History TabletopGame / ArkhamHorrorTheCardGame

** Almost all Survivor-class weapons are instruments created for different purposes than slashing monsters, like baseball bats, kerosene lamps, meat cleavers, fire axes and others. Because they are not intended to be used that way, there are often some downsides, like possibility of breaking them. Out of two firearms available, one is an old hunting rifle (prone to [[ReliablyUnreliableGuns jam at worst moments]]), while the other is a small, self-defence pistol with [[LittleUselessGun lower punching power than the rifle and even worse ammo capacity.]]

* BeeAfraid: During the day one, you may possibly run into the bee swarm; it imposes Agility test on you, causing your either lose resources or take damage if you fail; they're surprisingly devastating.

* CripplingOverspecialisation: {{Defied|Trope}} by "Versatile" permanent, entire purpose of which is to let investigator take some off-class level 0 card they can't normally take, but which may be crucial for their plan. It also boosts the decksize, which [[DoubleEdgedBuff makes it harder to find a card you need in the deck]], but [[LimitedLoadout lets you take more stuff]].

* ChooseAHandicap: The chaos bagalters each scenario depending on the outcome of the previous one, changing the dangers the players would deal with.

* TheTeam: Every Partner provides both the active support during scenarios (if taken along), and passive bonuses in between scenarios (and sometimes penalties for them no longer being there at specific points). Losing them and their abilities ''would'' hurt a lot.

* RandomEffectSpell: Level 0 version of "Rod of Carnamagos" asset, when used, makes you draw 5 random tokens; if at least one cursed token was revealed, it attaches 1 random Rot event to the chosen enemy, which applies permanent debuff to it until that enemy leaves play by any means): [[PowerNullifier disables its offensive abilities or ability to walk]] (Abyssal and Virescent Rot), lowers its fight and evade values (Putrescent Rot), applies DamageOverTime (Scarlet Rot) or [[MoneyMultiplier turns that enemy into resources]] when it dies (Aember Rot). Upgraded version lets you actually ''choose'' which Rot to use, as well as lets you use more than one if you drew multiple tokens.

* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with "Blackmail File"; you don't have to fight or run from monster, you just scare them into compliance by blackmailing them with something, which makes them disengage from everyone and turn "aloof" until the end of round (wouldn't engage anyone without players acting first); fittingly, it counts as "parley" action. But it regains composure by the next round.

** "Burglary" and "Thieves' Kit" allows to steal resources, "Pickpocketing" allows to steal cards, "Pilfer" allows to steal clues.

* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: {{Downplayed|Trope}} with "Blackmail File"; you don't have to fight or run from monster, you just scare them into compliance by blackmailing them with something, which makes them disengage from everyone and turn "aloof" until the end of round (wouldn't engage anyone without players acting first); fittingly, it counts as "parley" action. But it regains composure by the next round.

* BaitAndSwitch: If more Convictions were accumulated than Doubts, investigators hears ominous "I've looking all over for you"... which turns out to be just the ship captain who was hired by investigators themselves to reach the abbey.

* CriticalFailure: The auto-fail chaos token; if it's drawn, any skill test is failed automatically (as if the player's skill value was 0), no matter how much the player invested in the skill test to try to pass it. Fortunately, by default there's only one auto-fail token in the entire chaos bag.

** For most campaign scenarios, if your character is brought down to zero health or zero sanity, you are defeated, but not dead. Instead, you take trauma, which reduces your health or sanity starting from the next scenario of the campaign, thus making it easier for you to be defeated next time; but if trauma reduces your health or sanity to 0, your character [[PermaDeath dies for real]].
** Some scenarios avert this, usually (but not always) those later in a campaign, with defeated investigators specifically being instantly killed / driven insane as part of a scenario's resolution. Since it only gets revealed after the end of the scenario, when you play through a scenario for the first time, you're never sure.

* DeerInTheHeadlights: "Frozen in Fear" is a recurring Treachery card; under its effects, investigators [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin freeze in fear]], requiring them to spend an additional action the first time each turn they attempt to move, fight or evade (and investigators only get three actions per turn). Removing this card requires passing a Willpower 3 test. Rogues are especially vulnerable to this card, as most of them only have 1-2 Willpower.
* DifficultyLevels: Campaigns always have four difficulties: Easy, Standard, Hard and Expert (standalone scenarios usually have only Standard and Hard), which determines the chaos bag composition: on harder difficulties, there are fewer benevolent number tokens (like "+1" and "0"), and several very hard tokens gets added (like "-7" or "-8"). Additionally, each scenario has a two-sided reference card which states effects of the symbol tokens (Skull, Cultist, Tablet and Elder Thing, whose effects change from scenario to scenario), which have weaker effects on Easy and Standard difficulty, and stronger on Hard and Expert.

