Modern Mythos with Jon & Seth

In this episode, Jon and Seth are joined by Call of Cthulhu's Creative Director, Mike Mason! We talk about the new Arkham book, the further plans in the Miskatonic Valley line of books, Chaosium Con 2024, and the Basic Roleplay (BRP) Contest.

This episode was graciously sponsored by the creators of Northern Lights & Darkness compellation of modern day Call of Cthulhu scenarios set in Scandinavian cities and country sides. Each scenario is set in the author’s home countries and uses elements of Scandinavian folklore and myth.

The Excursion, by Maja Kvendseth, is set on the Norwegian coastline.

The Art of Hygge, by Poul Holmelund, takes us back to the year 1999, and is set in and around Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dreamers of the Bogland, by Wille Ruotsalainen, is set in Helsinki, Finland.

The Hidden People, by Theodor Helgason, is set in modern day Iceland.

The Tunnel People, by Jonas Morian, is a “dungeon crawl of Cthulhu” set in the metro lines beneath modern Stockholm, Sweden.

And finally, A Shadow of What Once Was, by Oscar Sedholm, is set in the Sapmi region of Sweden. 

Northern Lights and Darkness on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/463221/Northern-Lights-and-Darkness-BUNDLE?term=northern+lights+and?affiliate_id=51821

The new Arkham book has been well received by fans and critics alike. Mike Mason and the entire Chaosium crew couldn't be more thrilled. Mike was kind enough to join us to talk about the new Arkham book and the other books that will follow in this line.

Topics discussed include: Matt Ryan's amazing maps, creating Arkham specific investigators, and the broadsheet Arkham Advertiser newspaper created by the fine folks in the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society.

We also talked about Chaosium Con, both in The United States and Australia. And the new BRP Contest!

Chaosium Con: https://www.chaosium.com/blogchaosium-con-2024-registration-is-live-see-you-in-ann-arbor-in-april/

BRP Contest: https://www.chaosium.com/blogthe-basic-roleplaying-design-challenge/

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! 

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes. 

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. 

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ 

http://thickets.net/

And once again, a huge than you to our sponsors Northern Lights and Darkness. Remember to hit the link above and pick it up. Thanks for listening. 

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

Cast:

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

In this episode, Seth and Jon talk about werewolves and lycanthropes in your Call of Cthulhu game.

• Movies - The Howling, Silver Bullet, Dog Soldiers, Wolf, Wolfen, Brotherhood of the Wolf, The Wolfman,
• Traditional werewolves are governed by the phases of the moon – What else could compel a lycanthrope?
• Seasons
• Other celestial bodies
• Other planets
• Comets
• Constellations
• Emotional states (ie: Hulk’s anger)
• Adorning an animal hide/skin (magic item)
• Magic Spell they cast
• Innate ability to do at will
• Seth’s Valducan series - demonic possession
• Drug-induced, scientific concoction (pills, potion, or intravenous)
• Other types of lycanthropes
• Lots of examples from fantasy gaming:
• Wererats
• Weresharks
• Weretiger
• Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (wereneanderthal?)
• Hulk (wereroids???)
• Rakshasa (Hindu shapeshifting demon)

• What hurts them?
• The lore of silver originated in 1760’s France with Beast of Gévaudan (Brotherhood of the Wolf) But not a universal folklore.
• Wolfsbane
• Do other herbs/minerals work for yours? PCs might have to discover it. Instead of having players pretend they don’t know the lore of silver, maybe their characters do know it, but it’s simply folklore and not true. Lovecraft’s “Fear of the Unknown” quote. Have the fear of a werewolf be not knowing who it is or how to hurt it/
• Maybe regular bullets can (like American Werewolf in London)

• The Rescue (From Cthulhu Companion)
• The Swarming (Blood Brothers)
• Chateau of Blood (Blood Brothers 2)

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

Cast:

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

Cast:

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

Not sure how this episode was skipped, but here it is. Sorry for the mix-up. - Jon

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

Cast:

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

• • Benefits of Playing different RPGs
  • Learn fresh approaches (many you can port back into other RPGs)
  • Change of pace.

   

  • Why change games?
  • Fatigue - Both players and GMs can tire of a system or genre
  • Cult of the New (New editions, new genre, new approach to what you already enjoy (CoC, Delta Green, Trail of Cthulhu, etc.)
  • Rotating GM

   

  • Method for introduction
  • One shot
  • Session zero
  • Lots of Quickstarts out there

   

  • Talking to your group
  • Explain the reason why (meaning you first need to know it yourself)
  • Sell them on it. People naturally focus on what they’re losing, so tell them what they’ll gain. What will this new game do that the old one can't?
  • Best if this is approached as “WE” project. More of a group activity project than a “YOU or I” thing.

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

Cast:

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

Cast: 

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney  

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at: 

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/ 

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

• Dracula, Bram Stoker - audio book
• The Hollow Kind, Andy Davidson - Kindle
• I Am Legend, Richard Matheson - paperback
• Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros - hardback (about to start)

• Finished Ben Aaronovich - Rivers of London 1-9
• Re-listened to Ben Riggs - Slaying the Dragon
• Just started C.J. Cherryh - Downbelow Station

• 30 Coins S2
• Re-watch - Battlestar
• Invincible S2
• Only Murder in the Building
• Haunting in Venice

• UpLoad - Amazon Prime
• For All Mankind - Apple+
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters - Apple+
• Quantum Leap - NBC
• 30 Coins - HBO (need to get back into it)

• Ticket to Ride: Legends of the West - Days of Wonder
• Dune: Imperium - Uprising - Dire Wolf Digital
• Fury of Dracula (digital) - Steam
• Terraforming Mars (digital) - Steam
• Call of Cthulhu - Miskatonic Valley Campaign (patrons) - on hold
• Call of Cthulhu - Time for Sacrifice Campaign (patrons)
• Coriolis - Free League Publishing
• ALIEN - Fallout - Free League Publishing (with How We Roll podcast)

• Traveller Secrets of the Ancients - Gareth Hanrahan
• Cyberpunk Red
• Finishing up CoC
• Need to pickup Starfield
• Puzzling Pursuits - Blackbrim - La Familia

Two classic Chaosium publications, Blood Brothers and Blood Brothers 2, each include Gothic monsters as those books were designed to emulate the kind of stories seen in movies featuring those beasties. 

Oath of Blood (BB1) - features vampires

The Haunting - Walter Corbitt was essentially a vampire or at least vampire-like 

Vampire Lore is an example of Lore Specialization skill in CoC (starts at 1%) — as “Lore (Vampire)” vs EDU/Know.

Upcoming ‘Last Voyage of the Demeter’ -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Voyage_of_the_Demeter 

Great New England Vampire Panic -    1854 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-new-england-vampire-panic-36482878/ 

Mercy Brown - Exeter, Rhode Island - Exhumed her body in 1892 two months after burial and removed and burned her heart, then mixed ashes into a potion for a sick family member to drink (he died anyway 2 months later)

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/14336

Goth subculture - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goth_subculture 

Part of the fun in the classic monster movies is seeing the heroes explore and discover the truth or falsehood of the folklore pertaining to the monster. The Keeper can play with this so the investigators have their own unique experience in discovering those truths: 

• Do vampires need to be invited over a threshold? 

