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Here are two short sessions that illustrate how quickly the vagaries of the game can change. In the first, Luke, Minh, Sister Mary and Pete, with his ever-faithful companion, Duke, attempt to prevent his minions from awakening Quachil Uttaus.
As the Feds swarm into Arkham, the first thing they hear is an explosion. Rushing to The Black Cave area, they apprehend a maniac emerging from a gate, which later was determined to lead to City of the Great Race.
Minh feels an unholy presence pursuing her and feels her mind slipping away. She steels her resolve, however, and successfully reads a portion of that horrible Tome she had inherited from her late boss and gains much-needed information in helping to deal with the threat to the world.
Despite being pulled into Dreamlands by another gate opening, she heard rumours that a collection of Profane Relics had been seized. She also feels a strange relief, as though she was no longer in danger. (Reshuffle Dust Deck One). Another maniac emerges to guard this gate and lurk in anticipation of her return. Luke is exhausted from his prolonged slumber, but resists the urge to continue his nap and returns to Arkham. Sister Mary confiscates Petrifying Solution from two students she witnesses marblize a helpless rabbit. Ignoring her urge to pay the students back, she merely slips it into the pocket of her habit.
The investigators become aware of the availability of Alien Technology, but are never able to avail themselves of it, as a second gate to the Dreamlands opens, this one on Unvisited Isle, protected by a zombie.
Sister Mary, characteristically, almost immediately upon being exposed to the real world, falls from grace, but does obtain a Heal spell at the Science Building. Luke successfully closes the gate to City of the Great Race. but as a Wildfire begins to rage, he is transported to Yuggoth.
The maniac slides into the South Side Streets and the zombie crosses the river to begin prowling the Merchant District, where there are sure to be plenty of Braiiiiiiiins. Unfortunately, Sister Mary uses her Cross to destroy it, in order to clear the way for Pete's entrance into Dreamlands, hoping to pass his personal story. Minh traversed Dreamlands without incident and sealed the gate at Historical Society.
Luke has Time and Space Bend around him and he returns to Arkham, still without enough information to seal the gate to Yuggoth.
With the audience in a frenzy of fear and apprehension, the actors decide to continue Act I, which succeeds in driving Editor Doyle Jeffries insane and causing wide-spread rioting in the streets.
Minh decides to break up the riots on the South Side, the maniac having moved into French Hill, and lights her stick of dynamite. Far from being a demolition expert, it explodes prematurely, blowing off her hand.
Far from being a doctor, either, she's pretty sure she has more than just a Broken Hand.
Luke closes the gate to Yuggoth, after first defeating the MiGo that had emerged when the gate opened, and was rewarded with a Map of the Mind.
The police are bewildered and more than a little irate at all of the reports of Strange Sights, as an Elder Thing, Star Spawn, Dark Young and eeven a warlock are reported in Arkham. The rioting spreads throughout French Hill, Uptown and Merchant District, but Pete emerges from the Other World, seals Unvisited Isle and brings Quachil Uttaus' attempt to rule the world to an abrupt end.
This is only the third time I've won with no gates open and four in possession, and the other two involved Akachi Onleye, with Harvey getting the fourth close/seal, in back-to-back games.
Almost immediately, the investigators were called upon to deal with the cult followers of Shub Niggurath.
As the First Act of the notorious play King in Yellow continues, Minh begins reading her copy, successfully deciphering enough of it to gain enough information to help her seal any gates that might open in future.
She then gladly accepts a ride to The Black Cave from Cindy Fleming, in order to be centrally located to enter such gates. She is able to copy the runes on the cave wall and learns a Wither spell. Despite the distance, she can still hear the explosion emanating from far off Arkham, as Sister Mary is drawn into Another Dimension while exploring The Witch House, a Star Spawn emerging as she is propelled past it.
The shopkeeper develops a strange type of dementia, which causes him to raise his prices across the board. Assuming it's all part of the hype swirling around the new play in town, no one is much bothered by it; but Richard Pickman does pack his bags and leaves. Pete, on the other hand, never felt better. The odd chanting of the Professor of Alchemy puzzles him, but an even greater feeling overwhelms him, and he is blessed.
