Modern Mythos with Jon & Seth

Seth and Jon were honored to be guests at KamCon in Kamloops, BC, Canada! While there, we met and played games with some amazing people, we were on several fun panels, and we recorded our first live show!!!

Huge thank you to Tyler, James, Bryan, and the whole KamCon crew! KamCon is an amazing gaming convention! We can't wait to return!

And, if you're up for a bold and awesome gaming convention, then may we suggest KamCon! Make the trip, it's well worth it.

https://www.kamloopsconventions.ca/ 

Seth and Jon also got to finally meet Toren Atkinson, lead singer and founding member of The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets!!! In addition to being a fantastic musician, he's also an outstanding artist. Just check out the looming green Cthulhu he drew for the KamCon convention above.

If you aren't already a fan, you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, and become one!

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ 

http://thickets.net/

And we can't forget the love for our Modern Mythos family!

We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! 

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account.  

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

Enjoy this live audience AMA of Jon and Seth!

Today, we’re talking about adapting elements from movies, TV, and books into your game.

But first, we want to thank author Adam “Bucho” Rodenberger for sponsoring this episode. Check out “Under a Black Rainbow,” a collection of surrealistic horror stories.  

The worlds within Under a Black Rainbow oozes with all of our irrational thoughts and collective fears, pooling them up together in slickery shine and gives them both a voice and an unforgettable form. The underside of this particular rainbow is where the absurdity of Kafka, the dark fairy tales of Guillermo del Toro, and the surrealism of David Lynch all crash together into a single, looming nightmare of differing shades. Each story uses a gnarled hand to scrape out the blackest part of each reader and then gleefully holds up the tar-like ichor for closer examination.

The eighteen stories found within are mental and emotional excavations of fractured traumas, the awakening of unique pleasures, and the moments where we come face to face with the hungry voices whispering to us from the dark. You can find Under a Black Rainbow on Amazon. 

https://www.amazon.com/Under-Black-Rainbow-Bucho-Rodenberger/dp/B0CQ14ZQ64/ 

Please enjoy the episode, and listen for Jon and Seth's insights on adapting other media to your games.

Jon's newest old school D&D style adventure, Renewal at Crater Lake, which has the (maybe innovative) dice-stacking mechanic is (at the time of this podcast publication) not yet available for general purchase. It was an Indiegogo crowdfunded book, and currently only the backers have copies. But, eventually, it will be available for general audience purchase on the Frog God Games website. Please look for it there: https://www.froggodgames.com/collections/all 

KamCon ‘24 – https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kamloopsconventions.ca%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2U3HwwV6cfSVmMeQUvV8opE0Jw8JYhFB15mq__SP0nR5S9t9ju-DDgBQA_aem_HPnRt8XpjFaEKCDr55mxfw&h=AT2HRGuAqL5hxjB81qWd42m_z0SEt_aJFM3f7r8M0IGh0cxDE4tkN9lE-q-DXWfPmEaLpHm9phcLEZHGstc_mNcZR3LSfwv1oRI-FdckP9dEVquw80M3_3LI7N6jJmQt8RA 

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! 

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes. 

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. 

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ 

http://thickets.net/

And once again, a huge thank you to our sponsor Under a Black Rainbow, by Adam “Bucho” Rodenberger. Remember to hit the link in the show notes and pick that up. Thanks for listening. 

Summer Book Club #3, Mall of Cthulhu, by Seamus Cooper!

Thank you to our sponsor, Poul Holmelund, and his new Call of Cthulhu scenario, Lost in Cremation, a sequel to The Art of Hygge.  Lost in Cremation: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/481189/lost-in-cremation?affiliate_id=51821 

Jon and James talk about this inaugural book by author, Seamus Cooper, and (spoilers!) we loved it! Here is the Amazon blurb:  A decade ago, college student Laura Harker was saved from a fate worse than death at the hands (and fangs) of a centuries-old vampire priestess and her Satanic minions. Her rescuer, an awkward, geeky folklore student named Teddy, single-handedly slew the undead occupants of the Omega Alpha sorority house, spurred into heroic action by fate itself, inexorably intertwining his and Laura’s destinies.

