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klecser

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  1. klecser
    Last night was my first time GMing Runequest. As a veteran GM of DND (all versions since 2) and Call of Cthulhu, the challenge for me was making sure that I effectively communicated just enough Glorantha lore, system feel, and fun all in one evening. I think it went well. I did a lot of prep for this game, with most it focusing on making sure I had blocks of text to introduce lore, and that my players had the resources to engage with the combat system. Example: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10uZrm72-Sd6_CAA0L8tWetBnomVZqw9Bw2QHuetI2zA/edit?usp=sharing I recognize that there are probably errors in that document. Feedback is appreciated. Try to see all the newness through a new player's lens!
    Cattle Raid spoilers to follow.
     My players chose from among a pre-selected sub set of the starters. I included the complete rules text of every one of their spirit and rune spells, including the stat for the rune they were associated with next to it. The goal being to not have to flip through a book or packet in order to know what they could do. I began by reading the "blurb" at the start of the QuickStart and added in some specific information about the Dragonrise. My players were really interested in the in media res aspect of starting with a cataclysmic event.
    I began by just having them walking through Apple Lane and seeing a sign advertising the need for a group of heroquesters to protect local cattle. This was a good opportunity to emphasize some culture of Glorantha and I had them make some culture and homeland rolls. The fruits of these rolls were gaining some reasons as to why their characters would want to take risks to protect cows. I tied these reasons to their passions as well, particularly loyalty and devotion to temples. This provided a further opportunity to talk about passions and augmentation.
    I introduced Brightflower, who served as a strong intro NPC to give them further reasons to help. I also used this as an opportunity for them to introduce their characters using the italic text on the sheets. Brightflower played off of each one after they gave their little speech and I used her as a vehicle to give the players some insights into the motivations of their characters, given how new everything was.
    The big challenge of the first adventure of a brand new game is that players really don't even know what questions to ask. So, as GM, my job becomes finding creative ways to feed them information from the adventure text questions, without it seeming canned. I think I did a good job of bringing up some things to get them thinking. They took the job and suggesting bothering after Brightflower offered the 50 Lunar. They lead with room and board as an add-on, but Brightflower was so impressed with their Critical success roll on Bargain that she upped the sakkar fee to 100 Lunar.
    She fetched Heotarl (who I nickname Tarl, because I find Heortarl awkward to pronounce) and they set off for the Gejay Hills!
    I portrayed Heortarl as written in the text, being a bit overeager towards heroquesting. I went and had him express marriage interest in one of the Adventurers as a way to introduce the "forwardness" of Glorantha social custom. My players did a great job of playing off of what I was doing. I was able to include in the information that Heortarl is designed to give the players about ignorance of the ruins, as well as setting up the Orlevings as an antagonist.
    Upon arrival at the herd, I used Jareena as a counterpoint to Heortarl, with her chiding him for his "frequent proposals" to young women. One of my player's played Nathem and asked if she could send her Shadowcat on a scouting mission. I wasn't sure how to play this, given that I don't know the extent to which trained Shadowcat's "follow orders" like familiars in DND. So, I had her roll Nathem's Beast Rune. She got a regular success, which I deemed as not good enough for the Cat to go wandering off away from the safety of the fire. I wasn't trying to say "no," so much as do what I thought was realistic. I also wasn't interested in her losing her shadowcat by it just being eaten by sakkars, although maybe that was the most exciting play. Let me know what you think about that?
    The group followed the cattle the next day, as written. My players made judicious use of Scan and Search to find some sakkar scat. One of my players rolled Critical on Scan and noted a significant rustling in the grass right before the sakkars attacked.
    Cattle Raid suggests that the sakkars don't want to fight humans. While I totally understand that from a Runequest flavor perspective, I was getting the impression that my group was ready for action, and it was starting to get late anyway. So, I elected to have them fight to the death.  Here is the map I prepared for the encounter. Solid lines are increasing elevation and dashed lines are decreasing. The X is where the sakkar attack occurred, and the circled letters refer to the herders. T is HeorTarl.

