The Stars are Right as ‘Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land’ Launches!

(for immediate release)

After a year of intensive development, the small indie team of Red Wasp Design have announced that their anticipated title, Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land has launched on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The game is a turn-based strategy RPG inspired by the works of cult horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and developed in co-operation with Chaosium, the publishers of the cult horror role playing game, Call of Cthulhu.

The game is now out on iTunes and is a universal iOS app so the same game works for iPhone and iPod Touch both SD & HD and for iPad, and carries graphics optimised for each of those platforms. It is priced $4.99, £2.99 & €3.99 for the full universal app. The game’s designer, Tomas Rawlings said, “We’ve put a vast amount of our time, energy and ideas into this game over the last year. It’s been a long journey for us because we want to get it right. We’re not a huge studio, but I hope that fellow gamers will appreciate what we’ve achieved with The Wasted Land.”

The game features nine 3D levels set in the trenches of World War One. The player controls a team of up to six investigators charged with uncovering a deadly inhuman conspiracy underlying the clash of empires of the Great War. Barbed wire, mustard gas and machines guns will prove to be the least dangerous thing that the investigators will encounter as they venture out into no-man’s land to solve the mystery of the Wasted Land. As the game progresses, the player can build up the skills, weapons and equipment of the team to suit their playing style. As well as the physical danger, the investigators must guard their sanity against the myriad horrors that threaten to destroy it.

To stay in touch with the developers and get updates on the game, help and strategy guides and more you may want to connect to Red Wasp Design on Facebook, Twitter (@redwaspdesign) and on their site at redwaspdesign.com

Notes for Editors:

H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a cult US horror writer. For more on him and his work, see here.

Chaosium is the US based publisher of the award winning table-top RPG, Call of Cthulhu, and they can be found here.

Red Wasp Design is an indie games developer based in Bristol, England. The press release for the initial announcement of the game can be found here. The games development studio is composed of experienced professionals who have worked on many best selling titles on Playstation 3, iPhone and other platforms. More information can be found here.

Screenshots

This press release is accompanied by screenshot images. If you need these in different sizes/resolutions etc, please contact us. For all queries and questions, contact: tomas.rawlings@redwaspdesign.com

The images (and suggested captions) are:

New iPad screenshots

Spiders of Leng face off against the investigators.

A hideous hybrid creature emerges from the mustard gas…

Under fire from both human and inhuman sources, the investigators sanity beings to crumble.

The Lewis gun makes it mark on the foes of humanity!

Deep underground, the battle for the soul of humanity commences…

Members of the British Expiditionary forces battle for control of No-Man’s Land.

Character interface showing the Action Point cost of movement.

Red Wasp Design Logo

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land Game Logo

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land App Store icon (512 x 512)

Past screenshot can be found here:

For iPhone HD

iPhone SD

Thanks!

The Folks at Chaosium

At last I’ve been given the nod from the powers that be to announce ATOMIC AGE CTHULHU, a book about Call of Cthulhu role-playing in the 1950s and I’m really psyched for this book for a number of reasons. First and foremost is that I love the massive amount of fear and paranoia lying just below the “everything is wonderful here” façade of the 1950s and it always seemed to me to be the perfect time to set a CoC game. More to the point, this book looks to be killer. It has a sourcebook filled with a bunch of 50s background info, new skills, and new investigator types. There are seven wonderfully varied scenarios by a great collection of authors that CoC fans are sure to recognize. And to end things right, there are over twenty sinister seeds to help Keepers looking to run an extended 1950s CoC game.

I’ll be sharing more information, like a Table of Contents, release date, and anything else that comes my way when I can. Until then, YAY and get ready for some cool 1950s Cthulhu action.

Und noch etwas mehr:

Well I sent the last thing I had to do for Atomic Age Cthulhu, an intro, to Chaosium. The book is now completely out of my hands and into the tentacles of the publisher. No firm word on when it will come out, but I’ve been told that probably before the end of the year. Well I cross my fingers and hope that turns out to be the case. In the mean time, I thought I’d share the little teaser taglines I did for each scenario to give you all some idea on what you can expect, scenario-wise, when the book comes out. Oh and just FYI, this may not be the order in which the scenarios appear in the final book.

This Village was Made for Us – in a closed community devoted to exploring the new found wonders of the atomic age, alien horrors conduct their own experiments and our wellbeing does not factor into their calculations.

T.V. Casualty – Television: newfangled technological wonder, or dreaded idiot box looking to enslave us all? Could the answer to both questions be yes?

The Return of Old Reliable – The space race, still in its infancy, gives birth to a world-threatening horror no one could have seen coming.

Forgotten Wars – The Korean “conflict”, never formally classified as a war, and yet technically still underway today, pales in comparison to the aeons long battle between two ancient enemies, and a US Army tank crew gets caught in the middle.

High Octane – slick hotrods, dirty and dangerous bikers, a commie plot, and a once slumbering menace starting to stir, will the investigators be able to keep the lid on this pressure cooker or are things going to blow as the fear continues to mount?

L.A. Diabolical – It’s Tinsel Town and the rich and famous want to dabble with the chic side of darkness for kicks, but when something from the darkness starts playing with them, the fun quickly ends.

Destroying Paradise, Hawaiian Style – blue skies, loud shirts, surfing and a king of rock n’ roll making a movie, what could possible go wrong? Well when the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos combine with the horror of nuclear weapons, what do you think?

Ich hoffe schwer auf eine Übersetzung und melde mich schon mal für ein L.A. Confidential/50s Noir Szenario und Zusatztexten an :-]

Things aren’t always as they seem.

Is the little Rhode Island carnival just a place of innocent playfulness, or does it house dark secrets? Is the newest exhibit at the Museum of Natural History a crude representation of an elephant, or is it a thing from out of the depths of time? Who would kill for a ceremonial dagger? What mere vision is powerful enough to kill a wizened rabbi?
Four Odysseys into Deadly Adventure

Curse of the Chthonians contains four detailed scenarios for the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, plus an examination of the Kabbalistic science of Gematria—which seeks to derive secret or mystical meaning from the very letters that form the words of Scripture and occult texts.

Dark Carnival

It is the Roaring Twenties. The decade will be marked forever in the annals of bloody death and catastrophe by such events as the clash of rival gangs in the St. Valentine’s Massacre. The decade ended in disaster befalling millions of Americans as a great stock market crash wiped out just about everyone who had money in stocks, bonds, or banks.

But still, in the hot lazy days of May, there are those who care little for the rest of the world. It is summer … a time for dreams.

Just outside the city of Providence, Rhode Island, hard by the Swan Point Cemetery, and not many miles from the Butler Insane Asylum, sprawls the gaudy neon-lit pavilions of the North Star Amusement Arcade and Pleasure Pier, fronting the Seekonk River.

Here young swains take their ladies on hot summer nights and children of all ages frolic the humid summer days away.

Though a bit run down around the edges, and its gay façade cracked and peeling, the carnival is still enjoyed by the people of Providence.

