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COVID-19 Shipping and Fulfilment Update - 10 September 2021 We hope that you, your family, and your friends continue to be in good health. Sadly, although it's been almost a year-and-a-half since our first COVID-19 shipping and fulfilment message, disruptions continue to affect international shipping movements and postage times all over the world. While we're fortunate that throughout the pandemic our five fulfilment warehouses (US, UK, AUS, EU, CAN) have remained open, one of our biggest challenges in this "new normal" is release dates. For example, we were very confident we'd have the eagerly-anticipated RuneQuest Starter Set in all our fulfilment warehouses by the end of summer. Unfortunately, due to shipping delays out of our control, that was not to be. But the RQ Starter Set release is now (very) close: you can sign up here to get an email the moment it becomes available in our webstore! In April last year we announced we made the decision to not reduce our headcount nor cut anyone's hours – our team are Chaosium and what makes the company succeed. Thanks to your support we've stuck to that, and will continue to do so. We appreciate people buying direct. It helps the company in these trying times. Remember, while you're waiting for your physical shipment from Chaosium.com, you have the PDF already to read, play, and enjoy. And if you want to check the status of your order, you can always drop Dustin a line: customerservice@chaosium.com. On behalf of the whole Chaosium team, wishing everyone all the best until the Stars are Right again. — Rick Meints, president Chaosium Inc.

The 'Unnatural Selections' series is our regular round up of notable Chaosium reviews worth a look. Our newest Call of Cthulhu campaign The Children of Fear has been described as "up there with the best Call of Cthulhu campaigns that have been produced over the past 40 years" (The Grognard Files), and "a gem and an instant classic" (Paul St John Macintosh). Another reviewer said The Children of Fear is a "huge and beautiful undertaking... and definitely promising to take a place alongside Masks of Nyarlathotep and Horror on the Orient Express as one of the greats of Call of Cthulhu" (Never Read the Latin). The Children of Fear is available from Chaosium.com now in full colour hardcover and special leatherette edition (price includes PDF). Also available from DriveThruRPG, and in retail distribution. And those campaigns it's been compared to? Here's what critics have said about three of our most famous and acclaimed Call of Cthulhu campaigns of the past 40 years. All are now available from Chaosium. MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP "When Masks first came out [in 1984], it was the best. In the years since, rivals to the throne appeared. The new edition vanquishes them. Masks of the Nyarlathotep is the best. Full stop." — Vintage RPG. "For something which had already established itself early on as an rpg classic, Chaosium have gone and ratcheted-up this one to 11."— Whispers from the Ghooric Zone. "Should you get Masks?... This will be an adventure you and your RPG friends will be talking about 20-30 years after the event. If you played Masks years ago and want to play it again, yes. The best commercially available RPG scenario has got better." — The British Fantasy Society. BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS "Unique. Unprecedented. Jaw-gaping. Immersive. Engrossing. All these, and many more, are adjectives that describe BtMoM, and I am barely doing it justice... Everything is right about this reprint. The price is only USD 10 higher than the price of the 1999 edition, the product is a hardcover instead of a softcover, it has a classy integrated bookmark that you will use to death, a superior layout that is much easier to peruse, and includes the pdf!" — Antonios S. RPGNet. "5-stars... One of the top three." — MH (customer review). "Chaosium has done an awesome thing."— RPG Imaginings. HORROR ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS "It's easy to see why this is considered a classic Call of Cthulhu adventure" — The Gaming Gang. "The most ambitious Call of Cthulhu adventure ever created… a high water mark for CoC." — Black Gate. "A must-own campaign" — Antonios S., RPGNet.

The RuneQuest Starter Set is coming soon! Sign up with the link below and by Issaries, you will receive an email as soon as it is available to order: https://www.chaosium.com/runequest-get-the-starter-set

You are most welcome to make your points strongly and robustly, but please do not engage in gratuitous abuse.

Yes, more character sheets are in the pipeline!