    I asked the players how they planned to move with the herd and they elected to spread out. I deliberately made the scale large to increase the tension. I also made a point to emphasize with them that the down slope towards the upper left of the diagram leads to Orleving farm lands. My players did discover that the Varmandi had been grazing within Orleving boarder stone boundaries prior to this. This close proximity made them appropriately nervous.
    The sakkars attacked! My plan was to keep them near the kills and to feed on them, until anyone chose to intervene. With my players being spread our over the whole map, the challenge was getting them involved with combat and not be sidelined just because of positioning. Vostor was the only one close to the attack, and he elected to use his javelin as a melee weapon. A big part of this first combat was players figuring out "how this works" and I think they did a fine job given the newness and circumstances. They did a good job of attempting augments with skills like bargain, homeland, culture, etc, but really struggled with the idea of augmenting weapon attacks. This is my fault because I could have done a better job of emphasizing that weapons could be augmented too! The "it is whatever it says on my character sheet" mentality is potentially a barrier for people coming over from other games, because skill augmentation is pretty novel for most role-players.
    Mobility was the most commonly used Spirit Magic and the player playing Yanioth was absolutely dead set on making the biggest Earth Elemental possible to deal with the threat of the sakkars and I couldn't blame them.
    The beginning of the combat was a brief introduction to how Strike Rank works and the logic of it was well-received by my players. The first few rounds were largely positioning rounds and getting out of the way of cattle. I had the cattle split into three main groups, and having the map really helped here. Players really had a lot of positioning choice and many of them were adept at "finding the gaps" between the three groups to avoid being trampled. Everyone had to make at least one DEX roll and nobody was trampled! But the THREAT of the trample played out really well and definitely influenced the sense of threat.
    Vostor immediately took a savage gut swipe to his abdomen from the big male sakkar. 17 points to that one location! I basically was fudgy on the movement rules during this section. I recognized that the scale I provided for the map was perhaps a little too much on the harsh side for the combat, as some players were starting hundreds of meters away from the battle. They used Mobility and full moves to get there as quickly as possible. On the other side of the coin, I recognized immediately that I had set it up risking a lot of players just being straight up irrelevant in the battle. Which is not a good thing. So, that resulted in some generous movement responses to player decisions. I didn't play it perfectly by the numbers, because if I did, it really would have punished some players who basically made the logical choice to protect on all sides.
    That said, Harmast was close enough to Vostor to be able to get to him with a healing potion. We did the Strike Ranks accurately (Dropped weapon, 5 SR take out potion, 5 SR administer) but I did fudge the movement a little.
    With mobility, Vasana and Yanioth were able to cross the field and get to the threat by the fourth round. Yanioth dropped all four of her Rune points to make a medium elemental and used it to engulf the female sakkar. Vasana trampled it's head with her Bison, killing it. Harmast made a special success sword attack against a failed parry of the male sakkar and it went to the head! It didn't quite do triple damage to the head, but given that it was at less than zero main hit points, I called it a beheading.
    Where was Nameth this whole time? Nameth ran after Heortarl to guard against any shenanigans with the Orlevings. I had Nameth see two riders in the distance. She (the player) grappled Heortarl to prevent him from doing anything stupid. She wasn't able to wrestle him to the ground. Deseros and Erlanda approached and I played out the expected threats between them and Heortarl. Kari did a great job of rune and passion augments to bargain with them. With a great speech, a logical augment, and a good roll, she talked them into only taking half of the cattle from this sub herd!
    So, all told, the group only lost 18 cattle and managed to eliminate the sakkar threat. Yes, I know that cuts across the "sakkar run" tactic of the scenario, but based upon the combination of time, table feel, and this being their first adventure, I felt that it was appropriate to have a longer fight. Even if that cuts against the "monsters and people flee" rule of Runequest. We did get the cultural thing in at the end with Nameth and the Orlevings and the negotiation.
    Most importantly, they want to play again. So, the current plan is to play Defending Apple Lane for our next session!
    Questions:
    1) What do you think about the Shadowcat situation above? Do Shadowcats "follow orders" like familiars? Whether they can or not, how would you have avoided an effective "no" under that situation?
    2) Is an elemental's damage physical or magical damage? In other words, does Armor apply? I wasn't sure in the moment, so I made it physical, with the hope being that Yanioth would roll a 4, 5, or 6 on its damage to overcome armor. She rolled a five, and it was appropriately epic, but I'm wondering if I played it correctly. It just seems odd to me that you'd drop four rune points to control an elemental, roll a two for damage result when it engulfs, and have the elemental do no damage to a foe with armor. Seems a potentially huge waste of a large rune point investment.
    3) I wasn't sure how creatures with natural weapons "parry," so I just used their claw statistic. Correct?
    4) Any skill not in any NPCs list happens at base value, correct? The biggest aide that was missing was a list of skill base values, and I will have that for the next session.
    Thanks for reading!
  2. klecser
    I've had the recent fortune of having a few Keeping Conversations with new Keepers. They always want advice, and I am normally happy to provide some, so long as the advice can actually do some good. Most advice given in the world is wrong. Not in of itself, but given with poor timing and without considering someone's improvement needs. Human experience is too varied for advice to do what it is intended to do. It isn't about "what worked for me." It is about what will work for the other person. I've been mentoring colleagues as an educator for many years, and the way we address this problem is by giving less advice and instead asking more questions that can help someone find what they need to be successful.
    I do believe that there is some baseline advice that can be safely given to new Keepers.
    1. MGF (Maximum Game Fun)
    2. Work towards balanced involvement at the table. (Quieter people may want to stay quiet, and that's ok. But also, some people need to be invited to participate. You shut down a table hog by inviting others to be involved and using the phrase: "Great idea, I'll come back to you" for people who Bogart time.)
    3. Communicate with players early and often. (topics that are off the table, are we at MGF? etc)
    I think that is pretty safe advice and gives new Keepers actionable things to practice. Anybody can practice asking questions around a table so all are involved. Each of those has their own specific skills that need to develop, but it doesn't hurt to have them as axioms to aspire towards.
    But what about advice that most Keepers wouldn't immediately think of? What is deeper advice that could make a big difference? I'm specifically thinking about scenario execution. This leads me to the title of this post. I also just want to give a disclaimer here that I am not a scenario designer, nor am I trying to unfairly criticize scenario designers. I don't have those skills, but at the same time, I know what I most frequently change about scenarios.
    I think there is a generalized fallacy that is assumed in role-playing games that I'll call the "perfect timing fallacy." The idea is that many encounters are designed such that player characters are expected to be in the right place at exactly the right time. This classically manifests itself in a variety of ways.
    Dungeons are all stocked full of monsters that, for some reason, stick to within the boundaries of their room despite their being open corridors between them. They are always awake. Investigators stumble upon a ritual exactly as it is being completed, or right before they can have an impact. The cop who saw something is on duty when the investigator's ask for them. Monsters in a room are always prepared to fight, or willing to fight.
    There is nothing inherently wrong with any of those examples, so long as it is fun for the participants. Scenario designers frequently do a great job of proposing "alternatives outside the norm." And sometimes "the norm" is what produces MGF. And that's great.  Perfect timing is arguably critical from a narrative standpoint. It moves the narrative along when it needs to move. That isn't lost on me. Managing the ebb and flow of the story at a table is another critical skill for Keepers to develop. But what advantages can be gained by breaking with perfect timing?
    I think that it is also worth considering the potential benefits of imperfect timing for investigative horror role-playing (or role-playing in general). I think Jaws is a perfect example of using imperfect timing as a narrative tool. Brodie, Quint, and Hooper spend most of the movie too late to do something. And the shark is only barely on screen for the majority of the movie. Them always being late produces a frustration that drives the narrative because it just makes them work harder to engage the threat. Now, imperfect timing works until perfect timing is needed.  The movie has a time cap and they gotta ramp it up, so the shark shows up. And when it does show up, the payoff for the audience is huge. They had to work to get the payoff, rather than the payoff just appearing immediately for all to see.
    So how does this translate as a tool for gaming? Here are some examples:
    1) Curating existential dread. Fear of the unknown is one of the greatest and most primal human emotions. This is why horror movies that work are those that don't show the threat ever or until as late as possible in the narrative. In the Jaws example above, the dread is created by the heroes arriving after the shark attacks and seeing the grisly aftermath. And the shark promptly sinks back into the waves and out of actionable distance. It is often better for the Investigators to arrive late to something happening, especially if violence is involved. The pendulum can swing the other way too. Don't underestimate the power of investigators arriving early and then having no idea how to prevent or engage with an issue. Being early and being late is often far more frightening to people than being "right on time." This also has the advantage of really selling the idea that "shooting your gun" or "swinging your club" isn't going to fix this situation. Taking that off the table forces investigators to use other means to address a threat. As always, know your group and what they like.
    2) Eliciting healthy struggle. If your players always arrive on time, there may not be as much brain work that they have to do to work out a situation. Speaking for myself, when I play, I love not knowing what is happening with a situation because it encourages me to turn the wheels in the head. This can be particularly useful when players arrive really early and the number of clues present in a location, right at that moment, is minimal. Or, they may stumble upon a total orgy of evidence but have no idea how it all relates to the current time at the current location! That in of itsekf can be frightening. Or, maybe they arrive early or late and what could have been a critical narrative location has now become a red herring. This last one is particularly useful when running games in which the players know the scenario and are struggling not to metagame it!
    3) Keeping investigators alive in campaigns. If you play mostly one-offs at conventions, it is understood that the gloves are pretty much off for lethality. People who play CoC at Cons know that their characters aren't likely to live, even if they make a string of good decisions. There is also the "Sandy Petersen killed me" dream of a lot of gamers. But when you do campaign play, it is a completely different ball game. This is an area where communication is key. And while some players are perfectly ok with their character getting slaughtered or going insane at any turn, many players get attached to their characters. If we could criticize one aspect of early (1970s) scenario design, it is that a lot of early scenario work featured "gotcha" deaths that were nearly impossible to avoid if ran as written. That does not contribute to a positive table feel unless it is known in advance to expect that.
    People often ask me how I am able to Keep (capitalization intended, he he) characters alive when playing campaigns with a reputation for lethality. The answer to that question is that players often arrive early or late to situations that would just end the narrative unnecessarily prematurely. in thinking about MGF for my group, they are very attached to their characters. I think it is incumbent upon CoC Keepers to consider that scoffing at that attitude in players isn't the most productive way to get to MGF, even if you think that "frequent character death and insanity is how CoC should work." This is less about how a game works, and more about how your table works. If you play a game the way it "should work" and your players aren't into that, then you've failed. 
    You can have your cake and eat it too in campaign play. It just takes considering having characters arriving early or late to encounters that are designed to be "right on time."
    These techniques are not new to horror role-playing. Many published works emphasize rigid or flexible timelines for events. The key is simply to consider the possibility that "right on time" may not be the best decision for maintaining a slow descent into madness. I'm prepared to venture that going extended periods being alive and sane is far more frightening than just dying and going insane instantaneously. Your game will vary, of course. There is a sprawling continuum of what different people find fun.
    The key is to consider: How can you avoid being trapped by perfect timing as a Keeper?
     
