Modern Mythos with Jon and Seth

This 12-minute audio file is a sample taken from Modern Mythos Episode 11 - Bouts of Insanity. This episode was originally released in January 2022. Jon and Seth are submitting this episode sample so it can be considered for the 2022 ENNIE Awards.

Jon and Seth have a conversation with actor, director, roleplayer, and friend of the show, Drew Shirley. We discuss the similarities and differences between directing actors through a scene and being a Keeper in Call of Cthulhu. We can't do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He's a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website, and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes. https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow http://www.johnsumrow.com https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft's writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ http://thickets.net/

Jon and Seth have a conversation with actor, director, roleplayer, and friend of the show, Drew Shirley. We discuss the similarities and differences between directing actors through a scene and being a Keeper in Call of Cthulhu. We can't do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He's a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website, and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes. https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow http://www.johnsumrow.com https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft's writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ http://thickets.net/

In this episode, Seth and Jon finish their conversation about the Insanity mechanic in the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. They also share their ideas and advice for playing roleplaying games online. Jon and Seth discuss how to use phobias and manias in your Call of Cthulhu game. And they discuss how sanity is handled in other RPGs, like Delta Green, Kult, Yellow King, and Alien. As for playing RPGs online, Seth and Jon shared some advice, like... Regular breaks needed Higher chance of players zoning out or goofing off online Single-channel audio - only one person speaking at a time is best Roll dice online or in person - depends on the player's desires Gotten to play with tons of people from around the world. Handouts given to all players, versus they're sharing back and forth that single handout of a note, with online they all get to read it and catch clues "Face-Time" video playing versus "Audio-Only" playing Pros/Cons of various VOIP services (Zoom, Discord, Skype, etc.) Recordable and shareable to fans via YouTube Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos Discord Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3 YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/jon.seth.921 RSS Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss We can't do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He's a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website, and please consider joining his Patreon account. https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow http://www.johnsumrow.com https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft's writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ http://thickets.net/

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2022! In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about the Insanity mechanics in the Call of Cthulhu RPG. Recently, Jon had a personal brush with a real life "Bout of Madness," and he shares that story. Have no fear, all parties involved are safe and well, which is why Jon felt comfortable enough to share this story. So, put a kettle on, sit back, and give this episode a listen. Shout-out to our new patrons, Farty McButterpants, Jorge, and MacDhomnuill Games. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting the show by becoming a patron too. You can find our Patreon account at https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos Modern Mythos also has a growing Discord community. You can find us there at https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3 You can also find episodes of Modern Mythos on YouTube! You can follow us there at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured And if you're on Facebook, find us there at https://www.facebook.com/jon.seth.921 And for those who want to cut straight to the chase, the RSS link is https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss We can't do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He's a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website, and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes. https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow http://www.johnsumrow.com https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft's writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ http://thickets.net/

Call of Cthulhu Credit Rating: For many RPGs gaining treasure is a key motivator for both PCs and Players. In CoC a character can simply begin being wealthy, removing much of that character motivation or hurdle of not being able to afford something. Daily Spending Level allows a certain amount of purchases to be made without any paperwork or math. But how does one gain or lose Credit Rating? With such large gaps between the levels, how does a PC know what their new Credit Rating is if they gain or lose a significant amount of money? Can be used to gauge contacts or ability to pull strings. A high Credit Rating can negatively impact a character's ability to be stealthy or "hide in plain sight" without first making a successful Disguise roll What We Wished We Knew When We Started GMing: Players will never do what you expect (don't plan for it) Elaborate and complex stories are more interesting to the GM than anyone else. Players want to play, not listen to your novel Knowing every rule perfectly is way less important than feeling confident in your judgement. Don't put off the game because you want it to be perfect and overprepare, just run the game. Don't make them roll dice for meaningless reasons. (Climb a rope and roll every 10 feet, ask for Spot for obvious things) Remembering that the game is about the characters, not your world Too much of a good thing gets old. - Combat that is long (GM is engaged the whole time, but players only have their turn), too many traps, too many NPCs. Just because the players want it doesn't mean they should just get it. If you shower them with treasure, easy survival, munchinkined abilities, then they begin to lose meaning. Sort of like a 'Will they or Won't they' on a TV show, the shine can dim once they get it. Find your voice. I tried copying my DM and sucked at it. Be over the top. Getting players to roleplay is best done by roleplaying your NPCs. If it looks fun, run with it Every player wants their moment in the sun. It doesn't have to be combat-focused, but some kind of scene that accentuates and features their character's attributes Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos?fan_landing=true Discord Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3 YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured RSS Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss We want to thank Mike Mason for coming on and chatting with us. We can't do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He's a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website, and please consider joining his Patreon account. https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow http://www.johnsumrow.com https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft's writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ http://thickets.net/

