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Our doomed train has almost reached its destination. But if you'd like to get on board you still can... until 4:00pm on Friday. Join over 11,000 backers on Kickstarter with Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game. And this is also your last chance to get the 2 volume Horror on the Orient Express Call of Cthulhu TTRPG campaign for $49.99 (save $40.00) - offer ends 4pm on April 19th. nb you do not have to back the Kickstarter to take up this special offer. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chaosium/horror-on-the-orient-express-the-board-game

Mike Mason boards the train: Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game As our Kickstarter enters its final stretch, Call of Cthulhu creative director Mike Mason has boarded the train! Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game introduces a terrifying collection of new Mythos entities, and these monsters will all end up in future releases for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game. And to describe the indescribable, these otherworldly horrors will be prepared for Call of Cthulhu by none other than Mike Mason, the game's creative director! -- the hideous Mythos being in the Consumed by the Void expansion -- -- otherworldly horrors that feature in the New Monstrosities expansion -- Back Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game here - Kickstarter campaign ends April 19: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chaosium/horror-on-the-orient-express-the-board-game And get the 2 volume Horror on the Orient Express Call of Cthulhu TTRPG campaign here for the Kickstarter special price of $49.99 (save $40.00) - offer ends April 19: https://www.chaosium.com/horror-on-the-orient-express-2-volume-set/

As we enter the final two days of the Kickstarter, Chaosium's Jeff Richard talks with Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game co-designers Adam Kwapiński and Michał Gołąb Gołębiowski: Back Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game here - Kickstarter campaign ends April 19: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chaosium/horror-on-the-orient-express-the-board-game And get the 2 volume Horror on the Orient Express Call of Cthulhu TTRPG campaign here for the Kickstarter special price of $49.99 (save $40.00) - offer ends April 19: https://www.chaosium.com/horror-on-the-orient-express-2-volume-set

Our Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game Kickstarter reached a significant milestone yesterday — 10,000 backers have boarded the train! If you'd like to join them, there's still a seat for you in the one of the doomed train's many carriages. But don't delay, you have just four days before the Orient Express reaches its final destination. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chaosium/horror-on-the-orient-express-the-board-game And don't forget, for the duration Kickstarter campaign we're also offering a special deal on the legendary Call of Cthulhu TTRPG campaign our new board game is based on: get the two-volume Horror on the Orient Express for only $49.99 (save $40!) Note, you do not have to back the board game Kickstarter to avail yourself of this Chaosium.com exclusive offer.

Chaosium will be at Tabletop Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland September 6-8 2024! We will have a booth in the dealer hall, and will be running demo games throughout the RPG Schedule. Event bookings open in three weeks, so get your tickets are now. The convention takes place at Highland Hall in the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston - very close to Edinburgh Airport.

