Chaosium Digest Volume 25, Number 10 Date: Sunday, May 10, 1998 Number: 3 of 3 Contents: Adventuring in Arkham (Guy Hail) MYTHOS -------------------- From: GRHail@aol.com Subject: Adventuring in Arkham System: Mythos Adventuring in Arkham in the Mythos Collectable Card Game with the assistance of the infinitely-knowledgeable & gracious Jeremy York Arkham is one of the fictional cities of H P Lovecraft's New England. Unlike decript Innsmouth, it is a modern, bustling city of commerce and education. Like Innsmouth, it has dark secrets in its past that have lived on into the present. For me, Arkham is the most attractive, most Lovecraftian city of Mythos to center a deck around. Innsmouth, while suitably evocative of Lovecraftian horrors, has too many Allies who cost Sanity, and in Innsmouth there is no Sanitarium to which the Investigator may repair--not a surprise in a town inhabitated by Deep Ones. Many Mythos cards within the Arkham subregion are named for famous characters and places in Lovecraft's fiction. Who has not wanted to adventure with Laban Shrewsbury, the blind anthropologist and explorer who authored a tome about the sunken city of R'lyeh? Who has not wanted to put an end to the grave-robbing of Herbert West and to the depredations of his risen-again Zombies? Who has not felt sympathy for Asenath Waite Derby, moldering in an unnatural grave, or for Edward Derby who lost his wife, his sanity, and his life to sorcery? Who could resist attending Miskatonic University and reading the Necronomicon before Wilbur Whately stole it? Or arriving at the library in the wee hours with Henry Armitage to find Wilbur ripped to shreds by the Faithful Hounds that guard the campus? In Mythos, the Arkham subregion offers the greatest number of Locations and Allies. Because of this there are no Locations that feature all the useful attributes: Artifact, Gate, Tome. When you play an Arkham adventure, you won't be able to play card after card while remaining in one Location. A glance at the list of Allies shows that the Allies of Arkham have most of the attributes available, and the Allies findable in any Locations add several more attributes. These Allies know almost every language. Arkham has the most Police Detectives and Private Investigators to protect against both the Limited Edition and New AEon edition of Police Investigation. The Detectives are all three points in value and can be buried when an artifact or tome is lost. The single strongest Ally card, Albert Shiny, may be played in Arkham, though his true subregion is any city. Because it is a city, few Great Old Ones & Outer Gods may be played in Arkham. Those that may are Ithaqua, the best Great Old One or Outer God to play from an Arkham-only deck, because while travelling within Arkham you cannot be affected by its powers; Nyarlathotep, unfortunately a rare card; and Rhan-Tegoth, the Great Old One of choice for a theme deck based on Arkham's many cemeteries. Arkham has only one wife--an attribute required for The Heroic Rescue and The Unspeakable Oath. Its only Corrupt Cultist is also a Ally From the Past. Playing an adventure in Arkham that requires a Corrupt Cultist should include Hitch a Ride, Train or Surprise Meeting to play a cultist from another sub-region, probably Providence or Boston. Arkham has no Church, but the easily-playable Samuel Winsor may create one. There is no entry to N'kai from Arkham. Adventures that may be played entirely within Arkham are Arkham Horror The Curious Parcel The Expedition The Great Epidemic The Great Menagerie A Heroic Rescue The Interesting Shop Knee-Deep in Doom On the Edge The Outsider The Secret of Power & Glory is Yours! Seeking Everlasting Life 1 Seeking Everlasting Life 2 To play The Expedition use Tramp Steamer to travel from a Miskatonic University Location to Hangman's Hill. To play A Heroic Rescue is difficult because Asenath Waite Derby is the only wife in Arkham, and Arkham's Corrupt Cultist is also an Ally From the Past. Use of Arkham's subway (Train) will permit play of a wife or cultist card from another sub-region and shake the Serial Killer stalking you. The Outsider also needs a cultist. The Secret of Power & Glory is Yours! requires an Ally who costs