Out now in PDF: The Children of Fear

[klecser]

4 hours ago, bloodybull said:

This hurts - I was already planning on getting Masks, Malleus Monstrorum and the Grimoire in December (I'm a new Keeper) and now I see this.

The reviews and @klecser reflections have me sold! is there an estimate on the timeline for the print copy? Obviously with the state of the world a lot of things are up in the air but should I expect 3 months or a year?

I think four to five months is a safer bet, usually, but I don't know how the holiday season affects it.

And thanks for the shoutout. I'll be diving into Chapter 4 tomorrow as there is no prep or travel for US Thanksgiving needed this year.

Edited November 25, 2020 by klecser

[MOB]

7 hours ago, bloodybull said:

The reviews and @klecser reflections have me sold! is there an estimate on the timeline for the print copy? Obviously with the state of the world a lot of things are up in the air but should I expect 3 months or a year?

Print edition is due out in February. With the caveat that the pandemic may continue to screw with our shipping schedules though. 

[Lynne H]

14 hours ago, bloodybull said:

 

The reviews and @klecser reflections have me sold! is there an estimate on the timeline for the print copy? Obviously with the state of the world a lot of things are up in the air but should I expect 3 months or a year?

Hopefully the print copy should be available in 3-4 months.

[klecser]

If you are here from a Chaosium Tweet, note that I've compiled all of the entries in this blog post for ease of reading: 

RPG Imaginings' Children of Fear Reading Reflections continued

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!

Edited January 2, 2021 by klecser

[Lynne H]

19 hours ago, klecser said:

 

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.

 

Thank you for all of your comments so far, they've been really helpful and I'm glad you're enjoying reading through the campaign. I just wanted to pop in and follow up on this point in particular.

It is a *vast* area, which is why we recommend red lining most of it, apart from dropping out to play through a few small encounters along the way. But, just to be on the safe side, I went back and double-checked over all the maps this morning to make sure we hadn't missed anything important out. It's worth bearing in mind that you may need to look at more than one map at a time to see all of the named locations - we couldn't physically get them all on one map and them still be usable. Some of the issues you've had with the specific section you mentioned should hopefully be addressed when you read through Chapter 5.

Some names - like those of two valleys and a kingdom (Sikkim) - aren't on the maps, although what and where Sikkim is is described in the text. The places the investigators pass through in the valleys are on the various maps. There are two passes missing as well - at the time we had the maps drawn, we couldn't locate them either on the historical maps we had access to or the contemporary ones, so we left them off as they weren't plot critical and were just places the investigators passed through on the way to somewhere far more important. Checking this morning, one of them has now appeared on Google Earth (typical!), but we're not going to add it to the map for the reasons already mentioned. There were a couple of other place names that were mentioned for historical detail; again, it's unlikely the investigators will actually go there and they're not important to the plot.  

But, to make sure that's all clear for people, I have written an extra small section to be added to the travel appendix just to help explain why not everything is on the various maps. Nick's done such a lovely tight job of the layout that there wasn't any room left for me to put it any earlier!

(I did cut about 10,000 words out at one point, most of which described the huge number of historical routes to and from various places in the campaign, just because it wasn't really useful in games terms and there was no way we'd have been able to show the vast majority of it nicely - or usably - on a map! The routes that were included were the main ones, or the ones we could work out where they were so we could show you)

Hope that helps! (And your comment about the praise sandwich did make me smile - I remember having to write those for my biomedical and A-level Biology students back in the day)

L.

[klecser]

47 minutes ago, Lynne H said:

Hope that helps! (And your comment about the praise sandwich did make me smile - I remember having to write those for my biomedical and A-level Biology students back in the day)

L.

I'm a science teacher and a Professor of Teacher Education and measurement and feedback is my area of specialization.  You made a lot of decisions that make sense and I suspected that, as you said, it was more for realism and background info than travel utility. Thanks for adding the paragraph to clarify. I think it can only help Keepers to get further insight on design decisions. Game enthusiasts need to (in my opinion) recognize that authors are human beings and that they frequently need to make challenging "right vs. right" decisions in text. 

Thanks for your detailed response. I really value the willingness of CoC authors to engage with the public!

Edited November 26, 2020 by klecser

[klecser]

RPG Imaginings' Children of Fear Reading Reflections continued

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.

