Miskatonic University Podcast MUP Episode 184 – Ooky-Spooky Halloweeny!!!
Campus Crier
The Campus Crier is where we keep all the mythos related news and info for the podcast, this episode was recorded on August 16, 2021.
I want to personally congratulate each of the Alumni of the Storytelling Collective’s Write Your First Adventure Workshop last month. The market has been flooded with over 50+ titles on the MR, Chaosium’s Community Creator Content hub. Ya’ll, I’m so proud of each and every one of you. These scenarios look amazing, the cover arts are BOSS, the Miskatonic Repository Creator’s Circle is buzzing, you’re being featured in Chaosium newsletters, and you’re making your first sales. I’m just– I’m just so proud of you guys. Congrats! Head over to the Miskatonic Repository and make someone’s day by checking out their newest creations!
Annnd speaking of the Miskatonic Repository, Miskatonic Repository Con GM Signups just opened up! This virtual con will be hosted October 15th – October 17th. We have 3 awesome panels and over 16 events already submitted! So, come play some 7th Edition Call of Cthulhu with us! A link to the TTE will be in the show notes… and you can email MisktatonicRepositoryCon@gmail.com to get in touch!
Innsmouth The Missing Child: A Gamebook is a choose your own adventure styled solo game book where you are an investigator brought in to find the whereabouts of a missing child amongst the odd and terrible inhabitants of Innsmouth. It has funded with $23k of a $1300 goal and still has 23 days left at the time of recording. The art looks sparse, but that’s what I would expect from a product of this type. You can get a PDF for as little as $9 and a physical starting at $17. Overall it looks pretty neat, and I’m trying to not back it.
Free League has another Kickstarter out for two new products in their Forbidden Lands line, this time a bestiary of sorts called Forbidden Lands: Book of Beasts and a campaign called The Blood March. As we have come to expect from Free League, the art on display is absolutely gorgeous. And this seems to be a no brainer for any fan of the weird fantasy setting. You can get a pdf of both books for $35 or either individual book in print for $35. If you want both in print it will cost you $69. The project has already funded with $285k of a $12k goal, and will have another three days left at the time of this release.
Good friend of the show and proprietor of The Old Ways Podcast, Mike Diamond, has officially announced a third campaign for their excellent live play series, but this time with a twist! They are currently accepting GM pitches for a new campaign run by a new Storyteller. So if you have a campaign in mind and have it well thought out put in your submission at the link in the show notes. You can also find Mike on our own Discord, where he is a mod, or over at The Old Ones Discord, or you can just email him at theoldwayspodcast@gmail.com
And finally, it is with great sadness that we have to say a final goodbye to RPG Legend Steve Perrin, who passed away earlier this month. Goodbye Steve, safe travels.
https://www.chaosium.com/blogvale-and-farewell-steve-perrin-1946-2021/
The Discord Plug
We have our MUP Discord and we are all there! We invite all of our listeners to come and enjoy the community of horror gaming and cute pet pics.
A big birthday shout out to Zelda, the pup of patreon backer, Al Smith, who if you’re lucky enough to get a seat at this table, she’ll probably make an appearance. Also, good luck to the kitties, Spaghetti and Meatball, who are currently in foster care with one of our awesome listeners.
MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D
And thank you beaucoup to Murph for editing this episode.
Patreon Plug
We have a Patreon! To back us you can click the button on the sidebar of our website, mu-podcast.com or head over to Patreon directly at www.patreon.com/mup!
One new backer!
Brolin Graham
Just a reminder, we’re offering Patreon Backers a sneak peek into future episode guests! Back us for an opportunity to ask your favorite creators in the TTRPG circuit your questions!
And you can also help out the show by buying some merch from our Teepublic store!
Thanks to our backers so much for supporting the show!!
Recent Gaming
Bridgett – Pale Rider Playtest 2
MepaCon Man’s Best Friend by Jazmin Ospa
Main Topic
We create a monster from scratch!
