The Dreamlands expansion for Eldritch Horror from Fantasy Flight Games

The world of H.P Lovecraft, is am I'm sure you know, a setting I love!, and one that Fantasy Flight games have created many excellent games for, such as the light and fun Elder Sign  or the game of saving the world in Eldritch Horror to the smaller cooperative creepy, and excellent app based board game Mansions of Madness, and the new INSERT ARKHAM LCG LINK as well.  Now with all the newer games coming out, it does not mean the older titles in the Arkham Files are forgotten, as you can see with the latest expansion for Eldritch Horror - the Dreamlands.  Of course you will need Eldritch Horror to play this, and if you haven't got it.. well you need to get it! its a great solo or multiplayer cooperative game.

“Send back earth's gods to their haunts on unknown Kadath, and pray to all space that you may never meet me in my thousand other forms. Farewell, Randolph Carter, and beware; for I am Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos.”
   –H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce The Dreamlands, a new expansion for Eldritch Horror!

It has been months since you saw the sunset city in a dream—towering minarets and domes, crossed by shadow and red light from the gently setting orb of fire that permanently rests outside the city. Since then, you’ve crossed these borders every night, searching for the city, hoping to set foot inside. You have seen wonders beyond compare: the sacred cats of Ulthar and the turquoise and tourmaline city of Celephaïs that rests beneath the gingko-covered slopes of Mount Aran. You have all but abandoned your waking life, eating less and less, spending more and more time asleep. But tonight is different. There, on the silvery, blade-thin horizon between wakefulness and sleep, the black ships from the moon have finally caught up to you.

Descend into a world of sleep and splendor with The Dreamlands, the latest expansion for Eldritch Horror. For the first time, you have the chance to walk upon the sweet-smelling grass of the Enchanted Wood, travel into the Underworld, or sail off the edge of the world and voyage to the moon—this expansion introduces an entirely new side board, portraying the mystical, ethereal Dreamlands. As the realm of dreams leaks into our waking world, you’ll find eight new investigators that stand united against two insidious Ancient Ones: Altach-Nacha the Dreamweaver and Hypnos, the Lord of Sleep. With a massive array of new Spells, Conditions, Assets, Adventures, Mythos cards, and encounters for every location, The Dreamlands promises adventures unmatched by anything in the waking world.

Lets pop it open and take a look inside....

 Its a Fantasy Flight game... so it comes with an ton of stuff! cards, tokens, bases manual and the usual catalogue too.

the board is high quality and will set off to one side of your main board when its set up, so make sure you have enough space to fit it on.

Before setup the players draw one of the new random prelude cards, these help make the setup of the game random each time, and of course add some great flavour and background to the games story.

Then you set up all the Dreamlands tokens, encounter cards and gates that link into the Dreamlands, and create the unique asset deck for it.

don't worry, though its called Dreamlands, its not all soft and relaxing, its a scary place, with all sorts of new monsters to meet and get eaten by.

New encounters specific to the dreamlands will provide new challenges to attempt to overcome, and don't forget, whilst you are wandering in the Dreamlands, the game is still ongoing on the main board.

New investigators and old ones will still be able to transfer fine into the main game, should you decide you do not want to run the whole Dreamlands expansion, so there is always value in it for the gamer.

The Dreamer…

Everyone sleeps, drawn by invisible bonds to rest and heal their bodies. Yet as you rest, your mind is active, grasping at the mad, loose strands of your life and spinning them back to you in nonsensical stories. For most, dreams are an amusing diversion or a terrifying interlude—if they're remembered at all after you wake.

The two new ancient ones in the pack are Atlach-Nacha the dreamweaver, and Hypnos the lord of sleep.  Of course they have their own abilities, specialised cultists and different mythos deck builds so there is as always huge variety in the game.
For a few, dreams are reflections of a life more real than the waking world.

Luke Robinson was given an unusual puzzle box by his uncle many years ago. Through that gift, he discovered the path to the Dreamlands and has spent the majority of his days traveling the land of dreams in search of adventure. From the jade streets of Celephaïs to the endless mysteries of the Enchanted Wood he wanders, unraveling the secrets of the land and the myriad dreamers who reside there. Yet an ancient chaos threatens to destroy not just the waking world but the world of his dreams as well. Luke could not care less about the Earth, but he will die before he allows the world of dreams to slip away from him.

