ColoradoCthulhu

The final scenario in The Haunting trilogy could feature a showdown with a resurgent Chapel of Contemplation, as well as delve more deeply into the cult's relationship with "The One Who Waits in the Dark" (i.e., Nyarlathotep). If the Investigators completed Of Wrath and Blood, they most likely possess The Cult of Ghouls grimoire and agents of the Chapel of Contemplation will want it back...

Thank you, I'm glad you liked my extension to your scenario. Our group really enjoyed Of Wrath and Blood. Maybe you could write a Part III, using some of the ideas from my alternate ending?

Here is the alternate ending for the 'Of Wrath and Blood' scenario that I devised as the Investigators did not initially defeat the ghoul Jean Paul La Croix in his Ghoul's Den but instead fled before the ghoul arrived. The original scenario ends with Walter Corbitt and Jean Paul La Croix being defeated in the Ghoul's Den chamber, so this alternate ending was necessary to resolve things for the Investigators (SPOILERS BELOW). The Investigators find the Macario twin boys in Jean Paul's Den, but the ghoul himself is nowhere to be seen. Combat with the fiend Walter Corbitt, who had possessed Francesco Macario before the events of The Haunting scenario, lasts only a few rounds as the Investigators are able to dispel Corbitt quickly. As stipulated in the scenario, Jean Paul does not return until the sixth round after the Investigators enter his Den. Instead, the Investigators are warned by Faustino Macario of the "monster man" who comes and goes through the open sewer pipe connected to the chamber. The Investigators take the boys and begin to make their way through the network of tunnels connecting the Ghoul's Den to the abandoned La Croix family mausoleum. Jean Paul emerges from the sewer pipe, finds the boys gone, and then begins to give chase to the Investigators. The Investigators are able to escape into the mausoleum and then out its doors into the daylight of the St. Michael's Memorial Gardens cemetery. As the ghoul Jean Paul La Croix is now a loose end and may kill innocent victims again, the Investigators must track him down to deal with the creature. After notifying the Baltimore police and returning the boys to their aunt and uncle, Enzo and Maria Giordano, the Investigators return to the cemetery the next morning. They find that the Ghoul Den has been buried by collapsing the rocky ceiling above, concealing any evidence of the Chapel of Contemplation symbol and altar which was found by the Investigators in the chamber the day before. The Investigators have the options of staking out the docks where Jean Paul had earlier murdered his victims or waiting at the St. Michael's Memorial Gardens cemetery during the night to see if the ghoul returns to his former home. That day, the Investigators speak to a junior priest at St. Michael's Catholic Church near the cemetery and discover that Father Enrique Domingo (whom the Investigators had previously met early in the scenario) disappeared yesterday after not showing up for evening mass at the church. A nun also tells the Investigators that Father Domingo had been observed some weeks earlier studying a strange tome (which turns out to be The Cult of Ghouls grimoire found by the Investigators inside the Den's altar the day before) in the church basement's archives, alone at night. The young priest then tells the Investigators about a Father Richard La Croix at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the other side of town who was also interested in the church's archives, dating back to colonial times. The Investigators had found extensive La Croix family records related to St. Michael's during their visit with Father Domingo, detailing the exorcism of Jean Paul La Croix by Cardinal Edward Talbot and his subsequent "death" in 1805. The Investigators pay a visit late that afternoon to Father Richard La Croix at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Father La Croix invites them to visit the La Croix family mansion in Baltimore tomorrow evening to meet his family and to discuss their tragic history. The Investigators agree. The Investigators decide to stake out the church cemetery and spy Father Domingo returning to St. Michael's by myself well past midnight. They manage to surprise the corrupt priest (who had actually been an acolyte of the Chapel of Contemplation all along) in the church basement as he was studying a map of the ghoul tunnels under Baltimore. The Investigators take Father Domingo captive, tie him up in the trunk of their car, and then pay a late visit to the Church of the Immaculate Conception. The ghoul tunnel map shows that there is an entrance to the tunnels underneath this church. The Investigators visit the empty church, pick the side door lock, and find a hidden trap door in the church's basement. They enter the ghoul tunnels which connect to what appears to be a residence some distance from the church, as well as the Baltimore Public Library among other locations throughout the city. The Investigators push open another trap door from the tunnels and exit into what appears to be the neglected, cobweb-strewn basement of a spacious home. The mansion seems be mostly abandoned with no regular occupants, but perhaps the occasional visitor. The Investigators hear activity coming from the mansion's attic and climb up its ladder to find the ghoul Jean Paul La Croix, who ferociously attacks them! Jean Paul La Croix is put to rest (this time for real) and the Investigators realize that this attic is where the ghoul's exorcism chronicled in the La Croix family church records took place. The simple bed in the attic is fitted with heavy leather restraints and there are framed pictures of a handsome young man who was once Jean Paul La Croix. The Investigators find a journal of the Baltimore Chapel of Contemplation's activities and evidence that both Father Domingo and Father La Croix are senior members. Father La Croix was planning on leading the Investigators into an ambush the next evening; the La Croix family mansion has been empty for years and is now used as a hideout by the Chapel of Contemplation cultists. The ghoul was instead surprised in his resting place and slain before he could kill the Investigators with Father La Croix's assistance. Not desiring to confront Father La Croix, the Investigators dump an unconscious (its very hot in the trunk of the car) Father Domingo in the woods outside Baltimore and then skip town, gathering their luggage at The Grand Hotel in downtown Baltimore and then hitting the road back to Arkham at first morning light. There is always the chance that Father Domingo, Father La Croix, and the Chapel of Contemplation could cross the Investigators' paths again...

