This scenario was so much fun to run and it really helped to have excellent role-players add to the mood. Everyone truly leaned into a family that despises each other and it elevated the experience. Thanks again for joining us Seth!
My advice? Substitute the map included with the Dartmoor map from Hitman 3. That's what I did, and it worked great... multiple floors, hidden passages, plenty of rooms. I actually used most of the grounds as well, since it already had a graveyard and gave me a greenhouse (full of poisonous plants) and garden maze as well.
Hey, I know you posted this a year ago but I'm running this adventure soon and that seems like a great idea. Do you have a more printer/rpg friendly version of the map? All the ones I can find are just the in-game map from hitman and that one doesn't have passages marked and is covered in game-specific icons I don't want to confuse my players with
Thanks. Sometimes I spend way longer than I should admit adding little effects or touches in the Jack scenes and I always wonder if anyone ever notices them. I finally had to admit I do them mostly for me as a "Wouldn't it be cool if..." or "This should be funny"
Jack has 97 rich aunts and uncles who are close to death and possess a dark secret they intent to share in their last will and testament. Then there's 285 former college friends, old war buddies, and aged mentors who all have one last favor to ask of him. No telling how many long-lost relatives and other connections who plan to surprise him with a telegram stating that they left him in their will. All in all, he attends about 5 will readings a month. Personally, I've chosen not to put him in mine. Seems safer that way.
@@SSkorkowsky Chaosium does love that hook, don't they? Only the high mortality/insanity/retirement rate of CoC player characters prevents that sort of thing from becoming more noticeable. When you're playing a brand new investigator every story or three you don't have time to accumulate a real wealth of tragically deceased relatives/friends/mentors etc.
"Communism was just a red herring". This is reminding me of Clue. I've always wanted to run a small one to two session adventure set in a gothic mansion filled with secret tunnels and red shirts.
Blood Brothers reminds me of this other RPG I have called "It came from the Late Late Late Show" where you play as the stars of a "Tales from the Crypt"/ "Elvira" protagonist. That game has two layers of meta, the characters and the actors playing the characters. One mechanic was you could roll your fame to throw a tantrum and go to your trailer to rewrite a scene.
This is literally one of the most classic episodes of Scooby Doo (So much so it had multiple separate crossovers with Batman, Urkle, and Supernatural) and that is so great.
I feel like if someone elects to flee the house in a car, having the demon chase them on the road could be a nice extra bit of drama for what is probably a sendoff to the character. A midnight chase in the pouring rain on a dangerous stretch of road sounds like an awesome final scene, it's super dramatic regardless of if they escape or if they die. (It also deals with the quite sensible response of "Someone should go call the police" line of thinking)
For that extra B-movie feel, it rips through the soft top and yanks the driver up out of the seat. The car rolls to a stop in the ditch. Later some policeman (maybe that same dude that set up that phony barricade if you use that) finds the abandoned car and goes up to the house and he knocks on the door just as all hell is breaking loose. Enter the player's new character.
rusty entrance gates tend to find a way of getting themselves locked I don't know if my PCs would have 100% faith in a police rescue if they had to bypass a corrupt officer on the drive up; can you imagine the phone call?? Yes, we're sending someone right away. Stay where you are...
When playing this you may want to make 'Uncle Timothy' a descendant of Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier. Lavoisier was the contentious father of modern chemistry who took some of the fundamental steps to bring it from pseudoscientific alchemy to a quantitative science, so he was well ahead of his time and bucked the generally accepted theories of natural philosophy of the time. He also was a prominent member of what was essentially a private tax collection company, so he did not have many friends amoung the French poor, working class or many merchants. Due to his unpopularity and his groundbreaking (al)chemical work rumors were common: that he consorted with demons, was rumored to have been seen in two places at the same time and bargained with spirits for secret knowledge. He was executed during the revolution on what were likely fairly flimsy charges. He fits well as a progenitor, though. You could say some of the rumors were true and perhaps the uncle found his ancestor's notes. It also explains the use of French (and why the PCs ought to have it) as well as an enslaved demon protector. Lavoisier is known for laying the groundwork for chemistry as an unimpassioned, scientific discipline and was no friend to the poor. It would not be a long jump to make up a fictitious immortality serum that required as ingredients a number of human hearts. They are just - necessary reagents.
