by Sandy Petersen | Dec 2, 2017 | BLOG, Design Corner, Evil High Priest, Sandy's Design Corner | 1210 Views
New Priest: Simon Orne
Simon Orne is from The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and is one of Joseph Curwen’s sorcerous associates. He has been around a long time, and is known to be a man of wealth. If you are playing as him for your priest, you have the ability to “call in your markers” and suddenly gain wealth.
Basically, when you activate Simon Orne, you fill all empty slots in your sanctum with treasure. This of course doesn’t count your Exposed Resources (which is limitless – get real). Of course as with many priests, you’ll want to pave the way for this boon. Getting the Pit Trap makes sense for example (it can hold 4 cash!), and maybe a closet or two at the end of your map. Anyway, usually you can’t have a completely empty sanctum when you activate Simon (if you are, you are doing something wrong), but this can certainly pay off big time.
How to use all that cash?
The easy answer is, “Spend it at Aylesbury” which gives you 2 Spellbooks for 10 treasure.
The more complex answer is “go nuts with a bunch of Rituals”. It almost doesn’t matter which rituals you do – they’re all good. Just plop down your guys willy-nilly. Of course, this means you won’t have much to do next turn, but at least you’ll have a LOT of loot. You may want to use your priest to chant on the next turn, so you can rearrange your treasure in your sanctum and try to keep it safe from investigators.
New Investigator: The Vampire!
Yeah I know, “Isn’t a vampire a monster? Why isn’t it on our side?” Well, after all, those other players are honest-to-goodness cultists, yet THEY’RE not on your side! Incidentally, Lovecraft absolutely wrote about vampires. In The Case of Charles Dexter Ward the evil wizards all drink blood. His tale The Shunned House is about a vampire, though a really creepy and unconventional one that feeds off general health, both mental & physical, rather than blood. Also in his poem Psychopompos, werewolves make an appearance, and the Dame Du Blois is apparently a were-serpent, and possibly vampiric.
Regardless, here is OUR vampire, and he is a threat to you the players, though also an opportunity.
The Vampire’s Opportunity
The Vampire basically presents you with a chance to completely avoid the entire attack – if you discard 4 blood, you are ignored.
Of course, 4 blood is also 4 VPs, but many attacks (especially late-game) can destroy more VPs than this. For example, in the very last attack of the Watcher gameplay video, Andrew Lucio loses 2 VPs by losing a Magic, and also loses enough cash that he has to share the 5 VP “most treasure” bonus with Lincoln. Giving up 4 blood would have been well worth it for him.
You can think of the vampire as basically extorting you for food. Pay up, and get ignored. Of course you have to HAVE the blood available in the first place, but if you see the Vampire show up on the Investigator track, it’s not hard to make preparations.
by Sandy Petersen | Dec 1, 2017 | BLOG, Design Corner, Evil High Priest, Sandy's Design Corner | 1333 Views
Asenath Waite
Asenath Waite is the star of Lovecraft’s tale The Thing on the Doorstep. I might mention in passing that this story means a lot to me – you see, in my very first (and for years only) book by Lovecraft, this tale did not appear. However, it was mentioned in the book’s introduction. This means I was aware of this intriguingly-named tale, but couldn’t read it. Man that sent my curiosity antennae all a-quiver.
I finally found, and read, the story, when I was 14 years old (five years after I’d learned of its existence). You see, Lovecraft was diabolically difficult to come across back in those days. Now it’s far easier, partly I believe, due to my own efforts. But look at these terrifying descriptions of Asenath – “that female shell that wasn’t even quite human”. “Tell me why that thing that calls itself Asenath writes differently when off guard.” Lovecraft knew how to ramp up the creepitude.
Anyway Asenath is unsurprisingly effective as a sorceress, but also requires perhaps more planning than any other priest. Her power is to pick UP your acolytes on the Ritual board, and replace them back in your cultist pool, available for use. So let me give you a sample of how to use Asenath. (This isn’t even the most amazing way you can do it – we leave that as an exercise for you to ponder.)
Example – you are completely out of resources, but you have three cultists, and of course, a priest. You send your priest to Kingsport to pick up 3 treasure. Then you send 1 cultist to Boston to grab a blood and a treasure. Now you have 4 treasure. So you place your next cultist on, say, Spectral Horror. Then on your next turn, you place your last guy on Tulszcha Awakening. You end the turn with 1 blood, and nothing else. Next is the Preparation Phase, so you advance your two cultists on the Ritual track, gaining 6 blood from Tulszcha, a monster & chamber from Spectra Horror.
Next round, you begin with a monster, a chamber, and 7 total blood. You only have your priest and 1 puny cultist, since your other two are on the Ritual track. As your first action, you place your cultist on Dunwich to get a magic. Then your second action is to use your priest to activate Asenath Waite. Suddenly the two (useless) cultists on the ritual board return to your pool and you have 2 actions left for the turn. AND a spellbook, 7 blood, and a magic to spend. You are likely in line to unlock at least one elder sign this turn! And should still have plenty of money left.
