MOB

Watching 'The Rings of Power' and Galadriel jumping off the boat just before it went through the magic portal to Valinor made me think of something I wrote about the Red Moon long ago. Apart from the Egi, I think there are many other positions of essentially "revered impotence" on the Red Moon for nobles, priests, and other worthy citizens of the Lunar Empire. For mystics, those in genuine honourable retirement, those who have suffered greatly for the cause, elderly “Model Citizens” (yeah, Soviet analogy), and other such types, it is a signal honour to be elevated with a one-way ticket to the Red Moon, there to spend the rest of your no doubt magically extended existence working on rarified pursuits in a state of satiated crimson radiance. But for those still in the prime of life, it’s oblivion as far as their temporal careers go (the "getting kicked upstairs" House of Lords analogy is exact: see Yes Minister, ep 5). Even worse - as with TRoP's Galadriel - it's an honour that is very difficult to decently refuse. But perhaps "approbation, elevation, and castration"* is better than the old Dara Happan method of having your eyes poked out and shoved in a tower, which is one other time-honoured alternative way to dispose of rivals. *I do mean metaphorically

Want to run a game of RuneQuest and not sure where to start? Chaosium's Jeff Richard shares advice about the rules basics, how to share lore, and what makes a good gamemaster.Part of our 'Chaosium Interviews' series with James Coquillat.

Chaosium is delighted to welcome Mark Morrison back to the Chaosium team. In the early 1990s, Mark was the line editor for the Stormbringer and Elric! RPGs. Today, he formally returns to the company as a member of our Community Ambassador team, supporting independent creators in our community content programs on DriveThruRPG. Along with existing Community Ambassadors Nick Brooke, Allan Carey and Bridgett Jeffries, on Chaosium's behalf, Mark will act as a first point-of-call and helpful sound board for prospective Miskatonic Repository and Jonstown Compendium content creators. "Mark's first ever Call of Cthulhu scenario 'The Crack’d & Crook’d Manse' appeared in an Australian magazine in 1984 and earned him a spot in H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands in 1986, so he’s looking forward to be helping new TTRPG creators on their own roads to publication in this role," said Chaosium vice president Michael O'Brien. Mark needs little introduction to Chaosium fans: Mark was creative lead of both editions of the renowned Call of Cthulhu campaign Horror on the Orient Express, co-author of both editions of Terror Australis, lead author of Reign of Terror, and the author of numerous other Call of Cthulhu scenarios. In between his Chaosium stints he has written and designed for videogames for Atari, THQ and Robot Circus, including the storyline for the recent Call of Cthulhu computer game developed by Cyanide. Nowadays he is also part of Campaign Coins, producing licensed metal products for Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, and other games. “I got my own start as a scenario writer at local conventions and fanzines, the perfect training ground for a lifetime in the profession. I’m really pleased to be invited back into the Chaosium fold to help new community writers along that same journey, by self publishing and sharing their stories with game groups around the world," said Mark. Chaosium's Community Ambassadors Mark, along with Allan, Bridgett, and Nick are here to provide advice with the various aspects of creating and publishing a community content work, including ideas generation, IP issues, writing, editing, art direction, layout, publication, and preparing a title for print-on-demand. Our Community Ambassadors can also direct queries to the appropriate person at Chaosium or DriveThruRPG if need be. The Miskatonic Repository is Chaosium's platform on DriveThruRPG for independent creators of gaming material for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game. It was launched in December 2018. The Jonstown Compendium, established in December 2019, fulfils the same function for RuneQuest and Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha. In 2023, Chaosium is launching a new community content program along similar lines for the Pendragon RPG. The success of these fan-driven programs is evident by their thriving communities of creators and the rapidly growing number of titles available, with more added every week.

Chaosium is coming to Dragonmeet in London this December! Come see us at the Novotel Hammersmith on Saturday 3rd December. Trade Hall In the Trade Hall hall we'll have a wide selection of Chaosium releases on offer including Cults of Cthulhu, A Time to Harvest, the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Tips book, Regency Cthulhu, RuneQuest: Weapons and Equipment, and more! Gaming The Dragonmeet Gaming Schedule is up: there are sessions of Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest available! Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game – Official Launch and Seminar (Seminar Room #2 - 1.00PM) Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game is based on the hugely successful series of novels by Ben Aaronovitch, and where better for its official launch than London itself? Join Rivers of London creator Ben Aaronovitch, and Chaosium's Paul Fricker, Lynne Hardy, Mike Mason, and Michael O'Brien for the official launch of Rivers of London: the RPG. See this eagerly awaited game for the first time, and hear about its genesis and development from Ben and the Chaosium creative leads for the project. We'll also announce what is further in store for the Rivers of London RPG line. Chaosium is proud to be an associate sponsor of Dragonmeet.

