Arkham Horror LCG - The Feast of Hemlock Vale
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The blood trail leads into the caves beneath the city. Someone has already transformed. The next draw could be another blood token, and yet another, until your investigator is no longer yours.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
A Night Hunt in Arkham's Waterfront District
Children of Blood is the first small campaign expansion for Arkham Horror LCG Chapter Two, published by Fantasy Flight Games and distributed in Italy by Asmodee. This is a new format for the game: three self-contained scenarios that tell a complete story without requiring the purchase of multiple packs. The system is the classic Lovecraftian LCG: each investigator builds a personalized deck, faces increasing horrors, and makes narrative choices that influence the campaign.
Twilight falls on Arkham. The inhabitants barricade themselves indoors, but you are investigators: you follow blood trails in the streets, explore the caves beneath the city, infiltrate a reception in Northside. Someone is disappearing, someone is transforming. The new blood token enters the chaos bag: when you draw it, you apply -1 and draw another, which could be another blood token, and yet another. The campaign also introduces scalable difficulty: the same scenario, different bosses and encounter decks depending on the chosen level.
What they say abroad
"With scenarios that can transform based on your chosen difficulty and a new chaos token that slowly turns the investigators into monsters themselves"
Scenarios that transform based on the chosen difficulty and a new chaos token that slowly transforms the investigators into monsters
— Fantasy Flight Games
This is a newly announced game. We have read the official previews and studied the blood token system: it promises increasing tension and concrete replayability thanks to the three scalable versions of each scenario. The card will be updated once we have played the campaign.
— FroGames
Arkham Horror LCG - Children of Blood (Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Children of Blood Small Campaign Expansion)
Arkham Horror LCG is designed for solo play: it is played with one or two investigators controlled by a single player, the rules are identical. Solo is the canonical experience for many game veterans, not a compromise mode.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · first read: based on rules and official presentation, updated with first playsWhat awaits you
Three scenarios, three faces of the same nightmare
The Streets of Arkham
Pursue nocturnal monsters through the streets of the Waterfront. Blood spilled, torn clothes, no victims. Only traces leading to something worse.
The Caves Beneath the City
Your investigations lead you underground, into a labyrinth of tunnels where a cult hides. Here you discover who (or what) is orchestrating the disappearances.
The Northside Reception
Elegant party, unsuspecting guests. You infiltrate to unmask the culprit. But the monster might be sitting at the table next to you.
The Blood Token
New chaos token: -1 and draw again. If you draw another blood token, it repeats. It can ruin any critical test and accumulates in the bag with every wrong decision.
🎲How to playThe rules in four steps▼
How to play
The flow of each round
A round of Arkham Horror LCG alternates between investigator phase (you control) and Mythos phase (the game hits you).
Each player has three actions: move, play cards, investigate (Intellect test to gather clues), attack monsters, activate abilities. Build your turn according to your investigator's role.
The game reacts. Each investigator draws a card from the encounter deck: enemies, treacheries, events. Enemies already in play attack. The plot advances. This phase punishes you for any mistakes made earlier.
When you investigate, attack, or evade, you perform a skill test: you add your value + cards played, then draw from the chaos bag. Symbols modify the result. The blood token is -1 and you draw again: it can trigger a deadly chain.
Gather clues to advance the Act (your story). The game advances the Agenda (the story of evil). When the Agenda advances before the Act, bad things happen. The scenario ends when you run out of Acts or the Agenda overwhelms you.
⏱️Your first gameThe chronicle, moment by moment▼
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
The first contact
You receive a report from Christopher Stern: his wife Julia disappeared after he saw her drinking the blood of a corpse. You build your investigator deck, choose the difficulty, and start moving through Arkham. The city is silent, too silent.
The first traces
You find the crime scene. You investigate, gather clues, encounter the first monster. The game's mechanics start to kick in: actions, skill tests, drawing from the chaos bag. You haven't seen the blood token yet, but you know it's coming.
The first blood token
You make a wrong narrative choice, or fail a critical test. The blood token enters the bag. From this moment on, every draw is different: the -1 hurts, but it's the next draw that terrifies you. It could be another blood token. And another.
Under the caverns
Investigations lead you into the tunnels. Monsters multiply, Mythos turns become brutal, there are three or four blood tokens in the bag. An investigator might be eliminated. You cooperate, pass cards, hope not to draw that cursed token.