The Campus Crier
The Campus Crier is Miskatonic U’s student paper. Here’s where we go through Mythos related news and feedback to the podcast.
Check out Keeper Jon on the Into The Darkness video podcast on YouTube as they play The Shadow Over Providence, a new scenario published by Chaosium, written by Keeper Jon to celebrate the Necronomicon 2019 convention. The series of videos is only three episodes long. The first two episodes are already available on YouTube, with the third and final episode coming very soon.
Ep. 01: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-TOd08syBo&list=PLJQ7JbI3-ZhI7EllbO7gv8bYb0kJndVDa
Ep. 02: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwB9PJ2hV3w&t=2s
Chris Spivey’s Haunted West Kickstarter has been wrastling up the stretch goals after meeting its 10,000 dollar goal in less than three hours. It has pushed past the 35,000 mark at the time of recording, which means our own Charles Gerard will be writing that Mythos chapter add-on that we mentioned last show.
On October 10th, Chaosium released The Lightless Beacon for Call of Cthulhu, a short introductory scenario by Leigh Carr with Lynne Hardy for their We Are All Us campaign in remembrance of Greg Stafford. You can check out this and the other free scenarios released for the campaign on their website.
The Lovecraft Country Holiday Collection from golden Goblin Press almost doubled its funding goal by the time it closed out for a total of more than 22,500 dollars. It knocked down nine out of ten stretch goals, including more scenarios, more art, more maps, more stuff. It’s closed now so you can’t have any of that. But if you didn’t back it, keep your eyes peeled for this book to reach book racks of various kinds soon.
Stygian Fox put out a pack of maps for Lovecraft Country that bears checking out. It includes interesting stuff like a poverty map of Arkham, and maps of all the classic Lovecraft Country settings plus some less covered sections.
This October, Bret Kramer is doing what he is calling “Book-tober.” For the month of October he is featuring one short horror* story that has influenced him in some way, wherein he talks about his relationship to the story, how it impacted him, what others have said regarding the story, and links to the story itself (for reading and adaptations of it) so readers can experience it for themselves.
Chaosium’s “Cthulhuween” “Julia, our ‘merc of merch’, has just declared the month of October as Cthulhuween. She’ll be adding a new piece of haunting artwork from Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu RPG line to the Chaosium Redbubble merchandise store every day this month. Check them out for wall-art, clothing, home decor, and more!”
The second installment of the Flotsom & Jetsom Organized Play scenario was released by Chaosium today. It is called “Inheritance;” it is written by Matthew Dawkins and it is available now for download from the Cult of Chaos forums in the BRP Central forums.
MU Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D
Trick or Treat, by Scott David Aniolowski
Listen to the episode to hear Keeper Murph, Keeper Chad, and Keeper Jon discuss way to run this amazing scenario at your table during the spookiest time of the year. And, to help run the scenario with the current Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition rules, we asked Chaosium for permission to write-up and give to you, the listener, updated 7th Edition write-ups of the monsters, investigators, and spells.
“Trick or Treat” scenario and characters copyright 1990 Chaosium Inc., all rights reserved, used with permission.” You can purchase a PDF copy of Blood Brothers from Chaosium’s website: https://www.chaosium.com/blood-brothers-pdf/
7th Edition Conversion Notes
~ When the investigators attempt to bash-in the closet door in Jeremy Wolfe’s apartment, a Hard STR roll successfully breaks down the door.
~ The Sanity loss for the discovery of the extended family members seems high. Keepers might consider reducing those losses to 1/1D3, but keep the Sanity losses dictated for the discovery of the investigator’s friends who have been murdered by the scarecrow.
~ The discovery of Tierney’s car should not be a whole series of rolls. Have a Group Luck roll — with any failed roll, it takes 3 hours to find the car; with a standard success, it takes 2 hours to find the car; with a hard success, it takes 1 hour to find the car; and with an extreme success, it takes 30 minutes to find the car.