After navigating her way through law school, Laura is now a junior FBI agent assigned to the Bureau’s Boston office. Unfortunately, she finds her job involves more paperwork than adventure. Ted, on the other hand, has spent the past decade perfecting the ultimate latte, and works as a barista in a nearby corporate chain coffeehouse named for a character in Moby Dick.

When Ted stumbles onto a group of Cthulhu cultists planning to awaken the Old Ones through mystic incantations culled from the fabled Necronomicon, calling forth eldritch horrors into an unsuspecting world, he and Laura must spring into action, traveling from Boston to the seemingly-peaceful suburbs of Providence and beyond, all the way to the sanity-shattering non-Euclidian alleyways and towers of dread R’lyeh itself, in order to prevent an innocent shopping center from turning into... The Mall of Cthulhu.

Mall of Cthulhu, by Seamus Cooper: https://www.amazon.com/Mall-Cthulhu-Seamus-Cooper/dp/1597801275/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3I2GMRHKMUO3N&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XxwIkhSJEo4hlzLDhl6nq1lyS-mylXJXw6tfcMo5lzbRg1ns-Sur1B-qgjypuryJg5bPEZmalAhoR2RHQlibA5JtAnLGan0NM-vdVKDlMcK80cx140XjpwyC1NWI5zdWt5S_jzBTwBOB-qsSufzO9EnP1pkWjQ_3lmzljfEyKwkZAsjTYBgVQlvnjB7clrzE5ZN9pOjK3pRaihWlt0qU9zmPE5uCjpwfhJohVSYOXZT2AXgM6DPpSPiQgFCKYQ8bvC5boLmdWbG_kNo6KrUpJ9yglxwFDj45wwgIl1UCfRs.WOm9qL9H1El44N4yRPYcWG75vqzryKsizNKSNdFDRL0&dib_tag=se&keywords=mall+of+cthulhu&qid=1726007285&sprefix=mall+of+cth%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-1 

In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about our favorite grave-mold covered cannibals... ghouls!

Episode Sponsor: The Great American Dynasty

We want to thank author Keller O’Leary and Space Cat Publishing for sponsoring this episode. Check out “The Great American Dynasty,” a true-blue, red-blooded, modern-day Call of Cthulhu scenario!

Investigators are tasked with retrieving old files hidden in the home of a fellow “society” member who passed away from (seemingly) natural causes. The scenario blends iconic American folklore together with Lovecraftian Mythos to weave a story with roots long predating the founding of the American colonies. Can your investigators survive a terror that’s over 600 years in the making?

The Great American Dynasty is a three-part mystery filled with abductions, body horror, mutilations, and violence. Also, be on the lookout for Space Cat Publishings next scenario, “The Curse of Punk,” where you explore the terrifying underbelly of punk society in the 1980s.

The Great American Dynasty: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/453708/the-great-american-dynasty-a-call-of-cthulhu-scenario?affiliate_id=51821 

Ghoul Lore:

• Arabic - lurked in cemeteries and uninhabited places

• male : ghoul female: ghoulla

• Could take on a pleasing shape to lure people. Some could transform into hyenas. Canine features. Light causes pain. Could transform to last person they devoured. Some legend was born looking human, then transformed when older (changeling)

• Edgar Allen Poe (one of Lovecraft’s literary heroes) wrote of ghoul in his poems The Bells and Ulalume

• Introduced to the west in 1700s when One Thousand & One Nights translate into french

• Modern audiences associate them with undead - possibly to George Romero Night of the living dead calling them ghouls

Literary Sources:

• Pickman’s Model, by H. P. Lovecraft (written 1926)

• The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, by H. P. Lovecraft (written 1927)

• The Dwellers Under the Tomb, by Robert E. Howard (first published in 1976, 30 years after his death, possible sequel to The Children of the Night (1931))

• The Charnal God, by Clark Ashton Smith (first published in 1937) 

• Amina, by Edward Lucas White (first published in 1907)

• Down in the Delta, by Adam Scott Glancy (posted to DriveThruRPG in 2018)

Down in the Delta: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/236934/delta-green-down-in-the-delta?affiliate_id=51821 

Ghoul Combat in Call of Cthulhu:

• Bullets do half damage (rubbery skin?)

