Advice for running Beyond the Mountains of Madness *Possible spoilers*

[Mat Mobile]

I purchased the reprint of this campaign as soon as it came out and I'm preparing to run BtMoM in the new year. I would like some advice on running this campaign.

Obviously, I plan on reading the whole thing and coming back to the relevent chapter for the upcoming weekly gaming session. As of today, I read up till chapter 10. Basically where the real action starts. When I read it again before a gaming session I will hightlight important and read out loud parts. I will probably also summarize each chapter on one or two sheets of my Keeper notes. I plan on running about 1 chapter/week except for the chapters where it's obvious more than one session will be necessary (lots of investigation/action). I'm planning on running it with the Pulp Cthulhu rules.

I'm fairly experienced running high action gonzo fantasy RPGs (my go to game is Dungeon Crawl Classics). I also ran a couple of CoC scenarios (Dead Man Stomp and The Shadow Over Providence). I played lots of games including the Two-Headed Serpent with the Pulp rules.

Below are my main concerns. Was hoping somebody could provide suggestions especially if they already ran this scenario.

1 - Is running this campaign with Pulp Cthulhu rules a good idea? Especially since the first 9 chapters are fairly "quiet".

2 - To be frank, I'm worried that Chapters 1 through 7 will be just a big read out-loud text box. Seriously, apart from a few suggestions provided in the book, player choice is limited. It seems like a lot of the gaming time will be spent just describing the preparations and the trip down to Antarctica. I'm worried it's going to get boring. How do I make these chapters interesting?

3 - In Chapter 5, is the "Crossing the line" interlude worth it? It just seems like a big hazing to me. I feel a little uncomfortable finding ways to pretend humiliating my player's investigators.

Sorry if my questions/comments seem a little negative. I'm sure everything will work out fine but it's definitely a different style than what I'm used to. I just want to make sure my players have a fun and epic campaign!

Any other advice or suggestions would be appreciated. I might add more questions as I keep reading.

Thanks in advance! *tips fez*

[Pseudodog]

Hi, same here, going to run it later next year and can't understand how to resolve the situation, when you need to

Spoiler

keep everything in secret when about 100 people know about elder things (graves in Lake's camp), some people know about the city and few know about the Construct, but in any case, people will find it in the future next time they will arrive again. It's not possible to find elder things, the cave in a Lake's camp and stop to keep trying to explore it further. In this case, when Acacia asks to kill two Germans who left them at the Construct, it make no sense at all! Everybody will know everything, in the end, the Construct will be found, some stupid people will destroy it. She told the party that she need to shoot the film to make it looks right and help keep the secret. She stays in the city...to do what? I didn't find the explanation. How exactly the film about ELDER CITY OF UNKNOWN UNEXPLORED RACE will help to keep this place hidden.

This campaign looks like the beginning of the apocalypse, even if it will be played in a pulp way where players will extinct every person near the south pole with a navy machinegun. But I still want to run it, just don't know how exactly and don't want it to be a prologue to Cthulhu Apocalypse.

 

[Mat Mobile]

Thanks for the input @Pseudodog. I haven't read up to that point but I'll keep your comment in mind.

So I guess I'll be bravely taking my players to the Mountains of Madness with minimal knowledge. It was worth a shot. Time to roll my Sanity because it seems a little daunting. 🤪

But seriously, I'll write back with tips, tricks and challenges as I face them for future Keepers. 👍

[Matt Ryan]

I'm also planning on running BMM for my players in 2022. I'm making major, MAJOR, changes to the chapters, keeping the core and the elements that makes it really cool, and removing the weak bits. I'd be interested in hearing from players who have already played it what they liked best. For example, I know of players who very much liked the slow-burn beginning and liked that there aren't Mythos elements until later in the game.

Any players reading this want to contribute their thoughts?

Matt

[mvincent]

On 12/6/2021 at 3:50 PM, Mat Mobile said:

1 - Is running this campaign with Pulp Cthulhu rules a good idea? Especially since the first 9 chapters are fairly "quiet".

