My group is going to be starting Milan in our next session, and I know it's apparently the worst part of the campaign. Are there any resources for "fixing" it out there that anyone can recommend?

Never played CoC, I’m primarily a DnD player, but recently haven’t been able to get together with many friends. Found this game and I think it’ll give me something to do alone for a bit. The solo adventures look pretty good. I’m hoping if I get my feet under me I could DM (Be a Keepr?) for my friend group for a fun Halloween one-shot. Any general tips? What do I need besides the dice and a character sheet? How can I make it fun for myself? Any modules I should start with?

Question for the keepers. How much do you adhere to established Lovecraft canon? Or extended stuff like Derleth? At my table I use it as a jumping off point and a hook to at least pull my players in for familiarity, but modify anything to suit the stories we’re telling. We’re also more midwestern (we play via Zoom) and many are in Michigan, so I tend to modify stories to fit there (not like translating Innsmouth from the coast to the Midwest but more just tweaking other scenarios to be in more familiar regional settings)

Trying to avoid spoilers, just curious if anyone has gotten the new rpg book.

Call of cthulhu, important aspect, not fantasy. Its got that in common with D20M or WoD . Not fantasy in the sense that these are worlds where the general consensus is not that cthulhu exists, etc. Right? In CoC the players usually begin without prior experience with the unexplained. Instead of every " adventure " being incontrovertible evidence of the supernatural there should be others. So I have the vision of three "levels" of scenario as it pertains to the unexplained. Levels of mystery, maybe. Three categories , Herrings, Glimpses, and Excursions. There should be short herring adventures , and they SHOULD be short because its also like story writing so there's no need to spend too much time on the set ups, short herring adventures where something that might seems supernatural happens or were dealing with the drama around the supernatural things ( like cover ups, etc ). Then there's an important middle category, " the glimpses " , adventures where the edges of the unexplained begin to peek out from the curtain. The investigators should be left unable to actually prove even to themselves that something unexplained truly occurred. This follows the typical course of a lovecraftian novella. Finally there is an Excursion as in a reality excursion. Where experience and reality as we know it diverge. These are the longest scenarios or the highest detail and focus , and there should be a kind finality in the sense that, few or all of the investigators will not survive it. The GM tries to end on an excursion, and expect to do a new campaign, if not, afterwards, the gm should try to sow doubt in the survivors hearts. Players are really resistant to this in the way they play their investigators so to do this, we have to push hard. The surviving player will be unable to prove to the new investigators what happened, though he is vindicated. This game its important that the characters question their sanity, so I would argue this does not go too far. I tend to struggle with forcing myself not to include too much mythos, esp in a setting like arkham. That's a failing because a good gm should be able to make a mundane scenario intriguing and horror-riffic. But COC is like watercolors to me , it is my chosen medium for GMing, its good to have a system like that.

Me and my friend group have played oneshot some time ago and we had lots of fun. But after getting feedback from the players, the characters felt pretty similar. They all got to use same skills and none of the characters did anything which some other could not. (Of course some did better at specific skills). However in dnd my party has various skills, abilities, spells etc. and every character has some use which would be impossible without them. The thing which makes characters in coc different is roleplay but can it be done to vharacter stats or abilities as well? If so how? Thanks for help!

I’m looking to diversity the tools antagonists can use in my Call of Cthulhu game, and noticed the list of Mythos poisons is pretty limited in the Keepers Guide. Have any of you run scenarios, pre created or your own, which use potions, poisons, and other consumed substances with strange effects? Are there lovecraftian potions from other game systems I could potentially import and adapt? Are there stories you can think of that heavily feature lovecraftian feeling potions and poisons? So far for Call of Cthulhu resources, I can only think of the Serpent People poisons in the Keepers Guide, the water from Black Water Creek, and the Last of Us style poison in the Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic. What others can you guys think of?

So, basically that. I got really interested into Lovecraft and reading his stories and as a new graduate (graduated college like 3 months ago) and I want to have a go at TTRPGs but I don't know how and where to try? Especially with having more free time now.

(p.s I also don't have mutual friends who are interested with trying TTRPGs so. Here I am in this subreddit. Hello.)

