Miskatonic University Podcast

This episode we’ve got Christopher Smith Adair in the guest chair to discuss sundry projects, including a newly released (to PDF) Pulp Cthulhu campaign, a scenario for Golden Goblin Press’s An Inner Darkness, and much more. This episode was recorded on June 6, 2019. Campus Crier Yog-Sothoth.com is “going deep.” After 21 years, the site will now be available only by direct access to the 20,000+ members. In the announcement, founder Paul Maclean said the move would mean “we will have less of an issue with spammers and bots and more importantly it may also help foster a more “club-like” atmosphere (which remains open to all new members). We are far from the first to do this, but we’re probably one of the largest in what we cover. A natural concern is that by becoming part of the “Deep Web” we may miss potential members, however it’s become clear over the past year that this should not be the case. The most powerful form of promotion is word of mouth.” Our own Jon Hook has a new adventure available on the Miskatonic Repository. It’s called “Spark of Life,” and it’s designed to be played with the Keeper and one player. He is coining a term for this style of game: “An Isolated Investigator Adventure.” Mark Morrison is releasing on Drivethru RPG his second-ever scenario for Call of Cthulhu, called “The Saltwater Inheritance,” which was for a competition in White Dwarf Magazine around, and though it was a runner-up in the contest, the adventure never saw print. We have wrapped up our first contest on the MUP Discord Server. The prize was a brand new copy of the Miskatonic University: Restricted Collection board game. Participants had to write a Lovecraftian or Cthulhueque haiku in the Contest_1 channel. There were a ton of great entries, so thank you to everyone who participated. The winner of the board game is… Tic! And his winning haiku goes like this… The cold void yawns wide. Breaking my feeble mind on, Dread reality. Jon was recently a guest on the amazing literary and gaming podcast, The Appendix N Book Club. This podcast is dedicated to reading all of the literature referenced by Gary Gygax in Appendix N of the Dungeon Master’s Guide, (old school AD&D). Jon was invited to read and speak about The Lurker at the Threshold, by August Derleth and H. P. Lovecraft, on Episode 48. Want to check out the Discord server? Here an invite link: https://discord.gg/vNjEv9D Thank you to Max for editing this episode! Listening Room Episode 2 of “The Journals of Laura Logan.” By the way, the reader, Kerrie TC, is available for voice-over work if anyone has leads, please send them to kerrietcrpgs@gmail.com. Feedback From Danial: I was thinking of this topic with regards to video games, which typically prevent you from killing NPCs, and in the ones that don’t, you’ll usually be killed in retaliation in pretty short order. The “You Died” scenario could be resolved in CoC with the flashback technique you guys mentioned, but perhaps we could take a page from the games that prevent you from doing bad things in the first place.  Say the guy wants to shoot the kid in the street. You could have an NPC run out screaming at them to stop, and the distraction then adds a Penalty Die to their shot. It’s not stopping them from doing it, but it’s making it a lot harder. Topic Christopher runs down a number of projects he’s embroiled with: Cold Fire Within – the Pulp campaign is now in the wild. Arkham Gazette #4 – a scenario in Kingsport based details from a WH Pugmire story. Adair visited Marblehead while writing it and used some real-world inspiration. “Dreams of Silk” for GGP in the Inner Darkness book – covering labor rights. And “A Dread Gift of Flame,” a scenario set in Samoa that he is publishing with Stygian Fox for charity. Also, a short-story collection that he is editing with a new small press, Stay Strange Publishing. Check out the announcement for Too Many Eyes by Patrick Loveland. Some other mentions during the discussion: Marblehead Museum, home of the J.O.J. Frost Gallery. Adair’s tribute to Wilum H. Pugmire. The announcement of the splitting of the Kingsport issue of the Arkham Gazette.

