Terror from Beyond

Arkham is home to a host of strange, otherworldly occurrences, from bizarre astronomical events to a sense of déjà vu that permeates the whole city. Few know the terrible truth, the source of these anomalies, the nightmares beyond imagination. But it is an investigator's job to get to the putrid heart of these mysteries, to follow horrifying threads and discover this unknowable truth. Can they survive with their sanity intact?

There are four distinct scenarios inviting you to journey into Arkham, and these scenarios provide a new way to play the game with every playthrough. Not only do they provide different goals, monsters, board layouts, and narrative stories, these narratives even have branching paths based on your performance and choices. Regardless of the scenario, your investigators will be pushed to the edge of sanity in their search for answers better left unearthed.

Join us today as we preview two of the four scenarios found in Arkham Horror Third Edition, the newest edition of the classic board game of cooperation and cosmic horror, and pre-order the game today at your local retailer or online through our webstore!

Approach of Azathoth

At the center of infinity slumbers Azathoth, lulled to sleep by the ceaseless piping of accursed flutes. Yet some mortals would seek to draw the infinite power and calamity of the Blind Idiot God to them, and thereby doom all of humanity...

The Approach of Azathoth  scenario sees investigators fighting deranged cultists, tormented by the strange feeling that they’ve done this all before. Thrown into an adventure that spans space and time, can the investigators race against a permeable clock and save their city from the approach of Azathoth?

When playing this scenario, you'll add the two archive cards above to the codex, where they will provide context to your journey, instruct you on how anomalies work and give you your first goal for the game. Not every scenario uses anomalies, and every scenario that does offers a different set of anomaly encounter cards appropriate to the scenario, making each bizarre encounter tailored to your scenario.

The cultists looking to bring about the approach of Azathoth have already begun their work as well. The game begins with doom spread all over Arkham and investigators racing against the clock to gather enough clues to unravel the mystery. But it won’t be easy: cultists like the High Priest continue to place doom in spaces, causing chaos throughout the city, and terrifying Abyssal Servant hunt investigators close to uncovering the truth.

Throughout this scenario, the investigators will need to manage the doom across the city. After all, whenever a single space has three doom or there is five doom spread across a neighborhood, an anomaly is placed in that neighborhood. Not only does this cause strange events to occur in the area, any doom that would spawn in a neighborhood with an anomaly will automatically go onto the scenario sheet instead. Doom on the scenario sheet is a direct threat to investigators, pushing the agenda of the Ancient Ones and bringing the world closer to ruin. You'll have to dive into anomalies and restore stability to Arkham if you're going to have any hope of victory, and in this scenario you will have to contend with Temporal Fissure anomaly cards.

These cards see investigators chasing hooded figures throughout the city and dealing with strange temporal occurrences. Can you rid Arkham of these anomalies and stop the approach of Azathoth while keeping your sanity intact? 

Echoes of the Deep

In his house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming. He slumbers and waits until the stars are right to bring R’lyeh back from its home beneath the waves and for the Great Old Ones to return. For that is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.

Few Ancient Ones inspire as much fear as dread Cthullhu, slumbering, waiting to return and rip the world asunder. The signs of this Ancient One’s approach have already begun showing themselves. As the stars in the sky shift and morph in strange ways, and its citizens increasingly become more bizarre, what secrets does the city of Arkham hold for our investigators? Find out in Echoes of the Deep !

While the Approach of Azathoth sees doom quickly spread throughout the city by cultists, the doom in Echoes of the Deep more directly affects your investigators, dealing horror to everyone equal to the doom in their space. Echoes of the Deep will see your investigators' sanity pushed to the brink: as they try to eradicate anomalies, a poorly timed reckoning can be the source of an unfortunate fate.  

Reckonings aren’t the only way to receive damage, however. Deep Ones worshipping Cthulhu look to stop you at every turn. Throughout your investigation, you’ll have to deal with enemies like the Hybrid Thug,  a human-like hooligan who will track down investigators trying to ward doom from the city. Meanwhile the most dangerous areas of the city will spawn Hooded Stalkers,  waiting to strike the most vulnerable among you.

Warding doom will be of vital importance. Should an anomaly be placed in a neighborhood, players will have to contend with the Nightmare Breach encounter cards. These cards force you to deal face-to-face with strange fish-like citizens and the amorphous nature of the city of Arkham as you race to mend wounds in the city.

With strange changes to the city of Arkham and its inhabitants itself becoming more and more aggressive, can your investigators survive the Echoes of the Deep? 

A Creeping Dread

Regardless of the scenario, your investigators are all that stand against reality-bending Ancient Ones threatening to tear the world apart at the seams. Do you have what it takes to save Arkham and the world with your sanity intact?

Discover ancient horror with Arkham Horror Third Edition (AHB01) available now for pre-order from your local retailer or our website!  As of 12 p.m. CST on 10/23, the Arkham Horror Third Edition Deluxe Rulebook is officially sold out!