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Showing posts with label cthulhu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cthulhu. Show all posts

Saturday, November 1, 2025

Bundle of Holding - Cthulhu Reborn





Open source Cthulhu material, compatible with CoC but released under the OGL? Say it isn't so—but it is! Check out The Cthulhu Reborn Bundle.

Investigator! This Cthulhu Reborn Bundle presents nearly two dozen Mythos investigations in many eras from the open-license Cthulhu Eternal tabletop roleplaying game line produced by Cthulhu Reborn. Compatible with your favorite Lovecraftian percentile-based systems, the Eternal open rules set, based on Mongoose Legend and the Delta Green RPG, is free under the Open Game License. More than a dozen System Reference Documents adapt the Eternal rules for Mythos adventures across history, from ancient Rome and the High Middle Ages to the Cold War and the future. Run your favorite published scenarios using these lightweight, fast-playing rules – and publish your own scenarios using the Eternal rules, without threat of Sanity-shattering licensing issues.

(The Eternal system also powers Cthulhu Reborn's newly released standalone Convicts & Cthulhu RPG. Check it out!)

This new Cthulhu Reborn Bundle gives you everything you need to snap the minds of courageous Protagonists with Lovecraftian public-domain horrors across many eras of history – because there must have been some point when the stars were right. For just US$9.95 you get all nine titles in our Jazz Age Collection (retail value $43.50) as DRM-free ebooks, including the invaluable resource HP Lovecraft's Book of Yog-Sothothery and eight Jazz Age investigations: Bitter Jungle, Bottoms Up!, Help Wanted, Second Coming, Smoke Green, Spoiled Milk, Thunder God's Curse, and To Touch the Untouchable. As a convenience to players (and designers!), the Jazz Age Collection also includes The Open Cthulhu Mythos SRD and 11 free Cthulhu Eternal SRDs that support Mythos investigations in many eras.

And if you pay more than the threshold price of $21.35, you'll level up and also get our entire Eternal Collection with eleven more titles worth an additional $43.50:

  • Seven Investigations set in different eras from the High Middle Ages to the Cold War: Dead Flowers, Fathoms Below, Known Unknowns, Lord of Nombrecht, Physiology of Acquired Taste, Red in Tooth & Claw, and Starlight on the Gutter
  • Two modern-day scenarios: Thou Didst Let Fall and The Usurpers
  • Two "Lost Masterpieces" volumes by acclaimed Call of Cthulhu scenario designer Kevin A. Ross: Dark Visitations and House on the Promontor

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Thursday, February 27, 2025

Free OSR - Cthulhu Eternal (Open Source SRD Chthulhu Gaming)


Free Cthulhu roleplaying? Count me in! Let me present Cthulhu Eternal.

Cthulhu Eternal is a multi-era, setting agnostic ruleset which aims to support inventive game designers who have original ideas for Lovecraftian roleplaying games or scenarios. It draws upon the long line of D100 games of Cthulhu-themed investigation, offering a beautifully streamlined and elegant set of mechanics to support a diverse range of gaming styles.

Different eras of human history each have their own flavor and character – due in part to the technology available, and in part due to social conventions of the day. Recognizing this, Cthulhu Eternal exists as a family of inter-related rules engines – each based on the same mechanics but tailored to the needs of a specific era.

This version of Cthulhu Eternal is specially designed to support Lovecraftian games set in the “Jazz Age” – that is, world as it was in the early 20th Century (between the World Wars). This is an attractive option for a game setting as it was the then-contemporary world in which H.P. Lovecraft set many of his novellas and short fiction.