1000% yes: Andrew Logan Montgomery on "Glorantha, Meaning, and Mythology": Here's link to the rest of essay on his blog: https://andrewloganmontgomery.blogspot.com/2021/09/glorantha-meaning-and-mythology.html (BTW I'm sharing it in this 'My Dumbest Theory' thread – hands down my favourite thread on BRP Central – as a compliment to Drew's wonderful insights about Glorantha.

Many years ago, back in the day when televisions had picture tubes, I bought a new TV from a boutique high-end purveyor of hi-fi equipment. In the store they had all the models, from bottom of the range (still not cheap) up to the top which was laugh-out-loud ridiculously expensive. And yeah, I'd admit, the picture was a bit better the more $$ you shelled out (however definitely a case of diminishing returns). But their bottom of the range was magnitudes better than any TV I'd ever owned before. And of course, once I got it home and set up in my living room, I'd never have the fancier, more expensive versions right next to it to compare it to ever again. So with no regrets whatsoever I bought the bottom of the range Loewe TV and absolutely loved it, especially watching Australian Rules Football.

Print-on-demand titles on the Jonstown Compendium at DriveThruRPG are now available in two formats: standard and premium. Andrew Logan Montgomery recently received copies in both formats of his latest work and has shared a comparison between the two versions. Here's what he said: The Company of the Dragon is the sequel to the Gold best-selling Six Seasons in Sartar. Both are available in PDF and POD from the Jonstown Compendium. Check out all the POD community content titles in the Jonstown Compendium here!

RuneQuest and BRP creative director Jason Durall talks through his tactics to learn new TTRPG settings fast. Part of the Chaosium Interviews series with James Coquillat.

The 'Unnatural Selections' series is our regular round up of notable Chaosium reviews worth a look. As the overall number of people playing online continues to rise, we're pleased to see that more than 1 out of every 10 games on Roll20 are Call of Cthulhu. Throughout 2021 we've been adding Call of Cthulhu releases to Roll20 on a regular basis, and there are more to come! Here's what's currently on offer on Roll20: Call of Cthulhu Quickstart Rules (inc. 'The Haunting' scenario) - FREE "Call of Cthulhu is one of the greatest of its kind… the Quickstart Guide is a great introduction to the game." —Geeks A Gogo Call of Cthulhu Starter Set - $24.99 "One of the most comprehensively thought-out starter sets on the market, this slim little box gives you a great way to experience the horrors of the game... The solo adventure, Alone Against the Flames, serves as a solid tutorial and can even help players to generate their very first character as they play." — Tabletop Gaming Magazine. Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook - $54.95 "Call of Cthulhu is now the Pepsi of RPG franchises, alongside D&D’s Coke, and the game’s success is part of the revival of Lovecraft and Lovecraftian fiction." — Paul StJohn Mackintosh, Greydog Tales. Call of Cthulhu Investigator Handbook - $44.95 "An excellent resource, especially for new players... It’s filled with evocative art, plenty of setting color, lots of useful advice and helpful hints, and generally handy material for a player in Call of Cthulhu." — Matthew J. Constantine. Dead Light and Other Dark Turns - $14.99 "A wonderful introductory product for getting new Keepers and players into the game" — RPG Imagings. Gateways to Terror - $19.99 "Now, if you really want a set of adventures geared towards beginners, Gateways to Terror has you covered. Within are three single location investigations designed to run between one and two hours: pure introductions to the game... Each is short and sweet, with no BS, sticking firmly to the investigate/confront formula. They’re all pretty satisfying too. All killer, no filler, as they say".— Vintage RPG. Harlem Unbound - $44.99 "A top tier supplement, which I think belongs in every Keeper’s library... All in all, it is the best historical RPG sourcebook I’ve encountered. It is very high quality, and has material enough for multiple campaigns, and it will both educate and inspire you. I highly recommend it." – Mindlands. Malleus Monstrorum Cthulhu Mythos Bestiary - $59.99 "Five out of five eldritch tentacles – I think the slipcase is worth it just for the first book of monsters alone. What a horrifying and terrifying collection to rend investigators with and threaten to eat the heads of heroes." Charles Dunwoody, ENWorld. Mansions of Madness Vol 1: Behind Closed Doors - $42.99 "Overall 5/5 – This collection of tales of troubled real estate offers a variety of fun and innovative approaches to a well-worn horror trope. Investigators and Keepers are likely to get some great gaming out of this collection." — H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. Reign of Terror - $34.99 "I certainly can see why Reign of Terror is an award winner... Highly recommended: 9 out of 10!" — The Gaming Gang. The Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic - $39.95 "Players have been clamoring for a Call of Cthulhu spellbook for years. Here is, in one single tome, the unspeakable knowledge that is bound to break even the most fortified minds." — Antonios S., RPGNet Review. The Lightless Beacon - FREE "An excellent demonstration scenario." — Reviews from R'lyeh. For useful tips and advice about playing Call of Cthulhu and other Chaosium games online, see our helpful Getting Started with Online Gaming guide.

