Old-School Essentials, Review

I recently was fortunate enough to receive my copy of Old-School Essentials, from Necrotic Gnome (Gavin Norman). My copy was the compiled rule set in the A5 Rules Tome combining the core rules, player options, spells, monsters and treasures into one fantastic tome. The book is amazing quality, hardback, smith sewn binding, with ribbon markers included. End papers contain charts for each of use at the table, this is definitely a theme of this rule set and book...so easy to use!

Old-School Essentials is a rework of the B/X essentials released in 2018 which is in itself a rewrite of the B/X (1981 Moldvay and Cook) D&D rule set. The rework is done to perfection making the rule concise and easy to digest. I was able to sit down this past Saturday and read through the entire Tome in an evening. The only thing I can maybe think to have been added for newer players was an example of play or even an intro adventure / dungeon, but I feel like this book was intended for those like myself already familiar with the rule set and looking for a clean and easy to use rule tome at the table as opposed to dragging out my old box set or using one of the available retro-clones such as Labyrinth Lord.

The editing and layout of this book are again just absolutely amazing, this beats anything I have seen from a 3rd party publisher and the quality and art in this book puts even the big dogs like WoTC to shame. I even noticed a few easter egg tributes in the art to some of the original TSR material...I'm looking at you goblin....

I was so impressed with this Tome that I had to go back and buy the book set which splits at the separate sections into individual books that I can envision being passed around the table for reference while another player uses a separate book in regards to their specific character need. Really...this is my favorite release of the year and will be my go to OSR rule set going forward without question. A+ work here and I can't wait to see what else releases from Necrotic Gnome in the future.

If you're looking for a copy, go here and get it while you can:  https://necroticgnome.com/collections/old-school-essentials

Tis the season!

Here we are in December once again...the weather is cooling, hell, it snowed in my neck of the woods yesterday and Christmas is right around the corner. Time to give some shout out to some awesome products that any Dungeon Master worth their salt would be thrilled to own. Go give these guys and gals some support and check out their awesome products.

The Razor Coast (Frog God Games): A fantastic adventure ark set in The Lost Lands setting from Frog God Games. The players will battle forces from the depths of the sea in a mad dash to protect the last bastion of civilization, Port Shaw >> https://froggodgames.com/product/razor-coast/

Castle Xyntillan: I've been super pumped for the release of this new megadungeon, in the vein of Tegel Manor. Art by Peter Mullen gives this old school module the feel it really deserves, get it while you can! >> https://emdt.bigcartel.com/product/castle-xyntillan

Cha'alt: A gonzo futuristic, sci-fi, fantasy melting pot of craziness from Venger Satanis. Includes setting information and the Black Pyramid megadungeon. If you're looking for something different, this is your ticket >> https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/284600/Chaalt

Old School Essentials: Definitely one of the most anticipated releases this year. OSE is a near perfect rewrite of the original B/X ruleset. With fabulous art and organization, along with the books available in a box set for module use to set up your game to include the rules you want, this is a must have >> https://necroticgnome.com/collections/old-school-essentials

OAR #3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks: When Goodman games, makers of the fantastic DCC RPG, announced they would be doing a series of original adventures recreated for 5th edition, I was immediately interested. The next in line is Gary Gygax's Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. The players will delve into a dungeon that is not exactly as it seems, a crashed space craft of extraterritorial origins will lead the players to fantastic treasure or likely just their death >> https://goodman-games.com/blog/2019/03/11/announcing-oar-3-expedition-to-the-barrier-peaks/

So what are you looking to stuff your stocking with this holiday season, comment below. I am always eager to see what is new and amazing in the OSR and RPG scene!

Balance in RPG games

One thing that I feel like the new editions of the game have moved towards is the notion of encounters must be balanced. CR for monsters, the ability of player characters to virtually smash and hack their way through most everything has led to the era of story and adventure path gaming. This is all kind of crap to me, but why is that you say?

Well gang, life is tough...daily at my corporate push button job there are times I cannot resolve issues with my standard practices or operations, you have to get creative, seek help and adjust on the fly. Roleplaying games should not be any different, what fun is it to just attack and hack every encounter to death?

