This is a personal, largely spoiler free (or spoiler-vague) review of the The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar fanmade scenario by The Beard for Arkham Horror the Card Game.
Based on the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar has the investigators trying to stop the mesmerist Mr. Carmichael, who has kept Mr. Valdemar in a trance since his death, caught in a state between life and death. The scenario involves has the investigators entering a nightmarish mindscape to free the tortured Valdemar.
The scenario has a good mechanical hook - clues are used to bring in special randomized mindscape locations which have a special requirement on each needed to progress. These requirements scale based on player count, and can be shared between the group - but still make a fun little game of figuring out who has to take the penalties they dish out, which ends up being the most interesting part of the scenario.. The "normal" locations also give ways to help mitigate or heal up after the various mindscape locations deal their damage. Overall, though, everything just seems to lack a little bite, especially in lower player counts. The penalties aren't harsh enough that you can't suffer through them, and the location bonuses are small enough that they don't seem worth the time to use them. The biggest wrench in players' plans are the hidden cards - and there are some very, very nasty ones. However, these are far more situation dependent - so they might be a small speedbump or far more disasterous depending on when they come up. This ease doesn't detract from the scenario too much, although does feel like some missed potential - using the normal locations to build up for the mindscape locations would feel better, and it's possible in a 4 player group, where the mindscape locations demand more, that's more likely to occur.
Mechanics wise, the scenario is fairly smooth and runs without difficulty - although there are some encounter cards that specifically force an action, that's not entirely clear how they work. Assumptions can be made, although their wording leads something to be desired. However, they're just a small section of the scenario overall, and once it's decided how to treat them, it's easy enough to use that ruling forward.
With two 19 XP investigators, I found The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar on the easy side - none of the enemies were particularly scary, and the final location and boss were pretty easy to deal with. The chaos bag had some large negatives in it, and in a campaign, it would be even easier - as such, I'd recommend playing it early on in a campaign.
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar is overall a solid scenario, if a little on the easy side.
Rewards
XP Cost: 2 XP
Potential XP Gain: 2 (locations) +1 (Valdemar's Room OR Mr. Carmichael) = 3 XP or 1 XP after costs
Succesfully completing the scenario earns the Valdemar's Fortune card for one investigator - a permanent that grants 1i resources each act that any investigator can spend on assets or events.
Completing the scenario by defeating Mr. Carmichael gives one investigator the Angular Cube, a 2 cost accessory asset that gives +1 agility, and allows you to exhaust it to treat all reveals locations connected to your locations - but deals you a damage or horror every time you move while it's exhausted.
Completing the scenario by gathering all the clues from Valdemar's Room grants one investigator the Glimpse Beyond card, a 3 cost arcane asset that grants +1 health and sanity, and after an investigator, ally, or enemy at your location is defeated, you can exhaust it to discover a clue at your location.