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Cat Links MoN - Player

Getting Started in Call of Cthulhu – New Player Tips

Posted on Keeper Doc

You will find a wealth of information out there on the Internet about getting started in tabletop roleplaying games. Unfortunately for new players, the majority of this material focuses on running games with tons of articles and advice for Keepers and Dungeon Masters. Most new players will be instructed not to sweat it, just show up and play the game. Don’t bring expectations to the table. Learn as you go and don’t overthink it. We believe all this advice will be invaluable to you, but we also understand that it helps to be armed with some more useful background intelligence before jumping into something new. Nobody likes to show up and appear clueless, particularly when

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Cat Links Campaign Narrative, Peru

Peru – A Party Forms

Posted on Keeper Doc

A Party Forms A faint coastal breeze stirs Lucia Fraschini’s hair, as she and John Sloane make their way along Lima’s newly paved streets from the Hotel Maury to Bar Cordano. Accustomed to a much faster pace, the young Italian grand prix sensation adjusts her brisk stride to accommodate her companion’s methodical limp. John had survived the Great War, but his patella had not, and relies on his bull-dog headed cane to maneuver down the crowded sidewalks, packed with vendors, sailors, and tourists. Since their meeting in Cuba, she had wryly enjoyed listening to her new friend’s boastful tales of glory. That and the excessive flattery the young dilettante lavished upon her after witnessing her

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Cat Links Tomes

Mythos Tomes – The Book of Eibon

Posted on Keeper Doc

This post covers all three tomes related to the Book of Eibon appearing in the MoN and background related to the authorship, history, and general content of the Book of Eibon. The specific content for each tome will be adjacent for ease of comparison. If you prefer to reference an individual tome, refer to the Chapter specific post (linked below).   Location: Sélections de Livre d’Ivon: Roger Carlyle’s Library (America) Liber Ivonis: Gavigan’s Secret Room at Penhew Foundation (England) Livre d’Ivon: Shrine to the Bloated Woman (China) Physical Description:  Sélections de Livre d’Ivon: Handwritten manuscript bound in decaying blue calfskin Liber Ivonis: Bound in calfskin with an iron clasp, black-edged papers, musty smell Livre d’Ivon: Hand-written

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Cat Links England, Tomes

Mythos Tomes – Liber Ivonis

Posted on Keeper Doc

If you wish to see some additional background information related to the Book of Eibon, as well as an aggregated presentation of each tome, proceed here.  Location: Gavigan’s Secret Room at Penhew Foundation (England) Physical Description: Bound in calfskin with an iron clasp, black-edged papers, musty smell Author:  9th century, Latin translation by Caius Phillipus Faber Publication History:  A handwritten Latin translation by Caius Phillipus Faber from the 9th century. No earlier version of Eibon’s original work has been verified or preserved. Never printed, only six bound handwritten manuscript versions are known to exist.  Skim: Written by the self-described “greatest of all sorcerers”, Eibon, this incredibly dense text contains complex diagrams featuring bizarre geometric shapes, which

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Cat Links New York, Tomes

Mythos Tomes – Sélections de Livre d’Ivon

Posted on Keeper Doc

If you wish to see some additional background information related to the Book of Eibon, as well as an aggregated presentation of each tome, proceed here.  Location: Roger Carlyle’s Library (America) Physical Description: Handwritten manuscript bound in decaying blue calfskin Author:  13th century, Gaspar du Nord’s French commentary on Latin Original. Du Nord was a sorcerer from the Averoigne region (South Central France) that saved himself from the church’s persecution by disrupting his master’s monstrous plans.  Publication History: A handwritten copy by du Nord from an earlier Greek and/or Latin manuscript. The desk in Carlyle’s office reveals the book was purchased as part of a large collection in an auction at a Bavarian estate in April

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Cat Links China, Tomes

Mythos Tomes – Livre d’Ivon

Posted on Keeper Doc

If you wish to see some additional background information related to the Book of Eibon, as well as an aggregated presentation of each tome, proceed here.  Location:  Shrine to the Bloated Woman (China) Physical Description: Hand-written manuscript bound in royal blue shagreen (stingray leather) Author:  Attributed to Ivon le Grande, Sorcier de Hyperborée. French translation by Gaspar du Nord from prior Greek manuscript Publication History: A handwritten French translation of the Book of Eibon by Gaspar du Nord translated from the Greek version of the Book during the 13th century. Du Nord used a version acquired from his former master, Nathaire. Thirteen copies are known to exist, in partial and complete forms, including the Selections

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Cat Links Keeper Tips, MoN - Keeper, MoN - Player

Vulnerability & Mundane Horror

Posted on Keeper Doc

In our current Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign, we have introduced Mythos Corruption as an alternative framework to the classic Call of Cthulhu Sanity mechanic. This modification to the existing 7th edition rules provides a slightly different means for tracking the effects of Mythos and mundane horror. By shifting the emphasis from deteriorating sanity to progressive cognitive corruption by incomprehensible forces, we have altered the effects of mundane horrors on our Investigators. Instead of the banal disturbances and terrors of our mortal world working in tandem with the Mythos to chip away at an Investigator’s mental health, these events lead to vulnerability and weaken a character’s resistance to the effects of Mythos exposure. In developing this simple

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Cat Links Peru

Tip’s Cocktail Hour – Peru

Posted on Keeper Doc

A man should never face eldritch horrors without a drink in hand Or  What to order at the Bar Cordano in Lima I still remember the electric charge that ran up my spine while I read the newspaper article about Larkin’s Peruvian expedition. Everything about it appealed. A cynic might suggest that I just needed a way to put several thousand miles between me and the troubles piling up at home, but that’s not fair: this represented more than just an excuse to dodge a few subpoenas. For one thing, I’d always enjoyed overseas travel, and foreign watering holes in particular: there are few things in life more thrilling than walking into a new barroom,

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Cat Links MoN - Keeper, New York

Roger Carlyle’s Books – A Player Project

Posted on Keeper Doc

  The rare tomes hiding in Roger Carlyle’s library present tantalizing treasure for Investigators to hunt in the New York chapter. The quest for these hidden books can help further stimulate player interest in Roger and his ill-fated expedition during the hectic aftermath of Jackson Elias’ death. Your group will likely first learn of the books in Jackson’s bewildering note reticently provided by Jonah Kensington (Carlyle Papers, America #13), and Erica Carlyle may help lead them to Roger’s stash. It may be helpful to add additional clues pointing to these valuable tomes throughout the chapter. Once your players learn of the books, they may pursue several different paths to obtain them, and you may want

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Cat Links Keeper Tips, MoN - Keeper, MoN - Player

Mythos Corruption, an alternative to Insanity

Posted on Keeper Doc

  The Sanity mechanic dates back to the original version of Call of Cthulhu from 1981 and has remained a fundamental aspect of the setting providing Keepers and players a means to convey and roleplay the effects of horror in the game. Many other game systems have incorporated, adapted, or been inspired by this concept. Throughout our MoN campaign, we have been challenged to reframe the “Sanity” mechanic to more convincingly reflect its role in both the campaign and the broader Mythos world.  Part of the impetus arose from recurrent concerns about the depiction of mental illness and insanity portrayed by both the players and the NPCs.  Our playgroup consists of health care providers with

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