Other versions of Cthulhu Eternal currently available in SRD form (PWYW Bundle):

Cthulhu Eternal: Age of Revolutions (1750-1850) SRD

Cthulhu Eternal: Victorian Era SRD

Cthulhu Eternal: World War II SRD

Cthulhu Eternal: Cold War SRD

Cthulhu Eternal: Modern Age SRD

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Thursday, October 17, 2024

Bundle of Holding - Fate of Cthulhu


I'm not a massive fan of the Fate System (I had high hopes when I backed the Kickstarter for the core rules many years ago). Still, there are some significant fans of the Fate System, and the Fate of Cthulhu Bundle is probably a perfect fit for them during the month of October.

Hero! This Fate of Cthulhu Bundle presents Fate of Cthulhu, the tabletop action-horror roleplaying game from Evil Hat Productions. In this standalone "Cthulhu Mythos meets The Terminator" RPG based on the flexible and fast-playing Fate Core system, you're a soldier from the future who travels to our time to stop the arrival of the Great Old Ones. Horrible things will still happen, and you may give in to corruption (to gain powerful "corruption stunts"), but you'll use your foreknowledge to punch the apocalypse in the face – or die trying.

For just US$14.95 you get all ten titles in our Fateful Collection (retail value $62) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete standalone 256-page Fate of Cthulhu corebook (previously in our July 2021 Fate Worlds and Toolkits offer) and nine terrifying Timelines: The Ascellan Conspiracy, Rise of Azathoth, Rise of the Basilisk, Rise of Hastur, Rise of the Quiet, Rise of Tsathoggua, Rise of Yig, Rise of Yog-Sothoth, and Zombie Apocalypse.


 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Rumble or YouTube - Tenkar  

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Bundle of Holding - Kenneth Hite's Cthulhu

Kenneth Hite's Cthulhu Bundle is an awesome self-gift for a Spooky October :)

Investigator! Kenneth Hite's Cthulhu Bundle is a new collection of diverse Cthulhu Mythos ebooks from Atomic Overmind Press by star tabletop roleplaying game designer Kenneth Hite.

Writer and game designer Kenneth HiteDesigner of Trail of Cthulhu, Night's Black Agents, Suppressed Transmission, and more than 70 other RPGs and supplements, Kenneth HIte has analyzed works of HP Lovecraft in treatises such as the two Tour de Lovecraft volumes, and has reimagined the Mythos in gaming sourcebooks like Dubious Shards, The Tarot of Cthulhu, and Adventures into Darkness. This new offer brings you all this Hite-ean erudition for an unbeatable bargain price.

For just US$14.95 you get all six titles in our Hite Collection (retail value $65) as DRM-free ebooks, including Tour de Lovecraft: The Tales, Expanded Edition and Tour de Lovecraft: The Destinations; three Mythos treatises drawn from our October 2013 Bundle of Tentacles – Cthulhu 101, Tarot of Cthulhu: Major Arcana, and Dubious Shards; and an alternate-history sourcebook describing Lovecraft's comic-book work, Adventures Into Darkness.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Rumble or YouTube - Tenkar  

Friday, August 23, 2024

Cosmic Horror & Cthulhu Mythos Bundles 50% Off at DTRTPG

Halloween is just over two months away, and it is that time of the year - the time for Cosmic Horror & Cthulhu Mythos Bundles at 50% Off at DTRPG

Pictures say a thousand words and these pictures show a nice assortment of horror games.




The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.


DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Rumble or YouTube - Tenkar

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Kickstarter - Cthulhu Crisis Comic & Monsters! Monsters! RPG Adventures


A Fantasy Comic Saga which includes Role-Playing Game adventures for use with Ken St. Andre's Monsters! Monsters! RPG.

I'm a huge Tunnels & Trolls and Monsters! Monsters! fan. The system works extremely well for solos, one on one, and small group sessions and campaigns. The Cthulhu Crisis Comic & Monsters! Monsters! RPG Adventures Kickstarter is a "must-back" for me.