It's funny that you mention Nyarlathotep as the last two scenarios we ran, Crimson Letters and Of Wrath and Blood, are connected to him through the books the Investigators eventually find. 'The Diary of Keziah Mason' mentions "The Black Man" as guiding her in witchcraft and 'The Cult of Ghouls' grimoire from the Baltimore Chapel of Contemplation cites "The One Who Waits in the Dark" - both are avatars of Nyarlathotep.

Our group just completed the 'Of Wrath and Blood' scenario by Jon Hook which took almost three 4-hour sessions. Of Wrath and Blood is the unofficial sequel to the classic The Haunting by Sandy Petersen. Before I expound on how things went, I wanted to know if anyone else has run this scenario. How did the story develop for your Investigators?

Follow-up on what happened after showing the player the two above spells. The Investigator decided not to study either one as they are too risky.

See the spell description above, "Assuming the form of a raven costs 1D8 Sanity points each time, up to a cumulative total of 8." "As to Return Thee to Safety... the title of that spell should be "save thy life at the price of thy mortal soul's vigor". Admittedly, a character is likely to have a POW of 100, but that means they get 9 uses of this spell until it will become fatal. Without some means of gaining POW back, this spell is really just the temptation of cowardice, where you die a thousand times." Also, "Return Thee to Safety (only females can cast this version of the spell) Cost: 5 magic points; 1 Sanity point; (10 POW one-time cost)" Both spells have set losses for Sanity or POW, so the losses are not ongoing.

I appreciate everyone's feedback concerning Mythos spell use by player characters. I may just remind the player that casting these spells effectively makes her a witch, and not one of the good ones.

Our group recently completed the "Crimson Letters" scenario from the Keeper's Rulebook and I chose Emilia Court and Abner Wick as co-conspirators. In my version of Crimson Letters, Emilia Court is a witch and a direct descendant of Keziah Mason. After dispatching Ms. Court, the players found 'The Diary of Keziah Mason' which is written in Colonial English and contains two spells that Emilia used during the scenario. I referenced the 7th edition Grand Grimoire and came up with these two spells which can be learned by one of the characters (there is only one female character in our group) after intensive study of the Diary. ********** The Witches Way (only females can cast this version of the spell) Cost: 12 magic points; 1D8 Sanity points Casting time: one round Lets the caster assume the form and capabilities (flight and senses) of a raven, while retaining her intelligence and intentions. Assuming the form of a raven costs 1D8 Sanity points each time, up to a cumulative total of 8. The spell must be cast while the sun is down and its effects only last until the following sunset. Requires 3 flight feathers from a live Fan-tailed raven (Corvus rhipidurus) as a spell component placed at the caster's bare feet, which are then consumed in a thick smoke shrouding the caster as the incantation is spoken. The smoke dissipates to reveal the caster in raven form. Return Thee to Safety (only females can cast this version of the spell) Cost: 5 magic points; 1 Sanity point; (10 POW one-time cost) Casting time: instantaneous The caster vanishes in a puff of smoke, to re-appear in a prepared location. The location is defined by creating a single Gate Box. Once the box is prepared, the caster sacrifices 10 POW (a one-time cost) and places elements of her body inside the box (such as blood, teeth, or nails). If these elements are removed and the box purified, the spell will not work, requiring the witch to prepare the box once again (and also repay the POW cost). When a certain phrase or gesture is performed, the caster is immediately transported to inside the Gate box, wherever it may be. The location of the Gate box might be as far as several hundred miles distant. Presumably the box could be moved without the witch’s knowledge ─ a surprise on her arrival! Each time the caster travels in this manner it costs 5 magic points and 1 Sanity point. ********** My concern is giving one of the players magic powers which may then unbalance the game going forward. I've put some limitations on these spells, but I may consider other limitations so that the spells are not used very often. Also, as these are witches' spells (black magic), using the spells may corrupt this character who isn't evil at all. I'd like to get some input on balance concerns and how these spells may be further limited before I consider allowing the character to study the Diary and learn the two spells.

