Loïc

Never mind. Cthulhu's playing you since a long time...

You'll find a good example of introducing the Mythos in such a background with Mythic Iceland. It allows to play realistic, mythic, or mythic with Mythos beyond the nordic pantheon... When I was running Mythic Iceland, I chose the third option... but never reveal my players they were in a Mythos mini-campaign! I think it would be a good way to manage this. You can even use Mythic Iceland (melted with Land of Giants) to make your Northmen a culture strongly infiltrated by the Mythos (Loki/Nyarlathotep, Hella/Shub-Niggurath... - whose cultists could be war chieves or priests of other cults).

Very fine art! I also like the maps - so evocative!

I voted Lovecraft's Massachussetts, and it's a far-off exotic place for french... I also run many CoC scenarios in familiar towns, especially when I have new players who don't know CoC and who aren't aware of playing CoC... 😈 Then, Lovecraft's Massachussetts still remains an entire universe in its own right. Don't need to develop that further. I would just take advantage of the opportunity to salute Chaosium's wonderful job, since its beginning, to produce "town guides" and "secrets of" with high-quality level. I even keep some I know I will never use in game, but just for reading enjoyment!!!

Just sent you a PM. And glad you enjoyed it!

I take the occasion of delivering you a french spoonerism: Les nouilles cuisent au jus de cane (meaning "the noodles are cooking with female duck juice"). And I won't give you the answer... If you don't find, you'll have to accomplish a heoric quest for Eurmal !!! 😁 EDIT: ...or just send me a PM and please call me "Trickster", en toute simplicité. 😇

I have a preference for "cane fatale": no aliteration, but it sounds well in french, with film noir sensation, and deadly/sexual double meaning... And also "cane canaille", with aliteration, but less film noir. As said above, "capiteux" is more for taste/smell (for example, we say it for a strong and good wine), "cramoisi" means crimson (color caused by burning: it's built on the verb "cramer" - to burn) and "captivant" means attractive/facinating, but without sexual connotation (we mainly say it for a speech, a book, an author...). And what about "cane braisée" ? "Canard braisé" is a cook recipe. "Braisé" means "cooked with ember", but "braise" (ember) also has much seducting connotations ("oeil de braise" means ravishing eyes). Oh, and just for bad taste: if you just take off the [r] from "braise"... Sorry, I'm already out... 😇

You can have a look at HeroWars / HeroQuest Glorantha rules for Sartar clans. I think HQ Gloorantha, The Coming Storm (volume 1), and maybe the Sartar Rising sequence (didn't read these since a long time...) should provide you good stuff about how to run a Bronze Age clan's ressources and wealth. Also check the Sartar Clan Questionnaire. I'm aware it's not strictly BRP, but conversions are generally easy from HQ. I'm not much familiar with RuneQuest, maybe these rules do exist here also? Good Luck!

In my first HW campaign (as a player), I played a Black Horse mercenary in a multicultural group, including two Sartarites and a Lunar. In the end, our Lunar had become a general of the imperial army, and provoked the mutiny of his troops against the Red Goddess he judged too much chaos-lover... One of our Sartatites became hegemonic, imperialist and believed a good non-Orlanthi was a dead non-Orlanthi. And any Orlanthi who didn't agree with him was a non-Orlanthi... I'm sure Greg Stafford had an enough wide and deep vision of Glorantha to have himself considered such situations. Nota: in the end, I was convinced the only good guys were Atroxists... 😇

I basically confirm the technical details provided by Mugen. I still have my old (french) ElfQuest core book, and the french GM screen. I had much fun with that. More generally, I'll add: ElfQuest is (in my opinion) mainly an initiation roleplaying game. And a good one, with an universe suitable for young kids; when I was running ElfQuest, I well-knew the comics (also french-translated), and I think the RPG universe should be a little confused for someone who has never read them... last, I think ElfQuest is perfect for "mini" campaigns, but maybe not suitable for long-term campaigns, unless the GM provides a big world-building job... Then, I still maintain it's a very good initiation game, and if you find a cheap copy on the internet or elsewhere, just pick it up and enjoy!

UPDATE: my NPC checklist as finished as it can be... Red Cow PNJ.xlsx

Amazing job! Thanks!

