The Path to Carcosa

The Pallid Mask

Scenario

Mythos

Easy / Standard

: -X. X is the number of locations away from the starting location you are (max 5).

: -2. If this token is revealed during an attack, and this skill test is successful, this attack deals 1 less damage.

: -2. If there is a ready Ghoul or Geist enemy at your location, it attacks you (if there is more than one, choose one).

: -3. If you fail, search the encounter deck and discard pile for a Ghoul or Geist enemy and draw it.

The Pallid Mask #240. The Pallid Mask #1.

The Pallid Mask - Back

Scenario

Hard / Expert

: -X. X is the number of locations away from the starting location you are.

: -3. If this token is revealed during an attack and this skill test is successful, this attack deals no damage.

: -3. If there is a Ghoul or Geist enemy at your location, it readies and attacks you (if there is more than one, choose one).

: -4. If you fail, search the encounter deck and discard pile for a Ghoul or Geist enemy and draw it.

The Unspeakable Oath

Scenario

Mythos

Easy / Standard

: -1. If you fail, randomly choose an enemy from among the set-aside Monster enemies and place it beneath the act deck without looking at it.

: -X. X is the amount of horror on you.

: -X. X is the base shroud value of your location.

: 0. Either randomly choose an enemy from among the set-aside Monster enemies and place it beneath the act deck without looking at it, or this test automatically fails instead.

The Unspeakable Oath #159. The Unspeakable Oath #1.

The Unspeakable Oath - Back

Scenario

Hard / Expert

: Reveal another token. If you fail, randomly choose an enemy from among the set-aside Monster enemies and place it beneath the act deck without looking at it. (Limit once per test.)

: -X. X is the amount of horror on you. If you fail, take 1 horror.

: -X. X is the base shroud value of your location. If you fail, take 1 horror.

: 0. Either randomly choose an enemy from among the set-aside Monster enemies and place it beneath the act deck without looking at it, or this test automatically fails instead.

A Moment's Rest

Story

Mythos

You must decide (choose one):

- Choose an enemy in play. Exhaust that enemy and disengage it from all investigators.

- You heal 5 horror.

Remove this card from the game, and replace it with another set-aside copy of Ruins of Carcosa (move all investigators, enemies, and attachments from this location to the new copy of Ruins of Carcosa). Add clues to that copy of Ruins of Carcosa until it has clues on it equal to its clue value.

During your exploration, you find an old, crumbled building that makes for an ideal refuge from this world's dry heat and its horrifying creatures. For the first time since entering this realm, you take a moment to rest in the building's cool shade. The quiet calm soothes your aching muscles and weary mind. But you cannot stay for long.

Dim Carcosa #327. Dim Carcosa #14.

Ruins of Carcosa

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 2. Clues: 1.

Forced - After you discover the last remaining clue on Ruins of Carcosa: Take 1 damage.

So old seemed these relics, these vestiges of vanity and memorials of affection and piety, so battered and worn and stained...
- Ambrose Bierce, "An Inhabitant of Carcosa"

Vlad Ricean

Dim Carcosa #327. Dim Carcosa #14.

Bleak Desolation

Story

Mythos

Deal 2 damage to Hastur.

Flip this card back over. For the remainder of the game, it cannot be flipped over again.

This world is but a remnant of what it once was. The grand majesty of Carcosa spoken of in The King in Yellow is lost in this expanse of endless desolation. Dead, twisted trees, starving animals, and barren fields greet you everywhere you turn.
You begin to look for evidence of what might have caused such devastation. Across the lake, you see dark, twisted structures similar to those in Carcosa. At least one appears as large and as grand as Hastur's domain. You wonder if perhaps some kind of conflict took place between the two cities.

Dim Carcosa #326. Dim Carcosa #12.

Bleak Plains

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 4. Clues: 1.

While you are at Bleak Plains, you cannot play Ally assets.

On every side of me stretched a bleak and desolate expanse of plain, covered with a tall overgrowth of sere grass, which rustled and whistled in the autumn wind...
- Ambrose Bierce, "An Inhabitant of Carcosa"

Lukasz Jaskolski

Dim Carcosa #326. Dim Carcosa #12.

Hastur's End

Story

Mythos

Remember that you "know the secret."

Flip this card back over. For the remainder of the game, it cannot be flipped over again.

You stand before the palace of the King. Hastur's incessant whispering fills your mind, and you find it difficult to block his poisonous words from your thoughts. Seeing the palace in all its spectacle and glory, the memories come flooding back to you.
The Stranger. The King. Act 2.
The doors to the palace are open.

Dim Carcosa #331. Dim Carcosa #22.

Palace of the King

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 2. Clues: 3.

Palace of the King cannot be flipped over unless Hastur has at least 5 damage on him.

I pray God will curse the writer, as the writer has cursed the world with this beautiful, stupendous creation, terrible in its simplicity, irresistible in its truth...
- Robert W. Chambers, "The Repairer of Reputations," The King in Yellow

Alexandr Elichev

Dim Carcosa #331. Dim Carcosa #22.