All thanks to your new fiancée, Asenath Waite
by Sandy Petersen | Nov 30, 2017 | BLOG, Design Corner, Evil High Priest, Sandy's Design Corner | 1554 Views
Tcho-Tcho Cult Board
The Tcho-Tcho board has two start sites, plus four special sites that are not unlocked during normal play. Instead, these four special sites are triggered by the Growth track, which charts the spread of Ubbo-Sathla, a terrible entity grown by the Tcho-Tchos in a secret place.
Many of the Tcho-Tcho board sites increment the Growth track in addition to other effects. When the Growth marker reaches or passes a trigger point on the track, make a note. After the current Site’s effects are completely finished (including any attacks), then the triggered site is resolved.
Each of the four Growth sites provide an Elder Sign to a player with the most of a particular resource, and then trigger an attack. For example the first Growth Site is tied to “2” on the track, and provides its Elder Sign to the player with the most treasure, then launches a 1d6 investigator attack. In case of a tie for the player with the most resources in the category, then the player whose action triggered the Growth track action chooses which player (in the tie) gets the Elder Sign.
Example: Zelda pays 2 treasure, 2 blood, and 2 magic to shatter an Elder Sign on the Tcho-Tcho cult board. This also increases the Growth track by 2, and then launches a 2d6 investigator attack. Because this raises the Growth track from “4” to “6”, the Growth site tied to “5” must be resolved after this attack. Once the attack from her unlocking is over, Zelda checks site 5, and sees that the new Elder Sign is given to the player with the most blood. Unfortunately, Zelda has 0 Blood, while the other three players each have 2. She chooses the least menacing player to gain the Elder Sign. Then another 2d6 investigator attack is launched, due to the Growth site. Zelda crosses her fingers, hoping this second attack will destroy the new Elder Sign she was forced to give to her rival.
by Sandy Petersen | Nov 29, 2017 | BLOG, Design Corner, Evil High Priest, Sandy's Design Corner | 1088 Views
Crawling Chaos Cult Board
This cult board is in the Blood Ceremony box. It is strange, almost formalized, with a unique feel – in some ways harsher than any other cult board, in other ways easier. It offers many ways to interfere with your opponents.
Azathoth Pool
Several of the Crawling Chaos board’s sites send a cultist to worship Azathoth, at a special pool in the middle of the map. Once a cultist lands in the Azathoth pool, he is no longer available for other use. You’ll need to retrieve this cultist somehow if you want to regain his services.
The Azathoth pool has two other effects (beyond acccumulating cultists). When an investigator attack is triggered, add +1 to the attack total (to a max. 18) for each acolyte worshiping Azathoth! Thus, if four Acolytes (of any colors) are worshiping Azathoth, and an investigator raid rolls a “7”, it would increased to “11”.
The Azathoth pool’s second effect is even worse. If the number of cultists worshiping Azathoth ever equals three times the number of players (e.g., 9 in a 3-player game), the game ends and all players lose!
This “Azathoth” feature is to represent Nyarlathotep’s duties as soul & mind & herald of the Outer Gods.
Avatars of Nyarlathotep
The slots on this board are subdivided into four main sections, each containing three elder signs. Each section also contains an avatar of Nyarlathotep. In order, these are the Howler, the Bloated Woman, the Dark Pharaoh, and the Haunter of the Dark. When an avatar’s Elder Sign is removed, all three sites of the next section are unlocked. In addition, the player gains that avatar, which gives him a benefit every single Preparation phase. The final avatar is the Haunter- acquiring him also unlocks the last site.
The first avatar is the Howler, who lets the controller pull any one acolyte away Azathoth. This also gives that player 1 Magic when when he does. He can choose his own acolyte (and typically does, until he has none left with Azathoth).
If you are the player who obtains the Howler, you will be able to retrieve one cultist every turn without needing to take an action to do so, plus gain a magic for the privilege. This is a significant advantage.
The second avatar of Nyarlathotep to make its appearance is the infamous Bloated Woman. She lets her owner place a cultist on a Ritual track. Because this happens in the Preparation phase, the owner won’t get rewards till the end of the next Action phase, but he does get to pick his track first, and block other players. Also, placing the cultist won’t cost him the normal 2 treasure. The advantages to this should be obvious.
The Third, The Dark Pharaoh sends other player’s acolytes to Azathoth, and earns you a reward for so doing. So they have fewer acolytes, and you get more money by doing it. In one game, I pulled off the double-whammy of owning both the Howler AND the Dark Pharaoh. That was sweet .
The last avatar, The Haunter of the Dark is quite simple – gain a monster if you don’t have one. Now, the Haunter’s site is usually one of the very last to be unlocked, so typically you only have access to its ability for 1-2 turns maximum, but this is useful, because he comes at a critical time in gameplay – the end-game, when attacks are coming fast and furious.
