Mysteries of Montreal

 RPG a Day 2024, day 12: RPG with well-supported campaigns? It's interesting that well-supported is in bold in this question. Again, this is an easy answer. Call of Cthulhu. I have ran and enjoyed The Two Headed Serpent for their Pulp Cthulhu system. I have ran and enjoyed Horror on the Orient Express , and I have recently started my 3rd or 4th attempt at Masks of Nyarlathotep. Not only are these campaigns renowned in the industry, and the classic ones have gone through multiple incarnations/editions, but the support both from within Chaosium, and from third party vendors outmatches anything I've seen for other games or publishers. No contest.

We completed the Horror on the Orient Express Campaign earlier this year, indeed I have already posted a link to the handouts I used for the Zagreb chapter here . But the end of the year is a good time to clear house and get things done that have been put on the back burner, so I'm returning to this subject to share some other handouts I made for that session. What I did not get round to posting at that time were the audio files I used for that chapter, to voice the stranger in the mists that guides the party round dream Zagreb. To remedy that, I have made available the audio files I used for that session in a Dropbox folder. There are two types of file, those that were taken straight from the chapter as written, and some that I made individually for the Investigators of my group. Zagreb Audio Files can be found here.   Please feel free to use them, but I would also like to know if you do, so drop me a comment to let me know. The inspiration for these files was taken (read...

Here are some handouts I put together for the Zagreb chapter of the Horror on the Orient Experss campaign. Feel free to use them for your games. pdf available on request. Put behind a cut to allow players to ignore spoilers.

I don't post after game reports on my ongoing Horror on the Orient Express game, but since my player posted these all over his social media last night, I though it appropriate to share. He was so proud. The party took on the Anatolian Dragon, in the underground water system of Constantinople during the 4th Crusade, thereby saving the Frankish invaders from the beast, summoned to save the Greek populace. Slaying a dragon in any RPG is a big deal. To do so in Call of Cthulhu requires extra kudos, don't you think?

The wait has been long and the road winding, but we are finally there.. The Kicksterter funded in 2012 , and was fulfilled in 2015 . Furthermore, the Sedefkar Simulacrum kickstarter was also funded and fulfilled, leaving it only a matter to time, and building a gaming group, before I ran this monstrosity. About 9 months ago, I started running the Time to Harvest organised play campaign at my FLGS, (which has sadly since closed its doors). This time I used to get together interested players to form an RPG group that is interested and committed to regular gaming. I have now assembled a group of like minded individuals, and through them, even managed to play! Yes after almost 12 years drought, I actually got to play in an RPG! It was a lot of fun. Now, we have finally taken the plunge, we have assembled a group of investigators, met at a local Auction of occult artefacts, and finally , we are getting together to head off on a momentous journey together, through Europe and the ages, o...

There's a new exhibition in Paris , containing posters and brochures from the Orient Express . There are other posters from the Simplon line in SwitzerlandAs I am gearing up to finally run this campaign, I'll be sure to make use of some of these, though many of them are already available through a Google search. At the end of the sliodeshow, you can download the images in pdf format for ease of use.   A major exhibition on the Orient Express is currently on show in Paris. retours presents a brief history of the famous luxury train by taking a closer look at 10 posters along with matching brochures and photos, partly from the exhibition and partly from own collection. The creators of this exhibition are also the authors of  this amazing app and ebook on the history of the Orient Express. For a grand $6.99, I'll be sure to be investing in that for my tablet, for use at the table.

An interview with Horror on the Orient Express (amongst other things) author Mark Morrison is up on YSDC , to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of the campaign. Also included, some spoilers on an upcoming project, with HotOE links!

As my last post was rather long-winded and ranty , I decided to cut it off before getting round to what I had planned as the main event, that is the unboxing of the Sedefkar Simulacrum, as delivered to me last week. Each set came with a letter from Delphes, the campaign organiser and artist, as well as a certificate of authenticity. A packing error meant I got two copies of the letter and certificate, but as the certificates are not numbered, this isn't an issue. The Box First off, the box itself. Aged to look like it has sat on a shelf for some time (even the hinges are rusted), and labelled on the outside as part of the Miskatonic University collection. Inside, the Simulacrum is hidden in wood shavings/straw, and on the inside of the lid is a faded and slightly warped insignia for the Simplon Orient Express. As was mentioned by Delphes on the KS page, the box is a touch too short to lie the Simulacrum flat, due to a later change in the positioning of the leg mag...

