Hunting for Words of PowerA preview of the next Asylum Pack from the Revelations cycle for Call of Cthulhu
Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places. For them are the catacombs of Ptolemais, and the carven mausolea of the nightmare countries. They climb to the moonlit towers of ruined Rhine castles, and falter down black cobwebbed steps beneath the scattered stones of forgotten cities in Asia. The haunted wood and the desolate mountain are their shrines, and they linger around the sinister monoliths on uninhabited islands.
–H.P. Lovecraft, The Picture in the House
Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game players recently got their first taste of the Revelations cycle of Asylum Packs with the release of Written and Bound. Its new cards explore the tremendous power inherent in dark knowledge. They also include the game’s first two Relic Hunters, individuals who risk body and soul to seek rare and forbidden tomes.
Miskatonic University and the Order of the Silver Twilight were the first of the game’s factions to receive the services of such talented and driven individuals, but the other factions’ agents aren’t far behind. As the race gets underway to control ancient items of unfathomable value, it’s only natural that the Syndicate should turn to the services of their own Relic Hunter.
The many talents of Miranda Keeper
As far as the authorities are concerned, Miranda Keeper (Words of Power, 33) is an antiquities trader out of Boston. A graduate of Harvard and Oxford, she has advanced degrees in Art History, Social Anthropology, and Linguistics. After she dealt in some of the of the British Museum's largest pre-bronze age acquisitions, she took a much-deserved vacation back home to Arkham and completely dropped out of the trading world for thirteen weeks. 
When she surfaced again, she resigned from her position at the British Museum and opened her own trading house, one that was surprisingly well-connected and well-funded from the outset.
Since then, Miranda has attended a number of high-profile public and private auctions where she has always come away with just the pieces she hoped to claim, pieces which never then appear in museums or in the collections of well-known private collectors. Several of these auctions have been marred by thefts and claims that attendees had been intimidated by local thugs, but no evidence has linked Miranda to any of these crimes.
No one is quite certain what the Syndicate might want with the rare artifacts and tomes from these auctions. However, it is known that they will rob, waylay, and murder cultists, as well as fight the things that squeeze through cracks in reality in order to keep others from infringing on their territory. Miranda’s talents for recognizing and procuring rare materials is a very important part of the Syndicate’s plan to secure the items they need to keep the earth free of all malignant influence… other than theirs.
Backed by the Syndicate
The Revelations cycle’s new Tomes and characters create powerful synergies, and allow players to uncover interesting combinations, both with cards within the cycle and with cards from previous cycles. Miranda Keeper is no exception, opening up a wide array of possible combinations.
Miranda Keeper’s low cost and three skill makes her a powerful ally for Mr. David Pan (Curse of the Jade Emperor, 43) and a powerful agent in a deck that attempts struggles in a Parallel Universe (The Thing from the Shore, 98). She can enter the game and get to work, fetching support cards, as early as the first turn, and that means a great deal to a faction as dependent upon support cards as the Syndicate.
Sure, she doesn’t have Willpower, but after a couple shots of Fortifying Ouzo (Into Tartarus, 105), there’s little that will shock her. She doesn’t have Invulnerability or Toughness of her own, but the Syndicate knows how to get the most possible mileage out of its Dutch Courage (Core Set, 73). With such powerful support, the mastery of an Expensive Guitar (Initiations of the Favored, 58) and the aid of a Clover Club Torch Singer (Core Set, 66), Miranda can outfox nearly anyone who dares oppose her. And, like all Relic Hunters, Miranda becomes more proficient (and deadlier) in her acquisitions once her team starts sharing the knowledge from dark Tomes, such as the list of names in O’Bannion’s Ledger (Words of Power, 35).
Naturally, a faction as territorial as the Syndicate has a great deal of investment in its Locations, and one of the best such support cards in the game is The Seventh House on the Left (Kingsport Dreams, 26), which allows you to exhaust any one of your opponent’s characters, even an Ancient One.
Time to turn a profit
It’s time for the Syndicate to launch into action. Led by Miranda Keeper, this faction of thugs and crime lords is out to show that crime pays, and their rare tomes and Words of Power should be showing up on the market anytime soon…
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Hunting for Words of Power
