MOB

Apropos of nothing, here's a parable from legendary game designer Greg Stafford: Back in 1966, Greg first started creating Glorantha, future setting of the RuneQuest TTRPG. He began by describing the west coast of the northern continent. Wizards lived there, on the coast... Greg describes how these wizards built up a great empire and, using ruthless means, tried to consolidate all of the stories and myths of the world into a great unified whole under their control. (Yes, you could say these wizards "Gathered together all the Magic".) This hubristic scheme failed – the great empire of the God Learners managed to make so many enemies and have such internal contradictions that eventually what they so painstakingly built was torn apart in a terrible catastrophe that ended the age. Islands sank, the land was shattered. But from the ashes arose vibrant new kingdoms, who made their own way in the world without reference to the past. The once glittering empire of the wizards was shunned and forgotten, their very name cursed. Now, all of this Greg Stafford dreamed up in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when tabletop gaming was in its infancy. (Folks, this stuff predates TSR, let alone WotC.) Greg went on to found Chaosium in 1975 to publish his board game White Bear & Red Moon, and then the TTRPG RuneQuest (1978). Both games are set in his world of Glorantha, whose genesis began with Greg's tale of the rise and fall of the wizards living on the northern coast. When Greg passed away in 2018, John Wick in his tribute reminded everyone of the 'Stafford Rule': “The older I get, the more I hear young RPG designers say ‘Never been done before!’ And then I just point to stuff Greg Stafford wrote about a few decades ago.” Admittedly, the Stafford Rule is more about revolutionary game mechanics than linking happenings in a fictional setting to real world drama. But this insight did make @Jeffand the rest of the RuneQuest dev team chuckle. We think Greg would have smiled cheekily too.

Last Saturday, January 7th, Australian Call of Cthulhu writer Kelly Grant passed away from cancer at the age of 58. Today, in Kelly's honour, we're releasing her work 'Women of the French Revolution'. This is a free 11 page resource to use with our Call of Cthulhu historical supplement Reign of Terror. Recognising that the original Reign of Terror did not offer many opportunities for female investigators, Kelly helped rectify that by writing 'Women of the French Revolution' for Love Eterne, the forthcoming second volume for our Call of Cthulhu French Revolution setting. Kelly also wrote a new scenario for Love Eterne, 'The Poisoned Garden'. You can read more about these and the other Call of Cthulhu projects Kelly worked on for Chaosium in our tribute, posted earlier this week. Reign of Terror project lead Mark Morrison said, "It was such a pleasure to work with my clever, brilliant friend Kelly on new material for Reign of Terror. Her article on Women of the French Revolution gave me so many new insights into the period, as indeed happened on any subject every time I spoke with her. If Louis XVI’s Versailles had existed in her time, I’m sure she would have marched on it.” Multi-talented, passionate, cerebral and caring, Kelly still had much to offer creatively, and we will miss her terribly. Our heartfelt condolences go to Kelly’s husband Martin and their girls Adele and Grace, and their family and friends. Download Kelly Grant's Women of the French Revolution: A resource to use with Call of Cthulhu's Reign of Terror Setting. Reign of Terror is available direct from Chaosium in full colour hardback (price includes PDF), and PDF. Also available in retail distribution, and DriveThruRPG and Roll20. Many thanks to Mike Mason, Nick Nacario, Susan O'Brien, and Mark Morrison for their assistance in putting together this tribute to Kelly so quickly. The Call of Cthulhu projects Kelly worked on for Chaosium will leave a legacy of creativity and inspiration.

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Want to try a new TTRPG in 2023? Or get your friends into playing Call of Cthulhu or RuneQuest? — Call of Cthulhu Starter Set – $0.99 — RuneQuest Starter Set – $0.99 Both games are based on the world-renowned Basic Roleplaying System (BRP), which uses a roll-low D100 core mechanic that is simple to learn and teach (also currently available at DriveThruRPG for $0.99!). These offers all end January 19th.

More apropos of nothing... Call of Cthulhu Starter Set – $0.99 RuneQuest Starter Set – $0.99 Both games are based on the world-renowned Basic Roleplaying System (BRP), which uses a roll-low D100 core mechanic that is simple to learn and teach (also currently available at DriveThruRPG for $0.99!).These offers all end January 19th.

