For that very fresh body, at last writhing into full and terrifying consciousness with eyes dilated at the memory of its last scene on earth, threw out its frantic hands in a life and death struggle with the air; and suddenly collapsing into a second and final dissolution from which there could be no return, screamed out the cry that will ring eternally in my aching brain.

–H.P. Lovecraft, Herbert West—Reanimator

Arkham has long been haunted by an assortment of fearsome monsters, from the unearthly Mi-go to the gargantuan shoggoths. Even now, many barbarous creatures roam the halls of abandoned structures and scour the cold beaches for uncorrupted prey. Still more unsettling to many, however, are the human minds that have abandoned their hosts, leaving vacuous shells to be consumed by evil or insanity. Though their form is familiar and their past is innocent, you must force yourself to look past the humanity that has since departed them, and see instead the cruelty that consumes them in their struggle to destroy you and fulfill a far more terrible purpose.

Recurring Nightmares Figure and Tile Collection is the first of two collections designed to expand your Mansions of Madness Second Edition game using content from Mansions of Madness First Edition. Re-introducing eight investigators and eighteen monsters from the First Edition core set, as well as fifteen double-sided map tiles, Recurring Nightmares brings back all the roles you missed taking, the adversaries you may have hoped would never haunt your dreams again, and the haunted locations that hold so many troubling memories. Combining the figures and tiles in this collection with the Second Edition conversion kit will substantially expand the possibilities of the four initial scenarios, regarding who you choose to be, what you're forced to face, and where the great evils have settled. Using this content, Recurring Nightmares also introduces a brand new scenario, challenging you to confront the living dead and their fiendish master.

Old Friends and Foes

With Recurring Nightmares in your collection, your foray into each scenario will begin with a larger number of investigators to choose from. All eight investigator figures in this pack made their initial appearance in the first edition of Mansions of Madness, and with the new cards included in your conversion kit, they can now be used in your Second Edition game. You can now take on the role of the altruistic drifter, "Ashcan" Pete and his trusty pup Duke, who enables you to trade with other investigators and pick up items up to three unobstructed spaces away at the beginning of your turn. The studious Kate Winthrop's scientific curiosity is also yours to pursue, with the handy Flux Stabilizer in hand, allowing you to move monsters within range at the start of each turn. Other investigators available with this collection include the vengeful and tough gangster, Michael McGlen, the sharp and knowledgeable professor, Harvey Walters, and the dedicated and fearless private eye, Joe Diamond.

Whichever investigators you take through each horrific scenario, you must use their skills to confront a host of ferocious monsters. At every turn, you must prepare yourself for ambush by any of a number of the monsters in your collection—depending on the specific scenario you undertake. The mere presence of the shapeless shoggoths or otherworldly Mi-go is enough to drive anyone out of their wits... even an experienced student of the supernatural. Also included in Recurring Nightmares are mobs of creatures who appear to be human, but whose sanity or goodness have left them, replaced by the aim and ability of a supernatural force. Reanimated corpses, maniacal mortals, and curse-casting witches may dedicate themselves to your destruction, and you must be able to set aside your fear and guilt in order to eliminate them in search of a greater truth.

The Living Dead

Recurring Nightmares also includes fifteen double-sided map tiles, each of which will provide new possibilities for the scenarios in your game. You may be forced to fight insanity in damp and claustrophobic underground caves and chasms, or find yourself fighting unimaginable terrors amidst the cries of former test subjects in a bloodied operation room. With each expansion you own and indicate on the Mansions of Madness app, new maps will become available for various past scenarios, and you will expand the potential for additional maps in any future scenarios you may face.

Releasing alongside this pack is one brand-new, complete scenario, Dearly Departed. With over two hours of investigation, this challenging scenario tasks you with discovering the truth about a number of emptied graves and disappeared bodies in the Hangman's Hill cemetery. The people of Arkham have begun to see their lost loved ones back on their feet, and the disturbing discovery of numerous missing corpses has put the town on edge.

You and your fellow investigators will begin the scenario in front of a chapel, with many possible paths to explore. Should you choose to search the grounds and graves of the cemetery, you may proceed around the chapel, seeking evidence of where the lifeless bodies may have ended up. You may also wish to enter to the building, where rickety walls may provide some shaky sense of security from the biting and howling wind outside. At least, you think that's the wind.

As you progress through the scenario, you will begin to discover a sinister plot, as the missing bodies begin to reappear, not in their graves, but upright and savage. Behind the swarms of approaching zombies lurks a greater evil which you can only imagine, though you are sure to find out in time. Whether you are able to stop their malicious quest, however, is a different question entirely.

To the Grave and Back

Your darkest dreams have returned in Recurring Nightmares, as well as a new horrific tale that needs telling. With the new investigator figures, monster figures, and map tiles, your Mansions of Madness Second Edition game will continue to expand, as will the horrors within. Dearly Departed will be available at the release of this collection, and will be available too to those who own the First Edition core set already. The possibilities of this scenario will also be expanded for owners of the upcoming Suppressed Memories Figure and Tile Collection or the Forbidden Alchemy and Call of the Wild expansions to the first edition, so be certain to indicate in the collection selection section of the app all of the content you have added to your game.

Recurring Nightmares will be available in your local game store early this fall. Stay tuned for more information on the Suppressed Memories Figure and Tile Collection and the associated scenario.