After some deliberation, I decided upon Arkham Horror, for the following reasons:
- It's a classic, which people may have already heard of
- Being co-op means I don't have to worry about infosec in the first play-by-post game I've run in quite some time
- There's a VASSAL module, which makes keeping track of game state super easy
- I think we can all agree that shooting monstrosities that are supposed to greatly outclass human beings with a shotgun and winning is cool
Registration is first come first serve, up to 8 players or whenever I check the thread on Monday. If you have preferences about which character you'd like to play or which Ancient One you would like to confront, state them and I will attempt to fulfill them. Otherwise, characters and the Ancient One will be drawn randomly. Please try to be able to check the thread at least once per 48 hours if you're going to register. To help speed the game along when a sequence of moves is obvious, you can state your actions ahead of turn (including conditional orders such as "If the player before me succeeds in defeating that monster, go through the path opened, otherwise go somewhere else"), but this will not be mandatory.
Characters available (the Personal Story cards in the linked articles are not in play, but all the other information is relevant if you want more detail about the character; "Average" means 5 Sanity/Stamina, 2 Focus, and a range of 1-4 on slider-based stats):
- Vincent Lee, the Doctor: Can restore 1 Stamina to himself or another character in the same location each Upkeep. Has above-average Sneak and Lore and below-average Speed and Fight. Notable starting possessions include $9, tied for the second highest starting money in the game, and a clue.
- Sister Mary, the Nun: Cannot become Lost in Time and Space, but instead returns to the appropriate location in Arkham for her stamina and sanity levels immediately. Has greatly above average Luck and Sanity, below average Fight and Focus, and greatly below average Stamina. Notable starting possessions include $0 and a Blessing, which makes each die in a skill check have a 1 in 2 chance of success instead of 1 in 3 for as long as it lasts.
- Monterey Jack, the Archaeologist: Has some control over which Unique Items he gets. Has greatly above average Stamina, above average Fight and Luck, below average Sneak and Will, and greatly below average Sanity. Notable starting possessions include a Bull Whip and .38 Revolver, decent physical weapons, and two Unique Items (actually three and he discards one, due to his ability).
- Michael McGlen, the Gangster: Reduces all Stamina losses he suffers by 1. Has greatly above average Stamina and Fight, above average Speed, below average Lore, Luck, and Focus, and greatly below average Sanity. Notable starting possessions include a Tommy Gun, a powerful physical weapon.
- Mandy Thompson, the Researcher: Can re-roll all failed dice from one skill roll made by any investigator once per turn. Has above average Sneak and Will, and below average Fight and Luck. Notable starting possessions include 4 clues.
- Kate Winthrop, the Scientist: Nullifies gates and monsters that try to appear in her location with the power of SCIENCE! Has above average Sanity, Sneak, and Lore, and below average Will, Stamina, and Focus. Notable starting possessions include 2 clues, one of which would have been placed in her starting location at the beginning of the game otherwise.
- Joe Diamond, the Private Eye: Spending a clue token gives him one more bonus die than normal on any skill check. Has greatly above average Speed, above average Stamina, Fight, and Focus, and below average Will, Lore, Luck, and Sanity. Notable starting possessions include 3 clues and a .45 automatic, a decent physical weapon.
- Jenny Barnes, the Dilettante: Gains $1 each upkeep. Has above average Sanity, Will, and Luck, and below average Stamina, Speed, and Focus. Notable starting possessions include $10, the highest starting money in the game.
- Harvey Walters, the Professor: Reduces all Sanity losses he suffers by 1. Has greatly above average Sanity and Lore, above average Sneak, below average Speed, Fight, and Will, and greatly below average Stamina. Notable starting possessions include a clue and two Unique Items.
- Gloria Goldberg, the Author: Has some control over which Encounters she faces in Other Worlds. Has above average Sanity, Will, and Luck, and below average Stamina, Sneak, and Fight. Notable starting possessions include 2 clues.
- Dexter Drake, the Magician: Has some control over which Spells he gets. Has above average Speed and Lore, and below average Will and Luck. Notable starting possessions include the Shrivelling spell, which helps with combat, and two other Spells of his choice out of three.
- Darrell Simmons, the Photographer: Has some control over which Encounters he faces in Arkham. Has above average Stamina, Speed, and Fight, and below average Sanity, Sneak, and Lore. Notable starting possessions include a clue, a Retainer, which pays him $2 each upkeep for as long as it lasts, and two Unique Items.
- Carolyn Fern, the Psychologist: Can restore 1 Sanity to herself or another character in the same location each Upkeep. Has above average Sanity, Lore, and Luck, and below average Stamina, Speed, and Sneak. Notable starting possessions include a clue and two Unique Items.
- Bob Jenkins, the Salesman: Has some control over which Common Items he gets. Has greatly above average Will, above average Stamina and Speed, and below average Sneak, Lore, and Focus. Notable starting possessions include $9, tied for the second highest starting money in the game, and two Unique Items.
- "Ashcan" Pete, the Drifter: May look at the bottom of the Common Item, Unique Item, and Spell decks at any time, and may draw from the bottom of these decks instead of the top (the bottom of the deck will, except at the start of the game, be the last item of that type discarded). Has greatly above average Sneak, above average Stamina, Fight, and Will, and below average Sanity, Speed, Lore, Luck, and Focus. Notable starting possessions include only $1, 3 clues, and his dog Duke, who grants +1 maximum Sanity (bringing his Sanity to average levels) and can be discarded to immediately restore Sanity to maximum.
- Amanda Sharpe, the Student: Has some control over which Skills she gets. Has above average Focus and otherwise entirely average stats. Notable starting possessions include only $1, 1 clue, and two Skills (which of course, means she draws three and discards one due to her ability).
- Azathoth: 14 doom tokens. Maniacs have +1 toughness. Ends the game immediately in a loss instead of having a final confrontation if he awakens. Probably the simplest, for that reason.
- Cthulhu: 13 doom tokens. Investigators have their maximum Sanity and Stamina reduced by 1. Cultists require a Horror check. Is really hard to remember how to spell the name of.
- Hastur: 13 doom tokens. Gates cost 8 clues to seal instead of 5. Cultists fly. In some stories, you're not supposed to say his name.
- Ithaqua: 11 doom tokens. Investigators in the street during the Mythos phase lose 1 Stamina, and the weather cannot change. Cultists have +2 toughness. Expect ice puns.
- Nyarlathotep: 11 doom tokens. Adds 5 special monsters to the monster cup to be randomly drawn during the game. Cultists are Endless, and so cannot be claimed as trophies when defeated. Is the main character of an anime where she is an adorable but occasionally creepy alien.
- Shub-Niggurath: 12 doom tokens. Increases the Toughness of all monsters by 1. Dark Young are Endless, and so cannot be claimed as trophies when defeated. Is an excellent example of moms being tough.
- Yig: 10 doom tokens. Gains a doom token whenever a Cultist is defeated or an investigator is Lost in Time and Space. Cultists are stronger and deal more damage. Is, famously, probably easier to defeat in combat than to prevent from awakening.
- Yog-Sothoth: 12 doom tokens. Increases the difficulty of closing gates by 1, and immediately Devours any investigator Lost in Time and Space. Cultists are stronger and have Magic Immunity. I have nothing to say about him.
