My friend Sean Äaberg is running a kickstarter to fund a fourth printing of his amazing "Dungeon Degenerates" role playing game. It has two days left, check it out here!

Doing a bit more research on my next Witch Queen adventure when I turned up this little Italian gem.  So. What do you get when you mix Italian actors, Norse myth, a witch, the son of the Devil, and a magical throne?  Well, you get Il trono di fuoco or 1983's The Throne of Fire.

The Throne of Fire (1983)

Azria the witch is impregnated by the Devil to give birth to a mutant baby.  The baby grows up to become the less mutated Morak played to great scene-chewing effect by Harrison Muller. Born at the same time is Siegfried played by Italian stuntman Pietro Torrisi in his last role.  I can't really find much on him.  

In order to gain the Throne of Fire Malak has to marry Princess Valkari, played by Sabrina Siani.  Now, obviously, this is an allusion to Valkerie, but they keep pronouncing it "Val-Kar-EE."  Hmm. I can live with it.  Malak captures the Princess, but not before she can show off her own Xena moves.  

Siegfried comes to the court of the former King Agon, and now belonging to Valkari, to fight Morak.  He stabs Morak, which only causes him to laugh and reveal his "devil face" ala Lucifer.   Defeated he is tossed into the Well of Madness, which admitted was fun.  Here, for reasons, he finds his father, Well it is revealed in a long flashback that he was in the court when Morak first attacked.  He makes Siegfried invisible and invulnerable to everything but fire. 

Siegfried teams up with the Princess and helps her escape, but not before Morak can shot him with a flaming arrow. 

Recaptured Princess Valkari shows she is more than capable of getting herself out of jams and if that means sacrificing Seigfried, well she only just met the guy after all.  She doesn't wear much more than what is show in the poster above in this, but that is still a lot more than she wore in the Blue Lagoon rip-off, the Blue Island.  But I'll give the writer and director credit, for a bit of 80s, Z-Grade Sword and Sorcerery romp Princess Valkari is quite capable. She manages to escape on her own and kill a few guards in the process while Siegfried is still tied up.  

Malak lets Siegfried go to lead him right the Princess, which of course works. And they are recaptured again.  This is getting monotonous. 

Malak charms the Princess to get her to marry him and the solar eclipse happens, "The Night in a Day," so he can sit on the Throne of Fire.  But I guess the timing was not quite right, because when Siegfried throws Malak onto the Throne he burns up.  

Valkari becomes the new Queen and the people want Seigfried to be King.  Really???  He didn't really do a damn thing.

Game Content

The Well of Madness is nice, and a real Queen would have given Seigfried a title and then told him to pound sand.   A Witch Queen would have turned him into a newt for his impertinence. 

Not much here though that can't be found in other, better movies.

--

Tim Knight of Hero Press and Pun Isaac of Halls of the Nephilim along with myself are getting together at the Facebook Group I'd Rather Be Killing Monsters to discuss these movies.  Follow along with the hashtag #IdRatherBeWatchingMonsters.

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was a Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—


Name: The Oxford ArticlesPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: David Wright

Setting: 1950s Oxford
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Fifty-eight page, 61.95 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Missing books amongst Oxford’s dreaming spiresPlot Hook: Missing books and arson, could they be connected?Plot Support: Highly detailed plot, eight good handouts, eight maps, seven NPCs, one Mythos monster, and six pre-generated Investigators.Production Values: Fulsome.
Pros
# Good use of the historical background and city# Richly detailed investigative plot# Cluedo-like floor plans# Compact scenario in terms of time and setting# Could be adapted to the Jazz Age or Cthulhu by Gaslight# Scope for a sequel?
Cons
# Requires a strong edit# Too richly detailed investigative plot?
# Mythos threat underwhelming?# The Dreamlands rather than Yog-Sothoth?# Oxford and no J.R.R. Tolkien?
Conclusion
# Oxford Bibliophilia noir# Mythos may not fit the feel or nature of the scenario# Compact, but thoroughly detailed (perhaps overly so) investigation

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was a Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—

Name: Storm From A TeacupPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Royce Wilson