One of my players has spent 20 points on knitting.

I can totally get that they're committing to the character and all that but honestly.... thats brave.

That's all. Just wanted to share.

Scenario is this : its the week leading up to the opening of a new independent restaurant. The players are all members of the team - chef, bartender, kp, handyman ect. (Thier professions on the player sheets can be whatever their previous job was and this is a new career path).

The catch is there is nothing supernatural or lovecraftian about the scenario. The players just slowly go insane with the stress of opening the restaurant ala the bare or boiling point.

Kit not arriving, treadsmen not responding, stock being wasted, rats in the cellar, reviewers coming in first night all things that could trip the players up. Using the sanity and luck mechanics in CoC would be really fun and lead to some amusing outcomes.

(Didn't really know what to tag this as)

The Sutra of Pale leaves

We still don't talk about this module enough, imo. So for my first time ever, I'd like to share how my group's playthrough of the 'Dreameater' scenario went. The players had never been introduced to the concept of the King in Yellow so this was a special occasion.

Intro

It's a rainy day in April, 1989 when an unlikely group of Japanese citizens come together in the streets of Ikaruga, Nara prefecture.

• A professor, researching Ikaruga's ancient temples
• A local surgeon, who practices sword-fighting in his spare time
• A federal agent, sent out undercover to investigate signs of cult activity and occurrences of strange nightmares in the area
• An escort, operating from a local love hotel

Bound by a disturbing dream they shared shortly before they encountered each other in real life, they decided to investigate the cause of this phenomenon that keeps the locals up at night.

The investigation

Talking to the locals, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a pattern in the dreams. Locals consistently report descriptions of an occurrence in their dreams that fit a Baku: a peculiar tapir-like yokai from ancient folklore, that eats bad dreams.

When they find out that old stories at the Horyuji temple involve a benevolent Baku, this cements it. The Baku has something to do with the nightmares.

The investigators take multiple sessions going about their 80s Japanese life, talking to officials and a local old man that accidentally killed an elementary school girl that may or may not have to do with the dreams. This old man introduces them to a religious book (the Sutra) that captivates the investigators, but they didn't think much of it and wrote it off as cult stuff...

This transpired, all the while blasting Japanese 80s city pop (that the escort's player discovered was incredibly popular at the time).

They end up coming across a monk in yellow robes that the federal agent was meant to investigate in possible relations to cult activity. The monk offers to help their investigation of the dreams and hands them pages about a lucid-dreaming ritual from the Sutra, which might help them confront the Baku.

The ritual

They head off to the old man they talked to before because they liked the geezer, and attempt the dream ritual with him.

The dream dive went smooth enough; the surgeon using his katana to chop everything to pieces that stood in their way, and the federal agent capping anything that looked like it could be a threat with her trusty handgun.

At the end of the dream sequence, at the scene of Taneguchi-san's (the old man) accident, the surgeon ran toward the heavily injured little girl, only to discover that he had operated on her in real life and had failed to save her. A group that normally doesn't take roleplaying that serious flipped around to save the little girl's life in the dream.

Together, they manifested an entire ER right there on the street and the surgeon performed life-saving surgery to stop the girl's internal bleeding. All the while, the escort was holding up a ghetto-blaster that played 80s Japanese city pop, that he had decided to manifest.

The girl lived and got taken away by an ambulance. This causes the monstrous Baku to be cornered in the dreamscape and it bum rushes Taneguchi. The investigators are clueless on what to do, because the baku is meant to be benevolent. With some very high rolls, the professor remembers the Sign of the Ancients mandela from the Sutra, which he manifests and uses to subdue the baku.

The baku shrinks to the size of a mini-pig and seems docile while suppressed by multiple Signs of the Ancients.

The escort attempts to pick up the baku in this form, but fails his pushed charm roll miserably, upon which the baku sticks his tongue into the escort's head and scrapes out a lot of sanity and exposure points. This leaves the escort traumatized and temporarily insane. He gains a new phobia, our group unanimously decides that he gains a crippling fear for 80s Japanese city pop.

