Hello all

As I've started hunting for CoC materials just recently, I'd like some advice mostly on interesting scenarios that can work for CoC 4th edition. But backstories that can provide foundations for adventures are also interesting.

I suppose they are of varying quality, and some of them might be hard to find. I will be purchasing second hand printed versions, as I don't want to support the woke machine (i.e. Chaosium).

For instance is Miskatonic University Guidebook 1995 edition worth it? And what about The Thing at the Threshold. There is not much in reviews for such productions...

It's gonna depend on what you like. I ran Shadows of Yog-Sothoth and we had a blast. The Asylum and other tales was good as I recall. I like Arkham and Miskatonic because I've read the fiction. But I also wing it using NYC because I know the area and it's iconic. I picked up Secrets of NY but haven't read it yet.

The 1995 Miskatonic book is definitely worth it, especially if your campaign is going to be centered in Arkham.  Even if you don't use it, it's a fun read.  With 4th edition, of course pretty much everything published from 1st to 6th editions will work with it.  Chaosium's CoC line was once of such quality that it would be much easier to pick out the products that weren't good, rather than the ones that were, which was practically all of them.

It's been many years since I played in "The Thing at the Threshold," but recall that our group had fun.  IIRC it was pretty pulpy in an Indiana Jones-type way.

As for campaigns, the only one I didn't like was "Horror on the Orient Express" but most people go ga-ga over it, so that's just personal taste.  And yes, "Masks of Nyarlathotep" really is the greatest RPG campaign of all time; this has been proven as scientifically objective fact in research laboratories across the globe  .   The Lovecraft Country books (Arkham, Dunwich, Innsmouth, Kingsport, etc.  are all excellent but can be pricey.  I personally love the Dreamlands, but others hate them.  A lot of this will depend on your personal taste.  One of the very few I disliked was a collection of scenarios called "The House of R'Lyeh," but then that came out in 2013 so Chaosium was in serious decline by then.

In short, you really can't go far wrong with most of this stuff.  On Youtube, Seth Skorkowsky often reviews CoC scenarios so you may get some good ideas there.

A couple of my favorite collections of shorter scenarios are "The Great Old Ones" and "Mansions of Madness."

Hope this helps.  I own most of the pre-7th edition CoC stuff so if you have any other questions, just ask.

Quote from: Rift on June 16, 2023, 01:07:06 AM
Hello all

As I've started hunting for CoC materials just recently, I'd like some advice mostly on interesting scenarios that can work for CoC 4th edition. But backstories that can provide foundations for adventures are also interesting.

I suppose they are of varying quality, and some of them might be hard to find. I will be purchasing second hand printed versions, as I don't want to support the woke machine (i.e. Chaosium).

For instance is Miskatonic University Guidebook 1995 edition worth it? And what about The Thing at the Threshold. There is not much in reviews for such productions...

Dude, this is right in my wheelhouse. CoC is one the RPGs I've been with...right up until Chaosium went woke as fuck.

I would agree that everything up to 6th should be mostly compatible with each other.

Some personal favorites:

For campaigns: you cannot go wrong with Masks of Nyarlathotep. IF at all possible, get the Complete Masks of Nyarlatotep which was published 1996/2001. Also if you REALLY want to immerse yourself, get the Masks of Nyarlatotep Companion. It's chock full of info on each location in the main campaign. It's over 700 pages! It may be really hard to find now, but if your interested...

for scenarios: IMO some of the best ones come out of the series of books detailing "Lovecraft Country": Arkham, Kingsport, Innsmouth, and Dunwich. Not only do they have details of each area and it's surroundings, but each book has several scenarios as well. You could have an entire campaign just within the confines of the Miskatonic Valley. With that being said the Miskatonic U. book is a must. The '95 book is good, but the one put out in the 2005 is even better.

Chew on that for awhile. I'll have more later...

