Mysteries of Montreal

I recently read " Drachenfels ", by Jack Yeovil (aka Kim Newman). I was aware of the existence of this book back when it came out in 1989, but I never read it. I was wary of fiction lines based on games, as I still am. However on reading it now with the release of the 30 year anniversary edition I did enjoy it immensely. One thing that surprised me about was that there is something of the Discworld in this book in that the integration of the undead, and especially Vampires into the cities of the Old World smacks more of Terry Pratchett than it does of my reading of the original WFRP canon from the game books. In the book there is a monastic retreat for vampires, and the undead have their own bar that they frequent in Nuln. There is also a lighthearted tone to much of the novel that also makes me think of Pratchett, even though there is not the same level of humor. Of course WFRP is known for its humour, but in general it comes in a darker more satyrical form in the game m...

I came across this free pdf pamphlet released by Monte Cook Games  on the Call of Cthulhu players facebook group. Considering the reaction there, there's still a lot of work to be done in this area. So, here's a signal boost of the product. "From fending off an attack by bloodthirsty pirates to delving into dank caverns, roleplaying games allow you to explore and experience things you probably don’t want to face in real life - or to approach topics from the perspective of characters who may be very different than your actual self. This shared experience is intended to be fun for all involved, but RPGs can put characters in life-or-death crises, intense emotional situations, or traumatic environments. Whether it’s body horror in a scary game, violence against children or animals in a fantasy world, flirty, romantic, or sexual relationships in any setting - or numerous other challenging scenarios - the line between fun and awkward, difficult, or downright unpleasant ca...

As mentioned previously , when I was at NecronomiCon this year, I picked up a book by local Providence writers  C. M. Eddy Jr , and his wife Muriel. I had not read any of their wprks, in fact, I still have not read any of their fiction. The H. P. Lovecraft Literary podcast did an Eddy story, " The Ghost Eater " as their live show at NecronomiCon Providence 2019, and Ken doesn't hold back with his feelings on the story, and as Eddy as a writer. In fact, is was this performance (which I had to leave before the end, due to gaming commitments) that made me pick up this book in the dealers hall at the Con. I had seen  Fenham Publishing  on my last visit, and paid them no heed, but now I knew more, I went to the stall and picked up " The Gentleman From Angell Street " . Fenham Publishing, is in fact run by a grandson of the Eddys, and publishes all of their works. On purchasing the book, he also included a couple of photocopies of various newspaper articles eithe...

Of course, I could not attend NecronomiCon PVD 2019 without passing through the dealers hall. I did show much restraint, as there were a great many wonderful things on offer, but I did have a bit of a shopping list in mind, especially when it came to the Chaosium stall. It may have been a few weeks ago now but better late than never! From the Chaosium stall, I picked up the 2nd edition of  Terror Australis . I will be running Masks soon(ish) so this was a must. Berlin: The Wicked City  was there in all its Hardcover glory, before general release. This book looks so pretty, I couldn't not. I don't know when I plan to run games in based in Berlin, but having flicked through it, it certainly could be used as a template for a modern city sourcebook. So, Montreal: The City of Sin anyone? The scenario especially written for the Con was also a must. I didn't manage to get a seat at the table for any of the slots where Jon Hook was running The Shadow Over Providence , but I as...

I do have some hot news from the Con in terms of upcoming games releases from Golden Goblin Games, and Chaosium.  When  I was playing Cthulhu Invictus with Oscar Rios, he told us of an upcoming book for Invictus, based in Britannica, which will contain the adventure we played in (A Mortal Harvest), as well as at least one scenario by Stuart Boon. I had games with both Mike Mason, and Lynne Hardy, and had noticed a certain Folk Horror theme to them both, so I asked mike after the game if there was any intention to release these scenarios, maybe along with Scritch Scratch, another scenario with deep folklore roots. His reply was that yes, something along those lines was in their thoughts, but that it wouldn't be British Folk Horror, and would of course contain scenarios based in North America too. I also asked Mike Mason about upcoming material, some of which he was going to reveal at the Favourite Scenarios panel, but he forgot. What he said in the elevator afterwards w...

As I mentioned in my previous post, this time round, I didn't get as to participate in as wide a range of activities at the Con as I had on my previous visit. Mostly due to me participating in more games, but also due to the timing of these games, and what I think was a bit of a change in scheduling of the gaming panels. In 2017, all the gaming panels were in the morning, leaving time for games or other things afterward. Also last time, I don't recall as many games being scheduled over the lunch period. This meant that I missed out on the MUP/Good Friends podcast on the Friday (due to Extra Life), and most of the H.P.Lovecraft Literary podcast due to my game with Mike Mason. Mike said the game was originally slated for a 2pm start, but when the schedule was released, this had changed to a 12.30 start. I'm okay with missing these, as they were recorded, and will be released, so in the end, I am not missing out on anything. Another thing that I did not do this time, was t...

Last weekend, I participated in my second trip to the bi-annual event that is NecronomiCon Providence. To be quite honest, I had reservations. I had such a great time last time, that I worried the Con would not stand up to my expectations. Thankfully, I was wrong.  Last time, I posted a post for each day, but this time, I'm breaking it down in terms of events I attended, starting with games. To be quite frank, I think for me, this time was much more centred around the games I wanted to play. I think I went to a lot less panels, and this was partly to do with how the games I really wanted to play were timed. I also think the games panels were a little more spread out in time and place this year, but more of that later. I arrived later than I intended on Thursday evening, due to a GPS blip taking me through Boston at rush hour, but I did manage to join my table for Lovecraftesque before it was too late. The games was hosted by Matt Hawkes . I say hosted, as he was not the G...

Last year, there were no stores in town that signed up for Free RPG Day . The nearest being across the border in Burlington, so I wasn't too hopeful when I went on to the website to look this year.  Thankfully, there were 3 stores in town who had signed up, and one, Ménard Comics , which I had never heard of before, is just across the bridge from us. I went along on the day, with the intention of getting the Kids on Bikes adventure supplement, however, the store I went to had not recieved any copies of that book, and it's not like they ran out, as I was there 5 minutes after opening. I'm a little put out by that, as that is really the one thing I wanted from this year's line up, but I guess I'll have to wait and see if they release the PDF. The good news is that I did get to pick up Outbreak Undead , which does look a little dice heavy, but I think we'll give it a go. I also got the DCC quickstart guide with 2 adventures ( 1 level 0 adventure and a Lv...

We've been working our way through the Two-Headed Serpent campaign, and we're reaching the Iceland chapter. Unlike Masks or HotOE, there are a lot less handouts for this game, as is more fitting with the Pulp style I guess, as there is less investigation to an extent. That has not stopped me however, putting together a dossier of images for the Iceland chapter, which includes images of the Snæfellsjökull volcano. It doesn't take much to find some images online, and age them, but there are no images of the volcano erupting, because it's extinct. However, I did quickly put together these images with a little photoshop. Please feel free to use them for your own game, and let me know if larger images would be useful. There is also this view, which would fit what the players see as they fly in to the peninsula. Finally, I found an old map of Iceland, where all the monsters of the sea are congregated around the  Snæfellnes peninsula. ...