Modern Mythos - ep.45

In this episode, Seth and Jon can hardly contain their excitement for the new Cthulhu by Gaslight!

But first, thank you to this episode's sponsor, David Trotti and Amy Kate Connolly. They are the authors of the absolutely amazing, Japan: Empire of Shadows, the definitive sourcebook for roleplaying in Imperial Japan during the late Taisho and early Showa eras (1920 - 1932).

Japan: Empire of Shadows provides single-session story hooks and multi-session narrative threads, and it includes information to play either as foreign investigators or as Japanese investigators. The 400 page book includes 334 unique locations, 35 full color maps, over 70 NPCs, 20 player handouts, 6 pre-generated investigators, new spells, new Mythos tomes, new monsters, a concise history of the island nation, the Japanese people, and so much more. 

Japan: Empire of Shadows has achieved Platinum Level sales on DriveThruRPG. And it’s clear, with every page, that David and Amy took meticulous care to create an unparalleled sourcebook for the Call of Cthulhu game.  

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/446091/japan-empire-of-shadows-a-call-of-cthulhu-sourcebook-for-1920s-imperial-japan?affiliate_id=51821

 

Cthulhu by Gaslight:

Seth - First taste was in Cthulhu Through the Ages (2014) Only 4 pages long

• History

  • 1986 (Box) First Edition

  • 1988 - 2nd Ed

  • 2012 - 3rd

  • 2024 - 4th (Keeper book in 2025) - no Keeper Guide needed. 

• Social Classes (Upper, Middle, Working, Criminal)

  • Bonus Dice or Hard Difficulty for other Classes (p.271)

• New Skills

  • Reassure (⅕ APP p.95)

  • Mesmerism p.95 (compare to Pulp: Hypnosis p.37) - Suggestions/relax (Opposed by POW or Psychology with unwilling)

    • Alleviate Pain - perform as uninjured for 1d6 rnds.

    • Alleviate Mental Trauma - recover 1d3 San through mental blocks, overcome Phobia. 

    • Plant False Memories

Adventures & Supplements

• Hudson & Brand - Stygian Fox

• More Stygian Fox Titles - 

• Sacraments of Evil - (1993) Chaosium Six Adventures

• Cthulhu Britannica: Bad Company

  • Some of the other adventures in the Cthulhu Britannica line can also be adapted for Gaslight, like Strange Little Girl, and St. Swithu’s Hole 

• Cults of Cthulhu book has “Loki’s Gift”

• Games Workshop’s “Vanishing Conjurer” (statue of Sorcerer)1986

Media Inspirations

• From Hell (Film)

• Penny Dreadful (TV Series)

• Bodies (Netflix)

• Sherlock Holmes stories

• Young Sherlock Holmes (movie)

• Dracula

• Cthulhu Casebooks - Sherlock Holmes - James Lovegrove

• Great Train Robbery - Michael Crichton (book & film)

• Elephant Man (1980)

• (Pulp) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

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 Japan: Empire of Shadows, by David Trotti and Amy Kate Connolly. Remember to hit the link in the show notes and pick it up. Thanks for listening.