I couldn't make out the expansion symbol well enough to re-create it for the AO sheets.

RocksLikeToast said:

Cthulhu isn't merely new art. "New-thulhu" does everything he used to, except that he has two new abilities: Cultists are aquatic movement-type, and if someone runs out of sanity/stamina, his maximum sanity/stamina is reduced by 1.

Tibs said:

Don't forget that Cthulhu (allegedly) has a daughter, too! Cthylla is her name, I believe. What a twist!

EcnoTheNeato said:

Wow, never knew that... I wonder if Cthulhu is a nice dad.

Tibs:
Cthulhu isn't merely new art. "New-thulhu" does everything he used to, except that he has two new abilities: Cultists are aquatic movement-type, and if someone runs out of sanity/stamina, his maximum sanity/stamina is reduced by 1.

The latter ability is a killer, especially for the investigators which would normally start with 3 max sanity or stamina. Not only do they start with just two as before, it only take two trips to the asylyum/hospital to devour. Start with one strike, two more and you're out!

mi-go hunter said:

Probs not. Apparently he keeps her cooped up in an ancient temple somewhere, so she can't go out, and is guarded by monsters so no one can get in. The cultists say it's because she's vital for Cthulhu's return to this realm, but we ALL know it's so she doesn't go gallivanting with boys...She can't even sneak out the windows, because there are none!

Tibs said:

Hmm...  This kind of gave me an idea.

Could you guys think of extra abilities and effects that you'd like to tag on to other already existing Ancient Ones to amplify them thematically or in terms of difficulty?

Avi_dreader said:

It would be nice having Yog-Sothoth with an ability similar to Daoloth power to switch gate markers on monster surges. This will increase drastically the number of investigators LiTaS. Also, for Yib, as per Tibs league scenario 1, Serpent people do add doomers. Possibly an extended doom track (13) but with the poisonous bite ability of your league Scenario 6. Giving Shub the ability to spawn more Dark young into play (upon monster surges? every time a monster surge happens, place a Dark youn on every open gate, making them not counting against the monster limit). Just a couple of ideas, nothing more

Well, the Serpent People are actually serpents of Yoth, who had forsaken Yig long ago. Yig no longer offers them his protection, so a doom token should not be added. Not that anyone bothers to kill Serpent People anyway.

I don't know if any other AOs need too big of a boost. Maybe Nyar's attack should bite 2 clues instead of 1. Hastur needs a "start of battle" ability like raising the terror level by 2 or making everyone lose a sanity.

As for the question "is Cthulhu a good dad"... well, you could judge that by how his kids turned out. Let's go ask... GHATANOTHOA!

Tibs said:

It's not a question of *need* it's a question of just throwing some stuff on to add to thematic fun or game difficulty (so you can play some tougher investigators without feeling guilty).

Anyhoo, I just posted mods for all the expansion AOs in the fan creation section (since I'd already done it for the base game AOs months ago).

Neat stuff.  I like the Daoloth stuff...sounds quite evil, especially the bit about removing explored icons after the monster surge.  I've liked the concept of Daoloth ever since I saw this neat Call of Cthulhu plot for him that involved a heck of a lot of odd glitches in time and space.

This Strange Eons thing...that's for making custom content?  Very cool.  Don't think I'm anywhere near needing that yet, but I'm very impressed that Arkham Horror has such a utility available.

Also, thank you all for the mental image of Cthulhu telling some kid to make sure to have his little girl home by 11.

Avi_dreader said:

Nyogtha – If the first encounter that an investigator draws at an unstable location does not automatically result in a monster appearing, the investigator discards it and draws again. (Darrell applies this rule to both cards that he draws.)

Y’Golonac – When an investigator draws a Tome, he draws a corruption card in addition to adding a doom token to the doom track

Yib-tstll – Always use the Tulzscha herald.  In addition, Cultists have the Moon, Circle, or Hexagon symbol (in that order) for purposes of movement.

Yig – When an investigator is knocked unconscious or goes insane, he is Cursed.

I like your Y'Golonac and Yig abilities, as they are more thematic. But the Nyogtha ability seems like it's just to make Nyogtha harder.

The Yibb ability I don't like at all, particularly for its "always use ___ herald" ability. Heralds should be as mix-and-match as possible.

Tibs said:

Thanks!

Tibs said:

Yep, that's what it's for.  I'd argue that it makes Nyogtha more thematic, since you actually get to see the ol' tendril once in while.  But it's more of an augmentation of an existing rule than a new rule.  

Tibs said:

I personally don't mix and match heralds much.  I use them to augment certain Ancient Ones.  For example, I almost always combine the Black Goat with Shub.  But I could see how people who mix and match wouldn't like this ability.  The thematic rationale is that Yibb is all-seeing, and can therefore direct her cultists to the nasty Elder Signs.

What I really want to see is a modification to Nyarlathotep. Right now, the "Crawling Chaos" is one of the weakest AOs, and that seems a little wrong. Actually, all the base games AOS need to be beefed up (other than Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth).

Last game played against Nyarlathotep was so easy, it was laughable. The only Mask monster that popped up in the game was the Wailing Writher, which mainly just sat there and wailed, no chance against an investigator with the Disguise skill.

I went through the trouble of creating (and/or swiping) a whole bunch of new Mask monsters and making chits for them.  I also created a bunch of "advanced cultists" who serve Nyarlathotep and who have infiltrated the Police Station, University, Hospital, etc.  It was a lot of work, but Nyarlathotep is now one of the harder AOs and probably the most interesting.

A sample Mask monster is Hecate, the Thousand-Faced Moon

Evade -2, Horror -3, Horror Damage 2, Combat -4, Combat Damage 2, Toughness 3.  Physical Immunity.  Whenever a spell or magic weapon is used against Hecate, it is discarded and a new one is drawn at the end of the combat round.

A sample undercover cultists is Cultist (Cop)

Evade -1 (elusive), no Horror check, Combat -1, Combat Damage 2, Toughness 1.  Place cultist at the police station.  When it moves, return it to the box and add a doom token to the doom track.  Before making a combat check against the cultist, you must pass a Luck -2 check or you are arrested. 

I got most of them off the old forums, though a few are my own creation.