~ The Keeper may consider making any one or two of the pre-gen investigators Wiccan characters who know spells. As the pre-gen characters are originally presented, only one character is a Wiccan who knows spells. This might be difficult if the game has less than six players, and that investigator is not used in the game.
The Oak Tree
STR 200 CON 1000 SIZ 300 POW 150
HP 130 MP 30 DB +5D6
Weapons: Branches & Roots 40%, 1D6 striking or piercing
Entangling Mnvr: 25% to entangle with roots and vines,
crushing victim on subsequent round for 5D6 damage. Entangled victims need an
Extreme STR roll to escape, each person helping adds on Bonus Die, for a
maximum of two bonus dice. Once a victim is dead, the tree hurls the corpse at
the other investigators.
Armor: 2 pts of thick bark
Animated Corpses
| STR | CON | SIZ | DEX | POW | HP | DB | Sex | Archetype | |
| 1 | 70 | 60 | 65 | 30 | 5 | 12 | 1D4 | M | Salesman |
| 2 | 60 | 70 | 60 | 35 | 5 | 13 | 0 | F | Housewife |
| 3 | 75 | 60 | 80 | 40 | 5 | 14 | 1D4 | M | Farmhand |
| 4 | 65 | 70 | 65 | 45 | 5 | 13 | 1D4 | M | Hobo |
| 5 | 75 | 65 | 65 | 25 | 5 | 13 | 1D4 | F | Teacher |
| 6 | 60 | 50 | 50 | 45 | 5 | 10 | 0 | M | Pastor |
| 7 | 90 | 75 | 85 | 20 | 5 | 16 | 1D6 | M | Mechanic |
| 8 | 70 | 65 | 70 | 35 | 5 | 13 | 1D4 | F | Reporter |
Move: 6 (each)
Weapons: Maul (tooth & nail) 35%, 1D3+1 + DB damage
Remember the Outnumbered rule on pg.108 of the Keeper’s
Handbook
The Scarecrow
STR 100 CON 75 DEX 30 SIZ 95 INT 80 POW 180
HP 17 MP 36 DB +1D6 Move 5
Weapons: Claws 60%, 1D6 + DB damage; Scythe 45%, 2D6 + DB
damage
Armor: 1 pt. of hard wood. Impaling weapons do minimal
damage, and fire causes only 2 pts of damage per round while the scarecrow has
magic points available. If the scarecrow’s magic points fall to zero, then it
can be harmed normally by weapons. Magic always does normal magic damage.
Spells: Bring Pestilence, Call Lightning, Command Plant,
Control Elements, Create Storm, Enchant Scarecrow, Implant Fear, and Nightmare
SAN Loss: 0/1D8
Karyn Basianti, Veterinarian (27)
STR 25 CON
65 SIZ 40 DEX 65 APP
75
INT 90 POW
75 EDU 90 SAN 75 LUCK (3D6)
HP 10 MP
15 DB -1 Build -1 Move 8
Fighting (Brawl) 25% (12/5), Dodge 32% (16/6)
Firearms (Pistol) 35% (17/7)
Skills: Charm 40% (20/8), Credit Rating 25% (12/5), Fast
Talk 25% (12/5), First Aid 50% (25/10), Library Use 30% (15/6), Medicine 65% (32/13),
Other Language (Latin) 35% (17/7), Ride 25% (12/5), Science (Pharmacy) 35%
(17/7), Science (Zoology) 50% (25/10)
Weapons: .45 Revolver (1D10+2 dmg)
Quote: “Make my day.”
Karyn is a quiet woman, although known for her sharp wit
when provoked. She is very intelligent and her love for all animals prevents
her from harming or being part of any harmful acts to animals. While small and
quiet, she does know how to use a rather powerful weapon!