The Basic Roleplaying Design Challenge is well underway! Given you absolutely do not need to have a completed game or manuscript in order to enter the competition, it’s never too late to start! Beginning a new creative project can be a big hurdle—few things are as intimidating as a white blank page! We wanted to share these 11 tips to help get you started! 1. Start With What Interests You One of the best ways to get started on an essay is to skip the introduction and write it later, when you’re finished. Similarly with game design projects, there are bound to be some aspects that inspire you more than others. We recommend you start with these! If you have a truly stellar setting or world in mind, begin by putting that to paper. If you’ve thought of an interesting interpretation of the BRP rules, or unique application of an existing mechanic, begin by explaining that. Starting with the aspect of the project you’re most excited about is a great way to build momentum for everything else! 2. Blank Page, Blank Desk! A sure-fire way to clear your mind and set your intentions is to tidy your workspace—be it a desk, a coffee table, your couch, or your bed, having an organized and clean workspace removes distractions and lets you focus on what you’re about to do: create a game! This one might sound either odd, or obvious, but everyone has a different way of setting intentionality, and we’ve had a lot of success with this! 3. Ask Yourself “What if…?” Some of the most interesting settings can come with taking a single concept taken for granted, something you don’t pay much attention to, and focusing on it, drilling down and extrapolating what gameplay and fictional options open up to you. This can be a historical era you’re interested in, a place that hasn’t been explored much in gaming, or even a race of creatures that’s rarely had the spotlight on it in a game before. The “Settings” chapter of BRP includes many interesting eras and genres, and gives advice on mixing-and-matching them to come up with a fresh new setting, such as Fantasy Noir, or adding folkloric heroes to the Wild West. or a game about undead in an endless Necropolis. Maybe an apocalyptic event happened at the end of 999 AD and it’s a post-apocalyptic Iron Age early medieval world with demons and hellspawn running amok in a world seemingly abandoned by Heaven. What sort of fun gameplay could come out of that? 4. Playtest and Listen to Feedback! Getting feedback is an important aspect of designing a game! Once you’ve got your ideas together, seek out friends whose opinions you value and you enjoy playing games with. Try out your game with them; watch them as they engage with your text and play your game. You definitely don’t have to take everything on board that playtesters or reviewers think of your game, but honest feedback can be extremely valuable. Please note, you don’t necessarily have to undergo copious rounds of feedback and playtesting before submitting your proposal to the BRP Design Challenge. You could, for example, add in your Project Plan that there will be time later for playtesting and review. But we assure you: at whatever point in the development process you do get to playtesting, your eventual game will be the better for it! 5. Keep It Simple Legendary game designer Erick Wujcik said that when he started with a fresh slate of a game design, he’d only add mechanics when they were absolutely needed, often discovering the gaps in rules during playtesting. BRP as a chassis can be stripped down quite a lot. Skills can be consolidated, the list dramatically shortened. Combat can be simplified, perhaps eliminating one of the different levels of success or combining the critical range of 1/20 and the special success of 1/5 into a critical that happens in the 1/10 range. Initiative can be simplified to a simple DEX roll, with successful characters going before their foes and failed rolls going later. Damage modifiers can be averaged, so +1D4 becomes +2, +1D6 becomes +3, etc. Criticals can be simplified to “maximum effect”, so instead of rolling damage and figuring out a special result, just use the maximum die result and keep going. 6. Season to Taste One thing you might do is look at a game you like and see if there’s something you can take from it and make it your own, perhaps a parallel game with a neat twist that appeals more to you. For example, there are a few games featuring cats as the player characters, whether set in the Cthulhu Mythos or set in modern-day America. How about a roleplaying game about dogs? You could define the different breeds in terms of starting characteristics (and are they in relation to humans or based on a dog-centric scale?), maybe add “Scent” as a new skill, and eliminate all irrelevant skills. What sort of world does this mismatched pack of dogs inhabit? Is it a vast junkyard filled with all sorts of strange creatures and rival packs, or are these dogs the survivors in a world where all the humans have disappeared mysteriously? 7. Focus on what’s Important for your Setting Try to tailor the rules to really fit the setting you are creating. A game of political intrigue doesn’t need the same level of combat detail as one where your characters are captured warriors trying to survive in the Roman gladiator pits. The rules should be there to support the setting more than define it. That is exactly what the optional rules and systems in Basic Roleplaying let you do! 8. Add your Own Subsystem if needed The strength of Basic Roleplaying is the ability to adapt and incorporate additional subsystems. If the current Powers do not support what you need, you can use them as a guide to add another Magic Point-based Power system for crafting Runes or using Tarot Magic. The Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game does exactly that. 9. Reskin existing creatures to fit your Setting If creature design is not your forte, you can reuse existing creatures. Just by changing the description and making a few tweaks you can make a lizard man into the feared Vargurar aliens intent on subjugating the planet. This lets your run complex, but familiar, creatures like vampires without creating a lot of work for you or gamemasters running your system. 10. Don’t change what doesn’t need changing Try not to reinvent the wheel. Change for the sake of change isn’t something to strive for. If you are creating a horror system that appeals to fantasy players, it may not be the time to introduce a different combat or powers system if the existing ones will suffice. The easiest it is for people to pick up and start playing your game, the better the chance of its broader adoption. 11. Read About How Others Did It Others have been right here before you! They also had an idea for a tabletop roleplaying game but weren’t sure where to start. Read about their experiences as they went through the steps to publication – the lessons they learned, the mistakes they made. Here are some examples: LEVEL 0: How to start designing your first tabletop role-playing game? - Bruno Lauris How to design and publish your own tabletop RPG - Polyhedra Games How to design a Tabletop RPG (WikiHow) - Legends of Avantris and Janice Tieperman Make your own roleplaying game - Dice Geeks How to make a roleplaying game - Dicebreaker Hopefully these tips will help you get started, or reward you with a second wind for your creative process! The BRP Design Challenge is open to submissions! You have until May 31st, 2024 at 11:59pm Pacific US time to submit your game—we can't wait to check it out!