Chaosium is pleased to be part of the Open RPG Creative License initiative, announced today by our friends at Paizo. In response to Wizards of the Coast’s new version of the Open Game License, Paizo will spearhead the development of a system-neutral open RPG license that can be freely used across the tabletop RPG industry. Chaosium, Green Ronin, Kobold Press, Legendary Games, and Rogue Genius Games are already on board, and other companies are expected to join. Chaosium issued its own (non-WotC) Open Game License for its Basic Roleplaying System in 2020, enabling designers to create their own roleplaying games using the Basic Roleplaying rules engine, royalty-free and without further permission from Chaosium. At the time, Chaosium raised concerns about serious deficiencies and legal uncertainties in the WoTC OGL, especially if it was being used for non-D20 games. "Although Chaosium has never used the WotC OGL we are very happy to be working with the rest of the industry to come up with a system-wide OGL that anyone can use." said Chaosium vice president Michael O'Brien.

After inadvertently insulting the president of the Avalon Hill Game Company, Rick Meints missed out on a picking up a small piece of RuneQuest history. In his latest 'Out of the Suitcase' post, he talks about how it took him nearly 29 years to finally get a copy for his collection. https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-of-the-suitcase-37-a-recent-addition-to-my-collection-29-years-after-unknowingly-insulting-the-president-of-avalon-hill

Basic Roleplaying aka 'The Big Gold Book' has rocketed from Platinum to ADAMANTINE Best Seller in less than 24 hours! Wonder if that's some sort of DriveThruRPG record? ...might have something to do with our 400 page #TTRPG toolkit being only 99c (for a limited time – normally $21.95). If you're looking for a highly versatile RPG system that's intuitive and easy, and which you can apply to any setting, come check it out! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/24384/Basic-Roleplaying

Currently available in softcover from Chaosium.com, US only: https://www.chaosium.com/basic-roleplaying-softcover

Apropos of nothing 🤔... we've made Basic Roleplaying aka 'The Big Gold Book' only 99 cents on DriveThruRPG (normally $21.95)*. At some point, almost every gamemaster wants to create their own Mythic World. That's what the Basic Roleplaying System (BRP) is all about! It is simple, fast, and elegant, using a skill-based percentile system. Combat is fast and deadly, and with a strong focus on non-combat skills that some game systems are challenged to support. Players roll percentile dice against the Gamemaster-led opponents, or even themselves. At the core, most Chaosium RolePlaying games use a variation of the Basic RolePlaying System, which started with RuneQuest. Call of Cthulhu, StormBringer, SuperWorld, Pendragon, and others (including, most recently Rivers of London) followed. So, if you want to create your own Mythic World and leverage a proven system that is the backbone of some of the most successful games in RolePlaying history, look no further! Also check out the BRP Wiki. *We'll keep it that price until the end of DriveThruRPG's current 'New Year - New Game' sale (ends January 19th).

Talented artist Gary Bedell talks about the art they created for the Rivers of London TTRPG, as well as sharing valuable insights about working as an artist across various industries. Gary is talking to James Coquillat as part of our Chaosium Interviews series. Catch them all at our Chaosium YouTube channel!