So...how do we fix this...especially for 5th edition which has certainly made the entitled generation of characters much more over-powered than they should be? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Make your games more of a sandbox. Move away from the adventure path, tell a story type of gaming. Your players will develop their own leads, their own backstories through play and experience. Just give them a world and a few set places to play with and expand on that through play.
2. Place unwinnable encounters and monsters in your world. Obviously don't place these right outside of town or do....maybe that cave on the edge of town holds something dark and deep that should not be discovered. Those warnings in the tavern had some merit. Have encounters that the PC's cannot immediately win, they will run away hopefully, remember that encounter and seek ways to go back and win it. Trust me, most players are dying to know every little secret and when they do find a creative way to resolve it, reward them. You can even do this by ramping up the number of creatures encountered...5 kobolds, no sweat....50 kobolds waiting to ambush the party as they exit the dungeon, now we're talking.
3. Power up your PC's with magic items, not feats. This one is a little tougher with the newer editions of the game, but you can certainly house rule as needed for your tastes. In my games, there are no feats, but I allow my players to attune to 5 magic items as opposed to the standard 3. This motivates to go into those dark and dangerous places, poke around where they shouldn't, and hopefully discover those items that push them over the edge.
4. Change your monsters. This is a fun one...we all have that one player in our group who's memorized the monster manual, knows what is coming the moment you describe what their character sees. Adjust the stats, the abilities, hell even the look of your creatures....that group of goblins, give them players abilities and levels, then sit back and watch the confusion and panic.

Hopefully this plants some seeds to go challenge your players, the game is much more fun when it is challenging. When your players have to get creative, suffer, and work hard to overcome, those are the stories that will be told years from now around the gaming table.

Call of Cthulhu: The Haunting

So the group survived their encounter with the Dead Light when last we played. I had wanted to do a long term CoC campaign, but I've found the game sets itself up to be better played in scenario / module to module based games. This past Friday, I took the group through the classic module "The Haunting".

First, let me just say, I love the simplicity of this module and the fact it combines the great investigation elements of CoC along with a really great encounter to wrap up the module. I feel as if any group starting out in CoC should start here, just a really great and fun scenario.

The investigators are tasked by a Mr. Knott, landlord of a reputed haunted property to investigate and "cleanse" the house if needed. It is strongly recommended to route the players through the multiple avenues of researching and investigation prior to them going to the house itself. Information can be gathered at the local library, Boston Globe (newspaper filings), or City Hall. With a little bit of background, the group should hopefully learn the fate of the house's most recent occupants, along with its most notable resident, one Mr. Corbitt that was supposedly buried in the basement of the house....creepy...I love it.

At this point, the players can likely go directly to the house or visit a church associated with Mr. Corbitt, the Church of Contemplation for a bit more background information. My group of course choose to go directly to the house without doing any research, which was met with some ghostly apparitions and attacks, which prompted them to retreat and do a little investigation before charging back in, lesson learned! I should also note, that my group plays online via Discord voice chat and the Roll20 online tabletop application. I recently bit the bullet and subbed for a plus account to try out dynamic lighting and it was a huge hit for this module. Have the character tokens setup to show lighting as if carry a flash light as they inched their way through the house really added to the experience.

Once at the house and ready to evict Mr. Corbitt for good, the players are haunted by experiences throughout the house....radio turning on, lights flickering, ghostly noises and worst of all, an animated bed which managed to knock one of my players out the window for a near kill. Eventually the players will discover the basement of the house and a false wall built within containing the body of Mr. Corbitt. If they aren't careful, the spirit of Mr. Corbitt can psychically manipulate the use of a knife to literally stab the players in the back before they can breach in the inner sanctum of the burial chamber. My players carefully found the knife making a key check to wrestle away from the ghostly hands before it could do any damage.

