MOB

It's not a matter of IP, the Cthulhu Mythos is deemed Prohibited Content in this context. If you want to do your own Cthulhu Mythos game, then you can't use the BRP OGL, you'll have to use some other ruleset.

No, only works related to Le Morte d’Arthur are Prohibited Content, as noted in the OGL. Jeff responded to a similar question in the BRP System Reference Document/OGL Questions Thread thusly:

Yes, as M.T. Black, the well-known co-writer of Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus for WotC and highly successful DM's Guild author, commented elsewhere:

Chaosium makes no claim that we "own" the Mythos, never have. Not all aspects of H.P. Lovecraft’s work or the Cthulhu Mythos are in the public domain though. While H.P. Lovecraft was the originator of the Mythos, he generously collaborated with a wide circle of writers, and since his death others have continued to contribute to its ongoing creation. Included in this group are such names as August Derleth, Robert Bloch, Clark Ashton Smith, Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Sandy Petersen, and Chaosium itself, among others. Because HPL died over 70 years ago, his individual writings are now in the public domain, but the Mythos was/is a shared creation—even in HPL's lifetime ("the Lovecraft Circle"). Many of the writers HPL collaborated with lived on much later into the 20th century, e.g. Clarke Ashton Smith (d.1961), August Derleth (d.1971), Robert Bloch (d.1994), etc. Certain elements of the Mythos are theirs, or have been created by other still-living authors including Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell and indeed Chaosium's Sandy Petersen. What these writers created in the Mythos won't enter the public domain until they have been dead for 70 years (or in Sandy's case, maybe never, because he is clearly an Immortal Being). We don't claim to own the Mythos in general, although certain elements of it including storylines, names, creatures, characters, descriptions, and depictions are Chaosium IP. We do own the Call of Cthulhu RPG, and and are obliged to protect it.

We have established a thread whose specific purpose is to answer questions related to the Basic Roleplaying System Reference Document and OGL, which is available here (PDF) and here (online, editable format). Please post your entries in that thread in the form of simple, direct questions, with page/section references if required. Questions will be responded to by Chaosium staff (Rick, Jason, MOB, Jeff, etc). Before asking your question, please take a look at the FAQ here to see if your concern has already been addressed.

If you have any questions about the BRP System Reference Document, ask them here:

Yes. Sorry to have to belabour the point, but if you want to make your game using BRP, you now can - there's nothing stopping you publishing your own original creations, settings, games, and unique ideas using the BRP system. But if you want to make a thinly veiled retroclone of Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Pendragon, etc., we didn't open that door.

Brian has been working with us a while, but today we formally welcome him to the Chaosium team as our marketing specialist! https://www.chaosium.com/brian-holland nb - these are strange and difficult times, but we've made the decision to not reduce our headcount nor cut anyone's hours. Our team *are* Chaosium and what makes the company succeed. #weareallus

Our new website dedicated to BRP:

The BRP Website is our new online resource dedicated to Basic Roleplaying. It includes an online version of the BRP System Reference Document, along with other useful information and resources for playing and creating games with the Basic Roleplaying system.https://brp.chaosium.com/

As we've stated above, If you want to make your game using BRP, you now can - there's nothing stopping you publishing your own original creations, settings, games, and unique ideas using the BRP system. But if you want to make a thinly veiled retroclone of Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Pendragon, etc., we didn't open that door.

You get to call it BRP and use the logo. If that's not a consideration for you, go ahead and use something else. In your own use of the SRD, you are welcome to add anything you want to it – as long as you avoid Prohibited Content (and don't violate others' copyright). Correct, the SRD was not released to help facilitate creating retroclones of Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Pendragon, etc. It's for people to publish their own original creations, settings, games, and unique ideas using the BRP system.

Yes As Jeff said above, because it is a reference document - the skeleton so to speak. The license explicitly allows derivative works. You can add hit locations, add your own magic system, psychic powers, rock god songs, archetypes, funky mechanics, psychonautical exploration mechanics, alchemy rules, spell systems based on the Sefirot or talking to angels through crystals - whatever, go for it. You are welcome to add to it as long as you avoid Prohibited Content. Just don't try to create a retroclone of Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Pendragon, etc. Correct.

