MOB

The 'Unnatural Selections' series is our regular round up of notable Chaosium reviews worth a look. Congratulations are in order for Viral: A Modern Day Call of Cthulhu Scenario by Alex Guillotte and Bud. In record time it recently hit Platinum sales status in the Miskatonic Repository, our site for independent Call of Cthulhu creators at DriveThruRPG. You could say it went er.. viral. This is what reviewers and purchasers have said about it: "Viral is a masterpiece and every fan of horror roleplaying should play in it – it manages to take all those 'limitations' of modern horror [roleplaying] and turn them into terrifying strengths… where having a direct connection to YouTube, cellphones etc actually ends up increasing the tension as the PCs go deeper." — 1ShotAdventures, Top 10 Horror RPG Adventures You MUST Play. "A fantastic example of how to do a modern day (Call of Cthulhu) adventure right." — Seth Skorkowsky. "A highly original, superbly produced and insidiously chilling modern Call of Cthulhu scenario that raises the bar for creativity and production values among Miskatonic Repository scenarios." — Paul StJohn MacIntosh, RPG.net. "The next time you head out to a gaming convention or gathering around your home table, consider a night of horror with [Viral]... You and your table will have a memorable time and a great story to tell." — Rolling Boxcars. "A premium role-playing product with exceptional art and layout. 5 Stars" — Michael, F., DTRPG customer review. "Great pace, great concept and a very atmospheric feeling of mounting dread. Nice maps, images and production values are very much appreciated. 5 Stars" — Michael H., DTRPG customer review. "The rich back story will make it a really fun scenario to run as a keeper, and all the handouts, artwork, maps, and pre-generated characters are well thought out and cohesive throughout. 5 Stars" — Tristan N., DTRPG customer review. "All in all a great little scenario, which I intend to run for my home group next time they agree to take a break from fantasy RPGs. 5 Stars" — Debbie B., DTRPG customer review. "This has to be one of the best modern day Call of Cthulhu scenarios, I’ve ever played... Highly recommended. Buy it! 5 Stars" — Fabio, DTRPG customer review. "An excellent modern Call of Cthulhu scenario which takes a unique concept and aligns it with a fantastic location, dripping with atmosphere and gradually introduces small shocks that ramp up into mind-shattering revelations! Loved it! 5 Stars" — Jim M., DTRPG customer review. Viral: A Modern Day Call of Cthulhu Scenario is available in the Miskatonic Repository at DriveThruRPG in PDF and premium colour softcover and hardcover formats.

Jeff McAleer of The Gaming Gang says our Call of Cthulhu Classic Deluxe Box "isn't some collectors' item which should sit on a shelf. The entire contents of the box are absolutely playable to this day... there are years of CofC adventuring to be had with the rulebook and five supplements. My highest recommendation not only for fans of the system but for newcomers interested in giving the original game of Mythos horror a try. 10/10" Available now as a Chaosium.com exclusive, while stocks last.

Miskatonic Repository Con begins today! Enjoy a panel, sign up for a game (only a few seats available), or just come and hang with content creators from the Miskatonic Repository, Chaosium's platform for independent Call of Cthulhu creators at DriveThruRPG. plus special Miskatonic Repository Con Bundle! This special Miskatonic Repository Bundle contains 23 scenarios run during the 2022 Miskatonic Repository Convention. And during the convention, on October 14-16, they're sold at up to 60% off their normal price!

Rivers of London line editor and Call of Cthulhu associate editor Lynne Hardy talks about the different "goals" or "purposes" of a TTRPG. Are they Art, Education, or Entertainment? Part of our Chaosium Interviews series with James Coquillat.

Time to ready your blade with an evolving tabletop card game of swashbuckling, exploration, and intrigue: Pine Box Entertainment's 7th Sea 'City of Five Sails' has sailed through its initial funding target; now setting a course towards the first Stretch Goal... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pineboxllc/7th-sea-city-of-five-sails

Control one of 5 factions as you fight to influence and explore the independent and unruly city of Five Sails. Originally released in 1998 as a collectible card game, John Wick's 7th Sea has been a beloved card game and role-playing game setting for over two decades.Now, under license from Chaosium, Pine Box Entertainment is adding to the 7th Sea universe with the new expandable card game 7th Sea: City of Five Sails, now live on Kickstarter! City of Five Sails is an expandable card game set in the swashbuckling world of Chaosium's 7th Sea roleplaying game by John Wick. Players control one of five factions as they fight to influence, control, and explore the independent and unruly city of Five Sails. Primarily designed for two players, multiplayer allows for up to four players. Back it today! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pineboxllc/7th-sea-city-of-five-sails 7th Sea: City of Five Sails is an officially licensed card game produced by Pine Box Entertainment, a team independent from John Wick Presents and Chaosium.Chaosium's current and ongoing 7th Sea RPG and 7th Sea Khitai Kickstarter projects are completely separate and do not influence the production and distribution of Pine Box's card game Kickstarter project in any way.

