Akachi (Pizza), Carolyn (Zebra), Joe (Wings), and Lily (Me) vs. Yig. Dunwich with Dark Pharaoh.

I should have had Elder Sign to introduce to everyone, but failing that, we reset the game and pulled out everyone’s favorite quick-game morale-booster: the Littlest Ancient One, Yig!

Evidently, Yig had been reading Cthulhu’s Notes, and quickly riled up Dunwich with both Another Times at the Whateley Farm and Wizard’s Hill. Wings wanted to head up to Dunwich for monster trophies and Clues, but having just given Zebra all her money for Carolyn’s Story, she had no ticket and did not want to get trapped in Dunwich. Plus, that second Dunwich Gate came with the pain-in-the-butt Nightmare Pool Rumor.

While Carolyn lost her Skill waiting to pass her Story (because she was too slow to get to the Pool), the other two Sanity-rich girls both went to the brink of insanity to end the Rumor. Pizza, our ultimate defensive player, made a beeline for the Asylum, but I pressed my luck: Broke Zebra wanted to go to the Newspaper for a Retainer, but Wings wanted her fifth Clue from Hibbs, so I agreed to intermediate, and got Carolyn’s Spirit Jar at the Newspaper for Joe’s story. Of course, the game despises complex plans. Say it with me: “And inkstains drove Lily insane.” My second failed story: not a great night for me. I chose to ditch my Makeup Kit and Mists of Releh instead of taking a Madness.

I went to the Train Station to pass $2 and the Spirit Jar to Joe as he caught a train to Dunwich. Then I foolishly tried to acquire a Unique Item (apparently having learned nothing!), but lost Clues, failed the check, and got arrested. (Wish I had had a MAKEUP KIT!!! )

Joe dispatched a Ghoul and the Vampire, but Strange Sightings around the Dunwich-only Gates dropped a flood on him: the Gnoph-Keh, a Star Spawn, a Deep One Hybrid, and a Skeleton. Wings didn’t want to stick around, having completed her Story’s scavenger hunt, so she used Joe’s superior mobility skills to Evade all four abominations and return to the Train Station. With Lady Luck obviously on her side of the table, Bill Washington showed up and gave Joe a free ride to the Lodge. Story Passed.

Akachi gathered Clues waiting for a Gate to open in Arkham. When it did, she immediately went for it…except it was the Dreamlands Motogate, and there was no guarantee it would be sealable. But she needed the trophy anyway, so close or seal, either way she wins.

Released from jail, Lily got a buck off Carolyn and passed Joe in the Train Station again, heading for the mob threatening to peel off for the Horror. Honestly, I had little faith in my dice and the Universe at this point, but broke, clueless and owning just a Lantern, it seemed Lily was down to basics: wandering crimefighting monk. So she waded in, and, with the help of a last minute Intervene from an astrally-projected Akachi from the Dreamlands, acquired four shiny monster trophies. Just call me Grasshopper.

But, as one would expect, this stoked Yig’s Anger, who sent a surge that not only moved the Servitor, the Ghast, and a Proto-Shoggoth to Lily’s space, but its red gate bursty location dropped the Flying Polyp on top of her! I couldn’t even pass the first (non-devouring) Horror Check. Just call me >squish<.

Akachi luckily found an alternate exit through the Lenglands Gate and Sealed the Witch House (1). She moved to the Science Building for 3 Clues (and another Seal), but was then tossed out into the Street. Unfortunately, this had given the Flying Death Squad enough time to return to the Sky, and during a second Strange Sightings, the Polyp and the Servitor returned for the meal that had escaped them, bringing with them a Byakhee as well. Righteously freaked out, Pizza went into full “Run Away!” mode and hid in the Lodge of all places.

The much more painful, revised Rumor of Cursed Relics hit the table. No more mere exhausting to fix this beast. We needed five Unique/Exhibit Items or Yig was awake in five turns. Joe didn’t need his Spirit Jar anymore, and Carolyn had picked up something I don’t quite remember, so Carolyn collected most of Joe’s cash to add to her Retainer earnings, and parked herself in the Curiositie Shop for three of the cheapest trinkets she could buy.

After passing his Story, Joe had traveled fearlessly to R’lyeh to bump into a presence who had been peripherally around us all night: Mr. Skin, Pimp Avatar of Nyarlathotep! Wings got to choose her own Ally, and settled on Professor Morgan. Joe returned to Seal Independence Square (2), just as the Dunwich Exodus brought the Horror back for the second time that night.