COVID-19 Shipping and Fulfilment Update - March 27 https://www.chaosium.com/blogcovid19-shipping-and-fulfilment-update-march-27 We hope we hope that you, your family and friends are all in good health. Chaosium’s fulfilment warehouses (USA, UK, EU, and Australia) report that they are currently able to ship product as normal, with a few restrictions shipping to certain countries. We will announce any changes to this status as the situation continues to unfold. Buying electronic versions of our products from Chaosium.com or DriveThruRPG is, of course, unaffected. Remember, if you buy a PDF direct from Chaosium, you get the full price of the PDF off the printed book if you decide to buy it later. That means you can start reading or playing straightaway, but get to split the overall cost of the book into two payments months apart. We get it though, if current circumstances mean this is something you can't afford right now. In the meantime, please enjoy some of the free material we're offering on our website (see the Free Stuff section), watch some of our videos at our YouTube Channel, or color in some eldritch scenes of Lovecraftian horror. We continue to wish everyone all the best, until the Stars are Right again.

Ebben a játékban mindenki hőssé válik! Now available for pre-order: the Hungarian edition of RUNEQUEST: ROLEPLAYING IN GLORANTHA, from our friends at Kaland Horizont. https://www.kalandhorizont.hu/runequest-szerepjatek

We have now released the Basic Roleplaying System Reference Document (SRD) and Open Game License - more details at the link:

Chaosium is pleased to announce the release of the Basic Roleplaying System Reference Document (SRD). The Basic Roleplaying SRD is based on Basic Roleplaying, the simple, fast, and elegant skill-based percentile system that is the core of most Chaosium roleplaying games, including Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, SuperWorld, and others. Under the provisions of the Basic Roleplaying Open Game License (OGL), designers can create their own roleplaying games using the Basic Roleplaying rules engine, royalty-free and without further permission from Chaosium Inc. For further details and to download the SRD document, see our Basic Roleplaying SRD information page. Please note: the BRP Open Game License for use of the Basic Roleplaying system differs from the Wizards Open Game License and has different terms and conditions.

HARLEM UNBOUND 2nd Ed is now out in PDF at DriveThruRPG. The HU2 PDF package includes the following: - Harlem Unbound 2nd Edition - PDF (368 pages - 97 pages longer than HU 1st Ed) plus: - Handouts and pre-generated characters - PDF (36 pages) - Harlem Unbound Investigator Sheet - PDF (2 pages) - Map of Harlem with and without scenario locations - PDF (2 pages - big) - Two Scenario Maps - PDF (2 pages)

Chaosium gets a shout out in the latest volume of the scientific journal ZOOSYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION. A scientist in Japan wanted to name a newly discovered marine tardigrade after Cyäegha, a Great Old One from the late Eddy C. Bertin's Cthulhu Mythos story "Darkness, My Name Is...". Our executive editor James Lowder helped facilitate discussions with Bertin's family in Belgium, so they could give formal approval. https://zse.pensoft.net/article/49676

Yes. Here's my notes, from the as-yet unpublished gazetteer about Casino Town: The Great House – the original manor of Talar Barat - is a two story round building in the centre of Casin Town. It houses the Faro Wheel, the strange artifact the Talar retrieved from the Clanking Ruins. The Faro’s visible workings can be viewed from the top of five small towers built around the perimeter, and gamblers congregate in them, jostling for position. Purely monetary bets are made with agents and runners for the various casinos and gambling houses, while those risking wagers of a magical or spiritual kind deal directly with the Faro Wheel staff. A hundred years ago, one of the viewing platforms was suddenly closed off without explanation. Some say this was done because punters there somehow got a unique and advantageous view of the workings of the wheel. There are always plots and schemes afoot by gamblers to see what it is that can be observed from this now forbidden vantage point. Harrek the Berserk smashed another viewing tower to rubble during his riotous visit of 1616. An inferior but larger platform was rebuilt (out of wood) by the Vadeli, and is square instead of round. Like the walls of the city itself, the walls of the Great House are smooth and featureless. The Great House’s massive iron doors have remained sealed ever since the Talar’s fateful game with Belintar in 1313. The few Brithini staff needed to operate the wheel leave and enter through the roof. (Next to the Great House is the Pool Hall: where drinkable water is piped from a well in the Great House to a covered pool, and by custom is free for all. The water arrives noticeably warm, and it is speculated it somehow cools the machinery of the Faro Wheel – certainly hot steam issued from the pipe during the Talor’s epic session with Belintar. The water also noticeably became warmer whenever the Tournament of Luck and Death took place at the City of Wonders. During the grim time of the Windstop, the flow slowed to a trickle, but the warmth of the water prevented the pipe from completely freezing up, saving many lives. The water tastes completely normal, but curiously Ludoch find bathing in it to be a euphoric experience. In the absence of an agora or university in Casino Town, teachers, philosophers and mathematicians congregate at the pool, along with frauds, mountebanks and conmen. They all share one thing in common: a desire to understand and beat the Faro Wheel (or a willingness to prey on those who do).

