Cthulhu Dark Ages - 1,2,3

[MOB]

CTHULHU DARK AGES Third Edition? Yes - there was a (limited release of a) second edition between this and the first version of CDA, which came out in 2004*.

The second edition was released at Gen Con 2015, right at the time the new management team came on board at Chaosium. A couple of hundred softcover copies had been produced for sale at the booth, POD with B&W interior layout. "We decided not to proceed with a full commercial release at the time because we had plans to significantly lift the production quality of the Call of Cthulhu line, with hardbacks and full colour interior art. This version just didn't do Cthulhu Dark Ages justice," said Chaosium vice president Michael O'Brien.

How does CDA2 differ from the new third edition? While the text is predominantly the same, CDA3 has undergone further editing and some new material - listed on the webpage product description - has been added. Of course, the new edition is in full color, and the print version will be a hardcover.

CTHULHU DARK AGES THIRD EDITION is available from
—Chaosium: http://bit.ly/37HpZTF (buy PDF now, get a coupon for the print edition when it is out later this year)
—DriveThruRPG: http://bit.ly/2u7uJ7k (PDF)

*Although based in the same time period, Stéphane Gesbert's 2004 Cthulhu Dark Ages has continental Europe as its setting, rather than Anglo-Saxon England. It was originally published in German by Call of Cthulhu licensee Pegasus Spiele under the title 'Cthulhu 1000AD'.

Cthulhu Dark Ages first edition is available from
—Chaosium: http://bit.ly/2uQF1cD (PDF)
—DriveThruRPG: http://bit.ly/2P5VzEo (PDF & POD)

Edited February 20, 2020 by MOB

[MrJorgensen]

I realize it's probably far too early to be asking this question, but are there plans to expand a little beyond Anglo-Saxon England, sometime down the road? 

[Rick Meints]

4 hours ago, MrJorgensen said:

I realize it's probably far too early to be asking this question, but are there plans to expand a little beyond Anglo-Saxon England, sometime down the road? 

If an author submits a project along those lines we will certainly try to make something happen. Most of our books like CDA get published because a freelancer approaches us with a project pitch, we work out the deal, and then onwards from there. I would have to defer to Mike Mason if more books that expand CDA are in the works, but off of the top of my head I do not know of any.

[MOB]

6 hours ago, Rick Meints said:

If an author submits a project along those lines we will certainly try to make something happen. Most of our books like CDA get published because a freelancer approaches us with a project pitch, we work out the deal, and then onwards from there. I would have to defer to Mike Mason if more books that expand CDA are in the works, but off of the top of my head I do not know of any.

Meanwhile, check out A Color in a Dark Age in the Miskatonic Repository. This is a Cthulhu Dark Ages scenario, set in 10th century Germany.

[ColoradoCthulhu]

On 2/20/2020 at 6:29 PM, MOB said:

Meanwhile, check out A Color in a Dark Age in the Miskatonic Repository. This is a Cthulhu Dark Ages scenario, set in 10th century Germany.

I checked Miskatonic Repository for scenario books related to Cthulhu Dark Ages just before I read this post, and "A Color in a Dark Age" was all I could find. As of now, there are the three Cthulhu Dark Ages scenarios found in the 3rd edition source book and the "A Color in a Dark Age" scenario from Miskatonic Repository but nothing else for 7th edition. If we could get a Cthulhu Dark Ages supplement with five or six scenarios set in Anglo-Saxon England that would greatly improve the material for running this campaign setting.

[MOB]

39 minutes ago, ColoradoCthulhu said:

I checked Miskatonic Repository for scenario books related to Cthulhu Dark Ages just before I read this post, and "A Color in a Dark Age" was all I could find. As of now, there are the three Cthulhu Dark Ages scenarios found in the 3rd edition source book and the "A Color in a Dark Age" scenario from Miskatonic Repository but nothing else for 7th edition.

In addition, Ripples from Carcosa features a Dark Ages scenario, "Herald to the King".

and two more Dark Ages scenarios have been added to the Miskatonic Repository, hopefully the first of many!:

• The Raid
• The Mad Priest

In The Vault (pre-7th ed), there are also a number of Dark Ages monographs.

