Smile while you still have the chance... He was a boy, She was a girl, I am a sentient octopus. He was a punk, She did ballet, I have eight prehensile legs. He wanted her, She'd never tell, I crept up from the bowels of Hell. All of her friends, And those two as well, Will fall when the seas start to swell. He was a skater boy, She said "See ya later boy." Nothing significant to me. I'm a cephalopod, A miniature Elder God, And soon all my brethren will be free.
I like your point about modern scenarios, people forget that the “classic” era of the 20/30s was modern for Lovecraft. Stories like At The Mountains of Madness with it’s Antarctic expedition, high altitude aeroplanes & collapsible mining equipment would’ve been cutting edge tech at the time & it didn’t help the protagonists one jot. In fact our tools & toys being no help only *adds * to the horror IMO. Great review as always Seth 🦑✨
one way i combatted people searching online for answers is by having websites detailing the cults on how to join and where a temple is or something like that is by having it buried in the surface web on an onion link when put in the tor browser directs them to a website of the cult or a conspiracy theorist detailing the cult and there could be a myriad of reasons why the cults opporate this way, like the FBI being on high alert since the Waco shootout and the Heavens Gate mass suicide or perhaps surface sites are taken down by cultists working in the FBI. and if you wanna make it extra creepy make it so when they enter the site, there would be mysterious people stalking you and slowly escalating to them attempting to kidnap you to be sacrificed because you didn't pay a massive membership fee to join.
Self-propelled naval torpedoes were state of the art when he wrote 'Shadow Over Innsmouth' and AC was bleeding edge tech in 1926 when he penned 'Cool Air' *Edit* So, yep, you are bang on correct.
If the players lose I would have the subscriber list go from 1 million to 2 million to 100 million to 1 billion-as if Hadrolik is creating thralls witnessing his greatness. And then-the game-ends
Thanks for the video, Seth. I ran this as a Halloween one-shot for my usual Shadowrun group, and it rocked! For sure, a highlight was our Enoch, the roadie, deciding to do a heroic sacrifice where he ran back across the bridge to destroy the wireless repeater while the rest of the team got to safety. He rolled a extreme success on his attack, rolled max damage breaking the thing beyond repair, then rolled another extreme success on a dodge against getting stomped by the now 30 foot tall eldritch virus monster. I threw on Tenacious D's "Roadie" and had him roll out CON checks while he ran to catch up to the escape boat, while helicopters exploded overhead. Enoch is the best roadie of all time.
Clearly Seth needs to come across an actual mythos tome disguised as a COC adventure module and fight an elder god on a live stream to help boost thous subscriber numbers.
@@Lallander He keeps it niche and that's why I love him. Heck he even encourages people not to watch his reviews if they aren't dungeon masters so there you have it.. Pretty much all the 1 million sub RPG channels make me feel like I'm the product with their non-stop click-baity content and their "I got to make a living out of this" BS.
As an Italian myself, I find it deeply amusing to see anybody having faith in our secret service. Or military. Or anything else from our country. 😁 Anyway, great video as always Seth!
The Italian Secret Service is actually among the best in the World - and part of their strength comes exactly from the fact that they are not CIA, Mossad, MI5… Being underestimated is always a plus.
well considering your guys military actually is rated is actually rated as number 3 in Europe, and considering that the top military (AKA Britan is only up there because of their navy, and SAS) Thats actually pretty good.
Seth, just some thoughts, but what if Mary is actually an agent of the Italian government pretending to be a local fan that showed up to tag along. In reality she's supposed to be an on-site fail-safe if the crew pokes too hard. However, she gets tainted and keeps having lapses in jugement that let the PCs get in too deep. At some point she acquired a backpack that has communication equipment and a laser designator for the incoming air strike. This way when the resurrection starts she frantically rips open her bag and starts military speaking into her radio only to trail off and drop it on the ground when she has her literal "melt down". Now the PCs get the sqwacking radio and her bag and some Italian officer instructs them they have to use the laser to paint the target for the jets. "Don't let it get to the ocean or it will start devouring sea life. By the time it makes landfall again it'll make Godzilla coming out of Tokyo Bay look like a chihuahua playing in a puddle!" So of course our guy is going too fast and they have to slow him down. The mines are amazing! Though as a believer in multiple forms of crazy heroics, I could see there being an old ambulance that could be convinced to work again. They could ram the dude or if there's some rope/chain about maybe they go full Battle of Hoth and try to bring him down.
As an Italian, I like the comedic idea of our government being competent enough to have a contingency plan in case of an elder god arrival. In reality, not even one year after the original raid, some one at the government would see some type of cash flow going to an unknown operation and immediately say "Oh, free taxpayer money for me to take." And in South italy too? Yea, I give it one day.
Play tested this too, such an excellent modern take on the horror genre, well done to Bud and Co. Thanks also for all the extra GM tips, will be running this later in the year.
Hi Seth! Until I found your channel I was always a little trepidacious about CoC. I played a few one-shots at cons, but that was more doing whatever the Keeper told me to do. I didn't know the system above skill rolls, and fell for many of the myths you mentioned in your CoC Introduction some years back so had little desire to go further. I started watching your reviews thinking that the adventures sounded great, but I didn't want to get into something overly complex that seemed too gritty for my style anyway. Then, late last week, I decided to see what it was I was missing and worked my way through your entire 9-part CoC review. I wasn't even completely done before I bought the Keepers Guide, Investigators Handbook, Keeper Screen and Pulp Cthulhu. Your series made the game easy to get into and, perhaps more importantly, easy to like. Now I just need players.... Thanks for opening my eyes!