• Does silver injure vampires? 

• Do holy symbols repel vampires? Must they only be wielded by someone with unfaltering faith? Will any holy symbol work? 

• Can the bite of a vampire be cured? 

• If a “parent” monster is destroyed, does that destroy/release/cure any of the “children” that they sired? 

• Can vampires shapeshift into other forms? 

• Do vampires only feed on blood? (book says POW, but what if CON or STR to represent blood-loss like Lucy in Dracula)

• Can Vampires change appearance? Anne Rice their hair was always exactly the length as it was when they died, One character was groomed and shaved before he was transformed because of that.

• Various folklore from around the world -

  • Aswangs from Phillipines

  • Penanggalan from Malasia

  • Babalonia and Assyiria had Lilitu which possibly links to stories of Lilith. 

Popular folklore the Players and likely the PCs are familiar with, but PCs have to discover which folklore is true. - EX: Lost Boys garlic didn’t work of vampires, American Werewolf in London any bullet worked (in fact the silver bullet folklore came from Hollywood).

Lost Boys premiere date: July 31, 1987 (36th anniversary)

Take a page from World of Darkness and different kinds of Vampires (Nosferatu, Ventru, Brujah, etc). Or as vampire becomes older more powerful if looks less and less human (or more and more human)

In Seth’s Valducan series I had 2 types. One was if the vampire took them over before death and the other was after death.

Modern Mythos Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos

Of Wrath & Blood is now available as a print-on-demand book: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/271923/Of-Wrath-and-Blood?term=of+wrath+and+blood 

Spark of Life is now available as a print-on-demand book: 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/278700/Spark-of-Life 

Seth Skorkowsky’s Gold Ennie Award-Winning YouTube Channel: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SSkorkowsky 

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SSkorkowsky 

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! 

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes. 

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. 

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ 

http://thickets.net/ 

The Great Race of Yith

Created in “The Shadow Out of Time,” published in the June 1936 issue of Astounding Stories. (87 years ago)

Early History: 

• Original home planet: Yith

• Escaped the planet by mind-swapping with a race of conical-shaped beings that ruled Earth 200 million years ago (co-existed with dinosaurs)

• 206 mya - 248 mya Triassic Period earliest evolution of dinosaurs and small mammals 

• Why leave home planet? 

• What was their original form like? 

• Built city of Pnakotus in what became Australia 

• Waged war with Flying Polyps and Elder Things

• Had airship

• Giant books in libraries

Age of Mankind: 

• Yithians use mind-swap ability to study mankind and observe humanity and “history” through human eyes

• Human Cult (believe angels, share technology)

Future History: 

• Swaps minds with bee-like race of beings who inherit the Earth after the fall of mankind 

• Beetle swarm

• Sandy Theory of designing own bodies

Special Abilities: 

• Time travel - via mind-swapping 

• Since only swapping minds and not physical travel, appear to be immune to Hounds of Tindalos

• Engineers

• Lightning gun

• Stasis cube

• Tabula rasa device

• Temporal communicator

Unique Abilities as presented in Weird Detective comic book series, by Fred Van Lente, (2016 Dark Horse Comics, 5 issues): 

• According to the comic book, Yithians have 17 senses, (as compared to a human’s 5 senses, but only 7 are specifically described in the series of comics). Keepers could run with this and design the other 10 senses themselves. 

• Rennakesh - sense of emotionalocation: people are sometimes physically in one place, but mentally in another. A Yithian can sense that separation of physical and mental states, and actually “see” where your mind/attention is otherwise located. 

• Ranos - reverse sonar: resonating sound from the chest cavity allows for a mental picture of things on the other side of solid objects. And, another pitch in tone allows for the Yithian to move their body through solid matter. 

• Mochadin - reading the mind through eyes: essentially it’s vision backwards. Animals typically try to communicate to other beings through mochadin, but humans haven’t developed the ability to perceive it yet like Yithian have. 

• Aushure - reading of psychic impressions left in the ozone: able to correlate residual psychic energy into a visual playback of recent events in an area. 

• Prubika - sense of mind reading: similar to reading of Braille, licking a brain allows the Yithian to read/see/experience memories. 

• Dasein - sense of attunement to your surroundings: so attuned, that you blend-in and become indistinguishable from your surroundings. 

• Kolmak - removal of memories: the ability to remove memories from a human mind, and possibly to insert memories into a mind. 

CoC Modules 

• The Asylum

• Bad Moon Rising (The Great Old Ones) 

• Timeless Sands of India (Goodman Games: Age of Cthulhu vol.7)

• Fungi From Yuggoth (Day of the Beast: The Dreamer)

• The Bleeding Stone of Iphtah (White Dwarf #60)

• City Beneath the Sands (Terror Australis) 

• The Glendale Fairies 

• Two Minutes On High (The Unspeakable Oath #11) 

Video Game: Dark Corners of the Earth

Ruthanna Emrys version in the novel Winter Tide

Patreon Support: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos

We immortalized a number of our Patrons in a book of Mythosy artifacts appropriately titled, “Mythos Artifacts.” Available now on the Miskatonic Repository on DriveThruRPG.com. 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/390047/Mythos-Artifacts?manufacturers_id=2?affiliate_id=51821 

Of Wrath & Blood is available as a print-on-demand book: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/271923/Of-Wrath-and-Blood?term=of+wrath+and+blood 

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! 

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes. 

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. 

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ 

http://thickets.net/ 

• Angel’s Thirst,
• Waiting for the Hurricane (Pulp Cthulhu),
• Mother’s Love (by Seth Skorkowsky),
• Flotsam & Jetsam campaign

• “Bless the Beasts and Children” (Adventures in Arkham Country)
• “The Crawford Inheritance” (Escape from Innsmouth, 2nd Ed)
• “Dark Dreams of Innsmouth” (The Unbound Book #2)
• “Dead Leaves Fall” (Dead Leaves Fall {monograph})
• “Drawn from the Water” (Arkham Gazette #2)
• “Escape from Innsmouth” (Escape from Innsmouth)
• “Freak Show” (Tales of the Miskatonic Valley)
• “The Hopeful” (More Adventures in Arkham Country)
• “The Innsmouth Connection” (Before the Fall)
• “Mary” (Before the Fall)
• “No Room at Innsmouth” parts 1-3 (Dagon #1-#3)
• “The Occulted Light” (Before the Fall)
• “Old Acquaintance” (Before the Fall)
• “The Raid on Innsmouth”, a mega-scenario in 6 parts (Escape from Innsmouth)