Sanity. Arkham has three, all unique: the two Allies from the past and Asenath Waite Derby. Adventures that can use Arkham Locations are The Auction The Birds & the Byhakees The Cruise A Day in the Life of a Miskatonic Student The Dunwich Horror Even Stranger Case of Charles Fort Make Money Fast! Make Them Pay! A Midsummer Night's Dream One of the Circle Out of My Mind Perchance... Questionable Judgement The Royal Geographic Society Searching for Laban Shrewsbury The Strange Case of Charles Fort The Temple Your First Big Story! Perchance... is better as a Dreamlands-only adventure. Searching for Laban Shrewsbury could be played entirely in Arkham but for the Old Congregational Church in Kingsport. ** GHOULISH ARKHAM DECK No special tricks here. Most of the cards are from the Limited Edition, but this deck draws upon cards in all editions. The deck contains 58 cards and its adventures total +23 / +9. Fifty-six is the maximum number of cards I like to have in a deck, so for fast play or tournament play, some cards should be trimmed. Most cards in this deck fulfill adventure requirements. That kind of deck can be boring to play, but this deck includes cards that affect opponents in various ways (Azathoth & Others, Typhoid, High Noon, Downpour, and the spells); cards that have unusual but useful powers (Herbert West, Richard Upton Pickman); and a Great Old One. Try to play the Great Old One immediately after completing an adventure (or going to a Sanitarium) and before one's opponents do the same. There is nothing like the look of frustration on an opponent's face when you play a Great Old One while he's walking to a Sanitarium. This isn't a tournament deck, but I believe it could be tuned to become one by dropping a few of the extra cards such as Rhan-Tegoth and adding two Trains to defeat Serial Killer. THE GREAT EPIDEMIC +9 / +4 17 cards; 17 total. Named Cards Typhoid Epidemic x2 Herbert West unique Zombie x3 Two Doctors Dr Allen Halsey x2 Two and only two, although Carl Jung or a third copy of Allen Halsey may be added to his deck if your opponent prefer to discard Allies by Spells or Nightgaunts. The Great Epidemic doesn't require two different doctors, merely two doctors, so two copies of the same card can fulfill the adventure requirements. The Great Epidemic does require one doctor be buried in your Story Deck. Three Days High Noon Dawn of a New Day x2 Dawn of the Solstice Unexpected Eclipse This many days will prevent the Television card from New AEon from affecting this deck for more than a turn or two. The two dawn-day cards increase Sanity. High Noon causes corrupt Allies with weapons to be filled face-down. Unexpected Eclipse is an all-purpose cure for phobias, Serial Killer, etc. Dawn of a New Day is also a quick way to move your Zombie to your Story Deck. In the unlikely event you have a Zombie in play as an Ally, remember that its special effect box doesn't apply when it's an Ally. Dawn of a New Day will not bury a Zombie Ally. Night Waxing Moon x2 Sanitarium Arkham Sanitarium unique ARKHAM HORROR +8 / +3 21 cards; 38 total Named Cards Downpour x2 Samuel Winsor x2 Faithful Hounds x2 Miskatonic University Commons x2 Arkham Gazette x2 After playing Downpour, play one of the day or night cards required for the Great Epidemic to bury it as quickly as possible. Downpour interferes with city travel. Business Arkham Mystical Supply *Arkham Gazette The card titles marked with an asterisk were necessary to fulfill previous adventure requirements. Do not add additional copies. The second copy of Arkham Gazette may be used to fulfill the Business requirement for this adventure. The deck needed more artifact Locations, so I added Arkham Mystical Supply. Two Monsters Ghouls x3 Two Steadfast Allies Edward Pickman Derby Raymond Legrasse *Dr Allen Halsey Raymond Legrasse prevents Police Investigation from being played upon you and can be buried in place of an Artifact or Tome. Derby was chosen because his card doesn't see much use. His wife and his poetry collection are also included in this deck. The card titles marked with an asterisk were necessary to fulfill previous adventure requirements. Do not add additional copies. House 197 E. Pickman St x2 This Location is a