A Game Master’s Guide to the Crescent City

Time grows short and black stars rise over the Crescent City! Edge Studio’s upcoming setting guide Songs of New Orleans releases on October 30, and within you will find a complete guide to running adventures for Arkham Horror: The Roleplaying Game in 1920s New Orleans. You will also find new lore for the maddening Ancient One known as Hastur, a section detailing the decaying city of Lost Carcosa, and a full-length adventure set against the backdrop of New Orleans during Mardi Gras! A word to the wise: if you’re a player and want to be completely surprised by what your game master (GM) has in store for you, head on over to last week’s preview article talking all about the new player options in this book. Otherwise, read on at your own peril… 

Take Your Campaign to New Orleans 

Songs of New Orleans doesn’t just provide an overview of the Crescent City. It also includes adventure synopses to help players encounter the Mythos in New Orleans! The chapter contains six two-page mysteries, each set in one of the city’s iconic neighborhoods. With minimal work, these short adventures can provide a full game session’s worth of entertainment as one-shots, or else be tied together into a campaign as the players explore the city! The pull-out map of New Orleans included with the book helps players and GMs track down clues across the city. Game masters will also find plenty of inspiration for crafting their own adventures in New Orleans, along with compelling non-player characters to populate them. 

Survive the Ruins of Lost Carcosa

The Big Easy is not the only city detailed in Song of New Orleans. The book also describes at length the Immemorial City of Lost Carcosa. The Dread City is more corpse than metropolis, containing ancient cyclopean buildings, hollow alien spires, and the cast-offs of lost civilizations from throughout human history. 

Investigators who find themselves wandering the streets of Lost Carcosa are exposed to the unnatural nature of the city. They’ll brave the legendary wet winds of Carcosa, risking hypothermia, and may find themselves trapped by their own nostalgia or lost in the eddies of time. If they ever return home, they may find only minutes have passed or perhaps an entire lifetime as the world moved on without them. 

The abnormal environment of Lost Carcosa is far from the only threat prowling the streets of the Dread City. Ethereal wraiths haunt the dark places of the city, slipping through solid walls in search of victims. Fearsome Byakhee take wing, carefully tracking and hunting their prey. The poisonous nostalgia of the city also attracts beings cursed with the plague of vampirism. 

Confront the Tattered King 

Within the pages of Songs of New Orleans, game masters and fans of the Cthulhu Mythos alike will discover new lore concerning Hastur himself, the lord of Lost Carcosa. Discover the ineffable will of the Tattered King and how his tendrils of nostalgia ensnare mortal minds. Uncover the truth about the cursed play, The King in Yellow—a play that draws cosmic horror to performers and audience alike! Finally, readers will learn how the dreaded Yellow Sign infects the minds of all those unfortunate enough to look upon it. Have you seen it? 

Save Mardi Gras! 

“The Krewe in Yellow” is a full-length adventure set against the backdrop of New Orleans swept up in the thrill of Mardi Gras. The investigators have been invited to a private Fat Tuesday soiree in New Orleans. Their gracious host, actress Lola Hayes, has reached out under the guise of reconnecting with once-close friends. However, Lola’s motivations for inviting the investigators are not exactly as they appear. Something is wrong in the city and Lola suspects that her connection to the cursed play, The King in Yellow, that she was involved with in Paris has something to do with it. The investigators will have to work quickly to uncover and stop the plot before innocent lives are lost! 

The New Setting Guide is Available Soon 

Songs of New Orleans is designed to be played with either a copy of a Starter Set (either Hungering Abyss or Welcome to Promise) or the Core Rulebook for Arkham Horror: The Roleplaying Game. Black stars rise on October 30, so stay tuned to ArkhamHorror.com for more information, and pre-order a copy of Songs of New Orleans from your local game store today!