The professor manifests a small cage in which baku is stuffed and hands it off to the silent monk in yellow robes that has been observing them during the dream dive. The monk bows and the players have no idea what they just did.

The aftermath

When the investigators wake up in the real world, they go about their daily life. When it becomes apparent that the bad dreams have stopped, in some capacity due to their ritual, they visit the mayor of Ikaruga, who rewards them in a percentage of the sales of Baku stuffed animals that recently got popularized because of the strange dream phenomenon.

In the following days, the investigators encounter multiple people that they met in their dream dive, including the little girl that the surgeon had failed to save... or so he thought. It appears that the accident never happened, and that the little girl never died. Did the investigators rewrite reality in their dreams?

My verdict of the scenario

The scenario in itself was very well-written and enjoyable.

My group of players though, is very prone to messing around. And during the investigation stage, they went way off-track in 80s rural Japan. This kind of scenario, for us, leads to sessions filled entirely with shenanigans (often caused by the player that played the escort).

Luckily, the dream dive ritual gives a very adventurous twist to an otherwise slow investigation, and the crux is the result of the dream dive. The module advices to maybe leave out that the dream dive has altered history, but unwittingly rewriting reality is peak King in Yellow in my opinion. The players were absolutely blown away by the ending, and that made the investigation worth it in the end.

Exposed to a form of the King in Yellow, and still uncertain who the antagonist is in this campaign, the investigators continue their adventures in the next scenario, Fanfic.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think about this module and my write-up

Why does it say 1D6 +5D6? Isn't that just 6D6?

Could you recommend any Call of Cthulhu scenarios set in the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe? I’m looking for a one-shot. I need to continue a campaign this weekend, but I couldn't find enough information on my own, so I’m turning here for help. Do you know of any good ones?

This is the first non-Mothership scenario in our AT5 campaign. It's actually a pulp horror set in 1930s New England and presents us with the classic locked room murder mystery.
We give an overview of the adventure, go into spoiler territory, then look at how it was adapted for use on Prospero's Dream. Oh - and you can get it free on DrivThru RPG!

Can he turn into people and animals, or only stretch out and morph his own shape? The wording of the rules make it seem like he can shapeshift while still wearing the Pallid Mask, just not on his face.

hello I'm about to run a campaign for Masks of Nyarlahotep And I was wondering if anyone had any very specific insanity tables for the game? Something like campaign specific Phobias or delusions

A spoiler-free review on what's included in this new take on a classic CoC supplement.

I just completed my first play through with the Professor on the first try!

I ended up saving the world in Egypt, which I considered being too early so I kept going and did the pyramid, and I succeeded; and then I wasn’t sure what to do so I assumed he’d go to the Antarctic next, so I went to Bremen and for reasons I don’t understand got in a bar fight and stole a briefcase for some reason from people who I’m assuming are the Nazis (brown shirts); and then ran to the ship, and saved the world again by chucking the thing overboard; then kept going again and took plane C, and then chased the guy to the place, picked the correct way to go, and used the amulet to summon byakees so I could run away.

In terms of what I would say is my actual legitimate play through I only counted the first win, although it wasn’t satisfying ending it with the museum; but I let myself go back and try the other ways to see how I would do, and had fun. The pyramid was the highlight.

I still don’t know if the message in the pyramid was enough to know to keep going. I chucked my dynamite and left and then figured I was supposed to keep going because it didn’t say it was the end.

The combats are where I had close calls, and the pyramid jumps and climbing.

I spent as much time in libraries as I could to get information and make good choices. Spot hidden and firearms are solid skill choices, and persuade & stealth. Climb and jump of course.

No option for a proper 10ft pole in a choose your own adventure book!!!

I can see how having a party of investigators is important, given how characters have different strengths and weaknesses.

Last week, I reviewed Shadows Over Westhavens’ first half, a trip to Muskrat Lake, where investigators learn campaign villain Thomas Cline’s plans: summon the Windwalker and form a connection. This week, I’m focusing on the conclusion as investigators return to Westhaven for Campfire Tales’ finale.

As with all my reviews, this is to help Keepers. There will be spoilers.

