Mansions of Madness

[vladsee]

Since I'm in a Call of Cthulhu phase this minute... Heres something that may interest Arkham Horror players..



More infro from the Geek:
Mansions of Madness

[dmnyo]

I would love to play this one. is this out yet?

[catch8088]

As of today, no.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=136&esem=2

Keep in mind that this is not Arkham Horror lite.  This is Arkham Horror in one location.  Probably Runebound-oid.  It maintains a 2-3 hour game duration.

[dmnyo]

It might have the descent element equivalent of an overlord which is interesting.

[Talismanic (Mark)]

Yeah, this is also on my radar, as well as Jay's, the game comes with a bunch of minis as well, and they look good.

With regards to combat, the FFG site states that:

Combat is resolved with a combination of dice and class-specific Combat Cards. Monsters are divided into three categories: Beast, Eldritch, and Humanoid. Each of these categories has a specific deck of Combat Cards used when the appropriate monster is either attacked or attacking an investigator. Each Combat Card features a short narrative, giving players context about the fight at hand, and what needs to happen to successfully survive the encounter. These Combat Cards are broken up into halves - the top half is used when the investigator is attacking a monster, and the bottom half is used when the monster is attacking. Each time an attack occurs, the Keeper draws a card from the appropriate deck and checks to see if the conditions on the card match the conditions on the board. For example, if the investigator is attacking with a Ranged Weapon, then the Keeper will need to continue drawing cards until he finds a Ranged Weapon card, and then follow the instructions on the card (usually resulting in a skill check).

[maskmanjoe]

I'm very interested in this card-pull/dice-roll combination of combat resolution. It would seem more palatable to me compared to the Runewars diceless mechanic. Eagerly awaiting this as the previews from FFG has got me hyped since day one Not only is there an Descent-ish overlord counterpart, they put in the scenario-building element of Road to Legend which I loved so much. I also love the fact that you can hide behind bookshelves and cupboards :p I'm a little iffy about the puzzles thrown in but lets see how it works out

Oh and catch's comment is important, this is not AH lite (or AH expanded even) at all as it follows a different mindset completely so be careful in what you expect from it.

[catch8088]

Runewars has a diceless mechanic?  I disagree.  It's a dice disguised as cards.

[Adrian (the other one)]

I've got this on my sights since the announcement last year, and will pull the trigger to buy when it goes on stock. 

[Talismanic (Mark)]

I'm very interested in this card-pull/dice-roll combination of combat resolution. It would seem more palatable to me compared to the Runewars diceless mechanic. Eagerly awaiting this as the previews from FFG has got me hyped since day one Not only is there an Descent-ish overlord counterpart, they put in the scenario-building element of Road to Legend which I loved so much. I also love the fact that you can hide behind bookshelves and cupboards :p I'm a little iffy about the puzzles thrown in but lets see how it works out

Oh and catch's comment is important, this is not AH lite (or AH expanded even) at all as it follows a different mindset completely so be careful in what you expect from it.

It will probably be more like Descent in Arkham, but the heroes will be ordinary folk so combat will not be (or should not be) the main focus. The puzzle solving is still partly dice based so even if you memorize the puzzles over time, there will still be a set amount of turns you could solve it in depending on the character.

[maskmanjoe]

Runewars has a diceless mechanic?  I disagree.  It's a dice disguised as cards.

Catch, i call the Fate Deck diceless in a purely narrative point of view Also, its got alot less randomization compared to a die roll especially for expert card counters (till the next autumn phase [tama ba?] of course)

[catch8088]

Card counting is actually negated by that early shuffle, making its randomization no different than a die roll of a similar number of sides.

[maskmanjoe]

FFG gives us a video tour of a story of madness.
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=1961
I soooo cant wait

[vladsee]

Before Mansions of Madness the boardgame, it was actually a RPG book published by Chaosium that has several CoC RPG adventure scenarios in it that revolve around spooky houses.  Seems like the boardgame has done a nice job with the components and interchangeable house layout! 

Btw, have any of you guys read HP Lovecraft's works?

Why not read a few of his stories in the meantime for a better appreciation and immersion?  All his stories can be read online for free since its already public domain. 

http://www.hplovecraft.com/

There is a podcast that is dedicated to his works if you like listening to people narrate and discuss in a light hearted way.   

http://hppodcraft.com/

[maskmanjoe]

I highly recommend checking out the links Vlad shared. For me, Lovecraft themed games are all about the experience and having a background on his works really does help build up that fear and horror as you traverse his worlds

Cant wait to make some poor investigator the Keeper's plaything

[Adrian (the other one)]

OMG!  They just released the first print-on-demand expansion for Mansions of Madness.  Ugh.  And it's too pricey at the FFG website.

Calling Hans, the prince of darkness:  When will you stock this, if ever?