     
     
  3. klecser
    I added to these thoughts over a two-month long period from release of the PDF to this posting.
    RPG Imaginings Stream-Of-Consciousness Children of Fear Reflections
    Chapter 1: Reflections:
    1) No work in Call of Cthulhu, to my knowledge, has devoted such thoughtful consideration to a common section as the "Involving the Investigators" section in this campaign. Great care has been taken to suggest potential character motivations for beginning the campaign and to designing investigators that are suited to the types of goals for the travel posed. I think this is solid modelling for considerations for any campaign start.
    2) The "Experiential Learning" section suggests some of the most developed additions to the game for in situ learning mechanics for players. Anyone who Keeps the game knows that acquisition of specialized skills that are uniquely suited to a particular storyline just doesn't work with the existing RAW of the game, particular with learning languages. Narrative story-telling frequently requires characters to learn specialized skills more quickly. I think many an experienced Keeper (myself included) have resorted to house-ruling in this regard. Its nice to see suggestions for ramped-up skill training to be codified with such detail in an official product. I'm not saying that it is unique to this campaign. Other writers have certainly done variations. This section just seems to hit the problem head on. If a character needs Language (Chinese) to be effective in a campaign, the Keeper needs to give them opportunities to learn Language (Chinese) much more quickly than in the RAW.
    3) This brings up another point I forgot to mention. You can also essentially choose the nature of the origin of the key locations as part of this. I know that's vague, but I don't want to spoil anything. Dr. Hardy has given us something like four potential Mythos explanations, making an unprecedented level of Keeper choice to suit the desires of different groups. And, as you say, non-Mythos is an option too! What that does is allow this game to be set into virtually any campaign, because there are options that allow one to fit it in to whatever your particular threat-vision or group aesthetic is. 
    4) I am also enjoying the "What Your Investigator Knows" handouts as an expeditious way to give context. I'm sad to say that many Western players may not know a lot about the Far East. Sad, yes, but true. And I think these handouts are particularly important for that context. One thing that I have always appreciated about Dr. Hardy's work is that she has a very clear forward-thinking vision as to how games play out, and what the practical needs are of Keepers and players.
    Chapter 2 Reflections:
    This campaign has a lot of potential for bringing up the ethical issue of Western interference in Eastern cultural history. I could see that being a major secondary plotline in a campaign. I also like how many of the NPCs are real historical figures. It means lots of additional background information that can be brought in at the Keeper's discretion.
    Chapter 3 Reflections:
    1) Experienced Keepers write tips and options into their writing to give different groups the options they need to have their particular flavor of fun. Subtle things like "reward ingenuity where possible" are important tips. This campaign is chock full of "this or that or this might happen" that helps Keepers anticipate outcomes.
    2) Without spoiling too much, there is a campaign-wide mechanic that rates investigator decisions. I've always been a big believer in rewarding or penalizing investigators with tangible and intangible consequences for their choices. It can only help the immersion, in my opinion. RPGs tend to devolve into murder-hoboing simply because there are no consequences for thoughtless play. CoC has always been better at this than most other games. It is a distinct in-theme feature of this campaign.
    3) This campaign is particularly good for teaching Keepers how to run campaigns and how to let player choice drive what happens in games. If the Chapters in this book give you the impression that it is "linear" until Chapters 4-6, that couldn't be further from the truth. Other than Masks, I've never seen a greater variety of encounter and lore options within individual Chapters. Many of the options are far more in-tune with the story than the sub-options in Masks. I'm not anti-Masks. I'm saying that there are dimensions of this campaign that very much seem to me to be comparable to Masks, or better. That is a compliment.
    4) The campaign won't waste your time giving stat blocks for "generic profession" NPCs. Be real. The stat blocks of "Resident Archeologist" or "This One Priest" doesn't need to be different for the purposes of game execution in different Chapters. The generic professions section of the Appendices is a welcome replacement for (I'm sure unintentionally) wasting page count on producing stat blocks for every individual NPC, over and over again, when 90% of the stats are the same.
    I'm going slow because I'm a print-reader. I can't read a PDF as fast as I can read print. But I'm really enjoying what I've read so far!
    I just finished Chapter 3. Yes, I know. I'm slow. I'm a teacher and this is our worst year of our careers. I don't have  a ton of time to read and focusing is a struggle right now.
    Thoughts: 
    1) Chapter 3 wasn't what I expected. It was better than I expected. The quandary that the investigators are faced with in obtaining a campaign McGuffin is complex and has many potential solutions. It screams "Classic 1920s CoC challenge for academics." I could see any group of players coming up with a unique solution to the problem.
    2) The section headed "Missing Pieces" made me laugh out loud. I said to myself: "That escalated quickly." Players may not be able to succeed in their McGuffin-finding. No worries. The "solution" to their failure is dark. And I can imagine a major NPC nonchalantly explaining to them, with a straight face, what they would need to do. Good stuff.
    3) I can't help but think of Dr. Hardy's scenario Scritch Scratch when reading this Chapter. @Lynne H, can you confirm that you are a fan of a particular terrestrial mammal?  
    Chapter 4 reflections:
    I really enjoyed this Chapter and it was a quick read.
    1) <compliment sandwich> I have many reasons for loving and playing CoC, and an opportunity to learn world and local history is one of the big ones. This Chapter is REALLY scratching my itch for that. There are dimensions of Buddhist and Hindu culture that are likely to really challenge some Western readers. And I think that is great. We grow when we are challenged. I'll give an example that I think is prescient. Some cultures feature genital mutilation as a rite of passage. These practices are (rightly) highly controversial, debated, and sources of activism in Western culture. But it is an incredibly challenging discussion because of the Western history of colonization attitudes, manifest-destiny policies, and aggressive attempts to covertly and/or overtly supplant indigenous religion. I'm not saying that to debate it here, but rather draw an analogy. The point is that there are aspects of culture here that are certainly likely to make Western players squeamish. I applaud Lynne for challenging readers.
    2) For those of you who think I'm just a Chaosium yes-man, I do have a gripe at this stage. And it could just be my own ignorance of Eastern geography that is the real problem. There is a LOT of geographic territory covered in this campaign, much of it that Western readers may not recognize. That's fine, but I think there are aspects of the text that could do a bit of a better job of helping a Keeper out with locations. I recognize that this isn't likely to change before publication. Specifically, there will be sections that will talk a lot about specific routes that investigators could take in between locations. A lot of the time, half of the names don't appear on the maps. And maybe that is ok, because the intent is just to name the options without mapping it out for the sake of red-lining expediency. I'll reference the page 158 section "Getting to Sitavana" as an example. This is an example of a section in which a lot of locations have been mentioned before, but the maps of the immediate area in the Chapter don't mention half of the locations presented. This could be a problem for me in that I am simply a visual learner, or because I just need to accept the fact that the descriptions are simply "performance aides" for the Keeper to sound like they know the region. I just personally prefer text mentions of locations to be over-represented in maps. I recognize that there is an aesthetic variable of not making maps too busy. When I balance all those variables I end on the "frustration" side as a reader/Keeper, and that makes it worth mentioning to me. 
    3) I love the table on 168. It may be my favorite use of Luck as an investigator stat in anything I have read. He he he. In addition, given how important "ritualism" is in CoC, I think this particular table is a really good model for a general mechanic for any Keeper to use in setting investigators on a task to prepare effectively for a ritual. Ritual components do not just have to be a binary (you have a component or you don't). The quality of the component can and should matter. From a metagaming perspective, it is just another way to reward players who are careful and intelligent in how they solve problems. </compliment sandwich>
    4) Full credit for use of the word "susurrations." #OxfordEnglishDictionary? 😜 
    5) I find Handout: Bones 5 to be interesting. It's good to have for Keepers needing expediency and could be ditched entirely by Keeper's wishing to have the teaching by the lama be a role-playing set piece that require players to carefully learn their role for the ritual. Different groups will value different approaches, and any could be successful here. A lot depends upon the prior choices players make earlier.
    6) Suggested manias and phobias for a Keeper in specific situations are always appreciated. As is the Keeper aide provided on page 180!
    It is now time to bust out an overview book I have on world religions and delve more deeply into Buddhism and Hinduism. I think it may actually help me to appreciate the campaign even more!
     