People disappear from time to time, sometimes correctly attributed to the river’s tricks. Butler Insane Asylum is packed with gibbering and ranting people to whom no one listens.

Curse of the Chthonians

The day begins typically in the big city. Newspapers proclaim the usual events of the day — robberies, a gangland killing, revolution in some banana republic or another, a “ripper” killing at the Museum, Bolshevik atrocities in Siberia, another failed attempt at a transatlantic flight, the display of a new invention by Tesla, and the regular assortment of odds and oddities that obsess the readers of such journalistic endeavors.

One of the investigators receives a call from a distressed old flame. Miss Staunton asks to come and speak about a problem that she hopes he can help her with “for old time’s sake.”

She acts agitated, but will not talk about it over the phone.

She wants to see him in person.

Thoth’s Dagger

PUBLIC AUCTION: The library and art collection of the late Dr. Karl von Petersdorf will be sold at public auction on the 23rd of November at his estate outside Boston at 10:00 am.

The late Doctor was well-known among art collectors, scholars, and occultists for his study of ancient Egyptian antiquities. mythology, and magic. His views were never accepted by the scholarly community at large. He postulated that Egyptian religion did not evolve from the primitive and superstitious animal-worship of savages, but instead devolved from a forgotten higher form of worship, of which only hints and obscure references have come down to us.

The Doctor’s library includes many rare books on Egyptology, as well as a number of unique copies of ancient Egyptian manuscripts. The art collection includes some remarkable Egyptian artifacts, many of great beauty, and some of which are unique.

The City Without a Name

In the blazing deserts of the lifeless Empty Quarter of the Arabian peninsula, almost entirely buried by endlessly-moving waves of sand, lies an ancient city of dark terror.

Time has benevolently erased its name from the memory of all living men — it is the “City Without a Name” — and only echoes of its foulness have crept down through the centuries, in arcane and worm-eaten parchments written by shaking hands. Dread secrets lie buried in the sands, requiring only a blowing wind to be exposed once more to the unsuspecting world.

The Kabbalistic Science of Gematria

Rounding out this book is an article on Gematria.

Gematria is essentially the giving of numeric values to the letters in an alphabet, from which are derived numeric values for entire words, which are then symbolically or mystically associated with other words with related numerical values. Many ancient alphabetic languages didn’t have special written characters for numbers, but used the regular letters of the alphabet to represent numbers in writing.

The main use of this system by the Jewish Kabbalistic mystics was to determine the hidden allegorical or mystical meanings of obscure passages of Scripture.

Variations of the gematriac methods were adopted by Christian occultists in the Renaissance, who reworked the entire system and gave it a Christian interpretation, then injected it into numerous magical and mystical systems.

By David A. Hargrave, Bill Barton, and William Hamblin. Cover by Tom Sullivan. 160 pages, illustrated. 8.5 x 11″ perfect-bound paperback, with index and handouts. Second Edition.

Der Band kostet $25,95.

2011 MARKS THE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the release of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. To celebrate this important and rare occasion in our Adventure Gaming industry, Chaosium is proud to offer a special binding of the current edition (6th edition) of the Call of Cthulhu rulebook. This 320-page book features thick (3 mm) leatherette hard-covers with the front cover and spine stamped with luxurious gold foil. The interior pages are printed in black ink, on 90 gsm matte art paper. The binding is thread sewn, square backed. Each book is individually shrink-wrapped, with the barcode stickered onto the wrapping so as to not mar the book cover.

Chaosium will offer a one-time printing of this Collector’s Edition.

Call of Cthulhu is Chaosium’s classic roleplaying game of Lovecraftian horror in which ordinary people are confronted by the terrifying and alien forces of the Cthulhu Mythos. Call of Cthulhu uses Chaosiumπs Basic Roleplaying System, easy to learn and quick to play. This bestseller has sold over 300,000 copies worldwide and has won dozens of game-industry awards. In 1996 Call of Cthulhu was elected to the Academy of Adventure Game Design Hall of Fame. In 2003 Call of Cthulhu was voted the #1 Gothic/Horror RPG of all time by the Gaming Report.com community. Call of Cthulhu is well-supported by an ever-growing line of high quality game supplements. This version is completely compatible with all of our previous supplements for Call of Cthulhu.

Der geneigte Sammler ist mit 64,95$ dabei. Der vorletzte Satz hat fast schon etwas tragisch-ironisches was Chaosium selbst angeht, oder?

Es kommt im späten Sommer (August/September) 2011: Chaosiums Neuauflage von Cthulhu by Gaslight. Ich kann gar nicht sagen wie sehr mich das freut. Trotz (oder vielleicht auch gerade wegen) des ganzen Lernstresses, will ich auf der Stelle meine Londonbücher zusammensuchen, Sacraments of Evil durchblättern, mir ein paar Jack the Ripper Dokus anschauen, dann Jeremey Brett als Sherlock als Holmes ansehen, während im Hintergrund die tollen Sherlock Holmes Hörspiele mit Peter Passetti laufen. Hier die Infos von der Chaosium Homepage:

CTHULHU BY GASLIGHT
Horror Roleplaying in 1890s England
Item # CHA23123
SRP $28.95
ISBN10: 156882355X
ISBN13: 9781568823553
Bill Barton & Kevin Ross
Cover art by Paul Carrick
August/September 2011.

Victorian England. The era of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula, and a horrific real-life mystery in the form of Jack the Ripper. Thousands of books, films, and stories have featured these characters over the past 120+ years — Holmes and Dracula have become the most commonly-used fictional characters of all time. Little wonder then that this era, with its foggy atmosphere, gross social and economic inequality, and the vast history of England to draw from, should spawn a setting for Call of Cthulhu. For what is Call of Cthulhu if not the first truly great roleplaying game combining mystery and horror?

In 1986, avid Sherlockian Bill Barton produced the award-winning first edition of Cthulhu by Gaslight. A second edition, with only slight changes, appeared two years later. Since then a handful of Call of Cthulhu books set in the Victorian era have appeared, and articles and scenarios still crop up from time to time. But it’s been over 20 years (!) since the Gaslight book itself was reprinted or updated.

This new edition of Cthulhu by Gaslight has been thoroughly revamped, expanding the book by nearly 50% and adding new material roughly equivalent to the original book’s length. We have more thoroughly developed the Victorian England setting. Character creation has been reworked, with some new wrinkles added, and there are new articles on the Victorian world, crime, politics, personalities, and so forth. There are also extensive new sections on the Cthulhu Mythos in Britain — creatures, cults, books, etc. — including a précis of Ramsey Campbell’s Severn River Valley. Also included are tips on running various types of Gaslight era campaigns, a gazetteer of intriguing British myths and legends, a selection of friends and foes from Victorian fiction, and a lengthy new bibliography/filmography of suggested reading and viewing. Rounding out this new edition are a pair of new Victorian era scenarios — one an urban adventure set in London, the other set in rural Dartmoor.

