Custom Investigators and Investigator Cards

Here are my first two goes at some homemade investigators - all comments welcome

Devon

Edited

Scream for Jeeves!!! Shouldn't Bertie have more than $5 and start the game with a Retainer. He wasn't exactly poor in the books.

One day I think I'll have a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen style game against Dracula. I wonder who'll get to play William Brown, Bulldog Drummond, Biggles or Tarzan.

Greetings to the group. I'd like to thank all those people who have taken the time to create new characters, et.al. for Arkham Horror, and to Strange Eons for their great tool. I love having the variety - it keeps me on my feet.

I'd like to post my group's comments on the new investigators as we play them. Many are laminated and ready for action!

Soon To Be Gesundheit wrote:
I'd like to post my group's comments on the new investigators as we play them. Many are laminated and ready for action!

You're my hero!

Our game last night was an easy victory (I mean, as easy as they come) against a custom Ancient One, Eihort. Unfortunately, his effects were not felt at all and the doom track was so long it was just like fighting Azatoth. Bright side: This really let us focus on the Investigators.

Harold Bryant, the Mage (posted by Amdon)

Basically, this was a great addition to Arkham! I am adding him to the Investigator deck full time.

I have an expectation that the characters in AH are these hapless, ignorant, ordinary folks who have simply stumbled onto something so huge that it can't even be realized. One that is a mage seems a little too extraordinary. The Great Drake is in the same boat, but I suppose he seems a little more like the cheesy prestidigitator that you find on the street of a big city.

Still, play with Harold was really fun, and his special ability to reduce spell costs by 1 sanity seems very natural to the game, like it should have been their all along. Fixed and random possessions all make sense. I would suggest raising his speed by 1 at the cost of either a point of focus or will.

Herbert West, the Reanimator (posted by Istvan_the_Dragon)

Beyond the feeling Herbert brings to the game, my group agreed he didn't really earn his spurs.

This use of a "celebrity" character strays from the norm, but I couldn't help myself trying him out. Actually, my wife did (darn it).

His stats are very average, but they seem alright. The Animating Solution is a fun unique item, though I would have thought it would work by adding the trophy's combat damage to your own combat check. Maybe after that, you have to evade or combat the monster you reanimated as it turns on you, but not taking it as a trophy the second time around. I like your idea of using them for an evade check as well.

My wife liked the ability to dig up monster trophies in the graveyard, although she was more interested in converting them into clues, and never used the Animating Solution. I think 1 stamina is a fair price to pay to dig up a body, but I also think 1 sanity is a little steep to use the Animating Solution for what could be a +1 bonus to an evade or combat check once a turn. How about paying 1 movement point instead?

Reginald Atwater, the Antiquarian (Strange Eons)

Generally, we all liked having Reginald as an Investigator. He'll get another try at bat, as we didn't fully utilize him this time.

This character got me into just the right frame of mind for AH with a good Story So Far. He is a great fit in an HPL world, though I found his story so far a tad uncompelling.

The stats were fine. One comment was that a lousy speed should be avoided unless you're playing an invalid that it would be expected from. Maybe increase by 1, taking from focus, will or luck. Reginald's special abilities seem quite good, although we didn't have him reading too much during our game.

Gordon J. Pattison, the Treasury Agent (Strange Eons)

After a little time getting used to a government official saving the world (I started thinking about Kent Mansley from The Iron Giant), we felt Gordon is a great addition to the Investigator pile.

This is an interesting character for the game - not exactly what I'd call a Lovecraftian occupation, but I had a good time with him and a fresh angle on the game.

His starting possession and stats are fine, and the Call in the Feds special ability is great - not only for stripping the streets of monsters, but also for ignoring the special text of the Mythos card drawn. Could the instructions include those from the Feds Raid Arkham card, instead of just referring to it?

Thanks again to the creators! We have another game tonight (I'm playing Juicy!)

One idea for an Investigator I had was a misanthrope who gets a reward everytime a bad thing happens to another investigator or ally.
For example, assuming for the sake of argument the character is called Clive, something like this:
"Every time another Investigator is knocked out, Clive gains 2 Stamina. Every time another Investigator goes insane, Clive gains 2 Sanity. Every time another Investigator is devoured, Clive gains 2 Clue Tokens. Ever time an ally is discarded, Clive gains $2."

Another idea I had was for the Witch.
Something like: "While The Witch is at the Witch House, gates and monsters may not appear there. If The Witch is not in an Other World, she may spend all her movement points to immediately move to the Witch House regardless of distance and any monsters in the Way. Instead of having an encounter at the Witch House, The Witch may gain 1 Sanity or 1 Stamina."