    Chapter 5 first part
    1)      The use of dreams to continue to drive the action is a common and useful Call of Cthulhu trope. What sets this campaign apart from many scenarios/campaigns is the detail given in each Chapter to aide the Keeper in describing those dreams to players. Many scenarios will vaguely say things like “use dreams to keep the tension up for players” or something of the like. And in a short scenario, that may be perfectly adequate. But in a campaign of this size, the detail given to theming dreams as a cohesive whole while aiding Keepers with specifics is much appreciated.
    2)      The campaign really (rightly) punishes groups that don’t take on the aide of a major NPC. I mean, I won’t ever tell a group what to do or how to play a specific subset of investigators. But if they elect not to take the aide of this character, they’re really hamstringing themselves. Personally, as a Keeper, I would do everything that I could to subtly encourage them to take his aide. The person I’m referring to is also a very interesting character for role-playing, and I feel like a running of this campaign would suffer by side-lining him. I’m curious as to how it play-tested, which groups kicked him to the curb immediately, and how they fared as a result. I mean, the campaign writes in detailed suggestions for what to do if this happens, but I gotta think that option is only for groups that are really deliberately golf-handicapping themselves. I don't think this is a flaw of the campaign. I think that CoC groups should always avoid alienating potential allies. I've played in enough Con games to know that a lot of role-players can't help but engage in self-sabotage. If it's in character, fine. Just not my style.
    3)      I think Chapter 5 illustrates why a balance was struck for overall campaign locations. Anticipating travel between three locations, when the players can take them in any order, gets real complex real fast. People like things in threes. A fourth location would really increase the complexity. There is a lot of dense travel information in Chapter 5, but it would have to go somewhere. The decision was clearly made to arrange Chapters according to a “typical” route, which I think was the correct choice, with Chapter 5 including the “flex travel info” needed depending upon individual group choices. When needed by a Keeper, this information would be key.
    Chapter 5 second part
    Just finished Chapter 5. I doubt I'm going to be able to read the whole thing before it goes to print. Professional duties and a bunch of life groin-kicks have gotten in the way. If you want to pay me to be a proofreader I could finish it in time. 😜 I did find zero typos in the second half of Chapter 5, so kudos to the first few passes!
    1) There are two boxes in Chapter 5 that do a really nice job of helping Keepers stay engaged on over-arching plot points and mechanics.
    2) This section of the text answers a key concern I had with motivation and plot. I don't want to spoil it here, but if you're wondering how the baddies are able to do a baddie thing that at first seems illogical or unlikely, there is a very elegant explanation for how it happens. Makes sense.
    3) I like the ally/antagonist/friend of my enemy is an enemy dynamic in the latter part of the Chapter!
    Chapter 6 reflections:
    I've been trying to synthesize my thoughts on this Chapter and what I keep coming back to is that the skills of the Keeper are going to factor in tremendously as to how it goes. I think that the "main event" featured in this Chapter is a real challenge to run, largely because it centers around the age-old table issue of how to work with players who have lost game autonomy. The key, I think, is description. Skilled Keepers are going to be at a great advantage in successfully running this Chapter. This Chapter is not for novice Keepers, and I predict that a novice Keeper could find themselves in a tough spot in which their players feel like the outcome was pre-ordained (even if it wasn't) or that their "success" was entirely due to chance. In addition, players could very well feel railroaded if a Keeper isn't careful at describing what they see. I'm not saying this is a "bad" Chapter. Just that I think it is very challenging to run effectively. I suppose I could make the argument about the whole campaign too. You need solid Keeper skills to run this.
    There are a lot of rolls for the Main Event. I personally would not use the quantity of rolls suggested, but the rolls seem more designed to "prevent the investigators from failing" rather than "helping them succeed." The question will be what the "right" amount of rolls will be for a particular group, as I could see my group considering these rolls to be tedious.
    All that said, the "main event" of this Chapter is the event that the game has built up to until this point. It is potentially very grisly and will need some level of veil for some groups. My group would, for sure, need it veiled, because of some pretty intense body horror. But for groups who like that sort of thing, it will scratch the morbid itch.
    There are a lot of very useful Keeper aides in this Chapter that will help one keep track of the logistics. Dr. Hardy is truly a master of practical Keeping, in this regard. In most role-playing supplements, many of us find ourselves needing to spend time constructing even the most basic aides to run a certain game, and Dr. Hardy has anticipated the most critical of that work!
    This Chapter has some really nice art.
    The Karmic Balance mechanic sees direct utility here and I appreciate the description offered as to how each investigator may be impacted differently depending upon their Balance.
    Tons of options are given here as to how to proceed with or conclude the campaign at this stage. There is a lot of fodder here for surviving investigators to continue within this narrative, or on to other adventures. Great care was clearly taken in suggesting options here.
    I really like the setup of classic Mythos villain combined with new creature in this Chapter.
    This campaign oozes "classic" 1920s as written. I truly believe, after six Chapters, that this one is going to go down in history as one of the greats.
     