Players are easy to find if you know where to look. You can check various game stores, libraries, and similar. If you are a student, there is a chance your school has a gaming club. Online players can be found in several places, including discord. I hope by now you have a group and are having a great time. Good luck and happy gaming.
@@SpookyGroovyPolitoCatMum You can support artists directly instead of Amazon when it comes to anything you would pirate. If I like a band, I'll buy their merch and go to their shows. If I like an artist, then I will put their work on my wall and tell others about them. In a monetary and profit driven capitalist society, all art is degraded into property, so what does your argument really matter anyway?
The visual design of Hastalyk as a giant bacteriophage is inspired. I think it looks awesome and wouldn't be surprised if it becomes the canonical look of the monster.
I wish I knew about this module a few months ago. I recently started a CoC 7e game where the PCs are ghost hunters. They've been doing everything they can to keep Jack the NPCameraman alive.
I can't tell if the idea of an ancient evil mythos entity using donations in an internet chatroom to tempt the investigators towards doom is brilliant or completely stupid. Either way, that idea alone is making me want to check out this scenario.
There's a lotta weird stuff going on online that many are either blind to or ignorant of. You know this is literally a government battleground, right? Cyberwar is happening every moment of every day and it affects most technologies you use whether you're aware of it or not. Why wouldn't elder things be able to speak through the vibrational frequencies of wifi, just as they have done with radio?
Reminds me of Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, where it's hinted that the ghosts were manipulating the viewer ratings to trick the crew into going further than they really should have.
Gonna be running this one myself soon. The PDF actually has a bunch of Seth's tips in it too, ain't that something! Kinda nice to see people use the fact you can easily update a PDF like that!
So Seth went up against a dark god of disease and pestilence… give it a more grandfatherly personality who infects its victims out of love and we could just call it Nurgle.
Intimate Encounters will probably come first, as it's in wide release (and conveniently enough one that I already own). Flotsam & Jetsam will once it's out to the general public and I have a chance to read it.
We had an amazing time with this module. Thanks so much for all the good tips you gave for making it a success. My addition to this when we played on VTT was to script the chats into macros so each time there was something big to react to all the messages would pop in with small delays like it was a twitch or YT stream. The players were really into it.
I saw this on drive thru RPG and was thinking of picking it up. After this video, I gotta say it was not I was expecting. The cover image gave my Rec/Quarantine vibes. I could imagine a whole scenario inside a quarantined apartment building with a documentary crew.
Spectral Krew needs to be its own game. This is perfect for a full game. You should make it happen jajaja. :) it sounds like you and your group loved this adventure.
Just started my first campaign ! Got invited to play Masks of Nyalhtopet ! Having a blast we’re in Peru atm !! I’m playing a half Italian half spanish Catholic priest who works in the arch diocese of New York !! So I can speak Spanish (my actual third language ) and say fugggggetabouuuuutittttttt !! I’m having a blast !! Thanks Seth for getting me into CoC
It's so great to see you doing a review of another Miskatonic Repository scenario! I loved your Black Teeth Keetes review as well! The program has honestly opened the field to a lot of new creative voices and over-all its just a really fun community. Thank you for continuing to be awesome Seth! ^^
Love the transition to "modern" communication modes. Great story potential there. I don't suppose something like that is going to show up in a future book of yours, Seth? (Yes. I've picked up some of you work on Amazon, so I'll keep an eye out... on a tentacle stalk)
I think the government doing a G-Man with the pcs would be cool. They can live in luxury, under surveillance, but if something strange happens they are the A-Team. Either great reason to throw them at any old adventure or have them to be sent in as back-ups when the new group of pcs is in a pickle/taken out.
I like scenarios that don't use Human time scales. For me, it opens opportunities for deep lore to be added. The idea that a demon appears in the year 2022 because of a series of cult rituals dating back to AD 1022 or 22 BC makes things far more interesting.
Great review, as usual Seth. This is one of my favourite UA-cam channels and I place a lot of stock in your reviews. Thanks for this one, I have checked out the module and will be buying it.
This sounds like a pretty interesting take on modern Cthulhu. I wasn't sold on the Content Creator angle at first, but the module seems to make it work.👍 ~ Adam
@@BudsRPGreview You're not the only one who does that style of vid, y'know. Or maybe you are - I never paid much attention to the details and hands look pretty similar from one Caucasian guy to the next. Do you actually have dozens of channels under multiple IDs, all gesticulating away on different subjects? :)
This is not likely something for me to run but definetly a goldmine of ideas! Most of my cthulhu/horror RPG gameplay is done through Delta Green. Cleaning up a scene after youtubers mess with what they shouldn't seems like a great prompt for a DG adventure.
People who think a Call of Cthulhu game can't work in a modern setting aren't being very creative. The Elder gods are likely still as unimpressed by modern technology as they were about technology from 60-80 years ago, and as mentioned, may be able to interact with it in unexpected ways. Just because technology has advanced doesn't mean our understanding of cosmic entities has gotten any better. Obscure lore is still obscure lore, even if the internet might make it a little easier to find bits and pieces of it. Not to mentioned, as in this adventure, the group isn't prepared for something like this; they likely wouldn't be prepared if the cult were still around. The thought that it's hard to be scary in the modern day because of what we have available is faulty logic. Part of the point of cosmic horror is that there is very little, period, you can do to prepare for such entities; you have to play by their rules (for the most part), and that supersedes tech and society levels. A potentially interesting idea to add to the spookiness of the situation is maybe have the elder god in the chat maybe take its suggestions or comments a little too far, prompting the moderator to look at banning and removing them from the chat...only to find that said user, who's still commenting, isn't anywhere on the user list. Though maybe that's being sloppy.
The authors have updated the adventure since, and have included some of your suggestions in this video, such as The camera one of Emily's crew missed. It's nice when people take constructive about their work.
