What You Need to Know:
- Arkham Horror RPG is a Lovecraftian horror RPG set in 1920s Massachusetts, where players investigate cosmic mysteries while trying not to go insane – think noir detective meets Cthulhu with jazz-age vibes.
- The game uses a dice pool system where you spend your 6d6 to take actions, but damage reduces your pool, and special “Horror Dice” can cause mental trauma.
- The game is accessible, and the starter set includes everything you need (adventure, characters, handouts, maps, 24 dice)
Imagine stepping back in time to the Roaring Twenties. Jazz fills the streets, and flappers dance until dawn. But beneath all the glitz and glamor, something ancient stirs – waiting to strike.
Arkham Horror is Edge Studio’s latest take on Lovecraftian tabletop roleplay, and this RPG drops you right into the fantastical from the first roll.
But is the adventure worth playing? Read on to learn a bit more about Arkham Horror, how the game plays, and what to expect as you dive into the darkness.
Welcome to the Dark Side of the Golden Era
Arkham Horror places you at the heart of a Lovecraftian story set in 1920s Massachusetts – a sleepy town where investigators uncover occult conspiracies while maintaining their fragile humanity.
The game offers a bit of a refreshing take on adventure. Rather than navigating the campaign as superheroes, you’re more of the everyday person caught up in supernatural chaos.
Players can take on the roll of librarians, detectives, psychologists, and even gravediggers who stumble on mysteries that threaten to tear at the fabric of reality. With an emphasis on collaborative storytelling and dynamic tension, each action rewards deduction and emotion. We like to say it’s noir investigation meets genuine, jaw-dropping dread.
What’s in the Box: Your Portal to Arkham
If you’re new to the game, we encourage you to pick up the Arkham Horror RPG starter set “Hungering Abyss”. This set includes everything you’ll need to begin investigating:
- Complete adventure spanning three acts with branching paths
- Five pre-generated investigators with backstories and personal stakes
- Physical handouts: autopsy notes, police reports, cryptic puzzles
- Visual aids: maps, tokens, and a GM screen with essential tables
- 24 dice (though we’d recommend more – you’ll be spending them fast)
We love that the components feel premium. They’re made of hefty cardstock, and the easy-to-read layouts and artwork capture 1920s occult investigation excellently.
Playing Your Role In The Arkham Story
What’s one of the most essential parts of any tabletop game? Character creation!
And in Arkham Horror RPG, you get to start off your experience by choosing an archetype that defines how you’ll respond to the unknown.
The Mystic
As a mystic, you’re slightly more attuned to the supernatural. You’ve glimpsed beyond the veil yet retained enough sanity to harness what you’ve learned. In Arkham Horror, Mystics wield actual magic – but you’ll quickly find that real power comes with terrible costs.
The Rogue
The Rogue believes that rules are for those who don’t know what’s truly lurking under the surface of Arkham. They operate outside society’s boundaries and use stealth, deception, and unconventional solutions.
The Seeker
For the Seeker, knowledge is the ultimate weapon. These players will use their skills of research and understanding to deduce solutions. The mind is the greatest asset for a Seeker – if they can keep it intact.
The Survivor
A classic Lovecraft character, the Survivor is known for their sheer refusal to die. When things go wrong (and they will), you’re the one still standing – and sometimes, that’s your greatest weapon.
Beyond the initial archetype, each investigator will start out with personal leads and secret hooks. These leads and hooks act as the campaign’s narrative thread that connects them to the mystery.
Maybe you’re searching for a missing colleague, or you’ve inherited a disturbing journal. These become simple yet important mechanical advantages that will play into how the story unfolds.
Action in Arkham Horror RPG: The Dynamic Dice Pool
Action in Arkham Horror RPG is built around the dice pool system.
Each investigator starts with six d6s representing their capacity to act. Want to pick a lock? Spend dice. Fight off a ghoul? You’ll need to spend dice.
As you can imagine, it may pay off to act in a moment of dread. But then again, keeping back some of your dice for later could help you avoid being knocked out – it’s all how you play.
As you play, you’ll find that damage doesn’t just hurt you, but it also shrinks your dice pool. Take three damage, lose three dice from your maximum. Suddenly, your six-dice pool becomes three, forcing desperate choices.
The Horror Dice
Arkham Horror’s Horror Dice add to the mix. In certain encounters, you’ll be forced to replace normal dice with black horror dice.
Roll a 1 on horror dice, and your character will suffer trauma. Trauma slowly inflicts psychological wounds that can range from temporary phobias to complete mental breakdown.
How Does Gameplay Work in Arkham Horror RPG?
You’ll discover that a typical gameplay session in Arkham Horror RPG follows a traditional investigative arc. You’ll start off in a specific space where you’ll use your skills of investigation (as well as your character’s unique leads) to work out the mystery.
As the game flows, you’ll work together – to a degree. The game encourages information sharing through mechanical benefits.
Investigators hand each other clue cards, building up the collective knowledge of the situation while characters maintain individual secrets. Maybe you discover a cult meeting location, but keep quiet about recognizing your brother among the robed figures.
Arkham Horror RPG is built around two primary “scene” types.
- Narrative Scenes: These are more loose, roleplay-focused investigation scenes where time flows naturally and you can try to work out the mystery.
- Structured Scenes: Some scenes become turn-based tension where you’ll be spending dice in combat or running from danger. You might even find yourself defusing eldritch bombs!
The investigation escalates naturally, and you never know what the next moment might spring on you and the group. Each scene will raise the stakes until you’re working together to prevent a ritual that kicks off the end of the world as you know it!
Tips for Making The Most Of Your Lovecraft Adventure
As you can imagine, Arkham Horror RPG employs some different gameplay skills and tactics than other games. Here are some of our quick tips to help you get the most from the game!
Manage Your Dice Carefully
As with any resource, you don’t want to spend the entire pool unless absolutely necessary. Your leftover dice become reactions, allowing you to dodge attacks, resist mental influence, and so on. Run out of dice, and you’ll also run out of hope.
Information is Currency
When you’re investigating, knowledge is power and money. Work to share clues liberally but dramatize personal revelations. The game integrates benefits to real cooperation, which outweigh hoarding knowledge.
Running is Valid
Don’t be afraid to split. Arkham Horror isn’t a game where you obliterate every space you’re in – sometimes, it pays to barricade the doors and jump out the window!
Specialize Your Team
The right team makes all the difference. At the start, designate roles to your advantage. Pick someone to focus on clue-finding (high Intuition/Knowledge), and put someone on combat (Melee/Ranged). Players who can support (using aid actions) are a great addition to any paranormal investigation.
Embrace the Horror
Don’t fight the trauma mechanics! This is all about the emotion of the moment, so lean into your dramatic tendencies and let your characters come to life. You can even use the negative consequences of trauma and Horror Dice to develop your character up to the final moments.
Your Investigation Begins Now – Up For The Challenge?
Among the many Lovecraftian games, Arkham Horror RPG offers something unique. It’s more action-oriented than Call of Cthulhu and a bit more accessible than Delta Green, but it maintains that genuine horror tension that makes any tabletop experience fun.
Best of all, you don’t have to be a Lovecraft expert to learn the ropes quickly. The dice systems are easy to learn, and the game offers plenty of depth that grows with your experience.
So, are you brave enough to walk Arkham’s fog-shrouded streets? Grab your dice pool and gather your fellow investigators, and start uncovering the mystery. Because in Arkham, the real horror isn’t what you find. It’s what finds you.
