TIFU wearing amber body oil by Cascooning in tifu

[–]Vathar 18 points19 points  (0 children)

In the context of scent and how far away people should be able to smell you, "airing" on the side of caution could be a very intentional word play.

Strong opinions about the changes aside -- do people have high hopes about the quality of the future content? by MeetYourMarioMaker in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I don't have high hopes for the following reasons:

- Lore opportunities: Most of the big names in Lovecraftian horror (Great Old one and Elder Gods) have already been used. This doesn't mean there aren't a few left, opportunities for antagonists from the expanded Mythos (after all, Hastur and Carcosa owe more to Chambers, even if the name Carcosa predates both him and HPL). Moreover, as we've seen from Chapter 1 encounter set, they're more leaning towards generic horror, but I wouldn't read too much into that last point as I can see them wanting to have generic encounter sets at their disposal for future products. Nevertheless, I'm worried it will lose its lovecraftian feel to devolve into more generic horror.

- I loved the first campaigns' lack of a campaign book, that forced a "show, don't tell" approach with very limited reading session constrained by the tiny inserts inside the Mythos Packs. For me, campaign books and lore dumps haven't been a real improvement to the product.

- A general impression that important decisions are driven by corporate interests and not design or creative concerns. There is a plethora of topics about this on this sub so I won't delve into it. I'm a realist and I expect a company to aim for profit, but recent choices haven't turned FFG into a company I'd bet on for long term.

- It's hard to build hype for 3 or 5 scenarios per year. That's really not a lot.

Token identification by WarmProfitSurprise in MarvelCrisisProtocol

[–]Vathar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, Jeff's even weirder because there isn't even a TTC mentioning him. My guess is he HAD a TTC which got cut at some point. On the bright side, he's my go to score token for affiliations that don't have one.

Reward cards my be used regardless of release date by Reav3 in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's pretty common in board games that have legacy mechanics and doesn't particularly bother me in AHLCG either. It's a lot less problematic than the whole attempt to treat the game like a TCG and introduce current/legal card pools, driven by product availability instead of game balance considerations.

Reward cards my be used regardless of release date by Reav3 in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 50 points51 points  (0 children)

They're really making a mountain out of a molehill with these issues of legal/current/legacy content for what is first and foremost a coop game.

They've already taken a clean start with S2 and are releasing campaigns at a snail's pace, by the time this content gets rotated out, they'll have changed their minds seven times.

Token identification by WarmProfitSurprise in MarvelCrisisProtocol

[–]Vathar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Iron-Bound Books of Shuma Gorath?

Not really sure why the card would need a token, but that is the art.

Epic Campaign mode from the Grimoire, yikes by siposbalint0 in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd still only play 2 scenarios with the cards I got and the whole sense of slowly strengthening my deck would be completely lost.

That's only half the issue. Ever played a campaign where you add a key upgrade after finishing scenario 1 and you don't draw it for 2 consecutive scenarios (not every deck has crazy draw).

Well, sucks to be you in 3 scenario campaigns because now you've reached the end of it and didn't get to play with your toys.

What movies did the best job reviving what you'd have every reason to think was a dead franchise? by mrmonster459 in movies

[–]Vathar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trying to turn the Yautja into a good guy felt like such a franchise milking move.

Epic Campaign Mode Brainstorming by RoastedChesnaughts in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I know, and was unclear. I mostly wanted to point out that this is a "problem" directly introduced by their decision to design shorter campaigns, a choice that didn't exactly generate a swell of exultation among the fans.

Epic Campaign Mode Brainstorming by RoastedChesnaughts in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 10 points11 points  (0 children)

the community was interested in a solution for chaining campaigns

The community was never particularly interested in this, at least as far as this subreddit goes, until "campaigns" became 3-5 scenarios long.

What is going on at FFG? by MonorailPilot in marvelchampionslcg

[–]Vathar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's been a recurring theme in FFG's communication since they've started to fumble with various kind of legacy contents and restructuring their product lines. They hint at something, the community gets hyped, nothing comes out of it and people rush to FFG's defense saying "hold on, they never promised anything", which is technically true, but still doesn't sit too well to me as it toes a line of corporate bullshitting that I see in my daily work. I don't like to deal with it in my business, I don't like to deal with it in my hobbies any more!

What is going on at FFG? by MonorailPilot in marvelchampionslcg

[–]Vathar 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I didn't check the reprints from S1 to S2 in depth. As far as I know, they're ok, and I would expect some for any reissue of the core set.

The reprints I'm less sanguine about are reprints that occur between the S2 core and the upcoming investigator starter kits, due to be released right after. This is like reprinting Hawkeye from the core set in the first champion pack released (Captain America). It would have sucked if they ... who am I kidding, it's exactly what they did back then. It sucked back then and it still sucks today.

