Arkham Horror
Rules for Vassal
Main >> Miscellany
The following are some additional rules topics that should help to clarify play of Arkham Horror.
When you discard a card, return it face down to that decks discard deck. The easiest way to accomplish this is to right-click the card and select 'Discard'. The cards remaining in the draw decks are automatically reshuffled. The discard decks are only added back into the draw decks (via a right-click command) when instructed to do so via a command from a card.
Location Special Abilities
Some locations on the board have special abilities. When an investigator enters such a location, the player may resolve the special ability of the location instead of having an encounter there. If there is an open gate at the location, investigators cannot use the location's special ability.
Example: The Science Building has the Dissection ability. This ability allows an investigator to spend monster trophies or gate trophies in exchange for Clue tokens. An investigator at the Science Building may use this ability instead of having an encounter there, and investigators cannot use the ability if there is an open gate in the location.
Mnay locations and Other World encounters indicate that a monster appears. To resolve such an encounter, the player must draw a monster from the monster cup and resolve the encounter as normal (i.e., the investigator may attempt to evade the monster or fight it). No matter how the encounter is resolved, the monster is never left on the board. The monster is returned to the monstger cup, regardless of whether the investigator evades or defeats the monster, or is knocked unconscious or driven insane by it.
Many encounters state that "A gate and a monster appear!" For these encounters, both the monster and the gate stay on the board. However, many other encounters state that just a monster appears. For example, one of the Black Cave encounters states "A monster appears!" and one of the Hibb's Roadhouse encounters states "A horrible monster appears!" When a monster but not a gate appears in an encounter, the monster does not stay on the bard. If such a monster is defeated, players may take it as a trophy (unless its special ability says otherwise). IF the monster is not defeated, it is returned to the monster cup, regardless of whether the investigator evades the monster or is knocked unconscious or driven insane by it.
Special Card Limitations
In most cases, a player may never have more than one copy of each special card at the same time. This rule applies to Retainers, Bank Loans, Silver Twilight Memberships, and Bless/Curse cards.
Often, investigators will be told that they can purchase items "for list price" or "for $1 over list price." An item's list price is always found in the card's lower-right corner. Items are purchased by simply right-clicking on the money token in the player hand and spending the correct amount.
There are several locations on the game board where players can spend the monster and gate trophies they have collected. For example, a player can spend monster or gate trophies at the River Docks to gain $5. All monster trophies spent in this manner are returned to the monster cup, while all gate trophies are placed in the gate token discard pile.
Timing Conflicts
If two or more game effects happen simultaneously, the players choose the order in which they occur. If the players cannot agree, the first player decides.
An investigator in the same street area, Other World area, or location as another investigator may trade money, Common Items, Unique Items, and Spells. This may be done before, during, or after movement, but not during combat.