multiuse gate, useful for playing Zombies until one is buried in your Story Deck. Weapon -32 Revolver x2 *Faithful Hounds The second copy of Faithful Hounds can be used to fulfill this requirement, but I added .32 Revolver because it provides +1 Sanity when played. The card titles marked with an asterisk were necessary to fulfill previous adventure requirements. Do not add additional copies. Station Boston & Maine Train Station x2 THE SECRET OF POWER & GLORY IS YOURS! +6 / +2 8 cards; 46 total. Five Different Gate Locations Golden Eye Society Hangman's Hill Old Arkham Cemetery x2 *197 E. Pickman St. *Arkham Mystical Supply *Boston & Maine Train Station *Miskatonic University Commons Hangman's Hill or Old Arkham Cemetery are the Locations where Ghouls may be played as Allies when Richard Upton Pickman is in play or where Rhan-Tegoth may be played when Waxing Moon is in play. The card titles marked with an asterick were necessary to fulfill previous adventure requirements. Do not add additional copies. Tome With the Eye Icon Azathoth & Others Necronomicon (Latin) One of these is easy to play, the other more difficult. Azathoth & Others prevents play of Unexpected Calamity. It's Edward Pickman Derby's collection of poems. Once I chose Edward as a Steadfast Ally, I felt obligated to include his book. The Necronomicon is translatable by Dr. Halsey and Samuel Winsor. Ally That Costs Sanity Asenath Waite Derby unique She can also know one spell, if your Tomes seem to be permanently on the bottom of your Mythos deck. Extra Cards 10 cards; Total 58 Richard Upton Pickman Arkham Historical Society x2 Arkham Police Department Christchurch Cemetery x2 Rhan-Tegoth Create Statsis (Azathoth & Others) Curse of the Rat-Thing (Azathoth & Others) Blasphemous Obeisance (Necronomicon) Consume Likeness (Necronomicon) Remortification (Necronomicon) This Richard Upton Pickman is the Dreamlands version, playable only at a cemetery Location. When Richard Upton Pickman is in play, Ghouls may be played as Allies at cemetery-gate Locations. Rhan-Tegoth is included because it's powerful. It's special effect keeps Allies in play when they should be buried or discarded. This interfers with play of The Great Epidemic, but it's a Great Old One, so this drawback is offset by your opponents inability to can gain Sanity while it is in play. Don't play Rhan-Tegoth until after play of The Great Epidemic. The spells were chosen to fill the Tomes required for The Secret of Power & Glory is Yours! Change them as necessary. The Arkham Historical Society is another Location that increases Sanity. The Police Department is an artifact Location that also reduces the value of threats directed at you. Christchurch Cemetery (if you have one, it's a rare) removes phobias and is also a +1. Two Spells counter an opponent's threat: Create Stasis by causing one Monster in the threat to be held over until the next Round; Blasphemous Obeisance returns one card in a directed threat to the owner's hand. When you have many Allies are in play, whether true Allies or Ghouls, Remortification, which causes any Allies buried by a threat to attack before being buried, makes opponents think twice about aiming their threats at you. If a Ghoul as an Ally but need one of the human Allies in play, cast Consume Likeness upon it. The Ghoul will be buried and the Ally returned to play. ** CARD LISTS ARKHAM ALLIES For a fuller list of Allies, including all those found elsewhere, see my Allies page. Albert N. Wilmarth Limited Editon Starter Steadfast Miskatonic University Professor English Greek Latin Albert Shiny Limited Editon Starter Corrupt Friend English Arthur Munroe Limited Editon Starter Steadfast Reporter English Asenath Waite Derby Limited Editon Starter Corrupt Wife & Living Dead English Arkham's only wife is unfortunately unique. Her special ability of instant play following the burial of Ephraim Waite can rarely be used because Ephraim is both an Innsmouth Ally and an Ally from the Past. Brown Jenkin Legends of the Necronomicon Corrupt Cultist All Languages Arkham's best Corrupt Cultist is almost impossible to get into play. Brown Jenkin is the witch Keziah Mason's familiar. It can be played only with Keziah Mason, an Ally from