Where or how do you get a retainer? I know I will find out eventually but I am making a cheat sheet for first group game in a couple days and I didn't run into it the first 2 solo games and I want it on the cheat sheet. Too bad we can't attach PDF's to posts, it might be handy for a few people, especially newbs.

If you are that intent on cheating why not just search through all the encounter, mythos and other world cards and record the location and frequency of every potentially beneficial thing in the game?

What's the point of playing if you know how and where to get everything you need? Just go explore. Half the fun of this game is discovering something new even when you've been playing the game regularly for ages.

Don't tell new players where to get things, unless it is outwardly obvious (spell at the magic shop etc.), let them figure it out for themselves.

It's a cheat sheet for quick rules summaries, not cheating, sheesh. I am asking about retainers precisely so I don't have to search through the cards to find out.

from Wikipedia:

"In more general usage, a "cheat sheet" is any short (one or two page) reference to terms, commands, or symbols where the user is expected to understand the use of such terms etc but not necessarily to have memorized all of them. Many computer applications, for example, have cheat sheets included in their documentation which list keystrokes or menu commands needed to achieve specific tasks to save the user the effort of digging through an entire manual to find the keystroke needed to, for example, move between two windows.

@Thorgrim

Not everyone wants to play Arkham Horror hundreds of times just to get an intuitive feel for the game. Personally, one of the first things I did after getting my ass handed to me by the game several times was try to make a cheet sheet (just do a rough estimate of what kind of skill encounters happen where and which color other worlds have what sort of predominant effects). I don't explore, which arguably does take away some of the fun of the game (if you like exploration games), I strategize :') I enjoy strategy.

It's not "cheating" to look at the cards :'P I'm quite sure that there's no rule in the manual that says, "You can only look at the cards while actually playing the game."

@ Forthrocker

ummm, I know a few good locations (that I learnt from reading cards in all locations and looking for outstanding effects, and predominantly positive locations), I can't remember if there's more than one location where you can get a retainer, but there's definitely *one* location :') The Newspaper. In the base set 2 out of 7 of its cards are retainers (and it has other cards that let you make a bit of cash). One of the expansions adds in another retainer to keep the amounts of retainers at the newspaper from getting too watered down. It's very easy to get a retainer there if you're willing to spend a few turns, or if you have Darrell Simmons or The Dragon's Eye. Arguably, knowing about the Newspaper is the most important thing (well, besides gate frequencies) you need to know to have consistent success playing the base game (actually— you don't really need the retainers, the base game is pretty easy to break, once you know how, even without retainers, buuuuut, they definitely don't hurt your odds).

Basically any place that has a non inverted dollar sign is a good pick for gaining a retainer.

Most likely you will get it at the newspaper. Second most is the Administration Building IIRC.

Sorry if I sound slightly unhappy there, but I'm just so over people having so-called cheat-sheets for games that are essentially just ways for them to cheat. I have had a player do something very similar in another game where they basically had a "cheat-sheet" that had mathematical breakdowns for just about everything in the game, and all he ever did was cross-reference the sheet with a calculator to figure out the most mathematically beneficial way of doing things. Suffice to say I called a stop to that game very quickly.

Knowing in advance things like where you are most likely to get a retainer really puts me off, because you see players camping at the newspaper every other moment they get on the off chance of one coming up, the same goes for the church encounter that removes a Doom token. If I see a player doing that I will routinely work against them to stop them meta-gaming. Call me an idiot, but coming from a roleplaying background, when I see someone metagaming, I do my best to put an end to it because to me it is against the principal of why I play.

I play as thorgrim does. If a character has a spare moment to investigate somewhere, I look for what they need the most (money, clues, stamina, etc) and send them to the nearest location with that printed symbol. If there's another closeby with a second symbol I need, I'll try to get them there. I think the Newspaper is the only location with a clues/money symbol, so if a character needs those two things and is close enough they'll go there. Otherwise, the next best place works just fine. Finding a retainer somewhere is just a happy bonus.

Tibs said:

Blink. Blink. Blink blink blink blinkblinkblinkblinkblink.

Avi_dreader said:

You seem confused. If someone needs money, I send them to a place with a money icon and hope for the best, unless they've got something better to do. I do not look at the cards in advance. There are encounters from the base game I've never seen. And with the encounter method I use, I don't get the same encounter twice in a row. In fact, within like 25 encounters of each other. This even carries between games.

Like I said: Retainer is a happy bonus, and I know the Newspaper is good for them.

My cheat sheet is strictly a rules summary and the locations on the board where it says on the board that you get certain things there. Since there is only one set of rules I don't want to spend the whole game reading them to people or looking stuff up. We want to play and a quick reference that will answer most questions printed for each player will cut that down a lot. There is nothing in it that can't be found in the rules or on the board.

When I asked where to get retainers I assumed they were in a specific location like loans at the bank since they had their own set of cards like that. Since they can be had in multiple places I won't put them on my non-cheating cheat sheet.

I have a nice single 8-1/2 x 11that has the following:

card symbols

monster movement rules

all the locations with blurbs where you get something, ie spells at magicke shoppe

a table of what happens depending on the number of players: max monsters in outskirts, max monsters on board and # of open gates that awaken the ancient one

evade monster steps

combat monster steps

cast spell steps

turn phases

mythos phases

terror track rules

insanity rules

unconscious rules

If anyone thinks that I should have something else on there feel free to mention it. I am sure I will add to it since I don't foresee playing it often enough to remember all this stuff. Like I said, I think other people would find this handy but can't attach it. I did it in Coreldraw so I could put some art on it. Coreldraw is my word processor, it's the best word processor on the market. And, it ALWAYS prints exactly what you see in the print preview, which is more than any other program I have ever used can say. Creates PDF's instantly too.

Add Final Battle Rules to your list, as it is likely to happen to new players.

You might want to consider Focus rules, and what Resistance and Immunities really mean.

My advice is only to tell what Retainers are if a character gets one or starts with one. Leave it as a surprise. Besides, players shouldn't be seeking Retainers so much as money.

Focus is pretty straightforward but I am going to add resistance and immunity. Thanks

Tibs said:

Says you :')

New players shouldn't be seeking Retainers so much as money.

Tibs said:

That's true. In my opinion, one of the great joys of being a newbie with this game is the horrible devourings that result ;')

Where to get a retainer?

The orthodontist?

--JP

At the start of Upkeep, roll a die. On a 1, the Retainer comes off finally! Aren't your teeth nice!
On a 5–6, it gives you a speech impediment.

If you are my brother, eat pizza regardless of the dentist's recommendation and discard Retainer without any benefit. Except the benefit of pizza

JJP said:

That's not true. Most orthodontists are happy with their jobs and are thus unwilling to become family servants.