With this book and a copy of the Call of Cthulhu core rulebook, a prospective Keeper can run a campaign set in Victorian England. This edition provides a strong background in both the Victorian world and the activities of the Cthulhu Mythos within it. So grab your coat, hat, and walking stick, and have the doctor bring his bag and revolver. It’s time to step into a world of Victorian occult adventure — the world of Cthulhu by Gaslight!

Includes a fold-out map of 1890s London.

Richten Sie ihre Aufmerksamkeit hier hin, Ladies & Gentlemen:

• 50% mehr Material -> WUNDERBAR
• One an urban adventure set in London, the other set in rural Dartmoor -> Nebliges London und neblig-sumpfiges Dartmoor FANTASTISCH (Hoffe ich zumindest… Die letzten Chaosium-Szenarios waren eher durchwachsen)
• London Karte (gibt es aber schon bei Private Eye)
• A lengthy new bibliography/filmography of suggested reading and viewin. -> Ich bin für solche Listen ziemlich anfällig, die lese ich in jedem Quellenbuch zuerst um anschließend noch mehr Bücher zu kaufen Ich bin zwar schon gut mit Gaslicht-Material versorgt, aber wer weiß ob da nicht noch ein paar unentdeckte Juwelen zu finden sind. Ich hatte ja erst kürzlich 5 Romane für Cthulhu im Gaslicht gepostet und da werden sicher noch weitere 5 kommen. Und für Filme habe ich auch schon was geplant :-]

Für Gaslicht Fans dürfte das wohl ein gutes Jahr werden, zumal Cubicle 7 mit Cthulhu Britannica viele Szenarios in England bereitstellt (Avalon, Schottland) und demnächst wohl eine London BOX erscheinen soll. Das einzige was jetzt noch fehlt ist ein deutscher Gaslichtband mit noch viel besserem Material und noch besseren Szenarios :-]

Sieht doch hübsch aus oder? :-]

For the past few years, Chaosium has been holding pretty regular seminars at gaming conventions in the San Francisco Bay Area, where they talk about what they are up to and what they are planning. I haven’t attended one in quite awhile, as I’ve always been too busy gaming, but some bad luck with getting into any games caused me to attend the one held today by Charlie Krank at DunDraCon. The news:

1) CoC 7th edition is a go. The hope is to have it out by GenCon this year. There will not be significant changes from the 6th edition in terms of rules, just some additional stuff from the big yellow BRP book. The book should follow the general layout of the 6th edition, but there might be some kind of players’ book at a later point. I wanted to ask about specific details like shotgun impales and if we could put the Keeper’s optional rules in with the other rules, but I was already feeling like this guy.

2) Things have been worked out with the authors of Beyond the Mountains of Madness, so we might be getting an English language version of the revised edition. Charlie specifically talked about the French version in terms of what Chaosium might produce. I mentioned the forthcoming del Toro movie, and he said that they were already thinking in terms of how that might drum up interest for the campaign.

3) Lynn Willis has retired as Editor-in-Chief at Chaosium. This may not be news to others, but it was to me.

4) I also asked if Chaosium was doing anything in regards to WWII for either BRP or CoC, and, while they weren’t, Charlie said that Cubicle 7 might be doing something. Although whether that would be for Call of Cthulhu, The Laundry, or something else didn’t seem clear. This is the first I’ve heard of this.

Alles ruhig könnte man sagen. Darum noch ein paar andere News:

Spielleiterschirm

Ich möchte die Aufmerksamkeit auf die englische Übersetzung des französischen SL-Schirm lenken. Ich habe den französischen Schirm schon in der Hand gehabt und er ist wirkich sehr hübsch geworden. Feste Pappe, guter Inhalt, hübsche Front (unser altes Blog-Banner) und ein Poster ist auch noch dabei. Wer einen Blick auf den Schirm werfen möchte, der kann sich bei Chaoisum einen Überblick verschaffen.

Cthulhu Invictus

Das römische Setting ist weiterhin recht beliebt in den Staaten. Es erscheint im Winter 2011 ein 64seitiger Szenarioband:

As Rome’s influence spread throughout the known world, so too spread the worship of its gods. Roman leaders knew that converting the people of conquered regions to the state religion would make them easier to control. But some gods have been worshipped longer than Rome has existed, and their supplicants won’t easily change allegiances.

Cultorum Externum includes three scenarios for Call of Cthulhu pitting investigators against cults from different regions of the Ancient Roman Empire. Investigators will confront terrible servants of ancient powers through the Streets of Rome and Carthage, the forests of Gaul, and while sailing the river Nile. Includes new cults and Cthulhu Invictus entities.

Gaslicht

Nichts neues hier. Die Arbeiten dauern an. Aktuelle Informationen findet man im entsprechenden Thread im yog-sothoth-Forum.

The holdings of the British Empire included present day Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, and parts of Iran and Afghanistan. It was an area comparable in size to the continental United States, or Europe west of the Ukraine.

The historical background and religious traditions of the Indian subcontinent rival those of other regions such as the Middle East and China. Humankind has lived and worshipped here for millennia. India is a fertile place, and there is much room for the Mythos to fester and grow.

This book is designed to provide enough information to set Call of Cthulhu adventures and campaigns during Gaslight India (approximately 1890 a.d.).

By Michael J. Daumen. 100 pages. 8.5 x 11″ Perfect-Bound, Paperback.

Die Monografie wird $ 17,95 kosten. Wer keine gedruckte Version braucht, kann sich das PDF bereits jetzt für $12,95 herunterladen.

Mich würde mal interessieren ob sich das Teil lohnt. Das Thema ist ja sehr interessant (wir hatten ja selbst schon ein paar Artikel zum Thema Indien), aber vielleicht ist man mit einem guten Geschichtsbuch über die Region besser bedient…

Transmitted by Dustin Wright of the Leng Embassy, TX.

This R’lyeh Report contains some crunchy Chaosium info.

March finds Chaosium with fancy plans and pants to match. We have quite a few Spring books in the works so I’ll jump right in.

Arkham Now, a modern day sourcebook for Call of Cthulhu, should have made it to you local shop by now.

Strange Aeons II, a book of Call of Cthulhu adventures through time and space, is at the printer and may ship to distributors by the end of March.

The Yith Cycle, an anthology of Yith related tales collected by Bob Price, should be sent to the printer this month for an April Release.

A Masks of Nyarlathotep reprint will likewise become available in April or May.

The Chronicles of Future Earth, an introductory sourcebook for a new Techno-fantasy BRP setting should release in May or June.

Cthulhu’s Dark Cults, an anthology of short stories based upon some of our popular Call of Cthulhu campaigns, is being proof-read for a release this June.

There are plenty of books in the works for the Summer as well.

Thanks for your continued support!

–
Dustin Wright
Chaosium Inc.

Nicht viel Neues würde ich sagen :-]

“Lost in a Book” — in the 1920s, affluent bibliophile Stuart Portman had the finest book collection in all of Arkham, including the several bookshops that serviced the town at the time.

Portman was also quite the degenerate, with many rapes to his credit. His wealth, family status, and natural cunning insulated Portman from the fallout of such despicable behavior.

