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Eldritch Horror MEGATHREAD

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11 Jan 2017 12:13 - 11 Jan 2017 14:08 #242227 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Eldritch Horror MEGATHREAD
Played a couple games this week, one solo two characters, one with four human players. I find the two characters play pleasing from a bookkeeping perspective but otherwise too hard in a really unfun way. Like, not being able to get to stuff is not a fun challenge for the game to present, which it does constantly in 2 player.

In general, though, I find this game to be a challenge. There are so many test failures in my games because you just don't have time to boost anything in the first few turns and there's a limited amount you can even boost to.
Last edit: 11 Jan 2017 14:08 by Gary Sax.

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11 Jan 2017 12:29 #242232 by Michael Barnes
I just asked MM for a review copy of Dreamlands...I haven't really been that crazy about the big box expansions (sideboards...) but this one looks interesting...especially since it takes the big, global scale and makes it interdimensional.

Very excited to get back into it though...played a few solo games a couple of months ago and it just reminded me of how...this is probably the best adventure game currently on the market.

Three is really where it needs to be, I usually solo it that way. With two, you are spread too thin almost constantly. I really wish that it had something like a way to manage an extra character per player as a kind of assistant or supporting role- someone that could go do things like buying stuff or visiting an insane investigator. Things where you don't have to have the full inventory and skills of a "main" character.
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11 Jan 2017 14:02 - 11 Jan 2017 14:06 #242237 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Eldritch Horror MEGATHREAD
That would be a great cludge, I like the idea. Managing more than 2 characters myself in a solo game is a bit of a drag. Like, I'm not even sure your win percentage with just 2 is lower, it's more that the things that trip you up are frustrating rather than fun impediments.

I have all three small boxes and I'm very happy with it as a full product. In fact, I'd recommend it over getting any big box expansions, personally. EH is one of FFG's better designs, I feel like they did a thorough job playtesting it. I'll use your word, it's very editorial re: what people want in a more detailed adventure game. It removes a lot of details that mainly generate overhead from AH---even just making spells cool and making sure everything has cause/effect mechanisms is great. I still think AH has its own charms, but it's definitely not a new school design.
Last edit: 11 Jan 2017 14:06 by Gary Sax.

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11 Jan 2017 14:11 #242238 by Shellhead
Until recently, I haven't paid much attention to Eldritch Horror. Aside from the lengthy set-up/take-down, my friends and I have always been happy with Arkham Horror. I've always been open to trying Eldritch Horror, but only one of my friends has it, and it tends to sit on the shelf at home. Also, I haven't liked what I've read about travel hassles in EH, or the sense that there might be too much luck and not enough decision-making in EH, at least compared to AH.

This upcoming Dreamlands expansion has my attention. I have always liked the Dreamlands setting, and once ran an epic adventure there for my rpg group. For a while, I seriously kicked around the idea of making an AH expansion using the Dreamlands and the existing Kingsport board. So if EH is getting a Dreamlands expansion, it looks like I will be getting EH. And the Dreamlands expansion, and Forsaken Lore.
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11 Jan 2017 14:16 #242240 by southernman
I have played it 17 times now since getting it in August, with the three small expansions, and it is as Mike says a great adventure game. It can really sap you some games though as you get badly hit before buffing up or finding a weapon, we have probably lost two thirds of those games but always come back for me.
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11 Jan 2017 16:57 #242248 by jeb
Replied by jeb on topic Eldritch Horror MEGATHREAD

Southernman wrote: I have played it 17 times now since getting it in August, with the three small expansions, and it is as Mike says a great adventure game. It can really sap you some games though as you get badly hit before buffing up or finding a weapon, we have probably lost two thirds of those games but always come back for me.

This is true in a deep way. I can usually tell a couple of rounds in if we are getting totally destroyed, and you can just reboot. Some bad early rolls and you are pretty well fucked.

Does the even-odd #-of-player rounding work in your favor in EH or not?

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11 Jan 2017 17:18 #242249 by southernman

jeb wrote:

Southernman wrote: I have played it 17 times now since getting it in August, with the three small expansions, and it is as Mike says a great adventure game. It can really sap you some games though as you get badly hit before buffing up or finding a weapon, we have probably lost two thirds of those games but always come back for me.