This month marks the fourth anniversary of Chaosium founder Greg Stafford's passing, and we are pleased to present the 2022 Greg Stafford Memorial Award for Gloranthan Fandom at this time to Andrew Logan Montgomery. Andrew is the creator of the Six Seasons in Sartar trilogy in the Jonstown Compendium, Chaosium's platform for independent creators for the RuneQuest RPG and Greg Stafford's World of Glorantha at DriveThruRPG. Andrew's creations in the Jonstown Compendium are notable for being among the highest-selling and most critically-acclaimed of all titles there. His Six Seasons in Sartar was the first Jonstown Compendium title to attain Platinum Best Seller status. Among the dozens of five star reviews, it has been described as "one of the best RuneQuest adventures ever" (Shannon Appelcline) and "a superb treatment of community, myth, and tragedy in Glorantha [that] as a campaign starter has no equal" (Reviews from R'lyeh). This year he completed the trilogy of adventures with The Seven Tailed Wolf. The middle title in the Six Seasons in Sartar series is The Company of the Dragon. These works too have been raptursly acclaimed by Gloranthan fans. Andrew has a new Jonstown Compendium title in the works, and is now also working on several forthcoming projects directly for the Chaosium RuneQuest line. You can also see Andrew's thoughtful and incisive pieces about Glorantha (among other diverse topics) on his eponymous blog, which explores the otherworlds of fiction, magic, and gaming. Chaosium's Jeff Richard, whose creative director role encompasses all things Gloranthan, praised Andrew's work: "Drew is among the most talented mythologists I have the pleasure to know. His Six Seasons in Sartar series are among the best RQ scenarios ever written. I consider Drew a key collaborator on Glorantha, including on such things as new heroquesting rules, written scenarios and other Chaosium material that we can’t wait to release. His contributions to Glorantha have deeply enriched it and helped communicate that richness to countless others." On receiving the award Andrew said: "Greg has always been a hero of mine, so to be the 2022 recipient of the Greg Stafford Memorial Award is a tremendous honor. My deepest thanks go to Greg’s family and the fine people at Chaosium. 

Greg was among the first in the industry to grasp a fundamental truth. Whatever game you play, whatever the system or genre, when you follow your GM from this reality into that, you are undertaking a heroquest. Stories are transformative, stories we create collaboratively and together even more so. They are modern society’s remnants of the shamanic journey. The wonder of Greg was that instead of using his rich personal mythology to write novels, Greg focussed instead on giving us games. He gave us the keys to explore the Other Side ourselves. It’s a tremendous legacy, and one I am honored to play a very small part in carrying on." About the Greg Stafford Memorial Award The Greg Stafford Memorial Award for Gloranthan Fandom was established in November 2018 in memory of Chaosium's revered founder and original creative visionary Greg Stafford. With the blessing of Greg's family Chaosium will occasionally and irregularly present the award to recognise a significant and exceptional contribution to Gloranthan Fandom in a current year. Previous winners of the Greg Stafford Memorial Award for Gloranthan Fandom are: Lev Lafayette (2018), the driving force behind successfully bringing back RQ Con Down Under after a hiatus of twenty years Martin Helsdon (2019), author of the monumental fan work The Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass, based on Greg's writings Nick Brooke (2020), for his passionate advocacy of the Jonstown Compendium, Chaosium's community content platform for Glorantha on DriveThruRPG. Katrin Dirim (2021), for her vibrant Gloranthan art, inspired by artstyles from antiquity and the middle ages and capturing the essence of mythology.

Another friendship that goes back thirty years!

PAX AUS was a blast - exciting to be back after three years! I've already posted a lot of the great stuff that happened on the Chaosium Facebook page – our gaming tables booked solid, superb panels, Call of Cthulhu actual play on the main stages, Bridgett! – but here's a personal highlight. On Friday, Susan told me someone had come to our TTRPG sign-up table asking for me. He had fond memories of a RuneQuest game that I GMed at a convention many, many years ago. And when we did meet up on the last day of PAX AUS it turns out I have fond memories of that same game too! This was at Necronomicon '93 at Newtown High School in Sydney. I was running the RuneQuest scenario 'Last Tango in Pavis', set in Sun County (setting of my recently-published RQ supplement of the same name). We already had six people for the six player character slots, but Richard Warner was keen to play too, and most welcome. So, as already recounted here on BRP Central, I made up an extra player character for him on the fly: Thinking quickly, I said he was a disgraced 79 year old Yelmalio Light Priest busted back to the Sun Dome militia for farting in the temple, or some such. When Richard asked me what Yelmalio magic does he have, I said "all of it" (incidentally, presaging how Rune magic is done in RQG). When he asked what Yelmalio geases his character had, I replied "all of them!" (and we read them all out!) This made for some very amusing roleplaying, something Richard still remembers and so do I! And here at PAX AUS we both got to reminiscence about it, almost thirty years later!

