‘Horrore’, cosmic and otherwise

Has it been a week already?

Golden Goblin Press have (has?) announced its next Kickstarter project – De Horrore Cosmico.  If the K-S hits the funding target in the first 24 hours they’re adding a 7th scenario written by Cthulhu Invictus author Chad Bowser.  As of 1 pm EST they’re at 5k to go.

Speaking of Kickstarters, Pagan’s Horrors of War (technically ‘A Covenant with Death’ since Horrors of War is the title of the book series) has funded and is creeping past a few stretch goals.  A lack of a PDF option seems to have damped interest, but I’m still hoping they’ll make it to 32k so I can get the first two books for the price of one.

I missed last week’s Ken and Robin Talk about Stuff – taking about the battle of Poltava, running one-shots, and the occultist Sarah Helen Whitman – and this week’s – talking about how players can help the flow of games, the game aspects of the militarization of police, and how one might shorten the US Civil War.  In both episodes they include bits from their GenCon gumshoe panel.

We have had confirmation of print copies of Starfall Over the Plateau of Leng, so I’ve updated the 2014 RPG book list.

Finally, in happy news, the server issues that knocked the Miskatonic University Podcast offline have been resolved. You can listen to the Chaosium panel they recorded at GenCon 2014 here; drop by their site to tell them they’ve been missed, won’t you? {Err, looks like their forums are down while they switch hosting services.#

Advertisement

Juggernautics

An early RPG juggernaut.

The juggernaut of GenCon continues to roll forward, so there’s a bit more news of late. Don your protective gear of choice and charge in!

There’s a new episode of the Good Friends of Jackson Elias – they’re playing R’lyeh Roulette and trying to create a story based on the hook of one randomly chosen spell… no, they didn’t end up with Attract Fish.

Like clockwork… or perhaps according to Anunnakkuan programming?… Ken and Robin have again talked about stuff, this time covering tips for writers, the Cathars, and Ken’s new GURPs book – The Madness Dossier. Among the books they’re shilling for (it is on sale!) is Shotguns v. Cthulhu, which includes a story by Adam Scott Glancy based on one of my Shotgun Scenarios.

Speaking of thing’s I’ve written, here’s a short new review of Machine Tractor Station Kharkov-37.

Turning to Seattle’s most dangerous residents, Pagan Publishing’s Kickstarter for Horrors of War: A Covenant with Death is now two weeks old and only about $2600 from hitting its basic funding (though let’s hope for some stretch goals?). It seems that some are reluctant to join in due to co-author John H. Crowe III’s opposition to offering a digital copy. I’m sympathetic to this – international shipping it truly a diabolic plot of late – but I’m hopeful some solution can be reached. Maybe a PDF only version of just Mr. Glancy’s scenarios?

In other news, Golden Goblin Press is having a “we’re not at GenCon sale“. If you don’t have either of their fine scenario collection, this is your chance.

Finally, I’ve posted a short update on the Sentinel Hill Press blog covering my reading list of late, sans journal articles which I should probably add. Have a look; I’m hoping we can work out the licensing issue shortly after GenCon. Maybe? Feel free to talk up the Arkham Gazette at the Chaosium booth, eh?

Twice the weight of a human brain!

A few quick items before you depart for GenCon (or look in the direction of Indianapolis with envy in your heart… or ignore the whole damn thing, make another cup of tea, and dive back into that book, it is all up to you…

There is a new episode of the Miskatonic University Podcast, covering among other topics, weapons. The MUP crew will be at GenCon; follow them on Twitter @mupgc. Don’t forget to ask Keeper Chad about his nightmare ride with Large Marge.

Cthulhu Reborn has announced their next upcoming free release – the Machine King, a scenario for Gaslight with an alternate Dreamlands. I look forward to seeing it!

If you (like me) missed it live, you can hear Dan Harms’ local radio interview all about Lovecraft from the show’s archives HERE.

Chaosium has also posted some additional information about the forthcoming(?) reprint of Horror on the Orient Express – it weighs 7 pounds; it is also now available for pre-order. Also be on the lookout for the print release of Ripples from Carcosa.

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)ChaosiumDennis DetwillerPelgrane PressYou 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.

