Chaosium Community Corner Interviews

[MOB]

Our wonderful community ambassador Bridgett  @Symphony Entertainment is interviewing GMs from our Cult of Chaos gamemaster program and creators for our community content programs at DriveThruRPG.

Cult of Chaos members are invited to tell us about themselves, discuss and promote their content, provide insight to running amazing games for the Cult of Chaos at conventions, events, and FLGSs all over the planet! 

Community content creators are invited to tell us about themselves, discuss and promote their content, and talk about new projects they have in the works or in planning! 

Would you like to be featured in a future Community Corner interview? 

• Complete this form for consideration if you are a Cult of Chaos GM! 
• Complete this form for consideration if you are a creator for any our community content programs (Jonstown Compendium, Miskatonic Repository, Explorer's Society, or Companions of Arthur.)

Edited December 22, 2023 by MOB

[MOB]

INTERVIEW WITH KEEPER ALEX SUN

Interviewed by Bridgett Jeffries

 

 

BRIDGETT @Symphony Entertainment  Hello, Alex! Thank you for agreeing to be our first Community Corner: Cult of Chaos interviewee. We’re delighted to have you! Okay, so for starters—tell us a little bit about yourself!

ALEX SUN: Thanks for having me, Bridgett. It’s a pleasure. Here’s a couple of things about me: I’m a second generation Taiwanese American, an electrical engineer, a podcaster, and a gamemaster. I have been GMing weekly for seven years and plan to continue strong!You can find me on the Into the Darkness YouTube channel, which is hosted by Thom Raley. I am also one of the hosts for the podcast RPG Reanimators, where we offer GM tips, dissect scenarios, and reanimate them with new ideas.

Which systems to you typically run for the Cult of Chaos Program?

Call of Cthulhu 7e!

What originally drew you these particular systems/that particular game?

I love the idea of ordinary people getting wrapped up in weird and scary situations. The stakes are very high because the player characters are very mortal. During a Call of Cthulhu game, it’s always entertaining to see the slow descent into madness as the PCs encounter revelation after revelation. Equally entertaining, is seeing the PCs step up despite all odds and succeeding with sacrifices (sometimes literally).

What was the biggest hurdle you faced when becoming a GM?

When I first started GMing, I was nervous about public speaking, as the majority of the attention would be focused on me. What really helped me was learning to focus on creating an environment for the players (myself included) to have a good time. I studied a lot of online resources to help myself get better at GMing. That studying, paired with a lot of note-taking helped my confidence with running games. Since I was having fun, the rest fell into place.

 

What was your goal when you decided to join the Cult of Chaos program?

My goal was to run some excellent games for the community and to introduce new players to the hobby. I feel like the biggest compliment a GM can receive is when their players are inspired to GM others.
 

Where do you typically run your games?

I typically run games online, one to two times a week in the Into the Darkness online community. You can find me at horror conventions as well. Shoutout Chaosium Con!

 

Okay, into the gritty! How do you successfully pace your games?

Managing tension is a fantastic tool to keep the pace of a game. Tension in a story typically rises overtime until it reaches a climax, and then it initiates a falling action. Throughout the entirety of the story, this pattern repeats in varying degrees. I imagine the flow of tension as a rollercoaster with its peaks and valleys. When the players are in a calm situation, I look to increase the tension with danger, mystery, and excitement. When the scene is tense, due to a combat or a vital story choice, I aim to diffuse the tension as soon as possible. Too much of calm or tension sustained at one time can make the players inured to it; they might get bored. Change is interesting! By managing the tension, a GM can keep the players engaged and at the edge of their seats.I’ve also found that it is useful to estimate how much time each section of a scenario will take. It’s helpful when you are operating under a time crunch, like in a convention setting. If the GM keeps track of the time, they can make sure all the major plot points are available to be explored, which is good pacing. As a bonus, if this is outside of a convention game, you’ll learn to identify killer cliffhanger opportunities.

How do you use visualization and environmental storytelling to enhance the player experience?

Visualization allows a GM to establish powerful moods and player engagement. When I prep for a game, I visualize how the locations in the scenario would feel like in my mind. I try and incorporate all five senses and I take bullet points of the descriptions. During the game, I intersperse these bullet points into the narration to make the world that the PCs are playing in believable.For example, here’s some bullet points describing an abandoned shopping mall:

 

• Stuffy air with a side of mold and a cold that makes you shiver
• Graffiti all over the stripped concrete walls and boarded up storefronts
• In the dark is a lone, overturned shopping cart
• BB gun pellets strewn all over the cracked tile floor
• Piles of broken glass that look like salt
• The crunch of litter underneath shoes

The players will only get as much information as the GM tells them. The more that a GM gives to the players, the more that they get to work with.Environmental storytelling is an essential asset for bringing the environment to life. It’s one thing to narrate to the players that “there was a struggle in the living room as the victim was dragged away into the basement”. It’s another thing to narrate that “The sofa and coffee table are tossed aside and there is clutter everywhere. There is a trail of blood and claw marks that lead all the way down to the darkened basement”. With the latter narration, the players get the information of the former narration with the satisfaction of coming to that conclusion themselves as well as being drawn into the scene.

