Arkham Horror 3rd Edition Clarifications

[Dr.Samurai]

Hi All!

I'm addicted to this game, and have a few questions I'm wondering if anyone can help clarify...

1. Dexter Drake (Recursive Echoes version) - You use Blinding Light as part of an Attack or Evade action. After your lore check, if you succeed, exhaust the monster and deal it 1 damage. My question is, do you still resolve your Evade action? Do you get your action back as per successfully evading a monster? So Dexter moves into a space with a monster, Evades/Blinding Light, exhausts/kills it. What happens next? His turn is over or he gets his action back?

2. Some cards activate during the Encounter phase. They say "Encounter" in bold and then explain the effect. Does this replace your normal encounter phase, or is this in addition to your encounter phase? As an example, a card in our codex allowed us to do something during the Encounter phase on any space with a white marker. Does this replace the encounter phase?

3. Does a delayed investigator still get an Encounter phase? I believe yes.

4. Does the Banishment spell target a monster in your space or can you target a monster in any space?

I know I have more questions but they just aren't coming up right now. I'll add more when I get home, assuming there are some other Arkham players here interested in answering some questions .

Thank you!

[Gwynchan'rGwyll]

1. Yes, Drake still gets to attempt to resolve the Evade. For example, if Drake was engaged with multiple monsters, Blinding Light would only deal with one monster. Drake must still test and disengage every monster remaining in order to get the extra action, however. If there is only the one monster, then disengaging through the spell (or killing it) counts as disengaging in the Evade action, and Drake would get the extra action.

2. You can only ever have one encounter per player per turn. These cards give you an additional option of an encounter you can have. Note that this means that you can't use that effect if you're unable of having an encounter (i.e. you're engaged with a monster) or if you have an effect that restricts the types of encounters you can have (some scenarios have rules to this effect).

3. Delayed investigators do get an encounter. Delayed investigators lose 1 action. That is the sole effect of an investigator being delayed.

4. I don't recall a Banishment spell, do you remember what pack it's from?

[Dr.Samurai]

Thank you so much for clarifying those items, I wasn't sure if anyone else here plays

Banishment is a spell from Secrets of the Order and reads as: Once per round, during your turn, you may choose a on-epic monster and test Lore(-1). If you pass, that monster disengages all investigators and moves directly to the unstable space.

It doesn't specify "your space" or "any space", but the fact that it says it disengages all investigators and doesn't mention you specifically, or that it doesn't say "you can do this while engaged with a monster" makes me wonder if it is intended to be any space.

Another question, or confirmation: Does Stella Clark get to move anywhere on the Board before taking her first action? So she could then move again if she wants? Her ability reads: At the beginning of your first action phase of the game, you may move directly to any space.

Actually, in typing it out I think I realized the intent. She gets to do this one single time, before her first action at the start of the game, and that's it. I think that's correct. We played it as at the start of her turn throughout the game she can move to any space before acting and it seemed way too powerful.

[danzibr]

What an Arkham Horror thread!?

Unfortunately I can't contribute to rules clarification, but rather than start a new thread about Arkham Horror third edition, figured I'd ask here.

I loved second edition (though I didn't know it was second edition at the time), got all the expansions, played the heck out of them with my family. Then family life got more demanding, haven't touched the games in several years.

Was thinking about digging it up again, searched expansions, discovered there's a third edition! (and, regrettably, no more expansions for 2e)

My question is: how do 2e (with editions) and 3e (with editions) compare? At a glance, I see the layouts are totally different, and the characters in 3e seem more different.

Dunno if I want to invest in a whole new batch of games.

EDIT: Bonus points if anyone has experience and speaks to the different editions of Mansions of Madness. At a glance it seems I'd prefer Mansions of Madness 2e.

[Eldan]

3E is... a different game. I find it a bit too simplified and repetitive to be much fun. Maybe expansions save it, I don't know, I didn't try.

Eldritch Horror is great, but require at least one, preferably more expansions to really work, because the core alone doesn't have enough encounter cards and you run into repetitions very soon. Apart from that, it's ARkham Horror 2nd edition with cleaned up mechanics and a few changes. Which I think are mostly for the better. It loses on flavour, because it's not as thematically tight, being set around the entire world, instead of just a small town, but the rules are solid. The shopping system, travel system, portal mechanics and reckoning are all great ideas that work well.

The card game is also excellent. Certainly the most flavourful, the deckbuilding is fantastic, the scenarios are great, building a character is very thematic and you get a lot of funny stories out of weird card interactions while still keeping the basic flavour. Very expensive to keep up with the game, though.

[danzibr]

3E is... a different game. I find it a bit too simplified and repetitive to be much fun. Maybe expansions save it, I don't know, I didn't try.

Oh hmm, that's uhh... maybe good? I mean, I already have like all of 2e, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Eldritch Horror is great, but require at least one, preferably more expansions to really work, because the core alone doesn't have enough encounter cards and you run into repetitions very soon. Apart from that, it's ARkham Horror 2nd edition with cleaned up mechanics and a few changes. Which I think are mostly for the better. It loses on flavour, because it's not as thematically tight, being set around the entire world, instead of just a small town, but the rules are solid. The shopping system, travel system, portal mechanics and reckoning are all great ideas that work well.

D'oh! I meant to say Mansions of Madness. Any experience with first versus second editions there?