I remember that Hastolyk had tricked the Krew onto the island (maybe on the exact day he needed) for when he was going to rise again, but I missed out on why he did that. Maybe the video mentioned, but since the Krew is not a part of the sacrifice (final plague monk is) and they will bring attention right at the point when it doesn't want anyone to watch what it's doing and it's not like it gains strength from it. It seems like an exciting twist that then flies straight into the face of the logic besides twist, unless there was a major line I missed or some thinking that is just going above me.
Good day, Seth Skorkowsky! Hows it going? Just commenting on how much I enjoy your reviews. Plus you do a great job of inspiring too. Feeling disillusioned with the campaign I am in? Just listen to Seth and am hyped and inspired once more!
Back when I was in college, I bought the 4th edition "Black Book". At that time (1989+/-) they had two expansion packs - Cthulhu by Gaslight and Cthulhu Now!, which updated CoC for the then current era( the 80s).
OK, you totally sold me on it. Snagged a copy and will definitely inflict it on my Krew. The mines are a fantastic add; the improvement suggestions are great! Thanks again for another excellent review.
Idea, take the subscriber count and super chat donations for each place and apply them to which ever one they’re in. So if they go to the hospital use the one for the first area they’re supposed to explore. That way it’s opened up a bit more than the module intended route.
About to finish my current D&D campaign and a short Call of Cthulhu story is exactly what I was looking for. And I like the idea of modern mythos. Thanks for the well times video Seth!
That reminds me, I really need to clean the kitchen sink. I've been on a cleaning strike since my housemate is a shameless slacker, but she's outlasted me again.
@@sherlocksmuuug6692 She's never even been to Zul-Bha-Sair, and she's practically illiterate so unlikely to learn about it. Think my bones are safe. Food poisoning from her filthy habits remains a real risk, though.
Usually I roll my eyes at adds in UA-cam videos but... get your money Seth, you earned it. You inspired me to get the keepers guide and I'm getting ready to run my first ever CoC game
Dungeon Design is one of those areas that's been done a thousand times by a good number of people far more intelligent and articulate than myself (and not a small number of idiots). I've watched a few videos seeing how others organized their approach and articulated certain points I'd known but never consciously considered. Some of the videos and blogs were incredibly good. Some were hilariously terrible and formulaic, but might sound impressive and wise to someone who has never actually played a dungeon. I might do a video on my approach once I've managed to organize my thoughts on it. Most of my style is stuff I've never thought about, but made sense to me and was simply what I did. So I first have to figure out how explain my style.
The other elder signs are a good addition, but there are a few things that didn't make sense to me. So, lots of graffiti and whatnot on the island, so why hasn't the big bad just tainted some group of drunk teenagers who feel asleep overnight and woke up as drones? Since level 10 taint apparently allows the drone to act and look normal, the cult should have been alive and well. Any drone could go back to the mainland and entice more people. Also, if the place is a frequent hangout, I don't see why there isn't more disease in the mainland and why anything is left for the investigators to find. Some pack of kids roaming around would have definitely grabbed the gun and the video recorder. I think the elder signs are a good step, however I'd also juice it the following way: The government's cover story is that the one island is said to have been a secret Nazi lab that later became a doomsday cult that was experimenting with chemical and biological weapons. The whole island is surrounded by an electrified razorwire fence with plenty of warnings. It also has a bad name in small town on the mainland. Of course kids do go out to the smaller island with the bridge on it for a 'knocking on the door' kind of thrill, but kind of like Gremlins, you never stay past midnight or longer than six hours. If you do, an Italian police launch seems to always come by to escort you off. Due to the receding water, a collapsing cliff face not only damaged an elder sign but provides access to the facility up a slope of scree and under the fence. It just so happens the military's monitoring is focused on people approaching, not internal security, so they didn't see the gap open up. Due to the water receding, you could run a small launch to the unprotected smaller island and with a quick swim, get on the muddy embankment on the other side. There's a type of Mardi Gras in the town tonight, perhaps a festival based on the change of fish migration if it had been a fishing village, so the police are busy and there are a number of tourists around. A group of foreigners running around with camera and boating around the bay won't be out of place. The above is how you could have rumors of the island, fairly easy access, little notice approaching, but also have all the things inside remain there for the investigators to find. The sleazy fisherman could even be a low-key smuggler who noticed the cliff collapse one day, so it isn't common knowledge.
Modern tech in CoC is a great topic, it would be interesting to see a full video on it. You already touched upon this topic in reviews, but it's good to have them in one thematic vid as well
I'm late as usual to this party, but thank you Seth for this review! My younger brother & sister are all into "ghost hunting" TV shows & UA-cam videos, and would love this adventure...which I'd never heard of until I found your video. 🙂 Awesome review, as always!!
Ooh! Even better, that suggestion about the grenades, combo'd with the exposed sea mine! So, if they use the grenade earlier, have them roll Luck for Hastul to step on the mine, but if they wanna ensure it, distract him with the gun or the grenade! That'd make him flail a bit and then KABLOOIE!
Congrats on almost 100k subs. I’m subbed to many p&p rpg channels and this is the best one. Really makes me want to play Call of Cthulhu, even though d&d is all my players seem to care about.
Sort of a strange suggestion. After the stream is cut, instead of Maya leaving the story they become a sort of mission control. The government agents know the ghost hunters are the first on site and it will be quite awhile for the airstrike to get there, so they have Maya relay new demands and objectives to the players after they are trapped in the crypt. With the possible promise that they won't prosecute the players for their actions if they do exactly what is asked of them. Maya will be more nervous, but still doing her job with new knowledge of the situation. It can help get the players up to speed if they missed something before the endgame. It could help with agency during the end. And an epic way of escape by helicopter as the amorphous horror and the cursed asylum burns in the distance during the aftermath. "Shame you ghost hunters won't be able to tell anyone about any of this." "Can we at least keep this shot? Maybe on a Chan board? This picture's awesome, man!"