Toward the end of his life – a lifelong smoker, Portman developed cancer of the lung in his late fifties – he began frantically searching for any means to prolong his existence. With so many crimes of the flesh attached to his soul, Portman in his final years developed a conscience, or at least was fanatically determined to put off any punishment for his sins that he so deftly avoided in his mortal existence.

Medical science of the day was no help – Portman was a goner. He turned to his collection of books, to the queer, strange books on black magic and occultism that he had merely collected as expensive novelties; now they might hold something of true value for the failing bibliophile.

Scenario by Brian Courtemanche . 16 pages. 8.5 x 11″ watermarked PDF.

Hello all,

Well, I’ve finally gotten the go-ahead from various important parties, and can now sort of mostly officially announce that there is a new edition of Cthulhu by Gaslight in the works, and a Gaslight campaign is being written as we speak. Write. Read. Whatever.

Von allen Zeiten ist Gaslicht für mich wirklich die faszinierendste. Ich habe nichts gegen die 20er oder auch Now, aber an Gaslicht kommt wenig heran. Einzig für die 50er Jahre würde ich meine Teetassen in den schrnak zurückstellen! Aber da ist leider kein Quellenbuch in Sicht, also zurück zu den neuen Gaslicht Produkten:

Chaosium will release Cthulhu by Gaslight 3rd edition sometime later this year. This won’t be a simple repackaging of the previous material, but an overhaul of the whole works. We’re dropping the Holmes and Wells material and the Time Travel article, and replacing these items with a more elaborate character creation system, more information on the Victorian world (emphasizing London and the UK — see later comment), and several new articles and expansions to existing ones.

Mehr Hintergrundmaterial ist immer gut und die besagten Artikel werde ich jetzt auch nicht unbedingt vermissen…

Since the big Holmes scenario is being dropped, we’re plugging in two new ones more suitable for beginning Gaslight characters. There’ll also be articles on fictional characters from the period, British legend and folklore and, most importantly, the Cthulhu Mythos in Britain. All told, the new edition should be about half again as long as the original book, with new material making up almost 2/3 of that total. Plus new art and a new cover. I’m hoping this will be what Gaslight fans new and old have been waiting for for close to 20 years now. Authors include Bill Barton, Scott Aniolowski, Dave Hallett, yers truly, Richard Watts, and Glyn White.

Neue Szenarios, Hintergründe über britische Legenden und den Cthulhu Mythos sind sicher ganz spannend. Fraglich nur, ob da noch was Neues hinzukommt, wenn demnächst Cthulhu Britannica: Folklore von Cubicle 7 erscheint:

The Islands of the United Kingdom are steeped in history, myth, magic and folklore. Even the smallest hamlet or the most remote piece of land has some event or some story linked to it and, even if it doesn’t, people are more than willing to make one up for you.

Discerning the facts from all of these many layers of myth, history and retelling is the scholarly work of a lifetime. It is as dangerous to sanity as any other study of the Mythos, as one creeps ever closer to the terrible truth.

Cthulhu Britannica: Folklore gives life to strange tales and strange places where myth meets mythos in Britain’s darkest corners, including:

• Screaming Skulls
• The Wild Hunt
• Worms and Dragons
• Wreckers, Body Snatchers and more

———————————————–
Size: 72 pages, softcover
Interior Art: Black and white
Author: James ‘Grim’ Desborough

Aber es geht ja noch weiter:

I’m also compiling a Gaslight campaign for Miskatonic River Press. This is the tentatively titled Shiva, in Silvered Glass, advertised in the back of Our Ladies of Sorrow. I’ll try and hunt up the new version of that ad and post it here, but Shiva introduces a new mystical organization for Gaslight. The campaign follows the investigators and the members of the Trismegistus Club and their involvement in several very weird events in London. There are weird spirit mediums, living nightmares, anarchist bombers, doppelgangers, criminal thugs, not one or two or three but FOUR alien races, and a mad doctor who may not be mad at all. The basic idea is something like Sherlock Holmes meets Colin Wilson, with input from Henry Kuttner, H.G. Wells, Joseph Conrad, and Charles Dickens. Authors include Scott Aniolowski, Fred Behrendt, and yers truly again. Release date late this year or early next.

Klingt abgefahren und wandert zu 100% in mein Regal! Ross erzählt aber noch wie es mit Gaslicht auf lange Sicht weitergeht:

Now I know a lot of people want to see Victorian material set elsewhere in the world, but I think that should be fodder for a second or third Victorian book. My plan for Gaslight was always to cover London and use that as a base of operations, then the rest of the UK, and then move on to India, China, Egypt, etc.

Indien! Ich hoffe ja auch noch, dass Pegasus sich für Indien entscheidet bei einem neuen Expeditionsbuch, denn hier wäre wieder ein Quellenbuch für die 20er und die 1890er möglich. Mal abgesehen davon, dass dieses Land zugleich exotisch und doch, durch die britische Vorherrschaft, vertraut wirkt. Für alle Interessierten sei auch auf die aktuelle GEP EPOCHE Ausgabe verwiesen:

Indien
Maharadschas, Moguln, Kolonialherren: GEO EPOCHE präsentiert Indiens Aufbruch in die Moderne. Mit der Blätterfunktion können Sie bequem in unsere aktuelle Ausgabe schauen.

Was bleibt sonst noch zu sagen:

London and the UK fascinate me in a way the rest of the Empire doesn’t, so that’s the type of stuff I write. I think a book set elsewhere in the Empire is a good idea, but I’m not the guy to write it, so I’ll leave that to somebody more interested and better qualified than meself.

So there you have it. I’ll be posting more details as things firm up. I hope folks like what they see here.

Gaslight is not dead!
Kevin Ross
Victorian villain

Und Gott schütze die Königin! :-]

“The Great Old Ones were, the Great Old Ones are, the Great Old Ones shall be.” That famous saying is the essence of the Cthulhu Mythos. The Great Old Ones are a cosmic evil that have existed since before time, and shall exist long after humanity has gone the way of the dinosaurs. This book illustrates the eternal struggle between man and the forces of the mythos.

This book contains nine scenarios that run the chronological gambit from prehistoric times to a distant future. Each adventure comes with six pre-generated characters for the players to use, allowing for quick play with a minimum of fuss. While each scenario is meant to be a standalone experience. Here are brief descriptions of the nine eras the investigators explore:

“CURSED BE THE CITY” can be described as cavemen vs. Cthulhu. While not entirely accurate, it is fun to say, and gives an idea of what the players will be up against.

“CHILDREN OF A STARRY HEAVEN” is set in ancient Greece, the birthplace of many great philosophers and thinkers. Unfortunately some great minds dwell on things man was not meant to know.

“THEY DID NOT THINK IT TOO MANY” See the might of ancient Rome bring law to the wilds of Britannia. Witness two cultures trying to learn from each other. Behold the terrible awfulness of the Mythos and how even the mightiest empire of man is powerless before it.

