by Nate French

“The mere telling helps me to restore confidence in my own faculties; to reassure myself that I was not simply the first to succumb to a contagious nightmare hallucination.” 
—H.P. Lovecraft

The Horror Beneath the Surface , the second Asylum Pack in the Summons of the Deep expansion cycle for the Call of Cthulhu Living Card Game, hits stores this month. In this pack, we follow the tale of Julia Brown as she attempts to get to the bottom of the horrors that are afflicting her nights. Her efforts to unravel the mystery are represented in the game with a pack of cards that focuses a considerable amount of attention on the Investigation icon and its corresponding struggle. Care to investigate?

Marshall Greene, Too Old For This...


Creative Developer Dan Clark brought the Marshall Greene character to life when he dreamed up the more than apt sub-title, “Too Old For This....” That line sums up Julia’s friend and occasional lover, an Agency cop who doesn’t quite enjoy his job, but he’s there for her (and the rest of us) none-the-less, guarding and protecting from the terrors of the night. In the game, Marshall Greene’s presence can be a calming influence, and a solid Agency defense against the Terror-based effects of last month’s Asylum Pack. Just take care of him (which translates to not getting him wounded), and he’ll take care of you.




“With a Fine Toothed Comb”

Looking for clues to her condition, Julia Brown undoubtedly spent some time scouring her grandfather’s collection of ancient tomes. This neutral event card represents her compulsive, intense search, and it fits right in with the “Investigation” theme of this Asylum Pack. Doubling up on one (or more) key Investigation struggles at an opportune moment can really speed up the game, putting pressure on your opponents any time you have an edge with this icon.





Under the Porch
And there it lingers, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Not all of Julia Brown’s nightmares involve the Terror of the Tides, and not all of the cards in these Asylum Packs are directly related to he tale. Some cards, like Under the Porch, are included just because they’re so much fun. There’s an old chess aphorism, that claims “the threat is stronger than its execution,” and Under the Porch allows this idea to take root in the Shub-Niggurath faction of the Call of Cthulhu LCG. It forces an opponent to take into account a multiplicity of character-based threats, and having to deal with all of them in the abstract can be more difficult than having to deal with any single, manifest threat. And in a closely contested match, that moment of uncertainty can be the difference between victory and defeat.





These cards and others like the Chess Prodigy, the Silver Twilight Temptress, and The Book of Eibon are available this month in the Horror Beneath the Surface Asylum Pack for the Call of Cthulhu Living Card Game.