An Investigator's Guide to Kingsport Horror, vol. 2

Epic Battles in Kingsport Horror
By Michael Hurley

"I knew, in that one horrible instant, that the gods of Man would not be coming to our aid this day."

The newest forthcoming expansion for the Arkham Horror board game is Kingsport Horror (available Spring 2008), and one of its most exciting elements is the Epic Battle Variant. The focus of this variant is adding a new level of challenge to the final battle against the Ancient One, should it awaken from its slumber to wreak havoc on the mortal world.

Green and Red Card Backs

Of course, battling an Ancient One has never been easy, but players have always had a fairly good idea of what to expect. After all, the Ancient One’s powers and the nature of its attack are printed on a sheet for all to view. Experienced players can use this knowledge to adjust their strategies throughout the game; with a bit of luck, this adjustment can make the final battle much easier for them.

"With a crackle of energy, the creature shot forward to attack us before we were ready. But in truth, it could have taken a lifetime to attack, and we would never have been ready."

The Epic Battle Variant adds a considerable amount of chaos to the final battle by adding a deck of Epic Battle cards. At the beginning of every combat round, one Epic Battle card is drawn from this deck, adding additional bonuses, penalties, or special events to that particular combat round. For example, the card "Taint of Evil" imposes a –1 penalty to each die rolled by the investigators. Epic Battle cards also dictate whether the investigators, or the Ancient One, attacks first that round; a few cards even prevent one side from attacking at all.

"A Noble Sacrifice"

There are two types of Epic Battle cards: Green cards are challenging, but still reasonably easy to weather; red cards are much more difficult to withstand and often include terrible consequences for one or more investigators. During setup, the two card types are shuffled separately, and then the eight green cards are placed on top of the eight red cards to form a single deck. This arrangement creates an additional element of impending doom, for the longer the final battle against the Ancient One lasts, the greater the likelihood the investigators will suffer a horrific defeat. In particular, there is one red Epic Battle card titled "The End of Everything" where all of the investigators are devoured!

"We braced ourselves. There was no telling what the creature would do next."

The same 16 Epic Battle cards are used in every game; however each Ancient One also has its own deck of Sinister Plot cards that add a unique flavor to every final battle. Some Epic Battle cards instruct the players to draw and immediately resolve a Sinister Plot card as though it were the battle card.

"Join Me!" card

Kingsport Horror includes Sinister Plot decks for each of its new Ancient Ones, as well as decks for the Ancient Ones that appear in the Dunwich Horror expansion and the Arkham Horror base game.