“MASTER WU’S MARRIAGE” a lovely springtime wedding, surly nothing bad can happen here. Unless the wedding takes place in Call of Cthulhu, then all bets are off.

“THE IRON BANDED BOX” set in feudal Japan, it’s like what would of happened if Akira Kurosawa directed an adaptation of a H.P. Lovecraft story. Beautiful, strange, messy, and with swords!

“TO HELL OR CONNAUGHT” it’s Protestant vs. Catholic, English vs. Irish, and mankind vs. the Cthulhu Mythos with Saint Patrick thrown in for good measure. Who will win? The smart money is on the Mythos.

“A HARD ROAD TO TRAVEL” set in the American Civil War, this scenario chronicles the horrors of war where brother fights brother…and then everyone fights a cosmic horror beyond description.

“THREE DAYS OF PEACE, MUSIC, AND TENTACLE LOVE” Taking place at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 with sex, drugs, rock-n-roll, and black magic. A terrifyingly trippy time is to be had by all.

“TIME AFTER TIME” is a fractured scenario for fractured minds. Here the investigators will think many things, only to find them all false. Identities, locations, adversaries, even correct eras are all anyone’s guess here.

For Spring 2010
STRANGE AEONS II
CHA23117
MSRP $34.95
ISBN-10: 1-56882-326-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-56882-326-3
240 pages

THE IRON BANDED BOX und TIME AFTER TIME klingen interessant, aber warten wir mal ab. Auf alle Fälle ist das Cover GRAUENVOLL *schüttel*

ARKHAM NOW updates to modern times the famous and fabled city of Arkham, about which so much has been written by many talented and diverse hands. A conscious effort was made to make this book as timely as possible; rents, mortgages, salary rates, and the like are left purposely vague since these things change as years go by — this is no longer a city frozen in time, but yours to move into the future.

Most residents believe there is only one horror lurking in this legendary haunted town – the urban sprawl slowly eroding Arkham’s old New England beauty. Rushing by neon signs and mega-marts on a quest to obtain even more material possessions, no one has time to notice the more disturbing, underlying qualities of the city – the grotesque vegetation sprouting in some places, the sometimes odd taste from the reservoir’s drinking water, the disturbingly high rate of birth defects, the too frequent child abductions.

Those who begin to make inquires are usually scoffed at by citizens, rebuffed by local and state officials. The truly brave have continued to put the pieces together, posting their thoughts on the Internet. Many of these individuals drop off from cyberspace eventually – often due to the effects some of these discoveries can have on one’s mental health.

Though they would never admit it, many of the long time residents of Arkham know there is something not quite right about their town…

176 Pages plus a 17 x 22″ fold-out map of the city, MSRP $27.95

Sicherlich nett für NOW-Spieler in Neuengland. Vielleicht lohnt sich gar eine Übersetzung?

The festival came to town.

In previous years it was a joyful and cheery event. These attractions, however,  are outmoded and the infrastructure is old and neglected. A foul smell hangs in the air. The show consists of malformed people who disgust and frighten. Little joy is offered by the twisted clowns, and the barker’s outdated speaking-style and French-tinged accent strengthens a feeling of unease.

It is a dreadful show.

Just in time for your traditional Halloween Call of Cthulhu or Basic Roleplaying game, here are six Halloween-themed adventures — winners and honourable mentions of the 2009 Chaosium.com Halloween Adventure Contest.

Flesh Festival

Adventure by Victor M. Aguirre. Flesh Festival is an adventure for CoC which takes place during the Roaring Twenties, in some place of New England. The Gamemaster may have to adjust the scenario to the requirements of his campaign; any town of Massachusetts should fit perfectly. The date of the adventure coincides with the arrival of Samhain, although the exact year is left to the Gamemaster design. We recommend the investigators to have some experience, although it is not essential for the adventure to be played.

You are What You Eat

Written by Jason Lindsey. This story is for a group of investigators who have just finished with an adventure or a major campaign. Rusty’s diner is off the beaten path and lets them get a chance to clean up and recover for a bit before they depart for their next adventure.

This is where the fun begins.

The Faculty Party

Written by Jon Hook. The Miskatonic University English Department is holding their annual Halloween party, and you have been cordially invited. The English Dept. party is unlike the kind of party found at the local speak-easy; their party is a series of dramatic readings covering some of the greatest authors of horror fiction. The party-goers meet in a smoke-filled room and debate the authors over snacks, coffee, English and Indian tea.

Conversations and smoke float through the air as the faculty and guests are having a good time, everyone except Prof. Janice Moor. Prof. Moor teaches French Romantic Lit and has been in a blue mood for several weeks now. Her friends and co-workers had hoped that the party would help cheer her up, but no amount of joy has succeeded in lifting her out of her dark depression. Everyone secretly wonders what is bothering her.

Halloween Nuit

Adventure by Oscar Rios. It’s a special time for Miskatonic University, as well all of Arkham. A collection of artifacts has just arrived from The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo. The collection is on a North American tour, and is scheduled to remain in Arkham until January before moving on to the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago. Until then local students, academics, and visitors will have the opportunity see first-hand some of the wonders of ancient Egypt.

Must the Show Go On?

Written by Jason Williams. Arkham is in for a very special treat this Halloween when a magician from Boston, who bills himself as Garlock the Great, plans to give the performance of his life at the Manley Theatre located at 670 Gedney Street. Rumors and newspaper stories precede his arrival with tales about his years spent learning secrets at the feet of the guru’s of Nepal. Excitement has built and the one night only show has sold out.

The Dead School

Written by Paul Hebron. October brings nothing but gloom and rain to the Temple Hill Private School, situated out in the Massachusetts woods. It is an exclusive home to the sons of the state’s wealthiest families, and its teachers provide a quality education—especially since George Edgerton came to be principal of the prestigious prep school. Edgerton has allowed, for the first time in the school’s history, a Halloween party to be held for all the staff and students to enjoy—except for the investigators whom have find themselves in detention. Day-dreaming of the fun they might have had, while waiting for the party to end, the investigators are suddenly brought back to earth by the sound of screams; and then they all black out. When they wake, they find a strange new land of death and voodoo!

By winners of the 2009 Chaosium Halloween Adventure contest. 80 pages. 8.25 x 11″ Perfect-Bound, Paperback.
Price: $14.95 (US) Print, $10.95 (US) PDF

Und dann haben wir noch eine weitere Veröffentlichung: Five Go Mad in Egypt

Investigating the Sphinx Tomb

A survivor of the Great War, the Professor suffered a horrible shock a month ago — his father was killed, and he was injured and is slow to heal. He gathers a team to investigate the legendary Sphinx Tomb, seeking those with expertise in security or weapons, or interest in the occult or ancient religions.

Purchase of this monograph entitles you to also download an extensive collection of player handouts.