• Arkham Case Files: Deep Morgue
• Black Cod Island – Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity
• By the Bay – Day of the Beast
• Coming of Age – Unseen Masters
• Lurker in the Crypt – Fatal Experiments
• Secrets of New Orleans
• Secrets of New York
• Secrets of San Francisco
• Spawn of the Deep – Blood Brothers (technically called ‘Gill Men in scenario)
• The Starshrine – Lurking Fears

• The Watchers of Easter Island – Shadows of Yog-Sothoth

• The Blandford Manor – The Whisperer #1
• Devil’s Hole – In the Shadows
• The Last of Joy – Minions
• Mouthbreathers – Minions
• The Secret of Marseilles – King of Chicago
• Songs of Fantari – Fatal Experiments
• Uisge Beatha – Shadows Over Scotland
• Terror from the Skies
• Thor’s Anvil – Nocturnem, Book 2: Hollow Winds
• The Watchers of Walberswick – White Dwarf #50
• The Yorkshire Horror – Cthulhu by Gaslight[2]

• The Cairo Guidebook
• Death in Luxor

• Secrets of Japan
• Shanghai – Masks of Nyarlathotep

• Destroying Paradise, Hawai’ian Style – Atomic Age Cthulhu
• Grace Under Pressure
• Project π – Worlds of Cthulhu #1

Patreon

Link: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos

• Descending DEX order
• Tied DEX values are broken by relevant Combat Skill (descending)

• One main action
• Time is flexible for the situation, as governed by the Keeper, but it’s typically just a few seconds… 3-5 seconds
• Movement can be included in the action, but only if the movement and action can be reasonably executed within the 3-5 second timeframe
• Types of Actions:
• Attack with Skill
• Fighting Maneuver (How does it differ from an Attack)
• Flee
• Cast a Spell
• Other Non-Combat Action

• Roll relevant Skill check
• Level of success (Regular/Hard/Extreme) could influence the scale of success or amount of damage inflicted
• If both combatants are engaged in Melee Combat, then both combatants roll their relevant Skill check – Attacker vs Defender
• Defender can Dodge or Fight Back
• Dodge: In case of a tied level of success, Defender wins
• Fight Back: In case of a tied level of success, Attacker wins

In this episode, Jon and Seth discuss the fallout from Hasbro's December 2022 fireside chat with their shareholders. This entire conversation is speculative, so please take it with a grain of salt. For all we know, nothing detrimental will come from this, and at worst Jon and Seth sound like old men yelling at clouds. Only time will tell for sure.

In this episode, Jon and Seth discuss the fallout from Hasbro's December 2022 fireside chat with their shareholders. This entire conversation is speculative, so please take it with a grain of salt. For all we know, nothing detrimental will come from this, and at worst Jon and Seth sound like old men yelling at clouds. Only time will tell for sure.

• Do prep-work before the game (pick that skill/power from leveling last game)
• Remember Other People in the room - Hogging Time/Spotlight
• Avoid Distractions (phones, crafting, etc.)
• Look out for other players’ fun
• Learn your character’s skills/powers/spells/gear
• Help the GM keep the game going (sometimes by telling the GM to focus up)
• Make a character that would do the adventure (little metagaming involved)
• Talk to the GM and inform of problems/concerns/wants
• Never forget that the goal is fun, not necessarily winning. Many horror games have PC deaths, but that’s part of the fun of horror games.
• Trust the GM – if it seems like the GM is implying that the next stage of the adventure is “East,” then take whatever precautions seem wise and try going East, despite the chaotic urge you may have to go “West.”
• If playing in-person with a group, offering to assist with food, drinks, and cleanup is always good.
• Online playing - show up on time
• Online playing - ensure your technology is working
• Make Notes

• Determine cause. Is it a reaction to boredom or other player. Determine if the bad behavior is a symptom of a larger problem.
• Talk to them - might not understand they’re causing issues
• Using the game to punish them only makes it worse (the temptation is real)
• Every single time I’ve booted a player from our group the games instantly improved.
• Watch for signs of problem players, like during character creation… are they excited to make a character who can be a source of chaos in the game?

• Jacob Robinson
• Warren Hall
• Jack Raposa
• Chaos Alfa
• Guy Fortune

https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos

• Do prep-work before the game (pick that skill/power from leveling last game)
• Remember Other People in the room - Hogging Time/Spotlight
• Avoid Distractions (phones, crafting, etc.)
• Look out for other players’ fun
• Learn your character’s skills/powers/spells/gear
• Help the GM keep the game going (sometimes by telling the GM to focus up)
• Make a character that would do the adventure (little metagaming involved)
• Talk to the GM and inform of problems/concerns/wants
• Never forget that the goal is fun, not necessarily winning. Many horror games have PC deaths, but that’s part of the fun of horror games.
• Trust the GM – if it seems like the GM is implying that the next stage of the adventure is “East,” then take whatever precautions seem wise and try going East, despite the chaotic urge you may have to go “West.”
• If playing in-person with a group, offering to assist with food, drinks, and cleanup is always good.
• Online playing - show up on time
• Online playing - ensure your technology is working
• Make Notes

• Determine cause. Is it a reaction to boredom or other player. Determine if the bad behavior is a symptom of a larger problem.
• Talk to them - might not understand they’re causing issues
• Using the game to punish them only makes it worse (the temptation is real)
• Every single time I’ve booted a player from our group the games instantly improved.
• Watch for signs of problem players, like during character creation… are they excited to make a character who can be a source of chaos in the game?

• Jacob Robinson
• Warren Hall
• Jack Raposa
• Chaos Alfa
• Guy Fortune

https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos

Jon finally fulfilled his promise to run The Code for Seth!!! And we pulled in three patrons to play with Seth, Andy, Chris, and Nelson. It was a fantastic playthrough. The game was recorded, and it’s exclusively available for patrons of the Modern Mythos podcast to enjoy. If you're interested in checking it out, it's a five-hour playthrough completely available in a single audio file, just join the Modern Mythos Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos. Jon is already planning more patron-exclusive games. If you’re interested in playing, please consider joining the Patreon campaign. 

Jon and Seth also discussed pacing in an investigative game. Here are some of the points that were covered:

• The hard part is getting your players to understand the methods of Investigative adventures, versus just kicking down the door and charging in, (a more common method of investigation in a fantasy realm).
• Players probably understand how fragile their characters are. Strictly D&D players are the hardest to teach that lesson to, as D&D is pretty much superheroes who can heal instantly.
• Don't buy that crap that a mystery HAS to be slow. That's a goofy myth that a lot of Call of Cthulhu players buy into. Sure, a mystery isn't going to go with the action and excitement of combat (until there is combat) but it doesn't need to be some drudgery moving at glacial pace.
• Some people think roleplaying conversations and interviews needs to be played out. Cool in theory, but 95% of the time is boring as hell in practice. So while you will be doing a lot of social interactions, you can sort of speed through them to get to the good parts. A 15 minute interview with an NPC shouldn't take 15 minutes, if there's only 1 minute that gives the key information to push the story forward. Only play out or summarize the important portions.
• Think about Investigative shows like CSI or Castle. Those are pretty fast-paced. People try to make it like some BBC Agatha Christie re-telling of Miss Marple, taking their time to the point the audience falls asleep. Don't do that. Channel CSI or Magnum PI.”
• Call for Idea rolls if the game gets slow and PC’s don’t know what to do.
• We suggest Hard and Extreme Library Use is multiple clues, instead of a roll for every clue. Finding clues shouldn’t be difficult, because what they do with the clues is the exciting part.
• Raymond Chandler’s rule: When the investigation slows to a crawl, "Enter a guy with a gun." It's guaranteed to get the excitement going again.