On Saturday January 7th Australian Call of Cthulhu writer Kelly Grant passed away from cancer at the age of 58. Multi-talented, passionate, cerebral and caring, Kelly still had much to offer creatively, and we will miss her terribly. In her memory, later this week we'll be releasing her work 'Women of the French Revolution', a free 11 page downloadable resource to use with Call of Cthulhu's historical supplement Reign of Terror. Kelly first began writing Call of Cthulhu scenarios for Australian RPG conventions in the 1990s, and later was part of a small team writing, producing and coding the popular MMORPG DragonRealms. She took a lengthy break from game writing while completing a PhD in Art History (including field work in Pompeii!) and raising a family, but returned to writing for Call of Cthulhu in recent years with a flourish. There are three Call of Cthulhu projects Kelly worked on for Chaosium that will leave a legacy of creativity and inspiration: Kelly’s scenario 'The Singular Serum of Dr Contarini' will feature in the next volume in the Mansions of Madness series of adventures; its setting shows off her deep love of and rich knowledge about the city of Venice and its history. Kelly was also writing 'The Relic': a mini campaign that begins in the trenches of World War One and, with a nod to Foucault's Pendulum, initiates a quest for Templar treasure. Unfortunately, before her illness took hold, Kelly was only able to fully complete the first scenario in this imaginative and erudite campaign which would have led the investigators to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and thence to the Dreamlands. But we will see what is possible with this exceptional though sadly unfinished project. 'A Poisoned Garden' is Kelly’s scenario for Love Eterne, a second volume in the works for our Reign of Terror French Revolution setting. Recognising that the original Reign of Terror did not offer many opportunities for female investigators, Kelly helped rectify that by writing 'Women of the French Revolution' for Love Eterne. We'll be featuring it as a tribute to her later this week. Members of Chaosium’s Australian team enjoyed tabletop gaming with Kelly over many years, going all the way back to those early gaming conventions. The great times are too many to recount, but some examples in recent years include Andrew playing in her long-running Horror on the Orient Express campaign; Allan and I playtesting the next part of 'The Relic'; Kelly throwing herself wholeheartedly into Mark and James C.'s experimental 40 player Shadow of the Demonlord campaign; and the regular Pathfinder 2 campaign Susan played in with Kelly, and Kelly’s husband and youngest daughter. Kelly was also a highly talented potter and ceramicist, and taught art and art history at the university level. Her tentacled mugs – examples of which you can see illustrating the Women in Tabletop Gaming Interview we did with her in 2018 – are a much sought-after specialty for Australian Mythos fans. Our heartfelt condolences go to Kelly’s husband Martin and their girls Adele and Grace, and their family and friends. Michael O’Brien 8th January 2023

TL;DR — Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Pendragon, 7th Sea, Rivers of London, Questworlds and the rest of the Chaosium family of games are utterly unaffected by whatever happens with the D&D OGL. CBR article here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/how-dnd-open-gaming-license-changes-will-impact-other-ttrpgs/ar-AA164K6Z

Darren provided editorial support on our 7th Sea novels and the latest edition of Phyllis Ann Karr’s The Arthurian Companion. None of these have been released yet.

New Gamemaster Month is the annual month-long seminar in the form of twice-weekly posts, guiding prospective GMs up to and through their first game. Its organised by our friends at Monte Cook Games and begins today! As one of the six game companies taking part, our featured system is RuneQuest! Want to get Started? Check out the first New Gamemaster Month post here: WELCOME, AND LET’S GET STARTED! – and then select "RuneQuest" as your chosen system. Chaosium's posts were written by RuneQuest creative director Jason Durall, who has been playing and gamemastering for more than 35 years. What do I need? You’ll need a copy of the RuneQuest Starter Set or RuneQuest core rules. These titles are available in print and PDF, and available from Chaosium.com, DriveThruRPG, and wherever you buy roleplaying games. If you purchase from Chaosium.com, you will get 10% off your total order by using coupon code at checkout: NewGamemasterMonth2023 The code is valid through to 1 February 2023, and can be used once per customer.

As I noted on the other thread, the Bits and Mortar scheme is not meant for online sales (even if the seller also has a physical store front). Yes, we do. Our return is significantly more if you buy direct from Chaosium, compared to buying from a retailer or DriveThruRPG or Amazon or other online seller.

As featured on the Chaosium news blog (Journey to Jonstown #50): https://www.chaosium.com/blogjourney-to-jonstown-50-out-now-the-comprehensive-jonstown-compendium-catalogue-2022-edition