Price: $25.95 (US) Print, $17.95 (US) PDF

Bestellen kann man bei Chaosium (hier und hier) und die Info hab ich bei www.yog-sothoth.com gefunden :-]

Und wie ich gerade hier lese: Die Neuauflage von Secrets of New Orleans dürfte auch verfügbar sein:

BIG-EASY SECRETS— The strange goings-on of Mythos agents residing in and around the city of New Orleans are exposed in SECRETS OF NEW ORLEANS. Long-time Call of Cthulhu fans should note that this is a new edition of our guide to the city, long out of print.

Da ich die alte Ausgabe nicht habe und auch nicht kenne, werde ich mir das Buch wohl auf der SPIEL kaufen. Dann wird sich zeigen ob es was taugt. Vom Setting her gefällt mir New Orleans nämlich sehr gut. Hier noch ein paar Worte zum Inhalt:

A 1920′s Sourcebook to the Crescent City

NEW ORLEANS IN THE 1920s is a city of many faces. The gaiety of Mardi Gras is juxtaposed with the rampant corruption that earned New Orleans the nickname “The City That Care Forgot.” The genteel decline of the French Quarter, the location of the city’s original settlement, stands in contrast to the rich opulence of the Garden District, where the Americans later built their mansions. Voodoo and Catholicism exist peacefully side by side. And beneath it all, the face of the Mythos can sometimes be glimpsed . . . .

This guidebook includes detailed chapters on: the history of New Orleans, the French Quarter and the greater city, and the bayous and coastal area. A chapter on voodoo includes guidelines for integrating it into Call of Cthulhu. New occupations unique to the Crescent City and the area are suggested, and five secret societies are covered. A scenario designed to acquaint investigators with most of New Orleans’ areas completes the book.

By Fred Van Lente; Illustrated by Earl Geier and M. Wayne Miller; Cover by Scott Baxa. 96 pages, illustrated, indexed. 8.5 x 11″ perfectbound paperback.

So, das waren die News von Chaosium. Jetzt geht es wieder zurück an die Arbeit :-]

All roads lead to Rome, the greatest city of the Ancient World. Anything you desire is available in this city of over a million people. It’s all here: goods from far off Parthia; pottery from Brittania; food from Egypt; vile tomes from Syria; and murderous cults from Africa. The mighty Empire is pressed on all sides by foes, both mundane and otherworldly. Forces within the Empire itself are growing in power, drawing on the most ancient of horrors to corrupt it from within. Welcome to Rome.

Cthulhu Invictus is a new setting for Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu RPG. Players take on the roles of Roman citizens seeking to protect the Empire from the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos and ancient myth. Cthulhu Invictus includes an adventure to jump start your Roman campaign, a large fold out map of the Roman empire, 41 creatures and entities from folklore and ancient mythology, 12 new cults, 21 new occupations, and much more. Requires the Call of Cthulhu rulebook for play.

Price $26.95
168 pages
Includes a 15 x 22 inch map of the Roman Empire
Written by Chad Bowser, Andi Newton, & friends
Edited by Jeff Tidball
Cover Art by Steven Gilberts

Cthulhu in der Antike, noch dazu im dekadenten Rom klingt verlockend für eine Mini-Kampagne. Allerdings glaube ich, dass dieses Buch der Monographie Cthulhu Invictus entspricht (siehe Review bei www.rpg.net). Aber vielleicht bekommt das Buch ein anständiges Lektorat, eine gute Bindung und noch ein paar hübsche Bilder spendiert und man kann es anschließend beruhigt kaufen. Das Setting finde ich jedenfalls interessant. Seit ich ROM gesehen habe und Vampire: Requiem for Rome gelesen habe ergibt sich auch ein düsteres, plastisches Bild vor Augen. Noch immer spukt mir eine römische Szenarioidee durch den Kopf, aber im Moment ist einfach viel zu tun…

Neben Cthulhu Invictus wird im September noch Secrets of New Orleans erscheinen:

New Orleans is a city of many faces. The gaiety of Mardi Gras is juxtaposed with the rampant corruption that earned it the nickname “The City That Care Forgot.” The genteel decline of the French Quarter, the location of the city’s original settlement, stands in contrast to the rich opulence of the Garden District, where the Americans later built their mansions. Voodoo and Catholicism exist side by side. Behind it’s shining mask the leering visage of the Mythos can be found.

This guidebook includes detailed chapters on the history of New Orleans, the French Quarter and the greater city, and the bayous and coastal regions. A chapter on voodoo includes guidelines for integrating it into Call of Cthulhu. New occupations unique to the Crescent City and surroundings are suggested, and five secret societies are included. An adventure provides a starting point for your explorations of The Secrets of New Orleans.

Price $16.95
96 pages
Written by Fred Van Lente

Mit 96 Seiten ist es ganz sicher zu dünn Als ich vor ca. einem Jahr Fiebertraum (auch bekannt als Dead Man River) von George R.R. Martin (er schreibt noch immer am besten Fantasyepos überhaupt: Das Lied von Eis und Feuer) gelesen habe, da quoll einem der Gestank des verschlammten Mississippi nur so entgegen (also eine ganz klare Leseempfehlung!!!). New Orleans als verruchtes Setting im heißen Süden der USA ist ganz sicher ein gefährliches Pflaster für allzu neugierige Investigatoren. Außerdem spielt in New Orleans noch ein ziemlich genialer Film mit Mickey Rourke & Robert De Niro… Angel Heart!

Happy Spring!

The big news this month is that we have a book at the printer. Terrors from Beyond is a collection of six Call of Cthulhu adventures set in the 1920s and 1930s. While it’s possible the book will show up in late April, expect to find it at you local game shop by the end of May.

The next book to be printed should be the Robert Bloch collection Mysteries of the Worm 3rd edition.

Two Chaosium.com Contests

We’re holding two Adventure contests this summer. Our Annual Halloween Adventure Contest is starting a little earlier this year. With any luck we can have the resulting monograph available well in time for your Halloween gaming. Deadline for entries is August 1st 2009. Our second BRP Adventure Contest has a July 1st 2009 deadline. For more details about both contests visit us at chaosium.com.

Chaosium Gazette

We have a one-page newsletter available for your propaganda needs. Print a handful and take them to your local gaming convention if you can. Be sure to bring one to your next game session as well. Thank you in advance for sacrificing some print toner for the cause!

Imminent Releases

May – Terrors from Beyond. A new collection of Call of Cthulhu adventures.

June – Mysteries of the Worm 3rd edition. A collection of Robert Bloch Cthulhu Mythos tales.

July – Cthulhu’s Dark Cults. A new anthology of Call of Cthulhu short stories.

Upcoming Summer Conventions

We’re planning to attend several conventions this summer: Tentacles (Germany) and KublaCon (CA) in late May; Origins (OH) in June; Gen Con (IN) in August. We’ll likely have exhibitor booths at each, but that will largely depend upon cash flow later in the year. If we’ve been publishing books, we’ll likely have booths!