My last idea (for now *g*) is for a Sniper. Have him start with The Rifle and give him this text:
"After The Sniper stops moving, you may exhaust a two handed physical weapon he is carrying and target a monster in an adjacent street. Roll a number of dice equal to the weapon's combat bonus. If you roll more successes than the monsters toughness, return the monster to the cup. This does not count as a skill check."

Whaddya all reckon?

Hi Stenun. I see you like the darker side of the Investigators. I'm generally into cooperative play with "good guys", so witches and misanthropes don't attract me. That aside, let's see if I've got any useful comments.

Stenun wrote:One idea for an Investigator I had was a misanthrope who gets a reward everytime a bad thing happens to another investigator or ally.

It's a good thing you can't attack the other investigators directly, but I can picture this guy closing gates with people still inside just to get a couple of clues. I'd say this is a monster, not an investigator.

Stenun wrote:Another idea I had was for the Witch.

That's interesting, tying the witch to the Witch House. Try one ability related to the location, and one to make the character more of a "witch" - monster trophy toughness insteady of sanity to cast spells or something. Again - this seems more like someone I'd feed buckshot to, and not an investigator.

Stenun wrote:My last idea (for now *g*) is for a Sniper. Have him start with The Rifle

Hmm. Sniping with the two-handed option of the axe? Or a shotgun? You better restrict this to just the rifle, and even then, this seems like it should be a special common item that only the sniper can use for distance attacks. I think he needs a penalty to even him out, like adjacent monsters become stalkers, and always prefer him. That'll teach him for missing! Also maybe flying monsters outside and hounds inside, or something. I think he could hit a street from a location.

Although this one doesn't seem evil, he also doesn't seem like much of a Lovecraft character. I'm sure you could write up a Story So Far that ties him in, though.

Stenun wrote:
Another idea I had was for the Witch.
Something like: "While The Witch is at the Witch House, gates and monsters may not appear there. If The Witch is not in an Other World, she may spend all her movement points to immediately move to the Witch House regardless of distance and any monsters in the Way. Instead of having an encounter at the Witch House, The Witch may gain 1 Sanity or 1 Stamina."

speaking of Witches, has anyone made a Keziah Mason Monster/Herald/Ally/Encounter/Whatever card? After all; she supposedly still visits the Witch House (and the 'Unvisited' Isle) to wreak havoc in people's dreams and sacrifice children to Nyarlathotep.

Read Lovecraft's 'The dreams in the Witch House' if you've no idea what I'm talking about.

5 hours on that last game, barely making it out alive! We fought Yig with the customer herald, Quetzalcoatl. Just too nasty!

Robert E. Howard, the Adventure Author (posted by Istvan_the_Dragon)

My group seemed to enjoy Robert well enough, though none of us knew to start that he was based on a real writer!

Some celebrity characters enhance the mood of the game, but I thought this one was a bit of a bubble-burster, drawing attention to the fact none of this is real. I do have to say that he seems pretty will made, though - balanced and good to play. To halt further blasphemy, I'll be shelving Robert.

For his Amateur Boxer ability, is he supposed to have one hand free? Does it work with an axe and a handgun?

Smith Morgan, the Big Game Hunter (Strange Eons)

Although Smith's "invisibility" to monsters is the only thing that saved us from horrible death, we felt he was overpowered.

His lack of a Story So Far left us wondering what brought him to Arkham to hunt the unpronounceable. Despite his ridiculously high Will and Fight and starting with the carbine rifle, he didn't enter combat once, instead just auto-evading everything in site. I felt that made light of the horrors that lurk in the dark. A bonus to evade checks would be better. Fight (and Will) could drop a point, putting it on Sneak (and Focus).

George Johnson, the Farmer (Strange Eons)

This Investigator was a fine addition to the team, and we'll be keeping him around despite some oddities.

Farmers are the topic of several HPL stories, so it was no trouble weaving George into the story. I question the need for 11 points of sanity and stamina, but I understand that's his "cool thing". I figure an stubborn old guy would have a low Focus, which could go to a higher Sneak and Fight. Starting possessions were good, but that scythe is crazy powerful. It's the same as a rifle. A +3 (like a two-handed axe) or +4 at the most would be appropriate.

His abilities are neat - Frugal and Stubborn - though you don't need to include Horror checks in the Stubborn description.