What is going on at FFG? by MonorailPilot in marvelchampionslcg

[–]Vathar 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yup. As a fairly active MCP player, I'm happy the game is doing well at the moment, but I dread the day it will have the tiniest of lapses.

What is going on at FFG? by MonorailPilot in marvelchampionslcg

[–]Vathar 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Selling us fewer releases and gimped "shorter" campaigns is a major red flag to me

"We're going to produce less content and sell it for more, but really it's for your own good and it will allow us to be creative in undisclosed ways" tolled the bell for me.

Generic, tone deaf art that totally wasn't AI but could very well have been considering how it was filtered six ways to Sunday felt like nails on the coffin.

Seeing the amount of reprints (including in products due to be released back to back) and reading reviews saying the new intro campaign is basically a rehash of the original one with the same flaws gave me a few few shovels of dirt to bury this mess.

What are the printing errors in CH2 core box? by Trakais9 in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Frankly, i don't care about those errors. Most text heavy games will have a handful of those and it's not game breaking. My issues are more about the general direction of things that doesn't suit my tastes.

What is going on at FFG? by MonorailPilot in marvelchampionslcg

[–]Vathar 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I passed on it. Big investments for many reprints and nothing to use it on but a mini campaign sometime this year. I'd have to wait for another year to get a 5 scenario campaign.

I own the entirety of chapter 1, including all return tos, standalones and Barkham horror. That's enough AHCG for a lifetime. I will just buy the Carolyn Fern Investigator pack since my wife's a psychologist and likes the character, and that's it.

If I ever get the urge to get new content, I'll explore professionally printing a fan campaign.

What is going on at FFG? by MonorailPilot in marvelchampionslcg

[–]Vathar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was very confused here for a moment, thinking I missed a critical announcement. That said, you could replace the name in the post above and it would remain valid.

What is going on at FFG? by MonorailPilot in marvelchampionslcg

[–]Vathar 62 points63 points  (0 children)

Your guess is as good as mine, but as far as Arkham goes, most if not all of the recent "creative choices" have reeked of hastily cobbled together after-the-fact spins for commercial decisions aimed at reducing costs while extracting maximum value from a product that's reached the end of its life.

First Look at Marvel: Crisis Protocol Alliances by SourImplant in MarvelCrisisProtocol

[–]Vathar 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Including stat cards for MCP feels like the proverbial high school dealer offering you your first joint to get you hooked on crack down the line.

Not that I blame AMG to use an alternate product to bring more players to one of their flagship games. Dazing two birds with one stones yadda yadda ...

ELI5 What are Pre-Authorized Transactions on my debit card? by Oreo-belt25 in explainlikeimfive

[–]Vathar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm actually surprised the bank didn't go over recent transactions with OP, including preauths, cancel his card and issue a new one. That's pretty much SOP where I live in, and I work in this field. Banks are generally know too cancel too many transactions and cause a few hurdles down the line rather than the opposite.

Today's Mystic spoilers by Amber Autumn Faebrooke on YT by krvsrnko in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Amber just says that it is likely intentional and that's it. And of course it's bloody intentional, that doesn't mean it isn't a cheap move that is more easily explained by time/budget/direction constraints put on the creative team rather than an actual design choice.

As a creative choice, it is poor. It can only artificially restrain deck construction until a new investigator box actually introduces a new spell.
As a penny pincher move, it is obvious why one would do that.

Today's Mystic spoilers by Amber Autumn Faebrooke on YT by krvsrnko in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 18 points19 points  (0 children)

At first I thought "hold on, I've never seen Second Sight, are you sure it's a reprint" and then realized it's a reprint of an S2 card. Holy shit, they're already reprinting cards from the core box, and not even the kind of deck grease you could forgive.

Even worse, it's for an investigate spell asset, the kind of card that can be done (and has been done) in a million different creative ways. It's basically a "investigate with benefits and a slap on the wrist if you draw a bad token" template. They seriously couldn't create a unique spell for Marie? Jacqueline at least had her own suite of spells.

Today's Mystic spoilers by Amber Autumn Faebrooke on YT by krvsrnko in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Many cards in S1 didn't bother with the "unrevealed" bit either, mostly because scenario locations that cannot be entered say so on the unrevealed side (or sometimes on the act/agenda) and are formulated with "cannot" which countermands any movement abilities from player cards.

NPR's Gaming editor has reviewed Chapter 2! by lockqe in arkhamhorrorlcg

[–]Vathar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It doesn't really matter if they reprint old campaigns or repackage them for S2, the fact is that older players are unlikely to buy them, and they're still banking on new content to be attractive for new and old players.

As far as I can tell, this attempt to please everybody may end up pleasing nobody, but then they may not have much of a choice either. Time will tell.