With the way to the burial chamber revealed the final encounter and climax of the adventure is afoot. Mr. Corbitt will raise up from grave prompting sanity checks and using Mythos magic to thwart the group including dominate person which almost got my group killed...so close...they escape this time. Overall, a really great and simple module and best of all I believe this is free in the CoC 7th edition quick start rules. Go get it and run it!

This will be the last of the CoC scenarios for a bit for my group, we've decided to start a long term 5th edition D&D campaign....Rappan Athuk! I'm so excited to run this mega-dungeon, it's going to be fantastic....for me that is....my players....not so much hahaha!!!!

Top Ten D&D Monsters for Halloween

Oh how I love October and the lead up to Halloween. The cooler weather, leaves turning, ghost and ghouls roaming the neighborhood...such a fantastic time of the year. Like many other Dungeon Masters in the hobby, it is fun to run those spook and scary one-shots for Halloween, but there are so many monsters to choose from...what should your theme be. Well, here are my top 10 monsters for Halloween adventures, plus some suggestions of published work using them. This is definitely not the gospel and strictly my opinion, feel free to chime in on those you love as well.

10) Flesh Golem: not often used, but definitely iconic considering Frankenstein is one of the gothic horror tropes. Often used as the useful idiot, only killing by order of a crazed doctor who is pulling the strings; you can change this up by making the creature more horrifying...additional heads, arms or even monster parts. "Adam's Wrath" from 2nd edition Ravenloft is an adventure to consider, also "Trial of the Beast" from the Carrion Crown Pathfinder AP .

9) Zombies: you know this one would make the list. A good zombie adventure makes for a harrowing experience for a group of 1st level adventurers. I prefer a Night of the Living Dead approach....trapped in a house, survive the night from the zombie hordes, keep them coming until dawn and help arrives. "Night of the Walking Dead" from 2nd edition Ravenloft is another good adventure you could use.

8) Vampire: Sharp fangs hunting you in the night...oh the Vampire, another classic staple dating back to Dracula. Vampires can often feature as the main villain in an ongoing campaign...seductive, calculating and powerful...PC's beware! "I6: Ravenloft" if you haven't run this one for your group, go find a copy and do it, definitely an all-time great.

7) Gibbering Mouther: Straight out of Lovecraftian horror, the Gibbering Mouther is a favorite of mine. The ability to claw at and influence the mind of the PC's while this nasty guy closes in and devours their weak flesh...likely not a focal point of an adventure, but who says you can't do it. "The God that Crawls" from LoTFP would work for this one.

6) Green Hag: you can't do Halloween without some witches and the Green Hag is my favorite. Beware little children and player characters, this nasty gal has some stew to fix and she may need some of those body parts you're currently using. I've always wanted to add in a coven of hags themed around the women from Hocus Pocus.

5) Lich: Watch out for this bad boy. I've always been a huge fan of the scheming and mastermind Lich, often using them in my campaigns. To dial up the spooky factor, center your adventure around a wizard or cleric in the midst of their transformation into the undying lich...can the PC's stop them? Check out "Tomb of the Black Sand" a recent release from Jacob Hurst, an excellent OSR creator.

4) Wraith: Many will use ghosts for their haunting, but I really like the wraith. It is much more cruel and sinister. Let's not forget these nasty undead can level drain in the early editions of D&D...want to see some scared PC's, put a level drain creature before them. "Trial of the Beast" from Pathfinder, has a sinister little side-trek quest involving a wraith that had stolen away and killed many of a villages children, spooky indeed.

3) Devil: a lot of D&D is smash the monster get the treasure, but Devils are interesting creature to toss into the adventure. Often disguised or working along with the PC's, tempting them with offers perhaps too good to be refused. We all know your fighter won't turn down that flaming long sword of giant slaying +3, but eventually payment comes due. Hope your players are ready to fight for their very souls in Hell. "A Paladin in Hell" by Monte Cook is a great late 2nd edition adventure full of devils and demons to crush your PC's dreams.

2) Werewolf: Definitely my favorite iconic horror creature, the premise of man or woman trying to contain the beast within only to succumb murderous and animal impulses. For extra horror keep the PC's guessing whom the werewolf is in their remote village setting, perhaps their most trusted contact...maybe even someone within the party, evil indeed. 