What are some good GM habits that GMs should consider building?

Here are some good GM habits that I personally found useful:Bring the energy to the table that you want back. The game starts with the GM: players will pick up on the GM’s excitement. When I’m enthusiastic about a game, I perform better. Along those lines, play to your strengths as a GM. I personally found that I enjoy narrating combat and high-octane scenes so I have played more Pulp Cthulhu and chose scenarios with that kind of content to run.Always keep learning! Practice, practice, practice. The internet provides a limitless pool of knowledge at your fingertips. I personally study YouTube videos, blogs, and podcasts to learn all about GMing. I ask my fellow GMs questions and compare notes on how they run their games. That being said, there is no substitution for experience, so play and run as many games as you can.Be a fan of the player characters. Give them opportunities to succeed and let them do what they are good at. The GM doesn’t come to the table with a story. The story is what all the players at the table leave with.

What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to a novice GM, looking to get involved in Chaosium’s Cult of Chaos program?

Just jump in. The hardest part is the first step. Once a novice GM joins, they will find that the community is very friendly and willing to offer help or advice. They will find that there is a great selection of scenarios that are on offer for Cult of Chaos gamemasters.

 

What is your favourite Chaosium product?

 

My personal favorite is Dead Light for Call of Cthulhu 7e.

Where can people find you running games in 2024?

 

I am a gamemaster for the online roleplaying club Into the Darkness and I GM for the club members there. You can also find me on the RPG Reanimators podcast. I run pick up games on the podcast’s Discord server. Last but not least, I will be attending Chaosium Con 2024 and NecronomiCon 2024. I hope to see you there!

 

Links:
Into the Darkness: https://www.youtube.com/@IntotheDarkness
RPG Reanimators: https://open.spotify.com/show/4suxUyIBwJDePqQAqqHfCx?si=17f4bde544874a55

Edited November 11, 2023 by MOB

[Symphony Entertainment]

This was such a strong interview. 

[Symphony Entertainment]

INTERVIEW WITH KEEPER JADE GRIFFIN

Interviewed by Bridgett Jeffries

 

Hello, Jade! Thank you for agreeing to be our first Community Corner: Community Content interviewee. We’re delighted to have you! Okay, so for starters—which Community Content Program(s) do you participate in?

Hi, Bridgett! Very happy to answer any question. I write and publish Call of Cthulhu adventures on drivethrurpg.com via the Miskatonic Repository. I have three Classic 1920s, one Modern, and a late 1800s solo adventure with more on the way.

What drew you to create content on this/these platforms?

A friend found Storytelling Collective’s Write Your First Adventure workshop. Because it offers a how-to-publish aspect as well as writing and publishing a whole adventure in just a month, I tried that out. Worked beautifully, so I go back and either retake the course or review the learning material each time I do an adventure. They even have a course for solo adventures.

What was the biggest hurdle you faced when publishing? I

nitially, I was unsure if I’d pick up the publishing process quickly but drivethrurpg.com makes it pretty easy. My next hurdle is learning InDesign, as my sales are paving the way to Print On Demand and I need to reformat my applicable titles for that big leap. I decided to hire an artist to redo my character art, and another fellow community content author is helping redo the maps for a fresh look. I’d say, go ahead and test your limits, but use the resources at your disposal as well. Discord has opened a LOT of opportunities for engaging with fellow creatives and community content creators.

What was your goal when getting started?

I wanted to polish and publish the adventures I run my Girls Night group through. They are a bunch of gals who test out my concepts as they roleplay Call of Cthulhu.

Where did you/do you go for creator support?

As I mentioned previous, Discord is a huge communication hub. This was opened up to me via the Storytelling Collective’s Write Your First Adventure course, which offers a place to chat about the creative ins and outs, but opened doors to many other Discord servers and creative resources. Storytelling Collective’s (StoCo) own Discord resources are also available and there is very little delay in getting answers to questions asked about any of the courses or questions in general. StoCo is very supportive on a personal level and not just by way of group emails of encouragement. I would highly recommend perusing their courses as well as jumping on Discord and finding servers dedicated to the material you like to produce, whether it is cards, adventures, comics, fanfiction, or anything else.

What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to a novice creator, looking to get involved in Chaosium’s Community Content program?

Storytelling Collective, one hundred percent. They took me from, “Can I do this?” to “I can’t wait to make more!”. Seriously. Can’t thank them enough.

So, you’re working on a solo adventure! Tell us about it!