What's in the box? I'm a little lost for words, I just received a package, from a Kickstarter, that was delivered on time.  Okay okay, this may happen all the time with some kinds of Kickstarters, in fact, I have rather a good record of this with two other Kickstarters I have backed. So let me be clearer. I received a Call of Cthulhu based Kickstarter, on time!  I have backed a total of five CoC Kickstarters, and this is the first to have arrived on time, and indeed the second to have arrived at all, which is quite a big deal considering it was the last one of these five to be funded. Indeed, the Curse of Cthulhu Kickstarters meant I was very hesitant to back this one at all. As it stands, the Sedefkar Simulacrum has arrived here in Montreal. Of course, I the Horror on the Orient Express box set did arrive, if indeed it was only 21 months late. This campaign was to sculpt and produce the Sedefkar Simulacrum, which is the statue that players in the HotOE campaign...

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.

I went along to the post office yesterday, to pick up a package that had been waiting for me since the day before. It was indeed the long awaited Horror on the Orient Express kickstarter. There have been a great many unboxings of this package already online, so I won't bother with all that faff, but I may go through the contents in the near future and post what I have, as some of it is very pretty. So, I'll just leave you with this. A picture of the boxed set itself, which alone comes in at 3.9 kg! It's a beast! There is of course a lot more nick-knacks to go with that too! Watch this space...

It has been in the news for a while, but it is finally coming to a head. Call of Cthulhu is printing a 7th edition. Furthermore, this is not a new edition in the way that many of the other CoC editions, in that, they were mere clean-ups of the book and rules, tidying and modernising the layout and such. This seems to be very much a new edition. What I do know is that they are trying their hardest to make the new edition backwards compatible with all existing adventures. For a company like Chaosium, where their back catalog of adventures is what they are renowned for, this really was a must. Also, all playtesting done for the new edition of Horror on the Orient Express has been done in 7th ed, thereby assuring the new adventure is not out of date as soon as it hits the shelves, whilst also being backwards compatible with all older versions of the rules, as befits a classic adventure. Want to know more? Go here for the kickstarter . I have yet to pledge, as I am waiting to see what o...

I bring to your attention, yet another Blog, the Orient Express Writers Blog . In their own words: This blog is published by Penelope Love and Mark Morrison. We have been writing for Call of Cthulhu since our first book together,  Terror Australis , in 1987. The revised edition of Horror on the Orient Express will be published by our friends at Chaosium in August 2013. We are undertaking the editing and rewriting as freelancers. Whilst I'm on the theme of blogs, I would also like to draw attention to another couple that I have added to my blogroll. Cthulhu Reborn . This blog bills itself as "An online resourse for recycled Call of Cthulhu scenarios and stuff". I've had a glance through it, in an attempt to summarise it's contents, but it's best if you just head on over and delve right in! There's a host of handouts and game materials to be had. Chaosium Digest is a blog that has formed from the original Chaosium digest email list. In their...

I have had a couple of update emails from the kickstarter, which I would like to share.  Update #65 We want to share some exciting news! Steff Worthington will be signing on to create new and improved maps for Horror on the Orient Express ! Steff created some amazing maps for Cthulhu by Gaslight , and we are very excited that he has climbed on board the Orient Express! Check out Steff's work on his blog . I have been along to the blog, and I can say I am heartily impressed by his work, and will be sure to be using those maps for Cthulhu and any other project they fit. In fact, he has already mapped the route of the Orient Express for another project . Also of interest from that blog is this post, containing the map of Cairo from the upcoming Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion . Update #66 A new city along the route Hello everyone, While Meghan and Nick travel to Istanbul to conduct photo research for the many handouts and merchandise we are producing for the new...

Hagia Sophia in the 1920s As part of the Horror on the Orient Express Kickstarter, I recieved the following update this morning, which I copy in full, due to the link to a new blog which is included: Greetings and Happy Holidays! As part of the research for the reprint of Horror on the Orient Express Chaosium's Nick Nacario and Meghan Mclean will be taking a research trip to Istanbul, Turkey. There we will look up photos and ephemera from the good ole' days of the Simplon Orient Express. We want this reprint to be as authentic as possible, especially when it comes to the handouts, in order to make your gaming experience as realistic and incredible as possible. Join us on our journey, and follow our progress on the Chaosium in Turkey blog . Here we will upload photos and post about our discoveries.

Not only did the Horror on the Orient Express Kickstarter make it's goal amount to be funded, but it made all it's stretch goals too. I recieved this email this morning: Congratulations! Thanks to you and 1372 other backers, Horror on the Orient Express: Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium has been successfully funded. Amazon will now charge your credit card. Pledge Summary Amount pledged: $150.00 Reward: Conductor—CANADA— Copy of the final product, Orient Express T-Shirt, Orient Express tote, and four Limited edition Orient Express tickets, a set of Chaosium dice, and a pack of extra handouts for extra players or for your Call of Cthulhu collection, plus a Horror on the Orient Express keeper's screen. Your name listed on the contributor page of the book. **THIS LEVEL INCLUDES SHIPPING** Estimated delivery: Aug 2013 When your reward is ready, Chaosium Inc. will send you a survey via email to request any info needed to deliver your reward (mailing address, T-shirt size, e...