Wings wanted to gather the Dunwich Clues—only the Backwoods Country had Gates, so the Blasted Heath was loaded with Clues—but she didn’t want the Horror catching her. I assured her the Horror would not move from Sentinel Hill. She began to tell me about all the times I told her something that turned out to be faulty. I swore the Horror would not move, and read her the back of its monster chit. So she moved Joe back out to Dunwich. Then it occurred to me that Arkham is such a comprehensively chaotic game of which I have still not seen every single dark corner, and added, “……unless…there’s a card somewhere in here that actually moves it.”

( "And that’s when I shot him, officer.")

After Joe had acquired a pile of Clues, he moved to take out the Colour on top of Wizard’s Hill with a hunch or two. But even with the double rolls, Yig wouldn’t have it, and Joe ended up back in Arkham with Agoraphobia. So instead he took his Clues to Yuggoth and Sealed the Unvisited Island (3).

Fresh from the Asylum, Lily tried to get down to the Woods, but was forced to stop and deal with a Deep One and a Moon Beast in the Merchant District Streets when the Dreamlands MotoGate caught up to her. While I was offworld, the Horror moved twice, awakening the Father of Serpents before anyone had time to get Blessed.

As it always is with Yig, it was slow going at the outset, as his Curse kept our successes lowish for a few rounds until Lily broke hers. She took the Staff of the Pharaohs and the Dread Curse of Azathoth from Carolyn, and began to really cut Yig down, using her special stats to keep the Drear Curse viable. At the end, it was Akachi who delivered the finishing blow. (Told you I wasn’t the Chosen One.)

Final Score: 15. Lost quite a bit by middle Terror and low Yig, but we ended up with quite a few extra trophies lying around.

jgt7771 said:

::rofling::

loved all the story, but this part is *really* brilliant

jgt7771 said:

I don't know every card in the game, but I really don't think there are any cards that make the Dunwich Horror move. But it could certainly be good material for a custom Dunwich Horror herald. ;-]

eiterorm said:

Dark Druid? Tommy Muldoon special ability? And there is a scenario in Avi's League with the DH moving like a fast stalker! Loved that one! Jgt should introduce Wings to this one!

Julia said:

Dark Druid only triggers movement for the rest of the monsters in Arkham; he doesn't change the movement patterns of monsters. A stationary (yellow-bordered) monster still remains where it is, and a unique (green-bordered) monster still follows its own special rules. So if the Dark Druid moves on black, the Dunwich Horror will remain on Sentinel Hill, but you will have to roll a die to see whether you have to add a doom token to the doom track. And a very good reason why the Dunwich Horror shouldn't be able to move according to the arrows on the board is that it would enter a vortex if it moved twice. That's how I see it, anyway, but I am getting a dawning suspicion that either the FAQ or previous discussions on this board contradict me. =P

And if your team of investigators includes Tommy, you should have complete control of his special ability. So you don't have to fear Tommy moving the Dunwich Horror without you anticipating it --- unless whichever player controls Tommy decides to have fun with you, of course, in which case you can't really blame the game. ;-]

eiterorm said:

Sorry, wrong ::laughter:: And yes, you're right, it's in the FAQ (pag. 35):

Q: With the Dark Druid’s movement ability, what does the phrase, “all other monsters move on black,” mean?
A: After normal monster movement is resolved, each monster on the board (but not in the Outskirts or the Sky) moves as if it were a black-bordered monster and its dimensional symbol appeared in the black movement box of a Mythos Card.

As for Tommy: indeed, you have complete control of his ability. But technically you can use his ability to have the DH move. And if you're sharing Wings's location near Sentinel Hill, you can play a funny joke (clearly, this is not intended to be a strategical advice, but just a way to make Wings happy)

Julia said:

I didn't bother checking, but aparently I had good reasons for my suspicion. =P However, I am a little puzzled by what to do with the Dunwich Horror in this case. If the Dark Druid triggers it twice, the Dunwich Horror would move into a vortex. Is it treated just like any other monster and removed from the board? Or is it not treated as a monster for the purpose of entering a vortex and is thus stuck at Village Commons forever after? Or is it not treated as a monster for the purpose of moving according to Dark Druid's instructions, and is thus never moved from Sentinel Hill?

Julia said:

I'd like to see Wings's reaction when that happens.

