The House of Fear

A large brass knocker hangs innocently on the tall wooden doors, betraying no information about what lies beyond. Were you to venture forward, you would find a grand interior, filled to the brim with elegant paintings, ornate lamps, regal furniture, and polished silverware. It is an enviable estate on a hill, to which you may gain entry only through a towering, wrought iron gate. You might describe it as idyllic if you had never actually been inside. But the extravagant possessions scattered throughout the great hallways and rooms tell a story, not of grandeur, but of terror. 

The paintings lining the walls will give you an uneasy feeling, dotted with glittering stars in an unusual and intentional pattern. The lamps which once brought light and warmth are now overturned, leaving only darkness and doubt. Your investigation into the mysterious events will only last minutes before you find yourself running from shapeless oozing masses and enormous winged serpents. You will find rather quickly that the chaise lounge you had momentarily admired is now only a comfort in its ability to hold a door shut, and the sharp cleaver in the kitchen does just as well at piercing live flesh as it does preparing the dead for a feast. And as for the gates outside... what purpose do they serve to keep the undesired out when evil has made its home in the very walls around you? This is the mansion to which your curiosities have brought you, and your escape is hardly guaranteed. 

Mansions of Madness Second Edition arrived in early August and has brought horror to many a home in the weeks since. In the game, you and a group of investigators will fight through a series of monsters and mythos events in order to solve a supernatural mystery. Each investigator role you can play comes with a unique set of skills and attributes to help you navigate the rooms and avenues of each map, seeking answers while fending off unearthly servants of the corrupt. As the halls and horrors before you change with every play, however, there is no right or wrong choice of investigator. Only the misfortune of being the first one to stumble upon each deadly creature. 

Madness and Monsters

The character you choose to take on your journey through the mansion will determine the special abilities you are able to use in your battles against the monsters within and the events that threaten to drive you out of your mind and into the grave. From your health and sanity to your knowledge and skills, each value on your character card will impact the result of every move you make. Any attack can go awry if you are unable to carry it out effectively, potentially opening yourself up to retaliation from the evil beasts surrounding you. 

The creatures bearing down upon you are varied and numerous, each more unfathomable than the last. Some are so horrific that you can hardly contain your fear enough to decide to fight or flee. During the Investigator Phase of the game, you will have your chance to attack them, but leave them alive long enough to see a Mythos Phase, and you may find yourself facing the full wrath of towering serpents, corrupted human forms, and monstrous tentacled hulks unlike anything ever before seen. 

An Uncertain Path

The setting of each and every scenario will take you somewhere new, be it to a wealthy residence at the edge of town or a downtrodden inn off an abandoned alley. Each room will present new scenes and objects to investigate, though insanity may wait in every corner. Mythos events will arise in seemingly safe spaces, plaguing investigators with fearful sights and sounds. Whether they are real and tangible or creations of the mind is a detail you may never quite sort out. And how can you when your sanity is constantly in question?

The scenarios of the game are guided by the Mansions of Madness app, which walks you and your fellow investigators through each mysterious investigation step by step. Varying in difficulty and length, each scenario fashions a different experience of fear—though fear will find you no matter which endeavor you pursue. A second playthrough of a single scenario will produce new and unfamiliar details, creating an environment of even greater uncertainty. The door that once took you into a quiet office now conceals a bedroom, occupied by the very cultists who have brought about the chilling events you have come to investigate. The security of prior knowledge is not one that you are so fortunate to have in these adventures.

Arkham Nights at the Mansion

Make your acquaintance with the other investigators of Arkham this fall at Arkham Nights 2016, where you will be able to explore not only the hilltop mansions of Arkham and the eerie streets of Innsmouth, but also Hangman's Hill Cemetery and Sentinel Hill, settings introduced alongside the Recurring Nightmares and Suppressed Memories Figure and Tile Collections released today. Whether you are stepping across the threshold for the first time or have a series of solved and unsolved cases under your belt, you are invited to enter the Mansion and discover the horrors waiting inside. Preregister now to join a weekend of Lovecraftian fright and excitement, October 14-15.