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome!

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes.

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes.

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/

http://thickets.net/ 

In this episode, we’ll be imagining changes we’d like to see in an imaginary 8th Edition of Call of Cthulhu.

• Automatic fire – Simplify the skill roll based on difficulty of hitting the target, ignore bullets fired. Introduce snap fire? 
• Sanity/Mythos - Prefer the idea of relationships and cherished things being sacrificed as SAN disappears or to recover. Rather than a possible consequence for Bout of Madness.
• Sanity Loss - Mythos San (permanent) vs. Jump-scare San (temp)
• Credit rating - As with older editions, more about Credit being “reputation” and a reward for completing missions, rather than simply financial status.
• Tightening Skills - Combine Spot and Listen, and have it include Touch and Taste sense
• APP, SIZ having more effect on Social Skills – new base %, similar to how Dodge is ½ DEX – Charm as ½ APP, Intimidate as ½ SIZ or STR, Persuade as ½ INT… that kind of thing
• Some sort of Education Packages (a Character with 80 EDU is super-educated, so something to reflect more of a focused academic path) or clearer use when and how to apply Know Rolls for various science and languages.
• Characters coming from backgrounds that would be bilingual, maybe some means to allow that without costing the full Skill Points of a 2nd language. Like instead of your EDU in the primary language, you get you EDU in your primary language and half your EDU in a secondary one (so an EDU of 60 is 60 in Primary and 30 in secondary)
• Is there a way to increase EDU after the game starts? (Training a Skill p98)
• Aging - Young Characters, like 10-18
• Transferable (p78/79) - First Aid/Medicine.  Operate Hvy Machinery/Drive.  Electrical Repair/Mechanical Repair,  Mechanical Repair/Locksmith, Electrical Repair/ Demolitions, Natural World/Astronomy/Navigate, Natural World/Biology, Anthropology/Archeology/History

Shout-outs - Thank you to our recent Patrons:

• Brett Bookout (new patron)
• Farty McButterpants (upgraded)
• Chris Airiau (upgraded)
• Matthew Repp (upgraded)

Thank you all for your support

Link: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos

Discord

Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3

YouTube

Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured

Facebook

Link: https://www.facebook.com/jon.seth.921

RSS

Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss

RedBubble

Link: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Modern-Mythos/shop?asc=u

ARTIFACTS BOOK

We immortalized a number of our Patrons in a book of Mythosy artifacts appropriately titled, “Mythos Artifacts.” Available now on the Miskatonic Repository on DriveThruRPG.com.

Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/390047/Mythos-Artifacts?manufacturers_id=2?affiliate_id=51821

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome!

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes.

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes.

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/

http://thickets.net/

• Chloe’s Agent
• Film Director
• Film Producer
• Punong-Bayan (Filipino town mayor)
• Chloe’s Agent’s Contact in the Philippines
• Filipino Film Editor
• Filipino Cameraman
• WWII War Vet (American ex-pat) - stories of surviving the voormis monster

• Joe Todaro
• Scott Core
• Chris Airiau
• James W.
• Matthew Rep
• Rthr-X
• Jim Calabrese
• Darrin Chandler

In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about some of their favorite books, movies, and music that inspire their tastes in horror, and they review Blackwater Creek, a scenario suitable for new players and Keepers in the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. 

Topic 1: Inspirational Media for Horror Games

• The Fisherman, by John Langan
• Other short short stories by John Langan (ex: Wide Carnivorous Sky)
• The Color Out of Time, by Michael Shea
• Darkest of the Hillside Thicket (ex: Let Sleeping Gods Lie)
• The Haunting of Hill House, Netflix
• Love/Death/Robots, Netflix
• 30 Coins, HBO
• Devil Rides out, Dennis Wheatley. Hammer Film
• Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammet
• Rosemary’s Baby, Ira Levin - Polanski
• Winter Tide - Ruthanna Emrys
• Archive 81, Netflix

Topic 2: Review of Blackwater Creek

• Written by Scott Dorward
• Published by Chaosium in the “Missed Dues and Blackwater Creek” book which was included in the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen.
• 50 pages long:
  • 33 page of text
  • 6 pre-generated characters
  • 6 handouts
  • 5 maps

Pros:

• Sandbox scenario
• Author describes two ways to engage with the scenario
• Various “Keeper Notes” to guide novice Keepers
• LOVE the student who thinks his mother is alive.

Cons:

• More roadside encounters to engage novice players – For example: a mutated wild pig that crashes through the foliage and smashes into the investigator’s car. Good opportunity for Spot Hidden rolls to recognize the animal as a mutated pig, (versus maybe a wild boar), opportunity for a Drive Auto roll to avoid or lessen the potential damage the pig could inflict, and an opportunity for combat if the investigators pursue the pig. If the investigators can gain possession of the slain pig’s body, it could be studied to gain additional information or clues about the mutating effects of the Mother’s Milk. - because there already is Brutis, maybe a mutated deer.
• Blackwater Creek is a very well designed sandbox scenario, but I think one or two of the roadside encounters described in “Location 1: The Town of Blackwater Creek” need to be reformatted into mandatory encounters. I can imagine novice Keepers being a little overwhelmed with the cornucopia of encounters in each location, and not realize how to select encounters that would further the investigator’s drive to pursue the mystery.
• A note directing the Keeper to “The Mother’s Gift” is mislabeled as “pg.28,” when it should be “pg.31.” – ignore this… too nit-picky
• It’s suggested that the investigators might consider using the home/shack that was once owned by the widow Hawkins as a temporary headquarters, (the investigators don’t know that Hawkins is dead). But her shack is right in the center of town, facing Sheriff Sprouston’s home. I can’t imagine any investigators, (bootleggers or academics), daring to just squat in someone’s home… especially if they assume she’s alive and simply just not home yet, and because it’s in full plain sight of the whole town.
• Pre-gens only for Bootleggers. Missed Dues, in the same book is also criminals. Would have preferred those to go together and the BWC pre-gens be the University option.
• Stage 4: Draws People to BWC, so with all the whiskey going out, people should be arriving in town.
• Random infant Dark Young might be overpowered for the PCs

Patreon

Thank you all for your support

Link: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos

Discord

Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3

YouTube

Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured

Facebook

Link: https://www.facebook.com/jon.seth.921

RSS

Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss

RedBubble

Link: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Modern-Mythos/shop?asc=u

ARTIFACTS BOOK

We immortalized a number of our Patrons in a book of Mythosy artifacts appropriately titled, “Mythos Artifacts.” Available now on the Miskatonic Repository on DriveThruRPG.com.

Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/390047/Mythos-Artifacts?manufacturers_id=2?affiliate_id=51821

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome!

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes.

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes.

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/

http://thickets.net/

In this episode, Jon and Seth discuss running a Call of Cthulhu game without the influence of the Mythos in it, and they continue designing an original Call of Cthulhu adventure with some help from their patrons. 

Topic 1: Call of Cthulhu without the Mythos

This isn't new, Chaosium has several adventures that don't feature the Mythos. Including the two Blood Brother books which feature more than two dozen horror trope scenarios inspired by books and film. 

The Rescue, originally published in the first Cthulhu Companion, which was recently reprinted by Chaosium. In The Rescue, the investigators are confronted by werewolves as they try to find a missing friend. 

The Derelict, which is available in Peterson's Abominations, published by Chaosium. In  this scenario, you are aboard an ice-breaker ship that encounters an ancient polar cryptid. 

And The Code, one of the scenarios published in Chaosium's Mansions of Madness (vol.1), features an extra-dimensional creature that hunts through the time stream. 

Seth and Jon also discuss possible adjustments a Keeper can make to the Sanity mechanic in games that don't include The Mythos' ancient cosmic truths. 

Topic 2: Writing a Scenario - Part 2

In this episode, Seth and Jon propose two different ways to use the cards that were drawn as inspirations for the adventure. Each writer outlined a basic structure for an adventure, and they're asking their patrons to vote on which idea is going to be developed. 

Seth's Idea: Chloe, a young actress, is victim of a mind-swap. An elderly sorcerous has stolen Chloe's young body and trapped Chloe in a frail and decrepit body. The investigators need to not only discover the truth of the mind-swap, but also find a way to reverse it. 

Jon's Idea: Chloe is missing, and could be the victim of serpent people who want to spread their sinister influence. The investigators must find Chloe before a competing team of (bumbling) investigators ruin the clue trail and seal Chloe's fate. 

If you want a chance to vote, please join the Modern Mythos Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos

Discord

Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3

YouTube

Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured

Facebook

Link: https://www.facebook.com/jon.seth.921

RSS

Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss

RedBubble

Link: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Modern-Mythos/shop?asc=u

ARTIFACTS BOOK

We immortalized a number of our Patrons in a book of Mythosy artifacts appropriately titled, “Mythos Artifacts.” Available now on the Miskatonic Repository on DriveThruRPG.com.

Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/390047/Mythos-Artifacts?manufacturers_id=2?affiliate_id=51821

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome!

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. 

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. 

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/

http://thickets.net/

In this episode, Jon and Seth discuss running a Call of Cthulhu game without the influence of the Mythos in it, and they continue designing an original Call of Cthulhu adventure with some help from their patrons. 

Topic 1: Call of Cthulhu without the Mythos

This isn't new, Chaosium has several adventures that don't feature the Mythos. Including the two Blood Brother books which feature more than two dozen horror trope scenarios inspired by books and film. 

The Rescue, originally published in the first Cthulhu Companion, which was recently reprinted by Chaosium. In The Rescue, the investigators are confronted by werewolves as they try to find a missing friend. 

The Derelict, which is available in Peterson's Abominations, published by Chaosium. In  this scenario, you are aboard an ice-breaker ship that encounters an ancient polar cryptid. 

And The Code, one of the scenarios published in Chaosium's Mansions of Madness (vol.1), features an extra-dimensional creature that hunts through the time stream. 

Seth and Jon also discuss possible adjustments a Keeper can make to the Sanity mechanic in games that don't include The Mythos' ancient cosmic truths. 

Topic 2: Writing a Scenario - Part 2

In this episode, Seth and Jon propose two different ways to use the cards that were drawn as inspirations for the adventure. Each writer outlined a basic structure for an adventure, and they're asking their patrons to vote on which idea is going to be developed. 

Seth's Idea: Chloe, a young actress, is victim of a mind-swap. An elderly sorcerous has stolen Chloe's young body and trapped Chloe in a frail and decrepit body. The investigators need to not only discover the truth of the mind-swap, but also find a way to reverse it. 

Jon's Idea: Chloe is missing, and could be the victim of serpent people who want to spread their sinister influence. The investigators must find Chloe before a competing team of (bumbling) investigators ruin the clue trail and seal Chloe's fate. 

If you want a chance to vote, please join the Modern Mythos Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos

Discord

Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3

YouTube

Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured

Facebook

Link: https://www.facebook.com/jon.seth.921

RSS

Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss

RedBubble

Link: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Modern-Mythos/shop?asc=u

ARTIFACTS BOOK

We immortalized a number of our Patrons in a book of Mythosy artifacts appropriately titled, “Mythos Artifacts.” Available now on the Miskatonic Repository on DriveThruRPG.com.

Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/390047/Mythos-Artifacts?manufacturers_id=2?affiliate_id=51821

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome!

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. 

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. 

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/

http://thickets.net/

• Music as a Timer
• Location-specific music & background sound effects
• Theme music for a major villain
• Volume can be difficult to judge. A classic problem is the music is too loud for everyone to clearly hear one another (restaurant problem).
• Opening song/pump-up song to begin game.

• What is the player’s POV? What can be seen as you first enter the room, versus after the character has crossed to the other side of the room? (If a monster or something dangerous and obvious, mention that last. Once you mention the monster, the players will not hear or remember the rest of the description after that)
• Touch on as many senses as possible – Sight - Sound - Smell (best writing tip I ever got was to always use 3 senses)
• Not all characters experience a scene in the same way. It’s possible for two different characters to see two different things in the same scene. So sometimes the Keeper should describe the scene differently for some of the characters. Maybe the new scene is more personal for Character A and could shake their sanity more than it would for Character B.
• What’s just as important as the words you say is how you say them. Speak quieter if in a library, louder in a bar. Convey the mood of the scene through your voice. The Scott Dorward Trick that I now use. (tone of voice)
• Voices… accents can really cement players into a scene

• Candles – with enough candles each player can see their sheets and dice as the close-set shadows help set the mood.
• Colored gels could be used to highlight mood, and they can be easily interchanged so the mood can change and flow as quickly as it does at the table

• I’m a handout King. Handouts are great for investigative adventures because they can contain subtle clues that might reveal themselves deeper into the scenario, such as handwriting,
• Handouts can be referenced again and again, versus telling the players what they read and expecting them to remember details hours or even sessions later.
• Tea-stain paper or use manilla envelope paper.
• When I ran Ravenloft, my players were amazed when I picked up sealing wax and seals for the letters, and they had to break the hard wax seal.

• Music as a Timer
• Location-specific music & background sound effects
• Theme music for a major villain
• Volume can be difficult to judge. A classic problem is the music is too loud for everyone to clearly hear one another (restaurant problem).
• Opening song/pump-up song to begin game.