What's in this Kickstarter:  As many of you know, we like to try new ways of creating stories and adventures; this time we have something very special! Tunnels & Trolls/M!M! creator Ken St. Andre, comic/gaming artist Steven Crompton, and wrestling promoter Chris Perguidi have joined forces to create Five combined comic and rpg adventures that can be read like a comic and used for running rpg adventures with the Monsters! Monsters! role-playing game. One of the 5 books is a solitaire adventure written by Ken St Andre specially designed to be part of the storyline of the comics. The 5th book is a new rules supplement Humans! Humans! that gives more detail on running human characters using the M!M! rules system. We're not sure a project like this has ever been done before! (Certainly it hasn't with any of Ken St Andre's rpgs). We'll also have a new set of standees and a miniatures map that will use characters and locations from the comics - plus some other surprises, including a pledge level that will allow you to own an ORIGINAL hand-drawn piece of art from Steve Crompton's archive! 

You can you can pledge for these 5 books in various combinations some of which include the exclusive Humans! Humans! RPG supplement and other rpg related items. 


The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar     

Friday, September 8, 2023

Humble Bundle - Trail of Cthulhu RPG

It's pretty good timing to release Trail of Cthulhu on Humble Bundle in September, just as stores are gearing up for Halloween. I always find that horror RPGs play out better in the fall, the atmosphere just seems to fit well.

Trail of Cthulhu brings The Cthulhu Mythos to the Gumshoe System. I have ZERO experience with the Gumshoe System, but I've been curious about the Trail of Cthulhu RPG for years, and this seems to be a low-risk opportunity to check it out.

With the Trail of Cthulhu Bundle, 18 bucks get you the core rules, adventures, a GM screen, audio, fiction, and more. 

Explore the sublime, horrifying worlds of H.P. Lovecraft at your gaming table with this Trail of Cthulhu bundle from Pelgrane Press. Utilizing the GUMSHOE RPG system to foreground the investigative elements of the Cthulhu mythos stories, this award-winning RPG delivers an experience that makes clue-finding engrossing and interactive for players, while amplifying the cosmic dread. Get the Trail of Cthulhu rulebook plus more than 20 other sourcebooks, adventures, and more to fuel uncountable campaigns’ worth of unfathomable eldritch horror, and support Cancer Research UK with your purchase!





The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Comic Horror Sale - Spotlight on Swords of Cthulhu (OSR)

Continuing the more or less irregular highlighting of titles from the Cosmic Horror Sale at DTRPG, our next title is Swords of Cthulhu by Joseph Bloch/BRW Games.

I have Swords of Cthulhu in print and it is a thing of beauty that fits perfectly on my AD&D 1e shelf of classic titles. Normally 9.95 in PDF, Swords of Cthulhu is on sale for 7.46 during the Cosmic Horror Sale at DTRPG.

A 2023 "Three Castles Award" finalist!

Swords of Cthulhu is filled with new options to expand your old-school roleplaying game!

Plumb the rich depths of Lovecraftian horror with new races like Deep One hybrids and Degenerates, new classes like the cultist and the scholar, new skills, complete insanity rules, the Dreamlands, the Old Ones and Outer Gods, and much more. For both players and game masters.

Written for the First Edition of the world's most popular RPG, Swords of Cthulhu will also be useful to anyone running a game using old-school rules. 


The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

Monday, October 31, 2022

Bundle of Holding - Cthulhu Confidential (ONE GM and ONE lone player)


Head-to-head Mythos roleplaying for ONE GM and ONE lone player.

I've been wracking my brain to find a way to introduce Rach to the Cthulhu Mythos while running one on one gaming sessions. Well, I think I've found the solution as well as the system.

Investigator! Once again you fight alone against monstrous adversaries in this revived April 2020 Cthulhu Confidential Bundle featuring the GUMSHOE One-2-One tabletop roleplaying games from Pelgrane Press. Guided by a Game Moderator (GM), you become the sole protagonist in suspenseful investigative adventures -- noir nightscapes right out of the Cthulhu Mythos and superspy espionage. Can you solve the case with your hide -- and sanity -- intact?

