Hi everybody!

Player from Italy here, crazy for Arkham Horror.
I have a little curiosity about "The curse of the Dark Pharaoh".
I have bought it few days ago and i still have to play with for the first time.
The monster's token "Dark Pharaoh", being a monster "mask" (i have the italian version, i'm not sure if "mask" is the right term), enter, in the phase of game's preparation, in the heap of the avaiable monsters only if the Great Ancient is Nyarlatotep, it seem to me.

But reading the rules (and the title) of the expansion i would be expected to have to insert him however.
I like the idea of a mummy, camed with the show at the museum, that wander in the city.

Have i lost something? Does the undead appear following some event's cards of the expansion?

Go to the following link (while logged in), and scroll down to the section "Heralds and Investigators". There you will find the Dark Pharaoh Herald, that brings the Dark Pharaoh monster into play without Nyarlathotep.

Here is the link: new.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp

Thanks for your answer.

But now i have another doubt.
I can use only the material founded in the link you gave me or the "Herald" involve rules of some other expansion?

The Dark Pharaoh herald requires only the base game and the Curse of the Dark Pharaoh expansion. The other herald there, the Dunwich Horror, likewise just needs the base game plus Dunwich Horror expansion. As for the how to use a herald, just place it beside the Ancient One during the game, and follow the extra rules as printed on the herald.

Welcome! You can have 1 herald in play. The heralds can be added to any expansion or just the base game, but some are designed to enhance specific Ancient Ones and expansions. The Dark Pharaoh herald is specifically designed for Curse of the Dark Pharaoh and Nyarlathotep in general. There is also a herald specifically designed for the Dunwich Horror expansion (The Dunwich Horror, enhances Yog Sothoth) on the website, 1 each in the King in Yellow (enhances Hastur and Glaaki) and Black Goat of the Woods (enhances Shub), a couple more in Kingsport Horror and the upcoming Innsmouth Horror too.

dj2.0 said:

I suppose "enhance Glaaki" is one way to put the following: pre-game Mythos is +1 Terror, KiY Herald in play, so you choose Blight, it's Ma Mathison, all allies go boom, Glaaki wakes up as you only have 5 Servants to place (and should have 10-11 allies at Ma's) . That is, IF the Ma Blight works that way, just says "discard all allies from play", which I suppose could be just all those currently with investigators.

dj2.0 said:

Black Goat up the ante (adds difficulty) nicely. Well, nicely from my POV .

Ok, thanks to all!

Very exhaustive.

Dam said:

yes I think the Glaaki + Yellow herald setups is easily one of the nastiest in the game - its not just that combo you have to beware of, there are plenty of others that are bad news. And the whole thing is generally harsher on the players. I love it

dj2.0 said:

Heh, my only seal-win vs Glaaki so far came in the Glaaki + KiY game . And with horrible, horrible investigators too: Amanda Sharpe, Gloria Goldberg and Vincent Lee. Jacqueline Fine was the only redeeming one as the 4th. Glaaki + Black Goat would've kicked my ass if not for the Call Ancient One spell (dang Broken Hand on 2 investigators...).

Dam said:

I suppose "enhance Glaaki" is one way to put the following: pre-game Mythos is +1 Terror, KiY Herald in play, so you choose Blight, it's Ma Mathison, all allies go boom, Glaaki wakes up as you only have 5 Servants to place (and should have 10-11 allies at Ma's) . That is, IF the Ma Blight works that way, just says "discard all allies from play", which I suppose could be just all those currently with investigators.

Whoa. Is that how we're supposed to play Ma's Blight? Is that how everyone's been playing it? I've always played it by the second way: all players discard their Allies back to the deck, and Ma's is closed. I would think they wouldn't use "discard" if they meant "return to the box". Otherwise...why close Ma's? Only Ma is going insane (thus closing the boardspace mechanics); the Allies themselves should be fine for acquisition from Encounters, yes?

(I did lose once to Glaaki in a similar fashion, by failing the Terrible Experiment. Glaaki woke up as the Terror Track passed 6, then devoured us all once it hit 10.)

It says to discard all allies from play, but it doesn't say just to discard allies that are currently in play.

When Atlach-Nacha attacks, you can discard an ally owned by an investigator. But you can't just discard one from the ally deck.

The wording is very strange here. I've been playing that the whole deck goes out of play, but I could be wrong.

yeah we are stll waiting for important clarification on this one, but as ever I play the "shaft the investigation" variant.

Re: Ma Mathison— I think it's pretty clear... You have to discard your allies (which does not mean the same thing as return them to the box), however, since the card also closes Ma's Boarding House, odds are you won't be able to get them back (unless you draw random ally gain encounters or items).

Tibs said:

I looked at the card. There's no reason to think that the ally deck is returned to the box any more than there is when a shop is closed.

Avi_dreader said:

Sure there is. What does "from play" mean? Does it mean the same as "in play," as you seem to think it does (such as A-N's attack), or does it mean, "involved in the game"; i.e. the 11 allies chosen for that game? I also realize that KiY doesn't come with any allies, so that assumption is a little weak for players without any expansions that come with allies.

When the base game's rules mention closing a store, they make no mention at all about the items that that shop sells, so that's a bad comparison.

Plus, there is a CotDP card that causes all Common items to be removed from the game, but its wording is much more clear in that manner (clear? CotDP??? how ironic!)

That said, I'm going to play it your way. But since a lot of people seem to conclude that all the allies are removed from the game (as they tend to do when the terror level increases, by the way—so this is not an unfamiliar concept), there must be some issue of clarity.

Yes its this lack of definition for 'in play' that has caused this confusion, and I play it the harsher way but feel thats not where the ruling will go, much like the question over shudde melle attacks (which hinges on whether they occur once or once per investigator), the harsher way in both cases goes against the grain of all other Arkham rules, it just doesnt feel 'right' and seems unbalanced, even broken in the case of shuddes attack.

Some would say the same thing about the 'cthulhus attack in Ryleh' ruling, which was that its effects remain, even though there are no game markers tracking the adjustment. And that is an excellent point. But that affects a single investigator, the two issues above are basically gameenders.

Answer: the Dark Pharaoh is behind you. Dont turn around, or your dead.

You know that Shudde M'ell's and Glaaki's attacks are once per round, irrespective of players, right? Aside from the fact that this should seem logical, their sheets do not say "each investigator" performs the action, which is clearly stated on other sheets.

That issue is just one where people who are used to the base game's AOs attacking everyone got hung up on the base game's rules stating, very generally, that "each investigator must perform an action..."

TL;DR
As nice as the "whatever hurts investigators more" rule is, you (not you specifically dj) also need to know the difference between blatantly correct and incorrect.

dj2.0 said:

Haven't you noticed my icon? I'm the Dark Pharaoh!