Modern Mythos with Jon and Seth

In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about game mechanics from other game systems, and how to adapt them into Call of Cthulhu. And, they provide advice on where game masters and players can divine inspiration for playing Call of Cthulhu in other eras or settings. Topic #1 Using game mechanics from other games: Traveler -- During character creation, players can create backstory links between each other, and as a result of that, gain one skill improvement check each due to that backstory event. King in Yellow -- Shock and Injury cards. In addition to the normal hit point and sanity damage, physical and mental injury cards could be introduced that are handed to the players to give them flavor text and game mechanical info that expands on their physical and mental injuries. Blades in the Dark -- Flashbacks can be used to roleplay how the investigators execute some of their kooky plans. Skill checks can be used to see how well the investigators prepared to sneak into a building or bribe a guard. Trail of Cthulhu -- Core clues are given to the investigators just by simply being in the location to gain that clue. But skill rolls can be used to determine if the investigator gains anything extra beyond just the core clue. Dungeons & Dragons -- Inspiration. If a player does something commendable (good idea, great roleplay, says a funny joke, etc.) they get a 1-time credit to add a Bonus Die to a future roll. Kult (Powered by the Apocalypse) - unless the PC is in danger of being caught or in combat, no skill roll is required for actions like First Aid, Picking a Lock, etc. Can relate to not having to make a Drive Auto check if just driving to the store on a normal day. ALIEN - Buddies and Rivals - having special relationships with other player characters where some are good and some are bad. Topic #2 Listener Request - Because the most popular setting for Call of Cthulhu is in historical periods, how might players and GMs learn more about those settings in order to paint them properly and make them feel real? Watch movies of shows set during the time period. (The Mummy (1999), Boardwalk Empire, Peaky Blinders for UK, Indiana Jones is 1930's but still works) Murder on the Orient Express (or several Agatha Christie movies and books). Ken Burns's "Prohibition" Documentary. For Gaslight Era - From Hell, Penny Dreadful, tons of Sherlock Holmes, The Nevers Down Darker Trails - Warrior, spaghetti westerns, True Grit Cthulhu Invictus - Rome, Spartacus Dark Ages - (13th Warrior is technically a Cthulhu Dark Ages movie) One of Seth's players really got into 1920's automobiles and went down several Wiki-holes on early auto manufacturers. Learned of the Stanley Steamer and the Jewett (with magic amulets imbedded into the dash) Straying from perfect history is OK. It's your game. Racisim, Sexisim, Homophobia, Classism, etc. Things Seth keeps in mind when doing 1920's Telephone operators and switchboards. Long distance could take over an hour to connect. Travel, even by car, took a long time (Interstate system not established. Many roads unpaved and winding) and gas stations weren't on every street corner Guns (even automatic) available in hardware stores or by mail. Concealed in most cities was still illegal. Bribery -- Government officials (cops and elected officials) are more than happy to accept a bribe Prohibition (speakeasies, or cafes. Private Clubs. Booze Cruises) Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos?fan_landing=true Discord Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3 YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured Thank you!!! We can't do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He's a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website, and please consider joining his Patreon account. John Sumrow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow Sumrow Official Website: http://www.johnsumrow.com Sumrow Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thicket for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft's writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thicket. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Bandcamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ Official Website: http://thickets.net/

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Modern Mythos, with your hosts, Jon Hook and Seth Skorkowsky. In this initial episode, we talk about writing for Chaosium's Miskatonic Repository on DriveThruRPG, as well as writing for Wizards of the Coast's DM's Guild, and Mongoose Games' Traveler's Aid Society. Miskatonic Repository: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2/Chaosium/subcategory/74_29274/Miskatonic-Repository DM's Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/ Traveler's Aid Society: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/45/Mongoose/subcategory/161_25550/Travellers-Aid-Society Huge THANK YOU to our editors, Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy. Special thanks to our logo artist, John Sumrow! Check out his Facebook page, official website, and Patreon page. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow Website: http://www.johnsumrow.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow Shout-outs and thanks go out to The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for their generous use of their song, Gluttony, for our intro and outro music! Check out their BandCamp and official website. BandCamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ Website: http://thickets.net/