[TerryTroll]

Thought people might find this British Museum clip related.

 

[klecser]

RPG Imaginings' Children of Fear Reading Reflections continued

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!

Edited December 14, 2020 by klecser

[klecser]

RPG Imaginings' Children of Fear Reading Reflections continued

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.

[klecser]

RPG Imaginings' Children of Fear Reading Reflections continued

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 @Lynne H @MOB @Rick Meints @Mike M @Jason D? 😜 

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. 

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by klecser

[klecser]

RPG Imaginings' Children of Fear Reading Reflections continued

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.

 

[klecser]

RPG Imaginings' Children of Fear Reading Reflections continued

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.

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by klecser

[Lynne H]

Thank you for your kind words and suggestions. I am proud of the book, but am mostly relieved that it's finally out there!

[Shambleau]

Hi there! I bought the campaign and have only just started reading it (and loving it!) and I was wondering if it would be easily ported to modern CoC? My players are currently playing through the Eternal Lies campaign, so set in the 30s, and I don't think they'd be game for another foray in this era.

What do you think?

[klecser]

9 hours ago, Shambleau said:

Hi there! I bought the campaign and have only just started reading it (and loving it!) and I was wondering if it would be easily ported to modern CoC? My players are currently playing through the Eternal Lies campaign, so set in the 30s, and I don't think they'd be game for another foray in this era.

What do you think?

Anything is possible in gaming. We're telling stories, and any Keeper has the freedom to make the changes that they would need to make to craft the game that they and their group would enjoy. So, could this be ported to Modern? A qualified yes. I think it comes down to what you are willing to lose or how much you are willing to work to modify.

If someone challenged me to port this to Modern, here is what I would consider:

1) My biggest concern is that part of the charm of the campaign is that actual historical figures are featured in it, doing the things that they did during the time. I would personally hate to lose this from the campaign. There are certainly ways that one could attempt to preserve this. If I were to try, it would involve attempting to write journal or letter handouts that preserve the historical "voices" of these characters.

2) The next concern I have is how to handle technology, the common consideration of many Modern scenarios. The "wild" portions of India, Tibet, and China would solve this. There simply aren't cell towers. But in cities, you'd have to check what challenges technology would simply eliminate. Some players don't mind this. It is noteworthy that part of the further charm of this game is a sense of isolation from being "on the road" for extended periods of time. The challenge of overland travel could be, in some ways compromised in modern, but perhaps not. I could envision some overland challenges being difficult no matter the reliability of vehicles. I suspect that portering and caravanning may still be necessary in many areas that the campaign takes place?

3) The last thing that I would consider is how red-lining might look different. Modern would open up the possibility of airline travel, but since the campaign encourages red-lining, whether you travel by air or train or overland really only matters in the context of the extent to which you provide environmental challenges and use regional foes like border restrictions and "bandits." The campaign warns against using "bandits" too much anyway. I'm sure that travel from China into Tibet is heavily restricted in modern times. You'd have to do research into what the local laws actually are, if authenticity matters to you.

Now, note that I'm coming this from my perspective and what I would and wouldn't do. Preservation of the historical authenticity is important to me, and that isn't necessarily the case for all. And that's fine.

Hopefully this helped!  

[Marlowe Fire]

 @Lynne H,

Not sure if this is helpful or interesting, but I am currently running this campaign the 1920s regular Cthulhu style, and my group is currently in Chapter 3 about to head into Peshawar. They are definitely enjoying themselves but a few things have happened that I did not expect, and perhaps they may help as playlets notes here. 

1. My group, after having run into the situation with Shen Chu in chapter 2, and learning of her background my investigators insisted on bringing her along with them, and used every persuade and charm skill in the book to get her to agree. She is now with them and being taken in as a ward for one of the PC's.  I have adjusted their caravan supplies costs accordingly (slightly) to account for another mouth to feed, and they are training her and believe she should be able to level up along with them... so She is. 