"Juicy" Olive, the Prostitute (posted by Geki)

Juicy is a luscious addition to my Investigator deck, and brought humour to the entire game. Seriously, we were doing "whore" checks the whole night instead of "horror". And starting at Ma's with Smith Morgan (who had food and whisky to wine and dine her) was priceless.

Her Story So Far could bring her to the precipice of the supernatural world. Fixed Possessions are great; I'm not sure why 2 Unique Items for Random with such a mundane life. We figured a client left these with her as he plunged out a window, screaming.

The abilities seem fine; I thought Seduction was going to be too much, but since the ally encounters are rare and she can't just go to Ma's and pick one up for 2 clue tokens, it worked out well.

Soon To Be Gesundheit wrote:
Smith Morgan, the Big Game Hunter

Huh? That wasn't supposed to be in there. The reason he has no background is that he was never finished! There are only supposed to be 8 investigators in that .zip file. I started off developing 7 or 8 in parallel (plus the 2 already existing example investigators from SE) and kept the 6 that were working out the best.

George Johnson, the Farmer
This Investigator was a fine addition to the team, and we'll be keeping him around despite some oddities.

Farmers are the topic of several HPL stories, so it was no trouble weaving George into the story. I question the need for 11 points of sanity and stamina, but I understand that's his "cool thing".

The extra point of Sanity is paid for; he takes fewer possessions as a result. Though if you mean storywise, for me it fits with the farmers I have met (the good ones anyway), and also with those presented in HPL's work. Although HPL's intellectual protagonists often derided unnamed farmers as "rustics", the ones that were actually named had a toughness and common sense (and yes, a certain ignorance) that were advantageous when confronting the mythos. (Consider Ammi Pierce in this regard.)

I figure an stubborn old guy would have a low Focus, which could go to a higher Sneak and Fight.

His skills are chosen quite intentionally to match with his special ability, especially his Fight, as this acts as a strategic counterbalance to maximizing his will for his special ability. The high focus that results from the relatively low skills reflects his work ethic and range of experience (compare to Wilson in the DH crew).

Starting possessions were good, but that scythe is crazy powerful. It's the same as a rifle. A +3 (like a two-handed axe) or +4 at the most would be appropriate.

I'm not sure if you are saying that you think the bonus on the scythe is too high for a scythe, or that it is too powerful as a starting weapon. Although powerful, it is not as powerful as the starting items of some other (official) investigators. As for the bonus, a scythe has long reach and can generate incredible force due to leverage. They were also kept incredibly sharp; farmers sharpened them daily. But if it works for you, you can always reduce the bonus. For each +1 you knock off, he should start with an extra $1 in starting money.

His abilities are neat - Frugal and Stubborn - though you don't need to include Horror checks in the Stubborn description.

In the ability description, I seem to recall there being a reason why I included Horror checks, though I can't remember what it was now. Probably I thought that since I was making it clear that special checks (such as Spell checks) were included, it would look odd if I left out Horror checks and some people might be led to believe that they were excluded.

Thanks for the feedback.

Cheers,
Chris

Soon To Be Gesundheit wrote:It's a good thing you can't attack the other investigators directly, but I can picture this guy closing gates with people still inside just to get a couple of clues. I'd say this is a monster, not an investigator.

To be honest, I don't know how you guys play but if I hopped through an open gate and another Investigator came through a turn or two later (which is the only way you could close a gate in an Investigator) I'd consider that a colossal waste of resources. The guy who gets sealed up deserves what they get; why aren't they going for a different gate and then you can shut two instead of one?

Anyway, this might be a good tactic to get the Clue Tokens necessary to seal the game ...

Soon To Be Gesundheit wrote:Hmm. Sniping with the two-handed option of the axe? Or a shotgun? You better restrict this to just the rifle, and even then, this seems like it should be a special common item that only the sniper can use for distance attacks. I think he needs a penalty to even him out, like adjacent monsters become stalkers, and always prefer him. That'll teach him for missing! Also maybe flying monsters outside and hounds inside, or something. I think he could hit a street from a location.

Although this one doesn't seem evil, he also doesn't seem like much of a Lovecraft character. I'm sure you could write up a Story So Far that ties him in, though.

But is the axe a two-handed weapon? It doesn't have two hands in the bottom left hand corner and gives a bonus if the other hand is empty (if I remember correctly, or am I thinking of a different weapon?) so I don't see how it can qualify as two-handed.
Sniping with a shotgun is not possible in real life, true. But then again nor is one person going around with a Sedanette and a Patrol Wagon at the same time but there's nothing stopping that happening within the game *g*. I think allowing the Shotgun to be used as a sniping weapon can come under "artistic license", surely?