10 minutes into the video and it's like you're setting up for a session mimicking the Clue movie. Adding secret passages and sprucing up the house with more fireplaces clinched it.
That would really work well if that Communist Jack Duncan can't make it to the reading. You could leave clues to the effect that the Communists were behind it from the beginning.
Love the review! my players defeated french handout with french-english dictionary that is 100% should be in uncle's library or study. I love when receiving handouts is not just rolls, but a small puzzle also =)
That does seem like a surprisingly sensible approach. And so obvious in hindsight. Although in you wanted to be mean about it, maybe the has library only has (say) a French-to-German dictionary and a German-to-English one, forcing an extra step in the translation process for maximum Babelfish misunderstanding potential.
Yaa! I have wanted a more campy Cthulhu game review. Also, a great idea for the Mansion map would be to break out the old Clue game and just steal the old cardboard map. Change around where the secret doors are and where they lead and maybe make an upstares area on a separate piece of paper. With a simple and familiar layout, you can have a super fast and easy mansion in no time at all. Just wanted to put that out there just for fun.
@@euansmith3699 Professor Plum: We can’t just jump to conclusions. We must first investigate every part of this mansion. Go see what’s in that pot over there! *sees cousin get melted* Professor Plum: You know what never mind. It was Colonel Mustard. Plum out!!!
@@doceideer7993 But if you want to know who killed Mr. Body, I did in the hall with the revolver, now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go home and have sex with my wife.
Aw, a Blood Brothers scenario. How nostalgic. I remember doing practical experiments with a pot roast on the back patio to "prove" they'd underrated the damage an ice pick did. 1d2, seriously?
I'm glad I watched this review. I started avoiding non-Lovecraftian non-1920s Call of Cthulhu games like the plague after a really bad experience. Someone made a zombie comedy set in the 1980s using the CoC ruleset, and it was extremely railroaded, tedious, and awful to play. I walked away from the table midway out of boredom and frustration. I think that GM just had no idea how to make campaigns. But through this channel I've been learning about CoC games outside the normal 1920s Lovecraft wheelhouse that genuinely sound good, and that's opened me back up to trying stuff I'd normally see as covered in red flags. Thanks for all you do, Seth!
Yes more CoC scenario content from Seth. Update for my Horror on the Orient Express game I mentioned a few months ago. We’ve lost a few PCs already and we just finished Trieste. Everyone’s PCs are not of a great mental state after that one lol.
The whole "you have the stay in the house to get your inheritance" thing is right out of the movie Malpertius. Great movie. You should definitely watch it you like or want to run this scenario.
Re: The small-ish house map, I always thought it reflected the B-movie vibe they were going for. How big a set budget do you really expect out of that sort of thing? :)
To this day, one of the dumbest, yet simultaneously, one of the most satisfying Call of Cthulhu games I ever run came from Blood Brothers 2 called "Alive & Kicking". I don't want to give up too much, but it's really stupid and involves a footballer (soccer player); I recommend it. I do wish more scenarios were really, really stupid and just campy fun as it's a great change of pace, they also work brilliantly as one shots where you don't really have any interest in maintaining your characters as much like a Jason film or similar, players sometimes are part of a scoreboard and death can be funny and ludicrously satisfying if some people make really quite unlikeable characters. If anyone isn't sure about getting Blood Brothers, or Blood Brothers 2. I'll name one more scenario and, you'll know if you'll want it or not. "Ancient Nazi Midget Shamans" Simply beautiful!
