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Kidnapped Investigators in Call of Cthulhu

Posted on Keeper Doc

Investigators will face a wide variety of threats throughout the adventures, and, per the campaign book, cultists will frequently attempt kidnappings to allow their superiors to question meddlers before sacrifice or summary execution. While kidnappings can serve to forestall death and increase the drama, they can disrupt player agency and engagement. Removing an Investigator from the game almost guarantees player dissatisfaction, and trying to concurrently run events for the kidnapped and the rescuers during a session can be a real nuisance for everyone. We offer three potential methods to smooth these challenges and create interesting scenarios for your players.  To the Rescue: The first option removes the kidnapped player from active gameplay and operates under

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Cat Links Keeper Tips

The Pause

Posted on Keeper Doc

Roleplaying requires constant improvisation by both players and Keepers. The MoN campaign materials provide us with a wealth of material to draw from with many detailed characters and location descriptions, but sometimes we find ourselves portraying bit players or describing unexpected locales.  We frequently discover our groups getting interested in something that may not be plot-relevant or fleshed out. Rather than wave off their interest or block them, we can instead use a whammy (or bang) to institute a pause by interrupting the player’s pursuit of that lead allowing the Keeper inter-session time to engineer campaign links and flesh out a rewarding encounter. Of course, you can skip all that and just improvise, but let

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Cat Links Egypt

Mythos Artifact – The Adornments of Nitocris

Posted on Keeper Doc

The resurrection of the dark Queen Nitocris requires three separate magical items, which then serve to protect the restored ruler. The destruction of any of these items will prevent the Brotherhood’s plan; however, these powerful artifacts will not be susceptible to conventional methods, and only one of them, the Girdle, remains outside the protection of the Brotherhood when your Investigators arrive in Egypt. The two other adornments, the Crown and Necklace of Nitocris may be found either at the Altar in the Great Chamber of Nyarlathotep or stored in Omar al-Shakti’s safe. While the campaign books focus on the destruction of these objects, we elaborated upon their magical powers in our game to present a

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Cat Links Egypt

Nitocris – Historical & Literary Background

Posted on Keeper Doc

A great deal of drama in Egypt centers around the resurrection of Queen Nitocris, as Omar al-Shakti’s Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh attempts to launch their own world domination scheme parallel to the apocalyptic Gate Opening. Depending upon your campaign and Investigators, this plot may be contained within the Egyptian chapter, metastasize to other locales or serve as a campaign climax after Investigators derail Nyarlathotep’s plans in China, Australia, and Kenya. Whether or not Nitocris features centrally as a villain within your campaign, you can add depth to your story and her character with some additional information concerning her dark history.  The Pharaoh Queen, a true historical figure? A mysterious and legendary figure, Nitocris may

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Cat Links England

Mythos Artifact – The Mirror of Gal

Posted on Keeper Doc

Adorning the luxurious lounge in Zahra Shafik’s posh apartment above Empire Spices, the Mirror of Gal, hides in plain sight. This mysterious reflective surface functions as both a scrying device and a potentially deadly weapon. The mere possession of this valuable magical item insinuates Shafik’s power and influence in the London Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh. By presenting this incredibly powerful artifact as a compelling item of interest, it can become a key element in the England chapter, which offers a variety of interactions and outcomes. Here we offer some thoughts and suggestions for incorporating the Mirror of Gal into your campaign. Before your Investigators ever see the artifact, you can hint at its existence.

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Cat Links Campaign Narrative

Peru – A Visit to Hotel España

Posted on Keeper Doc

Jackson declined Tip’s next round of Pisco Sours, and escorted Trinidad back to her dormitory before retiring to Hotel Maury to update his notes and work on his manuscript. As the bar crowd thinned, the Investigators took the opportunity to speak freely amongst themselves and weigh their situation.  John remained distrustful of both Jackson and Larkin, “I’m not sure I can trust either of these stories. Death-cults! Fat-sucking vampires! Perhaps this Jackson fellow is trying to scare us off the gold. I’m damn well not backing out of this excitement.” Irina, a solid judge of character with a keen interest in the occult, implored the group to believe Jackson, “He seems completely honest, and, I

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Cat Links England

Random Events – England

Posted on Keeper Doc

The main campaign should be a sandbox for your Investigators to explore, choosing what leads to pursue, cultists to investigate, and NPCs to interview. The England chapter provides a wide variety of locations with plenty of colorful encounters to spice up their pursuit of the London Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh and interrupt their investigation of the cultists’ global plot. Random events can promote improvisation on all sides of the table while dramatically disrupting or redirecting the investigative trail. You may choose to roll or select an event from the table before the session and then challenge yourself to find a suitable moment to incorporate it. We will start with events for the central location

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Cat Links MoN - Player

Roleplaying in Call of Cthulhu Campaigns

Posted on Keeper Doc

Call of Cthulhu adventure campaigns can differ from other styles of play within the setting, notably one-shots or a campaign composed of multiple modules linked together. From our standpoint, adventure campaigns can shift the heavily story-centered focus to include more character-propelled narratives. The classic Call of Cthulhu adventure campaigns, most notably Masks of Nyarlathotep, but also Horror on the Orient Express and Beyond the Mountains of Madness, provide a longer format in which the players can become attached to their character. The Pulp Cthulhu ruleset now allows the replacement of squishy Investigators with durable, robust Heroes further lengthening character longevity. This allows players to potentially enjoy roleplaying a Call of Cthulhu character for an extended

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Cat Links England, MoN - Keeper

Mythos Monsters – The Thing in the Fog

Posted on Keeper Doc

The noisome London fog offers the perfect cover for Edward Gavigan’s Mythos invisible pets, the gish-rla (pp. 206-207). These viscous vapors referred to throughout the England chapter as “The Thing in the Fog” provide the Keeper with an atmospheric (pun intended – Ed.) threat to your Investigators on the dark streets of London. The Thing may be employed as an alternative to your routine cultist encounters, particularly after your Investigators have irritated or threatened Gavigan. The nature of the Thing precludes normal combat solutions, instead offering a deadly puzzle for your players to solve. We will discuss a variety of ways to present this other-worldly monster with consideration to incorporating it throughout the chapter.  Before

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Cat Links Keeper Tips

Mythos Corruption – Random Cosmic Horror Effect Tables

Posted on Keeper Doc

We return to our Mythos Corruption framework, which provides an alternative to the classic Call of Cthulhu Sanity mechanic allowing the Keeper and players to move away from Insanity and mental health associations used in the traditional ruleset. We have previously discussed Vulnerability to address Mundane Horror and optional rules to help tailor Corruption to your game. Here we offer alternative tables for Cosmic Horror (Bouts of Madness) and Unsettled Reality (Indefinite Reality) for completeness sake. While the effects of Mythos Corruption may appear outwardly as Insanity, they represent profound alterations of the Investigator’s reality.  Rather than purely punitive events, some Psychic Detonations may have both negative and positive features, which may be exploited by both

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