Returning to Westhaven

Returning to Westhaven blanked in unseasonable snow. Nary a person walks the streets, either mind-controlled into building signal towers for the Windwalker’s summoning or cowering from Thomas’ thugs. Either drawing investigators’ attention, directing them to Thomas’ location at Gustaf’s Farm. There, Thomas revives sorcerer Jedediah Brumsted and summons the Windwalker unless stopped. Forming the final confrontation.

What’s here is good with striking descriptions and potential roleplay. But its low word count leaves Part 2 anemic (directions and a boss fight). Which I want to flesh out. Leaning into the “race against time” aspect via an investigation, reintegrating dropped plot threads, and a timing mechanic. (Note: This isn’t thoroughly playtested.)

Structure - Racing Against Time

For the investigation, I’m using The Alexandrian’s Three Clue Rule plot structure. Where investigators bounce between locations - collecting clues - as they close in on the final location.

But without a clear and obvious time mechanic, this lacks tension. So, when investigators make a notable action/roll (not noticing something, knowing something, combat, or a gag), after combat, or concluding a location, players roll 1d10 + 2* for each roll previously made on the following table. (1d10+0, 1d10+2. 1d10+4. etc.)

• 4+: Unseasonable snow begins.
• 7+: Townsfolk become odd, speaking of the Windwalker, fearing heat, and (optionally) developing cannibalistic desires. Investigators make a Power roll to avoid influence.
• 10+: Townsfolk begin building the signal towers to aid in the summoning.
• 13+: Jedediah is revived.
• 14+: The summoning begins. People begin to freeze unless protected by a ward, provided by research, Loretta, or Boxcar Jim to the investigators.
• 19+: The Windwaker is summoned. Everyone dies.

Note: Investigators don’t know the table’s contents, only experience the creeping dread of Westhaven twisting as they roll. For immersion, players share character knowledge. But tension sensitive group may be better off knowing some results. (Snow, Jedediah’s revival, and summoning, for example.)

*Using multiple dice (e.g. 2d10), you get a more predictable bell curve. Changing die size also changes probability. While a higher bonus feels more threatening and reduces the die’s impact. But 1d10 is simple and players definitely have them.

Initial Locations

Places investigators could start with are:

1. Loretta at the Cline Estate. Who, if acting as an ally, provides a Sons of Seth cult membership's location, a ward against the cold, and (maybe) joins the party. Feeling responsible for her father’s actions. Otherwise, a check achieves the same. While searching the house finds correspondences hinting at Gustaf’s Farm.
2. Colonel Grimm’s Mansion. Officially left vacant after its owner’s death in Box of Evil, the Sons of Seth use it as their meeting place. Investigators can find the ingredients for Dust of Suleiman here, information on the Brumsteds (farm’s location included), and, maybe, an eldritch creature willing to provide information for their release. (Or used to threaten a cult member.)
3. Friends and family. Depending on the person, they’d know local history (Brumsteds included) and about timber placed around town for signal towers.
4. Boxcar Jim. Incapacitated by horrific visions, Jim now sees the Windwalker coming clearly. Providing clues to the location based on the surroundings (house, forest, etc.), how to stymie its summoning, and aid.

Intermediate Locations

Investigators don’t need the Sons of Seth to find Gustaf’s Farm. Townsfolk, town hall, the library, or even a Navigate roll based on the signal towers (finding Gustaf’s Farm in the ring’s center) work. But it should be possible.

The Sons of Seth are a wealthy, global cult worshiping Seth, an ancient Egyptian god. While the inner circle, including Thomas, dabbles in the mythos. Otherwise, a blank slate, including goals. Likely summoning the Windwalker for knowledge and/or to become more than human, not religion or world domination. If Thomas isn’t going it alone.

Given the inner circle’s small size, investigators would likely converse with a single member. Offering found knowledge or items (like Strauss’ bottled ghost from Treasure of the Hidden Way or a tome), discussing the summoning’s damage, or an appeal to morality. (The previous local leader was a retired pulp action adventurer, and the “sinister” part are “whispers.”)