the Past. It's unlikely that Keziah & Brown can be used for a tournament deck, but in friendly play the two make a surprise play and powerful Allies. Captain of the White Ship, The Dreamlands Steadfast Dreamer & Seaman English Arkham has many Water Locations. Unless Drought is in play, the Captain can dock his ship in Arkham. Dr. Allen Halsey Expeditions of Miskatonic University Steadfast Doctor & Miskatonic University Scholar English Latin Dr. Carl Jung New Aeon Steadfast Doctor German An unlikely Ally, Jung may be played only with Hitch a Ride, Train or Surprise Meeting or at Arkham's only Sanitarium. Edward Pickman Derby Limited Editon Starter Steadfast Poet English Alas, the poet attribute isn't used by any adventure. Asenanth & Edward can be used in good Create-Your-Own-Adventure adventures. Ettienne-Laurent de Marigny Dreamlands Steadfast Explorer & Dreamer English French Greek George Birch Limited Editon Starter Corrupt Undertaker English George, the corrupt Richard Upton Pickman, a fistful of Ghouls and Arkham's many cemeteries suggest a deck with a death & burial theme. Harvey Walters Limited Editon Starter Steadfast Reporter English Henry Armitage Expeditions of Miskatonic University Steadfast Miskatonic University Professor English French German Greek Latin Herbert West Expeditions of Miskatonic University Corrupt Miskatonic University Student English K.J. Hooper Limited Editon Starter Steadfast Private Eye English Keziah Mason Legends of the Necronomicon Corrupt Cultist English Arkham's Corrupt Cultist, the hanged witch Keziah Mason, is also an Ally From the Past. Seeking Everlasting Life 1 requires a Corrupt Ally. Seeking Everlasting Life 2 requires an Ally From the Past. Playing Keziah Mason and Brown Jenkin solves both problems, but the resurrection of the Cultist from the Past required by Seeking Everlasting Life 2 must be performed after the play of the previous adventure. That is, if you use Resurrection & the Grecian Lekythos to play Keziah Mason, then on a later turn play The Interesting Shop or any other Adventure, play of the adventure cancels the resurrection for purposes of fulfilling adventures. However, Seeking Everlasting Life 2 requires only that the Cultist from the Past be Resurrected, not resurrected from the past. Therefore, play Seeking Everlasting Life 1 counting Keziah Mason as the Corrupt Ally. Then bury her by making her a defending Ally or casting one of the many spells that might bury her. Cast Resurrection re-playing her from your Story Deck. This resurrection will count for Seeking Everlasting Life 2, provided you play no other adventure prior to playing Seeking Everlasting Life 2. Because there are two Cultists from the past in Arkham, resurrect Keziah Mason as the Corrupt Ally for Seeking Everlasting Life 1, then later resurrect Brown Jenkin for the Ally from the Past for Seeking Everlasting Life 2. Laban Shrewsbury Mythos Standard Game Set Steadfast Steadfast Explorer English Atlantean Lin Carter Dreamlands Steadfast Author & Dreamer English Atlantean Luther Harden Mythos Standard Game Set Steadfast Steadfast Police Detective English Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee Expeditions of Miskatonic University Steadfast Miskatonic University Professor English Atlantean Glyphs Nikola Tesla New Aeon Steadfast Inventor and Scientist English German Professor Wingate Peaslee Expeditions of Miskatonic University Steadfast Miskatonic University Professor English Chinese Latin Randolph Carter Limited Editon Starter Steadfast Dreamer English French Ray Stuckey Mythos Standard Game Set Corrupt Corrupt Police Detective English Raymond Legrasse Limited Editon Starter Steadfast Police Detective English French Richard Upton Pickman Dreamlands Corrupt Friend English Robert W. Chambers Cthulhu Rising Steadfast Author & Artist English French Samuel Winsor Mythos Standard Game Set Steadfast Steadfast Priest English Latin Winsor provides a method of creating a Church in Arkham. So does the Tiara of Opulent Fantasy, but you must trust your opponents to help you out. William Channing Webb Cthulhu Rising Steadfast Professor English Glyphs Zadok Allen Limited Editon Starter Steadfast Bum No Languages Zadok is the only Arkham Ally