• What is the player’s POV? What can be seen as you first enter the room, versus after the character has crossed to the other side of the room? (If a monster or something dangerous and obvious, mention that last. Once you mention the monster, the players will not hear or remember the rest of the description after that)
• Touch on as many senses as possible – Sight - Sound - Smell (best writing tip I ever got was to always use 3 senses)
• Not all characters experience a scene in the same way. It’s possible for two different characters to see two different things in the same scene. So sometimes the Keeper should describe the scene differently for some of the characters. Maybe the new scene is more personal for Character A and could shake their sanity more than it would for Character B.
• What’s just as important as the words you say is how you say them. Speak quieter if in a library, louder in a bar. Convey the mood of the scene through your voice. The Scott Dorward Trick that I now use. (tone of voice)
• Voices… accents can really cement players into a scene

• Candles – with enough candles each player can see their sheets and dice as the close-set shadows help set the mood.
• Colored gels could be used to highlight mood, and they can be easily interchanged so the mood can change and flow as quickly as it does at the table

• I’m a handout King. Handouts are great for investigative adventures because they can contain subtle clues that might reveal themselves deeper into the scenario, such as handwriting,
• Handouts can be referenced again and again, versus telling the players what they read and expecting them to remember details hours or even sessions later.
• Tea-stain paper or use manilla envelope paper.
• When I ran Ravenloft, my players were amazed when I picked up sealing wax and seals for the letters, and they had to break the hard wax seal.

• Music as a Timer
• Location-specific music & background sound effects
• Theme music for a major villain
• Volume can be difficult to judge. A classic problem is the music is too loud for everyone to clearly hear one another (restaurant problem).
• Opening song/pump-up song to begin game.

• What is the player’s POV? What can be seen as you first enter the room, versus after the character has crossed to the other side of the room? (If a monster or something dangerous and obvious, mention that last. Once you mention the monster, the players will not hear or remember the rest of the description after that)
• Touch on as many senses as possible – Sight - Sound - Smell (best writing tip I ever got was to always use 3 senses)
• Not all characters experience a scene in the same way. It’s possible for two different characters to see two different things in the same scene. So sometimes the Keeper should describe the scene differently for some of the characters. Maybe the new scene is more personal for Character A and could shake their sanity more than it would for Character B.
• What’s just as important as the words you say is how you say them. Speak quieter if in a library, louder in a bar. Convey the mood of the scene through your voice. The Scott Dorward Trick that I now use. (tone of voice)
• Voices… accents can really cement players into a scene

• Candles – with enough candles each player can see their sheets and dice as the close-set shadows help set the mood.
• Colored gels could be used to highlight mood, and they can be easily interchanged so the mood can change and flow as quickly as it does at the table

• I’m a handout King. Handouts are great for investigative adventures because they can contain subtle clues that might reveal themselves deeper into the scenario, such as handwriting,
• Handouts can be referenced again and again, versus telling the players what they read and expecting them to remember details hours or even sessions later.
• Tea-stain paper or use manilla envelope paper.
• When I ran Ravenloft, my players were amazed when I picked up sealing wax and seals for the letters, and they had to break the hard wax seal.

This 12-minute audio file is a sample taken from Modern Mythos Episode 11 - Bouts of Insanity. This episode was originally released in January 2022. Jon and Seth are submitting this episode sample so it can be considered for the 2022 ENNIE Awards. 

• Regular breaks needed
• Higher chance of players zoning out or goofing off online
• Single-channel audio - only one person speaking at a time is best
• Roll dice online or in person - depends on the player's desires
• Gotten to play with tons of people from around the world.
• Handouts given to all players, versus they’re sharing back and forth that single handout of a note, with online they all get to read it and catch clues
• “Face-Time” video playing versus “Audio-Only” playing
• Pros/Cons of various VOIP services (Zoom, Discord, Skype, etc.)
• Recordable and shareable to fans via YouTube

Call of Cthulhu Credit Rating: 

For many RPGs gaining treasure is a key motivator for both PCs and Players. In CoC a character can simply begin being wealthy, removing much of that character motivation or hurdle of not being able to afford something. 

Daily Spending Level allows a certain amount of purchases to be made without any paperwork or math. 

But how does one gain or lose Credit Rating? With such large gaps between the levels, how does a PC know what their new Credit Rating is if they gain or lose a significant amount of money? 

• Can be used to gauge contacts or ability to pull strings.
• A high Credit Rating can negatively impact a character’s ability to be stealthy or “hide in plain sight” without first making a successful Disguise roll

What We Wished We Knew When We Started GMing: 

• Players will never do what you expect (don’t plan for it)
• Elaborate and complex stories are more interesting to the GM than anyone else. Players want to play, not listen to your novel
• Knowing every rule perfectly is way less important than feeling confident in your judgement.
• Don’t put off the game because you want it to be perfect and overprepare, just run the game. 
• Don’t make them roll dice for meaningless reasons. (Climb a rope and roll every 10 feet, ask for Spot for obvious things)
• Remembering that the game is about the characters, not your world
• Too much of a good thing gets old. - Combat that is long (GM is engaged the whole time, but players only have their turn), too many traps, too many NPCs.
• Just because the players want it doesn’t mean they should just get it. If you shower them with treasure, easy survival, munchinkined abilities, then they begin to lose meaning. Sort of like a ‘Will they or Won’t they’ on a TV show, the shine can dim once they get it. 
• Find your voice. I tried copying my DM and sucked at it.
• Be over the top. Getting players to roleplay is best done by roleplaying your NPCs. If it looks fun, run with it
• Every player wants their moment in the sun. It doesn’t have to be combat-focused, but some kind of scene that accentuates and features their character’s attributes

Patreon  Link: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos?fan_landing=true 

Discord  Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3 

YouTube  Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured 

RSS  Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss 

We want to thank Mike Mason for coming on and chatting with us.

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! 

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. 

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site.

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ 

http://thickets.net/

Chaosium's Line Editor for Call of Cthulhu, Mike Mason, rejoins us to talk about low-prep Call of Cthulhu games. With some practice, it's possible to have an impromptu game of Call of Cthulhu. Join us as we discuss how with Mike Mason. 

We want to thank Mike for coming on and chatting with us again. It was a real pleasure. 

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! 

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account.  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

Personal Site: http://www.johnsumrow.com

Sumrow's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. 

Bandcamp Site: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ 

Official Band Site: http://thickets.net/

In this episode, special guest Mike Mason, Chaosium's Line Editor for Call of Cthulhu, joins us to talk about our favorite forms of horror entertainment, be it a film, book, TV show, game, whatever! 

