As Arkham Horror still seems like a small, niche game, I decided to write these musings in English. Maybe this could partially help it to become a somewhat more recognisable rpg? I haven’t blogged in English in years (apparently in six years…). I can only hope my language hasn’t declined too much, since editing isn’t ever going to be my strong suite.
We have now played five sessions of AHRGP. I ran the Hungering Abyss twice (with different players) and after that we began a campaign. We started with the core books adventure, run first of the adventures in Arkham Mysteries, and yesterday started the ”premium adventure” Terra Antarctica . I have also written (or more precisely converted an older) adventure for Arkham Horror to understand the inner workings of the system.
This brings me to my first (and largest) point on Arkham Horror RPG. It is a different beast in comparison to almost any other rpg I have ever played. I have heard the gatekeeping1 comments about AHRPG being just a fancy board game, and I’m here to tell you that this couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Does AHRPG use battle maps? Yes, they help immensely with the way combat works in the game. But so does D&D. Granted that D&D isn’t high on my personal list of rpgs, but (quite likely by design) AHRPG has a lot in common with it. And yes, AHRPG comes with the a plethora of counters and cards-but only if you by one of the premium adventures (namely Hungering Abyss, or Terra Antarctica). But you don’t need them.
In fact I would go so far as to say that the biggest problem for this game has been the Edge Studio claiming Hungering Abyss” to be a starter set. It does try to fill this role, but in so convoluted way the outcome is strained at the best.
What the Hungering Abyss tries to achieve is (in fact) quite admirable. It is presented in a way that should/could help totally new players get into roleplaying. It reworks the familiar mystery of the Arkham Horror Living Card Game into a lengthy rpg adventure. It could actually be an interesting adventure, and it does have a few good ideas, but it is all marred by the said main problem of this game – it’s a different beast.
This difference is actually one of the reasons I really like (thus far) playing AHRPG. The game mechanics are at the same time very loose and constraining. For more experienced players this isn’t as much of a problem, but since the Hungering Abyss is titled ”starter” it should really have used not-so-fancy adventure. I mean the adventure in the core rulebook is far above your usual starter book adventures.
And this is the flip side of the ”beast”. I’m not entirely convinced that the team behind AHRPG is entirely sure what this game is supposed to be. In some instances I can see the genius behind the system and writing, and at other points I’m totally lost of what the hell were the writers thinking. And I have been playing a myriad of different games for about 30 years.
This brings me back to the that mention about ”almost any other game”. AHRPG reminds me clearly about Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game’s 3rd edition. And I loved that game. It faces the same comments about being ”too boardgamey” from players who might not even given it a chance. They are both expansive games going to so many directions that I can understand the exhaustion of possible players, though. Do rpgs really need that many fidgets after all?
I choose to see that hope in this comparison. While WFRP3 never got the new edition it deserved, the system running the game for refined for the Star Wars RPG . Which happens to be another system I really like. And it is published (I think) currently by the Edge Studio as well.
Judging a game for its first edition is fine, but I just hope people could see what this game can grow into. The core rulebook presents everything needed for playing, and everything else is just extra. Granted that the style of the game can seem a bit extra as well. At least for players who are looking for an another version of Call of Cthulhu.
But that’s just the beauty of this ”beast”. Rather than trying to overtake a gaming classic like Call of Cthulhu, AHRPG approach the same stories from a different angle. It isn’t afraid of throwing in new Great Old Ones, and doesn’t shy away from reborn Atlantean sorceresses slinging spells. Maybe it should shy away a bit more, maybe not. That’s for every group to decide for themselves, but at least it is different.
These five sessions we have played have been fun and entertaining. I haven’t ran prewritten adventures in decades (if ever?), and while I can’t go as far as to say that I prefer them now, I have enjoyed them more than I suspected (excluding the Hungering Abyss).
We are still trying to figure out the mechanics of the game, but instead of heated arguments, I think have had meaningful conversations. Mostly this had been due to having no idea what the adventure writers have been thinking, but that’s likely an euro game vs. ameritrash2 issue. And I think it is fascinating. At least for now.
To summarise: Arkham Horror rpg is an interesting, and fun game. It guides as players to think of it in different terms we have grown accustomed, and it is totally fine. The statement I made the last time (”don’t buy Hungering Abyss”) still stands. But I do recommend to get the core rulebook, and play the adventure presented there. It gives you a much better idea what this game could be, and is an excellent example of an introductory adventure.
In any case I hope you have time to play some great games during the upcoming holidays!
Upcoming?
I have contacted the Edge Studio to enquire about publishing fan material. If don’t suppose it will be a problem, but I still wanted to ask. If they don’t deny it, I’m going to publish a source book for AHRPG: Finland here, as well as some adventures. Nevertheless I hope I can reactive my interest in blogging, and share these random ramblings and maybe some game session summaries here as well. I’m not so sure if I’ll be doing the blogging in English, but who knows.
- https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/gatekeeping ↩︎
- https://www.gaminglib.com/blogs/news/eurogames-vs-amerigames ↩︎
Diceblastes 
I read this blog entry after reading the one about Terra Antarctica. 😛
I ran Hungering Abyss once so far and felt the adventure wasn’t as bad as described or reviewed by many. It felt maybe a bit flat (I have played the first part of the LCG, so I also felt it was a bit of a cheap steal). The end fight was a bit too easy for my group and most of the board game accessories were a nuisance and rather blocking progress than helping it… although – now that I think about it – we had a kid at our table and he was very engaged in deciphering the letter, so maybe a younger audience would fit this adventure more? Other than that it was ok-ish. Nothing to brag about and certainly a better starting adventure than those I found in Symbaroum Starter Set.
Beside this boxed set I also ran Comets of Kingsport at a local convention. It played really well, although the ending was extremely anti-climactic, which… well evaporated into nothing. Overall however the adventure presented couple of locations which were nicely designed – the only problem was with connecting the red dots to lead to the final destination… but it worked out in the end.
I am currently prepping the adventure from Dreams of Kingsport Setting Guide – which is very interesting from the get go – just reading it works very well, so I am looking forward to running it as a GM. Very low fights, lots of atmosphere. 😉
Looking forward to reading more of your experiences and thoughts about AH RPG.
BTW – I am currently also running Rapture Protocol from Alien RPG – and I do feel a certain echo of Alien RPG in Arkham Horror RPG – the dice pools and stress level vs. horror dice are both quite interesting executions of terror mechanics. Did you play Alien RPG? Any thoughts on a comparison?
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Thanks again!
We actually played Alien quite a lot. Even hacked it for Cthulhu. Ultimately the system (as written) failed to support any other type of adventure than ”hunt the xeno”. It was a bummer, because I really enjoyed the system for a while. And also because I fear I might notice the same with AHrpg.
That being said I haven’t read the 2nd edition, and I have some hope it fixed problems. At least I feel like AHrpg could do so much more with the (hopefully eventual) 2nd edition.
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Yeah, the built in Phobias in Alien first edition do tend to provoke very single minded responses. That is however the feel of any Free League game – especially due to either echoes or re-implementations of their Year Zero Engine, which is also extremely constrained and does not allow for enough diversity in my opinion. Maybe that is something which also got transferred here somehow… Still, I am fresh with Alien and AH RPG, so will see how the games I am running will develop.
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Yeah, I’m also thinking of stealing stuff from Alien rpg. First thing in my mind is the injury chart. AHrpg is so short that injuring the legs already a meme in our games.
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