Mine is:
I don't know, it's just that monsters with a +1 modifier and 3 toughness does it for me for some reason. Also he kinda look like the Dahaka from Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Also lots of flavor. What's yours?
The Great Debate #13: Your Favorite Ancient One
Nyarlathotep even though he's a sissy.
Avi_dreader said:
Nyarlathotep even though he's a sissy.
Not so sissy with The Dark Pharaohe herald.
kroen said:
Avi_dreader said:
Nyarlathotep even though he's a sissy.
Not so sissy with The Dark Pharaohe herald.
::Shrug:: I always play him with a herald (or *as* a herald) but as for the AO himself, he's weak (but I love those masks).
It's between Shub-Niggurath and Hastur. I like SN's in game affect and physical immunity and devoring guys w/out monster trophies can be deadly in my group. W/out the KiY Hastur's not quite as bad if you face him but I like how he damages investigators directly and the potential to have the highest (?) combat modifier. Making sealing more difficult is good too and flying cultists is amusing
I like a lot of the Anicent Ones, but my favorite has to be Glaaki the Great. Why? First, because the Mythos deck is often at its very cruelest when we're facing Glaaki. Frustraing, yes, but also a great challenge; often it give the illusion of strategy on the game's part. Second, I enjoy Spawn monsters and Glaaki has five dangerous ones. Third, we've very rarely beaten him (unlike the other AO dependent on the terror track, whom we almost never lose against). Fourth, his illustration is very well-done.
Gatha said:
It's between Shub-Niggurath and Hastur. I like SN's in game affect and physical immunity and devoring guys w/out monster trophies can be deadly in my group. W/out the KiY Hastur's not quite as bad if you face him but I like how he damages investigators directly and the potential to have the highest (?) combat modifier. Making sealing more difficult is good too and flying cultists is amusing
I used to like Hastur, until I realized how easy he is to beat if you don't go for a sealing victory— just close gates so the doom track rises quickly, and kill monsters. You should fight him with a -0 to -2 modifier. Piece of cake.
I absolutely adore Abhoth for reasons I can't explain, even though its mechanics don't always rub me the right way. For the base game, either Shub-Niggurath or Nyarlathotep. Shubbie for making monsters dangerous again and Nyarly for flavor.
The Message said:
Shubbie for making monsters dangerous again
too dangerous... he makes combat checks as difficult as horror checks...
My favorite AO from reading the stories is Hastur. He is evil and has a sort of hex surrounding his name.
My favorite AO in the game is Cthulhu. He is just mean and is always present. And even though he has a 6 turn clock in battle he is no push over (unless of coarse you go for a battle with the best weapons and blessings but to be fair almost any AO is easy to beat then).
Azathoth, surely? His attack is the best; it ends the World!
Avi_dreader said:
I used to like Hastur, until I realized how easy he is to beat if you don't go for a sealing victory— just close gates so the doom track rises quickly, and kill monsters. You should fight him with a -0 to -2 modifier. Piece of cake.
:makes a note to never, ever play AH with Avi:
Eye on Final Combat from the set up with not even an attempt at sealing 
?
Eihort's a hoot. I guess I just like the idea of investigators suddenly bursting open with brood... 
But generally, I would say that Nyarly is my favorite, though I like some house-rules to make him tougher.
Atlach Nacha is my fav. It's the hardest, and that makes it the best.
-Frank
We always try for a seal vic, whether or not it's a good idea. I dunno, I guess I like Tsothogga (sp?). He's tough, but his ability forces you towards a 'no-nonsense' approach to the game, which I personally love. Allies, clues, and other special items are at a premium, which I think gives the game just the feel that I love about it.
Dam said:
Avi_dreader said:
I used to like Hastur, until I realized how easy he is to beat if you don't go for a sealing victory— just close gates so the doom track rises quickly, and kill monsters. You should fight him with a -0 to -2 modifier. Piece of cake.
:makes a note to never, ever play AH with Avi:
Eye on Final Combat from the set up with not even an attempt at sealing ?
*laughs*I'm with you, Dam. I would find it not only extremely boring, but cheesy as anything to just prepare for the Final Battle from the beginning without even trying to win by sealing or closing.
I've always liked Hastur. Tough to seal, but you also have to consider just closing gates instead of sealing them so that the terror level stays low just in case he does wake up. A variable battle modifier is a cool thing. And since I play with the modified StormKnight-battle rule, gearing up early without any attempt to seal against any Ancient One is a bad, bad idea.
I also love Shudde M'ell for the "do I close, instead of seal?" factor. The extra game-over time limit is cool.
Dam: Even with a low modifier, Epic Combat makes Hastur quite tough. I had to face him twice recently with the terror level low; he smeared us the first time, and the remaining character sacrificed himself to deal the winning blow the other time. Start working overtime so you can buy Kingsport already!