* DrawExtraCards: Any investigator is allowed to spend their action(s) to draw extra card(s). It can be done even if it would put them above the handsize limit (8 cards by default), forcing them to discard anything in excess at the end of the Upkeep phase.

* EpisodicGame: Prior to the release of the ''Edge of the Earth'' expansion, the game used the system of so-called "Mythos Cycles": each full storyline (or "cycle") consisted of one "Deluxe Expansion," containing new investigators, new player cards for each class and the first two scenarios of a new campaign; and six "Mythos Packs," each containing the next scenario of the campaign and more player cards, including high-level ones. These were released one by one at a rate of about one per month. Since ''Edge of the Earth'', the new release model instead has two big boxes: an "Investigator Expansion" containing all investigators and player cards, released first to give players time to explore the new options before using them in a new campaign; and a "Campaign Expansion" including all of the scenarios. Old expansions are being gradually re-released in the new format.
* EvilIsDeathlyCold: "Chilling Cold" is a recurring Treachery set, which involves both thick fog and frost so strong it can cause investigators to lose their assets or damage their Health. This certainly can't be natural, and likely related to the EldritchAbomination in charge.

** Prior to release of the ''Edge of the Earth'' expansion in 2021, the [[EpisodicGame different system]] was used, with each campaign consisting of one big "deluxe expansion" (containing investigators, first pack of player cards and first two scenarios) followed by six "mythos packs" (containing the next scenarios and more player cards).
** The first five campaigns also received "Return to..." expansions, which alter rules, replace some scenario cards and add new ones for additional replay value and often additional challenge, making it worth to, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin return to them]] and play again. Each one also contains new player cards, usually upgraded or downgraded versions of player cards from the same campaign.
* FinalBossNewDimension: Final scenarios of most campaigns happens not on Earth, but in some EldritchLocation appropriate for the current BigBad.

* HealingFactor: Among the Agents of Shub-Niggurath is the Dark Young, which can heal two damage per round, which can nullify all efforts to put it down unless investigators can out-damage its regeneration. Fortunately, if it actually dies, it doesn't respawn.

* AchievementSystem: Each ''Return to...'' expansion provides optional achievements, with checkboxes to track which ones are already completed. Most are campaign-specific, but two recurring ones are achievements for finishing on Expert Difficulty and for finishing with three or more [[ChallengeRun Ultimatums]] active.
* BonusDungeon: Most standalone scenarios can be played mid-campaign, at the cost of some experience, in order to earn its rewards for the rest of campaign. Regardless of the outcome, they can't be played again for the duration of the campaign, so the players have only one chance.
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: It's a CosmicHorrorStory; even if you ''win'', you'll be loaded down with trauma and extra weaknesses. In [[HeroicRROD some cases]], investigators may not live to see their victory. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration This serves a double purpose]]: to show the horrors that the investigators faced to save the Earth, and to balance the ability to [[NewGamePlus transfer survived investigators into a new campaign with all their gear]].
* ChallengeRun: Most ''Return to...'' expansion provide optional "Ultimatum" rules; players can use more than one at a time (there's even a recurring achievement for winning while using three or more at once). Though there are some campaign-specific ones, most are reused in every campaign.
** Ultimatum of Finality: If an investigator is defeated by damage/horror, [[FinalDeathMode that investigator is eliminated from the campaign instantly]]. Only for Campaign mode.
** Ultimatum of Survival: [[invoked]] If investigator is killed or driven insane, their ''player'' is eliminated from campaign, meaning they [[NoContinueRun can't just choose a new one]]. Only for Campaign mode.
** Ultimatum of Failure: Adds an additional "[[CriticalFailure Auto-failure]]" chaos token to the chaos bag.
** Ultimatum of Broken Promise: Removes the "[[SpecialAttack Elder Sign]]" chaos token from the chaos bag.
** Ultimatum of Induction: [[invoked]] Investigators [[LowLevelRun can't include cards of level 1 or higher in their decks]], or [[PointBuildSystem earn/spend experience]], essentially forcing them to play with their starting deck for the entirety of the campaign.
** Ultimatum of Disaster: Each investigator starts with an additional [[NecessaryDrawback basic weakness]].
** Ultimatum of Dread: Players do not skip Mythos phase during first round of any scenario (meaning, they run into danger from the very start of the game, before they have a chance to bring out their equipment and spells).
** Ultimatum of Agony: When assigning damage or horror, investigators must assign as much damage and horror as possible to a single card before any excess damage or horror may be assigned to a different card.
** Ultimatum of Chaos: Players must form their starting deck from randomly chosen eligible cards (not counting signature cards and weaknesses), instead of building it themselves.
** Ultimatum of the Franchise/{{Highlander}}: Investigators can't include more than one copy of each card (by title) in their decks (except for cards mandatory by deck-building rules).