OK, this thread is now locked. The files are heading soon to the printers. Thanks to everyone who submitted corrections!

Some news from Becca!

The sheets have been updated!

Lawrence Schick, the author of 'Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Roleplaying Games' (1991), described TSR's MONSTER MANUAL with the phrase "As nothing is easier to design than new monsters, it has spawned a host of imitations." He wouldn't be able to say that about Chaosium's ALL THE WORLDS' MONSTERS, because it came first. Rick tells more about this early work of Steve Perrin's in his latest 'Out of the Suitcase' post: https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-of-the-suitcase-21-the-first-manual-of-monsters

Our friends at Astral Tabletop and DriveThruRPG have created a short survey about how you like to play #CallOfCthulhu #ttrpg online and would love to hear your feedback. The survey should take just a few minutes and would help them immensely! Thanks ! https://bit.ly/ttrpg-player-survey

It's one paragraph in a nearly 1000 word review; you can read the full review at the link in the top post. Indeed. Given the book's setting, queries had been made about issues of cultural appropriation and whether "sensitivity" readers etc had been engaged etc etc. This part of the review addresses those concerns head-on.

So, the 'Mask of Nyarlathotep' – and all our other masks, lots to choose from – are currently 20% off at the Chaosium Redbubble store. Just use the code MASKS20 on checkout. Expires August 31, 2021 11:59pm PT.

Pendragon Line Editor David Larkins gives an expert's perspective on the new Green Knight movie, how it relates to the original poem, and how it relates to the Pendragon TTRPG. Part of our 'Chaosium Interviews' series with James Coquillat.

LAST CALL for corrections - we are sending the Call of Cthulhu Classic files to the printer next week. If you have any further corrections, please post here by 31st August. Corrections that come in later than that will be updated in the PDF and in future printings.

BTW, this was view from the place I lived in Abu Dhabi

October 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of Call of Cthulhu. In honor of the occasion, we have specially prepared a range of new investigator sheets, available free to download. The new sheets are currently include: Standard Call of Cthulhu (1920s and modern-day versions) Pulp Cthulhu Down Darker Trails (standard and pulp versions) Cthulhu Dark Ages (standard and pulp versions) Each version is “auto-fill” and can be kept and updated on a computer and printed out as needed. Each version is provided in color and black & white format. While these new sheets will look familiar to Call of Cthulhu players, there are a few differences worth noting: The new design allows the sheets to be used with a wider range of PDF viewers on computers and most tablets, as well as in preview mode on most computers. Note: the character sheets are viewable in a browser, but the auto-calc feature will be disabled. We’ve increased the text size where possible to make the sheets clearer to read. And, we’ve added a new (optional) third sheet that allows players to keep notes, write extended backgrounds, or record whatever useful information is appropriate. There are also some new features available, which are described in detail here. Call of Cthulhu 40th anniversary investigator sheets were designed by Mike Mason, Matt Ryan, and Max Harrison. Our thanks go to Lynne and Richard Hardy, Paul Fricker, Matt Nott, and others who helped to playtest the sheets. https://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu-character-sheets

No sure about Sartar but in this pic behold the minotaury skies of Prax...