Setting: Prohibition Era New England or the North West
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-five page, 3.03 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: What happens when the high life comes from a cuppa...?Plot Hook: Is there something in the tea?Plot Support: Detailed plot, six good handouts, two maps, and eight NPCs. Production Values: Good.
Pros
# Good use of the historical background# Solid investigative plot# Underplayed sense of violence (which could be overplayed)# Works as a one-shot or a convention scenario# Mythos pleasingly underplayed# Scope for a sequel with another cult?# Scope for links to Innsmouth?# Could be adapted for use with Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos
Cons
# Requires a slight edit# More maps would have helped
# Some handouts underdeveloped
Conclusion
# Decent little investigation# Mythos pleasingly underplayed# Madness in a teacup

When I first started in RPGs I was all about complexity and systems that mirrored everything, these days, I am more about simplicity.

Day 21 Simplicity

There used to be big debates in RPG circles, narrativist vs. simulationist.  Gamist was thrown in there as well. You don't see that as much anymore. Well.  You do, but now the focus has shifted a bit. 

This debate has waged on in various formats, various permutations, over the decades. But in the end, the one that wins out for me is Simplicity.

I like a lot of games. I like to read and play a lot of games.  I don't like needing huge volumes of pages to explain to me how to play a game.  Sure I understand the value and the place of supplements and "Splat" books, but the core needs to be simple and complexity for complexity's sake is not a value. 

AD&D is a great game, but let's be honest. The rules are a hodge-podge of systems that are largely unrelated to each other save in a post hoc fashion. The layout of the rules is equally poor. We learned it then because it was what we had and we didn't know any better.  AD&D 2nd Ed is better organized (sort of its purpose) but there are still bolted on systems.  Honestly look no further than skills and psionics.   Also, AD&D 2nd ed loses some of the charms of AD&D 1st ed.  Is the charm in the complexity or is the charm in our memory via "Nostalgia Goggles?"  Hard to say. 

D&D 3rd Edition did a bit of a better job of this. 5th Edition does a better job still.  Still neither are at the level of say WitchCraft, Ghosts of Albion, or even Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space.

I am not trying to imply that simpler is always better.  For example, many of the Powered by the Apocalypse games are quite simple and none of them have ever really grabbed me.  In fact, I usually find them too simple.  

But for me, I desire to remove unneeded complexity for complexity sake and keep my games and my designs a little more simple. 

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was a Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—

Name: The Evil on the East RiverPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Ryan Graham Theobalds

Setting: Jazz Age New York
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-one page, 5.26 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Extracurricular activity puts the Investigators on another path.Plot Hook: What extras will an opportunity for extra credit lead to?Plot Support: Detailed plot, three good handouts, two maps, ten NPCs, Mythos tome, one spell, and four pre-generated Investigators. Production Values: Good.
Pros
# Potential addition to the New York chapter of Masks of Nyarlathotep: Dark Schemes Herald the End of the World# Good addition to a Harlem Unbound campaign# Strong historical background# Decent quartet of pre-generated African American Investigators# One very surprising NPC# Fantastic shipboard fight# Could be adapted to other periods and settings, but not easily# Desperate race to stop disaster# Action-orientated adventure (suitable for Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos?)
Cons
# Requires a slight edit# Adult in tone# More maps would have helped
# Research links poorly developed# Action-orientated adventure# Adult tone means it is unsuitable as a convention scenario
Conclusion
# Action-orientated adventure# From debauchery to disaster, a desperate race to stop a madman# Fantastic shipboard fight

 Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was a Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—
Name: Pop Goes the WeaselPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Chris Stewart

Setting: Miskatonic University in the SeventiesProduct: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-three page, 1.67 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: One day the computer will rule all our lives.Plot Hook: The opportunity to be present at the dawn of a new computer age...Plot Support: Detailed plot, seven good handouts, five NPCs, one Mythos tome, one Mythos entity, and six pre-generated Investigators. Production Values: Decent.
Pros
# Little explored period for Call of Cthulhu# Suitable as a one-shot or convention scenario# A plot that is almost, and thus suitably, programmed# Inserts the Mythos into the digital dawn# Graphic design fits the seventies  # Helpful goal achievements listed at the end of each act# Potential Delta Green links?# Enjoyable period piece
Cons
# Requires a slight edit# Layout incomplete# Villain underwritten
# Link to the Mythos tome for the Investigators unclear# Mythos tome left undetailed# Technical aspects make it less adaptable to other periods
Conclusion
# Enjoyable technical period piece # Nicely different one-shot or convention # Villain and Mythos tome need some development