Yeah, it's quite like that. The choice is clear: economics rule... I mean, I do understand we can't just let the country economically collapse, and we do have to go back to work, but I have the strong feeling they are jerking us around and sending us to the slaughterhouse... Since the beginning, French government's taking us for fools (as usual), and I know people working in several hospitals in "red" zones: according to them, the numbers (of dead) and statistics (of circulation) can't be true compared to the situation on the field. Nothing new: government lied about AIDS contamination in the 80s/90s, and lied during the "contaminated blood case" here in France, and probably at each health crisis (I precise I am not plot-paranoiac). I'm sure all governments do (to avoid panic...)... ...and talking about SF, in Star Trek it never looks good for "Reds"... 😉 Agree, but I want to talk about night rate!!! 😁 This said, I'm still optimistic: history proves also humanity can survive and overcome anything, especially its own foolishness. Otherwise, we wouldn't be there since a long time!😜

Here in France, we have "green" counties and "reds" (according to the virus circulation level and/or the hospitals' bursting level)... Green began to quit quarantine on may 11, just have to respect a few instructions: mask in public transports, no gathering exceeding 10 people... In fact, it's the same in red counties (and I'm in a red one...). Just more restrictions for schools, transports... Problem: I've got two kids (8 and 2 years old) and no school nor child centre until june 2... My wife already started her job again, and I'm playing the nanny for one more month... My boss understands well, and I'll recover my job in june (I'm in permanent contract). Honestly? For one week, I see/hear (from my appartment...) gatherings and gatherings to celebrate the end of the quarantine... Then I think keeping my kids safe at home is just as well... I agree with Bill about the Spanish flu, and as an archaeologist, I'm convinced no lesson can be learned from history...

Thanks Jajagappa! I was thinking about your 3), and now I maybe would melt your 1) and 3). 1) seems to be logical, for Ivartha has a bonded trickster herself, and we can easily imagine Broddi following her on this matter. And it could add metaplot allowing a player to choose if he wants to conceal or reveal he's an Eurmali... About my NPC checklist, it's still unfinished, and I'll update the document as soon as possible!

Work in progress! That's a NPCs checklist (in french, sorry...) I'm trying to make exhaustive. I indicated several useful informations (bloodlines, relationships' notes and so forth). I also included all the NPCs from The Book of the Red Cow. About these, I had to extrapolate: all ages indicated in this document correspond to the NPCs' ages in 1618 (calculated from their ages in 1605). I considered many NPCs as dead because of their ages or their replacement at a key position in The Coming Storm (clan chief, clan champion...). Then I still included them (indicated by Humakt's rune!!!) as sources of inspiration for my background campaign. And I do not exclude to use them as NPCs / names stock (always useful!!!); for Maboders, I "killed" all those for whom I seemed to be logical: age of course, and also their faction: I think Maboder Rising and Peace Weavers should have been vastly slaughtered, but let a chance to be saved to a few Wolfskinners (haunting Wulfsland and/or joining the rebellion). And I kept Vastyr the Unadvised and Halda Flower-Bringer for their interesting backgrounds and the potential interactions they could provide. Then, I don't intent to flood my campaign with Maboder survivors, just keep them as a little stock I could use according to my players' actions/choices (you never can predict them!!!!). I hope some of you will find it useful, and I'm waiting for your critics and suggestions! Red Cow PNJ.xlsx

It is indeed Ian Cooper's very first exploration of the Red Cow Clan, released in 2003 or so, as a homemade - and still very good - PDF. It is set in 1605, 13 years before the beginning of The Coming Storm: before the Maboders' destruction and the Wolf Hunt. You find Broddi not yet chief of the Red Cow and Ivartha not queen yet. And as says 7Tigers, you can find there many ideas and characters for your own Coming Storm campaign. Here's a french (sorry! you'll have to Google translate!) link of an interview of Ian Cooper: https://heort.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/deux-questions-a-ian-cooper-a-propos-de-the-coming-storm/. He speaks about The Book of the Red Cow and the further developments in The Coming Storm. Unfortunately, The Book of the Red Cow seems to be unavailable now, as noticed 7Tigers... Then, Ian Cooper said he just gave up some ideas developed in The Book of the Red Cow when he worked on The Coming Storm. That's my problem with Eurmali: he doesn't mention them as possible characters in The Coming Storm, and nevertheless Eurmalis' proscription by the Red Cow clan isn't as explicit in The Coming Storm (no mention of it) as it is in The Book of the Red Cow.

