Secrets Lie in Ruins Old and New

“Destruction of cities through the upthrust of mountains, the centrifugal rending of continents, the seismic convulsions of land or sea-bottom, and other natural causes was a matter of common record;[...] The vast dead megalopolis that yawned around us seemed to be the last general centre of the race;[...] It appeared that this general region was the most sacred spot of all, where reputedly the first Old Ones had settled…”
  –H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness

So that’s it then. The city is just gone. Just like that. One moment it was there, and then that horrible rending and screeching ran through the air like a siren, the sky opened up and bled... You can’t yet face the memory of those horrors. No one should have seen what you have witnessed. You force yourself to the top of a ridge of rubble and survey the wreckage below. As you look down, you realize that there are dozens of grubby, confused faces gazing up at you. Shaking the fog from your mind, you start to clamber down the hillside towards the dazed survivors. There has to be a way to put a stop to this, and these poor people just might have some answers. 

The world is gripped by disastrous weather patterns and the ground quakes as Shudde M’ell, the Cataclysm from Below, begins to wake from is slumber. In Cities in Ruin, the newest expansion for Eldritch Horror, the Ancient One’s dreams rend reality as its slumbering form thrashes about, wreaking havoc on the world of man. In our last preview, we looked at how the new Disaster cards can level a city. So, what is left for the investigators when these former havens are laid low by disaster and invaded by cthonian monstrosities?

Clues Buried in the Rubble

Cities all over the world are left as smoldering or soggy shells of what they once were, but there are still secrets to be learned and there are victims that need help. When a city is devastated, a Devastation token is placed over the location, and it is no longer considered a city space. All of the Clues, Expedition Encounters, and defeated investigators that were in that place are wiped from the map. Any investigators picking their way through the destruction can choose to resolve a Devastation Encounter instead. Obviously these locations have been hotbeds of recent activity related to the Ancient One, and there are opportunities to help survivors or to explore clues that Shudde M’ell’s touch have left behind.

If a ruined structure crumbles around you, will you try to claw your way back to the surface or dig deeper in hopes of finding another passage? When you come upon a crowd of townsfolk in the thrall of one of Shudde M’ell’s cthonian spawn, will you try to wake them from their trance or follow them to the source of its call? Devastation Encounters provide the investigators with choices and tests that can yield an array of rewards and some serious setbacks, so undertake these forays into blighted areas at your own peril. 

The Secrets of Shudde M’ell’s Prison

These recently ruined cities may bring new information to the investigators, but the ancient secrets buried in G’harne that originally bound Shudde M’ell to slumber in his prison in aeons past may be just as valuable. One Mystery introduced in Cities in Ruin allows your bold and desperate team to venture below the Heart of Africa and into G’harne itself!

The Elder Things that once inhabited the city are no longer present. No wise and otherwordly creatures are there to keep a close watch on the cthonian monstrosity that they had once imprisoned deep within the earth. With the seals that bound the Ancient One crumbling, the “Exploring G’harne” Mystery takes investigators into the heart of Shudde M’ell’s ruined prison. The investigators must attempt to plumb the depths of city while dodging plundering cultists, defeating horrible creatures, and witnessing arcane secrets that no human mind can safely contain. Will the investigators return from G’harne with the secrets they sought, or will the city’s dark corners hide things no human can see and survive?

The world trembles as Shudde M’ell strains against his bonds beneath Africa. Can you uncover the secrets of his prison even as it crumbles around the investigators? How many cities will fall before the Cataclysm from Below is calmed? Is all hope lost if Shudde M’ell wakes?

Try to save the world from complete devastation in Eldritch Horror: Cities in Ruin (EH08), coming soon to your local retailer!