This episode, Murph, Dan, and Chad talk about how to deploy “interesting consequences” for PCs who color outside the lines (of your group’s play-style coloring book, oops the metaphor just broke…). This episode was recorded on May 23, 2019. Campus Crier “Brendan Sterling sought answers in experimental past-life regression. Unfortunately, his mind isn’t the only one seeking answers in the past….” Out in PDF later this month* —A COLD FIRE WITHIN. A new & complete six-part #PulpCthulhu #rpg campaign by Christopher Smith Adair. Director of the former San Pedro Lovecraft Festival, Aaron Vaneck, will be directing a new feature film based on a particular flavor of Cthulhu-esque spy-type roleplaying game that is similar to First Items First , written by friend of the show Bret Kramer. The script has been written by Adam Scott Glancy, and is about two government agents who investigates some supernatural shenanigans while trying to cleanse a former agent’s home after his death. Kickstarter coming September 2019 from Golden Goblin Press. New expanded 7th edition versions of the classic Call of Cthulhu holiday themed adventures, Christmas in Kingsport and Halloween in Dunwich. Stretch Goals include two original scenarios, Easter in Arkham, and Innsmouth Independence Day. Stygian Fox is launching a Patreon. The company is going to produce one or two-part adventures each month in PDF format for you to use at your gaming table. Every 4 months we’ll put those adventures up on DriveThruRPG in order for you to buy Print-On-Demand copies. Out now from Arc Dream: Delta Green: The Complex offers 21 new dossiers for federal agencies and important contractors to enhance your Delta Green campaign. Each dossier describes the entity’s budget, operatives, organizational structure and history, mandate, areas of friction with other agencies, suggested professions for Delta Green agents, and what it’s like to work there. Discord server invite link >> Thank you to Sean! For editing this episode. Feedback (From May 12) Dear Campus Cryer, Thinking about Call of Cthulhu settings I recently published an article on an artist (Jordan Baseman) who is reproducing the era of the Spanish Influenza outbreak through daily radio broadcasts (podcasts etc). Spanning the period of 1918 to 1919 the audio art piece allows the reader to get into the progression of events of 100 years ago as they unfolded day to day. Concluding later this year, listeners get a sense of how the outbreak spread and how it affected communities at time. In as much as the story of the Spanish flu is a narrative on geography, mortality and statistics it is also a very harrowing human story. People came to terms with infection and the outbreak as an social entity in a variety of ways, sometimes nobly with understanding and empathy. But not always. More info: https://www.trebuchet-magazine.com/psychohorology-jordan-baseman-on-using-time-as-a-canvas/ As a theme I’m sure that the Spanish Flu outbreak has been covered before but I thought your listeners might like the opportunity learn a bit more about that period. Who knows what ancient eldritch horrors sought to change the course of human history to benefit their nefarious appetites! I love your podcasts and along with The Good friends of Jackson Elias and The Lovecraft Geek the urbane horrors of my commute are gleefully elevated to supernatural heights with every Lovecraftian listen. Go Pods! Listening Room And up next we have a NEW segment Episode 1 of “The Files of Laura Logan” – let’s listen and let it speak for itself. Topic We talk about interesting consequences for trigger-happy investigators. On related notes, here is an episode from the Good Friends of Jackson Elias where they talk about violence in Call of Cthulhu. And here is an episode of Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff that covers how to make incarceration into an interesting springboard for adventure (prison breaks discussion starts around 2:30).]]>

In this special report, Keeper Murph talks to Chaosium Vice President Michael O’Brien about a few news updates, as well as a big announcement and an addition to the Chaosium team. John Wick Joins Chaosium]]>