I like the idea of that penalty though ... thanks ...

I'm no good with artwork so I've used the basic picture as provided with Strange Eons.

I realise this Investigator is not going to be everyone's cup of tea but I figure the element of a traitor Investigator has already been introduced with the creation of the card Joining The Winning Team. So why not take that one step further ... ?

Stenun wrote:I'd consider that a colossal waste of resources.

Yes, but for a misanthrope, wasting resources for the others is a good thing. One who hates humanity certainly wouldn't want anyone to save it.

Just trying to be funny. If you're asking, though, I can think of situations where shutting a gate on someone wouldn't even be a colossal waste. I almost did it today!

Stenun wrote:But is the axe a two-handed weapon?

I was just bringing up the idea of limiting the weapons that can be used to snipe. You are right about the axe, it was a bad example (requiring an empty hand for the +3 option, but not technically two handed), but this is still a hole that can be plugged early on. Who knows what other expansions will bring? Strange Eons uses a two-handed scythe. And I'm not sure if you want people using sniper dynamite.

Stenun wrote:I like the idea of that penalty though ... thanks ...

Happy if I can help. I'm starting to think of some new investigators, too, which I hope I can get feedback for when I'm ready.

My last game was just me and my wife out on a weekend excursion. We still played with 4 Investigators, as playing with 2 has proven to be overwhelming.

Lillie Howard, the Actress (posted by Amdon)

The Story So Far brings Lillie believably into the game. We had fun with her, and will be keeping her around.

I'm not sure if her Playing the Part ability can be used with just the base AH game, and the Classic Beauty ability is only useful in a few encounters. Because of this, I thought she was a tad underpowered, but then again I think the same way about many of the original 16 investigators.

Damaris Drake, Sideshow Illusionist (posted by MillMaster)

Damaris is a spell-casting dynamo; a bit too much so, we thought, compared to the other investigators.

Is she any relation to the Great Drake? Her Rummage ability is similar to his Magical Gift. In addition, she has the Impart Energy ability to stockpile additional magic points which made sanity costs for spells a forgotten hinderance. She kicks tail! We thought she'd be more even without Rummage and with a cap on the Impart Energy freebies (like 3, or never more than her current sanity).

Annie Patterson, the Flapper (posted by DrGrant)

I played Annie, and I loved her. She has a lot of character, and I'd recommend her for your Investigator deck.

Right off the bat, she got hit by a gate at Hibb's - it completely played along with the Story So Far, which ends with, "...and what would happen if she reached through the image in the box." I guess she stuck in a finger and got her answer! After returning, she found the guy who gave her the box (the Cultist released by the gate) and beat the ever-living tar out of him. =)

Her Charismatic ability seems very powerful - I wouldn't say overpowered.

Amelia Bryant, the Artist (Strange Eons by Thelric)

We both enjoyed having Amelia in the game, having a very strong tie to HPL's works without resorting to playing a celebrity investigator.

She seemed quite balanced, even with the powerful Local Following, which allows her to recruit allies from Ma's at half price. She can even use clue tokens if she needs to, at 2 clues = 1 monster toughness. I'm glad to see that exchange rate, which makes this expensive option more of a last resort.

It was a little odd playing with all these ally-attracting characters, and I wouldn't recommend playing her at the same time as Annie, and possibly Lillie and Juicy.

<Posted these on BGG to mixed reviews, lemme know what you think . . .>

Ever read the text on the back of a character sheet and thought - 'nice, now what does that have to do with the actual game?' This is a feeble attempt to tie that back story into the actual gameplay, these missions should be handed out to the relevant characters before gameplay begins . . .

There is one for each official character published so far, more will follow for Holmes, Bruce Wayne, G'Yar and co. Yes, there are only three locations for each mission, this is to make them actually achievable. And where the rewards are great, the sacrifices are too. Although, as always feedback is cool.

Or here're the links if the images don't work for you:

http://bp2.blogger.com/_OP5KjARxU8A/SB24S4W48VI/AAAAAAAAAAk/INMOkOqptWY/s1600-h/Missions+1.jpg

http://bp0.blogger.com/_OP5KjARxU8A/SB24TYW48WI/AAAAAAAAAAs/hVw2CgNot8w/s1600-h/Missions+2.jpg

Yeah, the layout is a bit shoddy and I couldn't get the Unique Item card backs out of Strange Eons.

But thanks as always to Thelric for his awesome program!