'm having trouble inventing a situation where it would really matter, but I swear I thought of one earlier. I've guessing he would be.

2) Can an investigator cast wither before moving into a monsters square? I've had situations where I've failed the lore check to cast the spell, and then had to evade a monster, could I have casted the spell before moving and avoided the wasted turns?

3) Wither lasts until the end of "this combat". What exactly is "this combat"? If I'm in a space with 1 monster and I cast it, I use its bonus on all my attacks until one of us is defeated. At that point combat ends, and the bonus is gone (right?). What If i enter a space with 3 monsters and cast it? Is the bonus only applied on the first monster i choose to fight (and defeat?)

1.Returning to arkham doesn't change status, You'r still delayed.

2. No, you must cast it when you do into combat though if you fail the check I'm pretty sure you can change the weapon in that hand before you need to make your first combat check.

3. 1 monster only and till one of you is dead or you stop using the spell.

2. You can only cast Wither (or Shrivelling, or any other combat spell) right before you decide to make the combat check.

If you fail the spell, the hand(s) devoted to the spell are still tied up, and you can't trade out for another weapon until you've made the combat check.

However, you can cast the spell, and if you fail, you can choose to try to evade instead of making the combat check.

Remember that you also lose sanity from casting spells whether or not you pass, and sanity costs are not "losses," so there's nothing Harvey Walters or Whiskey or similar items that deal with losses can do about it.

3. "End of this combat" means that you can leave the spell in your hand and you'll continue to receive its bonus until you free it from your hand or win/lose the combat.

e.g.—you successfully cast Wither for the +3 and fail the combat check, if you're still conscious, you can make the combat check again, and as long as the Wither is still equipped to that hand, you still get the +3. If you trade it out for a different spell or weapon though, it stops giving its bonus. It can't be cast again until it's refreshed—i.e.—at Upkeep.

Tibs said:

Challenge!

Once "Combat" has begun (i.e. you failed or chose not to perform the initial Evade Check), you can cast Combat Spells (Spells with hands) as early as before the HORROR Check, but if you attempt to do so, the hands used for that Spell must remain assigned until after the first Combat Check (if you make one instead of trying to flee). Exhibit A: casting the Red Sign of Shudde M'ell before the Horror Check in order to ignore Nightmarish. Therefore, it should be perfectly legal to cast Wither before a Horror Check to figure out if you intend to fight or not, even though the result wouldn't really be any different than casting it after the Horror Check.

Judges?

jgt7771 said:

Seems sound to me. I guess I didn't clarify that it can be cast before the Horror check because it indeed does not matter if it's done before or after; you still have to do the Horror Check.

Maybe you've failed your evade check against a Shan, and you cast the spell to deliberately go insane instead of having to deal with the Horror check (which kills you if you fail)?

Tibs said:

EXCELLENT example!

jgt7771 said:

I told him about it...Not but yes good example!

It's actually questionable if you can pay a cost if it would drive you unconscious/insane. Up until now, I haven't allowed it, but only because it felt wrong, not because of some rule that supports it. It would make a lot of difference for Riots and Nightmare Pools, however.

Morgaln said:

We've always allowed because it does feel so right for the setting. Bravely sacrificing your sanity, your very life and soul to stop the Ancient One? That's just what being an investigator (a heroic one at least) is all about.

Morgaln said:

Why not? It is the point of the game. Kevin has responded that, for example, if you used an Elder sign and it caused you to go insane or unconscious, that the effect would still take place (seal the gate) and then you go insane / unconscious. Events can't be interrupted once they start (with a couple exceptions) so you play it out and then see what else happens.

ColtsFan76 said:

Wait wait, I just played a game where the last seal was placed via Elder sign by a character with 1 sanity and 1 stamina left.

Does that mean we techncially win before he's devoured? Is he then still alive for the purposes of tallying score?

Yes. The sequence would be...

• Seal the gate
• Get devoured
• Win the Game

Not sure on scoring. Technically I guess you would have to draw a new investigator but that is a pain. So I would just count him as a survivor since the trophies would transfer anyway. The penalty for devoured investigators is really only limited to those you lose in the Final Battle.

The Elder Sign has Sanity/Stamina loss, meaning it can be prevented by the abilities of Michael and Harvey and other cards. Spells however have a cost, that can't be prevented, so they are a different case.

But it's not a point I'd argue for long, because it doesn't seem very game-changing.