Inhabitant of Carcosa

Story

Mythos

Each investigator heals 3 horror.

Remove this card from the game, and replace it with another set-aside copy of Ruins of Carcosa (move all investigators, enemies, and attachments from this location to the new copy of Ruins of Carcosa). Add clues to that copy of Ruins of Carcosa until it has clues on it equal to its clue value.

You encounter a man among the ruins of the city, haggard and tired. "Good stranger," he says, "I am ill and lost. Direct me, I beseech you, to Carcosa." You tell him that you believe you are in the realm of Carcosa right now, and he falls to his knees in despair. "No... But that cannot be!"
The man cries and raves, telling you more of the ancient and famous city. Though his words have little meaning to you, deep within your mind, you begin to understand.

Dim Carcosa #327. Dim Carcosa #13.

Ruins of Carcosa

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 2. Clues: 1.

Forced - After you discover the last remaining clue on Ruins of Carcosa: Take 1 damage.

So old seemed these relics, these vestiges of vanity and memorials of affection and piety, so battered and worn and stained...
- Ambrose Bierce, "An Inhabitant of Carcosa"

Vlad Ricean

Dim Carcosa #327. Dim Carcosa #13.

Mapping the Streets

Story

Mythos

Test (3). For each point you fail by, take 1 horror. Deal 1 damage to Hastur regardless of whether you succeed or fail.

After this test ends, flip this card back over. For the remainder of the game, it cannot be flipped over again.

You find yourself easily lost within the city's narrow, twisting streets. Routes that should lead back to familiar places lead instead to new parts of the city, and retracing your steps is impossible. Perhaps objects here do not exist in three dimensions like they do on Earth. Conventional maps cannot possibly begin to depict the complexity of Carcosa's design. You explore the streets carefully, and begin to puzzle out a shocking map of the city...

Dim Carcosa #328. Dim Carcosa #16.

Dim Streets

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 2. Clues: 1.

Forced - After you discover the last remaining clue on Dim Streets: Lose 1 action.

The streets twist and churn without any semblance of logic or reason.

Juan Carlos Barquet

Dim Carcosa #328. Dim Carcosa #16.

Songs That the Hyades Shall Sing

Story

Mythos

Deal 1 damage to Hastur, exhaust him, and disengage him from all investigators.

Flip this card back over. For the remainder of the game, it cannot be flipped over again.

Black stars sing in the reflection of the water, their melody impossible and uncanny. Yet somehow, you remember the tune. It is as though your earliest living memory has returned to you. You hum at first, ripples appearing along the water's surface as your volume increases. The lyrics return to you, and you join in the stars' singing, your voice echoing across the twisted realm.

Dim Carcosa #325. Dim Carcosa #10.

Shores of Hali

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 3. Clues: 2.

Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa
- Robert W. Chambers, The King in Yellow

Guillaume Ducos

Dim Carcosa #325. Dim Carcosa #10.

Stars of Aldebaran

Story

Mythos

Each investigator heals 3 horror.

Deal 4 damage to an enemy in play other than Hastur.

Remove this card from the game, and replace it with another set-aside copy of Bleak Plains (move all investigators, enemies, and attachments from this location to the new copy of Bleak Plains). Add clues to that copy of Bleak Plains until it has clues on it equal to its clue value.

A sudden rift in the clouds above allows you to see the sky for the first time since arriving in this strange place. The sky is orange-tinted and devoid of darkness, but black stars shine above you. If the workings of Earthly science mean anything in this world, perhaps you can create a map of the stars above to find your way home. You find a long stick and begin to draw in the sand...

Dim Carcosa #326. Dim Carcosa #11.

Bleak Plains

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 4. Clues: 1.

While you are at Bleak Plains, you cannot play Ally assets.

On every side of me stretched a bleak and desolate expanse of plain, covered with a tall overgrowth of sere grass, which rustled and whistled in the autumn wind...
- Ambrose Bierce, "An Inhabitant of Carcosa"

Lukasz Jaskolski

Dim Carcosa #326. Dim Carcosa #11.

Steps of the Palace

Story

Mythos

Deal 1 damage to Hastur, exhaust him, and disengage him from all investigators.

Flip this card back over. For the remainder of the game, it cannot be flipped over again.

You come across a set of steps that look similar to the grand staircase of the palace from Act 1, Scene 4 of The King in Yellow - The very same stairs Cassilda nearly fell down when she fainted upon seeing the Stranger for the very first time. Shattering your reverie is the sound of a woman's gasp, and when you look up, you see Cassilda at the top of the steps, her expression shocked upon seeing your face. You rush up the staircase and catch her as she falls, wrapping your arms around her body. She dissolves into the cloudy mists around you.

Dim Carcosa #329. Dim Carcosa #20.

Depths of Demhe

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 4. Clues: 1.

While you are at Depths of Demhe, you cannot play fast cards.

Don’t look up.

Lukasz Jaskolski

Dim Carcosa #329. Dim Carcosa #20.