Fittingly, the play has caused the theatre to experience a revival, but the investigators are unable to share it, as a second Star Spawn, a witch and two MiGo emerge from the open gate at Witch House.
Minh travels to Unvisited Isle for information she heard might be available there, but as she climbs into her canoe for the return journey, a feeling of dread overcomes her and she is cursed.
As Luke continues exploring The Dreamlands, a horrible shadow falls over him. Willing himself to awaken from the dream he know he must be in, his last thought is that those screams are really his own. Still in Another Dimension, Sister Mary carves the ears and nose off a cultist, thinking what a nice necklace they'll make. Sister Mary is becoming a little loopy, but remains blessed.
The police department, hearing odd reports, decide that they've heard enough a impose a Curfew on the town, one way, they suppose, to keep the crazies under control. They would love nothing better to prevent the citizens from looking out the window and using the telephone, too, but their power just doesn't extend that far. They also order Tommy Muldoon into the streets of Arkham and report as to what's actually happening out there.
A cursed Minh is pulled in to The Great Hall of Celaeno while still sitting in her canoe wondering what had hit her, an Elder Thing emerging. The portal slams shut in her face, however, and she is then Lost in Time and Space, with a piece of the Great Hall in her hands.
The Star Spawns move into French Hill and it is up to Pete to deal with them. He lets Duke run free, which restores his sanity, a surprising result, since he a Duke have been all but inseparable these many years.
He Powders one Star Spawn and then, having acquired Tommy's rifle and blasts the second.
Frantically, the Miskatonic University scientists begin Researching all of the recent Anomalies that have been occurring in Arkham of late.
(At this point, there are six doom tokens, Pete failing his personal story, and only one open gate, at The Witch House, which Sister Mary closes).
Pete enters the Science Building and is introduced to a Carcosan Page by the Alchemy Professor. As they are shaking hands, Pete and the page find themselves on the sidewalk. Shrugging their shoulders at the strange occurrance, they turn their backs on the Science Building a proceed to continue Pete's investigations together.
A second Elder Thing appears, this one as a gate to Great Hall of Celaeno opens in The Grave Yard, as the investigators resolve to Conquer Death. Pete hands the rifle to The Page and sends him to Sister Mary to deal with the witch and both MiGo. He then visits Arkham Asylum for treatment. She wastes the MiGo (Cabal of Saboth and Book of the Believer, but is knocked out by the witch, as a result of the improved toughness provided by Shub, suffering a Head Wound in the process. She does pass her personal story, however, as Minh returns to Arkham at South Church and uses the proof of the Other World's existence to have Father Michael exorcise her.
As it becomes clear that the streets are becoming impassable, Sister Mary sends the rifle back to Pete via The Page. He attacks the Elder Thing at Grave Yard. Once again, the improved toughness prevents Pete from killing it outright and he is forced to fire three more rounds, carefully aimed, before eliminating it. He is no longer able to seal the gate, he was wishing to enter and was hoping to collect more information during his sojourn.
Minh fared no better at Unvisited Isle. The scientists in Arkham in 1926 were, perhaps, seventy years before their time, having developed a synthetic hand that performed exactly in accordance with the real thing.
Mihn had learned much in her first experiment with dynamite, cut the fuse properly, but the thickened hide of the second Elder Thing prevented its immediate destruction. She also had to use too much additional information to destroy it and would not be able to seal, either.
The Night was The Blackest in the memory of any Arkham citizen, but the explosion was such that no gate had to be seen to know there was now one at Black Cave. It was the zombie that couldn't be seen, lurking, waiting for its next victim. Tommy slips into Yuggoth, but as Pete looks into a strange and distorted mirror in The Great Hall of Celaeno, they discover they've switched places. A vortex sweeps Minh off her feet and she finds herself in the familiar surroundings of being Lost in Time and Space.
As another gate opens, this one at Independence Square, Brawling erupts
In The Streets. Pete successfully prevents an alien mind from entering his body and is able to finally seal a gate, but it's for naught. The tattered King is rumoured to be abroad, and that is enough to awaken Shub Niggurath. Without proper weapons, Arkham and the world are doomed.
Brian
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