There's five classes, and each character in the base set focusses on one class with a little bit of skill in another. In general the game is a tug-of-war between finding clues (which generally advance the game towards the best outcome) and just staying on top of Bad Things Happening.
Guardian: Fights enemies, protects allies.
Seeker: Particularly skilled at searching for clues.
Rogue: Sneaky, often particularly resourceful
Mystic: A bit of a jack-of-all-trades, with access to powerful spells... but those spells can and do come at a cost.
Survivors: Able to handle bad luck well. Good at getting positive outcomes out of negative events.
And the core set characters that fit each of these archetypes. I'll paraphrase the basics of each. You probably don't want to worry
too much about the deck contents, but there's some strategy suggestions listed with each that you might find useful once we've got going.
Roland Banks (The Fed):
Guardian class with a little Seeker.
An FBI agent, assigned to investigate the mysterious goings-on.
+ Strong fighter
+ Can find clues by defeating enemies
+ Signature card: Roland's .38 Special: A powerful weapon
- Can take physical punishment well, but weak to psychological
- Signature weakness: Cover Up: Requires you to sacrifice clues or take mental trauma
Daisy Walker (The Librarian):
Seeker class with a little Mystic
The librarian at Miskatonic University. Very good with books... but sometimes a little
too good.
+ Excellent clue-finder
+ Gets a free action each turn to use any books she has
+ Signature card: Daisy's Tote Bag. Don't laugh. Allows her to hold more books at once.
- Weak at taking physical damage, but strong for psychological.
- Signature weakness: The Necronomicon (John Dee Translation): Reduces your chance of passing skill tests; requires taking psychological damage to remove it. May force you to drop books you're already holding.
"Skids" O'Toole (The Ex-Con):
[free] During your turn, spend 2 resources: You may take an additional action this turn. (Limit once per turn.) [elder_sign] effect: +2. If you succeed, gain 2 resources.
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Rogue class with a little Guardian.
Stole and went to prison to pay for an operation for his mother; cellmate told him about strange goings-on, now he's looking for answers.
+ All-rounder
+ Can spend resources to buy extra actions
+ Signature card: On The Lam: Gives you a turn where you cannot be attacked
- Needs a good supply of resources to work to full effectiveness
- Signature Weakness: Hospital Debts: Eats up resources. If you don't supply it enough by the end of the scenario, reduces your ability to upgrade your deck.
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Agnes Baker (The Waitress)
[reaction] After 1 or more horror is placed on Agnes Baker: Deal 1 damage to an enemy at your location. (Limit once per phase.) [elder_sign] effect: +1 for each horror on Agnes Baker.
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Mystic with a little Survivor
An ordinary waitress now, but in a previous life, a powerful witch.
+ Very powerful... albeit at a cost
+ Can damage enemies by taking psychological damage
+ Signature card: Heirloom of Hyperborea: Free card draw for playing spells
- You'll need to be aware of the costs and risks of the most powerful cards
- Signature Weakness: Dark Memory: Hurts you for as long as it's in your hand, but if you play it the game moves closer to a bad conclusion.
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Wendy Adams (The Urchin)
[reaction] When you reveal a chaos token, choose and discard 1 card from your hand: Cancel that chaos token and return it to the bag. Reveal a new chaos token. (Limit once per test/ability.) [elder_sign] effect: +0. If Wendy's Amulet is in play, you automatically succeed instead.
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Survivor with a little Rogue
An orphan, whose mother was taken away after the death of her father.
+ Resilient, good at evasion and finding clues
+ Can spend a card to get a reroll a skill test.
+ Signature card: Wendy's Amulet: Can play event cards from your discard pile
- Weakest fighter
- Signature Weakness: Abandoned and Alone: Takes psychological damage, and removes every card currently in your discard from the game
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