A question for Characters' creation. In the Book the Red Cow (p33), I read: "Where is the clan Trickster? The Red Cow has no clan trickster or anyone filling one of the prescribed roles. Red Cow stories do tell of Tricksters - Maklan the Fat and Good had a celebrated bonded trickster - but recent chieftains have had no need of one. Instead, when the Red Cow uncovers a trickster they drive them away or hang them.'" And in the Coming Storm books, no mention of this. Should we consider the fate of Eurmali is the same in 1618 than in 1605? Or Red Cow in 1618 is more broad-minded than 13 years ago?... In other words, can I allow one of the characters to be an initiate of Eurmal in the Coming Storm campaign? Is Broddi allowing Eurmali in his clan (and he doesn't like trouble makers - and of course the Eurmal initiate should find a protector in the Ring...)? And if an Eurmali is allowed, what about Janara's role in the heroquest? A character performing her role would be interesting involvment, and then this character would maybe be too much under the spotlights?...

Good question! I've often read of it in products' checklists, but could never get a hand on it, and didn't saw it in Chaosium's PDFs. I think it has never been published, but maybe there is a first draft somewhere? Maybe Chaosium has it at the back of a drawer and could propose the PDF in some vault?... And I have the same question for some "Dara Happen Book of Emperors" I've read about somewhere? Maybe some Greg Stafford's Unpublished Works... never published?...

I just had one of my players' feedback last night, about the all-three scenarios. What he liked more is... alternating of subgenres (jungle adventures, weird science, horror). And it seems to be the case of my other players. So, for future sessions, I'll work on this track! Just read Murder on the Footlights topics, thanks all for reviews and expansion advises!

I remember of Daredevils, a fine one, and I've heard about Justice Inc., but never looked at it. I ran Hollow Earth Expedition, and I think it can make a good campaign background - but the scenarios are too railroaded for me, and I don't like the implication (a secret society protecting the secret of the Hollow Earth). Then, it's still a good campaign ground. And maybe looking towards Pulp Cthulhu?

Thanks all for your gaming aids and advises! Good trails here, and hoping add some of my own as soon as possible!

I do agree with you, Alter! Then, we can always convert other scenarios (and many pulp RPGs can be easily taken as inspiration sources), or adapt our favorite pulp movies (I did once with Alan Quatermain's King Solomon's Mines for Dark Continent)... I'm not found of adventure generators, I must confess... Prefer building scenarios and/or campaign reacting to my PCs actions! Nota: I forgot Murder in the footlights! Maybe my next session...

Hope you'll like it as much as I did!

Opinion about Astounding Adventures overall... (and please forgive my frenchy english!) Well, I first bought it because I'm quite found of pulp movies and novels. And more than found of BRP system... To compare, I played Daredevils a long time ago, and ran Hollow Earth Expedition a few years ago. In Astounding Adventures, I felt the epic-pulp atmosphere I enjoyed with Daredevils. And Astounding Adventures is far better, in my opinion, than Hollow Earth. HEX's adventures are too much railroaded, and if the Hollow Earth background itself is very interesting, the adventures and implications didn't convinced me. In Astounding, the 3 adventures explore 3 subgenres (jungle adventure, weird science, pulp horror), and I found very fun to make my players discover each of these (with sometimes unexpected results). The mechanics allow to use Astounding as a sandbox: I didn't use (yet...) gadgets and resources since I wanted some realistic tone in my adventures. And the BRP system is enough flowing to allow easy improvisions to avoid raildroaded sessions. And Action Points systems allow many original solutions to the players. My advise: do not hesitate to prepare extra day to day scenes, and a cool larger-than-life NPC casting. Last, the BRP system is perfect for easily converting old Daredevils and others adventures... The only bad point: I ran the 3 adventures online (roll20), and probably missed some good roleplay I should entertain tabletop...