The investigators of Arkham are used to dealing with monsters. From eldritch abominations to unspeakable horrors, they’ve run the gamut on just about every supernatural threat you can think of. But not every monster has multiple eyes or gnashing teeth, and when people start disappearing, the Mythos is rarely the only thing to blame.

Fantasy Flight Games is excited to announce the Traces to Nowhere Scenario Pack for Arkham Horror: The Card Game!

In this thrilling new scenario pack, one to four investigators look into yet another series of recent disappearances plaguing the city of Arkham, desperately trying to find the culprit before they join the list of victims themselves. As with previous scenario packs, Traces to Nowhere can be played standalone or inserted into a campaign as a side-story, and you can even earn a new reward card for your collection! With different possible culprits behind the disappearances that change with each playthrough, this scenario promises a tantalizing mystery that you’ll want to revisit again and again.

 

 

No Stone Unturned

Our story begins when renowned private eye Aziza Steer calls you and your fellow investigators in to help her resolve a real head-scratcher of a case. Josephine Husserl—matriarch of an affluent family whose history in Arkham has been mired in scandals and backroom deals—hired Aziza to find her missing husband, Elias Husserl, who recently vanished without a trace.

 

 

Over the past few weeks, no meaningful leads have been found, and to make things worse, when you arrive to help out, you immediately discover that Aziza has gone missing as well. With few other options, you decide to pick up where Aziza left off and resume the search. Hopefully you can find a clue to Elias and Aziza’s whereabouts, and with a bit of luck, you might even be able to save them. Of course, if you’re not careful, you might just end up abducted yourself.

 

 

Speaking of which, this scenario takes the concept of “abduction” a bit further than just the narrative. Some encounter cards—such as the treachery Over Your Shoulder (Traces to Nowhere, 46)—can cause your assets to become “abducted,” which tucks them underneath the scenario reference card and traps them there until they are rescued. The agenda has a Forced effect that can cause story assets to be abducted as well, which means no matter who you meet during your investigation, no one is truly safe.

With limited time and a lot of ground to cover, you begin your investigation at Steer’s Office (Traces to Nowhere, 8). Here, you can rifle through Aziza’s notes to get some extra clues placed around town, which you can then spend to draw the top card of the “leads deck.” This deck is full of witnesses that you can press for more information—such as the Husserl matriarch herself, Josephine Husserl (Traces to Nowhere, 34)—and you can spend additional clues to reduce the difficulty of their Parley tests, if need be. Successful parleys will provide key insight into which of six suspects might be the culprit, and the identity of that culprit will change depending on which witnesses you reveal from the lead deck. Once you’ve questioned enough witnesses and narrowed down the list of suspects, you can then start preparing to confront the culprit themself!

 

 

Of course, nothing is ever that simple. Not long after you start poking your nose where it doesn’t belong, the mysterious and terrifying Abductor (Traces to Nowhere, 53a) begins to stalk the scene. This thing can’t be defeated, stopped, or even properly identified (at first, at least), and the best you can do is temporarily ward it off before it spirits away your key witnesses. As if that wasn’t bad enough on its own, you’ll also have to deal with Bruisers (Traces to Nowhere, 38) and Hired Enforcers (Traces to Nowhere, 39) harrying you, whose employer seems concerningly interested in hindering your progress. Keep an eye out for an Approaching Shadow (Traces to Nowhere, 45) that may leap out and attack you at any moment, and take care not to hoard too many unnecessary clues, or else you may find yourself Back at Square One (Traces to Nowhere, 42). Even though it can feel as if the entire city is working against you, you and your fellow investigators must persevere if the truth of these disappearances is ever to come to light.

 

 

A Hardboiled Reward

In past announcements regarding Chapter Two for Arkham Horror: The Card Game, we’ve talked at length about the addition of reward cards to the game. Though typically tied to specific campaigns, you can also earn a reward card when you complete certain scenarios, and Traces to Nowhere is one such scenario!

 

 

If you manage to find and rescue her during the events of Traces to Nowhere, then you’ll be able to add the hardboiled detective Aziza Steer (Traces to Nowhere, 59) to your decks going forward. Though she costs 3 experience to add to your deck, Aziza’s abilities are more than worth it. In addition to her having solid health and sanity values, whenever you play an event during your turn, you can exhaust Aziza to gain an extra benefit depending on the event’s trait, potentially doubling up on your actions or letting you cover two bases at once!

Just like with previous reward cards, once you “unlock” Aziza Steer for your deckbuilding, you’ll be able to use her in your deck for other scenarios and campaigns beyond Traces to Nowhere. Look forward to teaming up with this skilled detective and seeing how much she can help you solve the mysteries surrounding Arkham!

 

More Than You Bargained For

Between mysterious abductions and the myriad connections of a family up to something shady, the investigators will have to pull out all the stops if they want to get to the bottom of this mystery before it’s too late. Uncover the culprit and rescue the abducted citizens when the Traces to Nowhere Scenario Pack arrives in stores this October!

You can preorder your own copy of Traces to Nowhere (AHC107) at your local retailer or online through our webstore today!

 

 

Written by Peter Schumacher