So I've got Arkham, Innsmouth, Dunwhich, and CotDP(unrevised). I want all the sets eventually, and I plan to get CotDP revised and Miskatonic last. So my question is what do you think I should pick up next. I'm thinking a small box, since I only have the one vs. three big boxes. Of course I can be persuaded otherwise. So what and why?

Your profile picture provides a clue to the answer.

jgt will probably have some things to say about gate bursts, which is especially worth keeping in mind if you sometimes play without either of the expansion boards, but otherwise, yes, King in Yellow completely.

"Thank you, subochre; that's a great point. See..."

I almost never play with all expansions at the same time; I'm a one-big-one-small-expansion kind of player, to avoid thematic and mechanic dilution, and to give each expansion its chance to shine out. But this practice "as written" doesn't provide me the amount of potential Gate Bursts that should be available, not for every game.

Gate Burst Mythos are critical to preventing Elder Sign Stagnation, or at least make the players THINK such might happen. Nothing sucks worse than an Elder-Signed buttoned-up Arkham threatening nothing. But you can't just take out the Dunwich or Innsmouth (or even Kingsport) Bursts and add them to any game, because (A) any Dunwich and Kingsport Bursts that happen on Arkham Locations have Clues and Headlines that always happen on an expansion board, and (B) all Innsmouth Bursts happen in Innsmouth.

Both Black Goat and Lurker small boxes have Arkham Location Gate Bursts that do not require any other board to be in play, so you can add their Mythos to any combination of expansions regardless of what they are. In fact, adding just one of those expansion's Mythos to an Arkham-Innsmouth-only game makes Arkham just unpredictable enough to be worrisome again.

That said, I will NEVER recommend Black Goat to anyone. The Mythos work, and some of the Items are cool, but the entire Cult/Corruption Mechanic DOES NOT WORK unless you use the Herald, but someone else will have to recommend that speed demon, cuz I hate it. On the other hand, everything in the Lurker box works: the Mythos, the new Gates, the Spells (especially!), the Herald. However, with judicious manipulation of the Herald, it may not work "as advertised". (Avi can go to town on that.) Still, every game I play has the Lurker Mythos tossed in, whether I use anything else in the box or not.

BUT...the King in Yellow is still the most thematic expansion, and it still has the BEST Herald. Investigator cards are nifty: I really like the Magical Effects. No Gate Bursts, but lots of Terror Track boosts and the fantastic Next Act Mechanic. Although the Acts are prone to heavy dilution from the original KY expansion, if you just read the Miskatonic Rulebook for the "Act anti-dilution patch" and adapt those rules immediately (until you get the official Miskatonic replacement cards), the King in Yellow is almost the most rewarding small box (second only to the revised Dark Pharaoh).

As long as we're hating on Black Goat, the encounters are unforgivably lame. It's like they deliberately set out to seed the encounter decks with boring encounters, maybe to make the point that not every night in Arkam is interesting. Check out these beauties:

Velma's Diner: Whoever is sitting at the table behind you is having a fascinating conversation. Pass a Sneak (-1) check to eavesdrop, gaining one Clue token for each success.

Ind Square: You find the remains of a small fire. Among the ashes you find a few scraps of paper that didn't completely burn. Make a Luck (+0) check and consult the chart below. Successes: 0) You are Cursed. 1) Gain 1 Clue token. 2+) Gain 1 Spell.

Graveyard: Someone was here the night before and left behind smoldering ashes, candles, and a few drops of blood. If you pass a Luck (-2) check, you stumble upon something important and may draw 1 Unique Item.

STL: The wind has pinned an odd piece of paper against the fence surrounding the Lodge. Gain 1 Clue token.

Not to mention some truly WTF moments:

Ind Square: As you pass by a game of horseshoes, a bad throw sends one straight at you. Pass a Speed (+0) check or lose 1 Stamina.

River Docks: A woman stands on the docks waiting for her husband to return, six years after his boat sank. As she tells you her sad tale, she hears her name called out by a familiar voice. Her husband has survived and returned at last! She calls you her lucky charm and Blesses you from the bottom of her heart.

Maybe they forgot to do the encounters until two hours before it got shipped off to the printers?

I like Black Goat.

avec said:

The first Velma's Diner one is pretty stupid, and so are the horseshoes one and the woman-at-the-docks one. But the ones with the smouldering fires and the paper pinned to the fence - those are fine... what's wrong with them? Not the most exciting, and not explicitly supernatural, but still the sort of slighly spooky/creepy/ominous stuff that might happen in a mystery/horror movie.

The ones where there's no excuse are the outer world ones where nothing amazing happens. "there's a five dollar bill on the path, gain $2" or "you find a samwich, gain 1 sanity". DA FUG

To me, encounters that are a variation of "you find an interesting piece of paper on the ground," are thematically pointless. It's like the game designer sat down in front of his computer, threw up his hands and said, "Well, I can't think of anything!" And some guy in the next desk say, "Eh, just tell 'em they find an interesting piece of paper on the ground."

Compare that with a real expansion like Dunwich Horror:

"Sitting by the dock, you freeze in silent horror as something slowly rises from the water. You cannot make out what it is, but judging by the number of stars it blots out with its bulk, it is considerably bigger than a whale. After an eternity, it slowly sinks beneath the waves once more. Lose 1 Sanity."

Edit - I can't believe I forgot this one from Black Goat:

CS: "You don't see anyone in the shop, and yet a small army of wind-up toys wheel their way across the floor towards you. Lose 1 Sanity. "

Don't do drugs, kids.

I know it doesn't often get a lot of love, but I'd get around to picking up Kingsport. Adds a few more options for investigators and old ones. Also I enjoyed the Epic Battle cards for the end fight. Nyarlathotep's 'join me' attack is one of my favorites.

That said if your set on a small one for now, King in yellow is the way to go.

thecorinthian said:

The $5 Bill one is one of my groups absolute favorites!

That and the Coffee one at the Science Building.

I almost died laughing reading this! Pretty interesting perspectives, I thing I will grab King in Yellow!