Chaosium's Line Editor for Call of Cthulhu, Mike Mason, rejoins us to talk about low-prep Call of Cthulhu games. With some practice, it's possible to have an impromptu game of Call of Cthulhu. Join us as we discuss how with Mike Mason. We want to thank Mike for coming on and chatting with us again. It was a real pleasure. We can't do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He's a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website, and please consider joining his Patreon account. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow Personal Site: http://www.johnsumrow.com Sumrow's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft's writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. Bandcamp Site: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ Official Band Site: http://thickets.net/

In this episode, special guest Mike Mason, Chaosium's Line Editor for Call of Cthulhu, joins us to talk about our favorite forms of horror entertainment, be it a film, book, TV show, game, whatever!

Topic 1: Optional Uses for Characteristics APP -- Change the base chance of Charm to be Half APP (Current base Charm is 15%) APP -- Grant a Bonus Die on Charm, Fast Talk, and Persuasion rolls if APP is 70+, conversely grant a Penalty Die on Charm, Fast Talk, and Persuasion rolls if APP is 30- APP -- Grant a Bonus Die on Intimidation rolls if APP is 30-, or a Penalty Die if APP is 70+ STR -- A successful Jump roll lets investigator leap a distance of One-Fifth STR in feet with a full running start Currently in 7e, Jump is across or down the character's Height, or 2x height with running start. Alternative might be the base of 20% is replaced by 1/5 Str + 1/5 SIZ. OR since Build is already calculated of SIZ + STR, maybe Build is Bonus Die to Jump (Build 1 = 1 Bonus, Build 2 = 2 Bonus, no unenhanced PC will have above a 2 Build) SIZ -- Grant a Bonus Die on Intimidation rolls if SIZ is 70+, or a Penalty Die if SIZ is 30- CON -- Investigator can hold their breath for CON x1 seconds without a penalty, then apply one Penalty Die on skills done during CON x2 seconds, then apply two Penalty Dice for skills done during CON x3 seconds. An additional Penalty Die is applied for each additional multiplier of CON in seconds. If an investigator holds their breath longer than CON x5 in seconds, then a Hard CON roll is required to not pass out for 1D6 rounds. Drowning/Asphyxiation in 7e is CON roll made each round. Once failed it is 1D6 per Round until can breath. Round is left intentionally vague. Topic 2: Investigator Organizations Investigator Organizations or ways of linking characters so that it makes sense that this band of people with wildly different backgrounds, education, and social levels would be hanging out together adventure to adventure. Miskatonic Area Paranormal Society (ie: MAPS) - created by Dan Kramer (founder and co-host of the Miskatonic University Podcast www.mu-podcast.com) Inspired by the real-life TV show, Ghost Hunters and the The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) Chapter 6 of the CoC Investigator Handbook covers "Investigator Organizations" The Wipers Pals - A group formed from a shared experience in Ypres during WWI Wrath's Circus of Wonders - A traveling troupe of circus people Strange But True! - A specialized newspaper ( The South 13th - A group of cops from a New York police precinct SKT Research Division - A multinational corporation with diverse interests Novem Angelus (ie: The Nine Angels) - A group comprised of the wealthy and philanthropic Ratched's Children - A group of "cured" lunatics who've survived psychiatric treatments after a brush with the Mythos The Resurrectionists - A group comprised of those who've each read one or more forbidden Mythos tomes The Society for the Exploration of the Unexplained (ie: SEU) - An informal group of scholars The CoC supplement, Terror From the Stars, published in 1986, had an investigator group supplement in the center of the book. It was called the Field Manual of the Theron Marks Society. (Unfortunately, this book is not available on DriveThruRPG) Group founded by Mr. Theron Marks The supplement is a 12 page book written by the fictitious Andre Stalin. A variety of topics are covered: Strategy Personnel Equipment Investigative Procedures Coded Communications Tactical Procedures Monster and the Right Weapon Discord Link: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3 YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmk5Y_OheFJL7-Xgvx-REJA/featured RSS Link: https://modernmythos.libsyn.com/rss We can't do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He's a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website, and please consider joining his Patreon account. Sumrow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow Sumrow Site: http://www.johnsumrow.com Sumrow Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft's writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Darkest of the Hillside Thickets Bandcamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ Darkest of the Hillside Thickest Site: http://thickets.net/

They debate milestone leveling versus traditional tick-and-roll skill growth and imagine milestone point pools and hybrid systems for Call of Cthulhu. They argue whether PC death should be rare or a learning tool, discuss lethal combat mechanics, meaningful versus pointless deaths, and practical ways to bring replacement characters into long campaigns.