More personal favorites:

Terror from The Stars: this is a favorite of mine, not just because of the scenarios ("Pits of Bendal-Dolum" and the "Temple of the Moon"), but the insert of the " Field Manual of the Theron Marks Society". It's meant to be "Found" while on an investigation. It details the workings of the society against the Cthulhu Mythos and how to combat various entities, preparation for investigation, etc.

If you're interested, ask me how I turned "Pits of Bendal-Dolum" into a 1980s inspired scenario and called it "Cthulhu Vice".

The Asylum and Other Tales: If anything, just get the book for "The Asylum". It's the first scenario where we are introduced to the proto-shoggoth in the form of a psychiatrist at the aforementioned asylum

The Great Old Ones: awesome book of adventures where five of the six deal with various Great Old Ones. In "The Spawn." careful investigators uncover a historical dash between local worshipers of Yig and some chthonians: in "Still Waters." the investigators encounter a new breed of Cthulhu cultist: in "Yellow Sign." Hastur stirs in dark Hali as his avatar comes to Earth: in "One In Darkness:' our heroes stumble over an avatar of Nyarlathotep: in "Pale God:' our heroes learn why they might not want a  personal relationship with a god (if it's a  Great Old One. that is): in "Rad Moon Rising." we learn the fate of the human race and of all things. including the Great Old Ones.

If you're interested in what supplements to get, I can give details on those too.

Thanks for all the advice, it's all very useful to me and I appreciate it.

So far I got a hold of: Rulebook 4e, Miskatonic University, Thing at the Threshold and Grimrock Isle. Looking right now for Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, The Great old Ones and The Asylum and Other Tales. But will get most of those mentioned here if I stumble upon them for a reasonable price.

The older material looks so much better, even the artwork is just miles above the new stuff.

Quote from: blackstone on June 29, 2023, 10:32:27 AM
More personal favorites:

Terror from The Stars: this is a favorite of mine, not just because of the scenarios ("Pits of Bendal-Dolum" and the "Temple of the Moon"), but the insert of the " Field Manual of the Theron Marks Society". It's meant to be "Found" while on an investigation. It details the workings of the society against the Cthulhu Mythos and how to combat various entities, preparation for investigation, etc.

If you're interested, ask me how I turned "Pits of Bendal-Dolum" into a 1980s inspired scenario and called it "Cthulhu Vice".

The Asylum and Other Tales: If anything, just get the book for "The Asylum". It's the first scenario where we are introduced to the proto-shoggoth in the form of a psychiatrist at the aforementioned asylum

The Great Old Ones: awesome book of adventures where five of the six deal with various Great Old Ones. In "The Spawn." careful investigators uncover a historical dash between local worshipers of Yig and some chthonians: in "Still Waters." the investigators encounter a new breed of Cthulhu cultist: in "Yellow Sign." Hastur stirs in dark Hali as his avatar comes to Earth: in "One In Darkness:' our heroes stumble over an avatar of Nyarlathotep: in "Pale God:' our heroes learn why they might not want a  personal relationship with a god (if it's a  Great Old One. that is): in "Rad Moon Rising." we learn the fate of the human race and of all things. including the Great Old Ones.

If you're interested in what supplements to get, I can give details on those too.

Very interested in supplements as well ! Thanks! 

My favorite Pagan Publishing CoC scenarios:

- "Grace Under Pressure"
- "In Media Res"
- Walker in the Wastes (it rivals Masks in quality!)
- Delta Green (the classic ones from the '90s, as well as so many good scenarios published for the more-recent Arc Dream/Pagan RPG, including John Tynes' Labyrinth)

Among others:

- the aforementioned Masks of Nyarlathotep and Shadows of Yog-Sothoth (both Chaosium)
- The Vanishing Conjuror/Statue of the Sorcerer (Games Workshop)

Allan.

Quote from: grodog on July 11, 2023, 01:17:25 AM
- The Vanishing Conjuror/Statue of the Sorcerer (Games Workshop)

I see that you are a man of culture.

Quote from: grodog on July 11, 2023, 01:17:25 AMWalker in the Wastes (it rivals Masks in quality!)