This revival once again gives you most of the One-2-One line for a bargain price. For just US$12.95 you get all four titles in this revived offer's Starter Collection (retail value $46) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the complete standalone 328-page Cthulhu Confidential rulebook and three investigations: The Howling Fog, The House Up in the Hills, One For the Money.

And if you pay more than the threshold price of $25.11, you'll level up and also get this revival's entire Bonus Collection with five more titles worth an additional $53, including the complete standalone Night's Black Agents: Solo Ops rulebook by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan based on Kenneth Hite's Night's Black Agents; the Solo Ops adventure The Best of Intentions; and three more Cthulhoid investigations: High Voltage Kill, Ex Astoria, and The Shadow Over Washington.

I'm in for the Bonus Collection.



The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

Friday, April 15, 2022

Kickstarter - Swords of Cthulhu (OSR Rules Expansion)

Bring Lovecraftian horrors to your old-school RPG with this rules expansion.

I've known Joe Bloch / The Greyhawk Grognard for a number of years. I first met Joe in person at the release of Gygax Magazine Issue #1 at the Brooklyn Strategist back in January of 2013 (has it already been over 9 years? Damn!) Joe's knowledge of Greyhawk is second to none, and I've thoroughly enjoyed the various releases he has issued under the BRW banner.

Swords of Cthulhu is Joe's current Kickstarter, and it is the one I find myself the most excited about (and I've backed them all). I always enjoy myself a little Dark Ones in my fantasy gaming, and I expect Joe will hit the mark with his latest offering.

Swords of Cthulhu is already written. The Kickstarter funds will pay for editing and art. You can back for the PDF version for 10 bucks, POD plus PDF is 15 (plus about 9 bucks for the POD itself).

Joe Bloch will be the special guest on next Wednesday's Talking Crit Livestream.

The book features:

  • Two new character classes; the scholar and the cultist, with multiple specialty cults, each with unique powers and spells
  • Two new character races; the deep one hybrid and the degenerate
  • New secondary skills, including technology of other times and worlds
  • New insanity rules, building on existing saving throw mechanics
  • Over 150 new spells
  • Nearly 30 new monsters
  • More than 30 new magic items, including Mythos grimoires
  • Tips on adding Lovecraftian horror to a fantasy-style campaign
  • Everything is completely modular, and designed to be used or not used as you see fit for your campaign.

 he Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern. 

You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on YouTube - Tenkar 

Thursday, July 15, 2021

Deal of the Day - Tomes of Cthulhu (CoC)


I will admit to being a Call of Cthulhu junkie. I own the old boxed set, the 5e books, the 7e books, and Starter Box, the Horror on the Orient Express box set from the Kickstarter, and simply way too many CoC adventures to count.

Tomes of Cthulhu is today's Deal of the Day. Normally 2.99 is PDF, until tomorrrow morning it is on sale for 1.49.

So, what is Tomes of Cthulhu

Tomes of Cthulhu is a generic supplement for horror games based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft. It describes in detail 20 different books, plus alternative editions and original sources for some of them, of esoteric and sometimes forbidden knowledge that are a common theme in Lovecraftian horror.

Each book has its name, and author, if known, as well as details on its appearance, when and how it was published, again if known, and what sort of knowledge might be found in it, which includes a Least to Greatest approximation for how much general knowledge, and its effect on the reader's sanity, might be found in a book. The language and physical description of the books are also included.

Some of these books are by genuine historical characters, although the books themselves are not. One book is actually real. The majority were written prior to 1930, at least in the first edition, some many centuries before that, with a spike in English translations in the late 19th century.

To make horror real for your players, you need the right props to set the setting and strike the mood. For a buck and a half, Tomes of Cthulhu looks like it will fill such a role admirably.