Yes, they'll be all available on YouTube in due course

Today Chaosium welcomes Keris McDonald to the team as associate editor for Call of Cthulhu. Keris comes to Chaosium as a successful author of genre fiction under different names, with novels published by Virgin and HarperCollins, among others. Her short story “The Coat Off his Back” was chosen for inclusion in Best Horror of the Year Vol. 7 (ed. E Datlow). Keris has been running and playing Call of Cthulhu since 1986, and LARPing since 1987, and is part of the creative team for Chaosium’s soon-to-be-released Rivers of London RPG. Call of Cthulhu creative director Mike Mason said, “Keris brings a wealth of writing and gaming experience, with her particular expertise with the Victorian era providing a valued asset as we turn our attention to the Cthulhu by Gaslight range."

Two Chaosium fiction releases are available now in trade paperback! Sisterhood: Dark Tales and Secret Histories Sixteen horror stories by some of the genre's leading female voices. In churches and convents and other religious communities, sisterhood takes many forms, forged and tested by such mundane threats as disease and despair, but also by terrors both spiritual and existential—Satan’s subtle minions and the cosmic nightmare of the Cthulhu Mythos. Sisterhood: Dark Tales and Secret Histories presents sixteen horror stories by some of the genre’s leading female voices. Their settings range around the globe and across the centuries, from 6th century Ireland to 17th century Virginia to Indonesia in the recent past. Contributors include such award-winning and critically acclaimed authors as Nadia Bulkin, Livia Llewellyn, Molly Tanzer, Sun Yung Shin, Gemma Files, Kaaron Warren, Damien Angelica Walters, and Selena Chambers. Sisterhood: Dark Tales and Secret Histories Edited by Nate Pedersen Cover art by Liv Rainey-Smith CHA6058 ISBN 978-1-56882-464-2 264 pages - trade paperback PRINT (price inc PDF) – USD$17.99 — Available from Chaosium.com (USA), other Chaosium warehouse locations and retail distribution to follow EPUB, PDF, and MOBI formats – USD$8.49 — Available now from Chaosium.com*, DriveThruFiction, and DriveThruRPG KINDLE – USD$8.49 — Available from Chaosium at Amazon.com Table of Contents: “The Wine of Men” by Ann K. Schwader “From an Honest Sister, to a Neglected Daughter” by Monica Valentinelli “Étaín and the Unholy Ghosts” by Lisa Morton “The Barefoot Sisters of Saint Beatriz of the Mountain” by Kali Wallace “Unburdened Flesh” by Penelope Love “Only Dead Men Do Not Lie: The Trials of the Formosans” by Kaaron Warren “Jane, Jamestown, The Starving Time” by Sun Yung Shin “Dorcas and Ann: A True Story” by Molly Tanzer “The Resurrected” by S. P. Miskowski “The Low, Dark Edge of Life” by Livia Llewellyn “The Anchoress” by Lynda E. Rucker “Siūlais ir Kraujo ir Kaulų (Of Thread and Blood and Bone)” by Damien Angelica Walters “Gravity Wave” by Nadia Bulkin “The Veils of Sanctuary” by Selena Chambers “The Sisters of Epione” by Alison Littlewood “Red Words” by Gemma Files The Leaves of a Necronomicon "What will you discover when you meet this gallery of fools and villains and dreamers?" —Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. The Necronomicon. For centuries, scholars of the occult have sought out the darkly fabled tome, hoping to gain insight into the secret workings of the universe—or unbridled power. Instead, the book rewards their pursuit with madness and devastation. 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. The history is told in braided novel form, with chapters contributed by a gathering of outstanding horror and dark fantasy authors, including S. P. Miskowski, Michael Cisco, Damien Angelica Walters, Nick Mamatas, Anna Tambour, and Jeffrey Thomas. The Leaves of a Necronomicon Edited by Joseph S. Pulver Sr. Cover design by Inkspiral Design CHA6059 ISBN 978-1-56882-408-6 256 pages - trade paperback PRINT (price inc PDF) – USD$17.99 — Available from Chaosium.com (USA), other Chaosium warehouse locations and retail distribution to follow EPUB, PDF, and MOBI formats – USD$8.49 — Available now from Chaosium.com, DriveThruFiction, and DriveThruRPG KINDLE – USD$8.49 — Available from Chaosium at Amazon.com Table of Contents: Introduction: From Hand to Hand . . . to Hand— by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. Chapter 1: The Bookmaker by Nate Pedersen Chapter 2: The Collector of Rare Editions by Donald Tyson Chapter 3: Down to a Sunless Sea by Allyson Bird Chapter 4: Dawn Watch by Daniel Mills Chapter 5: Liquor City by Nick Mamatas Interlude: In Waves by S. P. Miskowski Chapter 6: Eyes on Fire by Cody Goodfellow Chapter 7: Horrors Worse than Hell by Robert M. Price Chapter 8: Laying the Words by Don Webb Interlude: Mysteries Don’t Sleep by Anna Tambour Chapter 9: The Sun Saw by Mike Allen Chapter 10: American Ghost by John Claude Smith Chapter 11: Flickering I Roam by E. Catherine Tobler Chapter 12: Sewn into Pieces, Stitched into Place by Damien Angelica Walters Chapter 13: Too Many Pages by Simon Strantzas Chapter 14: 11:00 by Nikki Guerlain Chapter 15: Void Kiss by Michael Cisco Interlude: Letter Found Sitting atop a Rare Old Handbook of Dark Portent by Anna Tambour Chapter 16: And I Watered It in Fears by Sunny Moraine Chapter 17: Miles and Kathrine at the Crimson by Michael Griffin Chapter 18: Passages for the Dying and the Dead by S. P. Miskowski Chapter 19: Ménage à Trois by Ross E. Lockhart Chapter 20: The Persuader by Jeffrey Thomas Afterword: Over the Moon by Anna Tambour See more titles at Chaosium Fiction