"No, no, I assure you: the Dunwich Horror will never move."

A couple of turns later:

"So, the Dunwich Horror is only one block away. I'll just play the hero, and…"

Madness ensues. ^__^

eiterorm said:

I'd go with this one: the DH needs to be defeated in combat in order to have the DH track cleared. If it enters a vortex, treat it as a normal monster: +1 DH token (useless, since it's already full), +1 Terror and if after the monster is disappeared into the vortex and the DH track is still full, then spawn the DH on Sentinel Hill. So technically, it's respawned on Sentinel Hill and you have a +1 Terror

eiterorm said:

::laughter::

Julia said:

Sweet! I really like this solution. It doesn't disregard any of the game mechanics, and it gives a nice cycle to the Dark Druid-induced Dunwich Horror movement.

eiterorm said:

Thx! Btw, you got mail!

eiterorm and Julia,

I'm confused…why would the DH move at all…wouldn't you just roll a die, just like you would for color out of Space or Cthonian?

Cheers, Joe

The Professor said:

That was what I thought, too. Julia mentioned the Dark Druid , as a game mechanic which forces all monsters in Arkham to move according to the black arrows on the board. I interpreted the Dark Druid's ability to only trigger black movement for all monsters in the same way as on Mythos cards. (i.e. they maintain their movement patterns/rules) But as Julia pointed out, I was mistaken. So, the FAQ says that when triggered by the Dark Driud, the monsters instead move as though they were black-bordered monsters. So this makes even monsters such as the Dunwich Horror, Colours out of Space and Chthonians move according to the arrows on the board. This game will never cease to surprise me. =P

Yeah, I'm going to have to disagree with the FAQ on this one just like the Nightgaunt ruling. I'll continue to to roll a die instead of moving Green-bordered monsters…

Red , Purple , Orange , and Blue : Yes, as normal

Yellow : Yes, the Dark Druid takes precedence over "Stationary"

Green : Yes, the Dark Druid takes precedence, except for Monsters, with the statement, "Instead of moving…"

As I mentioned to Julia…the one rule about House Rules…consistency!

Cheers, Joe

Aye, consistency. But may I ask you what makes you so upset with green bordered monsters moving as black border monsters? You can have a Chthonian or a Lloigor moving out of the space they hide, plus I don't see a big difference between a Dark Young moving to a street and a Chthonian being moved in the same way. Just curious, nothing more :-)

Julia,

For me it's a matter of semantics. According to the Dark Druid , the token states, "…all other monsters move on black after their normal movement." While I can see other monsters moving on black, the Color Out of Space and the Chthonian (along with the Dunwich Monster ) don't have a movement, per se, so instead of their normal movement, you roll a die to determine an outcome. At the end of the day, I have less of an issue with the Dark Druid overriding the Yellow Stationary rule than moving particular monsters that have separate 'moving' rules.

Cheers, Joe

Joe,

thanks for clarifyng. So, correct me if I'm wrong, for the same reasons you don't allow Tommy to move e Chthonian to his location, if adjacent to the monster? Other green bordered monsters (Werewolf, Hunting Horror, Hound of Tindalos) move on black if triggered by the Dak Druid or not? Not criticising, just interested in the way you play :-)

Julia,

You know I know there's never any criticism ~ instead I appreciate the fact that you're asking me to think about other scenarios in which a "monster" may move and that's good. Yes, to clarify even further, all green-bordered monsters have a unique movement aspect, which the Dark Druid would activate. However, unlike the Haunting Horror or the Hound of Tindalos which would move rapidly to the street or location with an Investigator, the Chthonian and Color Out of Space has a movement aspect which doesn't have them move at all, but they would still activate their power…possibly, given the roll of a die.

Now, however, you've brought-up one and by extension, I can think of another example in which monsters may move. Both Tommy Muldoon's ability's and the Spell , Lure Monster would have the effect of moving…truly displacing… a monster from its location. I actually see nothing wrong with these scenarios taking place. Why? Because in my mind the special power of an Investigator (see Kate's power and the discussion regarding Gate Bursts ) or a Spell can do miraculous things. With the Dark Druid's ability, he's simply summoning the monsters to do his bidding: "…all other monsters move on black…" For me Investigators and Spells carry much weight.

Cheers, Joe

Ok, then, fair enough :-) Thx for the explanation :-)

Julia,

I'm glad that was clear…and logical, my friend.

Cheers, Joe