Before today I had never considered that a Great Old One could be microscopic. Or resemble a virus (see 04:32). Does the ghost using the Ouijia board use English or Italian?
@@BudsRPGreview Given that "Hastalyks" is a nonsense word to anyone but a Mythos scholar or cultist anyway, the ouija board is functioning normally. Might as well spell Kwyjibo for all it's going to mean to the PCs.
Could this be integrated into a Delta Green game by having your party being agents going after the premades as NPCs instead of as actual player characters because they got to try to clean up the mess the best they can and cover it up?
Your description for how the corpses and Emily merge with Hastilex(sp?) reminded me of when the town of Hawkins merged with the Mind Flayer in stranger things.
I wouldn't say cell phones/internet/other modern tech spoil CoC/horror so much as they need to be accounted for when designing adventures. If you don't, then yeah, they can wreck a lot of scenarios, but no more so than writing a 1920s adventure where you fail to allow for the existence of automobiles or firearms. Read actual 1800s-era gothic lit and look at how many stories would fall apart if they were moved into an era where cars, electricity, or even flashlights were common without adjusting for the tech. The horror genre is exceptionally sensitive to technological progress, as are mystery/police procedural works.
With characters, sometimes the player is stranger than them! Edit: Commented before you said chat was a variable in the situation, this is *definitely gonna be good* (or funny)
Great review. The design of the ending made me think of some old D & D scenarios (Titles forgotten) where the PCs objective is not to defeat the menace but 'wake up' someone who can. Once this is done they get to sit back and enjoy the exposition, which as you noted is not fun to the players at all. It's nice to see someone actually pay attention to what Sandy Peterson did in 'Panacea' and have the Mythos entity interact with the PCs technology to lure them to their doom. As to Jack's comments in the trailer, how else do you deal with 'campaign unbalancing amounts of loot'... It also makes the perfect ending to a one-shot.
Smile while you still have the chance...
He was a boy,
She was a girl,
I am a sentient octopus.
He was a punk,
She did ballet,
I have eight prehensile legs.
He wanted her,
She'd never tell,
I crept up from the bowels of Hell.
All of her friends,
And those two as well,
Will fall when the seas start to swell.
He was a skater boy,
She said "See ya later boy."
Nothing significant to me.
I'm a cephalopod,
A miniature Elder God,
And soon all my brethren will be free.
I like this much better than the original!
I want some singer to make a music video with this version.
@@LemonsInTheShade Jack the npc
😆
Amazing
21:08
"And that's when the donations came raining in. Totally worth the sanity loss."
The perfect modern horror.
YOLO
I like your point about modern scenarios, people forget that the “classic” era of the 20/30s was modern for Lovecraft. Stories like At The Mountains of Madness with it’s Antarctic expedition, high altitude aeroplanes & collapsible mining equipment would’ve been cutting edge tech at the time & it didn’t help the protagonists one jot. In fact our tools & toys being no help only *adds * to the horror IMO. Great review as always Seth 🦑✨
or the fact that the leading tech at the time, a giant shipping boat, only inconvenienced Cthulhu
one way i combatted people searching online for answers is by having websites detailing the cults on how to join and where a temple is or something like that is by having it buried in the surface web on an onion link when put in the tor browser directs them to a website of the cult or a conspiracy theorist detailing the cult and there could be a myriad of reasons why the cults opporate this way, like the FBI being on high alert since the Waco shootout and the Heavens Gate mass suicide or perhaps surface sites are taken down by cultists working in the FBI. and if you wanna make it extra creepy make it so when they enter the site, there would be mysterious people stalking you and slowly escalating to them attempting to kidnap you to be sacrificed because you didn't pay a massive membership fee to join.
Self-propelled naval torpedoes were state of the art when he wrote 'Shadow Over Innsmouth' and AC was bleeding edge tech in 1926 when he penned 'Cool Air'
*Edit* So, yep, you are bang on correct.
Modern technology only adds to the ways our eldritch overlords can mess with us. We have invented our own demise, one microchip at a time.
If you can find your answer on Google odds are strong that answer was planted and will really make things worse.
If the players lose I would have the subscriber list go from 1 million to 2 million to 100 million to 1 billion-as if Hadrolik is creating thralls witnessing his greatness. And then-the game-ends
Was absolutely hoping for this interpretation of "viral"
Thanks for the video, Seth. I ran this as a Halloween one-shot for my usual Shadowrun group, and it rocked! For sure, a highlight was our Enoch, the roadie, deciding to do a heroic sacrifice where he ran back across the bridge to destroy the wireless repeater while the rest of the team got to safety. He rolled a extreme success on his attack, rolled max damage breaking the thing beyond repair, then rolled another extreme success on a dodge against getting stomped by the now 30 foot tall eldritch virus monster. I threw on Tenacious D's "Roadie" and had him roll out CON checks while he ran to catch up to the escape boat, while helicopters exploded overhead. Enoch is the best roadie of all time.
Awesome to hear!
Well, did he live?
sounds like Enoch was just a fake name for Eddie Riggs lol
ever closer to 100K and getting some great sponsors. Congrats Seth.
Clearly Seth needs to come across an actual mythos tome disguised as a COC adventure module and fight an elder god on a live stream to help boost thous subscriber numbers.
I still can't believe Seth isn't closer to 1 million subscribers by now. Criminally underrated.
