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Assuming that I was sane and awake, my experience on that night was such as has befallen no man before. It was, moreover, a frightful confirmation of all I had sought to dismiss as myth and dream.
-H. P. Lovecraft, The Shadow Out of Time
Lovecraftian horror is a concept that needs little introduction. It's the idea of monsters and mysterious phenomena that exist in the depths of space, in the veil between universes, and in the corners of our minds, and has influenced works from Alien to Dungeons & Dragons.
Arkham Horror: The Card Game is but one of many tabletop games set directly in the mythos of Lovecraft's fiction, and it's arguably the best. Originally released in 2016, this Living Card Game (or LCG) has players taking on the role of investigators, working together to unravel mysteries and sinister conspiracies. And maybe, if they're lucky, live to tell the tale.
As they play through each scenarios, the investigators create a narrative campaign, in which gameplay and story decisions have consequences that will carry on to later games. Each investigator has their own deck of ability cards, and if they do well, they'll be able to upgrade those cards and be better prepared to face the increased challenge of later scenarios. Fail to hold back the monsters and madness, and the investigators will suffer trauma that will continue to haunt them.
Arkham Horror has branching paths and multiple endings. Each scenario has multiple possible "resolutions", usually determined by how well the investigators accomplish their goals before time runs out. These resolutions will lead the players to the end of the campaign, for good or ill. By its very nature, Arkham doesn't exactly do happy endings. The best-case outcome for players is usually that they manage to contain the big nasty, and don't go insane in the process. Fail, and, well... you're lucky if all you lose is your life.
How will this LP work?
This will primarily be a mechanics- and gameplay-focused LP. I will, of course, be transposing all of the flavor and story text from the game, but I won't be writing dialogue for the investigators. Forums user Inadequately ran a (sadly abandoned) narrative LP, which I'd recommend checking out if you're looking for that.
Do I need to know how to play to follow along?
Nope! While being familiar with the game will help (and I encourage anyone with the opportunity to give it a try), I'll be teaching as we go. Furthermore, the first campaign is a short one that's designed to introduce new players to the game.
Will there be audience participation?
We'll see! The first campaign we'll be playing is pretty straightforward, so there won't be any significant choices to make. If there's enough interest, we'll have votes during the later campaigns on major story beats and branching paths. Either way, we'll all be going through this mad thing together!
Spoilers?
Please avoid spoiling future content. As the game's narrative and choices are a major part of the core experience, we want to make sure everyone who hasn't seen this game has the chance to experience the story, narrative, twists and turns. That said, feel free to point out how bad at deckbuilding I am!
[link to The Gathering (Part 1)]