It’s going to be a busy weekend: first, it’s a guest appearance at DFW Tap Talks on Friday, and then our sixth anniversary celebration on Saturday from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Things are getting interesting…

 Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was a Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—
Name: Horror at the Westmore MotelPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Leopoldo Rueda

Setting: Early Eighties New England
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-eight page, 8.29 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Missing Mother MysteryPlot Hook: Alice’s mother is missingPlot Support: Detailed plot, three handouts, three NPCs, one Mythos tome, one spell, and three pre-generated Investigators. Production Values: Reasonable.
Pros
# Little explored period for Call of Cthulhu# Suitable as a one-shot or convention scenario# Strong emotional impact for one pre-generated Investigator# Interesting roleplaying challenge in negotiating with the Mythos# Appendix details options for using it as part of an existing campaign
Cons
# Requires a strong edit# Needs a spell check# Plotting is quite direct
# Sanity losses underwhelming given their potential emotional impact# Uninspiring maps# Lacks maps where it counts# Emotional impact all on one pre-generated Investigator# Emotionally influenced Sanity losses underwhelming
Conclusion
# Requires a strong edit# Might work better as a one-on-one scenario?# Directed  plot which focuses too much on one pre-generated Investigator

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was a Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—

Name: AutopsyPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: G.A. Patrick

Setting: Shaw University, Jazz Age New England
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirty-five page, 12.89 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Extracurricular activity puts the Investigators on another path.Plot Hook: What extras will an opportunity for extra credit lead to?Plot Support: Detailed plot, twelve good handouts, seven NPCs, two Mythos tomes, one spell, and three pre-generated Investigators. Production Values: Decent.
Pros
# Better suited for experienced players of Call of Cthulhu# Suitable as a one-shot or first part of a very dark campaign# Delightfully vile NPCs the Keeper can sink her roleplaying teeth into# Strong ‘film-like’ plot pulls the Investigators into the Mythos# Some fraternities are eternal# Easily adapted to other periods and settings# Constantly pushes and prods the Investigators# Could be relocated at a horridly dour boarding school# Well done handouts# School for Ghoul(s)?
Cons
# Requires a strong edit# Adult in tone# More maps would have helped
# Needs a stronger overview# Not suitable for inexperienced players of Call of Cthulhu# Adult tone means it is unsuitable as a convention scenario
Conclusion
# Requires a strong edit# Strong plot with some horrifying fun NPCs and great clues# Enjoyably different introduction to the horrors of the Mythos

Today's alt-word has been on my mind a lot lately.  I have been wanting to talk more about it so today feels like the day. 

Day 20 Lineage

Since its inception, D&D has had race as a feature of the game.  However, since its inception race has been more or less been misused.  Really Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and Humans are different species.  Now while it is true humans can interbreed with elves and orcs I am going to stick with the notion here that they are species.  

Race, as a term, has a lot of negative connotations about it.  There is the idea of ethnic or phenotype determiners of race. There is the colonialism notion of races, and how that was used to justify all sorts of crimes against humanity for centuries.  There are even the Theosophical ideas of races which seem to be the well that D&D has drawn from.  In the end "Race" is not only not even the proper word, it is a woefully loaded word.

I like Species myself.  But you might say "but species can't interbreed!" except of course when they do.  There are sterile hybrids between species, there are even fertile ones. These range from plants to animals and even mammals.   Even in humans, there are fossils that may be human-neanderthal hybrids and many scientists think that we may have killed all the other archaic hominids or we may have bred with them until their genome was absorbed into ours.  We know from mitochondrial DNA scans that Neanderthals share more alleles with Eurasians than with sub-Saharah Africans.  

I also remember having debates in my Philosophy of Science class that species only serve the needs of scientists making taxonomic nomenclature.   