• 3 attacks (with Bonus die to multiple attacks on a target, this can become overwhelming)

• Special Bite and Hold maneuver - (opposed STR (80 avg) or 1d4 per round)

Ghoul Game Hooks/Ideas:

• NPC is ghoul raised by humans

• PC is a ghoul raised by humans

• How to play a ghoul “fighting the urge” to feed

Ghoul Call of Cthulhu Scenarios:

There are a ton of scenarios that feature ghouls. The Yog-Sothoth.com wiki is a living resource that really helped with today’s topic. Some of the more notable scenarios include: 

• Paper Chase

• Pickman’s Student

• The Auction

• The Lurker in the Crypt 

• The Madman

• Thoth’s Dagger 

• The Fog of War

• Wail of the Witch

• Crimson Letters

If you’re interested in checking out the full list of ghoul scenarios, please join the Yog-Sothoth.com community so you too can check out their amazing wiki. I believe the list is primarily scenarios where ghouls have a major role, and not every scenario with a possible ghoul encounter. I did not see the Paris chapter of the Horror on the Orient Express campaign listed, or the introductory chapter of the Spawn of Azathoth campaign listed, or my Age of Cthulhu scenario, The Timeless Sands of India. So, a list of scenarios that include any instance of a ghoul is much-much larger. 

Sandy Petersen YouTube on Ghouls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVaJ7nca3lI 

Special Thanks to Bret Kramer and the amazing resources available at Yog-Sothoth.com. 

Miskatonic Repository Con: 

Don't miss the 5th Annual Miskatonic Repository Convention! This free online event runs from Friday, October 4th to Sunday, October 6th, and is dedicated to the Miskatonic Repository. Whether you're a seasoned creator, aspiring to be one, or simply eager to play some spine-chilling Call of Cthulhu scenarios, this convention is for you! 

There will be engaging panel discussions where you can learn the ins and outs of being a creator, and plenty of games to immerse yourself in. Player sign-ups open on Friday, September 6th. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow enthusiasts and creators. For more information, find the Miskatonic Repository Convention on Facebook, Discord, and Tabletop Events. (Don’t miss it)

Tabletop Events Link: https://tabletop.events/conventions/call-of-cthulhu-miskatonic-repository-con-2024  

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/3rd4RJq 

KamCon ‘24 – https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kamloopsconventions.ca%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2U3HwwV6cfSVmMeQUvV8opE0Jw8JYhFB15mq__SP0nR5S9t9ju-DDgBQA_aem_HPnRt8XpjFaEKCDr55mxfw&h=AT2HRGuAqL5hxjB81qWd42m_z0SEt_aJFM3f7r8M0IGh0cxDE4tkN9lE-q-DXWfPmEaLpHm9phcLEZHGstc_mNcZR3LSfwv1oRI-FdckP9dEVquw80M3_3LI7N6jJmQt8RA

We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! 

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes. 

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. 

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ 

http://thickets.net/

And once again, a huge thank you to our sponsor The Great American Dynasty. Remember to hit the link in the show notes and pick that up. Thanks for listening.

Up next in the Summer Book Club, Writing Monsters, by Philip Athans!

Listen as Jon and James discuss this (spoilers) AMAZING book on writing and designing monsters. The book is written from the perspective that the advice is for authors writing books, but the advice is equally applicable to authors writing roleplaying game adventures.

