Mysteries of Montreal

My first RPG was MERP. Middle Earth Role-Playing. Well, actually it wasn't it was Road Hogs, a supplement for TMNT. But lets just skip that for a moment and say that the first game I bought and ran was MERP. We played that game for years, running at least 1 set of characters all the way up to level 10. That may not sound like much, but in MERP, that was pretty huge. I still have all the books, though my original MERP book is now in a well thumbed ring-binder, as the glue on the binding game up the ghost a long time ago. If there is an RPG that will be buried with me, it'll be a copy of MERP (as well as Call of Cthulhu). Add on top of that Tolkien's books, and the films, which I am now passing on to my kids, one could say I have a lot of fondness for gaming in Middle Earth. However, there was a bit of a lull in my TTRPG gaming for a few years as I moved into minis gaming, as they could be played with no prep, and the painting side of the hobby could be done so...

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...