The game takes place primarily in Arkham, a fictional city set on 
the banks of the equally fictitious Miskatonic River. Arkham has two 
main suburbs, Innsmouth and Kingsport, that have developed from what 
were quaint seaside towns in the 1920s to become burgeoning cities 
in their own rights. Arkham itself is home to about five million 
people, one million of which are located in each of the two port 
towns. Connecting the main city to the ports is a suburban sprawl 
familiar to middle America. Since the game takes place in what in 
our world we know as the New England area (not far from Boston), 
there is a leafy, verdant feel to these suburbs. However, by and 
large not a lot of the action takes place in the sprawl. Instead 
action focuses on the considerable neo-Gothic inner city spread of 
Arkham, or the more antique and even more dark townships of 
Innsmouth and Kingsport. Those who are familiar with the writings of 
HP Lovecraft (the eminent 1920s horror author, upon whose work the 
Call of Cthulhu role-playing game is based) will recognise these 
names as synonymous. While there is a dark undercurrent to the 
gameworld of the Arkham Avengers, the Cthulhoid element is minimal 
so far. Basing the game in Arkham is a handy parallel universe 
convention. Lovecraft’s shadowy Arkham of the 1920s is reimagined in 
the game as a bustling modern metropolis, but certain standards like 
Miskatonic University, the Arkham Observer newspaper and the 
general “old world” feel of the city is retained.