[MOB]

Updated this post, now that the print version of CDA3 is out:

https://www.chaosium.com/blogcthulhu-dark-ages-a-tale-of-three-editions

Last week Chaosium released Cthulhu Dark Ages 3rd Edition in hardcover and special edition leatherette. 

Here's some helpful information about the three editions of our medieval setting for Call of Cthulhu, and how they differ.

CTHULHU DARK AGES FIRST EDITION (2004)

Author: Stéphane Gesbert with friends
178 page softcover with b&w interior

The first Cthulhu Dark Ages edition came out in 2004. It was originally published in German by Call of Cthulhu licensee Pegasus Spiele under the title 'Cthulhu 1000AD'. The author was Stéphane Gesbert. Although based in the same time period as Cthulhu Dark Ages 2nd and 3rd Editions, the first edition has continental Europe as its setting, rather than Anglo-Saxon England. 

The original Cthulhu Dark Ages won the award for "Best non-d20 RPG" in the 2004 ENnie Awards.  

Cthulhu Dark Ages 1st Edition is available from:

• Chaosium (PDF)
• DriveThruRPG (PDF & POD)

CTHULHU DARK AGES SECOND EDITION (2015 - limited release)

Authors: Chad Bowser and Andi Newton, with Mike Mason and friends
180 page softcover with b&w interior

Cthulhu Darks Ages was updated for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition, and completely rewritten by Chad Bowser and Andi Newton. The new setting is the Severn Valley of Anglo-Saxon England.

The second edition was released at Gen Con 2015, right at the time the new management team came on board at Chaosium. A couple of hundred softcover copies had been produced for sale at the booth, Print-On-Demand with black-and-white interior layout. 

Chaosium vice president Michael O'Brien explains why Cthulhu Dark Ages 2nd Edition didn't get a wider release: "We decided not to proceed with a full commercial release at the time because we had plans to significantly lift the production quality of the Call of Cthulhu line, with hardbacks and full colour interior art. We felt this version just didn't do Cthulhu Dark Ages justice."

Cthulhu Dark Ages 2nd Edition is out-of-print. 

CTHULHU DARK AGES 3RD EDITION (2020)

Authors: Chad Bowser and Andi Newton, with James Holloway, Mike Mason
270 page full-colour hardcover

The newly-released third edition of Call of Cthulhu Dark Ages is a revised and expanded version of the second edition, produced in hardcover with new layout and full color interiors. 

Inside this setting guide you will find a player’s guide to the Dark Ages, an optional Sanity mechanic for mirroring the medieval mindset, rules for the oral tradition of storytelling and mounted combat, a grimoire of Dark Age spells plus optional rules for Folk Magic, a bestiary of monsters, as well as a fully detailed setting—the Anglo-Saxon community of Totburh in England’s Severn Valley, full of interesting characters, dwelling descriptions, and a multitude of plot hooks for Keepers to use and develop. 

The book features three ready-to-play scenarios introduce players to the world of Cthulhu Dark Ages, building on the tensions, characters, and horrors lurking in Toburh and the lands surrounding the community.

Additional material compared to the second edition includes sections on poetry and kennings, the written word, using the Oral Tradition in games, amulets, further use of Sanity in the setting, Paganism, and Norse Paganism.

Cthulhu Dark Ages 3rd Edition is available from:

• Chaosium (Hardcover +PDF, Leatherette +PDF, PDF)
• DriveThruRPG (PDF)
• and soon to be in retail distribution

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY ABOUT CTHULHU DARK AGES 3RD EDITION

"Cthulhu Dark Ages is a brilliant addition to the line, a book anyone who loves the game needs on their shelf... It has everything the previous edition has and more... a major revision packed with all sorts of new material that the devious cultists operating the Chaosium know you will not be able to resist."—Andrew Logan Montgomery, Exploring the Otherworlds of Fiction, Magic, and Gaming.