Looks fun, but yeah, that map... There are only are there only four bedrooms for a game of up to six investigators! They need to be separated at night! And also as a stately house built in 1877, there should be a parlour, withdrawing room, smoking room, billiard room etc., etc. And the servant's quarters should be way smaller than the guest rooms, possibly in the attic.
Having recently read the handouts from the Scenario. I think 1877 is a misprint, as they say Jebediah Duncan originally left Massachusetts in 1675, all of a sudden 202 years later he's built a house that he's wintering in with his family. Chances are that the house is much smaller than a stately house built in 1877. Probably something more in line with some of the older buildings you'd find in New England.
@@phillipribbink6903 That makes sense (although 1877 might have been a tear down and re-build); but a different map with more guest rooms, a parlour, and some bathrooms would be closer to what I as a 21st century person would call a mansion. And you would separate all six characters at night.
@@dutch6857 By the sounds of the set up, the house started out as something built when the land was settled. Then once the Vermont Duncans died out the rest of the family inherited the house and used it as a summer vacation home. So the small size makes sense in that context.
@@phillipribbink6903 I hear you, and absolutely the original farmhouse can be there as the core of the house with wings and additions; but I, myself, would use a map with more bedrooms, a parlour or lounge (not just the dining room) and some bathrooms if just for game play if nothing else. The family had money, they would have upgraded. Lights, plumbing, more room.
I've watched most of your videos to date and your evolving production quality and content library is quite remarkable. Thanks for doing all this great material for us, Seth.
This scenario reminded me a lot of the old movie The Cat and the Canary, and had almost exactly the same premise. Except the monsters were, you know, real. I ran this at the Gamers Association of Southwestern Pennsylvania at our monthly meeting, and everyone involved had a blast. We had seven players so I fleshed out Peter into a fully fledged player character. I did not think to have the PCs know any secrets about other PCs. But I did actually write a legal summons that all the PCs received and typed up a copy of the will that I furnished to all the players after the reading. And I gave the Entertainer (can’t remember her name) 60% skill in French since her background said she had spent time in Paris. Thanks you so much for reviewing this, as it is one of my favorite CoC scenarios!
I must have run this scenario over a dozen times since its publication. I used to run it as a one-shot Halloween special, and it never gets old. No one has ever attempted to just leave the estate. They all want the money, and I make them earn every dime of it.
I actually saw that little session on into the darkness last night; and it was awesome. By the way, congratulations on actually surviving that one and also getting to be the one to one shot the boss to.
I ran this one last year with my regular group. The two changes I made were 1. My players played their regular investigators and one of them took the place of the errant cousin Peter who didn’t show up while the remaining cousins were NPCs, and 2. Uncle Ooze/Timothy has summoned a Night Gaunt to assist him so there’s a Mythos connection. My helper NPC who accompanies the PCs is proficient in French. The PCs shoved the cousins in the library and had my helper NPC read Timothy’s diary while holding the cousins at gun point. I did similar changes to the Phantom Strikes scenario from Blood Brothers. Loved that one.
This was the CoC adventure my gm decided to use to introduce the group to the game. We had a lot of fun (despite the issues you mentioned) and somehow all the PCs survived. It also did a great job highlighting just how bad my fellow players and I are at playing terrible people. We kept working together and then suddenly remembering "oh, right, I DON'T want you to succeed". Coulda ended up with a larger share if I'd just let K's character die at the end, but noooo. Now I'm here watching all your awesome videos while preparing ideas for running my first Pulp Cthulhu game in a couple months
White Dwarf magazine had a scenario where investigators visit a house and the set up is that the inhabitant is a vampire but they are not they have some illness making them look pale etc etc plus other stuff - almost entirely made of red herrings IIRC
Nicely done, as always. I got the original Blood Brothers back in the 80s or 90s, I think. I've had it forever. Love the ideas about the secret passages though the whole house seems like it should be bigger. I'll need to revisit this one for a Halloween special again. I did that for Trick or Treat last year. Looking forward to watching the vids of your game sessions.
man, I really thought that something had happened to your channel, for almost a month NO video from you in my sub fee, when I looked there was 5 videos that never saw, and BTW I have the "bell" thingy activated.oh well, I am happy that you are ok and that is only the algorithm god screwing me. Big salute from Spain
Yeah, RUclips has a slight habit of forgetting to share when channels you've subscribed to post. The Bell icon helps, but not by terribly much. It's annoying.