This episode we’re gonna be baaaaad! Jon, Murph, and Chad workshop how to make good bad guys. This episode was recorded on March 14, 2019. We want to hear from you! By email: mup.feedback@gmail.com By phone: (401) 400-0MUP (0687) By Twitter: @MU_Podcast By Speakpipe: (Click the floating tab on the far right of this page) On our forum: mu-podcast.com/campus. On Discord: https://discord.gg/tMT2EcE Like what you hear? Please become a Patron! >> mu-podcast.com/patron << Campus Crier The National Library of Australia recently approached Chaosium to ask if the company would donate Terror Australis to their collection, as part of the library’s mission to collect resources “of national significance relating to Australia and the Australian people”. So they sent a copy of the new edition plus the original version from 1987. The new edition is currently available in PDF, and it will be released in full color hardback later in March. Chaosium’s “Berlin: The Wicked City” will be released by the time this episode drops. Did you notice the title change? It used to be something like Secrets of Berlin. Now the full title is Please note, the new title of this Call of Cthulhu release is: “Berlin: The Wicked City, Unveiling the Mythos in Weimar Berlin.” The Miskatonic Repository has several new editions; included are: NPC Sheets for CoC 7E & Pulp (resource), by Joshua Certain – Free Voyage of Terror (scenario), by Stephen J. Jones – $6.00 The Solo Investigator’s Handbook (resource), by 5E Solo Gamebooks – $9.99 Cinematic Environs: Desert Wastes (resource), by Alex Guillotte and Davae Breon Jaxon – $4.95 When the Light Goes Out (scenario), by Megan Tolentino – $2.95 Unremembered (scenario), by Heinrich D. Moore – $4.95      There are many more quality fan-made products available in the Miskatonic Repository. So go check ‘em out. A company called Just Crunch Games has released a new scenario for the rules-light system called The Cthulhu Hack. The scenario is called Valkyrie Nine, set in the late 21st Century on a lunar station. Valkyrie Nine is available in print (All Rolled Up) and PDF (DriveThruRPG). Chaosium’s Miskatonic University – The Restricted Collection game is out in the wild! Modiphius Entertainment have released Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition versions of their Achtung! Cthulhu Investigator’s and Keeper’s Guides. At the time of this recording, Oscar Rios will be launching An Inner Darkness Kickstarter at midnight, Eastern. A sneak peak of the Kickstarter video was posted on Facebook, and it looks amazing. If you’re listening to this episode soon after it went live, you still have time to back this book. 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking film, ALIEN! To celebrate, six short films set in the ALIEN universe are coming out from AlienUniverse.com . There were some public screenings at Emerald City Comic Con and C2E2, and the online releases of the films will be on IGN every Friday, starting on March 29th.  The Card Catalog: Longtime friend of the show, Graham, submitted an entry for the Card Catalog… The Chemical Formulary – A series of books that contain the formulas for a wide variety of compounds and items; for example: solidified fuel, tracer ammunition, epoxies, adhesives, resins, gums, and waxes. The first three volumes of the 1933 work are on the internet archive. Volume 1          Volume 2          Volume 3 Keepers might mine The Chemical Formulary for inspiration in scenarios where the investigators need to concoct their own chemical tool or chemical weapon. The formulas may also inspire Keepers to create their own Mythos Chemical Formulary. Thank you again to Graham for sending in this fantastic Card Catalog idea. If you have an idea for a Card Catalog entry, please email us or post it in our forums. The Listening Room: Mr. Tyler is back again – Back in Black, one could say, with a look at The Black Paintings of weird Spanish painter Francisco Goya. Please remember that if you have any interest in producing a segment for the podcast, please email us or post it in our forums. Main Topic: How to Make the Best Villains Questions to think about.       How do you define a villain? (for example, I’d say they are antagonists that are relatable on a human scale, and they have a certain competence about them.)       What is one of your favorite human villains in published scenarios? Why?       What’s the best Mythos villain? Why?       What makes a villain memorable?       What character traits make the best villain? Online Resource: Left Behind author, Jerry Jenkins wrote a very interesting article designed for literary villains, but can also be applied to the creation of a good RPG villain. Jenkins even includes a Villains Characteristics Checklist: He’s convinced he’s the good guy He has many likeable qualities He’s a worthy enough opponent to make your hero look good You (and your reader) like when he’s on stage He’s clever and accomplished enough that people must lend him begrudging respect He can’t be a fool or a bumbler He has many of the same characteristics of the hero, but they’re misdirected He should occasionally be kind, and not just for show He can be merciless, even to the innocent He’s persuasive He’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants He’s proud He’s deceitful He’s jealous, especially of the hero He’s vengeful MUP Rando Human Villain-Making Exercise: http://cthulhugen.abillionmonkeys.com/ http://writingexercises.co.uk/random-job-generator.php https://www.dholeshouse.org/ https://twitter.com/BotCharacters   Classic 1920’s Dorothy Pickman F 39 Butler Str 70 Dex 30 Int 70 Con 80 App 70 Pow 35 Siz 70 Edu 90 Luck 60 HP 15 MP 7 SAN 35       Using randomness websites above, generate a random character.       