2. The issue with Ms. Abernathy and her fate... oh.. my... god.. What I thought was going to be a quick and unanimous decision tore at the moral fabric of my group. This single side scenario has been a topic of conversation for the better part of a weekend among them as many wanted to alter her fate, even after hearing her  express that she chose this. They contested that she was coerced and when they themselves were offered the same agreement Ms. Abernathy was offered, they flat out refused. Eventually this scene ended abruptly as my Investigators delved out of character, and the Rat the King and other onlookers shook their heads, muttered and returned back, leaving the invesigators arguing out in the middle of the desert. This at least got a chuckle from them, but the same moral decisions came up with the Runner situation later on. 

 

I love this campaign, its highlighted things I had not considered as a keeper, my players constantly keep me on my toes. Im fairly certain they are going to choose the theft option in the next chapter, given their skills and Shen Chus skills, but who knows?!

Edited January 11, 2021 by Marlowe Fire

[Lynne H]

On 1/1/2021 at 3:09 PM, Shambleau said:

Hi there! I bought the campaign and have only just started reading it (and loving it!) and I was wondering if it would be easily ported to modern CoC? My players are currently playing through the Eternal Lies campaign, so set in the 30s, and I don't think they'd be game for another foray in this era.

What do you think?

It should be possible, with a little work on your part. Many of the areas mentioned are just as difficult to access now as they were in the 1920s - for example, there are a whole host of restrictions when it comes to Tibet (https://www.chinahighlights.com/tibet/travel-restrictions.htm), and the mountains around the Pakistan/India border are also dangerous due to border disputes.

My advice: check on the areas the investigators are likely to travel through to see what extra hurdles might be imposed on them in the modern era. Then consider how badly those hurdles might interrupt play and whether you want to deal with them. As you know, there is a way around a lot of the travel restrictions, if you need it. It could still lead them into some hairy situations, even if they do make use of it!

If you do decide to go for it - good luck! 

[morganhua]

On 11/27/2020 at 6:48 AM, klecser said:

Chapter 5 first part

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. 

I basically leveled with the Players and told them out of Character that they have the choice of taking the NPC or not. I told them the campaign works both ways and it was up to them. They chose to take the NPC with them. I did not tell them that the NPC would be helpful or not helpful, I didn't want to color their choice because in some CoC games, some NPCs are villains in disguise.

At one point, I also told them about using the "item" vs red lining. They opted to use the "item". Not all NPCs wanted to do the quick travel, so there was some role playing and convincing (social skill rolls) required to get all the NPCs to "follow" the PCs.

[SunlessNick]

I'm making my way though this book now, inamidst other calls on my time.  I've just finished chapter six, and I wanted to call out one thing in particular that I appreciate:

Spoiler

That the Investigators have a chance to see through the ruse and essentially win the campaign at this stage, even saving Tenzin Kalsang.

My other observation is that I tend towards "Cthulhu Mythos is the only Mythos" in CoC - human mythology will be a human invention with only a peripheral relationship with anything true.  So if I ran this as CoC, I would be taking the options to put a Mythos truth behind Shambhala and Agartha (possibly Zhar-Lloigor) - and also for other mythological beings that appear like pishacas or dakinis.  But the other option would be running it as entirely non-Mythos, and replacing the Mythos beings that are encountered with something folkloric.  At some point I'll try both approaches, I think.

Edited February 12, 2021 by SunlessNick

[MandilarasM]

I always believe that all good things should take their time to happen! But, are there any news on the release of the physical book? It has already been mentioned that it will come out in February/March 2021, but considering the delays from the pandemic I wonder if the plans have changed.

[TwiceBorn]

One Canadian retailer has the anticipated release date of March 30, 2021 on their website.  

[Rick Meints]

7 hours ago, MandilarasM said:

I always believe that all good things should take their time to happen! But, are there any news on the release of the physical book? It has already been mentioned that it will come out in February/March 2021, but considering the delays from the pandemic I wonder if the plans have changed.

The book printing is almost complete. We'll see how long it takes to get to all the warehouses in the time covid and brexit.

[Mat Mobile]

I'm happy to see that it can be played as Pulp Cthulhu. 😁

[MOB]

Lynne Hardy's The Children of Fear is our newest Call of Cthulhu campaign, and we're printing it in Poland; the printer there has just sent us advance copies, and they look superb!

The presses are rolling; will be shipping to our warehouses soon! And remember, if you buy the PDF direct from Chaosium.com now, you get the full price of the PDF off the printed book when it's out.