Hier mal ein paar Infos zu dem Szenarioband, direkt von der Homepage:

Terrors From Beyond

Nightmare Unraveled, In Six Scenarios

CHA23113
ISBN 1-56882-287-1
ISBN13 978-1-56882-287-7
Price $25.95
Page count 208
Trade paperback, Illustrated.
Cover Art by Rick Sardinha

Terrors From Beyond is a collection of 1920′s adventures For Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu, designed for play with pre-generated characters. The book provides fine opportunities for an impromptu game or tournament play and – because the characters are intimately connected with the plot – roleplaying challenges not normally available in most published material. An excellent adventure collection for new and veteran Call of Cthulhu players alike.

GHOST LIGHT – Gary Sumpter
The keepers of a remote Scottish lighthouse have vanished. What fate awaits those who come to investigate the disappearances?

GRAVE SECRETS – Brian Courtemanche
The people of Stafford, Rhode Island, live much the same as their colonial forbears, making only gradual concessions to the encroaching tread of progress. Now, a fate both formless and awful has befallen a family in town. One by one, the children succumb to a newly arrived yet ancient menace.

THE DIG – Brian Sammons
Miskatonic University students on an excavation at nearby Dunlow Woods uncover ancient secrets, murder and horrors from the past.

A METHOD TO MADNESS – John A. Almack
The investigators have been committed to a private asylum. Are they really insane? Is their impending cure now worse than their derangements?

DEATH BY MISADVENTURE – Glyn White
Evidence suggests that Charles Stanhope was killed by the accidental discharge of a faulty shotgun at his home in the Lincolnshire Fens. The Coroner’s verdict is death by misadventure – but is there a suggestion of something far more sinister?

THE BURNING STARS – David Conyers
The investigators recover in a US Military hospital in Haiti suffering from ongoing and prolonged blackouts. The last seven days of their lives have vanished from their minds. Can they not remember, or can’t they bear to?

Happy Spring!

Spring & Summer Releases

Here is my best guess as to what Chaosium will release over the next four months.

May – Terrors from Beyond. A new collection of Call of Cthulhu adventures.

June – Mysteries of the Worm 3rd edition. A collection of Robert Bloch Cthulhu Mythos tales.

July – Cthulhu’s Dark Cults. A new anthology of Call of Cthulhu short stories.

We have other titles in the works of course, including Interplanetary for BRP, Pulp Cthulhu, Voodoo Virus, R’lyeh Rising, and Blackmoore Global Laboratories. These titles will likely release late in 2009. There are other manuscripts being worked upon as well. I’ll be happy to mention them once they are being laid out for printing.

Upcoming Summer Conventions

We’re planning to attend several conventions this summer: Tentacles (Germany) and KublaCon (CA) in late May; Origins (OH) in June; Gen Con (IN) in August. We’ll likely have exhibitor booths at each, but that will largely depend upon cash flow later in the year. If we’ve been publishing books, we’ll likely have booths!

As always, thank you for your continued support!

The Chaosium

http://www.chaosium.com

Zusätzlich gibt es noch eine neue PDF-Monografie mit dem Titel Jovian Nightmares:

A Sourcebook for Cthulhu Rising – Call of Cthulhu roleplaying in the 23rd Century

By the late 23rd century, the gas giant Jupiter and its sprawling system of rings and moons is home to a colonial population of millions.

Over the century and a half since the colonisation of the outer planets began in earnest, an aggregation of settlements and outposts have developed to mine the raw materials which drive the economy upon which the United Earth Federation depends. The types of settlements found in the region are varied, ranging from the subterranean conurbations at the top of Europa’s oceans to the harsh mining towns of Io; from the Callisto orbitals to the countless corporate research outposts.

Despite its location in the most densely populated and heavily-policed star system in the United Earth Federation, Circum-Jove remains a fertile breeding ground for a multitude of subcultures, outlaws and weird religious cults. It’s also a hotbed of new technologies research and home to corporate infighting at its worst.

Humanity is not the first star-faring culture to have visited this region. There are beings far older than Man. Ancient, malign beings that would be described in human terms as pure evil, but for whom such a label is meaningless. Here, they wait. Beneath aeons old ice and rock. In the dark spaces between the stars. Waiting for when the time is right.

Some nightmares are very real. Jovian Nightmares.

Contents:

# Introduction
# About Jovian Nightmares
# About Cthulhu Rising
# Acknowledgements
# Dying in a Winter Wonderland
# Circum-Jove: History
# Jupiter
# Io
# Europa
# Ganymede
# Callisto
# Other Locations
# Organisations
# Jovian Investigations
# Jovian Secrets
# Cut Back Blues
# Escape Velocity
# Adventure Seeds
# Glossary

By John Ossaway. 90 pages.
Price: $11.95 (US) PDF

Dear Friends:

I don’t even know how to start this…I’d hoped to be able to say something before the rumors started, but I was beaten to the punch.

I got a call today from Sharon Herber, Doc’s wife earlier this afternoon. Keith “Doc” Herber passed away suddenly this morning. He was a friend and a mentor to me, as he was to many of you.

At this point, I don’t know what this means for Miskatonic River Press, but I will keep you all posted as I figure things out.

Doc gave hundreds, if not thousands of us great joy through all the work he did with Chaosium, White Wolf, and finally with Miskatonic River Press. I know you all join me in mourning a great loss to the community as a whole, especially those of us who knew him and dealt with him personally.

Yes, he could be a cranky old bastard, but when you got right down to it, you found a good man with a good heart, willing to help out, looking to make the world a better place with the work he did and the people he touched. Personally, I think he succeeded.

We’re all going to miss you, Doc…some of us more than we can say.

ACES HIGH is a mythical, western role-playing game where Davey Crockett exists along side The Man With No Name. The relationship, however, may be an uneasy one.

Violence is an everyday occurrence on the frontier of Civilization. Dust swirls around a crimson sun, reminding every one of their possible success, telling them of their mortality. Settlers make a grab for the fertile land, destroying whatever does not fit their ideal.

Prospectors are raping the hills for precious metals; dumping their waste in the fresh, clear rivers. Trappers slaughter vast herds of buffalo for their valuable pelts, leaving a wake of rotting carcasses, a mountain of bone and skulls. The Law can barely cope, as lynch mobs leave cadavers hanging from the trees.

The Redskins fight for their very existence, caught between death and degradation. The old powers cannot compete with the new power from the East. The wise have begun to abandon hope; the young still believe they have a chance to even the score.

The people drag a living from the land of dreams but everything is not always as it seems. Ancient mysteries are discovered as the white man slowly conquers this strange new world, mysteries that they are not prepared for.

Aces High is a deadly supplement for the Basic Roleplaying game. Firearms are very common, it would be considered unusual if your character did not have a firearm of some description. Healing is generally restricted to First Aid and Medicine delivered by a Doctor. Other than that, only natural healing can be relied upon, and that is slow. If your character is involved in a shoot-out you should expect swift and bloody death from all directions.

BASIC ROLEPLAYING MONOGRAPHS are longer works by one or more authors on a subject of import to Basic Roleplaying players. On these products the author has also fulfilled the functions of editor and layout artist; we at Chaosium have done little in the way of editorial. We found these works compelling and thought that you would enjoy them. Through the publication of monographs we can offer our most loyal fans more information more easily, and evaluate the potential of these works for eventual release to the wholesale market.

