Tag Archives: Cubicle 7

ENnie voting, Interviews, and Gravestone Carvers galore

First off – I’ve put out a new call for submissions to the Arkham Gazette for our fourth (!) issue.  Please give it a read and consider submitting something.  The Gazette lives by the aid of many hands. 🙂

If you’ve somehow not heard, ENnie nominations have been announced, including a whole host of Lovecraftian-related projects have honored:

Vote now!

Speaking of of the MUP, I had a great chat with Keepers Jon and Murph of the Miskatonic University Podcast about the soon-to-be-released next issue of the Arkham Gazette, long-forgotten witch trails of New Hampshire, and Colours Out of Space.  I’m always glad to talk to the MUP crew and it was a special treat to talk a bit about one of my favorite of Lovecraft’s creations.

What else is new in podcast land?

In other news have Pelgrane Press revealed the subject of their recent countdown – Cthulhu Apocalypse, The Doomsday Edition, which collects the previously released Apocalypse Machine, the Dead White World,  and Slaves of the Mother and adds on eight new short scenarios.

Cubicle 7’s World War Cthulhu: Cold War Kickstarter continues to recruit assets, crossing over $40k.

FeltonI have been doing research on New England’s Colonial gravestone carvers, and drawing upon that research, I’ve put together an annotated list of all those carvers known, including the related sources about each carver.  If that pique’s your interest, give it a look.  It is still very much a work in progress – I need to regularize all the citations and start adding more links

Let’s conclude with a projects update:

  • The Arkham Gazette #3 – issue save scenario is done and laid out (I guess I need to write an intro though); out scenario author Chris Huth is revising “The Queen of Night”.  When that it ready, be assured I’ll trumpet the news here.
  • My Jackson Elias scenario for the Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion backers is still in progress.
  • My unnamed scenario for an unannounced project is in the earliest draft stages – outline only currently, waiting for me to finish the two projects above.
  • Our first stretch-goal scenario for the Arkham Gazette Kickstarter backers is done and waiting layout.  The other scenario is being worked on and the bonus article is still being written.  The former will be released in the near future.
  • I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but those projects are what has been on my mind of late.

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Jib Jabber from Beyond

Tempus fugit, eh?  The longer I go between updates, the longer posts take to write.  I’m sure there’s a mathematical function to chart that problem, but you’ll have to work it out for yourself.

I thought it might be a useful exercise (for me at least) to put down in pixels exactly what I’m up to (or was up to, or should be up to) on the writing front, but first, let’s recap what’s been going on in the wider Lovecraftian Gaming world:

Gaming news:

  • The dust has (hopefully) begun to settle at Chaosium.  Communications, with their Kickstarter backers and with the wider gaming community, have been much improved, and European backers of the Horror on the Orient Express Kickstarter have actually started receiving their long-promised copies.  I think the change, at least so far, has been for the good.  As far as I can tell their warehouse-clearing sale (up to 50% off certain whole lines, including monographs and licensee products) is still going on, so snag a copy of whatever you might have been waiting to pick up.
  • Cubicle 7 has launched their Kickstarter for World War Cthulhu: Cold War.  If you thought fighting the Mythos was too easy in the Roaring Twenties, have fun trying to slip something past Section 46 in the 1970s.  It has already blasted past its initial stretch goals, so who knows where things will end up. 
  • Pelgrane Press is hinting about some announcement in four days, give or take.  I’ve no clue what they are announcing – they’ve said it is unrelated to “Cthulhu Apocalypse” or even if it is Lovecraftian, but I’ve got to make some assumptions I suppose.

    Look kids – Big Ben, Parliament!

  • Golden Goblin Press have released the PDF of De Horrore Cosmico to their Kickstarter backers. Excelsior!

What about all the Lovecraftian Podcasts?

Necronomicon (or is that NecronomiCon?) 2015’s schedule is now available for your plotting and planning.  I’m still up in the air when it comes to attending.  Sorry!

