The prospect of rooting around the nefarious activities of some sordid Cthulhu cult is not appealing in real life. That stuff’s way outside my skill set. I’d end up like Sam Neill at the end of that movie In The Mouth Of Madness, where he’s laughing away at himself in an empty cinema. Conducting such life-and-sanity-threatening investigations within the confines of an RPG, however, gets a big Hell Yeah: it’s an opportunity to actually be brave. Arkham Horror RPG was my first real experience of this sort of game – I missed out Dungeons and Dragons entirely during my youth. Wasn’t surrounded by the right kind of nerd, unfortunately. This game, though, and the Starter Set in particular are a perfect way into this side of the hobby, and was so much fun that I’m desperate for more. And here it is. If the cover doesn’t give it away, this expansion is a big departure from the Starter Set (which I love, love, love). Let’s dig a little deeper into the story, shall we?
In the fall of 1930, an expedition from Miskatonic University led by Professor William Dyer travelled to Antarctica. Their goal was to explore vast swaths of the continent, looking for scientific discoveries. What they found was mind-shattering horror. After losing over half the expedition in mysterious and gruesome circumstances, the survivors fled. Now, two years later, Professor Dyer hopes to return to Antarctica and rescue these lost explorers, before they too are swallowed up by the terrors beyond the Mountains of Madness…
Let’s pause there for a moment: if you’ve read any of H.P. Lovecraft’s work (hideous bloke, but he’s long dead and didn’t profit from his work, so…) you’ll have loosed a little gasp of recognition/fear/outright horror at the mention of the Mountains of Madness. Bad times surely lie ahead for any foolish investigators who venture near. Oh, hang on, you’re one of those investigators…
Terra Antarctica is a large-scale campaign for the Arkham Horror Roleplaying Game with over 50 hours of gameplay in a box, along with all the components, props, and accessories you need to keep your group coming back to your gaming table for session after session, including blue dice (nice icy theme there), cards, a fold out of an icy wasteland, scenario booklets. Hand-outs like notebooks and map fragments, puzzles and more.. Terra Antarctica blends mystery, investigation, horror, and two-fisted action for an adventure you and your friends will never forget!
This story is brand new; beginning with you and your friends being recruited to Dyer’s rescue mission and continuing as you venture deep into the howling white wilderness of Antarctica. Will you rescue the survivors of the previous expedition? Will you uncover the mysteries of the cyclopean city of the Elder Things? Or will you, as many others have before, vanish in the attempt?
If you’ve already got the Starter Set then you’re ready for a longer, more challenging adventure, and Terra Antarctica is it. Head here to check it out, and bring your fluffiest hiking boots. It’s going to be a little chilly out there…
About the author:
Steve is currently a freelance board game blogger, but often dreams of life as a pirate, or as a ghost herder in the Lake District, or as an evil estate agent who sells haunted houses for his own dark pleasure. Instead of figuring out how to do these jobs in real life like a normal lunatic, he tries to write about them instead, and releases the resultant books upon the unsuspecting world via famous digital bookstores. More books are bound to follow. Find this peculiar entity here.