This is true in a deep way. I can usually tell a couple of rounds in if we are getting totally destroyed, and you can just reboot. Some bad early rolls and you are pretty well fucked.

Does the even-odd #-of-player rounding work in your favor in EH or not?


Not that we've noticed, losing and losing badly usually doesn't follow player numbers. We usually call a game when Doom has hit zero and we are no way near finishing the first three mysteries before then having to do the GOO mystery - I think our worst game may have been Doom hitting zero and we had not done any mysteries, also had one or two insta-losses from Mythos rumours we couldn't do in time. And don't even get me going about getting a bad condition (that triggers on a reckoning) and then the very next Mythos has a reckoning so you didn't even get a chance to get rid of it ....... did I say we always come back and play it again !! (must be like women in childbirth, something blanks out the pain of birth from their memories and they go through it again and again).

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11 Jan 2017 17:22 #242250 by Shellhead
Under peer pressure, I played some Euchre in college. Hated it that half the hands would end midway as people started throwing the rest of the cards in. Sounds like EH is sometimes like that, with the game not always worth playing out.

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11 Jan 2017 17:23 - 11 Jan 2017 17:23 #242251 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Eldritch Horror MEGATHREAD
Related, I still hate curses in these games. There are a lot of ways to get them from all kinds of sources and they are CRIPPLING.
Last edit: 11 Jan 2017 17:23 by Gary Sax.

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12 Jan 2017 08:41 - 12 Jan 2017 08:42 #242280 by Columbob
Replied by Columbob on topic Eldritch Horror MEGATHREAD

Southernman wrote: (must be like women in childbirth, something blanks out the pain of birth from their memories and they go through it again and again).


What's a few hours of pain compared to the thrill of creating life?
Last edit: 12 Jan 2017 08:42 by Columbob.

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12 Jan 2017 13:28 #242312 by southernman

Columbob wrote:

Southernman wrote: (must be like women in childbirth, something blanks out the pain of birth from their memories and they go through it again and again).


What's a few hours of pain compared to the thrill of creating life?


I dare any male to post here that they said this to their partner during her labour ... and then show her the post ! (Pete is excluded)

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12 Jan 2017 14:38 #242317 by Shellhead

Columbob wrote: What's a few hours of pain compared to the thrill of creating life?


Say that in the delivery room, and I predict the shrieking response will be along the lines of "YOU!!! YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!"

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13 Jan 2017 21:42 - 13 Jan 2017 21:59 #242406 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Eldritch Horror MEGATHREAD
Spouse and I played a game today, truly epic. 2 players, 4 investigators is I think the sweet spot. Unfortunately it also means you're tracking just a little more than is comfortable for one player to track since each character will invariably have a lot of conditions and red ticks.

We beat Yig in a royal rumble in Central America with 3 eldritch tokens left on the board. My wife had an artifact on the psychic that did 3 damage to something on the same space as you and a spell on the trumpet player that did 2. Those proved invaluable---we killed a rumor yeti monster with it after Leo ate it in a straight fight and then did a lot of the damage to Yig with it before Mark Harrigan stepped out and did a damage with his special power. Yig was TOUGH.

A couple of observations, I'd love to hear any thoughts from you guys... first is that you really do need to grab a good artifact or couple of key assets in the early game or you are done. The only reason we won is because my wife grabbed the King in Yellow artifact which gave her pretty much permanent +2 for every check while she got crazier and then she also grabbed the curse sphere for another character for another +2 to everyone with an occasional curse. So I think seeking out expedition spaces, gates, etc that get you crazy powerful stuff is totally crucial. The game is hard enough where if you don't get any of that by the midgame I think you're just fucked.

Second, this game shreds characters in a way that AH never did. It's often your best option to just straight up let a character die or go down fighting. If they had something decent you can go pick it up again. If they didn't then who gives a fuck and you can start a new character who may even begin in a more convenient location. I'm agnostic to the decision but it's something you 100% have to know going in and keep in your mindset to play well at all---it also justifies characters throwing so many fewer dice and missing so many more checks. It's all done with the idea that if things go really shitty you die and get another full health character.

