Call of Cthulhu – Arkham

The book starts with general information about the fictional town of Arkham. Maps show the Miskatonic Valley in Massachusetts, and the relative locations of various towns and locations that Lovecraft and other Mythos authors have created over the years. There is also a history of the region, including the displacement of the Indigenous people of the region. Much of the early Mythos history is tied to witches that survived the Salem Witch Trials, Keziah Mason and Goody Fowler.

To prepare for this review, I picked up the 2003 Arkham sourcebook. Compared to that source, this one spends more time grounding the region in non-Mythos history like the colonial settlers and their conflicts with the Wampanoag people, and Arkham’s place in the abolitionist movement leading up to the Civil War. The other historical information that isn’t directly tied to the Mythos involves the activities of various families whose names appear repeatedly across Mythos stories.

The broad information about Arkham includes what holidays are celebrated in the town, the structure and influence of law enforcement and organized crime, local weather, and travel times between locations in the region.

There is more game facing material about Arkham, as well. This includes how to find transportation, including renting, buying cars, or hiring drivers. There are local professionals, with an eye towards people to patch up investigators, and people to help them do research. Just in case your investigators need to satisfy more violent impulses, you can also find locations to buy guns and dynamite.