Modern Mythos with Jon and Seth – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about our favorite grave-mold covered cannibals... ghouls!

 

Episode Sponsor: The Great American Dynasty

We want to thank author Keller O’Leary and Space Cat Publishing for sponsoring this episode. Check out “The Great American Dynasty,” a true-blue, red-blooded, modern-day Call of Cthulhu scenario!

Investigators are tasked with retrieving old files hidden in the home of a fellow “society” member who passed away from (seemingly) natural causes. The scenario blends iconic American folklore together with Lovecraftian Mythos to weave a story with roots long predating the founding of the American colonies. Can your investigators survive a terror that’s over 600 years in the making?

The Great American Dynasty is a three-part mystery filled with abductions, body horror, mutilations, and violence. Also, be on the lookout for Space Cat Publishings next scenario, “The Curse of Punk,” where you explore the terrifying underbelly of punk society in the 1980s.

The Great American Dynasty: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/453708/the-great-american-dynasty-a-call-of-cthulhu-scenario?affiliate_id=51821 

 

Ghoul Lore:

• Arabic - lurked in cemeteries and uninhabited places

• male : ghoul female: ghoulla

• Could take on a pleasing shape to lure people. Some could transform into hyenas. Canine features. Light causes pain. Could transform to last person they devoured. Some legend was born looking human, then transformed when older (changeling)

• Edgar Allen Poe (one of Lovecraft’s literary heroes) wrote of ghoul in his poems The Bells and Ulalume

• Introduced to the west in 1700s when One Thousand & One Nights translate into french

• Modern audiences associate them with undead - possibly to George Romero Night of the living dead calling them ghouls

 

Literary Sources:

• Pickman’s Model, by H. P. Lovecraft (written 1926)

• The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, by H. P. Lovecraft (written 1927)

• The Dwellers Under the Tomb, by Robert E. Howard (first published in 1976, 30 years after his death, possible sequel to The Children of the Night (1931))

• The Charnal God, by Clark Ashton Smith (first published in 1937) 

• Amina, by Edward Lucas White (first published in 1907)

• Down in the Delta, by Adam Scott Glancy (posted to DriveThruRPG in 2018)

Down in the Delta: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/236934/delta-green-down-in-the-delta?affiliate_id=51821 

 

Ghoul Combat in Call of Cthulhu:

• Bullets do half damage (rubbery skin?)

• 3 attacks (with Bonus die to multiple attacks on a target, this can become overwhelming)

• Special Bite and Hold maneuver - (opposed STR (80 avg) or 1d4 per round)

Ghoul Game Hooks/Ideas:

• NPC is ghoul raised by humans

• PC is a ghoul raised by humans

• How to play a ghoul “fighting the urge” to feed

Ghoul Call of Cthulhu Scenarios:

There are a ton of scenarios that feature ghouls. The Yog-Sothoth.com wiki is a living resource that really helped with today’s topic. Some of the more notable scenarios include: 

• Paper Chase

• Pickman’s Student

• The Auction

• The Lurker in the Crypt 

• The Madman

• Thoth’s Dagger 

• The Fog of War

• Wail of the Witch

• Crimson Letters

If you’re interested in checking out the full list of ghoul scenarios, please join the Yog-Sothoth.com community so you too can check out their amazing wiki. I believe the list is primarily scenarios where ghouls have a major role, and not every scenario with a possible ghoul encounter. I did not see the Paris chapter of the Horror on the Orient Express campaign listed, or the introductory chapter of the Spawn of Azathoth campaign listed, or my Age of Cthulhu scenario, The Timeless Sands of India. So, a list of scenarios that include any instance of a ghoul is much-much larger. 

Sandy Petersen YouTube on Ghouls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVaJ7nca3lI 

 

Special Thanks to Bret Kramer and the amazing resources available at Yog-Sothoth.com. 

Miskatonic Repository Con: 

Don't miss the 5th Annual Miskatonic Repository Convention! This free online event runs from Friday, October 4th to Sunday, October 6th, and is dedicated to the Miskatonic Repository. Whether you're a seasoned creator, aspiring to be one, or simply eager to play some spine-chilling Call of Cthulhu scenarios, this convention is for you! 