Join our friends at Pixel Circus for an interactive Halloween experience on Sunday October 30th at 6.00PM PT / 10:00pm ET. The story of Ms Pixel's Fantastical Circus by Saige Ryan is guaranteed to be full of magic, monsters and mayhem! And what's a Circus without an audience? Pixel Circus will be hosting a private party in their Discord server during the show, with giveaways, special guests, and big surprises! Featuring the talents of Alexander Ward, Aabria Iyengar, Luis Carazo, Kailey Bray, and Emme Montgomery, with Saige Ryan as Keeper of Arcane Secrets. Watch on Twitch: twitch.tv/pixelcircus

7th Sea creator John Wick talks to James Coquillat talks about the greatest villains in fiction. Is Dracula the greatest literary antagonist?Part of our Chaosium Interviews series on YouTube.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we unfortunately have to delay the release of REGENCY CTHULHU (was scheduled to be released today).Never fear—as soon as we have more info on when this spooktacular book goes on sale, we will let you know!nb we are also delaying our Regency Cthulhu actual play show on Twitch until the book's release.

"It was like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert." — El @Runebloggershares reminiscences about the fanzine Tales of the Reaching Moon, and how it helped sustain RuneQuest - Glorantha fandom in the late 1990s - early 2000s. (And how various members of the Reaching Moon Megacorp that published it are now working at Chaosium today!) https://elruneblog.blogspot.com/2022/10/gloranthan-fanzines-tales-of-reaching.html

Our friends at The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program, who we recently featured in our Significant Streams, are crowdfunding “The Case of the Penumbral Gate”, the next season of their award-winning show, on Indiegogo! Aptly described as "actual play craftily merged with audio drama in the vain of a old timey radio serial" it's also got an accompanying book of Call of Cthulhu scenarios. This new story, as well as their award-winning season, “The Terrible Secret of Lot X” will be adapted into licensed Call of Cthulhu roleplaying scenarios, written by Keeper Luke Stram and illustrated by Jarrod Pope. The team from the Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program says, "We won’t be able to solve “The Case of the Penumbral Gate” without your support! Support this project and keep our indie RPG Audio Drama antics alive!" Support Here! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-call-of-cthulhu-mystery-program-s-next-chapter

Interested in joining us for Write Your First Adventure next month? The sooner you get registered, the sooner you receive our onboarding series! We have created a series of emails to help you get those creative juices flowing for November. There's a dedicated Chaosium Path including custom lesson plans to guide aspiring Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest authors. Register now at http://WriteYourFirstAdventure.com