By Stuart Godbolt. 112 pages. 8.25 x 11″ Perfect-bound Paperback.

Und es gibt sogar noch ein paar weitere Informationen zu den einzelnen Kapiteln aus dem BRP-Forum:

Chapter 1
Character Generation – the rules and optional rules that will be used from the standard BRP rule book. Including cross referenced page numbers to the BRP book, and a modified character sheet, to allow for those options.

Chapter 2
Extraordinary Abilities – No magic, mutations or psychic powers for the player characters (as a general rule). However, there is an optional Table for random Extraordinary Abilities. Increased (or decreased) attributes, special skills, affinities and Psychosis, Phobias, Dependencies and other weirdness.

Chapter 3
New Skills – quite a short chapter refining and clarifying the basic rule set. Quick Draw, or Fast Draw, becomes an ability that anyone can use at anytime. Additional rules for Two Pistol Style, shooting rifles with one hand, shotguns with solid or scatter shot, firearm modifications, and pistol whipping.

Chapter 4
Occupations – specific occupations from both sides of the Law, for Slaves, Women and Chinese player characters. Be a Lawman, a Hired Killer or a Shaolin Monk!

Chapter 5
Guns, Equipment and Supplies – a cross section of weapons for the wild west period with the year that they were most common to allow pre or post civil war gaming periods. Possible expansion may include pre and post Independence gaming periods with muskets and black powder weapons.

Chapter 6
Religion, Piety and Allegiance – Includes brief descriptions of Evangelists, 7th day Adventists, Fundamentalists, Spiritualism, Voodoo, Mormon, Quaker, the Millerites and others.

Chapter 7
A period map of America c.1870.

The Harsh Law – covering hangings and lynch mobs, Outlaws and the chance of being Wanted. Can you survive being hanged? What does it take to be Wanted Dead or Alive?

Attitudes of the West – how did people regard and treat Women, the Celestials, Red Skins, Mexicans and Negroes on a day to day basis.

A brief history of the Americas, from the Land bridge to 1900 – One idea is to allow historical play from any period in the Americas from prehistoric natives to 1900.

A list of Presidents – a brief description of what they did.

THE MASTERS SECTION
An Introduction from behind the veil, Secrets revealed.

Chapter 8
Townscapes – What can you expect to find in a frontier town? A settler village? A boom town? Will include suggestions on how to quickly find out what is most likely to be available.

A Map of Mystic Sites – where to find some of the odd critters that live there.

Chapter 9
The Animal Kingdom – animal descriptions and statistics from Alligator to Wolverine. Approximately 30 types of animal, nothing particularly unexpected, all mundane.

Mundane or Otherworld – Why do some spirits come from their ‘Otherworld’ to our ‘Mundane’ world, and how do they do it? More importantly, how can we send them back?

The Not So Animal Kingdom – Animal Ogres to Zombies, with some Red Skin gods and a few lake monsters thrown in for good measure. Descriptions and statistics for Traditional Indian myths and other weirdness, including…

BIG HEAD / BAT PEOPLE
The Bat People are an old, mysterious and malevolent race. They inhabit the high branches of dark and forbidding forests. They are grotesque and very large bat winged heads.

This demonic race of beings has been known to live in heavily wooded areas or high in isolated mountain ranges. They are accused of cannibalism and see other races and beings as things to exploit and torture. They are universally regarded as evil and malicious.

Otherworldly creature powers and descriptions.

Chapter 10
Arcane Lore in the West

Optional Player occupations – includes Diabolist, Voodoo Priest, Witches, Warlocks, the Drifter and the Red Skins.

The Diabolist sees all life as if it were a complex mathematical or symbolic cycle of enlightenment and ignorance. Diabolists are after the pursuit of Evil for its own sake, committing deliberate wickedness whenever the opportunity arises.

The Voodoo priest of the coloured folk is a source of great fear and respect. The people in the Voodoo priests neighbourhood are required to support him; in return he aids them in whatever ways he can. He will not take kindly to lack of respect and can curse as well as cure.

Whipping, torture and lynching have the power to create a Drifter but there are many other ways. Hate and pain have conspired to create this avenging angel. He has been put in the situation where he can see that he has lost everything. He understands his complete and utter destruction.

The Red Skins are steeped in mystery; few outsiders are allowed to freely explore the insides of an Indian camp without being harassed. They call themselves ‘the human beings’ and seek guidance from the spirits.

Chapter 11
Red Skin Tribes

Red Skin rituals – All of the American Indian tribes are closely linked in some way to a mystical power. These rituals put them in touch with their Totem Animal, reveal knowledge or heal.

Totem Animals for the Brave and Magic for the Shaman.

Animism, Totemism and Fetishism – Three points of view for the origin of Red Skins magic.

The American Indian Language Tree – many American Indian languages all stemmed from one original language. How easy is it for Apache to talk to Sioux? Optional rules to cover this fact.

Chapter 12
A short scenario…

Ich wusste gar nicht, dass die Monografien inzwischen zu einem festen Veröffentlichungsstandard (auch außerhalb Cthulhus) bei Chaosium geworden sind… Da ich diesen “Fanprodukten” doch eher skeptisch gegenüberstehe, wird man wohl einige Rezensionen abwarten müssen. Vom Inhalt her scheint das Buch ja nicht schlecht zu sein und sicherlich lässt sich dieser Weird West ziemlich einfach mit dem Cthulhu-Mythos unterfüttern. Aber ich glaube, das erste richtige Quellenbuch zum Thema werden wir von Pagan Publishing sehen.

R’lyeh Report
Random News for January 2009.

The Chaosium

http://www.chaosium.com

The R’lyeh Report
Volume 13, Number 01
January 29, 2009

Transmitted by Dustin Wright of the Leng Embassy, CO.

This R’lyeh report contains some crunchy Chaosium info. For more Chaosium news check out our website at http://www.chaosium.com

Looking back, 2008 was a pretty average year for us when it comes to new releases. We managed to get four new titles published: The Strange Cases of Rudolph Pearson, Basic Roleplaying, The Klarkash-Ton Cycle, and Secrets of Morocco. That’s pretty good for a year in which our company went through some big changes. With any luck, and more focus, perhaps we can get more than six new books out in 2009.

Here is my best guess as to what the first half of the year will bring us.

March – Terrors from Beyond. A new collection of Call of Cthulhu adventures.

April – Mysteries of the Worm 3rd edition. A collection of Robert Bloch Cthulhu Mythos tales.

May – Cthulhu’s Dark Cults. A new anthology of Call of Cthulhu short stories.

We have other titles in the works of course, including Pulp Cthulhu, Voodoo Virus, R’lyeh Rising, and Blackmoore Global Laboratories. These titles will likely release late in 2009.

We’re still working out which conventions we will be attending in 2009. The Californians will definitely be at Dundracon next month. http://www.dundracon.com/.

That’s all the news I know for January.

As always, thank you for your continued support!