So can all the D&D Player Characters be different species? Of course. Can they interbreed? Absolutely some of them can.  But this is not really the full picture either.

Let's take the term used by the latest D&D 5e book, Lineage.  

Lineage has none of the baggage that race does. Nor does it have to overly complicated scientific logic that species does.  Lineage allows you to build what your character is.  

From Tasha's Cauldron of Everything:

At the first level you choose:

• Creature type. You are a humanoid. You determine your appearance and whether you resemble any of your kin.
• Size. You are Small or Medium (your choice).
• Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
• Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2.
• Feat. You gain one feat of your choice for which you qualify.
• Variable Trait. You gain one of the following options of your choice:
• Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
• Proficiency in one skill of your choice.
• Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for your character.

Simple.  You can rebuild any race you want.  

Just prior to Tasha's Arcanist Press released their Ancestry & Culture: An Alternative to Race in 5e.  A fantastic guide.  Where Tasha's uses "Lineage" this uses "Ancestry," which is in my opinion just as good.  But this product also includes "Culture" in the mix.   So what if you are a human raised by elves?  Or in the case of my own Sharis Val, a drow raised by dwarven clerics in a monastery.  It can even explain the already established differences in the three types of halflings/hobbits with fallohides/tallfellows having halfling lineage and living near elven culture.  Yeah, they are taller and the like, this is a blog post not comparative biology. 

You can also vote for Ancestry & Culture: An Alternative to Race in 5e for the 2021 ENnies awards. It is up for:

• Best Electronic Book
• Best Supplement
• Product of the Year

Pathfinder 2nd Ed also does something with all of this too.  Their system is more mechanically oriented.

Personally, I prefer this over the systems we have been using.  

I would adapt these to Old-School play, but I am going to wait to see how Chromatic Dungeons does it first. 

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was a Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—

Name: The Colour of MoneyPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Sean F. Smith

Setting: Modern day, Essex, England
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Eight page, 1.41 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Right of possession in a numismatic mysteryPlot Hook: An undocumented Merovingian coin can’t be in that good a condition, can it?Plot Support: Detailed plot outline, one NPC. Production Values: Plain.
Pros
# Short one-session scenario# Straightforward plot # Suitable for one or two Investigators# Easily adaptable to other time frames# Solid little investigation
Cons
# Requires a slight edit# Keeper will need to add colour to the NPCs and town
# Villain motivation undeveloped
Conclusion
# Decent, modern small scale investigation # Villain motivation undeveloped

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was a Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.


—oOo—

Name: Bootleg Whiskey, Liquor, Champagne & WinePublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: C.M. Arnold

Setting: Gangland New England
Product: One-shot scenario or part one of a campaign
What You Get: Thirty-eight page, 23.88 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: The Color of WhiskyPlot Hook: Pulled back in for one last job...Plot Support: Detailed plot, three decent handouts, six NPCs, one Mythos monster, and four pre-generated Investigators. Production Values: Reasonable.
Pros
# Gangland bloodbath# Suitable as a one-shot or first part of a campaign, ‘The American Empire Saga’# Nicely flawed pre-generated Investigators# Horrible dream sequences# Possible sequel to ‘The Colour Out of Space’# Intriguing campaign set-up and antagonist
Cons
# Requires a strong edit# Plotting not always clear
# Similar theme to (but not exactly like) ‘Blackwater Creek’ from the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen Pack# Odd mix of Mythos elements in places
Conclusion
# Requires a strong edit# Plotting not always clear# Gangland bloodbath# Punchy, physical investigation which suits the gangland setting

The annual ENnies awards is now open for voting and as usual, there are a lot of great choices to vote for, or at the very least shop for.

I might get into my picks later on (have to see how long voting is) but for today I want to focus on one particular book and maybe convince you to consider voting for it.

Up for Best Adventure and Best Cartography is Halls of the Blood King for Old-School Essentials. 

I reviewed Halls of the Blood King last month and frankly, I loved it.  So it is great seeing it get some official recognition.  It would be even great if it wins.