2 - To be frank, I'm worried that Chapters 1 through 7 will be just a big read out-loud text box. Seriously, apart from a few suggestions provided in the book, player choice is limited. It seems like a lot of the gaming time will be spent just describing the preparations and the trip down to Antarctica. I'm worried it's going to get boring. How do I make these chapters interesting?

3 - In Chapter 5, is the "Crossing the line" interlude worth it? It just seems like a big hazing to me. I feel a little uncomfortable finding ways to pretend humiliating my player's investigators.

1.  Pulp doesn't really fit the atmosphere, and isn't really needed.

2. BtMoM discussions that might help are available here and here.

3. I made it more of a fun party (with some challenges that allowed for skill checks) rather than a hazing. Players are always looking for skill check opportunities, as that is the only way to improve skills. Plus, they got cool certificates, and one of the players even got to dress up as Davy Jones (though: that caused an issue with a PC that had mythos PTSD from previous adventures).

Edited January 12, 2022 by mvincent

[Pseudodog]

On 1/12/2022 at 11:05 PM, mvincent said:

BtMoM discussions that might help are available here and here.

Sorry, but both links are not available even for registered members.

[B.Caven]

 

1. Nah, you want them to be more frail. This is an Antarctic expedition, and it would ruin the tone if your players were faced with the progenitors of the human race and went "so anyway I started blasting" rather than being over-come with awe.

2. I'm currently on Chapter 4 with my group. So far they liked a lot of the character interactions and the "down time" they've had in New York, but it is starting to feel very "When are they going to get to the fireworks factory" and a lot of them have lost sight of that Antarctic as a goal. Some advice I have for the early chapters is the play up the press presence surrounding the expedition - it got to a point where my players were more concerned about making a good impression than loading the boat, and it made them consider their actions more when they ran the risk of loosing sponsors from bad press. 
Use the early chapters as an opportunity to introduce the personalities of the NPC crew members. You're going to spend lots of time with these chaps, and it adds to the horror to have a cast of beloved characters picked off along side the PCS. Plus, your players are probably going to have to take over one of the crew when their character dies so it's good to let them know how these people work. 
Don't be afraid to remind them of the stakes, even this early in the campaign. One of the investigators broke his back during the events of chapter 4, and it's made every other player realise their character's mortality.

3. The Campaign takes a darker turn after this so the Crossing the Line is important for adding one last gasp of levity before some of the darker moments set in. If the Investigators don't take part, it also makes the hunt for the saboteur more challenging if the crew comes to resent you for revoking their tradition. 
There's a great resource of drivethru (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/251994/Cinematic-Environs-Arctic-Lands-Call-of-Cthulhu-Edition?manufacturers_id=2) for CoC in extreme conditions, and one of their new rules is Sanity Loss from Isolation on a ship, in mountains, a desert etc. A homebrew rule I've made is that you're immune to isolation insanity loss if you take part in a leisure activity, and large parties like the Crossing ceremony give a five day leniency period  on the sanity rolls. Its worth mechanising things like this to make them feel more relevant.

Edited January 26, 2022 by B.Caven

[mvincent]

On 1/21/2022 at 12:11 AM, Pseudodog said:

Sorry, but both links are not available even for registered members.

Here are my tips from various threads:

1. Here are some pictures from some of my previous BtMoM campaigns
2. Most of the paper props were found on-line (especially at Geedunk  and Propnomicon)
3. French/German versions of BtMoM expand on the adventure, but do not contain as many art improvements as the French versions of HotOE and MoN. However, the German version of BtMoM (Berge des Wahnsinns) had some good additions, including some more detailed portions of the Gabrielle).
4. The HPLHS radio play is excellent and comes with some additional props
5. I taped an enlarged picture of a model Liberty ship onto my GM screen during the initial chapters. The Liberty ship's exterior is very similar to the Gabrielle's, giving the players a better visual sense of the vessel. I found it especially useful during loading, searching and unloading phases, since I could affix (using painter's tape) details to each of the hold sections beforehand
6. BtMoM seems to be all about NPC's rather than the PC's, but that can be fixed by turning those NPC's into PC's.

