Introducing New Orleans Mysteries

Bonjour, investigators! It’s Keith Ryan Kappel here, one of the freelance game writers for Edge Studio. Today, I’m excited to announce New Orleans Mysteries, another entry in the New Orleans era of Arkham Horror: The Roleplaying Game. 

The 96-page hardcover format should be familiar to fans of the Arkham Horror RPG, since it follows in the footsteps of both Arkham Mysteries and Kingsport Mysteries. Within New Orleans Mysteries are three separate investigations, each written by a different author exploring different themes, places, and people of New Orleans. It also features two double-sided poster maps for use with those investigations. 

Each adventure begins with an investigative briefing that outlines the plot and summarizes each scene to help game masters choose which scenario they’d like to run and to assist them in staying anchored in each unique investigation. There are 15 new non-player character (NPC) profiles in the book across the three adventures and a pair of gridded, fold-out battle maps to bring climactic structured encounters to life.  

New Orleans Mysteries requires the Core Rulebook to use, but game masters who also have the New Orleans–themed Welcome to Promise starter set and Songs of New Orleans setting guide will certainly discover tie-ins and opportunities to enrich the table experience.  

Only in New Orleans 

In future articles we’ll venture deeper into the bayou and learn more about what each of these three adventures has to offer, but I simply cannot wait that long to share some tidbits about what authors Brandon Perdue, Jessica Geyer, and I have been working on.

In “The Disappearance of Betty Lane,” written by Brandon Perdue, a dreadful presence casts despair upon the city of New Orleans. Deaths and disappearances have been terrorizing Faubourg Marigny with none more concerning than the vanishing of Betty Lane, a friend of the investigators. The investigation begins in Betty Lane’s office apartment on Frenchmen Street, then continues across entertainment venues throughout New Orleans. All signs point to something inhuman lurking in the foggy darkness of the Louisianian streets.  

In “Rat-a-Tat-Tat,” authored by Jessica Geyer, it’s clear that the sudden surge of rodents overrunning Pinching Town is anything but mundane. The clues lead investigators across the community, from tenements and businesses to the sloshing waters of the wharf and the humid, stagnant air of the sewer system. But the horrible truth behind the growing infestation may force the investigators to confront difficult choices as both their morality and desire for survival are tested.  

In “A Snowball’s Chance in New Orleans,” written by yours truly, Keith Ryan Kappel, a search for a missing musician leads investigators to a shantytown covered in an impossible amount of snow. Exploring the supernatural snowfall only leads investigators to find inhabitants flash-frozen in their homes. The group must discover who, or what, is responsible, and do what they can to prevent a similar fate from befalling the entirety of New Orleans. 

Terror Comes to the Crescent City Soon 

Get ready for vampires, cabarets, were-creatures, jazz clubs, swarming rats, non-Euclidean entities, and more in New Orleans Mysteries, releasing Q1 2027. Keep an eye out for future articles exploring each of the individual adventures in more detail. 

Oh, and investigators? That chill you feel creeping up your spine? It might be more than just the season turning. – Keith Ryan Kappel