Far more than most other investigators, Luke Robinson relates to the world through the gates that open across the globe. For a dreamer with his skills, traveling through the Dreamlands between these gates is just the work of a few hours—as an action, Luke can move to any space containing a gate that matches the current omen, potentially traveling across the world in an instant. 

Luke is no great warrior, but he has little trouble slipping past the monsters in his path and crossing into other worlds. Simply by expending a focus or losing a little sanity, Luke Robinson can encounter a gate as though there were no monsters on his space. Then, once he has successfully closed the gate and safeguarded Earth for a little while longer, his Dream Box helps you by increasing his focus or helping him recover sanity. Though he may no longer call himself a native of Earth, Luke Robinson will undoubtedly do everything in his power to forestall its imminent doom, if only for the lands of dream that he loves so much.

 You do get 8 new investigators in the game, including two of Olivia's favourites from other Arkham files games with Amanda Sharpe, and Carolyn Fern, who she is dead excited to use, and I got a new favourite found in Mansions of Madness with William Yorrick.  You also get Darrell Simons....

Gloria Goldberg, Vincent Lee, Luke (we spoke about earlier) and lastly Kate Winthrop.  Of course they all come with their relative standee tokens, and bases to put them on as well.

… And the Dream

As you close your eyes to sleep, you see the stairs before you. They spiral downwards with neither walls nor railing to separate you from the soft grey abyss that surrounds you. You begin to descend, hesitantly at first, but faster as you gain confidence. There is no wind or gust of air that would threaten your footing. There are only the whispers—you should jump, you can fly, step off the edge, we will catch you…

Descending the endless stairs and passing through the Cavern of Flame while you sleep are one way to enter the world of the Dreamlands, and this can be done from anywhere in the world. Still, they are not the only path: there are many places where the boundaries between Earth and the realm of dreams may merge and spill into each other. These portals are first placed at the beginning of a game using the Dreamlands side board, and they allow free passage between our world and the Dreamlands, whether you cross the dark bridges of the Underworld, walk among the fungi forests of the moon, or set foot at last on the streets of Unknown Kadath or Dylath-Leen. 

The Dreamlands are filled with wonders, but are also perilous for those who enter unprepared. Your path may take you beyond the Basalt Pillars of the West, or you may pursue a Dream-Quest that moves throughout the Dreamlands, perhaps leading you straight to the futures that spring from the Fountain of Alath-Zann.  

 You can just see the amount fo cards that this game has to enhance, add to, and change your games.

 New options for encounters, new monsters, new missions.... just soo much!

No matter what signs and wonders you may see, however, you must never forget the dread purpose that led you to this place. There are still powerful beings from beyond our world intent upon destroying humanity forever. The monstrous, spider-like creature Atlach-Nacha is ever weaving, bringing reality and the Dreamlands closer together so that she may loose the horrors of the Underworld and lead them to war. A less overt threat, but no less deadly, is Hypnos, the Lord of Sleep himself. His whispers attend every sleeping mind, slowly and carefully pushing them over the edge into madness. You must venture into the Dreamlands if you wish to defeat these Ancient Ones, yet once you go in, there’s no guarantee that you can return. 

Revelation Is the Province of Dream

As you sit chained to the deck of a black galley sailing to whatever horrors await on the moon, you reflect that your dreams have led you into this place. Foolish dreams, perhaps, of defeating a creature that existed for millennia before humanity’s existence. Yet foolish or not, only your dreams can lead you free again.

you can take a look at the components list here, you really get sooo much stuff in ihere to enhance your game experience, it is really almost a game by itself in terms of quality of components, and amount of components you get inside too.

The fact its optional so you can play with it, or without it almost like a bolt on is a bonus, as it will add to the overall game time, and Eldritch Horror already takes up a lot of space on the table, and combined with more bits and another board it gets massive.... Though it really is worth experiencing the game with it in, what it adds in theme and new things is well worth the time of set up, take down and longer play time as well.

If you are an Eldritch horror fan, its an easy choice, grab it, you can always ad it in, or not at your leisure, but tis there for options, for new investigators you can use in the regular game, and new ancient ones as well.

It comes out with an RRP of £49.99 so head on over to your local game store and grab yourself the set and join the underworld, or the fight against it!

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