Our Latest Publications

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

Read on…Mythos Corruption, an alternative to Insanity

Cat Links MoN - Keeper, New York

Random Events – New York

Posted on Keeper Doc

The main campaign delivers an open world for your players to explore, choosing what leads to pursue, cultists to investigate, and NPCs to interview. The metropolis of New York offers plenty of potential for chance encounters to enliven and disrupt your players’ dogged attempts to understand Jackson’s brutal murder and begin to uncover the truth about the Carlyle Expedition. These suggested random events can provide inspiration for some exciting improvisations that may be used in a variety of ways to punctuate your session at the beginning, middle, and end. We will start with events for the premiere location in New York, Manhattan proper: Cultists – As the chapter gets underway, your Investigators may have increasing

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Cat Links MoN - Keeper, New York

Mythos Monsters – The Chakota

Posted on Keeper Doc

A unique Mythos monster worshipped by the New York sect of the Bloody Tongue as a spirit minion of their god, the Chakota provides a horrifying physical encounter in the Ju-Ju House basement for Investigators. Housed in a deep pit covered by a massive stone block, the PCs usually must make intentional efforts to expose this creature and may suffer dire consequences for their curiosity. Here we will explore this Mythos entity found only in MoN and discuss some additional ways to incorporate it into your campaign in the absence of a harrowing basement encounter.  Described as a spirit in the campaign book, the Chakota appears in the New York chapter as a very physical

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Cat Links MoN - Keeper, Peru

Fan Favorite NPCs – Trinidad Rizo

Posted on Keeper Doc

Intentionally crafted to go easy on Investigators, the Peru Prologue does serve up a particularly gruesome demise for at least one non-player character. Poor Trinidad Rizo, the industrious undergraduate assistant, lays critical groundwork for the Investigators. In exchange for her efforts, the campaign expects Señorita Rizo to meet her untimely, fat-ful demise (yes, he went there – Ed.) in a dank basement storeroom at the hands of Luis de Mendoza. At Prospero House, we believe in rewarding solid research work, so we would like to offer some suggestions to potentially get Trinidad a bit more Prologue face-time.  Though hard-working, Trinidad may occasionally sneak away from her books and artifacts to enjoy Lima’s nightlife. Consider introducing

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Cat Links MoN - Player

Call of Cthulhu – What am I Getting Myself Into?

Posted on Keeper Doc

You may be asking yourself, how did I find myself on this strange website reading about some crawling, Egyptian-sounding thingy that seems hellbent on wrecking the earth? Maybe somebody in your gaming group has attempted to recruit you for this crazy Call of Cthulhu (CoC) campaign. Perhaps you’ve heard good things about the system, setting or campaign, and wanted to learn more about it. Or maybe you just clicked on a very wrong link somewhere along the way. No matter, we happily welcome you here to our dark little corner of the world. We would like to offer you some brief introductory comments and references to elucidate just what it is you may be getting yourself

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Cat Links Keeper Tips, Tomes

Magic in Masks – Tomes & Spells

Posted on Keeper Doc

  The length and scope of MoN allow Keepers and Investigators to dig deep into magical resources and practical applications that may not often be available in shorter campaigns and brief scenarios. As many players will begin CoC games with Mythos-naive PCs it will take time for them to acquire knowledge, as well as the necessary artifacts and tomes to practice magic. In MoN, they will brush up against some of the most prestigious grimoires available in the setting and have the opportunity to study these incredible and world-shattering texts. To maximize the value of spells and tomes for your campaign, you may want to tweak some of the rules for everyone’s benefit. There are

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Cat Links Keeper Tips

Chapter Prepping

Posted on Keeper Doc

Once you have an overview of the entirety of the main campaign, either by a full read-through or a preliminary first-pass, you can begin prepping your first chapter. If you’re an experienced Keeper/GM and have a preferred prep style feel free to disregard all the suggestions here and stick to the approach that works for you. If you feel daunted by the information contained in each chapter, try some of these suggestions. First, we’ll re-read all the introductory chapter information, including the connection to the main campaign, Carlyle Expedition, Jackson Elias, as well as the chapter’s feature cult. If you wish, you can breeze past the information about the NPC and plan to return to

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Cat Links MoN - Keeper, New York, Peru

Jackson Elias – Your Quest Giver

Posted on Keeper Doc

CAMPAIGN SPOILERS BELOW In taking on the incredible task of leading your players through the Masks of Nyarlathotep, you will be joined at its outset by a charming, worldly fellow, one Jackson Elias. Aside from the titular villain, no other character in the campaign can come close to the legendary fame and importance of the daring author. You will lean heavily on your faithful companion to put your players on the path to investigate the Carlyle expedition and unearth the cultists’ dire schemes. Through Jackson’s interactions and revelations, you will stimulate your player’s intrigue. And through his untimely demise, you will provide them with personal motivation to take up the investigative mantle while seeking vengeance.

Read on…Jackson Elias – Your Quest Giver

Cat Links MoN - Keeper, New York

Chapter Inspiration – NYC

Posted on Keeper Doc

Turning to New York, we have a nearly endless selection to dig into, but we’ll focus on some inspirational imagery. When imagining Prohibition-era East Coast life, we can’t help but draw from the HBO series Boardwalk Empire simply for the incredible costume and set-work alone. While primarily set in Atlantic City, the show includes a good deal of underbelly New York action. The gritty New York gangster film released in 1939, The Roaring Twenties, begins in the trenches of the Great War and offers some classic genre imagery in black and white, as well as incisive social commentary. For fans of such films, this is an absolute classic and features the last paired casting of Bogart and Cagney.

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Cat Links MoN - Keeper, Peru

Puno – Peru Prologue’s Sidetrack

Posted on Keeper Doc

  The expedition to the ancient ruins in the Highlands will take the team through Puno where they will disembark from their motorized transport and begin their long trek into the mountains. The campaign book provides suggestions for interactions in Puno, which center around Jackson introducing them to Nayra, a wise-local woman. She can provide the Investigators with directions to the ancient ruins, as well as further reveal the nature of the kharisiri and their master, the Father of Maggots. Depending on the circumstances, your players may not need or choose to meet with her. In essence, Keepers may simply want to consider exploration of Puno a sidetrack to the chapter’s main event. By acknowledging

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