Writing Monsters, by Philip Athans: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Monsters-Believably-Terrifying-Creatures/dp/1599638088/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DRSII9BFZN5O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.WFQVVmH4h228kkTkYprEJE22Hd0FhYHSkcTqhGsdew-ehJrXTDubWyPRl0g2ikol0EB7taZ6ePXc1F_wLCVo3opPnSQScrV-8bjvok75rHIWmOGT2S_rB6r6_pWqAW2iojh7tm8fhRCW5l7VRoVj8-c_l6WCOtMDuKB4TLoY3NENSkuBSkrkytwwGJ_N1aXVmJ0sZVeltkzlYp1qmS-r7Qe2rUL5nLcQ5Vq3k146EQQ.Hqx-osIXKaCz0uxb3wQm9tuprcVNyvLQVF_fNLUJ_QA&dib_tag=se&keywords=writing+monsters&qid=1725031523&sprefix=writing+monsters%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-1 

Welcome to the first of three Summer Book Club episodes! Your hosts are Jon Hook and James Droucker.

Please forgive James' audio quality. We were so excited for the book club reading that we overlooked the need to have better quality sound.

Please enjoy this episode as James and I discuss the stories contained within this excellent anthology, Shadows Over Baker Street.

Sponsor: Fire Lizard Games - https://www.firelizardgames.com/ 

Shadows Over Baker Street: https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-over-Baker-Street/dp/B001E0OO66/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3GWM8DUX3KOU3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6r8bFygFQe77g_ZMNucu1uXDg92YgXPAOrTUvg79sW7gbPO5Zlk3Zg9-PP7a7FMjPP9CzxD6y1gJoikPYyxnRzoDybstiIXRlPwMjpqpj7227ETVKfxeRbKPFw-Bo9RnGgKxQo_-hiHRX3QX2HxfcXdYLq3Pbcj2GH8Cbdph-xL1QopleeTLl61R50h_-HUocLaoOLlgihmYAe-3SSvqKA.WcoVL7r3XJOLVC_ruEeFNBmWlzKKIGfNHrUXUsMFUUw&dib_tag=se&keywords=shadow+over+baker+street&qid=1721655403&sprefix=shadow+over+baker%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-1 

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 2: The Thirteen Bak'tun, by Jonathan Bagelman

Cast:

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Joe Hockin as Marcus Djuric, a bold Private Investigator, and as Paolo Ortega, an intrepid native explorer

Matt Repp as Gregory Lawrence Hildebrandt, a well-intentioned dilettante

Bryan Stephens as Ezra Irish, a fearless cowboy

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

It is September 1927, and our intrepid investigators are on a rescue mission for the Miskatonic University deep in the jungles of Veracruz.

This episode is sponsored by the Of Sorrow and Clay, by Graeme Patrick. Of Sorrow and Clay is a dark tale about family that takes you deep into the Appalachian Mountains of 1920s Kentucky in search for your old Pa. As his neighbor Jack puts it, “he says it was time to go see his wife, Sadie.” The only problem is she went missing decades earlier, and the old coot hasn’t been back in days. With hat in hand, Jack is begging you to put your squabbling aside and help him find your father before he does something he’ll regret in those dark, foreboding woods.

This character-driven story comes with five detailed Pre-gens to pick from, each with their

own secrets and grudges to keep. You may not like each other, but blood is blood, and it

runs deep in the black soils of the holler.

Ladened with moral choices, Of Sorrow and Clay offers plenty of role-playing opportunities

and is perfect for conventions running for 3 to 4 hours. It also offers a host of GM guidance

to help you wrangle the wayward Taft family.

DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/396056/of-sorrow-and-clay?affiliate_id=51821

In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about Actual Play Games -- how to make them, what traits they share with normal podcast recordings, and how they differ.

Episode Sponsor: The Great American Dynasty, by Keller O’Leary, published by Space Cat Publishing.

The Great American Dynasty is a true-blue, red-blooded, modern-day Call of Cthulhu scenario! Investigators are tasked with retrieving old files hidden in the home of a fellow “society” member who passed away from (seemingly) natural causes. The scenario blends iconic American folklore together with Lovecraftian Mythos to weave a story with roots long predating the founding of the American colonies. Can your investigators survive a terror that’s over 600 years in the making?