The team at Chaosium is saddened by news of the passing of our hobby game industry friend and colleague Darren Watts. Darren’s most visible fame in tabletop publishing came from his work on the Champions superhero role-playing game. Along with Steven Long and other investors, he founded DOJ (“Defenders of Justice”) in 2001 to purchase the rights to Champions and the rest of the Hero System game line. Darren served as president of the revitalized Hero Games for a decade. In that time, the company released many popular and critically acclaimed titles, including books Darren designed or co-designed such as Galactic Champions, Millennium City, and Lucha Libre Hero. Since leaving Hero in 2011, Darren designed or wrote for the Star Trek and Doctor Who RPGs, as well as Darren Watts’s Golden Age Champions in 2017; We Rate Dogs: The Card Game, published by Chronicle Books in 2019; and two recent Ghost Show Press film essay collections, Transgressive Horror and Subversive Sci-Fi. Darren also worked behind the scenes for many publishers, including Chaosium, where he provided recent editorial support on our 7th Sea novels and the latest edition of Phyllis Ann Karr’s The Arthurian Companion. Darren’s most lasting impact on the tabletop community may come from the hours and effort he devoted to supporting smaller publishers and independent creators, helping them craft better games and find their audience through his work with Indie Press Revolution, local gaming conventions, the Metatopia Game Design Festival, and the First Exposure Playtest Hall at Gen Con. Darren was known in industry circles as a community builder with a strong desire to improve the quality of the games we all publish and play, but also the social conditions that underpin their creation. He always made time to listen to both industry newcomers and old friends, and to offer encouragement, advice where requested, or a witty remark certain to recenter a grim discussion on to more hopeful, or at least more amusing, possibilities. Our condolences go out to Darren’s wife Diane and their families, and to his friends and fans around the world. The hobby and the world are diminished by his passing. James Lowder 1 January 2023

Here's everything we released in 2022 on DriveThruRPG in case there's something you missed for your DriveThruRPG library: December Khitai Core Rulebook (7th Sea) 7th Sea: Khitai is a standalone tabletop roleplaying game of action, drama, danger, suspense, and heroism in a world inspired by mythic, fantastical Asia. November Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game (Rivers of London/BRP) Based on Ben Aaronovitch's novels, in Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game players take on the roles of newly recruited members of the London Metropolitan Police Service’s special magic branch, aka “the Folly.” Regency Cthulhu (Call of Cthulhu) The Mythos Comes to Jane Austen’s England! October The Stafford House Campaign (RuneQuest) A Collection of Greg Stafford's RuneQuest Campaign Essays 1978-1981 September Pendragon Quickstart (Pendragon) Special free preview of the rules for Pendragon 6th Edition, plus The Adventure of the Sword Tournament scenario. August RPG Writer Workshop RuneQuest Summer 2022 [BUNDLE] (RuneQuest) RPG Writer Workshop Call of Cthulhu Summer 2022 [BUNDLE] (Call of Cthulhu) The Leaves of a Necronomicon (Mythos fiction) Under the guidance of Shirley Jackson Award-winning editor Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., The Leaves of a Necronomicon traces the impact of a single copy of the mysterious work on its owners and those around them as it passes from hand to hand across the decades. January RPG Writer Workshop Fall 2021 CoC Vol 2 [BUNDLE] (Call of Cthulhu) RPG Writer Workshop Fall 2021 CoC Vol 1 [BUNDLE] (Call of Cthulhu) Plus, over the course of 2022 there were many dozens of community content titles added to the Miskatonic Repository (Call of Cthulhu), Jonstown Compendium (RuneQuest/Glorantha) and Explorers' Society (7th Sea)!

FINAL DAY! Today (Dec 31st) is your LAST CHANCE EVER to order Khan of Khans and Miskatonic University: The Restricted Collection. And for only $9.99 each! We will be turning off sales at 11.59pm PT. Chaosium founder Greg Stafford (shown below demoing Khan of Khans at Gen Con 2017) said he was "pleased and flattered to have gaming genius Reiner Knizia create a game based on Glorantha". With our licensing collaboration now coming to an end, we'd like to thank Dr Reiner Knizia for working with us to create and release two award-winning games that were well-received by fans and reviewers, and whose replayability will give those who own them many years of fun to come. KHAN OF KHANS $24.95 $9.99 (You save $14.96) MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY: THE RESTRICTED COLLECTION - $24.99 $9.99 (You save $15.00) – US warehouse only: now sold out everywhere else –

Yes, this is off-topic as it is not even possible to buy a physical copy of Rivers of London yet (but note an online seller should not be providing PDFs of any kind as part of the Bits and Mortar scheme).