Out now in PDF - Investigate the Cthulhu Mythos during the Harlem Renaissance! Chris Spivey's ENnie-winning breakthrough book HARLEM UNBOUND is back and better than ever. Harlem Unbound 2nd Edition is expanded and improved from the first edition. New areas are shown below: —Seven scenarios (four new to 2nd Edition). —Unique occupations tailored to Harlem. —New Mythos monsters to terrify your players. —Ready-to-play investigators. —Random plot generator. —Crash course on addressing race in gaming. Start reading, start playing now! Buy the PDF from Chaosium now, and you get the full price of the PDF off the physical book when it is released later in the year. https://www.chaosium.com/harlem-unbound-2nd-edition-pdf

In this time of social distancing, quarantines, and far-flung networks of friends, it can be hard to get your friends together in one place for tabletop gaming. Many of us are now trying RPG gaming online but don't know where to start. To help out, we've put together a little primer about online gaming, and with some ideas as to where start: https://www.chaosium.com/online-gaming-getting-started To make your first online gaming experience as easy and as fun as your regular tabletop gaming, the team at Chaosium has put together some Top Tips for Online Gaming. We've also got recommendations as to what published scenarios - for Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Pendragon, 7th Sea, and HeroQuest Glorantha - you could consider trying out online. It includes a dedicated sections about online play for: Call of Cthulhu, with recommendations from CoC creative director Mike Mason RuneQuest, with recommendations from RQ creative director Jason Durall 7th Sea, with recommendations from 7th Sea creative director John Wick King Arthur Pendragon, with recommendations from KAP line editor David Larkins HeroQuest Glorantha, with recommendations from HQ line editor Ian Cooper On behalf of the whole Chaosium team, wishing everyone all the best until the Stars are Right again.

Greetings from The Chaosium, We hope that you and your family are safe and healthy. During these challenging times we want to reach out to the gaming community and provide you all with some information about what we have been up to as we adjust to the New Normal™. We sometimes describe ourselves with the phrase, “the sun never rises on Chaosium”. We have people on our team based all around the globe - in the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, and Australia. Because we've all been working from home since 2015, the COVID-19 'social distancing' requirements have not really impacted our going to work. Of course, now we are accompanied by spouses, significant others, and our children on an ongoing, daily basis. In some ways we are reminded how the company was first described, and how it got its name: A house of chaos located near a colosseum. In other ways COVID-19 has impacted what we do, and that’s what we wanted to spend some time talking about. As more gaming moves online we are seeking out new ways to support our games and players, be it through live streaming, podcasts, AMA sessions, and online gaming platforms such as Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, and Astral VTT. Our most recent addition to our website provides you with resources and recommendations for playing Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, King Arthur Pendragon, HeroQuest, and 7th Sea online while at home. Have a look at: https://www.chaosium.com/online-gaming-getting-started for more information. Also, please stay tuned to our various social media channels as we announce more of our efforts to help Chaosium fans stay connected and enjoying playing our games. While a large catalog of our digital products is always available on our website and on DriveThruRPG, getting hold of printed copies of our games is becoming somewhat more challenging. FLGSs have had to curtail their opening hours, or may not be open at all. Our distributors also face some difficulties with their supply chains. Even buying from us directly via our website may become more complicated for you as certain countries becoming more restrictive to ship to, and with more limited options. Remember though, if you purchase a PDF product from the Chaosium website, you will get the full price of that PDF off the physical version should you decide to buy that from us later. We are closely monitoring the situation regarding shipping and fulfilment with our distribution partners and we will keep Chaosium customers updated. Regardless, you will continue to receive the same quality of service and support that you have come to expect from us. On behalf of the whole Chaosium team, wishing everyone all the best until the Stars are Right again. — Rick Meints, president Chaosium Inc.

"A gaslight-era mystery of malevolent proportions" — If you missed our friends CriticalRole play Call of Cthulhu on Twitch the first time round, they're rebroadcasting 'Shadow of the Crystal Palace' tonight: 7PM Pacific! http://twitch.tv/criticalrole

Here is the second Rune Fixes: It gives more details on the Rune Spells Extension and Berserker, and for Aimed Blows, and Two-Weapon Fighting. Rune Fixes are also available to download from the Chaosium website, along with an assorted set of related free downloads for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, including Rune Fixes #1, the RQ2/3 to RQG conversion guide, errata for RQG's first printing, and information about Gloranthan metals and crystals from the forthcoming GM's book. All available to download free: https://www.chaosium.com/runequest-rune-fixes