    Chapter 7 reflections:
    This Chapter is an absolute delight. It not only follows a classic investigative arc, but adds depth and humanity to some campaign creatures in a Runequest Trollesque kind of way. This isn't unique to this campaign (Paper Chase is another notable example), but it is a Chaosium tradition to add depth and ethics to foes treated far more stereotypically by most game companies. That's why I play the types of games Chaosium makes. More deferential to quality story-telling. Less brutish, more intellectual. How's that for a compliment?
    1) There are several plot-oriented environmental hazards in this Chapter that follow both the larger and smaller plot. Variety of challenge is the spice of life and this Chapter has it.
    2) Care has been taken here to provide options for combat-oriented or investigation-oriented groups. There is nothing lazier (in my personal opinion) than role-playing scenarios that resort to "fight happens here because we need a fight." It happens way too often in role-playing writing. Yes, partly because some groups "expect" it. But many of us find it tired and cliched. This campaign is largely investigative and cultural and I cannot stress enough how important it it to me that Chaosium and Dr. Hardy have the courage to produce a campaign targeted at those of us who prefer classic character-interaction-focused gaming experiences.
    3) This Chapter has a tremendous amount of utility, either in the context of this campaign or elsewhere. I think that even if the Investigators "succeed" and technically "end" the campaign in Chapter 6, Chapter 7 could quite easily serve as a backdrop for many different further adventures. There is a lot of substitution that can be had here. Dr. Hardy has created a wonderful underground "playground." I plan to use the framework of this scenario very soon in my own campaign, but with replacing the location, creatures, and McGuffin(s) with situations and objects unique to my own campaign.
    4) The action location map is truly wonderful. I love great cartography.
    5) There is just so much cross-referencing in this book. And I love that. Makes everything so much easier to run and to prepare for, for a Keeper. This is truly a campaign that serves as a culmination of everything we've learned about effective practical game-running in decades in the hobby.
    6) Loving the suggestion of a non-human NPC joining the party if they are short on characters. 
    Chapter 8 reflections:
    1) If you like tea, like I do (I'm partial to Jasmine and a good Darjeeling), this is the Chapter for you. I remember fondly my tour of the Cutty Sark when I visited London in '14.
    2) If you have a charismatic villain, use them! I love the very forward approach here.
    3) The environmental hazards escalate and are liable to be incredibly unnerving to the Investigators.  Reminds me of certain popular science fiction franchises that shall remain unnamed. Perfect for Call of Cthulhu. Like elements of the prior Chapter, these could be dropped into any game.
    4) There are tough ethical decisions in this Chapter for the grand finale. I appreciate the playtest notes and Keeper hints as to how investigator creativity might help them avoid a gruesome fate.
    5) I like learning British colloquialisms from Call of Cthulhu authors from across the pond: "or by the investigators making a hash of things."
    Appendix A (NPCs) reflections:
    1) I very much like this idea of having a "stable" of generic NPCs by occupation to draw from. This campaign spans multiple countries over potentially a year and naming all of the NPCs that the characters might encounter in a Chapter wouldn't be feasible. Or it would just bloat the page count.
    2) "couldn't give two figs about the concept of customer service" LOL
    3) As with the previous comment, there are quite a few quality exercises in humor in this section. Don't skip the backgrounds of the generic NPCs!
    4) The "real person" vignettes are a welcome addition.
    5) The characters in this section could be used in virtually any campaign, with some modifications to cultural placement.
    Appendix B reflections:
    1) I think it is a really nice gesture for Chaosium to include the nearly full text of some Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic spells in this text. Many of us, of course, possess the book, but some may not. It has allowed Dr. Hardy to use the full command of "the catalogue" in her writing, without setting some readers at a disadvantage. Many companies would quite cynically either cheapen the depth of narrative to not require it, or simply require the book to get full use of the campaign. Chaosium is considerate of gamers.
    2) There are a lot of really nice "utility" style spells in this Appendix that I could see being very useful and interesting for a lot of investigative groups, even outside the confines of the campaign. They are all also appropriately costed, meaning that they aren't like DND cantrips or anything where they could be cast on a whim. Many require large investments of Magic points, so if an investigator wants to utilize them, they must be used infrequently. POW expenditures abound too. I am very much of the school of thought that investigators should have access to lots of spells in the game (this is an unpopular opinion), but that the costs of learning them and the costs of casting should be such that they really need to think long and hard if their use is "worth it." Mask of Reason stands out to me as a really fun spell (a key to this campaign!) with a cost "the number of Magic points the target possesses!" There are lots of twists on spell costs like that in this section. Another notable: "All Magic points but one," reflecting that the spell just basically exhausts your eldritch reserves.
    Appendix C reflections: 
    I commented on this section in my early reading. This campaign is arranged so that Investigators may be regional. In that case, these handouts become "common knowledge" for your character. For non-regional investigators, these handouts effectively become "investigative red-lining" so that the first step of entering any populated area doesn't need to be a Library Use roll if that process can be expedited. Library Use rolls are reserved for highly specialized info instead. Interestingly, this is an example of a Call of Cthulhu campaign that isn't as heavily dependent upon the Library Use skill as others!
    Appendix D reflections:
    1) The need for overland travel in this region of the world is critical and the hiring of porters and guides is an absolute must. As such, this section gives you all the guidelines needed to work through the process. I can see it as being a key obstacle at the start of the campaign that gets progressively more "red-lined" as the action continues.
    2) The perspective on the photo on page 254 is fun. There is a train of four camels, two riding abreast, but the photo makes it look like there are five- or six-legged camels.  
    3) As a part of the travel process, this Keeper would likely offer Investigators improvements in a concentrated area of their choice for observing the caravan in operation. Navigate, Survival, and Appraise (as reflected in the need to barter) might be candidates.
    4) The Travel Times tables are super useful. In reading the text (I tend to read books sequentially, so didn't look ahead here) I was concerned about keeping track of travel times. This is handled with these Keeper aides!
    Appendix E reflections: 
    1) I will definitely be checking out the resources listed here to learn more! Call of Cthulhu gives wonderful opportunities to learn.
    2) The music suggestions are something that tends to not be included in these sections and is refreshing here. Targeted key words to search for on YouTube will make it very easy for Keepers to find appropriate regional music quickly.
    Appendix F reflections:
    1) Handout quality is superb, as is befitting one of Call of Cthulhu's signature features. Do you expect anything less? I'll tell you, once you play a game like Call of Cthulhu it's really hard to take the handouts of a lot of other RPGs seriously. I love Curse of Strahd, but the four handouts that the game offers, in the context of that game, is just a joke. Yes, I will throw shade at DND here.  
    2) I appreciate that the large regional map on 384-385 is full-page with no page numbers.
    3) Subtle additions, like the external view of the Peshawar Museum on 391, are greatly appreciated.
    Appendix G reflections:
    This is an example of a campaign where I would probably ask my players to seriously consider using the pre-generated investigators. In lieu of that, I might ask them to re-spec their existing characters as "alternate universe" versions with slightly different backstories that match the skills proficiencies of these pre-gens. Although this campaign oozes Classic-era 1920s, I don't consider "Miskatonic Country" skill sets to be useful for this campaign.
    Index reflections:
    I've commented on the extensive cross-referencing in this campaign before, and the index is very detailed. It includes multiple topical sections which will, no doubt, be very useful for Keepers.
    Final thoughts (While drinking a cup of Blue Shadow tea. Yes, we have tea shops in Omaha, Nebraska. No, we aren't all farmers. 😜 )
    I haven't run Children of Fear, so note that these have been my reflections on first read-through.
    I think this campaign is exceptional, with an incredible amount of depth. I also think that this is a great overall addition to the Call of Cthulhu product line. Like Masks, this is not a campaign for novice Keepers. Chaosium has done a great job over 7th edition of providing resources for novice (Gateways to Terror, Call of Cthulhu Starter Set, Doors to Darkness), intermediate (Mansions of Madness Volume 1, Harlem Unbound, Two-Headed Serpent, A Cold Fire Within) and advanced (Masks of Nyarlathotep, Children of Fear, Horrors on the Orient Express) Keepers. It will take a fair amount of research and Keeper skill to run this effectively. But the result will be a spectacular foray into Hindu and Buddhist mythology, as well as a lot of regional culture.
    There is a lot here to challenge people. Cannibalism, human-sacrifice, and charnal grounds are all aspects of Eastern religions that are likely to challenge Western players. Keepers will need to take care to know their groups and veil where appropriate. That is not a criticism. This campaign takes risks, and it will require an empathetic Keeper to mitigate the outcome of those risks.
    I've commented many times before that Dr. Hardy and the Chaosium team know what it is like to run games. They are in our heads in writing this campaign. Running it will be easier as a result of their hard work.
    I also need to comment that this is my style of Call of Cthulhu game. The emphasis here is largely on role-playing interaction, learning, exploration, and investigation. This is what Call of Cthulhu is, at it's core, in my opinion. It is different than a lot of Miskatonic Country investigations, and that is ok. We're globe-trotting here. And this is a region of the world hitherto not explored in-depth in Call of Cthulhu history. 
    I'm a "physical book gamer," so I likely won't run any aspect of this until the hard copy is released in February/March. I'll be picking up the Leatherette, as is befitting of a legacy work like this. 
    So, @Lynne H, I hope to hell you're proud of this work, because you should be.
     