"A wonderful tool for spicing up your more conventional Lovecraftian games… Come for the chance to stab abominations with pointy sticks, stay for the loving guide to dark ages England."—Tabletop Gaming (UK).

"An excellent starting point for what can be a vibrant and dangerous new world for Call of Cthulhu players to go nuts and die in... the entire supplement is a clear indication of the passion the writing team had for the enormity of the project, and deserve serious applause and congratulations for it."—Never Read the Latin.

"Cthulhu Dark Ages is, in my opinion, one of the best Call of Cthulhu books to come out, from any edition… After reading the book, I was filled with ideas for a Cthulhu Dark Ages campaign. It screamed “don’t just read me, play me” in a way that only the best gaming books do."—Rolling Boxcars.

Edited July 20, 2020 by MOB

[RogerDee]

I want, and have just put this puppy in my basket.

Mmmm...i suspect I will be running a CoC campaign fairly shortly and I know exactly what to do with it.

Are there any Rome CoC guides?

[Closterphobia]

The three preview pages have me salivating, I want this goodness in my hands.

[Nick Brooke]

26 minutes ago, RogerDee said:

Are there any Rome CoC guides?

Your search term is "Cthulhu Invictus." Knock yourself out!

[RogerDee]

4 minutes ago, Nick Brooke said:

Your search term is "Cthulhu Invictus." Knock yourself out!

Top banana that is what #i was after 😀

[MOB]

Great review of CDA3 over on RPGNet – reviewer Antonios S says "Cthulhu Dark Ages 3rd Edition is a hell of a book... the research that has been put into it is outstanding, its focus is spot-on, while the interconnection between rules and theme is what every RPG should aspire to. Between Berlin The Wicked City and this, Chaosium has simultaneously produced the best sourcebook and the best setting guide on the market irrespective of RPG."

STYLE 5/5 SUBSTANCE 5/5

Full review here: https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/18/18780.phtml

[ColoradoCthulhu]

I posted my question about Cthulhu Dark Ages scenarios over three years ago and there were the three scenarios in the 3rd edition supplement, "Herald to the King" in 'Ripples from Carcosa,' and a handful of self-published scenarios on DriveThruRPG.

Have any more scenarios been added to DriveThruRPG since then, especially ones Keepers and/or players would recommend? I'm going to start a Dark Ages campaign this summer and I don't have much to run at this point, probably just several months of material.

I found this post on the forums after a quick search but I'd still appreciate input.

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by ColoradoCthulhu

[Nick Brooke]

2 minutes ago, ColoradoCthulhu said:

Have any more scenarios been added to DriveThruRPG since then, especially ones Keepers and/or players would recommend? I'm going to start a Dark Ages campaign this summer and I don't have much to run at this point, probably just several months of material.

The recent Dark Ages scenario that leaps immediately to mind is Michael Reid’s Branches of Bone (and the print edition turned out gorgeous!).

The digital version is also available in the Dark Ages of the Miskatonic Repository collection/bundle, which is well worth a look if you want to catch up, and includes some campaign-useful background stuff - occupations and road/city encounters - by Ryan Sheehan.

 

[ColoradoCthulhu]

Searching through DriveThruRPG, there appear to be a total of ten self-published Cthulhu Dark Ages scenarios, in addition to the five scenarios published by Chaosium or a press licensed by Chaosium (the three in 3rd edition, the one in 'Ripples from Carcosa,' and "The Tomb" from the 1st edition supplement). Am I right?

[Nick Brooke]

I have a catalogue that lists everything that came out in the first five years of the Miskatonic Repository, which flags up setting info provided by creators; it doesn’t cover 2023, though, so the most recent stuff is missing.

[MOB]

4 hours ago, ColoradoCthulhu said:

Have any more scenarios been added to DriveThruRPG since then, especially ones Keepers and/or players would recommend? I'm going to start a Dark Ages campaign this summer and I don't have much to run at this point, probably just several months of material.

Miskatonic Monday #--: More scenarios for Cthulhu Dark Ages, plus new releases

Miskatonic Monday #59: The Bloated Saint and other new Cthulhu Dark Ages community content releases