• APP -- Change the base chance of Charm to be Half APP (Current base Charm is 15%)
• APP -- Grant a Bonus Die on Charm, Fast Talk, and Persuasion rolls if APP is 70+, conversely grant a Penalty Die on Charm, Fast Talk, and Persuasion rolls if APP is 30-
• APP -- Grant a Bonus Die on Intimidation rolls if APP is 30-, or a Penalty Die if APP is 70+
• STR -- A successful Jump roll lets investigator leap a distance of One-Fifth STR in feet with a full running start
  • Currently in 7e, Jump is across or down the character’s Height, or 2x height with running start.
  • Alternative might be the base of 20% is replaced by 1/5 Str + 1/5 SIZ.
  • OR since Build is already calculated of SIZ + STR, maybe Build is Bonus Die to Jump (Build 1 = 1 Bonus, Build 2 = 2 Bonus, no unenhanced PC will have above a 2 Build)
• SIZ -- Grant a Bonus Die on Intimidation rolls if SIZ is 70+, or a Penalty Die if SIZ is 30-
• CON -- Investigator can hold their breath for CON x1 seconds without a penalty, then apply one Penalty Die on skills done during CON x2 seconds, then apply two Penalty Dice for skills done during CON x3 seconds. An additional Penalty Die is applied for each additional multiplier of CON in seconds. If an investigator holds their breath longer than CON x5 in seconds, then a Hard CON roll is required to not pass out for 1D6 rounds.
  • Drowning/Asphyxiation in 7e is CON roll made each round. Once failed it is 1D6 per Round until can breath.
  • Round is left intentionally vague.

• Miskatonic Area Paranormal Society (ie: MAPS) - created by Dan Kramer (founder and co-host of the Miskatonic University Podcast www.mu-podcast.com)

• • Inspired by the real-life TV show, Ghost Hunters and the The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS)

• The Wipers Pals - A group formed from a shared experience in Ypres during WWI
• Wrath’s Circus of Wonders - A traveling troupe of circus people
• Strange But True! - A specialized newspaper (
• The South 13th - A group of cops from a New York police precinct
• SKT Research Division - A multinational corporation with diverse interests
• Novem Angelus (ie: The Nine Angels) - A group comprised of the wealthy and philanthropic
• Ratched’s Children - A group of “cured” lunatics who’ve survived psychiatric treatments after a brush with the Mythos
• The Resurrectionists - A group comprised of those who’ve each read one or more forbidden Mythos tomes
• The Society for the Exploration of the Unexplained (ie: SEU) - An informal group of scholars

• Group founded by Mr. Theron Marks
• The supplement is a 12 page book written by the fictitious Andre Stalin.
• A variety of topics are covered:
• Strategy
• Personnel
• Equipment
• Investigative Procedures
• Coded Communications
• Tactical Procedures
• Monster and the Right Weapon

• Discord Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3

• YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured

• RSS Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss

In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about Milestone Leveling and the benefits of PC Death! 

D&D characters “level up”... traditionally by XP awards, but a new concept known as “Milestone Leveling” allows characters to level up after certain milestone achievements. Can a concept like this be used in CoC? Instead of “ticking your skills” and then rolling to see if the ticked skill can qualify to be increased, what about “Milestone Improvements” that award each character a pool of skill points to disburse into their character sheet as they see fit, to any skill, after certain milestone achievements?

Call of Cthulhu is infamous for being a lethal game. But PC death has become some weird taboo in a lot of circles where the characters cannot die or else it ruins their fun.

Seth is of the camp that fully believes the best lesson a player can have is when their first character dies. "Players play smarter. Years of lethal games before we moved to CoC is the primary reason we have a low body-count."

Jon thinks that CoC has a reputation, (especially in the longer classic campaigns), for players beginning the campaign with antiquarians and journalists, and ending the campaign with munition dealers and ex-pat soldiers.

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured

RSS Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome!

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account.

Sumrow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

Sumrow Official Site: http://www.johnsumrow.com

Sumrow Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. 

DotHT BandCamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/

DotHT Offical Site: http://thickets.net/

Welcome to the next episode of Modern Mythos. In this episode, we interviewed James Lowder, the Executive Editor at Chaosium. Chaosium recently reanimated their fiction line, and Jim is their Dr. Herbert West! 

Jim is a super interesting guy. He's a TSR alum with a long career in writing and publishing in and around the gaming industry. It was an absolute honor to talk with Jim, and we had an amazing time. So settle in and give it a listen. 

As always, we want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome!

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account.

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thicket for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thicket. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site.

Sumrow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

Sumrow Site: http://www.johnsumrow.com

Sumrow Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

Darkest of Hillside Thickets Bandcamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/

Darkest of the HIllside Thickets Site: http://thickets.net/

In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about game mechanics from other game systems, and how to adapt them into Call of Cthulhu. And, they provide advice on where game masters and players can divine inspiration for playing Call of Cthulhu in other eras or settings. 

Topic #1

Using game mechanics from other games: 

• Traveler -- During character creation, players can create backstory links between each other, and as a result of that, gain one skill improvement check each due to that backstory event. 
• King in Yellow -- Shock and Injury cards. In addition to the normal hit point and sanity damage, physical and mental injury cards could be introduced that are handed to the players to give them flavor text and game mechanical info that expands on their physical and mental injuries. 
• Blades in the Dark -- Flashbacks can be used to roleplay how the investigators execute some of their kooky plans. Skill checks can be used to see how well the investigators prepared to sneak into a building or bribe a guard. 
• Trail of Cthulhu -- Core clues are given to the investigators just by simply being in the location to gain that clue. But skill rolls can be used to determine if the investigator gains anything extra beyond just the core clue. 
• Dungeons & Dragons -- Inspiration. If a player does something commendable (good idea, great roleplay, says a funny joke, etc.) they get a 1-time credit to add a Bonus Die to a future roll.
• Kult (Powered by the Apocalypse) - unless the PC is in danger of being caught or in combat, no skill roll is required for actions like First Aid, Picking a Lock, etc. Can relate to not having to make a Drive Auto check if just driving to the store on a normal day. 
• ALIEN - Buddies and Rivals - having special relationships with other player characters where some are good and some are bad. 

Topic #2

Listener Request - Because the most popular setting for Call of Cthulhu is in historical periods, how might players and GMs learn more about those settings in order to paint them properly and make them feel real?

• Watch movies of shows set during the time period. (The Mummy (1999), Boardwalk Empire, Peaky Blinders for UK, Indiana Jones is 1930’s but still works) Murder on the Orient Express (or several Agatha Christie movies and books). Ken Burns’s “Prohibition” Documentary.
• For Gaslight Era - From Hell, Penny Dreadful, tons of Sherlock Holmes, The Nevers
• Down Darker Trails - Warrior, spaghetti westerns, True Grit  
• Cthulhu Invictus - Rome, Spartacus
• Dark Ages - (13th Warrior is technically a Cthulhu Dark Ages movie)
• One of Seth's players really got into 1920’s automobiles and went down several Wiki-holes on early auto manufacturers. Learned of the Stanley Steamer and the Jewett (with magic amulets imbedded into the dash)
• Straying from perfect history is OK. It’s your game. Racisim, Sexisim, Homophobia, Classism, etc. 