Alek Burnett, Artist (20)
STR 40 CON
85 SIZ 45 DEX 75 APP 80
INT 80 POW
65 EDU 70 SAN 65 LUCK (3D6)
HP 13 MP
13 DB 0 Build 0 Move 8
Fighting (Brawl) 55% (27/11), Dodge 40% (20/8)
Firearms (Pistol) 20% (10/4)
Skills: Anthropology 10% (5/2), Art/Craft (Draw) 55%
(27/11), Art/Craft (Paint) 45% (22/9), Art/Craft (Photography) 40% (20/8),
Drive Auto 20% (10/4), Fast Talk 60% (30/12), History 25% (12/5), Library Use
30% (15/6), Listen 35% (17/7), Navigate 20% (17/7), Mechanical Repair 25% (12/5),
Occult 40% (20/8), Sleight of Hand 25% (12/5), Stealth 20% (10/4)
Weapons: .22 Revolver (1D6 dmg); Pocketknife (1D3 + DB dmg)
Quote: “You think this is some kind of Halloween costume?
This is a way of life!”
Alek is a talented and creative artist. He often has
realistic and bizarre dreams on which he bases much of his work. These dreams
are psychic or precognitive at times. He is moody and while small, he does not
run from trouble and can, (at times), be antagonistic. He dabbles in the
occult. Alek is known for his auto mishaps! Jeromy Wolfe was a very close
friend. Alek tries to make a statement in the way he dresses and wears his hair
– he is seldom seen without his pin and stud-covered leather coat and his black
hair is often spiked up and colored with streaks of white.
Tim Coniff, Doctor (30)
STR 65 CON
70 SIZ 80 DEX 50 APP 65
INT 75 POW
70 EDU 90 SAN 65 LUCK (3D6)
HP 15 MP
14 DB +1D4 Build 1 Move 7
Fighting (Brawl) 45% (22/9), Dodge 25% (12/5)
Firearms (Pistol) 25% (12/5)
Skills: Credit Rating 50% (25/10), First Aid 50% (25/10), Law
20% (10/4), Medicine 60% (30/12), Occult 20% (10/4), Other Language (Latin) 30%
(15/6), Psychoanalysis 30% (15/6), Psychology 40% (20/8), Science (Astronomy) 10%
(5/2), Science (Chemistry) 10% (5/2), Science (Pharmacy) 30% (15/6), Spot
Hidden 30% (15/6)
Weapons: Scalpel (1D3 + DB dmg); .32 Automatic Pistol (1D8
dmg)
Quote: “This won’t hurt a bit.”
Tim is a good-natured soul who goes to any length to help
people. He is reserved and unobtrusive by nature and sometimes awkward around
strangers, not being a really social person. He is a very good young doctor.
His best friend is Nathan Hennings, and the unlikely pair spend a great deal of
time together.
Nathan Hennings, Dilettante (25)
STR 80 CON
80 SIZ 65 DEX 65 APP 70
INT 80 POW
70 EDU 70 SAN 70 LUCK (3D6)
HP 14 MP
14 DB +1D4 Build 1 Move 8
Fighting (Brawl) 55% (27/11), Dodge 32% (16/6)
Firearms (Rifle) 45% (22/9)
Skills: Climb 75% (37/15), Credit Rating 65% (32/13), Drive
Auto 60% (30/12), Listen 30% (15/6), Navigate 15% (7/3), Other Language (Any) 10%
(5/2), Persuade 15% (7/3), Pilot (Sm. Aircraft) 60% (30/12), Science (Archeology)
20% (10/4), Science (Botany) 20% (10/4), Spot Hidden 30% (15/6), Swim 30%
(15/6), Track 50% (25/10)
Weapons: 30-06 Bolt Action Rifle (2D6+4 dmg)
Quote: “Did I ever tell you about the time…”
Nathan is very good-natured and friendly, and always has
some tall tale to tell. He seems to know a little about almost everything. He
is active, a survivalist and adventurer. Everyone likes Nathan, even with his
endless bits of trivial information and fabulous stories. He owns a small plane
which he keeps at a private airfield a few miles south of Lockport.