Third, I wonder if the designers didn't get too enamored with the condition cards. It is pretty much unavoidable that you're going to be grabbing 1-2 condition cards per character in most rounds. Early days but it feels like just a little bit too much. It's good to feel behind the eight ball but when you have 5 effect triggering on your character who is holding like one item it's just not fun from an overhead perspective. I get that they wanted to highlight their big contribution (and it IS cool) but...

Since we had such a positive game I'll end on a positive note---they have done a truly great job making shit that sucked in AH super fun in EH---spells, tomes, and other mythos lore stuff is now super cool and potentially great/dangerous.
Last edit: 13 Jan 2017 21:59 by Gary Sax.
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14 Jan 2017 06:20 - 14 Jan 2017 06:21 #242411 by southernman

Gary Sax wrote: A couple of observations, I'd love to hear any thoughts from you guys... first is that you really do need to grab a good artifact or couple of key assets in the early game or you are done. The only reason we won is because my wife grabbed the King in Yellow artifact which gave her pretty much permanent +2 for every check while she got crazier and then she also grabbed the curse sphere for another character for another +2 to everyone with an occasional curse. So I think seeking out expedition spaces, gates, etc that get you crazy powerful stuff is totally crucial. The game is hard enough where if you don't get any of that by the midgame I think you're just fucked.


Not just artifacts, which we hardly see, but a decent weapon. We've had the odd game when weapons just did not come up in the available assets for so long that we just had to leave gates alone due to the tough monsters on them (side note: we do semi-random character draws at the start - get two, pick one - so often no one is tooled up to start) and we got so behind ... pretty sure we may have lost them.


Gary Sax wrote: Second, this game shreds characters in a way that AH never did. It's often your best option to just straight up let a character die or go down fighting. If they had something decent you can go pick it up again. If they didn't then who gives a fuck and you can start a new character who may even begin in a more convenient location. I'm agnostic to the decision but it's something you 100% have to know going in and keep in your mindset to play well at all---it also justifies characters throwing so many fewer dice and missing so many more checks. It's all done with the idea that if things go really shitty you die and get another full health character.


I have done this explicitly on one occasion as he was completely nerfed, just sent him into battle and allowed him to get beaten up or go crazy (remember defeated not dead, it's not a nasty game :-) ). I'm assuming you remember Doom goes down by one each time - another time I couldn't do this as Doom was quite low and we weren't doing too badly overall.



Gary Sax wrote: Third, I wonder if the designers didn't get too enamored with the condition cards. It is pretty much unavoidable that you're going to be grabbing 1-2 condition cards per character in most rounds. Early days but it feels like just a little bit too much. It's good to feel behind the eight ball but when you have 5 effect triggering on your character who is holding like one item it's just not fun from an overhead perspective.


Yes, they cam overwhelm some early games. And does it suck when you get Blessed and the Mythos immediately has a Reckoning and you roll and lose it before using it !! The little street urchin is handy for that as she can choose not to have certain conditions (cursed !) and sometimes you get lucky where you might get a condition you already have so no probs.
Last edit: 14 Jan 2017 06:21 by southernman.
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14 Jan 2017 13:51 - 14 Jan 2017 13:52 #242428 by Gary Sax
Replied by Gary Sax on topic Eldritch Horror MEGATHREAD
Yeah, totally agree with everything you said. In particular you should be buying at every stop while you head to clues and targets of opportunity in the first 3-4 turns. It's going to be the only part of the game you have nothing pressing about to lose you the game. So it's so key.

Also, almost every character has seriously good abilities you should be using at ALL times. In some ways, your character dictates your activities because of how limited you're going to be dicewise vs. AH for most tests. So like Leo should be in the wilderness at all times, etc.

Do you use any house rules? Ours are choose characters and the biggest one is no movement order. So we just move characters in any order. It definitely makes the game easier but I like it because it allows more clever combinations and teamwork. We just roll first player randomly whenever it's needed. Makes the game go faster too.
Last edit: 14 Jan 2017 13:52 by Gary Sax.

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