It has some serious competition, in particular from the Alien RPG adventure.  But keep in mind that OSE is still largely a one-man operation of Gavin Norman.  Alien and Free League is a more traditional publisher.  So to say that OSE and Blood King are punching well above their weight class is not hyperbole. 

So, if you can make the time, give HotBK a vote for both Best Adventure and Best Cartography.

Six years ago on August 20, the Texas Triffid Ranch debuted at the now-long-defunct Valley View Center as Dallas’s pretty much only carnivorous plant gallery. Considering the other galleries and stores that opened and closed within months (and sometimes weeks) … Continue reading →

Should be easy to stay on theme today.

Day 19 Theme

If my participation in the Character Creation Challenge in January, the April A to Z Challenge, and this month's #RPGaDAY Challenge, is any indication, I do love a nice theme to work with.

In my blog posts, it gives me a little extra focus and a little extra motivation.  It gives me something to look forward too and apparently, my readers agree.  My hits tend to go up during these times.

This year I am going to be doing my usual October Horror movie marathon and I am considering doing a Lovecraft film fest.  While that has some appeal and something I wanted to do for a while, but sadly many of the movies are not very good.  Not to mention I have seen most of them already.  Kinda defeats the purpose of the Horror Movie Challenge.

I will also be participating in the RPG Blog Carnival for October. The subject, naturally enough, will be Horror.   I have a few other treats for October planned as well, it is practically my holiday.

Other themes I enjoyed recently were BECMI month last year, Troll Week, Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, and for a deep cut, Superbabes.

I still want to do a series of Superhero posts including some different approaches to the superhero genre.  I could easily spend a month on that. 

Today's word is Write. Something I do every day.

Day 18 Write

Theodore Sturgeon, the American science fiction author, once stated that "ninety percent of everything is crap."  This has been come to be known as Sturgeon's law. 

I am not sure about his quantification, but I agree with the spirit of his adage.

Once upon a time, I did not consider myself a good, or even a fair, writer.   I enjoyed doing it for myself, but I never felt I would have anything worth publishing.  But at some point, it became obvious to me that the only way to get better at it was to keep doing it.  Not just do it, but also to get feedback and use that feedback.

These days I like to think that I am much better than I was.  Am I good?  That's hard for me to tell on this side of the keyboard.  I look at things I have written and often think "Wow. That is some good stuff...but it could be better."  Even books I am really proud of, Ghosts of Albion, the first Witch book, I look back on and see things I really would like to go back and "fix."  Not that they are broken per se, just things I would have liked to have done differently.

I am not talking about game design, I am always tweaking that (my "Basic" Monster stat block is a good example), but rather wording.

Blog posts are a good place for me to practice this and to get some feedback.  So if I have over 4,730+ posts up now (with a little over two-score in draft mode) that would mean according to Sturgeon that would mean that just north of 4,200 posts here are "garbage" and only 470 or so are "good."   I would like to think the good posts are a little higher, but again I can't argue with the spirit of these numbers.

Even if over 4,200 of my posts are garbage they did serve their purpose. Sometimes that is just have something to ponder while working something out, a bit of playtest, or at the very, very least, practice writing.   And this is just the stuff you have all seen.  I have a lot, maybe even a near equal amount that has never seen the light of day and may not.  That's fine. 

This is also one of the reasons I like to participate in these sorts of challenges.  While some ideas are easy, others require a lot more thought on how they relate to me. Writer workshops often have work sessions where you are given a prompt and have to come up with something.  This is the same idea only I have a bit more of a heads up. 

Hopefully, after 14 years of doing this blog I am still getting better.

It’s not completely unheard of, but it’s rare enough that it’s newsworthy: rain in Dallas in August. Not just a little bit of rain, but lots and lots of rain. Instead of a typical Dallas August, where “hot and sunny … Continue reading →

