Shub-Niggurath Awakes! Investigators Devoured.

Shub-Niggurath, from Art Ogre Studios

  Zach, Dane, and I played another game of Arkham Horror yesterday afternoon. The Ancient One drawn was Shub-Niggurath. We've never faced her before. Yow! Tough one, and we lost.

  We added in the King in Yellow expansion this time as well, using the Permanent Production and Herald options. This was a first for us (it was an early Christmas gift from Zach), and it went... not well. Not that it made the game less fun - far from it! I appreciated the extra encounter cards and the new items and spells and such. It does increase the difficulty level a bit, though. One reason we lost was the Herald and those darned Yellow Signs tokens! These are used whenever the Terror Track increases, and you have two options: advance the Doom Track or accept a Blight, which is sort of like a universal, permanent, negative Ally. We only had the Terror Track creep up on us twice - we are pretty good at keeping monster numbers down - but the advancing Doom track and the Blight we drew might have done us in.

  It started off so well. We each sealed a gate in the same turn! Only three left, we thought... Ashcan Pete (me) managed to get a second gate closed, finally, for a total of four. And then, just as I was ready to pop back into Arkham from the Great Hall of Celeano with five Clues, disaster struck: a Blight. And this particular Blight meant that it would take six Clues to seal the gate. SO much for that brilliant plan.

  At that point, we only had two spaces left on the Doom Track. Shub Niggurath awoke. We fought, but... without appropriate equipment or bonuses, defeating Shub-Niggurath was just not possible. We were all devoured, the Ancient One rampaged across Arkham, and it was a Bad Day for Massachusetts.

  Next time we are adding in the Innsmouth expansion. That was my gift to Zach. Great minds think alike, I guess. It looks diabolically difficult as well. Those Ancient Ones need to stay sleeping!

More Horror in Arkham

Fittingly for the month of Zomtober - um I mean, October - I've played two games of Arkham Horror in the past couple of weeks.

In both cases, the Elder God (Ithaqua and Nylarthotep, respectively) were thwarted.

  Ithaqua actually awoke, but Our Heroes managed to put his physical form in great distress, and he returned to the icy dimension from which he came. Nylarthotep, thankfully, never awoke.

Also, I keep meaning to obtain photos of the few zombies that I have painted in recent weeks. Only four of them, but I like 'em. I promise to keep trying to remember. Maybe one of them got my brains already and I just haven't noticed? That's possible. All to likely, even.

Elder God Defeated! Citizens of Arkham Rejoice!

Arkham, Mass.-- The terrified citizens of the small town of Arkham, Mass., can breathe a sigh of relief. After days of strange happenings, peace and quiet have returned to their once-idyllic village, thanks to the efforts of three brave investigators.

  "I'm just your normal, run-of-the-mill, archaeology professor/world traveler/treasure hunter," said Monterey Jack, one of the investigators, when asked how he came to be prepared to fight an otherworldly horror and its monstrous minions. "I mean, anyone with nerves of steel, muscles of iron, and a cast-iron stomach would have done the same. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a bottle of Bushmill's that needs rescuing from that liquor store."

   Doctor Vincent Lee, of St. Mary's Hospital, was also instrumental in the investigation. It was his well-timed hail of buckshot that thrust the unimaginable horror back into the cold and dark from whence it emerged. He was also responsible for the death of respected local businessman Hugh Bottoms. Mr. Bottoms was dressed in outlandish robes, spouting gibberish, and viciously attacked Dr. Lee in Uptown. Dr. Lee pronounced him dead on the scene after shooting him. Twice.

  Doctor Carolyn Fern, a resident psychiatrist working at Arkham Asylum, counseled the other investigators during the course of these unsettling events. Her stellar work insured that the other investigators remained sane and capable.

  "These 'monsters,' you see, are merely a projection of your own fears and anxieties into the world around you. Once confronted, they hold no terror for anyone, really. Except the ones that look like spiders. Those ones are evil, and should be destroyed immediately," she said.   

  A parade is scheduled for tomorrow, and the Mayor will speak. The investigators will be receiving the key to the city, a coupon for "Buy One, Get One Free" at the General Store, and an all-expenses paid tour to the Unvisited Isle. Light refreshments will be served, $1 cover charge. 

   The boys and I finished our first game of Arkham Horror this afternoon. We all had a lot of fun, and we managed to defeat the big baddie, Ithqua (actually, one of the weaker adversaries) after he awoke. So, chalk that up as a win, even though we didn't quite manage to seal enough gates to prevent his arrival in the first place...