  4. klecser
    Review: Refractions of Glasston for Call of Cthulhu
     
    When I first heard of a group of college students working with faculty and Chaosium mentors to write a scenario I was simultaneously hopeful and skeptical. On one hand, anyone who has played role-playing games for an extended period of time knows that writing content for a wide audience for a game is challenging. My head spins a bit when I think about taking quality writing and needing to support it with art, handouts, editing and layout that makes for a truly professional-looking package. That isn’t easy. On the other hand, Miskatonic Repository has provided a lovely platform to allow amateur writers access to publication avenues that were not present in the past. Why shouldn’t a college course provide an opportunity for experiential learning? With these competing perspectives in mind, I dove into Refractions of Glasston (RoG henceforth) with a positive and open mind. And I was not disappointed.
     
    The scenario is a 1920s-era investigation set within the historical context of Indiana at the time. This is probably my favorite part of the endeavor. I learned a bit of Indiana’s glass manufacturing history by reading this scenario. Call of Cthulhu has always had the advantage of being a nice vehicle for exploring true history in the context of fiction. Having real world tie-ins in any CoC scenario are useful for giving players reasons as to why their character would be present and engaged. I think this will help the scenario especially if run at conventions.
     
    At this point, note that there will be spoilers moving forward. There are specific plot points that I want to give as feedback to the student writers and I can’t really do that without making specific references to happenings. I enthusiastically recommend this scenario for play, so if you are a player and want to send it off to your Keeper, I think you can feel confident in doing so. Please direct your Keeper to read the rest of the review for tips for running it.
     
    I have a long list of things that I like about the scenario. The biggest one for me is the cast of characters. The authors have done a great job of fleshing out the details of a wide variety of different characters for players to interact with, each with their own personal motives. This micro-setting feels “lived in” and the characters give it that authenticity. I think it is particularly important for a scenario of any game to have characters that players want to interact with. RoG has NPCs with a variety of motives.
     
    The town is really well fleshed out. Glasston, as presented, has the right number of buildings for exploration activities to have solid depth, while not also being overwhelming in scope. Of particular note is the temporal variations that the authors have worked into the text about specific locations. There are many options as to what could happen depending upon the timing of when the investigators explore a particular location. Whether a Keeper uses these as written, or adapts them to their own purposes, it can never hurt to have more options.
     
    I find “the monster” of this scenario to be very interesting. I think fear of being cut by glass is a very real phobia of a lot of people, and for good reason. Any scenario that targets common fears is immediately aiding in the development of mood. The Glass Plague is creepy and deadly and gives investigators added incentive to continue to find out more critical information as to what is happening in town. This threat also has a calculating intelligence behind it. I think the scenario could probably stand on the Glass Plague alone, without the entity at all, but the added layer of a cold, directed intelligence behind what is happening just makes everything even more interesting and terrifying. The attacks of the creature are varied and interesting.
     
    The overall organization of the scenario follows three distinct acts. The first act is a sandbox with a large amount of supporting material to help it feel fleshed out. The last two acts are a bit more prescriptive. One of the most interesting elements of the sandbox act is the idea of the suspicion tracker. This is a simple but very powerful mechanic that I think could be broadly used in many investigative horror scenarios. A question constantly facing Keepers is timing of when sinister elements make their move. I’m sure opinions on this will vary on a continuum from “when the Keeper deems the time to be right,” to a more objective method of determination with the suspicion tracker. At the end of the day, the “correct” answer is whatever makes the game most interesting for a particular group. The suspicion tracker adds a concrete option for Keepers who prefer discrete triggers to events. The extent to which particular events contribute to the tracker make sense in the context of the overarching narrative.
     
    The layout of the scenario is professionally done. Everything that makes the organization of 7E scenarios great is present here, down to the consistent formatting of character information blocks. This standardization makes it immediately easy for new fans to pick up the importance of getting characters down first before any events transpire.
     
    The art of the handouts, the town map, and character portraits are all well done, given the amateur group producing the scenario. It is refreshing to see character portrait artwork that breaks the mold of what is “usual” for 7E. That isn’t a criticism of 7E so much as an appreciation for art variation in any product. 
     
    The pre-generated characters are well designed and each follows the “Holy Trifecta” rule of at least one or two critically useful skills (Library Use, Social, Investigative).
     
    This is a free product being produced for learning purposes for students and as a benefit to the community. So, I think anyone needs to keep that in mind when they are evaluating. I’m not inclined to get too nitpicky here, except when that could have a positive impact on learning.
     
    I’ll end my “things I like” section by just mentioning how important I think it is that a class at a religious college is publishing this scenario. Role-playing in general, but especially “occult”-themed games like Call of Cthulhu,  are often demonized by faith groups. I think it is a critical act of gaming leadership for a class at a religious college to publish a secular scenario. Thank you for sending a positive message about story-telling from your vantage point!
     
    As to stretches, there are a couple aspects of the narrative that I think deserve mention for prospective Keepers.
     