Earlier this year Chaosium formed a licensing partnership with Ukraine-based games publisher Geekach to produce a local Ukrainian edition of the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game. And now we delighted to say that – under very challenging circumstances – Geekach have released the Call of Cthulhu Quick-Start Rules in Ukrainian as the first product in the line. The Quick-Start Rules also include the classic introductory adventure 'The Haunting', a rite of passage for Call of Cthulhu gamers world-wide. Currently available as a free download, and print copies will be available soon! Оголошення Поклику Ктулху українською Раніше цього року Chaosium уклав ліцензійне партнерство з українським видавцем ігор Гікач, щоб створити локальне українське видання настільної рольової гри Call of Cthulhu. І тепер ми раді повідомити, що – за дуже складних обставин – Гікач випустив Правила швидкого старту Call of Cthulhu українською як перший продукт у лінійці. Правила швидкого старту також включають класичну вступну гру «The Haunting», обряд посвячення для геймерів Call of Cthulhu з усього світу. Наразі доступно для безкоштовного завантаження, а друковані копії будуть доступні незабаром!

Lurkers in the Mist Chris Huning ($2.99, 38 page PDF) 1920s scenario that takes the players to the remote mountains of far Northern California as part of an archeological expedition wherein they confront the reality behind local stories of Man-bears and Star-Bugs. All Part of the Game Matt "Doc" Tracey ($5.99, 24 page PDF) It's been years since you and your friends graduated from Miskatonic University you've sadly grown apart. But out of nowhere, one of your contemporaries reaches out hoping to rekindle the flame of friendship with a murder mystery party, playing on your collective love of the macabre as kids. He promises a unique experience, where the entire mansion is a site for a fabricated murder to be solved and the masked staff serving as both potential victims or the murderer. What could go wrong? Trapped inside a mansion with a corpse, a befuddled staff, and a murderer, can the investigators solve the crime? Are they even in danger? Or is it all part of the game? Play, Repeat, Return Braydon Fiveash, Stars Are Right ($3.50, 29 page PDF) On a bright summer's day in Alaska, something is lurking at the edge of the investigator's property, watching their every move. As the investigators sleep, their dreams are filled with horrific visions, and when they awake, they find themselves hooked up to an alien life-support machine with a blizzard raging outside. Has a blizzard hit Alaska during the summer, or have they been pulled through time? The Forbidden Door Matthew Tansek ($7.99, 44 page PDF) Kauai rises out of the pacific shrouded in mist and jungle. Strange things have been reported by lifelong residents and tourists alike. Lights aglow in strange colors upon the mountains, nocturnal insects buzzing in ways that sound like speech. Unnamed men on the roads at night keeping people from traveling to remote destinations. Private investigator Brian Cray needs your help if he is going to find notable Archaeologist Robert Lockwood and his research assistant. Leads are growing thin and a trek out to the research camp high up upon the Napali coast might be the only move left if he is going to find some answers, and he doesn’t want to go it alone. You’ve dreamt about a door under the island. A door in the darkness. Is that what Lockwood discovered? Is that why he is missing? Pack your bags, you’re about to find out! Case by Case Josh Roe ($3.99, 17 page PDF) Sunday, October 13th, 1996, agents from the FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. are sent to the small town of Fogwood Oregon where previous agents from the Portland Field Office concluded a missing person case six days earlier, but concerned citizen Duane Walker isn’t satisfied and hasn’t stopped writing and calling the FBI everyday since. The Amber Wizard Wylight ($3.99, 15 page PDF) A concerned actress asks the players for help regarding her missing co-star from the rather salacious and popular horror picture The Amber Wizard. Confusing matters further, her missing co-star was seen in recent newsreels for the Academy Awards. The investigation leads the players through a series of conspiracies and cover-ups all pointing back to the charismatic and eccentric movie producer Nigel Marlow. As events unravel, their inquires take them to a studio back lot constructed to facilitate a grand