 The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on AnchorYouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar 

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Deals of the Day - SURVIVE THIS!! Fantasy - Core Rules AND Sandy Petersen's Field Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors

Today you get not one but TWO Deals of the Day thanks to our fine friends at DriveThruRPG. Alright, technically second pick is being offered via DriveThruFiction but really, OneBookShelf is the parent of both storefronts and they are BOTH excellent RPG resources for the Old School Gamer.

SURVIVE THIS!! Fantasy - Core Rules brings the Survive This! ruleset back to its inspirational beginnings - fantasy gaming. I own the three prior releases (SURVIVE THIS!! Zombies!, a zombie apocalypse horror RPG, SURVIVE THIS!! was then utilized for a 1980s setting in Dark Places & Demogorgons and a street-level superhero setting in Vigilante City) that use the ruleset and I'm thrilled to be adding fantasy to the genre collection. Besides, it has resources that work well with any OSR ruleset.

Normally 9.99 in PDF, until tomorrow morning SURVIVE THIS!! Fantasy is on sale for 4.99

Our second Deal of the Day is Sandy Petersen's Field Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors. I own this in hardcover as Rach bought it for me for my birthday in the summer of 2019. My God, this is pure inspiration for an RPG horror game using any ruleset.

Normally 17.96 in PDF, until tomorrow morning Sandy Petersen's Field Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors is on sale for a mere 5.39

Additional material beyond what you find here at The Tavern and the Tavern Chat Podcast can be found at YouTube.com/ErikTenkar. Subscribe to the Channel to support The Tavern

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPGAmazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  

You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on AnchorYouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Kickstarter - Tiny Cthulhu


Cosmic Horror meets the minimalist TinyD6 RPG system in Tiny Cthulhu!

I really enjoy the TinyD6 system. Heck, it's one of the few "modern" systems that I pretty much grocked with little difficulty. Then there is Cthulhu. A very popular setting, I do believe Evil Hat has done a Kickstarter for a FATE driven Cthulhu RPG. Screw FATE - that system really makes no sense to me ;)

Gallant Knight Games is bringing us a TinyD6 Cthulhu RPG via Kickstarter. I'm over it like game designers on public domain horror resources ;)

I guess I'm adding to my TinyD6 collection...

15 bucks for the PDF. 40 bucks for SC Print plus PDF. 60 bucks for SC Print, PDF, Tiny Cthulhu d6 and a GM Screen. Need I say at what level I'm backing?
Using the rules in this book, you'll be able to play investigators, doomed heroes, and classic cosmic horror characters of all types, from scientists and librarians, to WWI veterans, to mysterious guardians defending the world from the dark powers of cthonic entities!

Character creation is simple, fast, and exciting. You pick your character archetype based on the exciting stories your Game Master is going to tell, you pick a few Traits that each grant a single benefit, and you're done! 
Tiny Cthulhu features a myrid of settings set throughout the world and history, ranging from prehistory to the Bronze Age,  Age of Sail, World War 1, modern day, as well as fantasy, superheroes and the science fiction future! 
You can survive cosmic horror in any time or place! (Lucky you!) 
Additionally, each setting will have appendices that details how you can integrate other TinyD6 books like Tiny Dungeon 2e, Tiny Supers, and Tiny Frontiers: Revised with Tiny Cthulhu to create robust and unique experiences

Monday, May 13, 2019

Kickstarter - The Cthulhu Alphabet (Goodman Games)

"A book of Lovecraftian inspiration for your RPG sessions. A is for Altar, B is for Books, C is for Cultist, N is for Nyarlathotep!"


The Dungeon Alphabet is one of my favorite RPG books. It simply bleeds with inspiration. I expect nothing less from The Cthulhu Alphabet.
For generations, H.P. Lovecraft has inspired fans of horror, fantasy, and science-fiction. This is especially true in tabletop role playing games, where his stories have been adapted into countless variations of exciting adventure. Now we offer another way for you bring his mythos into your tabletop RPG session!