    A linchpin of the narrative is setting up the concept of the Sand Pit as a key location for the third act. The sandbox portion is pretty light on concrete mentions of the Sand Pit. It would be up to the Keeper to plan by having a list of NPCs that are the most important sources of Sand Pit information. For me, the top four (in order) are: Dennis Adkins, Gloria Hillis, Barry Coddle, and Elias Winters. Barry Coddle is the only character that gives explicit references to the Sand Pit. I think that relevant sections of the text would benefit greatly from reminding the Keeper that each of these characters are important sources of information for helping the investigators learn about the significance of the Sand Pit. For example:  “Keepers should note that, if the investigators have not learned about the Sand Pit before now, Gloria is an excellent opportunity to communicate that information...” A journal entry handout cryptically references “sand.” But other than that, scouring the scenario, I find scant reference to the main sources of info about the Sand Pit. I’m guessing the authors had the idea firmly placed in their minds as they wrote and edited. In my opinion, it doesn’t come out in the text. I could see an inexperienced Keeper failing to do enough to set up the idea of the Sand Pit and, by extension, I could see a group of players completely lost as to how to act on the information they have about the Glass Plague. As written, it is entirely possible that if the investigators don’t talk to Barry Coddle, they would never hear the term Sand Pit uttered in the adventure. A good axiom to follow in scenario preparation is that players always need more chances to find information than you might think. References to the Sand Pit seem too light to me.
     
    There are a couple points in the scenario where the NPCs seem overly aggressive. For example, the interaction with the Sheriff seems odd. One failed Fast Talk roll and not leaving immediately is enough to get an investigator shot? By the sheriff? Yikes. I understand that one of the central ideas is that the Glass Plague alters people’s minds, but this action seems in direct contradiction to what we learn about Joan McKay in her character bio. She wants to “keep outsiders from suspecting its plans” and her “strong moral code often outweighs Kh’yrenery’hk’s influence.” These statements seem to directly contradict her just shooting an investigator because she doesn’t like the cut of their jib. Shooting somebody isn’t an effective way to curtail suspicion. Another example would be the Brawl in Aisle 12. That just doesn’t sit well with me as a Keeper. It kind of smacks of “let’s be sure to get a combat encounter in here.” I think perhaps the goal is to give investigators an opportunity to study the Glass Plague, but those opportunities abound in the scenario. Does it function to influence the suspicion tracker? Is the goal to increase tension through violence? It just seems overly aggressive.
     
    The Jim Crow Laws sidebar feels like a tacked-on and missed opportunity. It basically says: “Jim Crow Laws existed. Use that if you want.” Without any guidance on how to use them appropriately, I think the section potentially does more harm than good. Maybe the writers didn’t feel qualified to write advice on using Jim Crow in a historical scenario? If that’s the case, it is probably best to not try to do something you aren’t prepared or qualified for. It just leaves a hollow taste in my mouth. I feel like Call of Cthulhu is a great opportunity for us to engage on tough social issues as gamers. But without guidance on how to do that it risks making a mockery of very serious historical issues. So, my advice is either to flesh out this sidebar a bit more to give the tips needed for Keepers to be effective (maybe consulting with someone who can give appropriate guidance?) or to just ditch it entirely.
     
    I think this is a pretty deadly scenario, whether we are talking about physical or mental harm. This could be considered a strength or a weakness of the scenario, depending upon who you ask and whether it is used as a one-shot or as part of a campaign. I wonder if it was independently play-tested, because I see a TPK here as being pretty likely, unless the investigators have a well-thought-through plan for fighting Kh’yrenery’hk.
     
    Very minor nitpicks: 
     
    Page 24, first paragraph: “Visint” 
     
    Page 26, first column, last paragraph: Sounds (pun intended) like it should be a Listen roll, not Spot Hidden.
     
    Page 28, Glass Behemoth stat block: Damage bonus is +5D6, but Brawl attack has +1D6
     
    In summary
     
    Refractions of Glasston is an excellent scenario with an interesting cast of characters and a truly frightening, otherworldly, unique threat. I find it easy to visualize squirming at a gaming table as the clues are uncovered and the Glass Plague is encountered. This student group should be proud of what they accomplished!
     
    Verdict: A solid 4 out of 5 for me. Highly recommended.
  6. klecser
    Here’s my report! Note that it gets progressively more positive as the day goes on, so stick with it!
     
    My Free RPG Day began by going to my FLGS to find that they didn’t get in any product. So, off to a rough start. The worker told me that that they tried to order but weren’t allowed to use a credit card this year because the endeavor is under new management. So, by the time they got to doing Paypal, the FRPG people were out of boxes. So, kind of a sour start, but I had plans for later in the day and I’m fortunate that Omaha has a ton of game stores, so I knew that somebody had to have gotten a shipment.
     
    Perusing online I found that, sure enough, another FLGS got product. So, I went in and found that they were giving away any two choice items for free. I got what I came for: The Kids On Bikes Mini-Campaign. Yay! I thought about taking a second item, since it was allowed at this store, but I just wasn’t keen on any of the other offerings (even the dice). This Day was pretty Paizo-heavy, and I don’t play Starfinder or Pathfinder. So, I just decided to leave a second item to a gamer who’d really get some use out of it. I will say that the scenario on the table for Starfinder did look cool. Nice production, art, and a funny alien.
     
    Now to the Main Event (cue arena music). The sibling store of the first store I mentioned had a person running Call of Cthulhu in the evening! The store policy (and rightly so, in my opinion) is that priority is given to new players. So, I figured I’d show up, and if it was full I’d just watch/help with rules questions. I wore the arcane symbol Cthulhu-themed shirt one of my players gave me last year. OBVIOUSLY.
     
    I arrived on time and found an experienced gamer (Len-Keeper) and a much younger guy (Brandon) at the back table. Plenty of open slots. Honestly, for this area, I was excited that we got to play. The area is dominated by combat RPGs (no offense intended) but that just isn’t my thing. Well, here was an older gent who it wasn’t his thing (he was very interested when I mentioned Runequest) and a younger kid who was “sick of” Adventurer’s League-style DND and wanted to try something new. Bless his heart, and as soon as we heard that, Len and I were extra determined to give him a great experience with Call of Cthulhu!
     
    We chatted for a bit about how Call of Cthulhu is a different style of game than DND and that getting into combat is generally a bad idea. Brandon understood this immediately (some people don’t). He picked Nevada Jones from the Starter as his character and I picked Jessie Williams. She seemed to be a good compliment to Nevada.
     
    Len ran Deadlight. I hadn’t read it in a long time and the opening scene kind of reminded me of it, but I couldn’t remember any of the particulars. So, it was just like I was playing it fresh. Len was a good Keeper. He was especially good at description and evoking mood, which is something I’m continually working on as a Keeper. So, he was a good Keeper for me to learn from.
     