The final confrontation
You discover who the culprit is (Julia Stern has three different versions depending on the chosen difficulty). You win or lose, but the campaign records your choices. If you complete the campaign, you unlock reward cards that can be used in other future campaigns.
🐸What to know beforehandThree honest things, from friends▼
What to know beforehand
Three honest things
This is an expansion, not a standalone game. You must own the Arkham Horror LCG Chapter Two (2025) core set to play it: you need the base encounter cards, tokens, and rules. The old core set (2016) is not enough, the cards are not compatible.
It's not a gateway game. The rules of Arkham Horror LCG are dense: timing windows, multiple keywords, card interactions. If you've never played an LCG, expect two games to internalize the system. The manual is clear, but there's a lot to study.
Three scenarios with three scalable difficulties = nine different configurations. Plus narrative choices and investigator decks to experiment with. But once the combinations are exhausted, the story is what it is. It's not a sandbox: it's a dense, finite campaign, not an open system like Gloomhaven.
🏆Victory and defeatWhat the ending rewards▼
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
Each scenario has victory conditions (advancing all Acts) and defeat conditions (Agenda completed, investigators eliminated, or specific scenario conditions).
Victory
- You complete the last Act of the scenario before the Agenda runs out
- You defeat the final boss (Julia Stern or the revealed culprit) by meeting the scenario conditions
- You survive with at least one investigator and record your choices in the campaign log for the next scenario
Defeat
- All investigators are eliminated (physical or mental damage beyond threshold)
- The Agenda advances beyond the last step and evil completes its plan
- You fail a specific scenario condition (e.g., too many blood tokens in the bag, Julia Stern escapes permanently)
This is a campaign that records everything: every choice, every trauma card, every dead investigator. If you win, you unlock reward cards for future campaigns. If you lose, the story still ends, but with a bitter ending.
💬Frequently asked questionsQuick answers before checkout▼
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Arkham Horror LCG - Children of Blood (Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Children of Blood Small Campaign Expansion)
Can I play Children of Blood with the old Arkham Horror LCG core set (2016)?
No. This expansion requires the new Chapter Two core set (released in 2025). The necessary base encounter cards and tokens are different from the old core set. Fantasy Flight has rebooted the game with Chapter Two, and all new expansions connect to that system.
Can the scenarios be played standalone or only in campaign mode?
Both. You can play the three scenarios as a linked campaign (your choices and traumas carry over) or as independent standalone scenarios. Standalone mode uses predefined setups and does not record progress, but it works for trying out a single scenario.
What mechanics does Arkham Horror LCG - Children of Blood use?
Cooperative LCG system with deckbuilding (you build your investigator's deck before each campaign), hand management (you manage resources and cards in hand), variable player powers (each investigator has unique abilities), legacy-light campaign (choices are recorded but cards are not destroyed). The blood token introduces a push-your-luck element when drawing from the chaos bag.
How many times can I replay this campaign?
It depends on what you're looking for. The three scalable difficulties (Standard, Hard, Expert) change bosses, locations, and the encounter deck: these are truly different configurations, not just higher numbers. You can replay with different investigators (the core set includes five, plus those from other expansions) and make opposite narrative choices. After 6-9 games, you will have exhausted the main combinations, but the system holds up well for 3-4 complete runs.
Is it available in English?
Yes, Fantasy Flight Games distributes this expansion in English under the title Children of Blood. All cards, rules, and narrative materials are translated. Please note: you still need the Chapter Two core set in English to play.
The people behind the game
Who invented it, who designed it, who publishes it — and what else they've done.
Arkham Horror LCG - Children of Blood is a cooperative small campaign expansion for 1-4 players, set in the Waterfront district of Arkham. Published by Fantasy Flight Games and distributed in Italy by Asmodee, it introduces the blood token (a chain-drawing mechanic from the chaos bag) and scalable difficulty with different bosses and scenarios. Three linked scenarios, 60-90 minutes per scenario, recommended age 14+. Requires the Chapter Two core set. Cooperative deckbuilding system with narrative campaign, permanent choices, and unlockable reward cards. Available on FroGames.it.
Arkham Horror LCG - The Feast of Hemlock Vale
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
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