Songs that the Hyades shall sing,

Where flap the tatters of the King,

Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa.

–Cassilda’s Song in The King in Yellow, Act I, Scene 2

A picture is etched into the corridors of your mind, echoing through the waking dreams that haunt your steps. You’re standing on the freezing stone floor, surrounded by walls of murky darkness. It is a prison for a god, and in the corner, a figure crouches. Its true form is hidden: you see only the gently flapping, rotten yellow cloak and a tentacular pseudopod that draws the same sign, over and over. A name is on your tongue, and although you dare not speak it, you can feel it pushing past your teeth, and as soon as you say it, he will turn and he will see…

Signs of Carcosa is the fifth expansion for Eldritch Horror, challenging you and a few other investigators to stop the rise of Hastur, the Unspeakable One. Our last preview looked at some of the new investigators you may encounter, and today, we turn to the abominable power of Hastur himself!

The Prisoner of the Hyades

Even from Earth, you can see the baleful glow of Aldebaran, the bloodshot eye of Taurus, shining among the stars. For most inhabitants of our tiny blue-green planet, it’s just another star. You know better. You know that across the world, cultists offer prayers and oblations to that celestial body, and their rituals are close to completion. Madness is leaking through the dikes, and the King in Yellow is bursting through his dimensional prison, towards Earth.

Signs of Carcosa introduces Hastur to your games of Eldritch Horror as an Ancient One that may test your resolve—and you don’t have any time to waste. Playing with Hastur as the Ancient One creates a naturally shorter game, as you only need to solve two Mysteries to win the game. This shorter timeframe only makes your tasks more urgent, however, and you’ll need to contend with the will of Hastur pushing madness into the world.

Whenever a reckoning is triggered, Hastur’s presence on Earth grows, slipping through the gates from other worlds, including Lost Carcosa itself. At these momentous junctures, the investigators face a choice: either the group loses sanity, or the lead investigator loses one of his closest friends by taking a Blight condition. Blight is a new condition that forces you to care for one of your former allies who has been driven mad—when you gain the card, you immediately discard an Ally, and your friend may abandon sanity entirely at the faintest provocation.

The Weapons of the Enemy

The invitations are everywhere, if you know how to see them. Some are overt—an ad in your morning paper or a letter slipped under your door. Others are more subtle. A chance comment from an old friend that tips you off to danger, a young man who slips you a book in an Arabian bazaar, or scrawled coordinates on the back of an old theater ticket. Every invitation is a promise of power. Every invitation has strings attached. The power you need is there, if you’re willing to use it. You only need to accept the price.

If you’re willing to abandon your friends forever, there are undoubtedly powerful rewards to be found in the madness of Hastur. Among the moldering books of a Buenos Aires marketplace, you may find an illicit copy of the King In Yellow itself. This artifact will surely drive everyone around you to madness, but can you really pass up the insights contained within this forbidden tome? With the knowledge contained within, you could reach far beyond the skills of mere mortals.

The servitors of Hastur are also known for their mastery of byakhee, monstrous flying creatures that follow Hastur and travel between worlds with ease. These beasts may be monsters that you fight, but if you know the proper rituals, you can bend a byakhee to your will. Signs of Carcosa introduces several new spells, and one of these is Summon Byakhee . If your knowledge and willpower are unshakeable, a byakhee may appear and fly you across the world—but even success carries a price. To attain the ultimate salvation of the world, you must be willing to spend even your own sanity.

The Tatters of the King

The King in Yellow approaches Earth, passing through his lunatic dreams to search for an escape from the Hyades. In the rustling of the wind, you hear a flapping yellow cloak. In the sounds of automobiles, you hear the roar of a byakhee. The Unspeakable One is coming—enter the madness and pre-order your copy of Signs of Carcosa at your local retailer today!