1) Mankind (humans): Perhaps the most evil of all of the creatures. Cults and cultists are a favorite of mine. Worshiping their dark gods in the late hours under a full moon, sacrificing the village virgin for dark knowledge and gain, the allure of power and promise is often too much for man to refuse and these monsters blend in with the day-to-day surroundings of your adventure. "Against the Cult of the Reptile God" is a favorite adventure of mine, who in the village of Orlane can the PC's really trust.

The Best D&D Adventures you have never heard of: Stonehell

What's that you say? You want to run a megadungeon and you have not prepped at all...well....we can fix that....here is Stonehell by Michael Curtis. This megadungeon is a master class in ease of use at the table. On one page you'll find the map for the section of the dungeon, on the other you'll find the room descriptions and encounters for that section. The levels of the dungeon broken out into quadrants, this is legit a megadungeon the DM could quickly pickup and hop into the action with minimal prep.

But the product is not just easy to use, it is really really good....tons and tons of factions within the levels, lots of items and room goodies for the players to interact with, and a fantastic story and subplot that encompasses the dungeon.

The basic premise is that an over-reaching ruler, in all his wisdom oversaw the construction of massive prison to contain the criminals and those who would oppose his rule. As the cells filled over the years, they continued to dig deeper and deeper creating a massive subterranean complex. For hundreds of years, Stonehell housed these poor souls, entire generations of families living out their existence within the halls of Stonehell. When the gates were finally opened and prisoners set free, darker forces moved in to occupy those haunted and troubled halls. Just how deep does the prison go and what treasure and relics were left behind? 

I'm a huge fan of this megadungeon and it is by far one of the best produced. Here if you're interested, you can find it in pdf and print on demand here:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/poleandrope

The Best D&D Adventures you have never heard of: The Wizard's Amulet

I am going to start a new series where I give the spot light to lesser known, but still really great adventures. The requirements for this series are that I own and have read and or run these adventures for my group. With the explosion of D&D from 5th edition, there is a lot of content out there, but a LOT of this content is pretty much garbage. The hope is that you will find some useful and really great options for your group.

First up is "The Wizard's Amulet" originally released by the now defunct Necromancer Games (Clark Peterson and Bill Webb). The Necromancer Games line of products has thankfully fallen under the umbrella of Frog God Games (Bill Webb), which is one of the finest 3rd party publishers going in the RPG community to date. This adventure was originally released in tandem with the release of 3rd edition D&D as a free RPG scenario. It has since seen updates and revision for Sword & Wizardy, Pathfinder and now 5th edition (link below).

The adventure was intended for use for 1st level characters and for that matter, 1st level dungeon masters. There is a lot of explanation and suggestions contained within the module itself and it does a great job of pointing alternatives and adjustments that can be made to fit your group. The adventure itself deals with the party escorting Corian, a young wizard, who can be played by one of the players or run as an NPC which I suggest given his importance to the adventure itself. 

Corian had recently come into possession of an amulet, formerly belonging to the wizard he had apprenticed. As luck would have it, this wizard had gone off to make himself a lich or some sorts, but by Corian's estimates had no where near the knowledge to complete the ritual. Corian knows that his former master had several magic items and spellbooks that would be of great interest and so has hired the party to escort and assist of the plundering of said tower.

But before we can get to the plundering....there are others who know that Corian now possesses the amulet and they want these treasures as well...

The adventure is rather short and can be run as an evening one shot with little difficulty, culminating with a final encounter where the other interested parties make their attempt to acquire the amulet. I'll avoid spoilers, but this will be an extremely lethal encounter for the group if they aren't careful. Necromancer Games had a motto: "3rd edition rules, 1st edition feel" and they aren't kidding! Grab your shovels, we've got some PC's to bury over here. 