Pick one of the following flaws (or roll a 8-sided die)       Pride       Greed       Obsession       Envy       Decadence       Wrath       Hubris       Curiosity       Discuss what the character wants.       Method 1: Roll a random monster from Malleus. Discuss how the character THINKS this entity/creature might help the character get what they want.       Method 2: Pick a random Mythos artifact that the character THINKS will help the character get what they want. (will have to figure out how to randomize that).       How does it all go wrong? ]]>

This episode, Chad, Jon and Murph talk with Oscar Rios of Golden Goblin Press about a Kickstarter project that’s about to launch (check this space in a few days after the episode launches). And we also talk about a couple of episodes of a weird/horror/drama podcast that Oscar suggested, called Archive 81, and ways to draw possible game inspiration from that well. This episode was recorded on February 28, 2019. We want to hear from you! By email: mup.feedback@gmail.com By phone: (401) 400-0MUP (0687) By Twitter: @MU_Podcast By Speakpipe: (Click the floating tab on the far right of this page) On our forum: mu-podcast.com/campus. Like what you hear? Please become a Patron! >> mu-podcast.com/patron << Campus Crier Murph is a player on an Actual Play with How We Roll of the Peru prequel chapter of Masks of Nyarlathotep on Chaosium’s Twitch channel! The latest Hudson & Brand Kickstarter Shadows of the Past has completed by the time this has been released, at the time of recording the had raised $34,739 of a $7,981 goal. Friend of the show, and previous guest, Becky Annison has just gone live with the KickStarter for Bite Me! – A Game of Werewolf Pack Dynamics. This Powered by the Apocalypse game is centered around building and fleshing out the emotional, and often violent, relationships within the werewolf pack. The Wrestlenomicon card game features lush illustrations by Kurt Komoda. The core game features one Cthulhu deck and one Hastur deck, but if our Kickstarter reaches our stretch goals, we’ll be able to add more Great Old One decks like – Itlagua the Wendigo, Tsathoggua, Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth, Yig. You name it, they’ll fight it! Arc Dream Publishing has a new Kickstarter going live on March, 5th for their new humorous Mythos card game, Wrestlenomicon. The art in this looks really cool, and made me, Jon, laugh. This comes to Kickstarter on March 5th (already underway). Oscar chimes in to mention that there is new free material on the Golden Goblin website. Behold, a new Mythos tome, Rituals of the Eternal Mother. Type40 has announced on their Twitter stream that they are a go for shipping Reiner Knizia’s Miskatonic University: The Restricted Collection Kickstarter. I believe that Jon has already received a shipping announcement and speculates that he will have it in hand within a fortnight. According to the @HPLHS Twitter feed, The Super Deluxe Limited Edition of Masks of Nyarlathotep is officially shipping! You can check out the photo of boxes in a storeroom here. Thank you to Sean for editing this episode! The Listening Room This episode, we’re back in the listening room to queue up a report from Agent Dinos with a return to the Thule air base…. Please remember that if you have any interest in producing a segment for the podcast, please contact mup.feedback@gmail.com. Topic An Inner Darkness – Kickstarter is live! The Golden Age – Episode 1 https://soundcloud.com/archive81/the-golden-age-part-1 The Golden Age – Episode 2 https://soundcloud.com/archive81/the-golden-age-part-2 The Archive 81 site is here. Transcripts can be found here and here.]]>

