A reviewer of Arkham Horror said that the spells ruined the feel and theme of the game. Do you find this to be true?

If so, is it possible to play without spells, with of course some modification?

What reviewer said that? That seems utterly ridiculous to me but I guess to each his own. Of course you can play without spells if you wish to--you might want to take out the investigators who start with spells and of course you would have to ignore or somehow modify encounter cards that might grant a spell for example. But in no way do I see having spells in this game as ruining the feel of it thematically or otherwise--indeed I'd say just the opposite.

I agree. With such a theme, how can spells ruin it? I don't think Arkham Horror is supported to be realistic...or is it?

Kuk,

I do play with a slight variant ~ only if you "pass" the Spell check do you pay the associated Sanity cost. There are those who will quibble over the 'intent' behnd the Lovecraftian universe and that spells are meant to rend your mind...okay, that's fine, but Sanity is a very precious commodity in this game and I won't have it expended needlessly on Spells which fail to activate. I, for one, love spells, and in the right hands (I'm looking at you Dexter [once you pass your Personal Story], Harvey, Caroline, and Daisy), they can be used to great effect!

Cheers,

Joe

I do pay Sanity, whether I pass or not since, as explained in the Call of Cthulhu game as well, you're using knowledge to alter reality that we know. It's alien and it's a load of formulas and variations that are just beyond human comprehension. But yeah, spells fit right in. Armitage uses a spell in The Dunwich Horror. Magic happens in Lovecraft.

I don't see how spells can ruin the theme of the game. First of all, spells such as Denying the Ancient One or Control Gate have an immediate interaction with the game structure or are Mythos-related; additionally many characters in HPL tales were students of the arcane or collectors of oddities and so on, and it's very likely that these guys were able to derive some spells from dusty manuscripts; finally, I don't see how the word "realism" can be related to Arkham Horror (the pure idea of Cthulhu sleeping in the oceans waiting for an awakening of some kind seems not be so "realistic"...)

Very last point: in the Call of Cthulhu RPG we have several spells as well, so, it's not only an "Arkham thing"...

wait..Julia...Cthulhu's not under the sea? Are there not cults heralding his arrival? Are we not in an epic struggle for the very survival of humanity? Oh, whew...it's just a game.

wait..Julia...Cthulhu's not under the sea? Are there not cults heralding his arrival? Are we not in an epic struggle for the very survival of humanity?

Sssshhhhhhhh!!! We are not really supposed to talk about this here...

With regard to spells which expansion beyond Innsmouth or Kingsport offers the most interesting set. Something perhaps beyond the usual combat bonus'--say maybe spells which might affect which mythos cards are drawn or help with OW encounters?

Dark Pharaoh spells are interesting indeed, offering some interesting possibilities like with Astral Travel or Plague of Locusts . Alternatively, Lurker at the Treshold has some interesting stuff like Control Gate , Plumb the Void or Sigil of Hermes Trismegistus

Hmmm....looks like I'm going to expand my AH collection after all. Thank you Julia once again!

You're welcome