Things Seth keeps in mind when doing 1920’s

• Telephone operators and switchboards. Long distance could take over an hour to connect.
• Travel, even by car, took a long time (Interstate system not established. Many roads unpaved and winding) and gas stations weren’t on every street corner
• Guns (even automatic) available in hardware stores or by mail. Concealed in most cities was still illegal.
• Bribery -- Government officials (cops and elected officials) are more than happy to accept a bribe 
• Prohibition (speakeasies, or cafes. Private Clubs. Booze Cruises)

Patreon

Link: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos?fan_landing=true 

Discord

Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3 

YouTube

Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured 

Thank you!!!

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome!

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account.

John Sumrow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

Sumrow Official Website: http://www.johnsumrow.com

Sumrow Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thicket for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thicket. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site.

Bandcamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/

Official Website: http://thickets.net/ 

In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about their favorite published modules that they've run across a gamut of games. 

Jon’s Favorite Modules: 

• Death Duel with the Destroyers -- 1982, Bill Willingham, Villains & Vigilantes, 20 pgs
• • Art! Art! Art! 
  • Great set-up, straight to the action
  • Well written to escalate the danger from the opening scene to the final showdown 
  • Comic book tie-in with Elementals comic by Bill Willingham, published by Comico 
• S3 - Expedition to the Barrier Peaks -- 1980, Gary Gygax & Rob Kuntz, D&D (TSR), 32pgs
• • Two books -- module and handouts 
  • Art! Art! Art! 
  • Sci-fi in Fantasy blend
  • Sandbox
• Hope’s Last Day -- 2019, Dave Semark, ALIEN, 16 pgs. In ALIEN core rulebook 
• • Sandbox 
  • Lends itself well to a horror setting 
  • Leverages off player’s experience from watching Aliens movie
• Spawn of Azathoth -- 1986/2005, Keith “Doc” Herber, Call of Cthulhu, 200 pgs. 
• • Sandbox campaign - 7 chapters (1 opening chapter, 5 middle chapters in any order, then 1 closing chapter)
  • Small variety of Mythos monsters to challenge the investigators
  • Good variety of horrors to present to the investigators
  • Easily updated to 7th Edition rules and for the sensibilities of modern players 

Seth’s Favorite Modules:

• Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh - 1981 Dave Brown Don Turnbull, AD&D, TSR UK

• Haunted house (not really)
• Can be dropped in a variety of locations. (could even make modern)
• Gives a sense of larger story with lizard folk preparing for war
• Made for low level PCs, but still lots of risk (most modules started at 3rd level)
• Roleplay with Ned. 
• 2 adventures with one leading into the other.

• Thicker than Blood - 1993, Alison Brooks, Atlas Games Cyberpunk 2020, 47 pages

• Investigation
• Many tips on what to do if the PCs miss something, get stuck, are difficult, try something sneaky.
• Layered plot (complete investigation first. Then discover who employer is)
• Incorporates skills rarely used
• Taught us a different way to play.

• Mansion of Madness - 1990, Fred Behrendt, Chaosium, Call of Cthulhu, 25 pages

• 3-act mystery that cleanly works out into 3 acts
• Unpredictable investigation with 2 warring wizards and a mythos entity
• Varied backdrops with travel. Go to museums, speakeasy, small pennsylvania town, decrepit mansion.
• Dark. So deliciously dark.
• One that really stuck with me. Was surprised that it isn’t highly regarded, but for me was first large CoC adventure that was a smash hit. Talked about years later.

• Murder on Arcturus Station - 1983, J Andrew Keith, GDW Traveller

• Murder mystery
• 54 pages, but can be short or long.
• Toolbox to create the mystery. 9 suspects, each with multiple ways to do it, alibis, various ways might react to PCs.
• Even suggestions on how to work with a player who is the secret killer
• Loved it so much I instigated the revised reprint

Huge THANK YOU to our editors, Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy. 

Special thanks to our logo artist, John Sumrow! Check out his Facebook page, official website, and Patreon page. 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow 
• Website: http://www.johnsumrow.com 
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow 

Shout-outs and thanks go out to The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for their generous use of their song, Gluttony, for our intro and outro music! Check out their BandCamp and official website.

• BandCamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/
• Website: http://thickets.net/

In this episode, Jon and Seth go into great detail on a couple of Call of Cthulhu scenarios, and give suggestions on how a Keeper could successfully run these scenarios for their players. 

Jon -- The Code, 2020, by Chris Lackey, Mansions of Madness vol.1: Behind Closed Doors, 31pgs. 

• Sandbox
• Lots of room for the Keeper to modify it on the fly during play
• Could be easily adapted to Pulp Cthulhu 
• Built-in hook - investigators are all friends of the subject scientist in the scenario 
• Tight cast of NPCs
• Good map of the house
• • Could benefit from a map of the barn
• One draw-back -- the journal handout is way to many pages - pacing of the game can be dramatically slowed down as the players take time to read the handout and absorb it 

Seth - Blackwater Creek, 2015, by Scott Dorward, Keeper Screen Pack “Missed Dies & Blackwater Creek, 38 pages (plus character sheets for pregens)

• Sandbox (no order to completion)
• Multiple hooks provided (Academic or Bootlegger)
• Various Maps, NPCs
• Pregens (complaint: only Bootleggers)
• Complaint: map shows some Keeper marks
• Art makes Corruption appear very extreme
• Subtly needed. Let the wrongness grow
• Cult that sprung up, Children of the Corn” vibe
• People called to Town
• Worked into Madness in Londontown

The guys also talk about setting your Call of Cthulhu game in a modern setting. How can technology be used to enhance the horror? How do you handle an investigator's reliance on smart phones?

Huge THANK YOU to our editors, Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy. 

Special thanks to our logo artist, John Sumrow! Check out his Facebook page, official website, and Patreon page. 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow 
• Website: http://www.johnsumrow.com 
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow 

Shout-outs and thanks go out to The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for their generous use of their song, Gluttony, for our intro and outro music! Check out their BandCamp and official website.

• BandCamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/
• Website: http://thickets.net/

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Modern Mythos, with your hosts, Jon Hook and Seth Skorkowsky. 

In this initial episode, we talk about writing for Chaosium's Miskatonic Repository on DriveThruRPG, as well as writing for Wizards of the Coast's DM's Guild, and Mongoose Games' Traveler's Aid Society. 

• Miskatonic Repository: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2/Chaosium/subcategory/74_29274/Miskatonic-Repository 
• DM’s Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/ 
• Traveler’s Aid Society: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/45/Mongoose/subcategory/161_25550/Travellers-Aid-Society 

Huge THANK YOU to our editors, Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy. 

Special thanks to our logo artist, John Sumrow! Check out his Facebook page, official website, and Patreon page. 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow 
• Website: http://www.johnsumrow.com 
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow 

Shout-outs and thanks go out to The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for their generous use of their song, Gluttony, for our intro and outro music! Check out their BandCamp and official website.

• BandCamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/
• Website: http://thickets.net/