A is for Angles, B is for Books, C is for Cults, N is for Nyarlathotep
This Kickstarter funds the creation of The Cthulhu Alphabet, a prolifically illustrated tabletop RPG supplement published in hardcover book format.  
The Cthulhu Alphabet is a collection of random tables to inspire your role playing game, structured around an abecedarian theme. If you are a player navigating an uncaring universe, a haunted setting, or horror-filled dungeon, you will find new ideas for your character and adventures. And if you are a game master creating scenarios set in the Cthulhu Mythos – or in any fantastic world – you will find every page bursting with ideas. Your brain will spark on every page, whether you roll randomly for inspiration or read the tables in order. 
The Cthulhu Alphabet is systems-neutral and will work with any rules set, whether 5E, DCC RPG, or otherwise. The book is estimated to be 112 pages long, and will be printed with color cover and B/W interior.

The “Alphabet” Format
The Cthulhu Alphabet follows the format first popularized by Goodman Games in The Dungeon Alphabet. The entries are in alphabetical order, and each concerns one aspect of the Cthulhu mythos. Each entry contains a mix of inspirational text and one or more random tables.  
Looking to make your next monster encounter more interesting? Try rolling on S is for Serpentfolk, Z is for Zombies, or D is for Deep Ones. 
Creating a mythos-styled location for your next scenario? Try rolling on K is for Kingsport, or M is for Miskatonic University. 
Figuring out the antediluvian horror central to your next plot? Try rolling on O is for Outer Gods, U is for Unnamable, or E is for Elder Thing. 
Building out the dark history of a lost book, mysterious grandfather, or odd old house? Try rolling on L is for Legacy, M is for Madness, B is for Books, or J is for Journal. 
Tweaking the nuances of a historically accurate literary adventure, but need a little bit of inspiration or added mystery? Roll on V is for Voorish Sign, P is for Pnakotic, U is for Ubbo-Sathla, H is for Hastur, or I is for Ithaqua. 
Just need something gross for the characters to fight? Look up C is for Cultists, T is for Tentacles, or S is for Shoggoth.
12 bucks in PDF, 25 for standard Print cover plus PDF and 35 for foil Print cover plus PDF. Shipping will be collected via Bckerkit.

Friday, August 10, 2018

Kickstarter - The Year of Cthulhu - A 2019 Calendar



A gaming related Calendar on Kickstarter - last I backed was the Baby Bestiary. Actually, that's the only one I've ever backed. Looks like I'm backing another.

The Year of Chtulhu - 2019 Calendar Kickstarter looks damn sharp. I love the art. really, is there another reason to back a Kickstarter like this?

Sweet spot to back at? 12 bucks - and that includes shipping!
The Year of Cthulhu is a Calendar for 2019 featuring the beautiful art work of Evgeni Maloshenkov and brought to you by New Comet Games.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Deal of the Day - Black Books: Tomes of the Outer Dark (OSR Cthulhu Mythos)


Somehow this escaped my notice earlier. Black Books: Tomes of the Outer Dark is an OSR Mythos themed game. It looks like its pretty much CoC, but with OSR sensibilities. Haven't read it yet, but for a $1.50 I don't see how one could go wrong picking it up.

From the blurb:
Black Books: Tomes of the Outer Dark is an OSR investigative horror role-playing game where the player characters are ordinary people (historians, detectives, scholars, artists etc.) drawn into a dark and horrific version of our world - the world of the Cthulhu Mythos. As the investigators learn more of the true horrors of the world and the irrelevance of humanity, their sanity inevitably withers away. The rules are biased towards playing in the 1920’s although there is no reason these rules can’t be adapted to other time periods. The rules are familiar - they use a D20 for most actions - and the games is class based, with 5 investigator classes - Charmer, Enforcer, Sneak, Scholar and Spiritualist. If you like old school gaming and you like horror, this might well be the game you're looking for!
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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Bundle of Holding - Trail of Cthulhu


The Trail of Cthulhu Bundle of Holding excites me less than it should, to be honest. The Gumshoe system is solid, it just doesn't fit my style of gaming. It may, however, fit yours, and if it does, Trail of Cthulhu is a fine flavor of the rules.


