Mike M

Monster art (in fact, any art) is subjective. When drawing anything, the artist must rely on their interpretation of the briefs (which, in this case are drawn from numerous sources including original text wherein they appeared) - just as a writer tries to convey their sense of the monster using words and terms understandable by humans - hence, Lovecraft using phrases like "an octopus-like head" = we use "xxx-like" because it gives us a common frame of recognition, it does not actually mean Cthulhu is an octopus.

Monster art provides another form for Keepers to picture the monster in their heads and is a big help when describing said monsters to others around a gaming table. 

The overwhelming response to our new monster art across social media has been very positive. 

Errata: Masks of Nyarlathotep

Update: 20 October  2021

Errata - Masks of Nyarlathotep - 20 October 2021.pdf

The Curse of Seven, a new forthcoming Gaslight campaign - each chapter is inspired by different "horror" authors like M. R. James, Dickens, R. Chetwynd-Hayes, E. F. Benson, Conan Doyle, Arthur Machen, Robert Louis Stevenson, and so on. 

13 hours ago, Joe Kenobi said:

Hang on. So if I buy Saturnine Chalice, you'll throw in a copy of Dead Light, revised and with new art?

Yes, and a bunch of new scenario seeds concerning road travel. 

9 hours ago, Wolfdawg said:

Let me Clarify. In the Occupation you have to pay Occup. points for C.R.......Why what for? What does that give, it does not say in the Ivestigator's handbook pp 68

Yes, now look at the Credit Rating description within the Skills section on p103.

33 minutes ago, Archivee said:

Done! Thanks.  That's how I got he newbie name "Archivee."  What next?

next.... magic happens....

It's your game - if there's a plausible connection into Lightless Beacon with the coin for your group and they want to follow it up - then go for it. 

Credit Rating  - the higher it it is, the greater your access to stuff. A high score can mean certain doors open for you automatically.

It's a useful thing and provides your character with more access to useful things. 

59 minutes ago, Cloud64 said:

Hang on. So if I've already bought Dead Light I'm going to have to pay for it again to get the new scenario? 

Dead Light has been slightly revised to address a handful of issues in the original, it also has new art. But, you don't have to buy it unless you want to. We felt the the new edition would be more attractive if it came with another scenario. It will be a relatively low price point and still cheaper if you just purchase the PDF. 

Context is king.

Firing into Melee Combat rule page 113. A penalty die is imposed.

In the example on p115, Harvey shooting at a monster approaching him and hits. The monster attacks him on its turn, with Harvey Dodging. Harvey is forced to enter melee as the monster attacks him - on his turn he fires the gun again - but takes a penalty for multiple shots which is negated for point-blank range (he kills the monster, so he doesn't have to react to a second attack, which probably would have forced him to Dodge again or try to bash the monster with the lump of metal in his hand).  

Firing into melee - means you are shooting at at least two people/things already in combat against one another - your shot could hit a friendly, but it reasonable to assume a Keeper may use this rule for a person in melee who wishes to fire on their turn in the round - the rules are designed to be applied at the judgment of the Keeper. Some may wish to read the firing into melee as only being applicable when you are outside melee and firing into a melee nearby, others may broaden the interpretation. That's why context is king - apply the rule as you see fit in the context of the reality of the scene at your gaming table. 

In the example in the post above, the context of the situation seemed to me to warrant use of the firing into melee rule, which is negated by the point-blank range. Thus, no penalty or bonus die is actually applied. It's a judgement call here - on another day I might have said no penalty, but it was probably early in the morning when I answered.... 

I assume you checked your spam folder, just in case?

Otherwise please email your details as previously mentioned.

Thanks

On 10/25/2019 at 7:22 PM, rsanford said:

I suspect part of Chaosium's challenge is that a lot of its core market is getting older. Speaking for myself I use to see like a hawk but for the last two years have struggled to read unless the room is bright and the font is large. Younger customers probably don't experience this.

Indeed - the dividing line between readable and authentic is sharp! And it isn't necessarily an age thing.