@@Lallander He keeps it niche and that's why I love him. Heck he even encourages people not to watch his reviews if they aren't dungeon masters so there you have it.. Pretty much all the 1 million sub RPG channels make me feel like I'm the product with their non-stop click-baity content and their "I got to make a living out of this" BS.
As an Italian myself, I find it deeply amusing to see anybody having faith in our secret service. Or military. Or anything else from our country. 😁
Anyway, great video as always Seth!
Oof man 😂. Love the honesty
The Italian Secret Service is actually among the best in the World - and part of their strength comes exactly from the fact that they are not CIA, Mossad, MI5… Being underestimated is always a plus.
well considering your guys military actually is rated is actually rated as number 3 in Europe, and considering that the top military (AKA Britan is only up there because of their navy, and SAS) Thats actually pretty good.
You'd be surprised! 😅
You've never heard of the Italian secret service?
Good.
"We're pretty sure mosaics grow around here..."
That got me! LOL
Seth, just some thoughts, but what if Mary is actually an agent of the Italian government pretending to be a local fan that showed up to tag along.
In reality she's supposed to be an on-site fail-safe if the crew pokes too hard. However, she gets tainted and keeps having lapses in jugement that let the PCs get in too deep.
At some point she acquired a backpack that has communication equipment and a laser designator for the incoming air strike.
This way when the resurrection starts she frantically rips open her bag and starts military speaking into her radio only to trail off and drop it on the ground when she has her literal "melt down".
Now the PCs get the sqwacking radio and her bag and some Italian officer instructs them they have to use the laser to paint the target for the jets.
"Don't let it get to the ocean or it will start devouring sea life. By the time it makes landfall again it'll make Godzilla coming out of Tokyo Bay look like a chihuahua playing in a puddle!"
So of course our guy is going too fast and they have to slow him down.
The mines are amazing! Though as a believer in multiple forms of crazy heroics, I could see there being an old ambulance that could be convinced to work again. They could ram the dude or if there's some rope/chain about maybe they go full Battle of Hoth and try to bring him down.
Always excited when I see Mr. Skorkowsky drop a video.
Don't forget to share
Especially a CoC one.
As an Italian, I like the comedic idea of our government being competent enough to have a contingency plan in case of an elder god arrival.
In reality, not even one year after the original raid, some one at the government would see some type of cash flow going to an unknown operation and immediately say "Oh, free taxpayer money for me to take."
And in South italy too? Yea, I give it one day.
Just tell them Senator Tifa is in danger!
Play tested this too, such an excellent modern take on the horror genre, well done to Bud and Co. Thanks also for all the extra GM tips, will be running this later in the year.
Hi Seth! Until I found your channel I was always a little trepidacious about CoC. I played a few one-shots at cons, but that was more doing whatever the Keeper told me to do. I didn't know the system above skill rolls, and fell for many of the myths you mentioned in your CoC Introduction some years back so had little desire to go further. I started watching your reviews thinking that the adventures sounded great, but I didn't want to get into something overly complex that seemed too gritty for my style anyway. Then, late last week, I decided to see what it was I was missing and worked my way through your entire 9-part CoC review. I wasn't even completely done before I bought the Keepers Guide, Investigators Handbook, Keeper Screen and Pulp Cthulhu. Your series made the game easy to get into and, perhaps more importantly, easy to like. Now I just need players.... Thanks for opening my eyes!
Happy to have helped. Welcome to Call of Cthulhu.
Best of luck assembling a team of Investigators.
Players are easy to find if you know where to look. You can check various game stores, libraries, and similar. If you are a student, there is a chance your school has a gaming club.
Online players can be found in several places, including discord.
I hope by now you have a group and are having a great time. Good luck and happy gaming.
Hey just commenting to say that "trepidacious" is a fantastic word.
Seth: “This is my audible library of over 200 books”
Me: *smirks as i am looking through my 400+ audible library* them are rookie numbers Seth
Me, looking at my 8000+ pdfs because I pirate everything 🤔
@@jeffbrownstain And with piracy you actually OWN it
"Your" library. Sure thing, buddy.
@@SpookyGroovyPolitoCatMum You can support artists directly instead of Amazon when it comes to anything you would pirate.
If I like a band, I'll buy their merch and go to their shows.
If I like an artist, then I will put their work on my wall and tell others about them.
In a monetary and profit driven capitalist society, all art is degraded into property, so what does your argument really matter anyway?
Lol get dunked on, Seth
The visual design of Hastalyk as a giant bacteriophage is inspired. I think it looks awesome and wouldn't be surprised if it becomes the canonical look of the monster.
Oh man, Jack’s ghosthunter costume is EXQUISITE! Great addition to his costume trunk!
Love the little touch of Jack's battery bars getting lower and lower.
I wish I knew about this module a few months ago. I recently started a CoC 7e game where the PCs are ghost hunters. They've been doing everything they can to keep Jack the NPCameraman alive.
Having Jack's camera battery slowly drain was a nice touch.
Audible: You too can be an incredibly well read trucker.
I love how Jack suggested that thing with the mines. Its great to see him slowly become a real boy.
I can't tell if the idea of an ancient evil mythos entity using donations in an internet chatroom to tempt the investigators towards doom is brilliant or completely stupid. Either way, that idea alone is making me want to check out this scenario.
In the seven times I ran it, they fell for it EVERY SINGLE TIME.
There's a lotta weird stuff going on online that many are either blind to or ignorant of.
You know this is literally a government battleground, right? Cyberwar is happening every moment of every day and it affects most technologies you use whether you're aware of it or not.
Why wouldn't elder things be able to speak through the vibrational frequencies of wifi, just as they have done with radio?
tfw an eldritch god learned internet slang, or the cultists taught the god about it, I don’t know what’s better
HasterlikPOG
Reminds me of Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, where it's hinted that the ghosts were manipulating the viewer ratings to trick the crew into going further than they really should have.