To mark the fourth anniversary of Greg Stafford's passing, yesterday we released The Stafford House Campaign, a collection of Greg Stafford's RuneQuest Campaign Essays from 1978-1981. In this accompanying 'Out of the Suitcase' post, Chaosium president Rick Meints shares where he tracked down this wealth of unparalleled insights into the birth of RuneQuest from: obscure zine articles, published on mimeograph machines 40 years ago and now released as a new 84 page collection. https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-of-the-suitcase-35-from-the-archives-sage-advice-from-greg-stafford

Vale Greg Stafford, passed away four years ago today and greatly missed. #weareallus

Greg Stafford, legendary game designer and founder of Chaosium, passed away four years ago today. To mark the occasion, Chaosium has released The Stafford House Campaign, a collection of Greg Stafford's RuneQuest Campaign Essays from 1978-1981. Be transported in time to the earliest days of tabletop roleplaying games with the first volume of Chaosium’s Archival collection: The Stafford House Campaign. Greg Stafford’s RuneQuest house campaign has a kind of legendary status among fans of the game. Many of the original RuneQuest playtesters took part in it, which was hosted either at the Stafford home on Evelyn Avenue in Berkeley, or the first Chaosium office nearby. "We are fortunate that Greg kept notes of what went on, and often recorded player and player character information. We hope to uncover more such documents over time" said Chaosium President Rick Meints. This 84 page collection is available in Print (POD) $14.99 (price includes PDF) and PDF $7.99. The first two chapters of this collection are also available to download for FREE. The extensive notes compiled across this volume give unparalleled insight into the birth of RuneQuest, as seen through the eyes of the architect of Glorantha himself. He is greatly missed. #weareallus

Are you playing Call of Cthulhu during October? Share photos of your sessions on social media with the tage #Cthulhuween for your chance to win a fun, spooky prize!*prize may not actually be spooky. It may be very fun and enjoyable.

By David Larkins, Pendragon line editor. A new edition of the Pendragon RPG is coming! The intention of this series of design journals by Pendragon line editor David Larkins is to trace the path of development, starting in the early 1980s and culminating with the forthcoming new edition of the Pendragon RPG, which will be first to be wholly published by Chaosium in a quarter-century. Pendragon Design Journal #1: Where It All Began Pendragon Design Journal #2: Bringing the Light Pendragon Design Journal #3: A Modular Approach Pendragon Design Journal #4: Refining Traits and Passions Pendragon Design Journal #5: Honor and Glory Pendragon Design Journal #6: Combat! Pendragon Design Journal #7: The Social Game Pendragon Design Journal #8: The Battle System Pendragon Design Journal #9: Of Horses and Squires Pendragon Design Journal #10: Arthurian Acts Pendragon Design Journal #11: Writing the Starter Set Pendragon Design Journal #12: Writing the Starter Set, Part Two The last two instalments of these design journals have been about Writing the Pendragon Starter Set. But, before we press ahead on that front, I want to take a moment to instead highlight some of the outstanding art you’ll find in this set. Art is always a vital component of any role-playing game’s presentation. It is a portal into an imaginary world which helps the text on the page come alive. It establishes tone and atmosphere at a glance, and beckons the reader to explore more. It conjures imaginary vistas and speaks of adventures yet to come. With Pendragon, we particularly wanted to communicate the game’s medieval-fantastic atmosphere, as well as evoke the centuries-long tradition of Arthurian art—from illuminated manuscripts to the Pre-Raphaelites and Symbolists to realist book illustrations of today. Without further ado, I have pulled a half-dozen selections, presented in no particular order, for your delectation. First up we have Mark Smylie’s bird’s-eye panorama of the estate of one Sir Ector, located on the shores of bucolic Lake Bala high in the Cambrian mountains. It is here that a young lad by the name of Arthur is raised and squired, ignorant of the great destiny that awaits him. Next, a portrait of Arthur, now the so-called Boy King, on the occasion of his nuptials to the beautiful Lady Guenever. Eleonor Piteira evokes the symbolic significance of the union, as the young couple marry not for political gain, but for love. Fans of RuneQuest will no doubt recognize the distinctive style of Andrey Fetisov, who here gives us a peek into the lives of the common folk with his interpretation of a manuscript illustration from the 14th-century Holkham Bible. I’ve been a personal fan of the work of Eric Hotz for years now, and I’m thrilled to have his distinctive woodcut-style illustrations gracing the pages of the Starter Set. Here, he nicely sums up the hierarchy of the feudal system. Art and layout go hand in hand, as we can see here in this image of one side of the character folios that come in the box. This is Sir Clarion, one of eight pre-generated knights for you to choose from, brilliantly illustrated by Mathilde Marlot and Laurent Miny. Speaking of layout, I would like to end this set of previews with an acknowledgement of the brilliant work of Simeon Cogswell, Kalin Kadiev and Ash Stellmach, who all contributed wonderful works of medieval marginalia to surprise and delight the reader. Kalin even created an entire anthropomorphic alphabet! You can see more of Simeon’s gorgeous layout work, along with yet more inspirational art, in the pages of our Quick Start preview, The Adventure of the Sword Tournament.