* CollateralDamage: Friendly fire is one of the main risks in combat: if an Investigator attacks an enemy that is engaged with another Investigator and it misses, the other Investigator suffers the damage the attack would inflict instead. This can be avoided by engaging an enemy you want to attack first or by evading it before the other Investigator attacks, but those solutions take one of your limited amount of actions each round. Finding a way to lower or negate the chances of accidentally hitting your companions is a critical objective for any combat-focused Investigator.

** If an Investigator [[PermaDeath perishes or goes mad]], whether from trauma or a scenario resolution, you will have to pick another Investigator to continue playing, which means losing your deck, all the experience stored and all cards upgraded. Good luck recovering from that, because if your deckbuilding with Level 0 cards isn't ''phenomenal'', you are bound to be a dead weight to the rest of the team.
* CounterAttack: Enemies with the "Retaliate" keyword will attack back the poor sap who failed to strike them first (unless they are exhausted). ''The Forgotten Age'' expansion introduces the "Alert" keyword, which does the same on a failed evasion attempt.

* ArrangeMode: "Taboo rules" (provided in separate section of official FAQ) were released to nerf cards that were too powerful or overused (like Machete) and investigators (like Rex Murphy), while also buffing unpopular ones (like Winchester). Notably, while they are not mandatory to use (unlike updates to FAQ), if players decide to use them, they must use those rules in their entirety, without picking ones they like and ignoring the rest.

** Many core set cards, particularly low-level ones, are designed to boost team's survival chances at the beginning of the campaign. While expansions introduced many much more flashy tools, core set cards still remain very popular choice for starter decks due to being time-proven and easy to understand (not to mention, easy to access, coming from the core set).
** Premade starter decks uses this philosophy as their core (not always successfully), supplying investigators with cards which may be not as strong or cool as the others, but would help the newbie player understand the basics of playing as that investigator without getting themselves killed.

** "Double or Nothing" skill doubles the difficulty of the test, but also allows to resolve its effect twice if successful. It ended up being so broken in certain scenarios, it was the only card outright forbidden by the "Taboo" rules, as it was deemed impossible to balance.
** "Charon's Obol" asset provides its wielder with [[ExperienceBooster bonus experience]] at the end of each scenario, but [[PermaDeath kills its wielder]] if they gets defeated by any means; and, being "Permanent", it can't be removed once purchased. It's a gamble with the devil, where your bet is your life.
* DifficultButAwesome: Recurring quirk of their cards (it ''does'' show up occasionally in the other classes, but way less often) is to tie some strong effect to exceeding the test difficulty by certain amount; on the downside, when you can't achieve the maximum output, they often perform worse than their more boring analogues.
* DiscardAndDraw: Beside the obvious pun of this being what every player will do in a card game, "Adaptable" is a level 1 permanent asset that allow you, between scenarios, to swap up to two level 0 cards for any other of the same level you have access to in your deckbuilding options. It is not Exceptional either, so you can buy two copies to swap a total of four. That makes cards that would normally be situationally useful for one scenario much more viable to run, as you no longer would need to waste exp to include them back for specific occasions, especially on replays where you know what you will have to face next.

** "Charon's Obol" permanent gives you "free" experience, but kills you if you ever get defeated for any reason; you better put that experience boost to good use...
** Level 0 version of "Daredevil" skill helps you find a fitting Rogue-class skill in your deck... while discarding everything on its way to it (beside weaknesses, which eihter get reshuffled or drawn depending if you are playing with Taboo rules or not). Upgraded version, fortunately, removes this drawback.
** "Geas" asset gives you stat boost for every skill. It also prohibits you from doing certain actions on a threat of fully filling the bag with cursed tokens, and losing the card itself.

** "Underworld Support" permanent reduces deck size by 5, and makes you unable to take more than one copy of any card (by title). The harmful side is obvious, but some builds actually appreciate reduced deck size, as it means getting important cards quicker.

* DrawExtraCards: Rogues have the second-best arsenal of tools to draw extra cards, after Seekers, albeit they tend to require some conditions to be fulfilled first to work, keeping in theme with [[TheGambler high risk, high reward playstyle of the class]].
** "All-In" skill lets investigator draw varying amount of cards (up to 5), depending on how they perform on the test it was applied to. Unlike most such cards, it has built-in protection from weaknesses, shuffling them back rather than forcing you to draw them. It was however {{Nerf}}ed by a later Taboo to remove itself from the game after commiting it.

* EncounterBait: "Kicking the Hornet's Nest" event makes a non-Elite enemy from the deck spawning engaged with you (even when it normally shouldn't), but in return gives you a free clue and some resources (depending on enemy's health value).

** "Honed Instinct" event gives you [[ExtraTurn exta action]], if it's your turn, but has very specific conditions when it can trigger: either on act/agenda advancement, or if you pass a test with very good result. Upgrades either adds more options to trigger it (way easier to fulfill), make the card itself more powerful, or even letting you to do two actions (but making this card once-per-game effect).