Tibs said:
Dam: Even with a low modifier, Epic Combat makes Hastur quite tough. I had to face him twice recently with the terror level low; he smeared us the first time, and the remaining character sacrificed himself to deal the winning blow the other time. Start working overtime so you can buy Kingsport already!
Don't know how many investigators Avi plays with, but 3 or 4, averaging 10 dice per turn + Blessed shouldn't take more than 4 turns to put him down. I've looked at the Epic Battle cards from the AH wiki and if I've understood them correctly, the green ones go on top, so with the above math, you'd never even see the Red ones, barely seeing half the Green ones.
As a game designer and tweaker I'm inclined to tell you just to print all the Epic Battle and Sinister Plot cards to use, but I don't want to deny FFG their rightfully earned dollar 
Most of the time we don't survive through the green cards, but once in a while, including most recently both Hastur battles I mentioned and one against Yig, we did reach the Red. Once you're in the Red zone, anything goes; I still don't know what most of the cards do, and I am aware that the game can be over at any moment when I draw "The End of Everything."
That's what happened to us in the Yig battle (EoE). It was great. Jeff said he wanted to remove the card. I asked, "well then what happens when we run out?" I think it's a great card to have in there, injecting the suspenseful element of Sudden Death (literally).
Back when Epic Combat was first announced, a forum user said the first thing he'd do when he got Kingsport was to rip up the End of Everything card. He'll be sorry. At least put it aside somewhere until you wise up and realize it's an awesome card.
Dam said:
Avi_dreader said:
I used to like Hastur, until I realized how easy he is to beat if you don't go for a sealing victory— just close gates so the doom track rises quickly, and kill monsters. You should fight him with a -0 to -2 modifier. Piece of cake.
:makes a note to never, ever play AH with Avi:
Eye on Final Combat from the set up with not even an attempt at sealing ?
Heh... I play to win. I'm not going to ignore a weak spot just for the sake of ignoring it. (What I do instead is not play Hastur anymore).
Tibs said:
As a game designer and tweaker I'm inclined to tell you just to print all the Epic Battle and Sinister Plot cards to use, but I don't want to deny FFG their rightfully earned dollar
Most of the time we don't survive through the green cards, but once in a while, including most recently both Hastur battles I mentioned and one against Yig, we did reach the Red. Once you're in the Red zone, anything goes; I still don't know what most of the cards do, and I am aware that the game can be over at any moment when I draw "The End of Everything."
That's what happened to us in the Yig battle (EoE). It was great. Jeff said he wanted to remove the card. I asked, "well then what happens when we run out?" I think it's a great card to have in there, injecting the suspenseful element of Sudden Death (literally).
Back when Epic Combat was first announced, a forum user said the first thing he'd do when he got Kingsport was to rip up the End of Everything card. He'll be sorry. At least put it aside somewhere until you wise up and realize it's an awesome card.
*Remove* The End of Everything? Retarded :'r
Avi_dreader said:
Tibs said:
As a game designer and tweaker I'm inclined to tell you just to print all the Epic Battle and Sinister Plot cards to use, but I don't want to deny FFG their rightfully earned dollar
Most of the time we don't survive through the green cards, but once in a while, including most recently both Hastur battles I mentioned and one against Yig, we did reach the Red. Once you're in the Red zone, anything goes; I still don't know what most of the cards do, and I am aware that the game can be over at any moment when I draw "The End of Everything."
That's what happened to us in the Yig battle (EoE). It was great. Jeff said he wanted to remove the card. I asked, "well then what happens when we run out?" I think it's a great card to have in there, injecting the suspenseful element of Sudden Death (literally).
Back when Epic Combat was first announced, a forum user said the first thing he'd do when he got Kingsport was to rip up the End of Everything card. He'll be sorry. At least put it aside somewhere until you wise up and realize it's an awesome card.
*Remove* The End of Everything? Retarded :'r
I agree. Although I'd suggest for people who really hate it to shuffle the decks without it, and then, after they're shuffled, place it at the bottom of the deck as the last card.
Eihort makes my skin crawl - having those brood tokens on my investigator and knowing they mean there are larvae inside them...ugh. It may be fictional, but it still makes my lunch churn.
kroen said:
Avi_dreader said:
*Remove* The End of Everything? Retarded :'r
I agree. Although I'd suggest for people who really hate it to shuffle the decks without it, and then, after they're shuffled, place it at the bottom of the deck as the last card.
Shuffle the decks, remove End of Everything and one green card at random (don't look at it). Then put the green deck on the red deck.
Each round, roll a die. Take that card off the top of the deck. This way, the longer battle lasts, the more likely you are to get red cards. But not necessarily after 8 rounds.
If you ever roll a number higher than there are cards left in the deck, your fate is the End of Everything card.
kroen said:
The Message said:
Shubbie for making monsters dangerous again
too dangerous... he makes combat checks as difficult as horror checks...
I know, and I love that. I don't want to kill something from beyond space and time, I want it to leave me broken and whimpering in the gutter. This. Is. Arkham! Er... ignore that, but you get my point.