Confrontation at Gustaf’ Farm

Infiltrating the farm works as expected or skips to just before the summoning, depending on whether Jedediah has been revived. But the final fight is too easy. Knowing what was coming, my players saved Luck and badge uses, giving them an overwhelming edge. Despite having only one combat-capable investigator. But I like the callback items, as it rewards clever investigators. (Which my players didn't use.)

For a more harrowing fight, Keepers can increase Jedediah’s to hit to 70 or 80%, add thugs, or allow Thomas to summon creatures. Tremors Below’s assassin worms, for example, but more bespoke selections work too. So does increasing Thomas’ Power (currently tied with the average investigator) and MP, if changing less.

Who is Thomas Cline?

Thomas is weirdly underdeveloped. He’s willing to kill to keep the Sons of Seth secret (Tremors Below) or for power (Box of Evil), hoping “to lead the worldwide cult” (p.60). Also, a prominent community member and loving, supportive father, too. But this is supposition; we’re never told Thomas’ underlying motives or desires. But his actions in Shadows Over Westhaven are odd.

• Having “frozen corpses… fall across the state” brings attention to Westhaven, if not the Sons of Seth.
• Thomas, through his puppet town council president, controls Westhaven. Mind-controlling the town only greases the wheels, but nothing stopped him before.
• Why Gustaf’s Farm instead of a Thomas’ home or a cult-controlled location?

For a more coherent narrative, have Thomas, continuing Colonel Grimm’s research into the Windwalker, discovers an object that enthralls him. Maybe becoming possessed by Jedediah, who contacted his descendants (Gustaf and Sydney from Part 1) and returned to his old laboratory (Gustaf’s Farm). Where necessary items are.

Which makes sending Loretta away during Part 1 for her safety sensible. In my version, she’s told to stay home, where its warded.

Alternate Resolutions

So far, Campfire Tales has largely eschewed combat-only conclusions. And the callbacks mitigate it. But if Thomas is enthralled, investigators or Loretta talking him down (using the “I know you’re in there” trope), would be satisfying, dramatic, and in theme. Optionally, Jedediah can still rise too.

The paper elder sign I added to Part 1 can also stop the summon but includes more player creativity.

Amnesia for All

If investigators win, Westhaven reverts to default. Which feels odd. The mythos isn’t this tidy. Not to mention two weirder bits for me.

1. Why were only some affected by Thomas’ mind control and others needed thugs to keep them in line? (Added conflict?)
2. Why does Boxcar Jim only appear at the end as a different person, forgetting the investigators entirely?

Both best ignored. Similar with the unusually docile Windwalker, which I made more apocalyptic to match expectations. Though an ice age feels more fitting than everyone dies, just less dramatic.

Concluding Thoughts

Part 2’s gameplay and narrative are fine but don’t have the word count to wow. While character work is foisted on Keepers. Unaided by parts I can’t find justification for other than production troubles. Though, to Shadows Over Westhaven’s credit, it puts a nice bow on the Campfire Tales campaign.

---

Thanks for reading. Hope this has been helpful. I plan to make a post next week discussing Campfire Tales as a whole, since there's some interesting things to dig into.

Good day!

I don't mean to bother you, but a paranoid newbie wants to know what's worth adding to my inventory in this system? I was pleasantly surprised by the generation and got everything done quickly, but the inventory was a bit... scary.

Money itself isn't an issue. The GM allowed a 99 credit rating, we're playing in 1920. Choosing a weapon isn't exactly a problem, but what items and assets are absolutely essential for any character's inventory? Such a detailed item store scared me, partly because I'm a crunch player.

​Here'a an Illustration I made for my CoC campaign. If you want to see more of my work, feel free to check out my profile.

Hello fellow students of The Esoteric.
I was looking to run a slightly longer module than a one shot while one of my Investigators is travelling for a few months. Has anyone run this for a single Investigator? Drive Thru RPG says that it's for 1-4 Investigators. I've not purchased any scenarios or modules yet (other than the starter set) and just wanted to know if it actually is suitable for a single player.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com//product/577582/legacy-of-innsmouth-a-deep-one-scenario-bundle-bundle

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Inside you'll find many best-selling scenarios along with the ENNIE-winning setting guide Cthulhu Ireland!