Introduction and Themes
This guide is a largely spoiler-free guide that talks about the general mechanics of the Bloodborne - City of the Unseen custom campaign made by aughhhh. If you're interested in learning what the campaign's unique mechanics are, and hearing suggestions for investigators and cards that are particularly well suited to the campaign, read on!
In Bloodborne - City of the Unseen, investigators find themselves in the city of Yharnam after a strange sleeping sickness overtakes Arkham. They have to explore the beast-cursed gothic city to find a way home.
General Mechanics
Death by a Thousand Cuts
While there is a lot of damage and horror, especially given how long most of the scenarios are, it doesn't tend to come in single, big chunks - you'll rarely be taking the chunks of 3 damage you might see from Rotting Remains or Grasping Hands. As such, cards that can deal with damage slowly, like Pete Sylvester or Bandages will be more helpful than cards like Deny Existence.
Insight and Recognition
The special mechanic for Bloodborne are Insight tokens. There are three of them in the bag, and when you draw them, they count as a "+1 and draw another", and then are set aside. When all three get set aside, your Recognition level goes up by one, and they get returned to the bag.
What Recognition does isn't relevant to this overview, but how those tokens change things is worth considering. They make token-searching effects looking for a specific tokens harder to predict, but boost any effects that look for generic tokens in general (like taboo'd Voice of Ra). You'll also be able to dive deeper on Recognition, if you so choose, by using token-searching effects like Olive McBride.
Long Scenarios
The scenarios in Bloodborne are long - roughly 1.5x the length of most arkham scenarios. You'll need to be ready for the long haul - the shortest doom clock is 16 turns long, and some even stretch into the 20s. This makes it difficult to rely on events for major parts of your strategy, means you need to be careful if you're relying on assets with charges (bringing backups or ways to recharge them), and means you'll need a lot more soak than normal, as you'll be drawing more encounter cards. This also means assets that can provide repeatable value without being used up will be much more valuable, as it's not of big of a cost to take the time to play them.
It's also worth noting many of these scenarios often have at least one agenda with a very long doom clock - and those that don't tend to have short, repeatable doom clocks. There's a lot of opportunity to make good use of doom cards here, if you're smart about it.
Lots and Lots of Enemies
There are lots of enemies in this campaign. So many enemies. If you're planning on using anything with charges as your combat tool, you'll need extra assets or ways to reload them, especially since the scenarios are extra long. You might be better off just going with melee weapons. Even Rogues and Survivors who are focused on clues should consider some way of chipping in on damage when needed.
You'll also have lots of use for cards that trigger off of killing enemies, or having them around, like Evidence or Scene of the Crime.
Persistent Willpower Treacheries
There are many treacheries that stick around and require actions to remove, and those that require tests generally require Willpower tests. Having a character with good Willpower who has some extra time during down turns can help keep your boardstate clear.
Story Allies and Assets
Bloodborne gives you lots and lots of toys. In scenario 1, you'll have your choice of story items to add to your deck, and then in scenario 2, you'll be given 6 different powerful ally assets that you'll have free access to. These toys don't stop there, with more and more story assets to collect as you continue.
Many of these story assets are good enough to be worth relying on, including the weapons. You'll want to consider ways to find them from your deck, be it extra draw or search effects.
Deckbuilding Advice
The suggestions below aren't by any means required, or even characters I've necessarily played the campaign through. Rather, these are just observations of characters who might be particularly well suited to the campaign, including things that might not be top tier, but have a very strong synergy with the campaign mechanics.
Suggested Investigators
Daniela Reyes: One of Daniela's biggest weaknesses is her awkward weapon selection. There's multiple story weapons available to her that saves her XP on what might otherwise be less than exciting weapons.
Leo Anderson: There's a lot of Leo to love here - his allies give him the necessary soak to survive, he's taking Charisma anyway so is happy to get a big story ally he can play for free, and his Willpower and Intellect can both be boosted by story allies to be useful.
Amanda Sharpe: Amanda's a seeker with a lot of combat potential, held back by a lack of good combat asset for her. The campaign offers her a variety of weapons she can use, boosting a Vicious Blow or Promise of Power she's committing for the turn.
Mandy Thompson: With so many cool assets and allies, you'll have to take steps to find them, first. Mandy can help everyone out with that - boosting Backpacks, Eureka's, and the like for the entire party.
Finn Edwards: There's not a lot of targets you can evade and run from, but if you're running Pickpocket, Finn will never be at a loss of things to evade for economy - his ability to fight well with Dirty Fighting and focus on clues will serve him well, and he's flexible in his choice of story allies.
Tony Morgan: There's a lot of fighting, and Tony is good at doing a lot of fighting. There's not much to say - he's one of the most straightforward combat characters, and he'll never lack in targets.
Jacqueline Fine: If you're looking to get really high Recognition, token selection effects are the way to do so - and Jacqueline is best at that. They'll also help any cards she brings that trigger off of symbol tokens drawn.
Marie Lambeau: Marie likes to play with doom, and Bloodborne's long agendas give her a chance to do so. Her high Intellect stat also gives her something to fall back on if she ends up filling her deck with combat cards.
Hank Sampson: Hank has to be careful not to flip too quickly with how long the scenarios are, but his extra soak works well for the campaign, and there's lots of good story assets available for him to use as weapons to make up for the awkwardness of Survivor weapons.
Silas Marsh: Silas is in a similar position to Hank - many of the story assets serve as amazing weapons for him, allowing him to focus his XP elsewhere.
Notable Player Cards
Ancestral Token: With so many enemies to kill, you'll never run out of targets for Ancestral Token to constantly drip blesses into the bag. It's a great way to support the team with minimal investment.
Empty Vessel: Another accessory that builds up off of killing enemies? Well, it fits - you'll have no problem charging the Empty Vessel, and Wish Eater will provide you with some much needed healing and the ability to pass multiple tests.
Testing Sprint: While not great in every scenario, quite a few of them will involve revealing a number of locations and picking clues off of them when you can. There's some real high value plays for it across the campaign, even up to the very end.
Orphic Theory: There's a number of treacheries that stick around and are largely low threat, but might be devastating on the wrong turn. Being able to turn them off for a turn or two can be a huge help - and Orphic Theory can help investigators at any location.
Bewitching: You'll constantly be getting engaged with enemies, even if you don't want to. Bewitching will let you draw whatever Tricks you're playing quickly.
Quickdraw Holster: A niche card, but there's a number of story asset firearms that can have their ammo recharged - getting a free attack every turn can be a huge help.
David Renfield: Some of the scenarios have some very long doom clocks, allowing you to get a lot of use out of David Renfield - be it a long-lasting stat boost, or just a ton of cash.
Jewel of Aureolus: With the taboo, the Jewel will also trigger off of the three extra Insight tokens in the bag. It's a chance for a lot of draw and resources.
Hatchet: A weapon with a reliable attack bonus, Hatchet pairs well with many of the one handed story assets available. Hatchet will provide an accurate softening blow, while the story asset can be used as a finisher.
Stunning Blow: There's a lot of tough, nasty monsters in the campaign, and if you draw too many at once, or when there's a story enemy at the same time, you're going to have a problem. Evasion likely puts you too much in the hole - being able to evade an enemy while still dishing out damage is a huge help.
More on Bloodborne - City of the Unseen:
Bloodborne - City of the Unseen: Spoiler-Light Review
Bloodborne - City of the Unseen: Advice and Overview
Bloodborne - City of the Unseen: Dissection
Bloodborne - City of the Unseen: Unlockable Investigator Gallery