Path To Carcosa

Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?

 

“He mentioned the establishment of the Dynasty in Carcosa, the lakes which connected Hastur, Aldebaran, and the mystery of the Hyades. He spoke of Cassilda and Camilla, and sounded the cloudy depths of Demhe and the Lake of Hali.”

– Robert W. Chambers, “The Repairer of Reputations”

The Path to Carcosa is a campaign for Arkham Horror: The Card Game for 1–4 players. “Curtain Call” and “The Last King” can be found in The Path to Carcosa deluxe expansion. “Echoes of the Past,” “The Unspeakable Oath,” “A Phantom of Truth,” “The Pallid Mask,” “Black Stars Rise,” and “Dim Carcosa” can be found in the six Mythos Packs of the same titles within The Path to Carcosa cycle.

Additional Rules and Clarifications

New Keyword: Hidden

Some encounter cards in The Path to Carcosa campaign have the “hidden” keyword. Hidden cards have Revelation abilities that secretly add them to your hand. This should be done without revealing that card or its text to the other investigators. While a hidden card is in your hand, treat it as if it were in your threat area. 
Its Constant abilities are active, and abilities on it can be triggered, but only by you. A hidden card counts toward your hand size, but it cannot be discarded from your hand by any means except those described on the card. When discarded, hidden cards are placed in the encounter discard pile. They do not remain a part of your deck like weaknesses do. For the best experience, players are encouraged to stay “in character” and not share information about hidden cards in their hand.

 

Lola and “Roles”

As a renowned actress, Lola Hayes can play many different roles.
At the beginning of each scenario, after investigators draw opening hands, Lola Hayes must choose a role (Neutral, Guardian, Seeker, Rogue, Mystic, or Survivor). Lola can only play cards, commit cards to skill tests, or trigger <act>, <fre>, or <res> abilities on Neutral cards or cards whose class matches her role. This restriction only applies to player cards, not to encounter cards or weaknesses. Note that Constant and Forced abilities remain active on cards whose class does not match Lola’s role.

 

Doubt and Conviction

Some story resolutions and interludes in The Path to Carcosa campaign instruct the players to “Mark one Doubt” or “Mark one Conviction” in their Campaign Log. This is done by filling in one of the boxes next to “Doubt” or “Conviction” at the bottom of the Campaign Log.

Later in the campaign, some scenarios may be changed or altered depending on whether the investigators “have more Doubt than Conviction” or “have more Conviction than Doubt.” 
The investigators have more Doubt than Conviction if the number of boxes filled in next to Doubt is greater than the number of boxes filled in next to Conviction (and vice versa). Doubt and Conviction are shared among all of the investigators, and they are not tied to any specific investigator. Doubt and Conviction have no game effect except when explicitly referenced by the Campaign Guide or by a card effect.

Story Cards

Story cards are a new cardtype in The Path to Carcosa campaign. 
These cards serve as an avenue for additional narrative and typically appear as the reverse side of another scenario card. When you are instructed to resolve a story card, simply read its story text and resolve its game text, if any.

 

Expansion Icon

The cards in The Path to Carcosa campaign can be identified by this symbol before each card’s collector number:

 

Campaign Setup

To set up The Path to Carcosa campaign, perform the following steps in order.

1. Choose investigator(s).

2. Each player assembles his or her investigator deck.

3. Choose difficulty level.

4. Assemble the campaign chaos bag.

==Easy (I want to watch the play):

+1, +1, 0, 0, 0, –1, –1, –1, –2, –2, 󲅻, 󲅻, 󲅻, 󲅽, 󲅿.

==Standard (I want to read the signs):

+1, 0, 0, –1, –1, –1, –2, –2, –3, –4, 󲅻, 󲅻, 󲅻, 󲅽, 󲅿.

==Hard (I want to speak the oath):

0, 0, 0, –1, –1, –2, –2, –3, –3, –4, –5, 󲅻, 󲅻, 󲅻, 󲅽, 󲅿.

==Expert (I want The King in Yellow):

0, –1, –1, –2, –2, –3, –3, –4, –4, –5, –6, –8, 󲅻, 󲅻, 󲅻, 󲅽, 󲅿.

 

Prologue

You turn over the folded program in your hand, reading it for what seems like the hundredth time. “Miskatonic Playhouse presents: The King in Yellow,” it reads. “A special one-night engagement at Arkham’s very own Ward Theatre. An irresistible drama in two acts. Production staged and directed by Nigel Engram.” The cast is a small ensemble, with one unattributed credit at the end: “The Stranger.” 

To have such a highly anticipated play come to Arkham all the way from Paris is a noteworthy event, even if it is just for one night. For weeks leading up to the show, it was the talk of the town. It seemed so unassuming…and yet, you have evidence something sinister is at work. It started with the disappearance of one of the stagehands at the theatre—a boy of only seventeen who missed rehearsal one night and was never seen again. Then, less than two weeks before the performance, there was the musician whose corpse was found with a gun in its mouth.

Perhaps most chilling was the crazed man the coppers had picked up in Independence Square who had been ranting and raving about the “King’s return.” He was brought to Arkham Asylum, and you were surprised to discover that he was not alone in his delusions.

Finding these events suspicious, you and your companions have delved deeper into the matter. Although no connection can be proven, these weren’t the only strange events surrounding the up-and-coming play.

Instances of suicide and madness have followed in its wake, and you are determined to discover why.

The lights in the auditorium dim, and a spotlight shines on the stage. What unfolds is not quite what you expected. Slow‑paced and monotonous, the first act of The King in Yellow is a tedious bore. The setting and characters are compelling, but the meandering and nonsensical story does little to entertain or inform. You begin to wonder whether the dreadful events surrounding The King in Yellow aren’t connected, after all. Perhaps it was just your overactive imagination; how could such a trivial and unassuming show cause such pandemonium? You are surprised when the first act closes without any rising action or revelation. The lights rise for the intermission, and you consider leaving early, stifling a yawn. Before you are able to decide, however, you find yourself drifting…drifting…to sleep. 

 

If Lola Hayes was chosen as an investigator for this campaign:

That investigator reads Lola Prologue (out loud).

Otherwise: Proceed to Scenario I: Curtain Call.

 

Lola Prologue:

Act I came and went without a hitch, as it often did in rehearsal. You couldn’t help but note the blank, dismissive expressions on many of the audience members’ faces, and you wonder how the audience will react to the play’s disturbing second half. The role of Cassilda is tiresomely boring for the first half of the play, although you enjoy portraying her regal charm. You find yourself missing your previous co-star, Miriam Twain, and suddenly the dread and regret you had felt in Paris comes flooding back. With a sigh, you retreat to a dark corner backstage to escape the sounds of stagehands preparing for the next scene. You try to quell your emotions and replace your thoughts with those of Cassilda’s— her hopes, her fears, her fate.

Just then, you catch the Stranger staring at you from afar, and you find yourself shaking at the mere sight of him. Even though they continue to replace the actor who plays the Stranger before each show (and indeed many times during rehearsals), you know that this last-minute replacement is the most horrid of them all. Realizing you never caught his name, a shiver of terror courses through your spine. Have you found your way back to the wolves, like a lost lamb? You cannot look away— his gaze is inescapable. Everything goes black.

 

Proceed to Scenario I: Curtain Call.