The Archway

Story

Mythos

Test (1). For each point you succeed by, heal 1 horror.

Remove this card from the game, and replace it with another set-aside copy of Dim Streets (move all investigators, enemies, and attachments from this location to the new copy of Dim Streets). Add clues to that copy of Dim Streets until it has clues on it equal to its clue value.

You pass under an archway of ebony stone linking two spires. The inscription on the archway is written in a language you have never seen before, but somehow you are able to understand it. When you read the inscription aloud, the portal of stone shimmers, and you see a glimpse into an alternate vision of the city of Carcosa. It is vibrant and mesmerizing, like no place you have ever seen before. The vision dissolves shortly after, and you find yourself back in the ruined streets.

Dim Carcosa #328. Dim Carcosa #18.

Dim Streets

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 2. Clues: 1.

Forced - After you discover the last remaining clue on Dim Streets: Lose 1 action.

The streets twist and churn without any semblance of logic or reason.

Juan Carlos Barquet

Dim Carcosa #328. Dim Carcosa #18.

The Coffin

Story

Mythos

Deal 1 damage to Hastur.

Flip this card back over. For the remainder of the game, it cannot be flipped over again.

In the outskirts of the city, you find a ruined mausoleum. Its entrance is not unlike the entrance to the Catacombs of Paris: archways of stone decorated with bone and mocking skulls. The Yellow Sign is inscribed in the stone above the final archway. The narrow, cluttered passageway leads into a circular chamber with a domed ceiling. In the center of the chamber lies an egg-shaped coffin made of stone, unmarked and firmly sealed. Curious, you attempt to open the coffin. It takes all of your strength to pull the heavy lid off, and it slides to the floor with a resounding thud. Inside, you see a familiar face - a woman in a tattered dress, her countenance noble and grim.

Dim Carcosa #327. Dim Carcosa #15.

Ruins of Carcosa

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 2. Clues: 1.

Forced - After you discover the last remaining clue on Ruins of Carcosa: Take 1 damage.

So old seemed these relics, these vestiges of vanity and memorials of affection and piety, so battered and worn and stained...
- Ambrose Bierce, "An Inhabitant of Carcosa"

Vlad Ricean

Dim Carcosa #327. Dim Carcosa #15.

The Fall

Story

Mythos

You must decide (choose one):

- You cannot bring yourself to do what must be done. Flip this card back over.

- Realizing what you must do, you step forward and push her. Take 2 horror and deal 2 damage to Hastur. Flip this card back over. For the remainder of the game, it cannot be flipped over again.

A woman stands atop a tall balcony, her yellow dress tattered and stained. You call out to her, but she does not respond to anything you say. Then, you suddenly remember a scene from The King in Yellow, in which a woman plunges herself into the streets below.
Are you seeing the past? The future?

Dim Carcosa #330. Dim Carcosa #21.

Dark Spires

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 3. Clues: 2.

Night fell and the hours dragged on, but still we murmured to each other of the King and the Pallid Mask, and midnight sounded from the misty spires in the fog-wrapped city.
- Robert W. Chambers, "The Yellow Sign," The King in Yellow

Lukasz Jaskolski

Dim Carcosa #330. Dim Carcosa #21.

The Height of the Depths

Story

Mythos

Each investigator heals 5 horror.

Remove this card from the game, and replace it with another set-aside copy of Depths of Demhe (move all investigators, enemies, and attachments from this location to the new copy of Depths of Demhe). Add clues to that copy of Depths of Demhe until it has clues on it equal to its clue value.

Nothing in this realm seems to make sense. The stairs before you both ascend and descend. The cloudy depths sink and rise and sway, and yet remain still. You are floating in a cloud-wisp of mist and swimming under the sunken waves. The stairs are just a part of your imagination. You decide to jump.

Dim Carcosa #329. Dim Carcosa #19.

Depths of Demhe

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 4. Clues: 1.

While you are at Depths of Demhe, you cannot play fast cards.

Don’t look up.

Lukasz Jaskolski

Dim Carcosa #329. Dim Carcosa #19.

The King's Parade

Story

Mythos

Test (2). If you succeed, exhaust Hastur and disengage him from all investigators.

Remove this card from the game, and replace it with another set-aside copy of Dim Streets (move all investigators, enemies, and attachments from this location to the new copy of Dim Streets). Add clues to that copy of Dim Streets until it has clues on it equal to its clue value.

You turn a corner, and before you lies a wide, grand street. A great parade marches by, in honor of the King. Banners of tattered yellow cloth sway in the wind.
Then it strikes you: you remember this scene from the play. You wrack your mind trying to remember what is supposed to happen next. The parade is interrupted and the entourage is attacked...

Dim Carcosa #328. Dim Carcosa #17.

Dim Streets

Location

Otherworld.

Mythos

Shroud: 2. Clues: 1.

Forced - After you discover the last remaining clue on Dim Streets: Lose 1 action.

The streets twist and churn without any semblance of logic or reason.

Juan Carlos Barquet

Dim Carcosa #328. Dim Carcosa #17.