We have enjoyed the Crawling Chaos, and hope you do too.
by Sandy Petersen | Nov 28, 2017 | BLOG, Design Corner, Evil High Priest, Sandy's Design Corner | 1100 Views
Opener of the Way Cult Board
First, all Opener sites are, in effect, “Starts”; i.e., they can be completed in theoretically any order. Some do have requirements which must be met first, but these are conditions, rather than the pattern of unlocking found on other cult boards.
Second, on the left side of the board is the Evolution track. This is divided into three levels, indicating your acolyte’s degeneration into a Thing of the outer spheres. The first stage is Mutant, the second is Abomination, and the last is Spawn of Yog-Sothoth. Your acolytes can enter these stages, or advance through them, by unlocking or activating various sites. While on this track, acolytes are no longer available for placement on sites, and cannot be sacrificed to defend against an investigator attack. They do provide a passive defense against attacks, which is as good as (or better) than sacrificing them. Each of your Mutants blocks 2 points of a raid, each Abomination 3, and each Spawn 4. Acolytes on the Evolution track are also immune to all monsters or effects that target acolytes, such as the Fungi from Yuggoth or the Yithian. However, the only activity they can carry out only is to progress down the track, or to get discarded in place of a Spellbook (Abominations or Spawns only). You can discard an Abomination or a Spawn anytime you need a spellbook, and they can be “stolen” by a Byakhee’s special ability (which doesn’t target acolytes!)
Another unusual feature of this cult board are the fact that It boasts several repeatable attacks! These are actually triggered by using the Site, not simply by taking the Elder Sign. So for example, if a player unlocks the site that costs 2 Magic, he could choose not to send his minion to the Mutant box, and thus avoid the 1d6 investigator attack. Of course, usually it’s best to use the site.
Opener of the Way Cult Board
First, all Opener sites are, in effect, “Starts”; i.e., they can be completed in theoretically any order. Some do have requirements which must be met first, but these are conditions, rather than the pattern of unlocking found on other cult boards.
Second, on the left side of the board is the Evolution track. This is divided into three levels, indicating your acolyte’s degeneration into a Thing of the outer spheres. The first stage is Mutant, the second is Abomination, and the last is Spawn of Yog-Sothoth. Your acolytes can enter these stages, or advance through them, by unlocking or activating various sites. While on this track, acolytes are no longer available for placement on sites, and cannot be sacrificed to defend against an investigator attack. They do provide a passive defense against attacks, which is as good as (or better) than sacrificing them. Each of your Mutants blocks 2 points of a raid, each Abomination 3, and each Spawn 4. Acolytes on the Evolution track are also immune to all monsters or effects that target acolytes, such as the Fungi from Yuggoth or the Yithian. However, the only activity they can carry out only is to progress down the track, or to get discarded in place of a Spellbook (Abominations or Spawns only). You can discard an Abomination or a Spawn anytime you need a spellbook, and they can be “stolen” by a Byakhee’s special ability (which doesn’t target acolytes!)
Another unusual feature of this cult board are the fact that It boasts several repeatable attacks! These are actually triggered by using the Site, not simply by taking the Elder Sign. So for example, if a player unlocks the site that costs 2 Magic, he could choose not to send his minion to the Mutant box, and thus avoid the 1d6 investigator attack. Of course, usually it’s best to use the site.
by Sandy Petersen | Nov 27, 2017 | BLOG, Design Corner, Evil High Priest, Sandy's Design Corner | 1441 Views
N’Gah Kthun
Well, N’.Gah Kthun barely squeaked out a victory in our poll, but since a miss is as good as a mile, here he (it?) comes.
N’Gah Kthun is a name overheard in Lovecraft’s tale The Whisperer in Darkness. I have posited that it is the name of one of the Fungi from Yuggoth (or another alien being), hiding within a human shell. And now it is one of your priest options! N’Gah Kthun’s power is really nasty – basically when you activate him, you get to choose and remove another player’s chamber. That player doesn’t actually lose any resources contained there – but those resources are moved to the exposed section.
This can be used two ways. Simply, you can just take out a useful chamber, and make him have to waste another action chanting to recover it.
OR you can do it just before an investigator raid. Suddenly your buddy’s Elder Sign or whatever is out in Exposed Resources, instead of sitting safely at the end of a long tunnel. Hooha! It’s even more effective when you use it in cooperation with another player, like this:
Example: Wendy and Arthur are plotting against Sandy, who has a spellbook tucked away inside his mighty Library. Wendy, plays N’Gah Kthun, removes the Library, and suddenly Sandy’s Spellbook is in exposed resources AND he’ s just lost 4 points of defense. Then Arthur, the next player in rotation, launches a raid. Sandy loses his spellbook, and whatever was in the room past the empty hole where his Library used to be. Ouch.