All in all, a great introductory adventure and it's still really cheap. This was combined with the fantastic"Stoneheart Valley" book which has some follow-up adventures should your PC's survive this one. You can still find the pdf at Frog God Games website:

https://froggodgames.com/product/the-wizards-amulet/

https://froggodgames.com/product/the-lost-lands-stoneheart-valley/

Call of Cthulhu: Dead Light, part 1

My group continued their Call of Cthulhu campaign this past weekend, given the time gap between the Peru section and when Masks of Nyarlathotep picks up in earnest with the New York chapter, I decided to run a one-shot to bridge the gap.

There were a few one-shot scenarios I considered, but Dead Light looked like the easiest to run and a lot of fun, and it did not disappoint at all!!!

I started off the scenario on a bit of red herring, having the group head to Arkham to fetch some books for Jackson Elias, whom had just departed overseas (start of the Carlyle research), from the Miskatonic University with the intention of delivery to his attorney back in New York. A few roleplaying encounters to obtain the books and the group departed Arkham, and that's is where the actual scenario picks up.

An early summer storm moving in as night falls, pouring rain, visibility cut down to a few feet and suddenly a girl is comes into view on the view. A failed driving check later as the vehicle swerves barely clipping the poor girl. The group was pretty scared at this point and somewhat delayed upon helping the poor girl, but eventually took action to get her in the car and headed up the road to a local diner and gas station. The girl, Emilia, was in shock and not communicating at this point. 

Arriving at the diner, the group of investigators discover a truck blocking the road, still running. The driver, also now in the diner, was being consoled by some of the others inside. He was claiming to have seen a "Dead Light" which frightened him off the road. There was some mild-brewing tension in the diner, as the waitress there, Mary, seemed on edge and stressed about something, having reacted to the group bringing in Emilia. 

My group was still set upon getting on with their business at this point, deciding to move the truck blocking the road to clear the way. Doctor O'Connor volunteered to go park the truck out of the way and an elderly patron of the diner went to go assist. As the good doctor wheeled the truck into a parking place on the side of diner, a flash of light over by the old man startled him. Upon exiting the truck, all he discovers is the poor man's hand still holding the umbrella seemingly burnt off and no sign of the man. The curious doctor folder up the umbrella, hand still attached, for future study. 

Delivering the news to his wife and informing the group that something wasn't quite right with the situation, the doctor was the first to be aware of the danger they were in. The PI of my group took this time to question Mary, the waitress, whom he had noticed was stressing about something. Some quick questioning quickly revealed some jealousy, anger and a sense of guilt towards Emelia, the lady, whom the group had taken in from the rain earlier.

Around this time, Emelia was coming around a bit and informed the group that two men had broken into her grandfather's home, attacking them with the intent of robbery and something had happened there, some creature had emerged from an old coffer her grandfather had kept at the house and that is when she had ran. With no where to go, the group steeled themselves and headed up the road to the cottage.

The rain had not let up, but the road up to the cottage was passable. Arriving the front door swinging open with the storm, muddy footprints fleeing the scene reveal that some others are not all accounted for just yet. Entering into the house, guns draw, the investigators discover a scene of horror. Emilia's grandfather lay dead, injured from an apparent shotgun wound, worse though an unknown man with his body seemingly consumed from the waste down by some means of fire?!?!? A smashed coffer, with a fine ashy substances is spilled between the two bodies, litters the floor his as well. The group wasn't able to fully understand what occurred, but they did discover a connection between the younger man and Mary, perhaps a boyfriend, now they are more suspicious of her.

The group split their search of the remaining house, discovering a journal with some instructions for containing the creature and dated entries of it's use on actual humans...creepy....a generator in the basement and bit of background information on Emilia, detailing some visits to the psyche ward. With enough information to be dangerous, the group decided to head back for the diner before whatever was out there could find them....about that....as the group hurried out the door, an unknown man come running out of the woods...."I'm so sorry..." his last words before the Dead Light emerges from is now consumed body...better run boys!

AD&D 2nd edition settings...I miss you

Oh TSR, how I miss you. Here several years into the reign of 5th Edition and WoTC is clearly firmly entrenched with Forgotten Realms, but in a way I hope they never touch some of the other beloved settings because I know how thoroughly they would screw them up. 