For added amusement, throw out the map given for the mansion and go find the map to the film version of Clue! and use that. Give a free advantage die or whatever reward you think is appropriate to whomever figures it out first.
While I admit that would be interesting, I feel like that would encourage the players to take risks with their characters' lives. That don't fit with these greedy characters, that are largely motivated by self-interest. I mean even a money-grubbing relative has a point where they say "Screw the money, I wanna get out of here with my life and my sanity intact."
Had the most wonderful time playing this scenario - I played as Cousin Barnabus Collins-Duncan II also known as "Barmy Barney" a Bertie Wooster type that's surprisingly well travelled, but is a bit of a wastrel nutjob. He spent most of the scenario investigating with glee, dressed in a smoking jacket and smoking cap with a large magnifying glass. Only to take up arms towards the end for the final confrontation. He actually survived with only the tiniest bit of sanity loss, so the Keeper and I have decided that in the near future Barney goes on to help my previous character, Gertrude Millard, fund her paranormal/mythos research and combative organisation "The Millard Foundation"
Hi, Seth! I was looking forward for this review! I watched the episodes and had a blast! Really liked your suggestions, especially the gargoyle idea. I myself tweaked the scenario and added a bunch of details to try and tie the story better. One exemple was a paragraph in Richard Duncan’s journal saying that the spell would be more potent the more blood ties the hearts shared with the sorcerer. This would explain why Uncle Timothy set his nephews up, instead of murdering random people for their hearts. I even added a part where Richard lamented not having children. Just to add to the creepiness! Another big change was the house map, that I drew on AutoCad, based on a real Victorian Mansion. Great scenario! Hope you play more games with Holly and the gang! Edit: spelling
I LOVE this scenario! I've ran it several times for groups at conventions, though when I first read it, I knew I had to make one major change. From the 1920's to 1989. Why then you ask? Because its the end of the 80's and the bag phone was invented in 1988 (I bought one off ebay as a table decoration). This game really felt to me like those terrible 80's horror movies where you looked forward to all the scummy, awful people getting killed. And let me tell you, my convention groups always made me proud of just how awful human beings can be to each other over money. I am always tweaking it and I have already changed a few things you brought up, but I will be using a lot of the rest of them from now on. Great game and I was stoked to see that the Master finally did a review on it
I loved these detective mansion movies as a kid. There were a lot of German Edgar Wallace movies like - The Monk with the Whip - The Hound of Blackwood Castle - Der Hexer
My biggest problem would be that at least some player death are almost predetermined to happen early on - just to get that "ten li'l injuns" Horror B-Picture mood going. But that _by design_ leaves one or two players to basically spend at least half the evening sitting on the sidelines and watching, with nothing better to do... Maybe there could be a way to either free some of the servants from the spell they are under, so they can become replacement PCs, or perhaps instead of already being dead, the "missing" couins are just tied up in the basement, because the ritual has to happen withing 24h or so... just some way to allow the first two players whose characters get killed early on to stay in the game.
Its really cool to have your usual super informative content AND the option to watch you play the adventure. Super cool video :3. You also inspired me to design a Resident Evil style mansion for my next game. Oh and on a side note: Im used to playing with twins who constantly bicker about anything. I really need to play this adventure with them. They don't even need to roleplay. They are naturals xD.
Hey Seth have you heard of Mothership, it's a scifi horror game with plenty of modules, most of which are like a few bucks, its reminiscent of call of cthulhu and traveller mixed
It took me about three quarters of the video to realise that the adventures sounds like its based on MR James's Lost Hearts, with the demon from the film version of his Casting the Runes (Night of the Demon).