[Eldan]

MoM1 is very complex and an RPG lite. From how I remember it, every scenario comes wit an extensive booklet and needs a GM who needs to read and prepare ahead of time.

MoM2 replaces the GM with an app and requires at least a Smartphone, preferably a tablet and speakers. The app runs monsters and scenario effects, displays Puzzles and clues and reads narration.

[danzibr]

Thanks!

MoM2 definitely sounds more up my alley. Been DM too many times, nice to play strictly cooperative.

[Gwynchan'rGwyll]

Thank you so much for clarifying those items, I wasn't sure if anyone else here plays

Banishment is a spell from Secrets of the Order and reads as: Once per round, during your turn, you may choose a on-epic monster and test Lore(-1). If you pass, that monster disengages all investigators and moves directly to the unstable space.

It doesn't specify "your space" or "any space", but the fact that it says it disengages all investigators and doesn't mention you specifically, or that it doesn't say "you can do this while engaged with a monster" makes me wonder if it is intended to be any space.

Any space is correct. The only limit on choosing monsters is it has to be a "non-epic monster." There's no rule that would default it to targeting monsters on your space.

Another question, or confirmation: Does Stella Clark get to move anywhere on the Board before taking her first action? So she could then move again if she wants? Her ability reads: At the beginning of your first action phase of the game, you may move directly to any space.

Actually, in typing it out I think I realized the intent. She gets to do this one single time, before her first action at the start of the game, and that's it. I think that's correct. We played it as at the start of her turn throughout the game she can move to any space before acting and it seemed way too powerful.

\

Yes, Stella can only get that free move once. It's "your first action phase of the game." After that comes your second action phase, third action phase, etc. Think of it as almost her starting the game on a different tile of her choice, except she can let the other players have their turn first before deciding where to start the game (and that means they can trade with her on the default starting square until her turn starts). There are some scenarios where that's VERY powerful.

My question is: how do 2e (with editions) and 3e (with editions) compare? At a glance, I see the layouts are totally different, and the characters in 3e seem more different.

Dunno if I want to invest in a whole new batch of games.

I really like AH 3e more than AH 2e, for one simple reason: 2e felt like you were playing the same game almost disconnected from the Ancient One every time. Changing the Ancient One barely changed the game; you would be closing the same random gates, having the same random encounters, and fighting mostly the same monsters every time. If you were lucky, you would draw one of the monsters which had its rules changed by the Ancient One. Occasionally the Ancient One's special power would have some effect. The way you won the game was the same every time though: engage with the gates, and if you couldn't do that, fight the Ancient One directly (which did vary at least).

AH 3e is more like each Ancient One (or sometimes more abstract scenarios with other threats) is a completely unique campaign. Each one has a unique set of effects, a specified set of monsters you face, and a specified configuration of the map that it plays on, as well as a unique set of "research" cards which are how you gain clues. The win conditions require you to pass through a set of "Agenda" cards. Usually these offer players branching choices of how to approach the scenario. It's these branching choices that give replayability: as Eldan hinted at, because there are less cards per playthrough otherwise things get a little same-y.

I'll give you a couple examples though. The Approach of Azathoth scenario has you mostly facing cultists, Nightgaunts, and Hounds of Tindolos'. If you're too slow controlling the cultists who spread Doom on the map (which causes temporal fissures, which are some more unique encounters), they'll start an awful ritual that will summon Azathoth. If you're fast and are able to do enough research encounters (often involving more time shenanigans, like the newsboy hawking newspapers from years ago or chatter about this new upcoming play "Hamilton"), you can enact an arcane shield to protect the world from Azathoth. If you're not fast enough, well then you have to go to the future and prepare a massive ritual from there...

The Feast for Umordhoth scenario on the other hand is comparably very simple. You're facing mostly Ghouls while hunting down several unique cultists. The more unique cultists you can defeat before Umordhoth is summoned, the easier it will be to defeat. You don't need many clues, but you can some by researching rumours of missing bodies, cannibalism, and strange underground disturbances. There aren't any "gate" equivalents in this scenario either.

EH is still my favourite for this though. Each Ancient One had a unique set of (usually 6) Mystery Cards, one of which is always active at any one time, setting your next main objective. These are all unique and thematic to the Ancient One: for example, the Rise of the Elder Things (from the antarctic expansion) may require you to go to specific locations in Antarctica and and spend clues to fight cultists there who are attacking the scientific expedition, whereas Yog-Sothoth may require you to spend clues after casting spells to advance. You have to do 3 Mysteries to win, which means even replaying the same scenario is going to be unique. Like AH 3, each Ancient One has a unique set of research encounters as well: an Ithaqua research encounter in a city could require you to find your contact in a pub in a city blanketed in snow, a Rise of the Elder Things research encounter in the wilderness can have you watch a battle between the elder things and the Mi-Go, and Nephren-Ka (from the Egypt expansion) research encounter at sea can suddenly have your boat stranded in the desert; is it an illusion or did you actually get transported to the middle of the Sahara?

Otherwise though your monsters and gates are more similar to AH 2, where they're generally unconnected to the main threat, which is a shame.

I also like the "Prelude" cards from the expansions to EH that allow further customization to each game by slightly modifying the base scenario, sometimes by adding a lesser additional threat (or even a new side map) or a new tool at the Investigators disposal.