2nd edition AD&D is best known for the numerous settings launched, specifically through the use of boxed sets. Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, Greyhawk, Birthright, Planescape, and Spelljammer. We all had our favorites that appealed to us, but I remember the days of envisioning a campaign or characters set in all of these settings. I tandem with the table top RPG setting splat books, TSR also published numerous novels with each setting. The Dragonlance Chronicles (Hickman and Weis) are what plunged me into the hobby in the mid 80's and Dragonlance will always be my first love because of that. 

To this day nearly 30 years later, these same box sets sit on my bookshelf awaiting more usage, which brings me to the point of this blog. I've been working up my next campaign...err....well what to actually do for my next campaign. I don't believe my group will finish all the way through Masks of Nyarlathotep and I don't think I have the stamina to run that much CoC through Roll20. So I want to start on another D&D campaign soon...I had been leaning towards doing a mega-dungeon, specifically Rappan Athuk from Frog God Games or the excellent Barrowmaze, but my group tends to enjoy the story based campaigns which brought me back to these beloved 2nd edition campaign settings.

So which to choose?....honestly I'm leaning towards Planescape. It is so open ended that I could toss just about anything I want into it, but as a DM you definitely have to scale it down to be usable without melting your brain with all of the possibilities a Planescape campaign could go in. I'm thinking maybe starting some where on the Prime Material plane and getting the group to Sigil, eventually working towards the "Dead Gods" module published in the late TSR era by Monte Cook. Let me know if you have any experience or thoughts on Planescape from your games, I welcome any input.

Masks of Nyarlathotep: Peru...continued

So...where did we leave off....oh right. The group upon questioning and pressing Larkin, force out the aspect of Nyarlathotep that is inhabiting Larkin. A failed sanity check later and the group decided it was best to back off for now. I decided to toss a wrench into their plans though, as they were headed back down to the hotel lobby to leave and regroup, I brought de Mendoza in the front door of the hotel. The showdown in the lobby...both groups pausing waiting for the other to make a move, queue the Western music!

De Mendoza reveals his true aspect, the jutted jaw and rows of teeth, his monstrous form prompting a sanity check. The "muscle" in the group, a big-game hunter wastes no time, pulling his pistol and rolling an impaling strike, The Call of Cthulhu term for critical hit essentially. Instant kill...or so the group thought, upon examination, I reveal the wounds appear to be slowly healing. After some discussion with the authorities and some hotel clean up, de Mendoza is taken away to the morgue...for now. Also, can we talk about just how lethal CoC can be? Most investigators will only have between 10-15 hit points standard which will never increase through the life of the game. They are all just one bad dice throw away from instant death.

The expedition took off as planned on the following Monday, Larkin swearing off any knowledge of de Mendoza's roll in the killing of Riza, the professors aid, in the previous session. It was a 3-day journey to the Southern Peruvian city of Puno near the site of the pyramid. I had one social encounter during the journey with the player who was playing the PI of the group...I wanted to hint at Larkin's potential ability should Nyarlathotep take over. Casting a spell on him, that I conveniently had Jackson Elias interrupt. Hopefully the players are taking notes at these hints as I bread crumb them along.

Arriving in Puno, I gave the group a chance to load up on any supplies they may need for the final leg to the pyramid which mostly be on foot. Jackson was going to meet with the local spiritual healer and wise woman located in Puno, Nayra. This was the last chance for the players to gleam any bit of information about the pyramid...2 of the investigators tag along with Jackson to visit the wise woman. Traveling out to a small island village on the neighboring Lake Titicaca, the wise woman provided some insight into the lore behind the pyramid and that of the vampire menace plaguing the group. Once the discussion was over, with the fog rolling in on the lake, a group of vampire made their attack on the investigators and Nayra. One of the investigators suffering a bout of madness while watching one of the creatures feed upon the local villager. With Jackson help, they are able to kill off the creature before too much harm could be done, but the circle was beginning to tighten around the group.