This episode, Chad, Jon and Murph get Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu line editor, Mike Mason, on the horn to talk about some projects in the pipeline – and sundry “burning questions” from the hosts. The interview potion of the episode was recorded on February 10, and then Chad and Jon recorded the Crier on February 16 (plus some extras added at the last minute). We want to hear from you! By email: mup.feedback@gmail.com By phone: (401) 400-0MUP (0687) By Twitter: @MU_Podcast By Speakpipe: (Click the floating tab on the far right of this page) On our forum: mu-podcast.com/campus. Like what you hear? Please become a Patron! >> mu-podcast.com/patron << Campus Crier The Chaosium Cult of Chaos Cultists Midwest is running the excellent multi-table Call of Cthulhu scenario by 7th Edition co-author Paul Fricker, Gatsby and the Great Race at Gary Con XI in Lake Geneva, Saturday, March 9th, 2018 at 2 PM at the Grand Geneva Resort! The cultists have converted the scenario to be run using 7th Edition rules. Chaosium has generously provided prizes for the event, so come out and trade your best insane roleplay for awesome prizes from Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu line! Sign up for this and other excellent gaming events of all types at Gary Con XI at their website:https://tabletop.events/conventions/gary-con-xi — For more convention information, check out Gary Con’s home page at: http://garycon.com Chaosium’s latest emailed newsletter announced that the Cult of Chaos Writing Contest has wrapped up. You’ll recall that this year’s contest was focused on RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. The winners have been announced, and they are broken into two groups, 2019 and 2020. For 2019, they are: The Fainting Spirit, by Jean Chistophe Cubertafon, Remembering Caroman, by Paul O’Sullivan. For 2020, they are: Flowers of Romance, by Doyle Tavener, Trouble at Day’s Rest, by Benjamin Smith; Honorable Mentions went out to Rob Helm and Stephen Parish. Chaosium also announced in the newsletter some new Call of Cthulhu convention scenarios and a new demo scenario. The demo is The Crimson Carnivale, by Leigh Carr. The convention scenarios are:  The Shooting Party, by Jonathan Mosedale; Blood Orgy on Vampire Island, by James Thompson; The Search for Brian Boru, by Shannon Mac. Additional details on Chaosium’s newsletter announcements should be available soon through their various social media outlets and on their website. This Person Does Not Exist — a website that uses an innovative A.I. algorithm called Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to create realistic portraits of fictitious people. Shadows over Stillwater has dropped. It’s a three-part campaign for the wild/weird/old West setting, Down Darker Trails. Besides the main campaign from Kevin Ross, there’s also an additional scenario (Beneath the Burning Sun), adventure seeds and a “…fully realised town [Stonegarden] in which to base adventures”. Pick it up from Chaosium’s web site now, priced at $18 USD for the 176 page PDF. There’s a workshop out on YouTube called Let’s Write a Scenario with Thom Raley of Into the Darkness, with Tyler Hudak, Oscar Rios, Morgan Llewellyn, Zane Flemming, and Jason Melnichok. There’s two parts so far – Check it out! PART 1, PART 2. Pelgrane Press has released Even Death Can Die, the first scenario anthology for their roleplaying game Cthulhu Confidential. It features nine scenarios based around the characters introduced in the core rulebook, with Langston Wright by Chris Spivey, Vivian Sinclair by Ruth Tilman, and Dex Raymond by Robin Laws. It’s available to buy now in pre-order where on purchase you get immediate access to the contents in “pre-edit” form, with the finalised PDF and print editions following later in the year. The final form of Even Death Can Die will be a 360 page hardcover book available in Autumn 2019. Congrats to Squamous Studios on the successful Feed the Shoggoth Kickstarter. 150 backers pledged more than $6,400 to bring the expansion to life. Chris Spivey is reportedly updating The Pulp Superhero Sourcebook and it is slated to wend its way to Chaosium quote “any week now”. That’s the superhero Dan and I got to play testy and GenCon last summer, and it’s a thrilling ruleset for superpowered fun. Stay tuned for more details later this year. A little teaser about next episode, we’ll be talking to Oscar Rios about a project in the works that is slated to launch as a Kickstarter in March. It’s a book for Call of Cthulhu scenarios that explores social justice themes, called An Inner Darkness. Yours truly is a proud contributor as Charles Gerard, along with Oscar, Jeff Moeller, Helen Gould, Brian Sammons, Scott Aniolowski and Christopher Smith Adair. AND we’ll be discussing and riffing on a favorite weird horror podcast with Oscar. If you want to get yourself up to speed before we discuss and spoil it, give a listen to the two-part arc of Archive 81 called The Golden Age. Both parts are linked in the show notes. The Golden Age – Part 1  The Golden Age – Part 2 Thank you to Max! For editing the pluspart of this episode. The Listening Room This show, we queue up a wintry dispatch from Agent Dinos, and are happy