Rivers of London fans - exciting news! We've got a new case file, Lynne Hardy's 'Going Underground', coming. This 38 page ready-to-play scenario for the Rivers of London TTRPG will be officially released in print and PDF at Chaosium Con next week!

Yes, it is for the current edition.

“Glorantha is my personal North Star as an author of vast fantasy game narratives...” — Ken Rolston, (The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion RuneQuest: The Glorantha Sourcebook is a guide to the mythical world of Bronze Age fantasy created by legendary game designer Greg Stafford. It is every RuneQuest player’s stepping stone into legend—a journey that continues with the Guide to Glorantha, and ends in your imagination! This new edition contains revised, updated, and expanded content drawn from a variety of long out-of-print and rare sources. Alongside an updated internal design to bring RuneQuest:The Glorantha Sourcebook in line with modern RuneQuest titles, it also has a brand new cover by stellar artist LoÏc Muzy. This edition also includes updated genealogy tables, some new art, and new maps. RuneQuest: The Glorantha Sourcebook details Glorantha, the signature setting for RuneQuest. This book is a supplement without rules or a game system This allows you to apply the setting of Glorantha to any game system of your choice, or delve into one of the most richly imagined fantasy worlds ever created. Also available in a special leatherette version! What the critics said about the previous edition of the Glorantha Sourcebook "The best most affordable introduction to the rich fantasy world of Glorantha so far." — Runeblogger. "Drawing on long out-of-print sources, and including new materials, this belongs in the collection of new Glorantha fans and old timers alike… vividly told, beautifully illustrated, and inspirational." — Andrew Logan Montgomery. "An excellent introduction and guide, and probably the exact amount you’ll ever need to run your own Glorantha campaign." — Vintage RPG. 2019 ENnie Awards - Best Supplement (Gold) Get your copy of RuneQuest: The Glorantha Sourcebook today from Chaosium.com! Full color hardcover: $44.99 (price inc. PDF) Special leatherette version: $90.00 (price inc. PDF) PDF: $22.99 Also available at DriveThruRPG: $22.99 And in retail distribution. Please note this title is will be available from our Australian warehouse in June.