"Me, I'm a man of action. Jungle action. Dealing with the Pekingese man-o'-war, the Rubenesque laughing cobra, the knock-kneed squirrel-cat, or the Tahungan mouse-bunny, I'm right at home then. But my jungle... is the jungle. Not the house jungle, with walls and lamps and...stuff. Here I'm the hunted, not the hunter." - Jack Tugdon - Dark and Stormy Night (2008)
I wonder if maybe instead of having a PC be in cahoots with the Keeper on the police roadblock obstacle, it could have been from the Peter NPC. That way, it adds more to the initial red herring of Peter being an antagonist (and set up the idea of backstabbing still) but then it could be interpreted later as them actually trying to help the PCs (with the hope of keeping them from the house and turn away).
@Seth Skorkowsky Totally unrelated but I have been listening to Hounacier on Audible and just finished Chapter 12 (Adavay). Just as it was wrapping up, I sat here feeling the excitement of the moment. Holy f*ck Seth. That is some wicked shit you got packed into that noggin of yours. Of course I listened to Damoren first and I will admit that Hounancier got off to a slower start but now that I am halfway through, I've come to realize that it is a slow burn and with the ending of chapter 12, that has erupted into a blood-spun sphere of demon fire. I have been running Kult and I am seriously considering adapting the Valducan series into a campaign because I know my players will absolutely love it. Simply awesome.
Glad you're enjoying it. Damoren was more of an action/adventure. It's got big guns and big battles and tons of monsters as we save the world. I decided for Book 2 to flip that around and make the stakes personal. It's more of a noir/horror. Originally, I'd planned to do Ibenus as Book 2, but a couple weeks after finishing Damoren we spent an extended weekend in New Orleans and I got the idea for Hounacier and couldn't get it out of my head until I wrote it out. It cemented the pattern that every book not only focuses on a different weapon but a different theme, that way I could ensure they never felt like the same thing rehashed. Hounacier is my favorite of the series. It's also the darkest.
@@SSkorkowsky Okay, I finished Hounacier and then blew through Ibenus in about a week before jumping right into Redemptor. Through the four books, I really enjoyed how each had its own viewpoint, tone and feel. And now that I have completed the series, I feel the urge to listen to it again so I can remind myself where the characters came from and where they ended up. So thanks for the stories. Here's hoping that the Valducans journey will continue one day, perhaps with Sister Gaze and Scarecrow at their side. Oh an Oogway (apologies if I am mispelling his name) but I really liked that little guy and his interactions with Matt.
Very nice review, as usual. May I suggest something? You mentionned a while ago that you would like to see more one player scenarios for CoC. I bought "Does love forgive?" last week and the two scenarios within seem pretty cool. Your appreciation/comments on those would be great. (btw, Damoren is in the mail right now :) )
Step 1: Make an adventure with pregenerated characters. Step 2: Make an obvious clue for information that spells out the most of the plot be written by the antagonist in french. Step 3: Have none of those characters speak french. I haven't read or played it, but based on the tone of this adventure, I'd dare say that the point is in the fact that no one can read it. Uncle Timothy hates these people, knows who they are, and knows darn well that none of them speak french. Likewise, the idea the one of these schmucks would sit there for four hours staring at a book they can't read for any chance of a clue to some stashed away cash seems not all that out there, and also pretty funny. If it's the only source of information on Timothy's overall plot, then sure, it's a bit mean. But if things can be pieced together from other clues, it seems like a pretty good joke that shouldn't waste too much of a player's time, even if it does waste the character's time.
Hey Seth! Have you ever heard of Beyond the Mountains of Madness? Its a fantastic campaign and I'd look forward to a review on it from you, im currently running it for my group and hoo boy. Theres a lot of stuff , almost 30+ hand outs of maps, notes, clues
I know this video is three years old, but I'm literally about to run it for Halloween, and there's one thing that's giving me pause: Handling the player deaths. It seems like at least one, maybe two of the PCs will get whacked by Uncle Timothy, and one of those deaths comes quite quickly (the demon/gargoyle). What does that player then do for the next two hours? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated - this video has already given me loads of ideas for enhancing the scenario, so your channel is an insta-subscribe for me!
