Arcadia Tenebra isn’t Cluedo
Maybe Cluesdo, but certainly not Cluedo!!!
Arcadia Tenebra is a role play board game that puts you in the shoes (if you are in muddy Arcadia, more likely the boots) of a murder investigator. Your first quest is to find three Clues and bring them to the Chief of Police. This might give you impression that Arcadia Tenebra is some kind of Sherlock-Holmes-deduction-game similar to Cluedo. Well, it’s not. Arcadia Tenebra is a full-blooded role play game where you guide your playable character through the perils of exploring Arcadia Tenebra as you search for Clues. Yes, you are asked for help in solving a case of serial murders – but you are not a detective. You just give your best – to help. Sort of… 🙂
Giving a helping hand
Chief Police Maynarich.
This is the state of affairs in Arcadia: you scratch my back and I will not kick you out of town and seize all of your possessions after locking you for a night in a jail. The Chief of Police Mr. Maynarich is a sleazy bastard. The best thing you can do is to stay clear of him. But, unfortunately, that is not possible. You have been summoned to his office and “politely” asked to give a helping hand. Like you had any choice. That’s the bad thing. And the good thing is that he gave you something helpful to start with: you draw one Luckie. Now you are ready (as much you can be) to start your first quest: collect three Clues and bring them back to the Chief of Police.
You don’t have a clue how to get a Clue?
Well, that’s ok. All you have to do is follow the Leads.
Luckily for you, first Lead (and Clue!) is right in The City, in a local pub that goes by the appropriate Arcadian name – Wolf’s Head.
Lead: Wolf’s Head.
The innkeeper is, not surprisingly, Maynarich’s brother. He hates Turks and newcomers like you. And he hates his own brother. You have several ways to obtain a Clue from him: you can do him a Favour, you may try to use your Power to Intimidate him, Charisma to Charm him or Intelligence to Outsmart him. Since he knows Judo, maybe the best way to approach him is to be polite and do your best to sweet-talk him.
Innkeeper Maynarich. Knows Judo.
If you want to Charm him and your PC has higher Charisma than the Innkeeper, you’ll have a bonus on roll. If it’s lower, you’ll have a penalty on roll. You may try to Charm him (roll a dice) two times per Round. If you fail, he will lose interest in you and get back to his business until your next turn comes. Then you can try again. When you succeed, you’ll get one Luckie, his piece of a story and a Clue.
One of many Clues you can find in Arcadia Tenebra.
It’s not all about sweet-talking
No, it really isn’t. As explained above, you may use your terrifying presence or wits but, besides that, there are many other ways to obtain Clues.
On a very, very, very, very, very rare occasion, you may come across a forest kid named Eldin, who may give you his point of view regarding murders, plus a Clue. You may trade with other players for Clues. You may pay Madamme Jahira in Brothel to get a Clue. You may crack the safe in Saw Mill to get one Clue, or perhaps unlock Electric lock in Tesla’s Lab or solve the ancient riddle chiseled in stone above Spring. All those actions will provide you with a piece of story and a Clue. Now, that’s sweet isn’t it? 🙂 But, is there more?
More! You want more!? You ungrateful son of a… Korhal?!
Clues from different sets.
Alright. We have some more options for brave (and unlucky) adventurers like yourself! As you start to collect clues you will probably notice symbols in the upper right corner of every Clue you collect. Your keen investigating eye will notice that some of those symbols repeatedly appear on different Clue cards. Yeah, that’s right: some Clues match together and if you collect three different Clues with the same symbol – you got yourself a Clue set!
To collect a set is completely optional but very rewarding. Clue set acts as a shortcut through the game. If you collect a set, you are given the option to activate it and take advantage of a special event that will save you quite some time. And time is crucial, remember?
There’s more where it came from!
Joker Clue. One and only!
So, to further ease this feat of getting a set of Clues, we added one Joker Clue which can substitute any missing clue from a set or can act as a standalone Clue. The trouble with Joker Clue is that it’s not on the main game route, there is only one in the whole game and players can try to obtain it only once in the game! Yep, it’s rare and hard to get. Like any other good catch. 🙂
In the end, there is one more option: you may skip collecting Clues until you boost your Charisma, Intelligence or Power enough to easily pass the ability check. You can do this by collecting equipment that boosts one or more of your inherent abilities, by consuming various consumables or by visiting (and paying in some way, once you’re there) the places that allow you to temporarily rise your abilities. For example, if you visit Spring, every time you go there and drink fresh water that tastes like acorns, you will rise your Charisma, Intelligence and Power for 3 points above your current maximum.
As you can see, Arcadia Tenebra roleplay board game provides a lot of different ways to play. It also offers a lot of different strategies to achieve your goal(s) and finish the game.
Happy Clues-digging, adventurer!