Lovecraft Country graveyards, Tulpa-talk, and more from the MUP

What’s been going on of late you ask? I can report the following:

There’s been a new episode of the Miskatonic University podcast – this time the MUPers talk about The Men of Leng, Cthulhu Dark Ages, their GenCon plans and more.

People following the supposedly-inspired-by-Slenderman stabbing in Wisconsin from a few months back will do well to listen to the latest episode of Monster Talk. They present some interesting information tracing the notion of the supposedly Tibetan concept of the Tulpa back to the Theosophists. Curse you Blavatsky!!!
.
Over on the Sentinel Hill Press blog I’ve posted a preview of one of the project I’ve been working on – Graveyards of Lovecraft Country, covering Namacknowatt Island’s Sand Hill Burying Ground, a location I developed with Keith Herber for an as-of-yet unpublished scenario.

Finally, a few scenario reviews – King of Scabs (a now no-longer available online scenario) and the new Cthulhu Dark scenario He Who Laughs Last.

Cthulhu idols, KaRTaS, and a free World War Cthulhu scenario

Twin Titans of Evil

My backer gift from the Miskatonic University Podcast’s GenCon fund has arrived from the night’s Plutonian shore.  Nifty!  (See picture at left.)

ENnies voting remains open through July 30th, if you have not yet voted.

Ken and Robin communed (on their ENnie nominated podcast) about… random tables in RPGs, the Faust Legend, and the Source Family and Father Yod.  Curiously Ken and Robin failed to talk about the latter group’s award show.

Would you like a free PDF of “The Angel of the Abyss” from the recent World War Cthulhu release Europe Aflame? Of course you would.

A Link roundup, from Leng to ‘Dick a Tuesday’

Mon dieu! It is already June. Better update the blog!

I’ve been mulling over an essay I read detaling Lovecraft’s racism and antisemitism. It deserves a longer response beyond a perfunctory mention, but I wanted to at least highlight it now.

I’ve updated the list of Lovecraftian RPG materials for 2014, including a new Trail of Cthulhu collection and a batch of scenarios for the Laundry.

On the podcast front – the Good Friends of Jackson Elias talked about player-lead gaming, the Miskatonic University Podcast gang talked about map resources and moon-beasts, while Ken and Robin talked about Robin’s trip to the Chimeriades game convention in France, the Lemurian of Mount Shasta, and Canada’s own evil clown Rob Ford.

Speaking of the MUP, Keeper Jon’s next project for Goodman Games – “Starfall Over the Plateau of Leng” is having a Kickstarter to upgrade the book from paper back to hardback among other improvements.

I’ve reissued my call for submissions at the Arkham Gazette next issue. Pretty please?

From the rumor desk… I might be a GenCon this year. Please remain calm.

Finally, whilst doing some rather meandering research, I came upon The Devil and His Imps, a journal article from 1895 as part of the Transactions of the American Philological Association (vol. 26), which provides a fascinating etymological discussion of a host of British supernatural beings. The author, Charles P.G. Scott, lays out a rather amusing roll-call of ever imaginable traditional folkloric entity from the United Kingdom:

