I was playing a game yesterday using Nyogtha as a great Old One and i had a doubt about how to rule the "Ambush" keyword when a fight is initialize by a "A monster appears" encounter.

The question is simple:

With such encounter can we evade the monster before the fight start or do the fight start immediately.

In all the previous game i rules those encounters as an immediate fight (after all a monster is jumping on you).

So you will always have to pass the horror check first and then have the possibility to fight or flee, So if you want to evade you will still have to pass the horror check first. And if a monster with "Ambush" then tough luck you have to kill it or die. It even make sense with the flavor of the "Ambush" keyword.

But now back to Nyoghta. With it as a Great old one. All those encounters are replaced by an encounter with its tendril with the "Ambush" Keyword. Since that the only way the tendril appears in the game it means for me that you would never roll an evade check against it but it still have an evade check modifier.

So was i wrong ? Do you have a chance to evade the tendril before the combat begin and only after that are you screwed if you can't kill it ? or is the evade check modifier on it only there in case other effects check what the consciousness of a monster is (nothing come to me right now but i don't play with all extensions and i won't pretend knowing all the cards anyway) ?

Every monster can be Evaded before combat begins (the first Evade Check), even the tentacle of Nyogtha. Ambush only activates the moment you "enter combat". If you can remain unseen by the Ghoul, it will never get the opportunity to fight you to the dea…unconsciousness.

What you have been inadvertently doing is extrapolating Ambush into the old Dark Pharaoh Surprise mechanic. (Which only Tibs likes. ) Surprise did not allow an initial Evade Check, but if the monster did not have Ambush, you were allowed to attempt to "Flee" after combat had begun.

Note that Surprise has been replaced by Ambush in the Revised Dark Pharaoh Encounters, changing the mechanic but reestablishing a certain fairness: the Monster Cup has become increasingly deadly since the old Dark Pharaoh, and Surprise had simply become obnoxiously unfair in many cases.

I can be okay with replacing all my "surprise" encounters. But you keep your hands off my "The God of the Bloody Tongue surprises you!" card.

OK so i was wrong. That's good to know i will correct that for future play.

Thanks for the answers.