Earliest I've ever been here. New Seth Skorkowsky is always a joy. Thanks for all the work you do on making content for us to enjoy!
Gonna be running this one myself soon.
The PDF actually has a bunch of Seth's tips in it too, ain't that something!
Kinda nice to see people use the fact you can easily update a PDF like that!
We added feedback from all of the reviews and playtesters - otherwise what is the point?
So Seth went up against a dark god of disease and pestilence… give it a more grandfatherly personality who infects its victims out of love and we could just call it Nurgle.
Pappy nurgs
Bud is a great judge of character and characters it seems......he is the voice of Delta Green, be knows the Unnatural.
Does this mean we might get a review for Intimate Encounters or Flotsam & Jetsam?
Congrats on the sponsorship!
Intimate Encounters will probably come first, as it's in wide release (and conveniently enough one that I already own). Flotsam & Jetsam will once it's out to the general public and I have a chance to read it.
We had an amazing time with this module. Thanks so much for all the good tips you gave for making it a success. My addition to this when we played on VTT was to script the chats into macros so each time there was something big to react to all the messages would pop in with small delays like it was a twitch or YT stream. The players were really into it.
I saw this on drive thru RPG and was thinking of picking it up. After this video, I gotta say it was not I was expecting. The cover image gave my Rec/Quarantine vibes. I could imagine a whole scenario inside a quarantined apartment building with a documentary crew.
Awww. I wanted the video of Jack to run out of battery life just as he was about to give his end speech.
Spectral Krew needs to be its own game. This is perfect for a full game. You should make it happen jajaja. :) it sounds like you and your group loved this adventure.
Good to have you back! You had me worried for a moment ... it's been about 3 weeks. Been checking every day for a new one.
Just started my first campaign ! Got invited to play Masks of Nyalhtopet ! Having a blast we’re in Peru atm !! I’m playing a half Italian half spanish Catholic priest who works in the arch diocese of New York !! So I can speak Spanish (my actual third language ) and say fugggggetabouuuuutittttttt !! I’m having a blast !! Thanks Seth for getting me into CoC
Nyarlathotep. Sorry, Mythos has rough names. :-0
It's so great to see you doing a review of another Miskatonic Repository scenario! I loved your Black Teeth Keetes review as well!
The program has honestly opened the field to a lot of new creative voices and over-all its just a really fun community.
Thank you for continuing to be awesome Seth! ^^
Hell yeah, Bud's Scenario is amazing. So incredibly cool that you reviewed it!!
I don't understand. There was a Final Sacrifice, but I didn't see Rowsdower character sheet.
"Charcoal gray is close enough to black, right guys?"
@@richmcgee434 I wonder if there's beer on the sun.
Would love to see a Palladium product review
I have now acquired The 13th Warrior.
Hope to watch it soon 😜
Holy crap Seth I didn't know you had a podcast! Now I have more stuff to help me stay sane while working outside. Thanks dude.
“Just explodes, with high-speed-Ebola”. Hah, Jesus Seth you’re the best, haha.
Love the transition to "modern" communication modes. Great story potential there. I don't suppose something like that is going to show up in a future book of yours, Seth? (Yes. I've picked up some of you work on Amazon, so I'll keep an eye out... on a tentacle stalk)
Don't think we didn't notice that Super Chat from "SethFromTexas". 😁
Most of the Super Chats were based on the playtesters.
I think the government doing a G-Man with the pcs would be cool.
They can live in luxury, under surveillance, but if something strange happens they are the A-Team.
Either great reason to throw them at any old adventure or have them to be sent in as back-ups when the new group of pcs is in a pickle/taken out.
Delta Green undercover as Roadie/Staff? Offical cover story is investigation for money laundering/tax fraud?
I love modern scenarios for me they always give a twist to COC, great video
I like scenarios that don't use Human time scales. For me, it opens opportunities for deep lore to be added. The idea that a demon appears in the year 2022 because of a series of cult rituals dating back to AD 1022 or 22 BC makes things far more interesting.
Great review, as usual Seth. This is one of my favourite UA-cam channels and I place a lot of stock in your reviews. Thanks for this one, I have checked out the module and will be buying it.
Congrats on the sponsorship!
This sounds like Grave Encounters Meets Cthulhu Mythos
People watching the livestream: *FAKE! FAKE! IT'S CGI!!!*
Definitely going to have to play this. Thank you for showing it.
This sounds like a pretty interesting take on modern Cthulhu. I wasn't sold on the Content Creator angle at first, but the module seems to make it work.👍
~ Adam
Bud's RPG Reviews is one of the better "talking hands" channels on youtube.
Thanks... ?
Mi-Go technology is very good a replicating hands.
@@BudsRPGreview You're not the only one who does that style of vid, y'know. Or maybe you are - I never paid much attention to the details and hands look pretty similar from one Caucasian guy to the next. Do you actually have dozens of channels under multiple IDs, all gesticulating away on different subjects? :)
I wish someone would livestream this so rl chat could affect it. :P
This is not likely something for me to run but definetly a goldmine of ideas!
Most of my cthulhu/horror RPG gameplay is done through Delta Green. Cleaning up a scene after youtubers mess with what they shouldn't seems like a great prompt for a DG adventure.
