Mysteries of Montreal

This is old news now, of course, but this great interactive map gives an insight into homicides in Montreal in the modern era. The CBC interactive map , with points for all the 28 homicides in Montreal for the year of 201. If you want to now more, each of the map pins has a link to the story of the death on the CBC website.  These are only those related to deaths on the island of Montreal. I was a little surprised it was only 28. Not that I feel Montreal is a dangerous town, but that just doesn't seem like much. This is of course a good thing. Another thing to note, in game terms, is that they are spread around the city, making no one borough more dangerous than any other.

Way Back in 2012, I wrote a post that was intended to be one of a series. A short series, but a series none the less. That was on sourcebooks for various games that were describing Montreal in terms of the game setting. Montreal as a background for your game. In an attempt to go through my own backlog of  drafts of posts, to get these posts out into the wild, I am reviving this series with the second instalment of Montreal Sourebooks. This one came across my radar more than a few years ago now, back when the storyteller system was all the rage. Black Dog Games, the darker, more adult daughter company of White Wolf publishing, released " Montreal by Night: Litany of Blood ". A  sourcebook for Vampire the Masquerade, based in the city of Montreal. Welcome to Montreal, City of Black Miracles and unhallowed shrine of our most glorious Sabbat. Yes, we're so glad you came, n'est ce pas? Walk our catacombs in search of blasphemous knowledge, enjoy all manner of tit...

I read recently, with some sadness, of the closing, or moving of an establishment, that seems to me at least, to be as old as Montreal itself. In a recent Gazette column, I read of the relocation of L. Berson & Fils off of the Main. To those from out of town, the Main is the name given by locals to Rue St Lauren, or St Lawrence Street (of all the names the street has, that last one is never used). As the article states, the business was established on the Main in 1922, and it was indeed a landmark. I remember seeing it on my first visit to the city, and at the time, I did find it a bit of an eyesore, if at least one that clearly had history, it was what looked like a builder's yard in the middle of a busy main shopping street, but the sign hanging above it made it obvious it was just part of the fittings and fixtures of the town, and that it hearkened back to an earlier era. It was this obvious recalling to an earlier age that meant when I came to running Co...

We hear much these days about the big brother state. Back in the 80s and before, it was a thing to be feared. These days, with the prevalence of the internet in out lives, and the amount of our own selves we share online, either voluntarily or not, means that for better or worse, we are much more at ease with the ability of others to watch us from afar. Maybe because we just don't think about it, or we don't want to think about it. So when I came across this website , I was less annoyed by the intrusion as I may have been back in the day, but I see it as a great In a modern game of Call of Cthulhu, or, even better, the Laundry, The uses for this kind of surveillance are multiple, and creepy

I have not seen previous episodes of what seems to be a current BBC Scotland comedy sketch show, going by the name Burnistoun, however, through an old school friend on facebook, I was made aware of this sketch.   "There's an unnamable, unimaginable thing in my basement and I want it punted." Take three minutes to watch it. It's chock full of references, delivered with particularly Scottish understatement.

With the sad and recent passing of Sir Christopher Lee, who led an amazingly full life , I post here a link to the full film Horror Express . This film is moving rapidly to the top of my play list for multiple reasons, Lee's recent passing is one, and my reading through of the Horror on the Orient Express campaign being another. The lovecraftian themes are of course there, but we really need no further excuse than the actors whe are present in the film.

Last year I noticed, too late, an Indigogo campaign by a French Artist to make a3D prop version of the Sedefkar Simulacrum, which is the artefact that the players collect as they trek round Europe as the Horror on the Orient Express campaign progresses. The campaign original ended without being funded. Fortunately for me, if not for my wallet, the campaign has been relaunched, now on Kickstarter . The project has the official backing of Chaosium, and is such a licensed product. This is not, however, a Chaosuim Kickstarter, as we all know by now to keep those puppies at arms length! This is also another chance to get a copy of the Eye of Light and Darkness prop for the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign, as was made for Ben Patey's prop set Kickstarter, which I have backed, but not to the extent of getting the clay props, only the paper ones. So, a twofer really on the props front. I am sorely sorely tempted to go for this one. I'll let you all know if I do.