Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Where The Gods Dwell

Following the events of Dark Side of the Moon, you have come to the land of Leng, a barren, icy wasteland where you believe the peak of unknown Kadath resides. All the while, a presence taunts you, gnawing at your insides. It is a wordless, derisive voice that you cannot hear, but feel within the confines of your mind. You know what it says, that it can see you, that it is waiting for you and there is no escape from its grasp. Perhaps you have been a fool to think that this quest was ever yours and not merely the design of some greater, ancient being. What ever made you think that you were in control?

Perhaps you have been drawn here by the very thing you thought you were chasing all along. Your battle with the Ancient One Nyarlathotep (Where the Gods Dwell, 306) deals with deceit, lies, and reality. This is not a straightforward fight where you can look your enemy in the eye and simply shoot it with a gun. Nyarlathotep is cunning, malicious, and manipulative; and figuring out how to stop his scheme to gain control over both the dreaming and waking worlds together is the ultimate puzzle that you must solve. The Ancient One has many faces, any of which you may be forced to add to your hand, never speaking of them lest you face his wrath and be driven insane. Revealing any of Nyarlathotep’s Myriad Forms (Where the Gods Dwell, 318) will force you to reveal any copies of Nyarlathotep that are in your hand and have them attack you before being shuffled into the encounter deck, disappearing before you can respond. If you can somehow draw him out, expose him, you may stand a chance! But how do you fight an enemy you cannot understand?

Desperate Measures

As fate brings you face to face with the most dreaded creatures of nightmares, Where The Gods Dwell provides you with a plethora of new tools and weapons to help you stand against the agents of evil. In this, your most desperate hour, a Mystic may resort to their own use of the eldritch forces, bringing a Summoned Hound (Where the Gods Dwell, 282) into our world. This beast, which fills both an investigator’s arcane and ally slots, can be used to increase your own powers by allowing you to either attack with a base combat skill of five, or investigate with a base intelligence skill of five. Additionally, the hound’s three health can act as a nice buffer against whatever terrors you will find in Kadath.

However, all power comes with a price, and meddling with forces you do not understand can have unexpected consequences. As an additional cost to bring a Summoned Hound to your side, you must search your bonded cards for a copy of Unbound Beast (Where the Gods Dwell, 283) and shuffle it into your deck. If you should ever reveal this card, you lose control of the Hound and must bear the consequences of having it turn against you and hunt you with an unearthly zeal. With such an attached risk, few would dare to summon their own hound of Tindalos, but isn’t pushing your luck to the edge of madness what being a Mystic is all about?

With your mind being torn apart by the power of the Ancient Ones, you may feel like there is no hope for ever returning to your beloved Arkham. But futility offers its own macabre freedom. You may find that you have Nothing Left to Lose (Where the Gods Dwell, 284). This zero-cost event allows you to gain resources until you have 5 total and draw cards until you have a total of five in your hand. Playing off the investigator ability of Patrice Hathaway (The Dream-Eaters, 5), this card can give any survivor the chance to completely reset their board state and form a new strategy when trapped in a tight spot with a plethora of new options and the resources to pay for them. While this card can only be used once before it is removed from the game, if used at the right time, it has the power to change your fate. You may never return home, but that does not mean that you will ever give up.