to welcome back Mr. Tyler! He’s got some thoughts to share on a topic that’s come up a couple of times on the show recently. Please remember that if you have any interest in producing a segment for the podcast, please contact mup.feedback@gmail.com. Feedback Friend of the show, Mike Medwick, wrote in after only partially listening to ep.166, his excitement was so great. His letter is too long to read here, but to summarize, he suggested that Keepers check out the Laundry Files series by Charles Stross to mine for ideas concerning technological Mythos terror. Mike said, “One of Stross’ most compelling themes revolves around the idea of computational demonology, which suggests that extradimensional predators pay attention to, and are attracted by, high volumes of computational activity in both sentient brains as well as technological systems.” Mike was also moved by Chad’s reflections of implicit horror that humanity might be the only spark of sentience in the universe. To which, he suggested that Keepers check out the Mythago Wood series by Robert Holdstock. I looked these books up on Amazon, and they look very intriguing. It was awesome to hear from Mike, and he said he is working on a topic idea for the show that he’ll share with us soon. Thanks, and Goooo Pods, Mike! We’ve also got some feedback from “Kris”: Hey thanks for the podcast, interesting to hear Sam’s take on the LGBTQ identification with monsters. Monsters are the ultimate transgressive outsider. The best example of what Sam’s talking about for me is Clive Barker’s work. If you read his stories knowing he is gay, it opens them up in a new way. With him it’s more like projection onto the monstrous and grotesque than identification. Claiming it. Barker’s best example of monster projection I’ve read is Cabal, the story the movie Nightbreed was based on. The Barker “Cabal” cut of Nightbreed which came out a year or two ago shows it even more openly, I recommend it. Guy has strange urges, ends up finding a community of grotesque transgressive monsters, realizes he’s one too. Then some intolerant rednecks, a priest and a psychologist (reprogrammer?) who’s secretly the worst monster of all come to step on them. Thanks again! —Kris Topic Mike Mason talks about: The Starter Kit, Secrets of Berlin, A Cold Fire Within and Gaslight. We also delve into some of his personal fears, and fields some random questions from the hosts.]]>

This episode, Jon and Chad catch up on some news and then discuss a few modern-day fears that we can build game ideas from. This episode was recorded on February 2, 2019. We want to hear from you! By email: mup.feedback@gmail.com By phone: (401) 400-0MUP (0687) By Twitter: @MU_Podcast By Speakpipe: (Click the floating tab on the far right of this page) On our forum: mu-podcast.com/campus. Like what you hear? Please become a Patron! >> mu-podcast.com/patron << This episode was sponsored by Squamous Studios! Campus Crier Jon recommends the Alien Minute Podcast – it’s one of several “Movie Minute” podcasts that dissect and discuss movies one minute at a time. If you’re a fan of the sci-fi horror film, Alien, then I highly suggest that you check out this podcast. Chaosium has announce a new partnership with EDGE Entertainment. In a comprehensive new licensing deal, EDGE will publish Chaosium’s roleplaying games Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest in both French and Spanish. Founded in 1999, EDGE Entertainment is based in Seville, Spain and Toulouse, France. A long-standing partner of the Asmodee Group studio Fantasy Flight Games, in early 2017 EDGE formally became part of the Asmodee Group. EDGE is the current licensee for Call of Cthulhu in Spanish. Gatsby and the Great Race @ GaryCon – Party like it’s 1930! The amazing multi-keeper and multi-table Call of Cthulhu gaming event, Gatsby and the Great Race, by Paul Fricker, is being run at this year’s GaryCon on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 2PM. If you’re playing in this game, keep an ear out for me… I’ll be there… kinda.   Dean Englehardt of Cthulhu Reborn has done a 5-part round up of Cthulhu news over 2018. Thank you to Edwin for editing this episode! Sponsor Message Thanks very much again to Squamous Studios sponsoring Episode 166. Squamous Studios is neck deep into a KS for its first expansion: “Feed the Shoggoth: Morsels of Madness!” It includes 42 cards, featuring: New Cult Factions, New Artifacts, New Spells, New Minions, Rules Summaries for the players, and more! Pledge via the box below!   Topic We discuss a few little contemporary fears to explore, including: The Privacy Bargain – like with apps/websites/etc. Media Saturation Deep Fakes / Identify Theft Synthetic Meat]]>