There will be engaging panel discussions where you can learn the ins and outs of being a creator, and plenty of games to immerse yourself in. Player sign-ups open on Friday, September 6th. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow enthusiasts and creators. For more information, find the Miskatonic Repository Convention on Facebook, Discord, and Tabletop Events. (Don’t miss it)

Tabletop Events Link: https://tabletop.events/conventions/call-of-cthulhu-miskatonic-repository-con-2024  

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/3rd4RJq 

KamCon ‘24 – https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kamloopsconventions.ca%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2U3HwwV6cfSVmMeQUvV8opE0Jw8JYhFB15mq__SP0nR5S9t9ju-DDgBQA_aem_HPnRt8XpjFaEKCDr55mxfw&h=AT2HRGuAqL5hxjB81qWd42m_z0SEt_aJFM3f7r8M0IGh0cxDE4tkN9lE-q-DXWfPmEaLpHm9phcLEZHGstc_mNcZR3LSfwv1oRI-FdckP9dEVquw80M3_3LI7N6jJmQt8RA

 

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/

And once again, a huge thank you to our sponsor The Great American Dynasty. Remember to hit the link in the show notes and pick that up. Thanks for listening.

Up next in the Summer Book Club, Writing Monsters, by Philip Athans!

Listen as Jon and James discuss this (spoilers) AMAZING book on writing and designing monsters. The book is written from the perspective that the advice is for authors writing books, but the advice is equally applicable to authors writing roleplaying game adventures.

Writing Monsters, by Philip Athans: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Monsters-Believably-Terrifying-Creatures/dp/1599638088/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DRSII9BFZN5O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.WFQVVmH4h228kkTkYprEJE22Hd0FhYHSkcTqhGsdew-ehJrXTDubWyPRl0g2ikol0EB7taZ6ePXc1F_wLCVo3opPnSQScrV-8bjvok75rHIWmOGT2S_rB6r6_pWqAW2iojh7tm8fhRCW5l7VRoVj8-c_l6WCOtMDuKB4TLoY3NENSkuBSkrkytwwGJ_N1aXVmJ0sZVeltkzlYp1qmS-r7Qe2rUL5nLcQ5Vq3k146EQQ.Hqx-osIXKaCz0uxb3wQm9tuprcVNyvLQVF_fNLUJ_QA&dib_tag=se&keywords=writing+monsters&qid=1725031523&sprefix=writing+monsters%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-1 

 

 

In this episode, Jon and Seth are joined by Call of Cthulhu's Creative Director, Mike Mason! We talk about the new Arkham book, the further plans in the Miskatonic Valley line of books, Chaosium Con 2024, and the Basic Roleplay (BRP) Contest.

 

This episode was graciously sponsored by the creators of Northern Lights & Darkness compellation of modern day Call of Cthulhu scenarios set in Scandinavian cities and country sides. Each scenario is set in the author’s home countries and uses elements of Scandinavian folklore and myth.

 

The Excursion, by Maja Kvendseth, is set on the Norwegian coastline.

The Art of Hygge, by Poul Holmelund, takes us back to the year 1999, and is set in and around Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dreamers of the Bogland, by Wille Ruotsalainen, is set in Helsinki, Finland.

The Hidden People, by Theodor Helgason, is set in modern day Iceland.

The Tunnel People, by Jonas Morian, is a “dungeon crawl of Cthulhu” set in the metro lines beneath modern Stockholm, Sweden.

And finally, A Shadow of What Once Was, by Oscar Sedholm, is set in the Sapmi region of Sweden. 

Northern Lights and Darkness on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/463221/Northern-Lights-and-Darkness-BUNDLE?term=northern+lights+and?affiliate_id=51821

 

The new Arkham book has been well received by fans and critics alike. Mike Mason and the entire Chaosium crew couldn't be more thrilled. Mike was kind enough to join us to talk about the new Arkham book and the other books that will follow in this line.

Topics discussed include: Matt Ryan's amazing maps, creating Arkham specific investigators, and the broadsheet Arkham Advertiser newspaper created by the fine folks in the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society.

We also talked about Chaosium Con, both in The United States and Australia. And the new BRP Contest!