Moving from news to… err… me, here are the projects I’ve got in and around my plate:

  • Finishing Issue #3 of the Arkham Gazette.  On my end, this is editing and slimming down our featured scenario “The Queen of Night”; who knew a scenario with dozens of NPCs set all over Arkham and beyond would be so large?  I’m still hoping to get the final text of the issue, albeit in rough form, out to backers by the end of the month.  Chris Huth, who is doing our layout work, has been otherwise handling similar tasks for Pelgrane Press’ Dracula Dossier, so he has been otherwise occupied, but the Gazette is next on the to-do list, happily.
  • Prepping call for submissions for future Arkham Gazette issues.  Like a true masochist, I cannot wait to get to work on future issues of the Gazette.  I’m preparing to solicit articles for future issues of the Gazette, with suggestions for articles and general encouragement for contributors.  I think we are going to offer two or three main topics for our next issue(s), since topics help get submissions it would seem, but I’m not fixed on any particular one.  Ready your (virtual or otherwise) pens!
  • Kickstarter stretch goals: We’ve already put several out to Kickstarter backers – including the autopsy of Walter Gilman and a giant handout all about the Unvisited Island – but there are still two scenarios, a scenario seed, and the revamped versions of our first two regular issues of the Gazette to go.  The scenarios are both written, with one being readied for layout and the other in editing.  The scenario seed being worked on currently and the older issues are being left aside for now until Chris’ finished his work on issue #3; the work required there is primarily in layout, but we may be adding a little content here and there, so a close reread is in order as well.
  • Sundry Sentinel Hill Press side projects are further down in my queue: There’s our Keeper’s resource for running games in Lovecraft Country, part bibliography, part gazetteer, part overview.  Ditto for updated versions of earlier issues.
  • My scenario for the Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion Kickstarter.  I’m about 2/3 done with the writing, trying to make sure the scenario serves as not just some CoC fun, but a good way to introduce Jackson Elias.
  • Unspeakable Oath submissions – a Mysterious Manuscript/Arcane Artifact, a Tale of Terror.  A few ideas I’ve been kicking around but none are quite ready for submission.
  • A solicited scenario for a collection, about which I can say no more.
  • Other stuff – New England research.  Always ongoing.
  • Orphan projects – sundry scenario ideas I’ve had, none worth mentioning in particular.

That’s all of them… hopefully!

May gaming news, podcast updates, and the Double Shadow of Clark Ashton Smith

Let’s dig in…

Cubicle 7 have released a cover image preview of their next book in the World War Cthulhu series – the SOE Handbook (that’s it to the right)- and received the first advanced copies of their London Box Set (of which I had a very small part in creating).  Oooohhh pretty…

Golden Goblin Press have previewed the scenario titles for their forthcoming CoC scenario collection Tales of the Caribbean.  Their Kickstarter is planned to launch September 9th.

Yog-Sothoth.com’s Kickstater for the Cthulhu Breakfast Club podcast is at 81% with just over two weeks to go.  Tick tock people.

We’ve had a few new Lovecraftian podcast episodes and related projects:

Finally I wanted to note that recently I’ve been enjoying The Double Shadow: A Clark Ashton Smith podcast.  I’d not read much (any perhaps?) of Clark Ashton Smith’s fiction, Mythos-related or otherwise, and I’ve found the show to be a great introduction to CAS and his stories.  My only regret is that real-world concerns have of late greatly slowed down their release schedule.  Come for three hosts’ jovial banter, stay for them struggling to pronounce CAS’ alphabet-salad like names and absurd adjectives.  Avoosl Woothoqquan?  Quinquangular?  I’m sold!

Updatery, March Edition

First off, welcome Spring!  Please clean up after your Ostara sacrifices people – that altar to Yog-Sothoth, hewn from the very basalt of the lost Eiglophian Mountains is a privilege, not a right.  (Well, it’s a rite, but, you get my point.)