 

Further details on some of the props:

• For airplanes I used a NewRay DC-3 (to represent DC-1's) for Starkweather-Moore and a Monogram Tri-Motor for Lexington
• For the Pemmican scene in Australia I used lego-clusters to represent cows that had to be disassembled and reassembled into precisely-sized, solid-color packages (then labelled as pemmican).
• In the final episode, I secretly replaced an unusual, small black rock they found with a ball of black, magnetic goo - which would slowly move and consume small bits of food (disguised rare-earth magnets) that were thrown into the jar with it.
• I obtained a core sample from ebay (one of the ideas I got from Propmonicon) but I didn't find many interactive uses for it during play (other than simply as a prop for the dig site)
• For miniatures with Antarctic clothing I mostly used Hoth-related Star Wars miniatures. Here's a thread about regular CoC miniatures though.
• Survival food: I picked up some sailor bread, Pemmican, and MRE's (and did not provide an alternative for dinner that evening). It made for a memorable experience. Tips: I found out afterwards that Winco's bulk food section contains Sailor Bread and MRE parts for cheap. Also, the Pemmican tasted a lot like summer-sausage, which could serve as a cheaper substitute.
• Since there were a *lot* (dozens) of expedition NPCs, I created a large bulletin board to organize them (this image would've save me *so* much effort)
• For my GM screen, I used the Sans Detour BtMoM Keeper screen.

 

If anyone reading this is hoping to republish BtMoM (which I do hope occurs) here is a list of some challenges I encountered that might be useful to know when designing a new version:

• The book does not seem to be organized for ease of use by a Keeper, making it difficult to find what you need to run a scene, or what is germane.
• NPC's and their interactions with each other (rather than the PC's) seem to be the focus of the campaign.
• There are dozens of NPC's: almost all of which are available at almost all times, and each with detailed backstories and personalities.
• Complicated logistic
• Lengthy writing that does not advance scenes, nor can be read aloud.
• Little opposition other than nature (which might not be as exciting)

Edited January 28, 2022 by mvincent

[B.Caven]

Update: Somehow the crew got in a friendly knife fight tournament with the polar guides after a miscommunication. Would 100% recommend seizing any opportunity for fun on the boat trip

[Mat Mobile]

Thanks for your input @mvincent! That's a lot of great ressources. 

Also thanks for the "live" coverage @B.Caven!

Our group is waiting to play this campaign in person. I'm crossing my fingers that restrictions will be loosened up here in a month or two.

[Pseudodog]

On 12/8/2021 at 4:46 PM, Pseudodog said:

Hi, same here, going to run it later next year and can't understand how to resolve the situation, when you need to

  Reveal hidden contents

keep everything in secret when about 100 people know about elder things (graves in Lake's camp), some people know about the city and few know about the Construct, but in any case, people will find it in the future next time they will arrive again. It's not possible to find elder things, the cave in a Lake's camp and stop to keep trying to explore it further. In this case, when Acacia asks to kill two Germans who left them at the Construct, it make no sense at all! Everybody will know everything, in the end, the Construct will be found, some stupid people will destroy it. She told the party that she need to shoot the film to make it looks right and help keep the secret. She stays in the city...to do what? I didn't find the explanation. How exactly the film about ELDER CITY OF UNKNOWN UNEXPLORED RACE will help to keep this place hidden.

This campaign looks like the beginning of the apocalypse, even if it will be played in a pulp way where players will extinct every person near the south pole with a navy machinegun. But I still want to run it, just don't know how exactly and don't want it to be a prologue to Cthulhu Apocalypse.

 

Any update on this 😃 ?