With this view having recently felt moved to take the matter up sooner than I expected when I laid it aside I began to write up the Devil and his Imps placing at first no limit on their number I had no sooner thrown open the doors than the air was darkened by a grisly flight of black winged demons and the ground was covered by a trooping host of uncanny creatures of vague unseemly forms and unassorted sizes Devils, Devilets, Devilings, Dablets, and other Imps, Black Angels, Black Men, Black Bears, Black Bulls, Black Dogs, Bogles and Bogies and Boggards, Bollies and Boodies, Bugs, Bugaboos, and Bugbears, Bullbears, Bull beggars, Barghests and Boghests, Boggleboes and Boboggles, Boocows and Boomen, Churchgrims, Demons, Dobbies, Doolies, Gallybeggars, Galliments, Goblins, Hobs, Hob Goblins, Hob Thursts, Hob Thrushes, Hodge Pokers, Lobs, Padfoots, Pokers, Pookas, Pucks, Puckles, Pugs, Thurses, Urchins, Woodwoses, Banshees, Cluricaunes, Leprechauns, Logherimans, Mermaids, Mermen, Merrows, Kelpies, Necks, Nicks, Nickers, Nixes, Nixies, Niogles, Shagfoals, Shocks, Shucks, the family of Ghosts, Specters, Spooks, Vampires, Fetches, Swarths, Warths, Waiths, the half saved tribes of Elves, Fairies, Fays, Brownies, Buccas, Spriggans, Knockers, Nisses, Piskies, Pixies, Colepixies, Drows, and Trolls with ‘Jack with the Lantern’, ‘Kit with the Candlestick’ and ‘Will with the Wisp’ lighting their darker kinsmen and the Shoopiltie, the Shellycoat, the Ganfir, the Bwbach, and his Welsh brethren in the background; the Deuce, the Devil, the Dickens, Ragamuffin, Ruffin, Humdudgeon, and Tantrabobus and all their company; the neglected family of Scarecrows and Wussets all these came up for an historical and etymological review I might have been appalled by the troop of dark and yelling demons and bogles or by the task of all these came up for an historical and etymological review, or by the task of explaining their denominations ; but it is well known that in the still air of etymology no passions, either of fear or hate or joy, can exist, and that etymologists, indeed, consider it their duty to feel no emotions, unless it be gratification at finding their work improved and their errors rectified, by an other and a better etymologist. This sometimes happens.

The whole article is worth a read, of course.

 

Letters, hearts, and https.

Have you ever wished for an index of Lovecraft’s letters?  Shazam!

Want to see the crew from Delta Green at GenCon?  Here you go!

Speaking of GenCon, the Miskatonic University Podcast crew is fundraising to they can attend said GenCon is ongoing.  They’ve made their goal, but still have several stretch-goals to hit.

The Good Friends of Jackson Elias have continued their discussion of their favorite horror RPGs (asides from good old Call of Cthulhu), turning their tri-lobed burning eyes to Monsterhearts.

Speaking of Call of Cthulhu, Chaosium’s just relaunched their website after a complete overhaul.

Finally, the odds are that you’ve not submitted something to the next issue of the Arkham Gazette.  Let’s fix that, yes?

 

 

Adventures in link mongering

There have been a few worthy bits of news since our last update here. I’m still recuperating from wrapping up the last issue of the Gazette. There also has not been all that much going on the world of Call of Cthulhu and Lovecraftian roleplaying…

The latest fiction collection from Dennis Detwiller – Delta Green: Tales from Failed Anatomies is now available for sale as a PDF.

The gang at the Miskatonic University Podcast have released a new episode: #56, in which they talk about GenCon plans, personal topical limits in gaming, and Yig. Did I mention there fundraising so they can all meet for the first time at GenCon? No? Damn.

Ken and Robin talked about stuff including using ghosts in horror roleplaying and the Comte Saint Germain.

Tentaclii, a blog for all things H.P. Lovecraft, has resumed updating again after a two month break. Too many interesting links to pick just a few – check it out.

The latest issue of the Arkham Gazette was very favorably reviewed on DiehardGamefan. We are looking for submissions for the next issue as well.

Finally, I spotted this on Yog-Sothoth.com… ever wanted to hear authentic Babylonian chants? Of course you do.

Oooh, shiny

We’ve had some nice developments in the land of Cthulhu.  Aside from my receipt of Bumps in the Night a couple days back, I’ve also had an update from Dennis Detwiller regarding The Sense of the Sleight of Hand Mancampaign (including a little preview, woooo) Kickstarter project.  Looks to be shaping up very well.

Finally, Shane Ivey has posted the audio recording of the Delta Green seminar at GenCon this year.  Give it a listen, here.

Outside of gaming, I have also learned a bit more about a more obscure burial site in Worcester County, this time the Baptist Church at Harvard at Still River.  Looks like one of the stones is legit (or the late Deacon William Willard, d. 1793) but the other two are discarded stones found in secondary use near to the church.  My thanks to the Harvard Historical Society for the information.  (Oh, and I’ve finished a preliminary survey of Middlesex Co. graveyards on my Graveyards page; Norfolk County is up next.)

All that, plus it is once again apple picking season here in Lovecraft Country so I’m happily saited with cider and fine varietals.  Yum.