Aerinyes

Agreed. I was an investigator in Shadows of You-Sothoth sometime in the mid-80s, and it was a blast. There were long stretches of time when I didn't play at all, until 7th edition came out, and Chaosium has done an excellent job of fine tuning. The rules are both fairly simple to use, and still contain enough complexity to fit a wide variety of play styles. Even better, the sheer number of published scenarios and campaigns is mind-boggling, and the quality is superb. There are also quite a few resources for CoC game props available for the industrious keeper. I've been making physical props as well as buying some, and it really adds to the atmosphere. I think you'll have a blast with the current state of the game!

Personally, I wouldn't use the readied rule during a chase. It would only affect who attacks first, but if there is an active chase, the person in the rear should have more of a benefit than the one running away. I suppose the guy running away could fire over his shoulder, but unless they are the best rootin' tootin' shootin' gunslinger in the whole dang galaxy, they're not going to hit anything anyway... So as you say, it would add complexity, but for me the real stopper is the idea of firing a gun while moving, let alone running. A guy running might point a gun and squeeze the trigger, but as far as hitting anything? Good luck.

I believe the digital props are going to be very dependent on your players and how they approach the game. Some people will find that using a phone or computer while trying to keep the mindset of the 1920s would break the mood, others will really enjoy the visuals. I found the digital props to be beautifully rendered, easy to use, and I'm still ambivalent as to whether I will use them in game. I think there were a couple intro freebies, but could be mistaken (or it could have been time-limited). I would suggest picking up one of them and seeing for yourself, then think about your players.

Keeper Bolog, I can't answer that particular question right now as I am away from my materials, and I'm a year or so away from running Masks anyway. What I can suggest is that you go straight to the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society website and buy every one of the props that they have. All of them. Don't ponder whether you will actually use them, or if they are good enough, or any of those normally well-considered questions before making a purchase. Just open your wallet with glee. If you don't have unlimited amounts of money, you can probably restrain yourself to the prop collections designed specifically for Masks of Nyarlathotep for now, but I assure you that once you have even one of their props in your hands, you will want them all. Every single one.

Something I've been doing for the past couple years now -- start a game world calendar, track the actual passage of time within the game framework. It takes a bit of work, sometimes you have to make adjustments to the scenarios to fit within the framework, but for players that get attached to their characters it works quite well. It allows players to change characters for a scenario or two so that their primary can rest, recuperate, regain some sanity... If you plan to run Masks of Nyarlathotep, don't forget there is a four year gap between the prologue in Peru and the main campaign. Running one-shots in between lets your players beef up for the main campaign, and you can then not pull any punches with a clear conscience...

Zero SAN absolutely does not rule out being a high-functioning individual. Just look at all the NPCs with zero SAN, and what they are capable of accomplishing. I would definitely question the motivations, morals, ethics, strategies, and tactics of such people, however, which may be why PCs with zero SAN are effectively removed from control of the player.

Spent some time searching without success, so throwing it out there. When using the spell Deflect Harm, what exactly happens? Does a weapon bounce off the caster, does it get pushed to the side, does it "pass through" the caster without doing damage, is the weapon stopped cold, or what? I'm thinking of the possible effects on bystanders. If someone swings a scythe at someone protected by Deflect Harm and it is literally deflected, pushed aside, then that scythe has lost no force, just changed direction. "Wait, Fred! I'll handle this!" Swoosh, thud. "Aw, man, I just scythed Fred in the face..." Or: "Watkins, take careful aim and shoot that maniac before he can plunge the ceremonial dagger into the sacrificial victim." Bang. "Watkins, did you by any chance misunderstand my directions? The objective here was to save Miss Penelope, not shoot her in the head." Clearly there are many cases where the caster would find such ancillary damage an exciting addition to the festivities, but I am curious if there is any kind of consensus as to how to handle it...

Good point. We began a game timeline in 1921, and are currently in August of 1922. So for my immediate purposes, I'm looking at the Mauretania, but frankly, usable floor plans of everything from a cottage to an office building, a riverboat to the Mauretania, are things that would be received happily. Plans included in scenarios generally take a large dollop of willing suspension of disbelief, and invites a dungeon crawl atmosphere rather than the sense that there are nooks and crannies everywhere that something could be tucked away in... "The millionaire's mansion has two stories and eight rooms." "Really?" "Well, they're big rooms, I guess."

A never-ending struggle for the poor abused Keeper is the search for existing floorpans for scenarios. Developing my own is prohibited by both time and talent. Recently I've been struggling with finding usable maps of a luxury steamship, although frankly there can never be too many excellent maps of just about any structure. Any ideas for sources?

This appeals to me. I've never been fond of the assumptions behind the tome-reading rules. It's either too easy or too arbitrary. This gives latitude to the players (if they want it), the keeper (also if desired), doesn't require any in-game mechanics (but could easily accommodate such antics if desired), and I will be adopting them forthwith.