    *Deadlight spoilers from here on-skip to after three asterisks for summary*
     
    *
     
    *
     
    *
     
    We were driving along the road on our way back to Arkham when we saw a shape on the road. Nevada clipped the figure with the car and nearly crashed it. Jessie ran out into the rain to see if the figure was ok to find a woman in a white dress raving about “the light” and how it had “taken my grandfather.” I got her back into the car and out of the elements while Nevada checked the car and found it to be ok, just a bit stuck. He pushed while I hit the gas and the three of us headed down the ride, driving much more slowly this time. I asked the woman her name (Amelia Bell) and about what she saw. She said that her grandfather was “attacked by the light” and that she had run away from the situation. All along the drive we saw a light in the woods a hundred or so yards off…
     
    Up the road we found a semi-truck jackknifed across the road. This made it completely impassable due to the mud on either side, but there was a nearby diner/gas station that we took shelter in. We walked in to hear two men arguing with each other and Doreen, our waitress got us all set up with coffee. Jake, a huge guy with a truckers logo on his hat was also speaking about seeing lights. In this case, they caused him to jackknife his truck. Jake was pretty heightened and at one point grabbed Nevada by the scruff and got real intense. We managed to talk him down and set out to find out what could be done to get back to Arkham. Jessie’s character sheet says she is religious, so I played it as if she was in a bit of denial about the weird happenings around us (resisting the Mythos). I nonchalantly asked Doreen if she knew the people who lived nearby and through that conversation learned about Dr. Bell living back up the road on Orchard Road in the direction we had come from.
    Doreen mentioned that the phone was down but I went to check on it to see if I could use Mechanical Repair to work on it. I failed my roll, but Pushed and got an Extreme success. There was nothing wrong with the phone and the wires leading out of the building seemed intact, so I resigned myself to the fact that there wasn’t anything I could do about that.
     
    Nevada suggested we go check Jake’s truck to see if there was anything that could be done. Forging out into the rain, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it, other than it being jack-knifed and in the mud. We asked about an adjacent repair bay since old gas stations frequently had repair stations attached. Sure enough, there was one, and we went out to see if we could find any tools or pulleys that could help us work on the truck, even though that seemed like a long shot. Jake went with us. The power went out when we were in there and Jake started to get agitated. He ran out into the rain desperate to get his truck going. We still hadn’t found any equipment so Brandon and I were very much in “what would our characters do?” moments. As players we knew the guy was probably doomed, but we both agreed that our characters would likely be focused on the task at hand so we just “waited for him to get back” (ha ha).
     
    We saw a light near the truck and assumed that Jake found a useful tool and headed out to investigate. I waited on the other side of the truck while Nevada peered around the corner. He saw Jake flat on his back on the ground with a flashlight spinning slowly nearby. He snagged the flashlight and noted that Jake’s face looked distorted. Not burned. More melted. Jake sat bolt upright and screamed. We made SAN checks and Brandon passed. I failed it, but took less SAN because I didn’t see the full details of what was transpiring. As Jake stood up, bright light was emitted from his mouth and eyes and his whole upper body seemed to liquify. We ran and the light seemed to retreat back into the woods.
     
    I tried to encourage everyone in the diner to get away from the windows and head into the back. Something was going on here and my religious upbringing caused my character to focus on keeping people safe. People were hesitant to follow such weird instructions but we did our best to explain and got people in the back. We searched for a fuse box and found all of the fuses intact!
     
    At this point, Mary the waitress started to get really agitated. I asked her why she was so upset and she pulled a gun on me! She said that she wasn’t going to wait any longer for her boyfriend to show up for the robbery they were committing. I gave a little speech to try to calm her down and the Keeper gave me a 10 percent bonus on a dismal Persuade skill level, given my speech. I critically failed and immediately requested a Push, leaning on how I just wanted to get all of us to safety and the future mattered more than her past. My Pushed roll succeeded, and I spent Luck to turn it into a Hard Success. This calmed Mary down and she put the gun away.
     
    Realizing that agitation seemed to attract “the light” I hatched a plan to get Doreen to get everyone some marshmallows to try to lighten the mood around the fire. While doing this, Mary disappeared. We saw her running out to a car behind the repair bay! Knowing that may be our only option for helping others escape, we ran out into the rain after her. When we arrived, Mary was being consumed by “the light” and both Nevada and I took SAN hits before we fled back.
     
    Piecing the bits of the puzzle together, Nevada and I agreed that we weren’t likely to make any headway at our current location. It wasn’t safe to be outside on foot and the power and phone options were dead ends. So, I made the audacious suggestion that we go try to help Amelia’s grandfather.
     
    We headed back up the road with the light trailing us the whole way. We found Amelia’s grandfather’s place. We brought her inside and immediately found a sitting room with a ghastly sight (in retrospect we could have done a better job of protecting her from any imagery). Amelia’s grandfather and her two robbers were laying dead on the floor in various stages of “melting.” There was also a metal box/chest that was opened in the room. It looked like the seam had been sealed with wax in the past. (Seems to be the source of an imprisoned entity of some kind? Hmm.)
     
    Amelia went catatonic. We found a working oil lamp and decided to explore the rest of the house. I stayed with her while Nevada explored the kitchen and an adjoining room. No clues. We switched off “custody” of Amelia and I found a crowbar and the study. Nevada searched the pockets of the grandfather and found a small key and a pocket watch. He also stoked the fire.
     
    The study was a Call of Cthulhu player’s DREAM! A bookcase! A desk! 😜 With no Locksmith skill, I went to my Crudely Use Crowbar skill and forced open the desk drawer. Sorry Nevada, your key is useless now. 😉 My Spot Hidden roll was a fail. I Pushed it, with the aim of trying to categorize the desk material into piles to make it easier to search. I critically failed my Pushed roll (!) and my kind Keeper just made my light run out of oil (rather than setting the desk on fire). I resigned myself to being a failure in that room and traded off with Nevada again.
     
    Nevada found an accounting book (neither of us have Accounting), but more critically also an old leather-bound journal with strange writings (squeal). In perusing it he found references to a set of detailed steps related to the wax-sealed box. It explained how to imprison “the light” within the box with a sacrifice. Given that it was just Nevada, Amelia, and I, the “sacrifice” option was particularly maddening to consider. Thankfully, it also mentioned that extreme heat, electricity, or daylight could potentially “kill” the entity, but that if it hid during daylight it would just return the next night.
    Nevada gained 1 Cthulhu Mythos and took 3 SAN.
     
    Our last investigative push was to try to see if we could get the lights of the house back on. The Keeper mentioned that there were no wires that seemed to lead into the house. I suggested we try to find a basement. We found the door leading into the blackness and made our way down some dangerous steps, making our DEX rolls. Sure enough, there was a generator in the basement. We tried to pick it up to carry it upstairs with the intent of taking it to the people stranded at the diner. We failed our Strength rolls. Amelia screamed. I yelled to Nevada to get the generator running and I went to grab Amelia. “The Light” was moving through the house towards us. I succeeded on a Fighting Maneuver to grapple her and began to drag her to the basement door. Nevada got the generator running after several failed attempts.
     
    We got down into the basement and the entity followed us. Without a ground state, Nevada plunged the business ends of the generator wires into the entity, killing it, and himself, but saving Amelia and I. His hat rolled towards me and I put it on. Jessie will wear that hat every day from that moment on as a reminder of her friend, Nevada.
     
    *
     
    *
     
    *
     
    What a blast! I had been Keeping for so long that it had been years since I got to actually play Call of Cthulhu myself. I was fortunate to have enthusiastic people at the table and an experienced Keeper. We rounded out the evening with some “war stories” of our various gaming groups, the challenges of trying to bring Call of Cthulhu to a general audience very much focused on combat gaming, and some potential plans for future games! Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!
     
    Enjoy this? Consider subscribing to RPG Imaginings on YouTube. Lots of CoC unboxings, reviews, etc.
     
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC9EqFqKBETCBse8JuOOYOg
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