ritual that would bring an alien being of immense power into our world. Annals of Flint's Detective Agency Chapter 2: Mesistophele's Malicious Milk Mark Potter (Pay-What-You-Want, Recommended price: $0.00, 34 page PDF) In the second outing of Flint's Detective Agency, get involved in the murky world of organised crime in the Prohibition era! The team are hired to clear the name of a young rich kid who ran amok in a restaurant. Are illegal substances to blame, or is there a more sinister conspiracy at play? The Edinburgh Diversions - Volume 1 Keith D. Edinburgh ($0.95, 38 page PDF) A collection of six short 'outline' scenarios for Call of Cthulhu 7e set in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. Each scenario is perfect for slotting into a larger campaign, or for playing when time is tight. They come complete with backgrounds & synopses, and NPC stats for the characters and creatures investigators encounter in the course of the stories. Three are set in the 1920s, and three are set in the modern day. Although set in Edinburgh, they can easily be adapted to be set anywhere with the minimum of effort. The Edinburgh 1920s Casebook - Volume 1 [BUNDLE] Keith D. Edinburgh (2 PDFs, total price $7.90, special bundle price $4.95) Consists of the titles The Burry Man and The Pharaoh's Sacrifice. The 2022 Collection [BUNDLE] Keith D. Edinburgh (6 PDFs, total price $21.73, special bundle price $10.99) Consists of the titles A Red, Red Rose The True Housewives of Arkham, The Edinburgh Diversions - Volume 1, Tourist Trap, Last Christmas, The Burry Man, and The Pharaoh's Sacrifice. Tall Tales of Cthulhu - vol 1 [BUNDLE] Keith D. Edinburgh (2 PDFs, total price $4.98, special bundle price $3.49) Consists of the following titles Last Christmas, and The True Housewives of Arkham. Albion's Ruin Vol 1 T A Newman ($12.08, 202 page PDF) Consists of three titles The Prisoner's Dilemma, Secret Santa, and Be My Valentine. Holiday Bundle 2022 [BUNDLE] Various (2 PDFs, total price $14.97, special bundle price $5.00) Consists of the titles Deep-Seeded Secrets, Mail-Order Bribe, and Taken For Granite. Amor Fati #1 [BUNDLE] Various (3 PDFS, total price $14.97, special bundle price $10.00) Consists of the titles Deep-Seeded Secrets, Mail-Order Bribe and Taken For Granite. Miskatonic Playhouse Winter Collection 2022 [BUNDLE] Various (5 PDFs, total price $25.31, special bundle price $10.12) Consists of the titles Alpaca on a Plane, Be My Valentine, Flesh Wounds, Host and Hostility: Three Regency Call of Cthulhu Scenarios, and The Castle of Greed. Shocking Shortcuts [BUNDLE] Various (4 PDFs, total price $22.00, special bundle price $15.00) Consists of the titles For One Night Only: A Brief Brush With Chaos, Shreds and Tatters: Six Tiny Interludes in Yellow, The Unravelling: A Starting Point for 1890's Adventures, and Through a Dream, Darkly: A Brief Experience in the Dreamlands. The Lakeside Bundle [BUNDLE] Various (3 PDFs, total price $35.00, special bundle price $27.50) Consists of the following titles Shreds and Tatters: Six Tiny Interludes in Yellow, The Boss: A Tale of Dark, Distilled Secrets in a Bottle, and When Angels Weep: A Study in Marble and Yellow. Snowed In [BUNDLE] Various (9 PDFs, total price $35.74, special bundle price $19.95) Consists of the following titles A Chill in Abashiri - A 1920s Taisho-Era Japan Scenario, Cold Hunger, Last Christmas, Play, Repeat, Return, Prisoners' Dilemma, Secret Santa, The Ghost of Bonnington Nunnery, The Grindhouse: Holiday Special, and The Sins of the Father - A Call of Cthulhu Scenario. Shurgas Mine Peter Wilbur ($5.00, 26 page PDF) Exploring for an abandoned gold mine, the investigators discover possibly more than they bargained for. Stars Are Right New Year 2023 [BUNDLE] Various (4 PDFs, total price $21.47, special bundle price $10.74) Consists of the following titles Good Vibes Only, Heartless in Loveland, Play, Repeat, Return, and The Castle of Greed. Plus there was a host of releases in various foreign languages including Italian, German, Korean, Polish, Spanish, and Swedish! Congratulations to all the independent creators who released in the program this year, especially those who published for the first time and alumni of the Storytelling Collectives's Write Your First Adventure Workshops. It's wonderful to have such a thriving creator community!And thank you to all the many thousands of Call of Cthulhu fans who bought Miskatonic Repository titles, left ratings and reviews, and helped spread the word!