Chaosium Con: https://www.chaosium.com/blogchaosium-con-2024-registration-is-live-see-you-in-ann-arbor-in-april/

BRP Contest: https://www.chaosium.com/blogthe-basic-roleplaying-design-challenge/

 

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/

And once again, a huge than you to our sponsors Northern Lights and Darkness. Remember to hit the link above and pick it up. Thanks for listening. 

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

 

Cast:

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

 

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

 

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

A Time for Sacrifice campaign Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns   Cast: Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore   Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at: https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/   It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

In this episode, Seth and Jon talk about werewolves and lycanthropes in your Call of Cthulhu game.

  Episode Sponsor: Northern Lights & Darkness Northern Lights and Darkness is a collection of six modern-day Call of Cthulhu scenarios written by Scandinavian authors and taking place in each of the author’s home countries. The settings include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, offering players and game masters fresh backdrops for investigating the Cthulhu Mythos. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/463221/Northern-Lights-and-Darkness-BUNDLE   Werewolves (pp182 of Malleus Monstrorum)

• Movies - The Howling, Silver Bullet, Dog Soldiers, Wolf, Wolfen, Brotherhood of the Wolf, The Wolfman,
• Traditional werewolves are governed by the phases of the moon – What else could compel a lycanthrope?
• Seasons
• Other celestial bodies
• Other planets
• Comets
• Constellations
• Emotional states (ie: Hulk’s anger)
• Adorning an animal hide/skin (magic item)
• Magic Spell they cast
• Innate ability to do at will
• Seth’s Valducan series - demonic possession
• Drug-induced, scientific concoction (pills, potion, or intravenous)
• Other types of lycanthropes
• Lots of examples from fantasy gaming:
• Wererats
• Weresharks
• Weretiger
• Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (wereneanderthal?)
• Hulk (wereroids???)
• Rakshasa (Hindu shapeshifting demon)

Are they an animal or a wolf-man?

• What hurts them?
• The lore of silver originated in 1760’s France with Beast of Gévaudan (Brotherhood of the Wolf) But not a universal folklore.
• Wolfsbane
• Do other herbs/minerals work for yours? PCs might have to discover it. Instead of having players pretend they don’t know the lore of silver, maybe their characters do know it, but it’s simply folklore and not true. Lovecraft’s “Fear of the Unknown” quote. Have the fear of a werewolf be not knowing who it is or how to hurt it/
• Maybe regular bullets can (like American Werewolf in London)

CoC Modules with Werewolves

• The Rescue (From Cthulhu Companion)
• The Swarming (Blood Brothers)
• Chateau of Blood (Blood Brothers 2)

  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/

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

 

Cast:

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

 

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

 

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

 

Cast:

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

 

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

 

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

Not sure how this episode was skipped, but here it is. Sorry for the mix-up. - Jon

 

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 1: Egg Out of Time, by Ben Burns

 

Cast:

Brett Bookout as Dr. Archibald Bleakman, an archeologist

B. Sawyer as Father Doug Roth, a two-fisted missionary priest

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Seth Skorkowsky as Chester Stanley, Esq., an attorney

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

 

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

 

It is August 1925, and our intrepid investigators are all members of a  Miskatonic University archeological dig in the Mayan city of Chechen Itza.

In this episode, Seth and Jon talk about introducing a new game to your table.

• • Benefits of Playing different RPGs
  • Learn fresh approaches (many you can port back into other RPGs)
  • Change of pace.

   

  • Why change games?
  • Fatigue - Both players and GMs can tire of a system or genre
  • Cult of the New (New editions, new genre, new approach to what you already enjoy (CoC, Delta Green, Trail of Cthulhu, etc.)
  • Rotating GM

   

  • Method for introduction
  • One shot
  • Session zero
  • Lots of Quickstarts out there

   

  • Talking to your group
  • Explain the reason why (meaning you first need to know it yourself)
  • Sell them on it. People naturally focus on what they’re losing, so tell them what they’ll gain. What will this new game do that the old one can't?
  • Best if this is approached as “WE” project. More of a group activity project than a “YOU or I” thing.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/modern_mythos   RedBubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Modern-Mythos/shop?asc=u   Discord: https://discord.gg/t7Ud67zRG3   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/