The Horror in Arkham
2024 / 08 / 02
Hello everyone! We want to take some time to tell you about the horror in Arkham Horror. Or, more specifically, the horror game mechanic in the Arkham Horror Roleplaying Game.
Horror is an integral part of the setting, and represents the effects of being exposed to mind-shattering terrors beyond our comprehension. In the game, when characters are exposed to said terrors, they have a chance of suffering one or more horror. And for each horror they suffer, they increase their horror dice limit by one.
So, what does the horror dice limit do? Basically, when they refill their dice pool, they have to refill it with horror dice equal to that limit first, then fill the remainder with “regular” dice. Horror dice are just like regular dice (and can be spent to perform actions just like normal dice) with only a few exceptions.
One is that characters can’t reroll horror dice that roll a result of “1.” The second is, a character rolls one or more horror dice and rolls one or more results of “1,” they suffer a trauma. Traumas are the accumulated horrors that a character has suffered suddenly overwhelming them. This may be something relatively minor, like they see something strange out of the corner of their eye or catch a whiff of an odd smell. On the other hand, it might affect your character more strongly, possibly shocking them or stunning them into inaction, or even forcing them to act in ways that could endanger them and those around them.
And most importantly of all, the effects of a trauma are amplified based on how many results of “1” a character rolls. So, more horror dice become a cumulative threat. When your character has a pool full of horror dice and is confronted with a task they need to accomplish, you have a tough decision to make. Do you roll a bunch of dice and increase your odds of success? Or do you roll less dice, risk failure, but decrease the risk of having your character become lost forever in the depths of their horror?