Vast and sundry apologies for the sporadic updates to the blog.  I’m still hip-deep in finishing up the next issue of the Arkham Gazette and I’ve done my best to focus on wrapping that up rather than taking care of other things.  If I owe you an email, this is why.  Fortunately being but hip deep means that A) I am no longer neck-deep, and B) I can slowly move about doing other things while I finish it up.

There have been several Lovecraftian RPG releases so far this year.  I’ve been trying to keep up to date with them in my page about new RPG material but I don’t think I’ve mentioned any of them here.  Let’s bullet point these, shall we?

I must confess that, given the research needs of the Gazette (today’s book is Poisons: Their Effects and Detection by Alexander Wynter Blythe (1895) I’ve barely had time to even look at most of the books, save Investigator Weapons v. 2, which is great, and Alone Against the Flames… which was… eh… adequate but underwhelming.  Perhaps I’ll discuss it more at some point?  It was free.

On the podcasting front there have been too many new episodes to summarize, from Ken and Robin, the MU Podcast, RPPR, the Unspeakable Oath (though I covered that one!), the Good Friends of Jackson Elias – hell, even the old Yog Radio gang might be up to something.

I am sure there is more to cover, but that’s all for now.  Was I supposed to mention a Kickstarter?

Post-Yule Post

Shockingly, between the Arkham Gazette Kickstarter (48 hours to go!) and other seasonal obligations, I’ve had scant little time to update good old Tomes in Progress.  Sorry!

So, here’s what has been going on in the world of Lovecraftian roleplaying games.

In other news, Shane Ivey might possibly have had the best Christmas of us all.  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Finally, a bit of seasonal poetry from HPL himself:

Festival

by H.P. Lovecraft

There is snow on the ground,
And the valleys are cold,
And a midnight profound
Blackly squats o’er the wold;
But a light on the hilltops half-seen hints of feastings unhallow’d and old.

There is death in the clouds,
There is fear in the night,
For the dead in their shrouds
Hail the sun’s turning flight,
And chant wild in the woods as they dance round a Yule-altar fungous and white.

To no gale of earth’s kind
Sways the forest of oak,
Where the sick boughs entwin’d
By mad mistletoes choke,
For these pow’rs are the pow’rs of the dark, from the graves of the lost Druid-folk.

And mayst thou to such deeds
Be an abbot and priest,
Singing cannibal greeds
At each devil-wrought feast,
And to all the incredulous world shewing dimly the sign of the beast.

An Untrue Detective?

As GenCon grows closer – and it looks like I won’t be able to attend sadly due to circumstances beyond my control – various folks have begun to outline their plans for the Doritos consumption event to come.  Arc Dream (and Delta Green).  Chaosium.  Dennis Detwiller.  Pelgrane Press.  You Too Can Cthulhu.  Perhaps most importantly, Christopher Smith Adair provides his insight into the Vegan dining options available to GenCon attendees, a topic I suspect doesn’t get much coverage unfortunately.

The biggest news in the various circles of Lovecraftiana are the serious accusations that the writer of True Detective, Nic Pizzolatto, plagiarized portions of the script from other authors, Thomas Ligotti in particular. While this particular story is a bit outside TiP’s usual remit, aside from the biggest bit of Lovecraft-adjacent news (i.e. True Detective), the issues it raises about issues of copyright and fair use that I think are important. It also reminds me of how… mature and rational… (what are some good antonyms there?) internet discussions can be. Caps Lock is not a replacement for facts people.

To wrap things up some bullet points:

  • The retro-reviews of Call of Cthulhu scenarios continue with The Stars are Right.
  • The Dan Harms media empire has moved on to radio.
  • The Kickstarter for Pagan Publishing’s A Covenant with Death is about 2/3rds of their way to its target.
  • Finally, Cubicle 7 have released a PDF preview of The London Boxed set.  Drool.

Move along now, nothing to see here.

The Hits Keep Coming

I guess we’re entering the pre-GenCon roller-coaster of news and new releases!