In the morning, the group sets out for the last leg of the journey towards the highlands and the location of the pyramid, which only Larkin knows of, definitely not suspicious at all. A brief encounter with a local farmer and his son whom had recently had a run in with the vampire creatures, alerted the group to more trouble on the way, before coming across the pyramid itself, located in a forgotten valley...miasma of black smoke seemingly seeping out of the top of the structure.

As the investigators approached, Larkin became more anxious, ever closer to achieving the goal of his master's bidding in removing the golden ward currently containing the Father of Maggots within the structure. The group definitely played it cautious here to their credit, finally discovering a means down into the structure. Upon first entering they find two of the vampiric creatures sleeping in a room adjacent to the tunnels. Quickly dispatching them before they awaken, they also find a large treasure collection that creatures had nabbed from figures over the countless years of their existence. 

Larkin,ever so close to success, now fully takes on the aspect of Nyarlathotep. Commanding them to do his bidding, signifying this by casting a withering spell upon one of the players. At first they did not know fully what to do....I almost thought they would go for it, stripping the golden ward, but just as things looked bleakest, the big-game hunter of the group fires his sidearm and yet another impaling strike. Larkin is finished. It was at this point that the doctor, whom had discovered the broken section of warding long stripped from the pyramid, revealed to the group that he had it in his possession. The group cautiously hunted the base of the structure for the missing section, finally discovering near a pool of the foul fat that had been nourishing the Father of Maggots all of these years. Some careful planning and a suggestion from Jackson helped to clear the larvae infested pool and replace the missing piece of the ward and sealing the pyramid fully once again.

Overall, I had a pretty good time with the Peru section, I feel like my group of players is still struggling a bit to adapt to the CoC style of play. This chapter is certainly a pretty good intro to the game if for nothing else it felt fairly safe that all of the investigators would survive. Before I start the New York section of Masks of Nyarlathotep, I'm going to insert another scenario given the time break between those chapters, things are about to get a little more intense for the investigators.

Masks of Nyarlathotep: Peru

I recently started my group on Masks of Nyarlathotep, using Call of Cthulhu (CoC) 7th edition rules. It has been a while since I played or run any games for the CoC system and not much has changed for 7th edition. Most notably all characteristics are now percentile based to mirror up to the skill system this game uses, overall this makes things much cleaner and user friendly.  

None of my players had previously played CoC and are genuinely unfamiliar with the rule system and the lore as a whole, this is probably a good thing since it makes the fear and surprises in-game that much meaningful. I decided to do a session zero to walk through character creation as a group and go over rules briefly, I needed the refresher as well to be completely honest. My players had fun getting into the role of their 1920's investigators and with that, we set off for adventure.

The 7th edition remake of Masks has a prologue chapter to get the players better associated with Jackson Elias, the Peru chapter. With some brief introductions and character fluff out of the way, the group was introduced to Jackson and the main antagonist of this chapter of the campaign, Augustus Larkin, a man under the influence of Nyarlathotep. His hidden agenda is to free the Father of Maggots, a primal mask / avatar of Nyarlathotep that is imprisoned in Peru. Luis de Mendoza is Larkin's accomplish and peruvian vampire of sorts, these creatures will turn out to be primary combative encounters throughout this chapter.

The players were hired on to help excavate the site wherein the Father of Maggots was contained under the guise of "let's get some gold". Some good roleplay exchanges led to some immediate trust issues with Larkin which were further amplified based on information that Jackson provided to the group away from Larkin and de Mendoza. The group had a couple of days before the expedition set out for highlands of Southern Peru, with some nudging from Jackson Elias, they decided to visit the local university and a friend of Jackson, Professor Sanchez, lead on Peruvian history and archaeology, to do some research. My players were all coming from and RPG background of "kill the monster, get the treasure" so a lot of this investigative type style of play was new to them, so having Jackson tag along with the group for those prompts and hints helped out in this section of the campaign.