My solo adventure, “A Lone Collection”, is now out and in the world! After thwarting a theft on the streets of 1890s Chicago, an old gentleman offers you a job of guarding his collection of strange artifacts while he is away. As the guard, your choices lead to mystery, mythos, magic, and even death while guarding... A Lone Collection. It was a lot of fun to write, and a unique experience. A few things I’d do different, but overall, I’ll follow the same format I did the first time and follow the notes I made for starting the sequel, “A Lone Recruit”.

How is the process of creating a solo adventure similar to creating multi-player content? How is that process different? What should creators consider when developing a solo adventure?

I followed two models while creating “A Lone Collection”: the StoCo course on solo adventures and Chaosium’s “Alone Against The Flames”. The solo adventure can be written many different ways but mine follows closely with Pick Your Path or Choose Your Own Adventure style. Some have thousands of choices and take years to play. Mine has 356 choices and can be completed in one sitting. I’ve seen some use tarot cards or a deck of cards to determine or design choice, but “A Lone Collection” uses the simplest format of a character sheet, a set of polyhedral dice, and following the prompts to make choices. It is meant for either a single player, or to be read by a Keeper to a single player. Very different than the usual adventures I write.

As a character-driven author of novels as well as Call of Cthulhu adventures, I found writing the solo adventure a unique experience, because instead of picking which path your character will take, you write ALL of the paths and the player chooses. Several of them come back around to the same entries, however, and your wording needs to be correct to match any entries that point back to it, which is the trickiest part of writing a solo adventure. Can you merely pad your adventure with duplicate, slightly altered entries? Yes. I do that, too, but some are unnecessary. It is part of good writing to cut out what is not needed and leave in or include what is vital. Make your words count.

Some other points to consider when writing a solo adventure:

• Like with any novel or short story, write out the general synopsis and as many options a character can have as you can think of.

• While I simply started a Word document and typed up the entries in order of action as they came to me, and then filled in what was missing as I went along, I would actually recommend a slightly different method due to how long it took me to renumber and reorder them by hand so no sequential entries were within five entries of each other. It’s harder than it sounds and I am still working out a good method to do this, because you cannot have them sequential or people will simply read through it all. If they do, it ruins the effect of the story and spoils all possible endings before the player plays through them.

• Keep all old files! I can’t tell you how many times I went back and found where an entry was supposed to lead and didn’t go to where it was meant to. It is a great reference to backtrack and see where things went right and wrong.

• Always test each hyperlink as you create them, just to be sure they go where intended. Correct any mistakes immediately.

Tell us briefly about your titles!

Sure thing!

Taken For Granite: It’s Thanksgiving 1922 in rustic Graniteville, Vermont; a time of harmony, harvest, and homecoming-turned-horror when random residents wind up blind or deaf… or dead. Sinister business lurks below the comfort of fresh pies and autumn leaves and it isn’t the strike at the local quarry. Investigators must find the cause and hopefully a cure before they, too, succumb.

Deep-Seeded Secrets: Ipswich, Massachusetts. December 1922. Investigators follow a cryptic letter to a Colonial-era homestead-turned-hotel which floats more than a cultural past. Amid a foul odor and rumors of hauntings and a shipwreck, they barely tread water in the sea of secrets harbored at the Hart House.

Mail-Order Bribe: Boston, Massachusetts, December 1922. With the turn of a post office box key, investigators are pitted in a deadly game of snake and mouse against a soul-stealing entity and a Southern belle who is so much more than she appears.

Crossing Guard: Oddball mythvestigators gathered by eccentric lore expert Mr. Ed use conventions to disguise their exploration of mythos rumors. In June 2023, they meet under cover of RageCon in Reno, Nevada by day and hunt for a cemetery-lurking mythos creature by night. 

A Lone Collection: After thwarting a theft on the streets of 1890s Chicago, an old gentleman offers you a job of guarding his collection of strange artifacts while he is away. As the guard, your choices lead to mystery, mythos, magic, and even death while guarding... A Lone Collection.

Where can people find you?

I am on Discord as Jade Griffin, or you can find all of my publications, appearances, and projects at: http://jadegriffinauthor.com

Here’s what’s in the works!

The Death of Lacy Moore: Monster Hunter of the 1900s – Call of Cthulhu NPC Series novel (Fall 2023) Amor Fati #4: Ebon Roots - Classic Call of Cthulhu ttrpg (Winter 2023/2024) Amor Fati campaign (all four adventures expanded with new art/maps) – Classic Call of Cthulhu ttrpg (early 2024) Dawn Darkly Trails, A Nowhere Noir - noir Call of Cthulhu ttrpg (2024) A Lone Recruit: A Solo Call of Cthulhu Adventure - solo Call of Cthulhu ttrpg (Summer 2024) Mr. Smith Who Works The Front Desk – Call of Cthulhu NPC Series novel (Winter 2024)

Thank you for joining us in the Chaosium Community Corner, Jade! 

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by Nick Brooke