First off, there’s a new episode of the Unspeakable Oath Podcast. Regular host Ross Payton, Shane Ivey, and Adam Scott Glancy, are joined by their guest Ryan Macklin (no relation). Of particular interest is the possibility that there will be a Delta Green preview at GenCon and details about the pending Kickstarter for Horrors of War. My MKULTRA programming of Adam Scott Glancy continues to pay dividends as well. Mwahahahahah!

There’s also a new episode of the Miskatonic University Podcast; this time they’re talking about the Ripley Scrolls, the Voynich Manuscript, and their namesake, Miskatonic University.

In Chaosium news, they appear to have fixed the international rate for shipping on the new website, explained some of the delays for Horror on the Orient Express (printer trouble!), and released their first Call of Cthulhu product for 2014 – Ripples from Carcosa.  Quoting the product description:

RIPPLES FROM CARCOSA expands upon the mythology of “He Who Should Not Be Named” and gathers much of the varied material on Hastur into one place. The first chapter reviews The Great Old One Hastur and his various avatar forms. It examines the Yellow Sign, the play “The King in Yellow”, the Mythos tome of the same name, and the effects these things have on the human mind.

Next within these pages is a trio of adventures pitting investigators against Hastur and his human worshippers. These scenarios can be played as stand-alone adventures or as a linked campaign called “Ripples from Carcosa.” Investigators are provided for each scenario, but keepers should feel free to allow their players to use their own investigators if they so choose.

Cubicle 7 have announced they are now taking pre-orders for the next book in their World War Cthulhu series – Europe Ablaze.

“Europe Ablaze presents six missions demanding such resourcefulness and determination, all set in the European theatre of operations. Some are inspired by SOE missions or historical events, while others take a more imaginative view of the conflict, but all are rooted in the all-too-real horrors that the Second World War brought about. All of them add that special twist that being part of N’s network demands, and the dangers of the Mythos will prove at least as deadly as a bullet from the Gestapo.”

The PDF is available now.

 

Role-Playing Public Radio have begun posting their live play of the ENnie nominated The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man.  Here are episodes 1 – 2 – 3.

Finally, Feed the Shoggoth‘s Kickstarter has wrapped up, hitting c. $15,000.  Congratulations Badger!

 

A return to abnormalcy

The downside of a just-for-kicks blog is that when those times arise when you are kick deprived or even kick deficient, you have to let things slide a while. I’m hoping no one was too badly put out that my updates have been quasi-monthly of late.

Autoduel!!!In a nutshell – the whole of the the Tomes in Progress crew (i.e. me, the homunculus, and the mother of the homunculus) have moved westward, in a manner not wholly unlike the narrator of “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” (i.e. from New England to the Midwest, though thankfully no ichthyoid transformations have occurred). This took a couple of months to arrange, enact, and recover from. Leaving behind friends and family, as well as a home you’ve lived in for close to a decade is trying. It is only now that we have that wonderful conjunction of technology and time which allows me to, hopefully, restart blogging on a more regular basis. I fear though that the black squirrels that control my lawn are not my friends…

A bit of my gaming work has suffered, as is to be expected with a low (or no) pay sideline. My scenario for the forthcoming London Boxed Set had to be dropped. While I’m happy I got to make a small submission to that really excellent looking project, I wish I’d been able to wrap that up. I want to offer my thanks to Cubicle 7 and the magnanimous Stuart Boon in particular for being more than understanding. It may see the light of day somewhere, someday. Keep your fingers crossed.

The Arkham Gazette has been slowed but not stopped. The nice thing about working on a magazine is that there are lots of little projects that can be done, even in very short bursts. I’ve posted about the next issue’s status and sincerely hope to finish it up before the month is out. We’re still taking submissions for future issues, of course, with issue 3 most likely going to be focused on witches and witchcraft in Lovecraft Country.  I may talk the Miskatonic University Podcast crew into interviewing me about the next issue as well.  (By the way – their new ;yearbook’ Cephalophobia is beautiful.)