Saturday, September 21, 2013

An Interesting Yet Confusing Kickstarter - Raiders of R’lyeh: Horror Adventure RPG and Mythos Sandbox!


From what I can understand, Raiders of R’lyeh: Horror Adventure RPG and Mythos Sandbox is built off of the Mongoose RuneQuest Rules, which are OGL. Which means, this project shares a gaming lineage and probably high compatibility with Call of Cthulhu. Not that they claim compatibility, as that would probably require a license

That much I can follow. Here's where it gets confusing -

There is a "Black and White" version of the rules that comes in a single PDF (and at certain pledge levels as a Print version, not just PDF) and a color version that splits the PDF into GM and Players books.
The PRINT EDITION (RAIDERS OF R’LYEH IN GOTHIC BLACK & WHITE) is designed for players who want ALL of the rules in one convenient & beautiful tome. NEW: NOW UPGRADED TO A HARDCOVER WITH SMYTH SEWN BINDING.
But it's NOT all of the rules. They say so themselves:


Coming in at about 256 pages, it's a good size, but has a significantly smaller page count than the combined player's guide (140 pages) and GM guide (240 pages). I doubt they added 100+ pages of art to the color version. Admittedly, there could be some overlap, but it isn't explained if that is so. The color version is only in PDF, no print option.

Now, they offer the color version as a split of the core rules so players and GMs can have access to what is applicable to them, but without a print option for the color PDFs, the reality is, at the game table, 90% of folks will opt for the printed version. A split of the rules in B&W would have been a nice option.

Also, it appears they've hit stretch goals while still waiting to hit their funding goal (they will fund before it ends in 3 days).

In any case, I have three days to decide wether or not to pull the trigger on this one. I'm on the fence on this, as there seems to be some confusion as to the print version being a complete set of the rules or not.



Thursday, September 20, 2012

Kickstarters That Make Me Go "Hun, I REALLY Need This!" - Cthulhu Claus Greeting Cards

Say this out loud with me: "Cthulhu Claus Greeting Cards".

OMFG by why wasn't this thought of before!?!

Alright, at $30 bucks for a box of 25 cards, I'm not sure I can justify it - but I don't think we'll send out more than 15-20 cards anyway, so maybe I can convince the wife. Heck, if you're in the states shipping is included.

Shame that the Cthulhu wrapping paper was so limited - I would have wrapped all my wife's Christmas presents with it ;)

Come on - Cthulhu Claus is damn cute and cuddly.

You know you want to.

Just convince the significant other and you'll be fine :)

(thanks to Monte Cook for the heads up on this one)

From the blurb:


Have you ever wanted to share your love of weird and eldritch horror during the Holiday season?  If you answered yes to this question, then Cthulhu Claus Greeting Cards are just for you.

Each box of Cthulhu Claus Greeting Cards will contain 25 cards and feature 5 different illustrations by cartoonist Jody Lindke.  They will also feature a Lovecraftian greeting written by Cthulhu scribe Kenneth Hite.  These items will be shipped as soon as possible after the project is funded and should be ready to ship this Holiday season.

Friday, November 18, 2011

What to Play When One Steps Away From the OSR

I'm looking for a system that is a bit more "episodic" then most of the rule sets in the OSR.  By default, they assume campaign play, which is awesome overall, and my preferred way to play, but sometimes you need something made for easy swapping out of PCs between sessions, which is damn useful if you plan on using any typo of VTT.

I'm leaning towards Trail of Cthulhu, using the recently released Apocalypse Machine Sourcebook.  Kind of a Fallout meets Cthulhu setting.  I'm reading through the sourcebook now, and I think it would work well in the type of pick up game Constacon tends to run.

More when I've gotten further into reading the sourcebook.
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