Michael Sardonski, Author (38)
STR 70 CON
85 SIZ 60 DEX 75 APP 55
INT 85 POW
60 EDU 80 SAN 60 LUCK (3D6)
HP 14 MP
12 DB +1D4 Build 1 Move 9
Fighting (Brawl) 25% (12/5), Dodge 37% (18/7)
Firearms (Shotgun) 35% (17/7)
Skills: Drive Auto 35% (17/7), First Aid 35% (17/7), History
40% (20/8), Library Use 45% (22/9), Mechanical Repair 30% (15/6), Occult 65% (32/13),
Other Language (Gaelic) 30% (15/6), Other Language (Ogham) 25% (12/5), Psychology
45% (22/9), Spot Hidden 35% (17/7), Stealth 20% (10/4), Track 20% (10/4)
Weapons: 12-Gauge Shotgun (4D6/2D6/1D6 dmg); Wood Axe (1D8+2
+ DB dmg)
Quote: “Wait a minute, why do you want me to drive?”
Michael is a talented writer who has had several horror
novels published by a small firm in California. He is friendly and a good
person but known for his pessimism and paranoia. He is a team player, but
ultimately looks out for number one. He has a very sharp wit and a cutting
sense of humor. Although close friends, he and Karyn Basanti would appear to be
arch enemies – they continually throw barbs and insults back and forth… all in
fun, of course!
David Scott, Chef (28)
STR 75 CON
80 SIZ 80 DEX 50 APP
65
INT 75 POW
80 EDU 70 SAN 80 LUCK (3D6)
HP 16 MP
16 DB +1D4 Build 1 Move 7
Phobia: Acrophobia – Fear of Heights
Fighting (Brawl) 30% (15/6), Dodge 25% (12/5)
Firearms (Pistol) 25% (12/5)
Skills: Accounting 15% (7/3), Art/Craft (Cook) 80% (40/16), Drive
Auto 25% (12/5), First Aid 35% (17/7), Listen 30% (15/6), Occult 50% (25/10),
Other Language (French) 50% (25/10), Persuade 25% (12/5), Spot Hidden 30% (15/6),
Stealth 15% (7/3)
Weapons: .38 Revolver (1D10 dmg); Butcher Knife (1D6 + DB
dmg)
Spells: Cast Circle, Chant of Thoth, Command Animal (Bird),
Healing, Levitate, Power Chant
Quote: “What’s the point?”
David is friendly, yet very moody, known for his sudden and
unexplained mood swings. He has a very dry sense of humor and a quick wit. He
is a Wiccan – a modern witch, although only Alek Burnett knows this as he keeps
that part of his life very private. While large and relatively strong, he would
be the first to avoid violence. He is afraid of heights, although flying does
not bother him. His best friend is Alek, to whom he is teaching Wicca.
Spells
Other than Enchant Scarecrow, all of the other spells in this adventure can be found in The Grand Grimoire of the Cthulhu Mythos, which is also available from Chaosium’s website: https://www.chaosium.com/the-grand-grimoire-of-cthulhu-mythos-magic-pdf/
Enchant Scarecrow
Cost: 5 magic points; 1D8 Sanity points
Casting time: 30 minutes
This spell creates a living scarecrow that can follow
complex commands. Such enchanted creatures slowly amble with a speed of Move 5.
They have limited INT and POW but are strong and menacing servants. The animated
scarecrow has 1 point of POW, 1D4 INT, 2D6 DEX, 3D6 CON, and 3D6+3 STR and SIZ,
and it obeys the spell caster totally until destroyed.
Deeper magic: This spell can also be used to
prepare the scarecrow to host a human soul after mortal death. The caster must
expend 10 magic points, 5 POW, and 1D8 Sanity points, and it takes two hours to
complete the ritual. Once completed, the enchanted scarecrow becomes animated
and functions exactly like the standard version of this spell until the caster
dies. Upon the caster’s death, his soul is transferred to the prepared
scarecrow. An enchanted scarecrow with a human soul retains the INT and POW
values from the caster’s human body, but all of the scarecrow’s physical
attributes remain unchanged.
Alternate names: The Knight of Samhain, All
Hallows Eve Sentry, Hellfire Guardian