During this visit, the party had their first run with the horrors of CoC. While on errand for the professor, they discover Sanchez's assistant Riza drained of all fat in the basement archive area, some creature had torn open her chest, sucking the literal life out of her. Some of the group rushed back to the Professor, while one of my players who happened to be playing a doctor, performed a quick autopsy on the corpse of Riza. This particular player did a great job with the role play interaction and for the most part sanity rolls had been made at this point.

The primary mechanic that grinds down and likely defeats the investigators in CoC is the sanity check. All investigators have a starting sanity score and through play and encounters with the mythos of the game, that number slowly depletes, with major losses prompting bouts of temporary and indefinite madness which further fuel the role playing for this game. I've always been a fan of normal people in abnormal situations for my games, even in D&D, so to see an actual mechanic account for this is great.

Back to the action...those checking in on the professor arrive just in time to find that some man had "kissed" him. The Peruvian vampire nemesis in this scenario, de Mendoza, is able to feed larvae to a host that in turn transforms the unwilling victim into a vampire themselves. The group gives chase, but are unable to catch up with the man before he disappears into the busy streets of Lima. The same doctor discovers a moving mass beneath the skin of professor, the larvae, but decides to not take action to remove it...guess that won't come back to trouble him later...the group is strongly suspecting the man was in fact de Mendoza, the accomplice of Larkin, they decided some direct questions with the expedition leader were in order.

Larkin and de Mendoza had separate rooms in a close proximity hotel to that of the group, but their need for privacy would soon be evident to the players upon their visit. The players find Larkin in his room, shades drawn in darkness, in a heroine induced sleep...wakening as they stumble into the room he pleads innocence and plays the dumb card in regards to de Mendoza's true nature...the investigators continued to press which prompt Nyarlathotep to take over Larkin. Eyes turning an fully black, something almost alien, his posture and demeanor growing as his voice deepens to a commanding tone. I had one of the players make a sanity roll upon seeing his true visage, to which he annoyingly asked if there was a saving throw....too bad junior, welcome to Call of Cthulhu...to be continued....

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ?!?! GenCon and RPG play updates

Long break from posting on the blog, but back to add some more and catch up the reader as to what I've been up to and playing the past few months. I say this like you care....but here goes.

Firstly, I went to my first GenCon in August with several people from my tabletop group. It was an amazing, albeit expensive trip (mostly from all of the cool new games I purchased there, look for some reviews). The crowds were insane and I was amazed at the scope and scale of the convention area itself. Several blocks in square footage all dedicated to gaming. The vendor hall was incredible as well, I had the best time just walking booth to booth, doing demo's, talking to the publishers, and just seeing all of the new amazing product offerings there. It is honestly hard to take it all in for those who have never been. 

I managed to do several events there as well....True Dungeon, The Starfinder Society year finally scenario (despite my hatred of Pathfinder this was actually a pretty cool experience), and a couple of one-shot games. I wish there were more hours in the day, but if you have never been, I recommend doing it once if you're into the hobby. Definitely a bucket list item checked off for me.

My tabletop group finished up our run of the Dragon Heist campaign in 5E. Going to be honest, I could not wait to finish this one. Definitely not a fan of that adventure, but my players had a pretty good time with it. The players in my group were pretty cut-throat in this one in regards to the type of PC they were playing, this made it fun as I added a few twist to account for others in the city you wanted a stake to the hidden gold, eventually ending the campaign with a bit of a rift within the party in regards to doing the right or wrong thing. It was actually a pretty good conclusion to the adventure, but it took some work to get there. Good job to my players on this one!

I needed a break from the typical fantasy archetype and really I just needed a break from 5E...still not a fan.....so in the past couple of months I started a campaign of Call of Cthulhu. Currently I'm taking my group through the first part of Masks of Nyarlathotep, though they have not figured this out yet. The CoC roleplaying game is a fantastic one, it is much simplistic and needs to a much better role playing experience overall. Some of the players in my group were a bit hesitant to start, but all are now pretty invested in their characters and the story at large. Masks is a tremendous campaign and definitely worthy of the high praise it has gotten over the years...not sure if we'll finish or not, but definitely look for an upcoming review soon!