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. For this first article, David takes a look at where it all began... The path to the forthcoming 6th edition of Pendragon formally began on April 5th, 2010, when Greg Stafford sent out an email to his team of collaborators (whom he referred to as his “Household”) outlining his vision for the new edition—his Ultimate Edition. When Greg passed away far too soon in 2018, he left behind decades’ worth of material, both paper and digital, tracing the game’s development. Most of these archives are currently in my care (from where I sit, I can see the shelf of vertical files containing dozens of detailed “hundred maps” of every county in Logres…), but there was one artifact that has remained out at Greg’s home in California: the original two-volume set of Le Morte d’Arthur from which Greg first began formulating the mechanical underpinnings of Pendragon. Thanks to Greg’s friend and longtime Pendragon contributor David Zeeman, I recently received photos of the marginal notes Greg scribbled all those years ago, some of which (for there are many) are shared here for the first time. We see Greg zeroing in on the core concepts of the game in Caxton’s Preface (“For herein may be seen noble chivalry, courtesy, humanity, friendliness, hardiness, love, friendship, cowardice, murder, hate, virtue, and sin. Do after the good and leave the evil, and it shall bring you to good fame and renown.”). Then, as the tale unfolds, we see Greg marking incidents in the book as he refines his ideas for Traits and Passions, and how those mechanics will work in play: “Mark gets a passion”; “Jealousy”; “Lancelot fumbles Energetic”; “Madness strikes Lancelot”. Some terms are already there (Heraldry, Awareness); others are still in development (Injustice, Courage). The note that brought me the greatest delight had to do with Greg’s thoughts on Queen Guenever: “Gwen is honorable & I’ll kill anyone who disagrees.” At some point, I will be writing about the revised Great Pendragon Campaign project currently under way, which includes a more detailed and nuanced treatment of the queen in the overall story arc. I’m tempted to include that bit of marginalia as a quote somewhere in the text… For now, though, look forward to more details in forthcoming articles on the development cycle of 6th edition, including Greg’s journey from that first announcement back in 2010 to how we’re carrying on his vision and legacy today. Until then, “Let us win glory for our king, who will reward us with honors and lands; and the devil take the hindermost!”

Author of the ENNIE-nominated Hand of Glory Allan Carey says: "Voting is open for the ENnies and I have been nominated for Hand of Glory. This was the fourth Call of Cthulhu scenario I wrote for the Miskatonic Repository and one of my favourites. Its pitch is 'On the bleak North Yorkshire moors, the Wych Elm pub sits nestled in the leigh of a dark woods. Isolated, alone and miles away from anywhere, a dark secret awaits any who stumble across it...' "The Miskatonic Repository creator community is amazing and continues to go from strength to strength. You can vote for Hand of Glory in the Best Organized Play category if you fancy." Here's how you can vote for Chaosium's community content creators in the 2021 ENnies!: 1. Go to the ENnies page: https://vote.ennie-awards.com/vote/2021 2. Our three nominations are in the Best Organised Play category (the ENnies' term for community content). Hand of Glory (Miskatonic Repository) A Rough Guide to Glamour (Jonstown Compendium) Citizens of the Lunar Empire (Jonstown Compendium) Vote for them 1,2,3 in whatever order you choose! 3. Everyone in the Chaosium team would also be flattered if you picked Chaosium in the Fan Award for Best Publisher.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Call of Cthulhu creative director Mike Mason talks with James Coquillat about character death in Call of Cthulhu. Topics include character Is death important in of Call of Cthulhu?, How to deal with death in long campaigns, and Character resurrection. Part of our 'Chaosium Interviews' series on YouTube.