The secret was revealed at PAX Australia tonight! (during the Acquisition Incorporated Plays Call of Cthulhu show) Regency Cthulhu releases at Chaosium.com worldwide October 27th! Full color hardback and special collectors' leatherette edition. Price includes PDF.

Here our resident Gloranthan guru Jeff Richard gives an overview of the various homelands your RuneQuest character could come from. He's talking to James Coquillat for of our Chaosium Interviews series on YouTube.

We (Chaosium) will give every encouragement to Tales of the Reaching Moon authors and artists who'd like to reprise and expand on their work via the Jonstown Compendium, and our wonderful community content ambassadors are here to help.

The editorial policy of Tales was that copyright of all the material published in the magazine (artwork & articles) is retained by the original authors.

The 'Unnatural Selections' series is our regular round up of notable Chaosium reviews worth a look. "It's how you do a weapons and equipment guide right", is how RPG Imaginings describes RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment, out in release in hardback, special leatherette, and PDF. Also available at DriveThruRPG. Reviewers and readers agree: here's what they think of the book: 5 STARS: Wow I have owned RuneQuest products for three decades, since the Avalon Hill boxed set... I've read many books since, but nothing has immersed me in what the world of Glorantha would be quite like this book did. Seeing the armor and equipment was one thing, but reading about regional foods, currencies, trade, and even seeing examples of shelters and an idea of what I can do with my ill-gotten loot helped me switch gears from bog-standard D&D-style fantasy into the Mythical bronze-age fantasy of Glorantha. It's not just a gear guide, it really does help wrap your head around Glorantha. Well worth the purchase." — Jeffrey W., DriveThruRPG review. 5 STARS: A must have for any RuneQuest GM So much more than a mere equipment book, or a plain catalogue of weapons, armors, etc., this is a precious guide to create a lively and vibrant world around Gloranthan characters. As always, a beautiful book, richly illustrated in a high quality print. — Ann J., Chaosium.com review. 5 STARS: So much more than just Weapons & Equipment Packed full of detail on weapons, armour and equipment but also covering markets, materials, beasts, labour, travel, dwellings, training and exotic items. It contains a wealth of Glorantha information and Runequest rules and is beautifully and informatively illustrated. — Tim C., Chaosium.com review. 5 STARS: Fantasy Shopping Like Tatler or Cosmo for the flush Conan the Barbarian in your life. Apart from how to spend your loot, there's plenty of insightful articles and essays that really add colour and depth to the game-world of Glorantha. Oh, and again: brilliant artwork & layout/design. Well done Chaosium! Keep 'em coming! — Innes S., Chaosium.com review. 5 STARS: A must have for GM and players that wants to add trade in their games Don't get fooled with the title, this book is very much more than just a list of weapons and equipment.... The First chapter is a must read if you want to introduce bartering and roleplaying opportunities to your markets and "shopping"... It follows with a chapter on "A Bronze Age world" full of information on specificities about Glorantha and its "Bronze Age" vibes. And then you have all those informations on goods, equipment (weapon and armors and much much more), mounts, beasts and even Dwellings. Top this with a chapter on Trainings and a very well written chapter on Exotic items and Enchantments. I'm always amazed at how Chaosium can fit this much of information and cool art in 130 pages. — Manuel M., Chaosium.com review. "This book is superb and offers so much more than you might expect in an equipment guide. Highly recommended." — M.T. Black. "I have a bone to pick with the brand-new RuneQuest Weapons & Equipment guide. Its title... Weapons & Equipment sounds like a laundry list for player character adventurers. This book is so much more. This book is RuneQuest: The Material Culture of Dragon Pass... For all of her wonders, her strangeness, Glorantha is an incredibly defined and real setting. Weapons & Equipment underscores this, and I suspect will change the way you think and feel about the game." — Andrew Logan Montgomery, Excavating Glorantha: A look at the RuneQuest Weapons & Equipment Guide. "It's how you do a weapons and equipment guide right — highly recommended." — RPG Imaginings.