People who think a Call of Cthulhu game can't work in a modern setting aren't being very creative. The Elder gods are likely still as unimpressed by modern technology as they were about technology from 60-80 years ago, and as mentioned, may be able to interact with it in unexpected ways. Just because technology has advanced doesn't mean our understanding of cosmic entities has gotten any better. Obscure lore is still obscure lore, even if the internet might make it a little easier to find bits and pieces of it. Not to mentioned, as in this adventure, the group isn't prepared for something like this; they likely wouldn't be prepared if the cult were still around. The thought that it's hard to be scary in the modern day because of what we have available is faulty logic. Part of the point of cosmic horror is that there is very little, period, you can do to prepare for such entities; you have to play by their rules (for the most part), and that supersedes tech and society levels.
A potentially interesting idea to add to the spookiness of the situation is maybe have the elder god in the chat maybe take its suggestions or comments a little too far, prompting the moderator to look at banning and removing them from the chat...only to find that said user, who's still commenting, isn't anywhere on the user list. Though maybe that's being sloppy.
Delta Green proves this point beyond refute.
You always cheer me up with a new video. No matter the circumstances, and no matter the topic. Greatly appreciated, keep 'em coming. :)
I hope this video goes viral!
That sounds like an awesome adventure ! I'm definitely gming this one. Thanks Seth !!
The authors have updated the adventure since, and have included some of your suggestions in this video, such as The camera one of Emily's crew missed. It's nice when people take constructive about their work.
We incorporated loads of things from the playtests and reviews.
@@BudsRPGreview And they're all gems. Very useful and add to the adventure.
I remember that Hastolyk had tricked the Krew onto the island (maybe on the exact day he needed) for when he was going to rise again, but I missed out on why he did that. Maybe the video mentioned, but since the Krew is not a part of the sacrifice (final plague monk is) and they will bring attention right at the point when it doesn't want anyone to watch what it's doing and it's not like it gains strength from it. It seems like an exciting twist that then flies straight into the face of the logic besides twist, unless there was a major line I missed or some thinking that is just going above me.
Good day, Seth Skorkowsky! Hows it going? Just commenting on how much I enjoy your reviews. Plus you do a great job of inspiring too. Feeling disillusioned with the campaign I am in? Just listen to Seth and am hyped and inspired once more!
I just received the hardcover version of this adventure. Awesome so far! Thanks for your review. It is the reason I bought it :)
I like the idea of one ancient Elder Sign mosaic, and several modern at strategic points around the island.
Back when I was in college, I bought the 4th edition "Black Book". At that time (1989+/-) they had two expansion packs - Cthulhu by Gaslight and Cthulhu Now!, which updated CoC for the then current era( the 80s).
OK, you totally sold me on it. Snagged a copy and will definitely inflict it on my Krew. The mines are a fantastic add; the improvement suggestions are great! Thanks again for another excellent review.
Idea, take the subscriber count and super chat donations for each place and apply them to which ever one they’re in. So if they go to the hospital use the one for the first area they’re supposed to explore. That way it’s opened up a bit more than the module intended route.
Is that 2" white box on your shelf the Kickstarter re-release of Classic Call of Cthulhu scenarios? I couldn't resist that one myself!
A microscopic elder god that evolves and grows into….a 1/4” mini Cthulhu!
About to finish my current D&D campaign and a short Call of Cthulhu story is exactly what I was looking for. And I like the idea of modern mythos.
Thanks for the well times video Seth!
I Ran through Viral because of this Video and Seth,
Man let me tell you, my players loved this so much
You had me at "swirling charnel pit".
That reminds me, I really need to clean the kitchen sink. I've been on a cleaning strike since my housemate is a shameless slacker, but she's outlasted me again.
@@richmcgee434
She may or may not be a worshipper of Mordiggian, the charnel god of decay. Better keep an eye on your bones.
@@sherlocksmuuug6692 She's never even been to Zul-Bha-Sair, and she's practically illiterate so unlikely to learn about it. Think my bones are safe. Food poisoning from her filthy habits remains a real risk, though.
Oooo I like the use of the sea mines. Great Chekhov's Gun.
Usually I roll my eyes at adds in UA-cam videos but... get your money Seth, you earned it. You inspired me to get the keepers guide and I'm getting ready to run my first ever CoC game
Hey Seth, have you ever thought of doing a "How to run a Dungeon" in the style of your heist, mystery and horror videos?
Dungeon Design is one of those areas that's been done a thousand times by a good number of people far more intelligent and articulate than myself (and not a small number of idiots). I've watched a few videos seeing how others organized their approach and articulated certain points I'd known but never consciously considered. Some of the videos and blogs were incredibly good. Some were hilariously terrible and formulaic, but might sound impressive and wise to someone who has never actually played a dungeon.
I might do a video on my approach once I've managed to organize my thoughts on it. Most of my style is stuff I've never thought about, but made sense to me and was simply what I did. So I first have to figure out how explain my style.
@@SSkorkowsky could you name the ones you considered good, please? 🙂
The other elder signs are a good addition, but there are a few things that didn't make sense to me.
So, lots of graffiti and whatnot on the island, so why hasn't the big bad just tainted some group of drunk teenagers who feel asleep overnight and woke up as drones? Since level 10 taint apparently allows the drone to act and look normal, the cult should have been alive and well. Any drone could go back to the mainland and entice more people.
Also, if the place is a frequent hangout, I don't see why there isn't more disease in the mainland and why anything is left for the investigators to find. Some pack of kids roaming around would have definitely grabbed the gun and the video recorder.
I think the elder signs are a good step, however I'd also juice it the following way:
The government's cover story is that the one island is said to have been a secret Nazi lab that later became a doomsday cult that was experimenting with chemical and biological weapons. The whole island is surrounded by an electrified razorwire fence with plenty of warnings. It also has a bad name in small town on the mainland. Of course kids do go out to the smaller island with the bridge on it for a 'knocking on the door' kind of thrill, but kind of like Gremlins, you never stay past midnight or longer than six hours. If you do, an Italian police launch seems to always come by to escort you off.