that increases an Investigator's maximum. Combine him with Squire Whateley and Ammi Pierce in an Arkham-Miskatonic deck to increase your Investigator's maximum by three. Arkham Locations 197 E. Pickman Street Limited Editon Starter Inside Water Artifact City Gate House This is the only multi-use gate in Arkham. A most useful site for a Knee-Deep in Doom deck. This multi-use gate requires additional Sanity expenditure to use, making it easier to use than those that require a Star but also more costly to use. Arkham Advertiser, The Limited Editon Starter Inside Water City Press The Arkham Gazette, below, features all the attributes of this Location and adds the Business (necessary for Arkham Horror, Make Them Pay, Outside and Unspeakable Oath adventures) and Tome attributes. Unless you're expecting to suffer from Bibliophobia, the Arkham Gazette should be prefered to this Location. Arkham Gazette Mythos Standard Game Set Steadfast Inside Water City Business Press Tome Arkham Historical Society Limited Editon Starter Inside Water City Museum Society Tome One of the most valuable Arkham Locations. When I build my decks I try to minimize the use of Sanitariums. They're obvious targets. The best ones exchange one turn for the Sanity boost. I think it's better to have several Locations that add Sanity as this one does, provided those Location also supply an attribute necessary for the completion of an adventures. This Location does. Arkham Mystical Supply Mythos Standard Game Set Corrupt Inside Water Artifact Business City Gate Arkham Police Department Mythos Standard Game Set Steadfast Inside Water Artifact Business City The Arkham Location you always want as your Current Location. All directed threats attacking you have their value reduced by one. Arkham Rare Books & Maps Limited Editon Starter Inside Water City Business Tome Arkham Sanitarium Limited Editon Starter Forest Inside Water City Sanitarium The only Sanitarium in Arkham is designed not to complement a Knee-Deep in Doom deck. Upon gaining six Sanity for treatment, the price is the discard of the top card of the player's Mythos Deck, following an attack should that top card be a Monster. Boston & Maine Train Station Mythos Standard Game Set Unmarked Outside Forest Water City Gate Station Tome The Mythos Standard Game Set introduced the Station attribute, which improved the utility of Trains by allowing a Station to be played immediately after a Train card instead of waiting until another Turn. This Station also has two additional useful attributes. Chapman Farmhouse Limited Editon Starter Inside Forest Water City House Tome Christchurch Cemetery Limited Editon Starter Forest Water Outside Cemetery City Another +1 Sanity Location, it also buries a phobia. It should be included in every Arkham-only deck. Crowninshield House Limited Editon Starter Inside Water City Gate House Tome Golden Eye Society Limited Editon Starter Inside Forest Water Artifact City Gate Society The text of this card's special effect box isn't a mistake. No Tomes may be played here. Hangman's Hill Limited Editon Starter Water Forest Outside Cemetery City Gate Site Home of Laban Shrewsbury Limited Editon Starter Inside Water Artifact City House Lowell Street Cafe, The Limited Editon Starter Forest Inside Water City Business Miskatonic University Commons Mythos Standard Game Set Steadfast Water Forest Outside City Gate University Miskatonic University Medical School Expeditions of Miskatonic University Forest Inside Water City Gate University Miskatonic University Memorial Hall Expeditions of Miskatonic University Forest Inside Water City University Another +1 Sanity Location. Miskatonic University Orne Library Expeditions of Miskatonic University Forest Inside Water City Library UniversityTome Miskatonic University Science Annex Expeditions of Miskatonic University Forest Inside Water Artifact City University Old Arkham Cemetery Limited Editon Starter Water Forest Outside Cemetery City Gate Potter's Field Limited Editon Starter Cemetery Forest Water Outside City This card is in all ways but one identical to Old Arkham Cemetery. There is no reason to play this card. Unnameable House, The Limited Editon Starter Inside Forest Water Gate House --