Cantaloop is likely not something that you will have heard of—and there is a good reason for this. Published by Lookout Games, a publisher of board games rather than roleplaying games, Cantaloop has caught the attention of the board game hobby rather than the roleplaying hobby, despite the fact that Cantaloop is not a board game. In fact, Cantaloop—or rather Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison—is a solo adventure, part of the Lookout Games’ Paper Point ‘N’ Click line. The name of the line should give a clue as to the inspiration for the line, that is classic ‘point and click’ computer adventure mystery games, such as Myst, Monkey Island, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. The designer has taken that inspiration and instead of producing a ‘point and click’ computer adventure game, he has given it a physical form, for Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison comes as an eye-catching landscape format folder with a mugshot of the adventure’s protagonist on the front. Inside, the player will find a complete adventure consisting of twenty locations, a double-sided poster which serves as the player’s Inventory, a deck of sixty Item cards, a post card, a trigger sheet, and last, but not least, a decoder! Now this decoder is needed because much of the text is obscured and needs to be viewed through the decoder, which is a transparent piece of red plastic. Place the decoder over the text and it becomes clear! Roleplaying game fans of a certain age will remember TSR, Inc. using a similar mechanic for the adventures MV1 Midnight on Dagger Alley for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and IJ4 The Golden Godden Goddess for The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game back in the nineteen eighties.

The set-up for Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison is simple. ‘Hook’ Carpenter is a charismatic and resourceful crook, who ten years ago was forced to flee Cantaloop Island and hide out in Switzerland—as detailed in the free to play Cantaloop – Book 0: The Prequel—and now he is back for revenge! For that though, he needs a team, starting with a Hacker and a ‘Lady in Red’. The Hacker is the problem though, because the best Hacker in town is in prison. However, this is not going to the determined and ever resourceful ‘Hook’ Carpenter. He is going to find a way to break into Cantaloop Island’s prison, bust the Hacker out, and help bring his plan to fruition.

Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison is designed to be played by a player aged sixteen and above—some of the narrative’s humour is slightly adult in tone, though not risqué—and can be completed in about five hours or so. There is nothing to stop more players getting involved and working together to help ‘Hook’ in his plan, but really, more than two players and playing Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison is going to get crowded. Better for the players to work through it and then lend their copy to the third (and fourth) player to enjoy.

The game opens with a seven-page tutorial explaining what the components to Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison do and how the adventure is played. The majority of the book consists of twenty locations, beginning with the lighthouse and eventually ending with—well, lets not spoil that. Each location is given a two-page spread. On the righthand side is an illustration of the location complete with an indication of possible exits and various objects and items which the player as ‘Hook’ Carpenter can examine and interact with. On the lefthand side is a block of obscured text. At the start of the game, the player only has two items, the equivalent of a Nokia 3310 mobile phone and a magnifying glass. These have code fragments down their sides. When the player aligns one of these with the code fragment of an object in the scene it will generate a full four-digit code which can be referenced in the obscured text on the left. Alternatively, two item cards can be aligned to generate another four-digit code which can be referenced with an entry on the double-sided Inventory poster.

When revealed, whether from the Inventory poster or the location, the text might instruct the player to take more items which will help ‘Hook’ in his plan, give access to another location, and more, though sometimes it will just be warnings to the player to not cheat or just nonsense. Certain codes will instruct the player to cross off particular numbers on the Trigger Sheet, which will unlock other areas of the story, whilst other will open up scenes where the player can read the dialogue between ‘Hook’ and another character. Other codes reveal secrets and jokes—none of which are mentioned elsewhere in the game, but are worth finding if the player can.

Just like the ‘point and click’ computer adventure games which inspired it, Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison is built around a lot of puzzles. Many of these are quite challenging and when a player manages to solve them, he deserves to feel a sense of achievement. Some of them feel impossible or oddly out of left field though, but when the player really gets stuck, there is a lengthy help section at the back of the folder. Containing more obscured text of course…

Physically, Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison is problematic. The storage for the cards—three different pockets is a bit tight, but the main issue is that the paper quality for the pages is poor. The paper is too thin to really withstand much more than the gentlest of handling or be torn from the ring binder. It would have been nice if the decoder had been mounted in a holder for ease of use also, and depending upon the player, the text may be too small to read with ease. However, the artwork is excellent and has a great cartoon feel to it. Lastly, it should be noted that Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison is part of a trilogy, so there will be another two parts before ‘Hook’ Carpenter has his revenge.

Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison is an incredible piece of design because it successfully translates the digital style of the ‘point and click’ computer adventure game a la Lucas Arts into an analogue format, bringing with it a strong sense of silly, often cheesy humour. Cantaloop – Book 1: Breaking into Prison is a lot of fun to play and it is not difficult to imagine the exploits of ‘Hook’ Carpenter as a cartoon with soundtrack akin to Mission: Impossible which you can hum along to as you play.

Until the publication of Alone Against the Flames in 2016, it was long forgotten that Chaosium, Inc. had published solo adventures for Call of Cthulhu. The two books in question—Alone Against the Wendigo and Alone Against the Dark—were both published in 1985 and although both Pagan Publishing with Alone on Halloween and Triad Entertainments with Grimrock Isle would add to the genre, all were destined to become collectors pieces. However, with the publication of Alone Against the Flames, Chaosium has not only looked at its two solo adventures anew, but updated and republished them for use with Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition. Both scenarios are lengthy affairs which will take several hours to play through and both make use of the full rules for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition. However, a player can play through using either the Call of Cthulhu: Keeper Rulebook or the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set.

The first of the two scenarios originally published in 1985 and now republished, is not Alone Against the Wendigo, but Alone Against the Frost: Solitaire Adventure in Canada’s Wilds. It is the same scenario in essence, but completely updated and revised to avoid cultural misuse and to better reflect the gender balance within the scenario. Now the original version provided the means for the player to roleplay a male or female investigator, but in addition to still providing this, Alone Against the Frost goes a step further by making one of the NPCs who accompanies the Investigator also female. In fact, this is Charlie Foxtail, the Tsuut’ina professional wilderness guide, who is hired to lead the expedition safely into the wilderness. Together with the three other NPCs accompanying the Investigator, this provides a balance in terms of gender for the members of the expedition.

In addition, the format of the solo investigation, so familiar from things like the Fighting Fantasy books and the Tunnels & Trolls adventures, has been adjusted to make the play through of the scenario. Thus in Alone Against the Frost, the player is still reading one paragraph, making choices and making skill and other checks before moving to another paragraph, and then doing it again and again. With most solo adventures, this involves a high degree of page flipping, often from one end of the book to the other—and back again. In the updated version of Alone Against the Frost, connected entries have been moved closer together, often on the same page, to ease the flow of play. Even if the player is given choices which lead to other pages, those choices are placed on the same page for ease of access. At the end of every entry, in addition to the numbers indicating the paragraphs the player can choose from and go to continue the story, is a number in parentheses. This indicates the previous paragraph which directed the player to the current one, enabling the player to backtrack if necessary. Alone Against the Frost is a tough, challenging, often deadly adventure, and a player will find not infrequently find himself backtracking back to a paragraph in the investigation to seek one or more other choices that do not ultimately lead to a result of ‘THE END’ and the demise of the scdenario’s protagonist. Lastly, one element which has been removed in the update is that of the Hanninah Mythos, the measure of knowledge gained in exploring the Big Woods region. It has simply been replaced by the standard Cthulhu Mythos skill.

In Alone Against the Frost, the player takes the role of Doctor L. C. Nadelmann, an anthropologist from the renowned Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts who is a rising star in the field of cultural anthropology and who has long held a fascination for early North American prehistory, myths, and legends, particularly in the Big Woods region of Canada’s Northwest Territories. At last, Doctor Nadelmann has obtained sufficient funding to mount an expedition into the fabled valley of the North Hanninah in search of the anthropological discoveries and revelations that hopefully, will make the Doctor’s good name. Accompanying Doctor Nadelmann are three gifted and practical graduate students, Bernard Ebstein, Sylvia Davidson, and Norman Falkner. They have also employed Charlie Fox to guide the expedition into the wilderness. All four of these NPCs have their own Investigator sheets and are fully detailed, whereas Doctor Nadelmann requires some customisation prior to play, the player being given two pools of points, one to assign to Occupation skills and one to assign to Personal Interest skills. During play, if the other members of the expedition are awake—or even alive, the player has the option of rolling against their skills rather than those of Doctor Nadelmann if the skill is appropriate.