In our books we strive to achieve both, but it is always hard to get it right - if I have to err on one side, I always try to go with readable. In some cases, we may make the player version handout as large as possible, so cursive script is easier to read, or if the handout is meant to be almost unreadable, then I'll try and include a plain text version for the Keeper, who needs to know what's been written.

Hi

Didn't catch this earlier - my apologies.

You can run what you like - published scenarios, Cult of Chaos ones, or enemy your own ones. We just want you to be comfortable with what you are running and hopefully this your are introducing the game to have a great time. 

Modern era - we don't have anything in the works as yet, but most of the scenarios available would work fine in the modern day. Don't be afraid of cell phones and the investigators calling the police - if they want to send innocent police officers to shoggoth (which then eats them), then make sure the investigators lose Sanity for 'murdering' the innocents. They''ll soon realize that bringing in others to solve their problems has unfortunate consequences. And, the internet is not an investigators friend.

Thanks

8 hours ago, midwinter said:

I'm happy that the Slimer-green is gone. Now, whatabout the scenarios themselves? Are they dark, foreboding, creepy, weird? Isn't The Necropolis an old scenario? I seem to recall that they played that on the Into the Darkness-channel on Youtube quite some time ago.

If you read earlier in this thread you will see:  It is three introductory scenarios that have been used to demonstrate Call of Cthulhu at conventions, the key feature being that they are all designed to be played in a one to two hour time slot, and are ready to play with pre-made investigators with minimal set up time (other than reading them over first before running them). 

They are designed for introducing new players to the game, although can still be fun for everyone else too. If you are looking for new material, we just put out Lightless Beacon, and the forthcoming revised new edition of Dead Light includes a new scenario called Saturnine Chalice. Terror Australis had two new and large scenarios, and Berlin: The Wicked City had three new scenarios. We have plenty more new stuff coming out as well as revisions and updates to some classic material.

Please email todd@chaosium.com with your details and we can check what's happening - are you receiving the Cult of Chaos emails? Normally those tell you how to download new material.

Errata: Nameless Horrors

Update: 1 November 2019

Errata - Nameless Horrors - 1 Novemebr 2019.pdf

Chaosium has a UK warehouse - log into the site and check your basket is set for UK. Otherwise please email Dustin as noted above.

This is a useful thread - when I started at Chaosium I made a conscious effort to ensure handouts were readable (some older books had some quite hard to read handouts). Sometimes, like in this case, we don't get it quite right - but thank you klecser for posting a plain text version here to help everyone out.

It's always a knife-edge  - trying to deliver an authentic realistic handout (usually a handwritten letter/journal) versus readability. We'll endeavor to keep this in mind as we go forward.

Thanks again for everyone's comments.

We are developing the Pulp supers style campaign, its final form is still undergoing development, so we can't answer specific questions at this time. 

On 9/26/2019 at 10:07 PM, joggiwagga said:

Question - do Chaosium folks want after-game write ups for privately hosted runs?  I've only done them in the past for open sessions at game stores or at conventions.

Yes - that would be great. Perhaps a new thread "Flotsam & Jetsam - Play Experiences" could be a home to all these - helping other Keepers and also being a useful reference for when we look at publishing the campaign in book form later on.

Thanks

7 hours ago, Kijli said:

Will the new edition of Malleus Monstrorum have a section with tools and tables to build new creatures?

There will be guidance and probably some inspirational tables.

It's the next book in the editorial pile - in fact artwork is currently being commissioned. So, soonish is the answer.

Many thanks. 

All monster stats are being reviewed currently as part of the process of updating the new monster book, and any changes or amendments will be funneled into the Rulebook at a later stage. 

Some of these differences are academic (3D6 x5 - the average is 50-55 when not spitting the difference). 

Some are a difference of opinion - Horse - SIZ - is (6D6+12)x5 = average of 165.

We shall review your comments as part of our process in reviewing such statistics. Thanks again.

Colonial era supplement is in the hands of Sixty Stone Press, a licensee.

The answer is yes. A book version is in development.