PK Games

Congrats on the family. Perhaps your daughter would like a copy of B61 for Xmas LOL >:-> I am working on a xmas themed short B61 introductory one shot adventure. But if it gets done in time is up for argument.

Well I hate the word redundant, but to answer your question honestly, yes. The B61PM is not needed to play or understand B61 at all. It is a companion piece to the core rules the houses all the basic info a player needs for his or her character (skills, character generation, equipment). Its a cheaper alternative then having 2 or 3 copies of the main book to ease character creation, but is totally unnecessary if you already have GORE or a similar BRP book to begin with. The same will go for the GMsGuide due next year. Its a handy resource with some bonus material, but all the basic game needs is B61 and GORE (or BRP like base game). So if you are on that much of a budget and dont want to spend the money ($1.25 for PDF and rought $9 for print with shipping) then Id stay away from it. Sure I want you hard earned money but I also want to be true and honest with fellow gamers.

Im just glad to see that there is some interest in Berlin '61, even if it is mainly just the setting without the monsters LOL.

Actually while the mythos-rip off deities are the primary "evil" in the world the actual bad guys for Berlin '61 were to be the governemnt agencies. It was all about various agencies and organizations trying to use mythos related artifacts, powers, rituals and what not to attain thier political goals.

Hmm then I will shift focus for a supplement for B61 that covers just espionage and spy stuff. It will be designed so it can be used as a supplement to the mythos style horror for B61 or just Early Cold War espionage hi-jinx. Should be fun to write. Anyone else interested in this setting of this style?

If this is the direction people prefer the game to go in, then it will probably be what happens. The original intent of the setting was two things. One I spent the summer in Berlin and was fascinated by its history, especially the pre-wall years and I wanted to play a game that began before the wall went up, but during the adventure the wall was built. (it did originally go up over night). Second I wanted to play CoC and not have my players know it was CoC. So the original book was meant to throw off the players and have them think we were playing cold war espionage and just have them wind up getting eaten by mythos monsters. I personally would rather the game be mainly pulp-noir-espionage with the horror being mainly mad science, mad men and serial killers hiding amongst the backwall of the cold war and espionage world. Even in my normal CoC games I always had my PCs involved in normal everyday adventures, like solving normal crimes, dealing with everyday events and then about every 3 or 4 adventures cuaght up in mythios crap.

About 40% of the book (60 pages or so) covers equipment from the time (including a exchange rate chart for various nations involved in Berlinin 1961, but base prices are in american dollars fo rmy ease LOL), agencies, background on Berlin, a time line, rules that are not horror/magic specific but just game concerns (encumbrance, what pulp is, minion rules, and so forth), some key locations (with pictures), a couple of maps (working on getting better ones for later books), and information on 11 agencies (including CIA, Gehlen, Stasi, KGB, GRU, US Army, and others). The chapters on Essence (Chapter 3) and Magic (Chapter 4) are the only two real chapters that would be "horror/magic" specific while the Game Masters Chapter (Chapter 9) is about 50-60% material for the actual horror setting (monsters, pantheon and god information and so forth). Truth be told, the only things I would do in a Espionage Sourcebook would be put stats of generic encounters, adventure guidelines and rules for Gadgets and Gizmos (the Mad Science rules in Berlin '61 could work in a nutshell, but thier flavor has the whole insanity and whack job touch to them). Maybe even a starting scenario and a "World of Espionage '61 Guide" covering major events of the early 60s, how the agencies interact and stuff like that. As is Berlin '61 works as a sourcebook for Berlin centric adventures set during that time frame. Id be more then glad to work on a compilation book to help create that setting option in more detail if anyone was interested in pursuing it as well.

The Encounters Handbook is being worked on right now for a release time frame of December, an adventure module set during the construction of the Berlin Wall should be out in January or February and a sourcebook on Moscow is also in the works. I am also trying to figure out how to publish a GM screen, am considering a GMs Guide and a book dedicated just to spys and espionage. I am working with Mr. Scrivner on a GORE/B61 compatible guide book filled with Matinee B-Movie style monsters as well. Berlin '61 should be fairly compatible with other RQ/BRP material, my influences of course were the MRQ OGL/SRD and GORE, but I also researched concepts and rules from BRP books and games from throughout the ages. CS Id like to mention now that I am not an expert speller or grammer perfectionist, and am currently trying to track down an editor I can afford.

Berlin '61 is not a stand alone game, it is based on the GORE base rules, wich in turn is from the RQ OGL/SRD. It is heavily modified and has rules put in the book that replace basic GORE rules and the future plan is to have Berlin '61 eventually be a stand alone game. It uses OGL/SRD ideas, rules and concepts from various sources, mainly runequest and D20. It has rules for mad science, magic, character creation and more. It is a complete setting is there are at least 4 sourcebooks either already out or in the works for future release. If enough people here express interest in the game, I am prepared to provide a PDF B&W text cover version of the game on lulu.com for $1, but before i do so I need to have people promise they will buy it then (shameless I am). But the heart of the concept was to run a Cthulhu game in cold war berlin, just sounded fun and it grew from that. One of the sourcebooks I want to write for it is just an espionage hand book on how to run the game as mainly a spy thriller with very little or no magic in it. It is a living game, it is open for anyone to use or write material for. Id love to see other peoples take on it.

Hello, My name is CS and I am the author/creator of Berlin '61. I was alerted by a fellow on the Goblinoid Games forum that there was some discussion on my game here. Cool. CS