Which Mythos monsters could beat up Cthulhu in a fight? For our Chaosium Interviews series with James Coquillat, Call of Cthulhu creative director Mike Mason talks about ranking the power of mythos entities. It’s not as simple as it might seem. For the many monsters in the Mythos, check out the 2-volume Malleus Monstrorum Slipcase and Malleus Monstrorum Keeper Deck.

7th Sea: City of Five Sails sets sail for Kickstarter on 11 October 2022. We took a first look at this new expandable card game from our friends at Pine Box Entertainment last month; here now is the a preview of the Kickstarter video: And here's an example of game play - the players are the finalists of the Gen Con 2022 7th Sea: City of Five Sails tournament, Stephen Skilton and Hayes Hunter: Sign up here to be notified when the Kickstarter commences on October 11!

Chaosium community ambassador Bridgett Jeffries is a special guest for PAX AUS We are excited to announce Chaosium's community ambassador Bridgett Jeffries is a special guest for PAX AUS, coming up on Oct 7-9 in Melbourne, Australia! At PAX AUS Bridgett will be participating in panels and live actual play events with her Australian Chaosium colleagues, signing copies of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Tips book at the Aetherworks booth, and running demo games with the Cult of Chaos. We're also planning a get-together for Chaosium community creators. Bridgett says, "Chaosium? PAX? Australia? Excuse me while I roll SAN. I'm looking forward to spending time with my Aussie Chaosium family and seeing how they do things Down Under." PAX AUS Panels with Bridgett Pen Is Mightier Than The Joystick: Writing For & About Games - 1:00 - 2:00PM Fri Oct 7 NBN Theatre Leveling Up: Tips and Tricks for Running TTRPGs - 5:30 - 6:30PM Fri Oct 7 Fruitbat Theatre PAX AUS Actual Play Events with Bridgett Chaosium Presents: Call of Cthulhu Live - 7:30 - 10:30PM Sat Oct 8 Logitech Quokka Theatre TBA Book Signing with Bridgett (Aetherworks Booth) Bridgett is signing copies of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Tips book - 2:00 - 3:00PM Sat Oct 8 Aetherworks Booth (#TT910) Community Creator Lunch with Bridgett (off-site) At lunchtime on Sunday Oct 9 we're planning a social get together for Chaosium community content creators - (Miskatonic Repository, Jonstown Compendium, Explorers Society). Anyone interested in creating for these programs is most welcome! Venue TBA, but will be close by to the MCEC.

Chaosium's Lynne Hardy, line editor of our forthcoming Rivers of London RPG and Associate Editor for Call of Cthulhu, shares her insights to James Coquillat about evolving perspectives and voices in gaming for our Chaosium Interviews series. Topics covered include "Is the TTRPG industry different for women than for men?", promoting inclusivity, examples of Good Spaces, and advice for young women entering TTRPGs. Read Lynne's work in The Children of Fear.

PAX AUS is coming up soon, from October 7-9 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Australia – and Chaosium will be there!Thanks to an awesome team of volunteer GMs from the Cult of Chaos, we'll be running demo scenarios for our tabletop RPGs Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, and Pendragon!Each adventure takes approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours to play. These have been written as introductory adventures, ideal for people who have never played the game before (or who have never even played a tabletop RPG before). But seasoned gamers will enjoy playing them too. Sign up to play on the day! Call of Cthulhu The Necropolis: "Uncover Terrifying Secrets in the Sands below Egypt" Pendragon Dream of a Tower: "You are on a Knight's quest, seeking a blood red moon and a tall tower, black as night." RuneQuest Stealing the Eye: "It's the night of the black moon: can you steal a valuable jewel, right under the noses of the temple guards?" Plus, courtesy of our Australian fulfilment partner Aetherworks, we'll have the full range of Chaosium products for sale at the Aetherworks Booth in the Exhibitor Hall. PANELS, ACTUAL PLAY, AND A SPECIAL GUEST Chaosium is also taking part in panels and actual play events at PAX AUS. We'll be announcing the details shortly, along with a surprise special guest