This one is ama-zing! If OP can still find it, it works great in the context of recent books and movies about the Franklin expedition, like AMC/Amazon's "The Terror". So, it should be reasonably easy to get into even for players that aren't too much into "history stuff". My problem with it would be, this kind of game, you got to make big. For a weekend-in-hell type of thing, it's probably too unique a scenario.

My recommendation would be "Tatters of the King", even though I think that one's younger than CoC 4e, and really a full campaign on its own behalf. I like how the book is written, though, and how the usual CoC tropes are used to create a storyline that feels original, and even pretty epic. -- Or, if OP can find it, there was an adventure called "The Secret of Mohican Island" (Google got me nothing) that was short, concise, and pretty "Salem's Lot"-y. I've not DMed CoC since the 2000s, I think, but if I was to do so, I would probably look at this one first.

So far I have managed to locate the following titles which I consider to purchase:

Mansions of Madness
The Complete Masks of Nyarlathothep
In the Shadows
The Great Old Ones

I know some are 5e, and not sure if 5e 100% compatible with 4e or if I need to adjust something on rolls/tables...

Anything 1st-6th editions can be used together easily. You might see skills and spells appear that you don't recognize, but you can just fiddle with them to taste.

Quote from: Baron on July 11, 2023, 04:49:28 PM
Anything 1st-6th editions can be used together easily. You might see skills and spells appear that you don't recognize, but you can just fiddle with them to taste.

Sounds like it's easy to handle. Thanks.

Quote from: Rafael on July 11, 2023, 04:06:10 PM

Quote from: grodog on July 11, 2023, 01:17:25 AMWalker in the Wastes (it rivals Masks in quality!)

This one is ama-zing! If OP can still find it, it works great in the context of recent books and movies about the Franklin expedition, like AMC/Amazon's "The Terror". So, it should be reasonably easy to get into even for players that aren't too much into "history stuff". My problem with it would be, this kind of game, you got to make big. For a weekend-in-hell type of thing, it's probably too unique a scenario.

My recommendation would be "Tatters of the King", even though I think that one's younger than CoC 4e, and really a full campaign on its own behalf. I like how the book is written, though, and how the usual CoC tropes are used to create a storyline that feels original, and even pretty epic. -- Or, if OP can find it, there was an adventure called "The Secret of Mohican Island" (Google got me nothing) that was short, concise, and pretty "Salem's Lot"-y. I've not DMed CoC since the 2000s, I think, but if I was to do so, I would probably look at this one first.

Was this the one you were talking about?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horrible_Secret_of_Monhegan_Island

Quote from: moonsweeper on July 11, 2023, 05:27:48 PM

Quote from: Rafael on July 11, 2023, 04:06:10 PM

Quote from: grodog on July 11, 2023, 01:17:25 AMWalker in the Wastes (it rivals Masks in quality!)

This one is ama-zing! If OP can still find it, it works great in the context of recent books and movies about the Franklin expedition, like AMC/Amazon's "The Terror". So, it should be reasonably easy to get into even for players that aren't too much into "history stuff". My problem with it would be, this kind of game, you got to make big. For a weekend-in-hell type of thing, it's probably too unique a scenario.

My recommendation would be "Tatters of the King", even though I think that one's younger than CoC 4e, and really a full campaign on its own behalf. I like how the book is written, though, and how the usual CoC tropes are used to create a storyline that feels original, and even pretty epic. -- Or, if OP can find it, there was an adventure called "The Secret of Mohican Island" (Google got me nothing) that was short, concise, and pretty "Salem's Lot"-y. I've not DMed CoC since the 2000s, I think, but if I was to do so, I would probably look at this one first.

Was this the one you were talking about?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horrible_Secret_of_Monhegan_Island

YES. thank you! That's the one.  It's a solid mini-setting for CoC. Below-average in its complexity, but also quite forgiving to beginners. The first part of the adventure is very reminiscent of "The Shadow over Innsmouth", but in a good way that gradually introduces the players to the mythical dimensions of CoC.