I bought the three one-shot scenario PDF supplement, "Gateways to Terror," and noticed a misspelling in the "What's in the Cellar?" synopsis on the back cover: "Did a respected businessman really commit the bloody murder of his beloved wife in the cellar of the family's ancestral holiday cabin? While the body has never been found, it seems like the criminal has been caught. Is a terrible injustice abut to be served? Just what happened in that cellar?" The spell-checker did not catch "abut," which should be "about." I wasn't sure where to post this suggestion for Chaosium, so I posted it here. Let's hope this minor typo gets fixed before the print edition is finalized (spelling and grammar errors seem to be an ongoing issue with 7th edition material). The typo is also in the product listing found on Chaosium's website. https://www.chaosium.com/gateways-to-terror-pdf/ If I find any other errors while reading Gateways to Terror, I will post them here.

The next KoboldCon runs from April 24th to April 26th, 2020, so the print version will hopefully be released before the convention.

Why didn't I think of this one before? The original version of the RPG 'Chill' from the 1980s is strongly based on the works of both Bram Stoker and Edgar Allan Poe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chill_(role-playing_game)

Is there any word on when a print version of Gateways to Terror will be available?

One of the early classic D&D modules, Castle Amber (Module X2), is based on Weird Tales' author Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne stories. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Amber_(module)

I'm glad that the cover was changed as well. The new cover is a big improvement over the more cartoonish earlier version. I hope a print copy of Gateways to Terror is available by early next year. I've never run any of these one-shot scenarios, but I plan to do so at the upcoming KoboldCon 2020 in Colorado Springs in late April. Can each of the three scenarios be comfortably extended to three or four hours of play instead of just one to two hours? KoboldCon allocates four hour time slots for its events, and a somewhat longer one-shot would probably be more satisfying to the participants. Thoughts?

Any chance that this project will happen?

I found this blog post from today (Wayne's Books) with many photos of the Hawkmoon box set. Hawkmoon: Science & Sorcery in Earth’s Far Future [BOX SET]

"In September 1923, an urgent and mysterious telegram from an American adventurer plunges the investigators into an epic journey across China, Central Asia, Northern India, and Tibet."

Good idea. A community member could lay the groundwork and then a mod could just approve it after reviewing the master list. This way it will get done faster.

Nephilim seems very similar to the MMORPG The Secret World/Secret World Legends. The themes are very close, and Nephilim most likely influenced the game's designers and writers.

What say the mods? Are the moderators willing to take on this mini-project? If all of the scenarios were linked in a single pinned post, they would be easier to find and get more action.

This was my thought as well.

I tried to view a full preview of the scenario document on DriveThruRPG but I received an error message. Is the scenario intended to be played immediately after finishing The Haunting or can it be played some time afterwards?

I posted something similar to the above request in the 'Call of Cthulhu Role-Playing Game & Players' Facebook Group and received several dozen replies. I've decided that I'm not going to worry about the exact dates for now and just run Masks of Nyarlathotep as our first campaign. Once we are done with the material I have already picked out, our group should be somewhere in late 1924 so the Masks campaign does actually fit our chronological sequence. Orient Express will just remain on the back burner until Chaosium releases an updated slipcase version of the campaign, hopefully with the issues from the 1st and 2nd editions ironed out.

After not playing CoC for over thirty years (really - we played what was probably 3rd edition at my high school gaming club back in 1987), I started back up as a Keeper in May 2019. Our biweekly group just finished the three scenarios in the CoC Starter Set and will complete the 'The Haunting' from the 7th edition Quickstart Rules at our next session. After that I plan on running the two scenarios included with the Keeper Rulebook, followed by the two scenarios included with the Keeper Screen Pack. I would then run classic 1920s scenarios from both the 'Doors to Darkness' and 'Nameless Horrors' supplements. Our group is chronologically in September 1922 at the moment, so this date affects what I might do next. From what I can gather, the 'Horror on the Orient Express' campaign is set from January 1923 to March 1923 and 'Masks of Nyarlathotep' is set in 1925. As both of these 7th edition campaigns include printed handouts with specific dates for the Investigators, it would probably make sense to run these campaigns in their chronological order. I would prefer to run Masks first, however, as Orient Express is only available as a PDF doc but I would go to the trouble and expense of having the entire campaign printed out as a physical book for my reference. Of the 7th edition scenarios available from Chaosium as of 2019, what should I run after the Keeper material scenarios if I want our group's dates to be consistent? I also intend to run the Organized Play campaigns ('A Time to Harvest' and 'Flotsam and Jetsam') after these campaigns are available for sale as printed books. I don't want to touch the earlier edition scenarios that haven't been converted to 7th edition until I exhaust what is available now for the 7th edition (I am lazy that way).