Wow, the Miskatonic Repository continues to go from strength-to-strength. Here's the latest array of titles by independent Call of Cthulhu creators at DriveThruRPG! The Last Dance of Lola Montez: A Call of Cthulhu Modern Adventure David Waldron ($4.95, 43 page PDF) Five friends, united by grief, face torments driven by a dark threat thought hidden for over a century. A threat driven by a dark thirst for passion soaked in blood. Modern one-shot adventure which explores the dark legacy of Australia's goldrush history. By the author of the award winning William Bailey's Haunted Mansion, historian David Waldron. Stygian Muse says The Last Dance of Lola Montez makes for "makes for an interesting and thought-provoking read" - read the full review here. Mad Sci - How to Train your Shoggoth Kurt Havelock (Pay-What-You-Want, Rec Price Free, 38 page PDF) It's campus chaos at Miskatonic University! Tess Alvitr is a Norwegian exchange student that has come to Miskatonic University to get her Doctorate of Synthetic Biology. Little did she know that the sinister forces which stalk this place would be her undoing... Though originally intended for modern Call of Cthulhu, it is not dependent on that and can be used in any era where Miskatonic University exists. Re-Animator 2508 Quico Vicens-Picatto ($3.00, 16 page PDF) The lifeless body of an elder thing has been clandestinely transported from Earth to a secluded area near the star Altair by a covert organization which aims to conduct an experiment to bring him back to life. This location was chosen far from prying eyes and densely populated areas to minimize potential harm in case the experiment goes awry. Hence, to avoid attracting attention due to the near impossibility of constructing a space station or planetary outpost that could go undetected by universe-scanning sensors of the Confederation, the decision was made to acquire a section of a distant space station originally intended to house a powerful deep space telescope. It was there, in secrecy, that the experiment would be conducted. Players take on the role of the musicians of Morbid Rainbow, a psychodeath metal band who, during an interplanetary tour, arrive at the station precisely when the facilities are being used for a dark and occult experiment. The Memories Below Stuart Forsyth ($8.00, 16 page PDF) A group of friends visit the sleepy holiday town of Lake Kinney for some much needed rest and relaxation, only to get sucked into a mystery involving missing campers, persistent nightmares, and a strange affliction that seems to affect everyone in town. Will they be able to understand what’s going on before they also forget? The Exhibition of Dread Jared Tallis, Stars Are Right ($5.99, 45 page PDF) …a modern-day Call of Cthulhu scenario that will haunt your nightmares Join us in modern-day Boston, where mysterious occurrences take place at night on the campus of the local Modern Art College. Ghatanothoa, the Forgotten One Quico Vicens-Picatto ($3.00, 15 page PDF) In this modern era scenario, two young police inspectors with complex backgrounds will face an ancestral evil that will test their bodies, minds, and above all, their ability to act as a cohesive team in the face of a case that, by all accounts, is far beyond their capabilities. Welcome to the Kraven-Hammer Mall Baker's Dozen Productions ($5.99, 44 page PDF) Modern day scenario that takes players into an abandoned mall ripped straight out of a liminal dream and puts them face-to-face with the most terrifying horror of all- Nostalgia. And that's before we even get to the Eldrich Horrors.... Mingled Remains Garnett Elliott ($3.99, 38 page PDF) Any necromancer worth their salt will be there . . .Something strange is going on at the 10th Annual International Funeral and Crematory Trade Show, held at the resplendent Tampa Bay Hotel. Federal agents suspect the event serves as cover for a secret gathering of cultists, and want the heroes to investigate. Of special interest are two German attendees, former members of the (now defunct) Thule Society. A rip-roaring romp through Florida in the late 20’s. Along the way, PCs encounter an Asian crime family, dodge deathtraps, and battle Mythos monsters in an adventure inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Though written for Pulp Cthulhu, the scenario can easily be ‘de-pulpified’ for a less hyperbolic experience. Los Hobos and the Wolves of Carcosa Alex Guillotte ($6.95, 66 page PDF) February of 1935 – It's the height of the Great Depression, and a group of hobos agree to transport a mysterious package from the US to Mexico, unaware that they're being hunted by a horde of preternatural wolves, a tenacious detective, a maniacal luchador, sinister fishmen, a fanatical carny, and a seductive snake woman cultist, each with their own deadly intentions. As they traverse the unforgiving landscape of Baja California, nerves are tested, blood is spilled, and survival becomes the only law in this pulse-pounding scenario that dumps the characters into a meat grinder of horror, madness, and thrilling grindhouse action. Complex 347-5 Patrick Corcoran ($3.99, 16 page PDF) It is 1984 and all hell is breaking loose at an ICBM complex with a missile capable of launching a nine Megaton nuclear warhead. The investigators are a team of nuclear scientists, engineers, and Air Force personnel sent 14 stories into the earth to secure the missile and save the crew. Designed to be played in a single session, it takes inspiration from body/monster horror set in an isolated setting like; Alien, The Descent, The Thing, Pontypool, and The Void Flash Cthulhu - Be Good Neighbours Michael Reid ($0.99, 6 page PDF) Arkham outskirts, 1933. The Matthews, a depression-era family in hard times, find an old farmhouse outside of Arkham for a shockingly low price, and given the economic downturn, they take the chance. The Schoolmarm's Ghost Andy Miller ($4.99, 58 page PDF) How did your best friend actually die?... When the letter noting Eleanor Hamilton had died comes and the investigator has inherited her belongings, there’s little choice but to go from the civilization of Seattle to the frontier of Oregon and the little town of Independence. However, something seems odd about Eleanor Hamilton’s death. Then, something happens to convince her the death was actually a murder. Down Darker Trails scenario set in the village of Independence, Oregon, in 1877. Kane's Tone Orlando Moreira ($4.49, 58 page PDF) You wake up... You sit among trees, lying on soft pine needles. Your clothes are torn, your hands are scratched. You’re in pain. You don’t know how you got here. And you don’t know who you are. There’s a dim, pulsing yellow light at the top of the hill, nearby. Something is very wrong. Will you figure out what happened in time to avoid what is coming? Modern cosmic horror scenario designed for a single, intense three-hour session that you will never forget. WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE MISKATONIC REPOSITORY COMMUNITY PROGRAM? Under the Miskatonic Repository community content license, Call of Cthulhu fans can make their own work for use with the game line available to the public, using guidelines, templates, and art provided by Chaosium. Whether you share your content for free or put it up for sale, this program is a digital home for terror that joins the dreamscapes of all who peruse it. Miskatonic Repository Guidelines for Content Creators

Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game – Watch the AMA with the Designers; try the game for yourself on Tabletop Simulator! Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game continues to rocket down the tracks over at Kickstarter. If you're thinking about jumping on board, here's a few things to help make up your mind: Watch the AMA with the Designers Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game designers Adam Kwapiński and Michał Gołąb Gołębiowsk answer questions about designing this immersive co-op adventure in the world of Call of Cthulhu! Hosted by Chaosium's Bridgett Jeffries. Read the Rules The rules of the game (prototype) are available to download from the Kickstarter page. Take a look at a tutorial, with JonGetsGames Watch JonGetsGames teach the game as it is being played: And try the game for yourself on Tabletop Simulator! Love the premise of the game, but you are not sure if you’ll love the gameplay? Worry not! From now on, you can play the entire game online before committing to any pledge! Just click HERE to subscribe to the Tabletop Simulator workshop module for Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game. After you play the game, make sure to fill out the tester’s questionnaire we’ve provided (you will find it on the tablet in the upper left corner of the table). This way, we’ll be able to make the game better, and put your name in the testers' credits in the rulebook! Note: To play the game you have to have Tabletop Simulator on Steam. This is a paid product and while our demo module is obviously free, you will have to purchase the software itself in order to play.

Our Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game Kickstarter is rocketing along the rails — and to mark its meteoric success, we've decided to do something special with the legendary tabletop roleplaying game campaign it is based on... For the duration of the board game Kickstarter campaign (April 19th), you can purchase our two-volume Horror on the Orient Express Call of Cthulhu campaign for only $49.99. Normally $89.99, that is a saving of $40! Note, you do not have to back the board game Kickstarter to avail yourself of this Chaosium.com exclusive offer. Winner of the 2015 Gold ENnie for Best Adventure, described as "a high water mark for Call of Cthulhu" and a "must-own campaign", this is is a reprint of the 2014 boxed set, reformatted into two hardcover books. 19 scenarios across 700 pages, Horror on the Orient Express is a modern classic. The adventure takes the intrepid investigators from London, to Paris, and to the ancient city of Constantinople. Horror on the Orient Express has won the following awards: 2015 ENnie Awards - Horror on the Orient Express - Best Adventure (Gold) 2015 ENnie Awards - Horror on the Orient Express - Best Production Values (Silver) 1992 Origins Awards - Horror on the Orient Express - Best Roleplaying Adventure 1992 Origins Awards - Horror on the Orient Express - Best Graphic Presentation of an RPG The $49.99 special price also includes a fold-out map of the route across Europe, and the PDF version is included for free. This is the definitive edition of Horror on the Orient Express. Don't miss your chance to get it for this special price, ends April 19th. https://www.chaosium.com/horror-on-the-orient-express-2-volume-set

Five days in and Horror on the Orient Express is thundering down the tracks! When we launched our Horror on the Orient Express The Board Game Kickstarter on April 2nd it quickly became a runaway train, reaching its initial funding goal ($50,000) in just ten minutes! And in the days since, the campaign has continued to thunder down the tracks, swiftly passing $800,000! With another 12 days in the campaign remaining, over 8,000 backers have already bought a First Class Ticket. If you're one of those who've already gotten on board, we thank you! If you haven't yet, we invite you to see what on's offer in this very special, immersive, co-operative board game. As we head to our final destination, we'll have more exciting news to share – more expansions, new stretch goals, daily reveals, and Kickstarter-exclusive special rewards. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chaosium/horror-on-the-orient-express-the-board-game

Announcing the Consumed by the Void Campaign Expansion for Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game! This expansion takes you on an unexpected side quest during your train ride—adding a whole new chapter to the adventure! Check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chaosium/horror-on-the-orient-express-the-board-game

Take on the role of an Investigator aboard the Orient Express & develop your skills as you play! Check out our latest Kickstarter update which dives into process of character development in Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game. Back it now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chaosium/horror-on-the-orient-express-the-board-game