Alone Against the Frost begins with the Nadelmann expedition arriving at Fort McDonald, preparing to head into North Hanninah, ‘Hanninah’ meaning ‘the river of magical power’. The expedition is warned that the local people avoid the region, including the local guides, and that further, the few white men to have entered it have never returned. Nevertheless, the expedition secures the services of a guide and sets out into the valley of the North Hanninah. Almost immediately, the Nadelmann expedition finds itself in difficult circumstances and constantly being challenged—by the environment, by the local wildlife, and of course, by the unknown. The local guide, Charlie Fox, needs near constant persuasion to remain with the expedition and as more and more dark discoveries are made and disturbing events occur, will urge the expedition to leave North Hanninah. In all likelihood, Charlie Fox will abandon Doctor Nadelmann and what surviving expedition members there are, and flee back to the safety of civilisation.

From the outset, the player will find himself and the expedition in constant danger. For example, within a few paragraphs, the choppy waters of the Hanninah cause Doctor Nadelmann to be thrown into the water and drowned. Returning to an earlier paragraph, Doctor Nadelmann successfully led the expedition into North Hanninah and set up the first night’s camp. Then the weirdness began and… Playing Alone Against the Frost—or at least playing Alone Against the Frost with any degree of success—is simply difficult. Losing Charlie Fox feels like a setback, but as Doctor Nadelmann works his way deeper into the forests of North Hanninah, he will also lose expedition member after expedition member. The effect of this is twofold. First, it takes away the player’s access to their skills, but second, their mostly horrible deaths will necessitate a Sanity loss. The latter reflects not just the terrible nature of their deaths, but also the fact that Doctor Nadelmann, and thus the player, was responsible for their care—and ultimately, their deaths.

There are a great many secrets to be discovered in North Hanninah and a large amount of Mythos lore to be learned in the process. Getting to it and the revelations to be learned will involve multiple attempts upon the part of the player as he attempts to guide Doctor Nadelmann ever deeper into danger through the maze of options and paths. Throughout, the player will also discover particular keywords, such as ‘BAREFOOT’ or ‘BACKWATER’, knowledge of which will grant Doctor Nadelmann access to particular paragraphs that would not have been available otherwise. They are also used as a measure of Doctor Nadelmann’s success, that is, if he and the remaining members of his expedition can actually make their way back to civilisation. And even though this is challenging enough, the difficulties do not stop there. Once Doctor Nadelmann has returned to civilisation, he may face questioning by the authorities, have his discoveries called into question, and more. He may even make a name for himself from those discoveries, but that is a rare outcome indeed.

In some ways, Alone Against the Frost is too challenging. A player coming to it after playing and enjoying Alone Against the Flames, will find Alone Against the Frost a daunting prospect and a grueling experience in play in comparison to the shorter, more straightforward Alone Against the Flames. If the player is prepared for that, then fine, but be in doubt, when playing Alone Against the Frost, the equivalent of the Call of Cthulhu training wheels have definitely come off. If not, then perhaps the shorter Alone Against the Tide might be a better next option after Alone Against the Flames in order to play using the full Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition rules.

Physically, Alone Against the Frost is as cleanly presented as you would expect for a title from Chaosium, Inc. Like the other solo adventure books—Alone Against the Flames, Alone Against the Dark, and the more recent Alone Against the Tide—it is done in black and white. Fortunately, this does not detract from the impact of the adventure’s often monstrous and creepy artwork, although it feels a little odd after the glorious colour and production values of other titles for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition.

Alone Against the Frost: Solitaire Adventure in Canada’s Wilds is different to other scenarios for Call of Cthulhu. Not just because it is a solo adventure, but because it places the onus for the success or failure of the Nadelmann expedition entirely upon the player (and his dice) and it makes the player responsible for the lives—and very likely, the deaths—of four other people. It also enables the player to experience a scientific expedition in true Lovecraftain fashion from beginning to end, its decisions, its discoveries, and more. Ultimately, Alone Against the Frost: Solitaire Adventure in Canada’s Wilds is an incredibly challenging solo adventure which reveals both the dread secrets of the Big Woods and the hubris of scientific inquiry in the face of Cosmic Horror.