Due to the receding water, a collapsing cliff face not only damaged an elder sign but provides access to the facility up a slope of scree and under the fence. It just so happens the military's monitoring is focused on people approaching, not internal security, so they didn't see the gap open up. Due to the water receding, you could run a small launch to the unprotected smaller island and with a quick swim, get on the muddy embankment on the other side.
There's a type of Mardi Gras in the town tonight, perhaps a festival based on the change of fish migration if it had been a fishing village, so the police are busy and there are a number of tourists around. A group of foreigners running around with camera and boating around the bay won't be out of place.
The above is how you could have rumors of the island, fairly easy access, little notice approaching, but also have all the things inside remain there for the investigators to find. The sleazy fisherman could even be a low-key smuggler who noticed the cliff collapse one day, so it isn't common knowledge.
Modern tech in CoC is a great topic, it would be interesting to see a full video on it. You already touched upon this topic in reviews, but it's good to have them in one thematic vid as well
Congrats on getting a sponsor that is a good fit for you!
I'm late as usual to this party, but thank you Seth for this review! My younger brother & sister are all into "ghost hunting" TV shows & UA-cam videos, and would love this adventure...which I'd never heard of until I found your video. 🙂 Awesome review, as always!!
Congratulations on getting a sponsor that you are happy with. Good for you.
He: „Hello Internet, Seth Skor...“
Me: Already ordering whatever it is that Seth is reviewing... 🤩
Thanks for your great work, Seth! 👍🏼
This is a hell of a great story. I haven’t loved a short story this much since crouch end
The Mythos only becomes more real as time goes on.
Just have to comment that I appreciated the slowly draining battery bar on Jack's cam.
Well, I'll just scratch "Your face appears in a Seth Skorkowsky video" off the Bucket List. :O
Ooh! Even better, that suggestion about the grenades, combo'd with the exposed sea mine!
So, if they use the grenade earlier, have them roll Luck for Hastul to step on the mine, but if they wanna ensure it, distract him with the gun or the grenade! That'd make him flail a bit and then KABLOOIE!
Congrats on almost 100k subs. I’m subbed to many p&p rpg channels and this is the best one. Really makes me want to play Call of Cthulhu, even though d&d is all my players seem to care about.
Thank you very much. Hopefully you can talk them into an experimental 1-shot some day.
Yo this looks super fun. Thanks for an awesome vid Seth :D
Sort of a strange suggestion.
After the stream is cut, instead of Maya leaving the story they become a sort of mission control. The government agents know the ghost hunters are the first on site and it will be quite awhile for the airstrike to get there, so they have Maya relay new demands and objectives to the players after they are trapped in the crypt. With the possible promise that they won't prosecute the players for their actions if they do exactly what is asked of them. Maya will be more nervous, but still doing her job with new knowledge of the situation. It can help get the players up to speed if they missed something before the endgame.
It could help with agency during the end. And an epic way of escape by helicopter as the amorphous horror and the cursed asylum burns in the distance during the aftermath.
"Shame you ghost hunters won't be able to tell anyone about any of this." "Can we at least keep this shot? Maybe on a Chan board? This picture's awesome, man!"
Before today I had never considered that a Great Old One could be microscopic. Or resemble a virus (see 04:32).
Does the ghost using the Ouijia board use English or Italian?
English. It only spells out one word anyway.
Also, Hastalÿks earthly form resembles that of a viral bacteriophage.
@@BudsRPGreview Given that "Hastalyks" is a nonsense word to anyone but a Mythos scholar or cultist anyway, the ouija board is functioning normally. Might as well spell Kwyjibo for all it's going to mean to the PCs.
Could this be integrated into a Delta Green game by having your party being agents going after the premades as NPCs instead of as actual player characters because they got to try to clean up the mess the best they can and cover it up?
We did toy with the idea of including DG into it.
It *could* be done, but would lose the punch of the chats. But as an Agent origin story it'd be fantastic.
Your description for how the corpses and Emily merge with Hastilex(sp?) reminded me of when the town of Hawkins merged with the Mind Flayer in stranger things.
That was absolutely phenomenal Seth.
The most unrealistic thing in this scenario is the italian government taking the initiative XD
Awesome!
I wouldn't say cell phones/internet/other modern tech spoil CoC/horror so much as they need to be accounted for when designing adventures. If you don't, then yeah, they can wreck a lot of scenarios, but no more so than writing a 1920s adventure where you fail to allow for the existence of automobiles or firearms. Read actual 1800s-era gothic lit and look at how many stories would fall apart if they were moved into an era where cars, electricity, or even flashlights were common without adjusting for the tech. The horror genre is exceptionally sensitive to technological progress, as are mystery/police procedural works.
GO! GO! 100K!
One of my favorite audible books is "Darth Plagueis" by James Luceno. Truly takes you on a walk down the dark side you may surprisingly find logical.
With characters, sometimes the player is stranger than them!
Edit: Commented before you said chat was a variable in the situation, this is *definitely gonna be good* (or funny)
I think that the livestream might give bonuses to the tech-guy's perception. "WHAT WAS THAT" and "WTF" reactions!
Great review. The design of the ending made me think of some old D & D scenarios (Titles forgotten) where the PCs objective is not to defeat the menace but 'wake up' someone who can. Once this is done they get to sit back and enjoy the exposition, which as you noted is not fun to the players at all. It's nice to see someone actually pay attention to what Sandy Peterson did in 'Panacea' and have the Mythos entity interact with the PCs technology to lure them to their doom. As to Jack's comments in the trailer, how else do you deal with 'campaign unbalancing amounts of loot'... It also makes the perfect ending to a one-shot.