The Great American Dynasty is a three-part mystery filled with abductions, body horror, mutilations, and violence. Also, be on the lookout for Space Cat Publishing's next scenario, “The Curse of Punk,” where you explore the terrifying underbelly of punk society in the 1980s. Be sure to check out the link to The Great American Dynasty below. 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/453708/the-great-american-dynasty-a-call-of-cthulhu-scenario?affiliate_id=51821

 We can’t do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome! 

We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He’s a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website,  and please consider joining his Patreon account. Links in the show notes.

https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow

http://www.johnsumrow.com

https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow

And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft’s writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site. Links in the show notes. 

https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/ 

http://thickets.net/ 

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 2: The Thirteen Bak'tun, by Jonathan Bagelman

Cast:

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Joe Hockin as Marcus Djuric, a bold Private Investigator, and as Paolo Ortega, an intrepid native explorer

Matt Repp as Gregory Lawrence Hildebrandt, a well-intentioned dilettante

Bryan Stephens as Ezra Irish, a fearless cowboy

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

It is September 1927, and our intrepid investigators are on a rescue mission for the Miskatonic University deep in the jungles of Veracruz.

This episode is sponsored by the Of Sorrow and Clay, by Graeme Patrick. Of Sorrow and Clay is a dark tale about family that takes you deep into the Appalachian Mountains of 1920s Kentucky in search for your old Pa. As his neighbor Jack puts it, “he says it was time to go see his wife, Sadie.” The only problem is she went missing decades earlier, and the old coot hasn’t been back in days. With hat in hand, Jack is begging you to put your squabbling aside and help him find your father before he does something he’ll regret in those dark, foreboding woods.

This character-driven story comes with five detailed Pre-gens to pick from, each with their

own secrets and grudges to keep. You may not like each other, but blood is blood, and it

runs deep in the black soils of the holler.

Ladened with moral choices, Of Sorrow and Clay offers plenty of role-playing opportunities

and is perfect for conventions running for 3 to 4 hours. It also offers a host of GM guidance

to help you wrangle the wayward Taft family.

DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/396056/of-sorrow-and-clay?affiliate_id=51821

A Time for Sacrifice campaign

Chapter 2: The Thirteen Bak'tun, by Jonathan Bagelman

Cast:

David Fogel as Beauregard Lafayette Fulbright, a culinary-focused dilettante

Joe Hockin as Marcus Djuric, a bold Private Investigator, and as Paolo Ortega, an intrepid native explorer

Matt Repp as Gregory Lawrence Hildebrandt, a well-intentioned dilettante

Bryan Stephens as Ezra Irish, a fearless cowboy

and Jon Hook as the Keeper of Arcane Lore

Music composed by Jules Lawrence, and is used with permission. Visit his Bandcamp site at:

https://mrwilsonlawrencescabinetofcuriosities.bandcamp.com/

It is September 1927, and our intrepid investigators are on a rescue mission for the Miskatonic University deep in the jungles of Veracruz.

This episode is sponsored by the Of Sorrow and Clay, by Graeme Patrick. Of Sorrow and Clay is a dark tale about family that takes you deep into the Appalachian Mountains of 1920s Kentucky in search for your old Pa. As his neighbor Jack puts it, “he says it was time to go see his wife, Sadie.” The only problem is she went missing decades earlier, and the old coot hasn’t been back in days. With hat in hand, Jack is begging you to put your squabbling aside and help him find your father before he does something he’ll regret in those dark, foreboding woods.

This character-driven story comes with five detailed Pre-gens to pick from, each with their

own secrets and grudges to keep. You may not like each other, but blood is blood, and it

runs deep in the black soils of the holler.

Ladened with moral choices, Of Sorrow and Clay offers plenty of role-playing opportunities

and is perfect for conventions running for 3 to 4 hours. It also offers a host of GM guidance

to help you wrangle the wayward Taft family.

DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/396056/of-sorrow-and-clay?affiliate_id=51821