In this episode, Jon and Seth go into great detail on a couple of Call of Cthulhu scenarios, and give suggestions on how a Keeper could successfully run these scenarios for their players. Jon -- The Code, 2020, by Chris Lackey, Mansions of Madness vol.1: Behind Closed Doors, 31pgs. Sandbox Lots of room for the Keeper to modify it on the fly during play Could be easily adapted to Pulp Cthulhu Built-in hook - investigators are all friends of the subject scientist in the scenario Tight cast of NPCs Good map of the house Could benefit from a map of the barn One draw-back -- the journal handout is way to many pages - pacing of the game can be dramatically slowed down as the players take time to read the handout and absorb it Seth - Blackwater Creek, 2015, by Scott Dorward, Keeper Screen Pack "Missed Dies & Blackwater Creek, 38 pages (plus character sheets for pregens) Sandbox (no order to completion) Multiple hooks provided (Academic or Bootlegger) Various Maps, NPCs Pregens (complaint: only Bootleggers) Complaint: map shows some Keeper marks Art makes Corruption appear very extreme Subtly needed. Let the wrongness grow Cult that sprung up, Children of the Corn" vibe People called to Town Worked into Madness in Londontown The guys also talk about setting your Call of Cthulhu game in a modern setting. How can technology be used to enhance the horror? How do you handle an investigator's reliance on smart phones? Huge THANK YOU to our editors, Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy. Special thanks to our logo artist, John Sumrow! Check out his Facebook page, official website, and Patreon page. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow Website: http://www.johnsumrow.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow Shout-outs and thanks go out to The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for their generous use of their song, Gluttony, for our intro and outro music! Check out their BandCamp and official website. BandCamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ Website: http://thickets.net/

In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about their favorite published modules that they've run across a gamut of games. Jon's Favorite Modules: Death Duel with the Destroyers -- 1982, Bill Willingham, Villains & Vigilantes, 20 pgs Art! Art! Art! Great set-up, straight to the action Well written to escalate the danger from the opening scene to the final showdown Comic book tie-in with Elementals comic by Bill Willingham, published by Comico S3 - Expedition to the Barrier Peaks -- 1980, Gary Gygax & Rob Kuntz, D&D (TSR), 32pgs Two books -- module and handouts Art! Art! Art! Sci-fi in Fantasy blend Sandbox Hope's Last Day -- 2019, Dave Semark, ALIEN, 16 pgs. In ALIEN core rulebook Sandbox Lends itself well to a horror setting Leverages off player's experience from watching Aliens movie Spawn of Azathoth -- 1986/2005, Keith "Doc" Herber, Call of Cthulhu, 200 pgs. Sandbox campaign - 7 chapters (1 opening chapter, 5 middle chapters in any order, then 1 closing chapter) Small variety of Mythos monsters to challenge the investigators Good variety of horrors to present to the investigators Easily updated to 7th Edition rules and for the sensibilities of modern players Seth's Favorite Modules: Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh - 1981 Dave Brown Don Turnbull, AD&D, TSR UK Haunted house (not really) Can be dropped in a variety of locations. (could even make modern) Gives a sense of larger story with lizard folk preparing for war Made for low level PCs, but still lots of risk (most modules started at 3rd level) Roleplay with Ned. 2 adventures with one leading into the other. Thicker than Blood - 1993, Alison Brooks, Atlas Games Cyberpunk 2020, 47 pages Investigation Many tips on what to do if the PCs miss something, get stuck, are difficult, try something sneaky. Layered plot (complete investigation first. Then discover who employer is) Incorporates skills rarely used Taught us a different way to play. Mansion of Madness - 1990, Fred Behrendt, Chaosium, Call of Cthulhu, 25 pages 3-act mystery that cleanly works out into 3 acts Unpredictable investigation with 2 warring wizards and a mythos entity Varied backdrops with travel. Go to museums, speakeasy, small pennsylvania town, decrepit mansion. Dark. So deliciously dark. One that really stuck with me. Was surprised that it isn't highly regarded, but for me was first large CoC adventure that was a smash hit. Talked about years later. Murder on Arcturus Station - 1983, J Andrew Keith, GDW Traveller Murder mystery 54 pages, but can be short or long. Toolbox to create the mystery. 9 suspects, each with multiple ways to do it, alibis, various ways might react to PCs. Even suggestions on how to work with a player who is the secret killer Loved it so much I instigated the revised reprint Huge THANK YOU to our editors, Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy. Special thanks to our logo artist, John Sumrow! Check out his Facebook page, official website, and Patreon page. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow Website: http://www.johnsumrow.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow Shout-outs and thanks go out to The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for their generous use of their song, Gluttony, for our intro and outro music! Check out their BandCamp and official website. BandCamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ Website: http://thickets.net/