We've hit 10,000 subscribers! Thank you Chaosium fans for supporting our presence on YouTube. It's great to hit the 10k milestone. We've got more exciting things to come. Stay tuned for more liveplays, product reveals, and interviews, as well as new exciting content like lore explainers, how to plays, and special surprise clips. Thanks for joining us. Now back to the show! https://www.youtube.com/c/ChaosiumInc

Coming this weekend! Four strangers are drawn into a supernatural investigation in this immersive, darkly atmospheric exploration of cosmic horror. Join Mark Meer as the Keeper of Arcane Lore as he guides Saige Ryan, Carlos Luna, Lucia Versprille, and Patrick Logan through an encounter with the servants of Yog Sothoth in Bookshops of Arkham. Episodes 1 & 2 of this brand new Call of Cthulhu actual play mini-series debut at Roll20Con on Sunday, October 23 at 2PM PT. Watch on Twitch, with future episodes to be released on Roll20’s Youtube channel later this fall. To celebrate the premiere, Chaosium has put together a special Roll20Con offer for Call of Cthulhu fans, so please tune in! Roll20app - Twitch

Crawling from dimensions you cannot comprehend, Penny Arcade's Kris Straub, Jerry Holkins, Ryan Hartman and Laura Stringer were joined by Chaosium's Bridgett Jeffries in the PAX AUS main theatre for Acquisitions, Inc Plays Call of Cthulhu, in front of a packed live audience. And now you can watch this feature event from the convention on YouTube:

Details here:

Details here:

"It is the closest most gamers can come to channeling Greg’s spirit." — says Guy H. in this customer review of The Stafford House Campaign, our collection of Greg Stafford's RuneQuest Campaign Essays 1978-1981.Now also available as a PDF at DriveThruRPG:https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/412892/The-Stafford-House-Campaign

Write Your First Adventure is open for registration! Starting November 1, join the Storytelling Collective for a month of creating for your favorite tabletop roleplaying game system. Once again, there's a dedicated Chaosium Path including custom lesson plans to guide aspiring Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest authors. Leading, if you wish, to publication at the end on the Miskatonic Repository and Jonstown Compendium community content programs at DriveThruRPG, as previous alumni have done: Join a community of over 10,000 writers in achieving your goal of becoming a published TTRPG author! Register now at WriteYourFirstAdventure.com!

Returning after years abroad, Mr. Reginald Fitzwilliam invites the gentry of Tarryford to dinner in celebration of the coming-of-age of his son. It's sure to be an unforgettable night.With genteel investigators Saige Ryan, London Carlisle, Paula Deming, Cynthia Marie, and your gracious Keeper, Brian Holland.Join us Oct 27th to celebrate the release of Regency Cthulhu.Watch at Chaosium's Twitch Channel.

Over 600 Chaosium titles are 20% off in DriveThruRPG's Halloween 2022 Sale. Spooky savings for the next two weeks.

Once again, independent Call of Cthulhu creators writing for the Miskatonic Repository have banded together to create a special bundle of Halloween! The 2022 Halloween Bundle features 13 different titles, with a total value of USD$36.37. The bundle is $19.99, so you save 45%! (nb If you already own a title, its price is deducted) And please take a look at Halloween Collections from previous years as well, all on sale this October: Miskatonic Repository Halloween 2019 Collection Miskatonic Repository Halloween 2020 Collection Miskatonic Repository Halloween 2021 Collection Happy Halloween! WHAT IS THE MISKATONIC REPOSITORY? Are you a Keeper looking for new scenarios and story elements? A player looking for something mysterious to spark a character idea? Is your group looking for eerie ideas to use in your game? The Miskatonic Repository is where you can find —and create —self-published material for the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. Interested in submitting content? Go here to see the guidelines, and here for the additional guidelines. No extra license is required. Get started and download the MS Word template or the InDesign template for Miskatonic Repository submissions, and check out our other free creator resources.

RPGs elevated to fine art! Jar Eel the Razoress is back, this time with a dark red patina. Sculptor Eric Vanel has once again cast Gloranthan hero Jar Eel the Razoress in bronze, in the 'heroic nude' style of classical antiquity. This magnificent work is for sale. #4 in an edition of 8 bronzes: https://www.ericvanel.com/projet-01

Unicorns have a whole other set of Unicorn-centric rules for their own progression in the Yelorna cult. Humans could try those too I suppose, but they would be severely limited by their inability to fart rainbows, which I understand is a major component in convincing the examiners.