As for near term gaming news, aside from the Arkham Gazette I’ve got a couple pieces submitted to the Unspeakable Oath so I hope to have something in the next issue, which is supposed to be released shortly. A recent Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff episode spurred me to start yet another piece for the Oath as well. I hope to have news about the Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion print release soon as well. Watch this space… and Yog-Sothoth.com, since they get several order of magnitude more readers than I. There are one or two other long-dormant projects that have begun to quicken recently as well, though I cannot say more… yet.

I think the list of new Lovecraftian RPG products is up to date, at least it will be once I sort out the PDF dump the Modiphius crew put out recently. If I’ve missed something, let me know.

Speaking of which, if I owe you an email or a call, bear with me a little while longer or feel free to remind me to do so. Hopefully the stars will remain rights for a while.

What a year (part 1)

By great Nodens beard I’m beat, but, dear reader, I feel obliged to start my year-end wrap up before 2014 is too long in the tooth.

First off, I want to thank every one for the kind words regarding Oliver, on and off-line.

Secondly, in looking back at the past year in Lovecraftian gaming, I realize how much of it I haven’t had either the time or inclination to read. This is, in a way, a good thing, since it suggests just how much material was produced for Call of Cthulhu and related systems. I hope no one is too put out that I am not going to give a comprehensive review to every release.

Let’s get started!

Arc Dream Publishing
The Unspeakable Oath #22
The Unspeakable Oath #23

I’ve written for the Unspeakable Oath, so I’m far from unbiased, but I look forward to every issue. The Oath put out two issues this year, which is a pretty good pace. Hopefully now that they’ve had a successful subscription drive they’ll have the resources to do even more in the future. My only criticism is that, as much as I liked “Cold Dead Hand”, Adam Scott Glancy’s Soviet scenario in issue #23, I would rather it have been a stand-alone publication rather than 75% of one issue of the magazine. I want more Oath.

The Sense of the Sleight of Hand Man

I realized yesterday that I hadn’t actually finished reading the campaign (I got distracted around page 200), so I can’t say I’ve read the whole thing, BUT I think this is a great book. It’s a unique campaign, only the second ever set in the Dreamlands (after Kevin Ross’ neglected “The Dreaming Stone”). It is a fresh approach to the setting that I think should disabuse Dreamlands detractors of their disdain. It can seem a little railroaded, but I think most players will enjoy the ride so much, they won’t notice.

Cubicle 7
Folklore (print version)

It was nice to finally see this in print. Not essential, but an enjoyable addition to my collection, especially useful to those running games set in the UK or using Celtic myths and legends.

World War Cthulhu

Confession time… I haven’t read this and I’m not likely to pick it up any time soon. WWII just isn’t a gaming setting that piques my interest. It sounds as if the Cubicle 7 version is less pulpy than Modiphius’ Achtung! Cthulhu, but if I’m using the War, I think I’d go even darker.

Golden Goblin Press
Island of Ignorance

Last for today, but most certainly not least, is Golden Goblin Press’ first foray. A really solid scenario collection with a couple outstanding pieces, Island of Ignorance is an impressive debut from this fledgling publisher. My own tastes would have replaced the supplemental articles with scenarios but I respect Oscar Rios’ desire to emulate the CoC Companions of old. GGP also ran the best Kickstarter I’ve yet seen – on time and with very open lines of communication. Let’s hope they keep up the good work, which I very much think they will.

That’s enough for now – next time, the rest of the books

Still generally occupied, but if I don’t post about these now, they’ll get lost in the shuffle…

Here’s the podcast round-up:

The Delta Green Mailing List has held its annual Shotgun Scenario contest and are voting to pick the winner.

Cubicle 7’s London Box Set’s Kickstarter wrapped up at 600% of its funding target.

Did I mention Secrets of Tibet has been released, at least as a PDF?

We’re still looking for submissions for the next issue of the Arkham Gazette, as is Protodimension Magazine.