I can only agree with all what you wrote, though Chambers and Derleth cannot really just be dumped in the same bag, one being a prequel, the other a sequel of Lovecraft work.

Your points on derleth are very true (including the one in the edit). Though, except for the passage with Derleth obsession of telling apart gods and ancient ones, I found that the lurker was really nicely designed (at least to my taste).

best

Definitely also agreeing that Derleth missed the point in some pretty crucial ways, but I wouldn't fault AH too much for including him; I think it's more a reflection of the overall state of the Mythos. In addition to his various other effects on Lovercraft's legacy, so many of his creations (and Chambers', Campbell's and others') have become inextricable from it. It would just be kind of weird to play a Cthulhu game that had no Byakhees, a whole bunch of Dreamlands (though it's hard to say no to more Cat/Zoog war), that stupid, twiggy-looking Elder Sign, and such oblique references to Hastur that we don't know whether it's a person or a place. But what's important is that whether or not the game is necessarily also populated with Derleth's entities, it still stays (IMHO) much truer to the original Lovecraftian spirit.

Well, the thing is a game based around stuff (monsters, encounters, Other Worlds, etc.), the designers need as much material as they can get, so they take it from all sorts of sources. Just to nitpick, recall that the Abyss and the Underworld are also part of the Dreamlands. Also, there are a number of references (often subtle) to "Unknown Kadath" in the Dreamlands Other World Encounters. But yes, I'm with you about Derleth. I haven't read any of his works, but the chicanery he pulled, "collaborations" and what-not, was disgraceful, a true Strickland situation (and if anyone gets that reference, I will be utterly flabbergasted).

HPL encouraged other writers to use common references, but his goal was probably just to add verisimilitude by blurring the line between the stories and the real world, rather than to explore a delineated fictional universe. There are several distinct 'modes' in Lovecraft's work, and it's : the traditionally gothic Poe-pastiches don't really fit into the so-called Mythos, and neither do the Dunsany-knockoffs about the Dreamlands, or the naff attempts at 'Planetary Romance'-type stories.

The sort of stuff you see in Arkham Horror is partly due to Derleth's hackery and partly the result of Chaosium (and nerdy Mythos fans in general) hybridizing HPL's horror/fantasy with pulp-adventure and hard-boiled detectives. Most of HPL's original stories are ill-suited to be adapted into a game that has a cohesive story that players can play and win. Arkham Horror's source material is already (and necessarily) much broader than just HPL: it includes elements of Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, and even the occasional bit of William Hope Hodgson.

In any case the amount of possible source material for AH is vast. Howard's Hyborean age is technically part of the Mythos (via The Haunter of the Ring etc), and there's more in Brian Lumley if they're really desperate. And bear in mind that almost all the stuff in AH to do with Nyarlathotep was already just derivative stuff mined from one specific Call of Cthulhu RPG adventure and there is a huge amount of additional CoC content that could be similarly adapted.

thecorinthian said:

...and the greatest role-playing experience of my LIFE. If Nyarlathotep being my favorite Great Old One based on this material is wrong, I don't want to be right!

I pretty much owe my fandom of Lovecraft to Chaosium: "Wait...Sanity is a STAT?!" I acquired an appreciation for the original source material later, but I would never have bothered had I not become a "nerdy Mythos fan".

jgt7771 said:

Same experience for me. I can't stop playing this rpg. love it.

00000100 said:

Canon? I sincerely doubt that most people involved in the creation and evolution of the Mythos were at all concerned about anything canonical regarding it. Well, except maybe August Derleth...

I'll be sad when AH will be over. But on the other hand, it would mean a clean path for the so-hoped FAQ

A bad thing for a good one... And for now, I'm still waiting for Miskatonic and revised Pharaoh I'm far from the end ;o)

I think the beauty of the game itself is that you can build it in a way that the board actually destroys you know matter how well you do. I have played a game of Arkham with some of the most challenging combinations that rules "allow" me to use, and I told myself that these amount of investigators (the ones I was using) are allowed to role 6's on every single dice they roll for whatever the reason may be. In the end, the board wins due to the fact that you simply cannot beat the amount of things going on at any given moment with all expansions in play.

Honestly, what's the point of playing Arkham Horror if you don't lose on purpose? I'm not saying people don't laugh at their downfalls or that I don't try to win at times, but I guess that's why I love this game the most. Losing is the best part! Watching the game tear you apart, read your every move as if the game knows you drew Glakhi as your Ancient One and every Mythos that was shuffled immensely beforehand increases the Terror Level in some way of another; those moments are the best. I love Arkham because you don't lose as a single player against other players, you lose as a team. New players I expose to Arkham always come in with a high and mighty attitude about how awesome they are, and I watch the game tear them to pieces. It makes me love the game more when other players role better than I do and I watch my poor dice rolling skills destroy me.

In the end, I don't care how an expansion changes the way a game is played, or whether or not it is "broken" as some of you have used. Those elements always add something new to the table. Don't get me wrong, winning is awesome as a team, but as I said, the losses are what make this game the best.

Tomoka said:

Yeah, like our third Mythos phase monster surge which filled the Deep Ones Rising track causing Ghatanothoa to wake up and ***** slap our woefully unprepared investigators. I love this game.

I just want a new pack of GOOs, (and their plot cards, if possible).Not that there aren't enough already, but you know, 12 more wouldn't hurt.

Dam said:

Houseruie it. Just give the membership to one of the investigators at setup.That's what I'll do at times. Corruptions and cult encounters are fun.

Miskatonic Horror also adds a skill card that gives you a Cult Membership

Hello all,

I really do not think this is the end of the game. I just think there are too many Arkham Horror related games/choices, e.g. Elder Sign, Mansions of Madness, etc. Maybe this is a good thing (more choice) or maybe this is a bad thing (dilution of core product and product self cannibalization). Anyway, i think the Core Boardgame, and its varoius expansions will still be around for a number of years. With the number of 'reprints' that FFG have to do, and product not being available immediately, means to me that they are not keeping up with demand, and constantly have to order more product to be manufactured. This is a good thing.

As for more expansions, yes, I would love to see more expansions for the core game. However, the focus on Elder Sign and Mansions of Madness may have 'diverted' FFG's attention from the core game, and thus we have not seen or heard of any expansions for the core game. I am hoping that this will change with time, and that we will see one or two small or large box expansions. There is just so much more/opportunity/story for this game.

What i would really like to see from FFG is a monthly magazine, similar to the GW Inferno mag (which is now unfortuantely discontinued.......idiots), having short stories relating to Arkham Horror, taking place in Arkham, Kingsport, Dunwich, Innsmouth, other....Vermont?, which would also include, centre around the game characters, locations, ancients ones etc. This would help promote the board game, develop the AH 'universe', create the opprtunity for future expansions, delve further into current expansions, give authors the opportunity to write and create AH related short stories. The magazine, other than having 3 or 4 short stories per issue, could also have new character introductions, including character cards/stats/history, additional rules (much like Chapter Approved), new ancient ones, new scenarios, rules updates, be the sounding board for future expansions (small and/or large box sets), more AH artwork (locations, characters, ancient ones, encounters, etc, etc, etc) and even have 'test' info, scenarios and rules for future expansions. Plus, the magazine could incorporate Elder Sign and Mansions of Madness related info/stories/etc. Thus, the magazine would help consolidate all the AH related products, develop the AH 'universe', get more people interested in the game, build the customer base, and thus secure the longer term success of the core game, and even some of the spin off games/systems........

So, here is hoping to the long term survival and sustainability of the AH prodcuct line, and board game.........

Yours thankfully

GM

South Africa