Hey Seth! Great video as always. This is sort of unrelated but I was wondering if you had any experience running Spelljammer! I'm prepping a campaign for my players and I figured you might know something about it since you always have knowledge of these sorts of D&D products :)
That seems a bit like "It came from the late, late, late show", an RPG from the 80'ies all about being actors in B-Movies. Surprisingly still for sale in German.
![Twenty One Pilots - “The Line” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2Rj2gQAyPA/mqdefault.jpg)
This scenario was so much fun to run and it really helped to have excellent role-players add to the mood. Everyone truly leaned into a family that despises each other and it elevated the experience. Thanks again for joining us Seth!
Thank you so much for running me through it.
it was also very fun to the watcher/listener, thanks to everyone involved.
Holly, thanks for give Seth an opportunity to play!
I like way Uncle Timothy operates! 😁
The sessions were amazing to watch too. I could _feel_ the venom
My advice? Substitute the map included with the Dartmoor map from Hitman 3. That's what I did, and it worked great... multiple floors, hidden passages, plenty of rooms. I actually used most of the grounds as well, since it already had a graveyard and gave me a greenhouse (full of poisonous plants) and garden maze as well.
Hey, I know you posted this a year ago but I'm running this adventure soon and that seems like a great idea. Do you have a more printer/rpg friendly version of the map? All the ones I can find are just the in-game map from hitman and that one doesn't have passages marked and is covered in game-specific icons I don't want to confuse my players with
Just finding this now but that was absolutely my first thought as soon as Seth mentioned the map being bad. Seems like a perfect solution.
Yes please answer his request
@@mikesands4681 I tried several times, when austin asked the question, but for some reason my replies kept getting deleted. No clue why, so I gave up.
@@WarpedLordif you are attempting to post links that's the most likely reason
No Jack, it's never too early to start drinking, it is forever too late.
It's 5 o'clock somewhere.
Here here!
🤣🍻😁
Both, Jack looking out of the window, and Jack fighting the zombie, are really well done.
The rain effect was a nice touch
@@shaddonon Seth really puts so much effort in to these productions. 👍👍👍
Thanks. Sometimes I spend way longer than I should admit adding little effects or touches in the Jack scenes and I always wonder if anyone ever notices them. I finally had to admit I do them mostly for me as a "Wouldn't it be cool if..." or "This should be funny"
@@SSkorkowsky So, what you're saying is that, in the absence of a legend to believe, create one.
@@SSkorkowsky
Nice, they are really cool though. So we notice, don't worry.
"A greasy living ooze". Yeah, sounds like most of my uncles alright. Quite a believable scenario.
I wonder how many relatives that Jack has lost over the years that have been involved in an inheritance...i'm guessing dozens.
Jack has 97 rich aunts and uncles who are close to death and possess a dark secret they intent to share in their last will and testament. Then there's 285 former college friends, old war buddies, and aged mentors who all have one last favor to ask of him. No telling how many long-lost relatives and other connections who plan to surprise him with a telegram stating that they left him in their will. All in all, he attends about 5 will readings a month. Personally, I've chosen not to put him in mine. Seems safer that way.
@@SSkorkowsky Chaosium does love that hook, don't they? Only the high mortality/insanity/retirement rate of CoC player characters prevents that sort of thing from becoming more noticeable. When you're playing a brand new investigator every story or three you don't have time to accumulate a real wealth of tragically deceased relatives/friends/mentors etc.
@@SSkorkowskyJack must have been quite the social butterfly in his college years.
"Communism was just a red herring".
This is reminding me of Clue. I've always wanted to run a small one to two session adventure set in a gothic mansion filled with secret tunnels and red shirts.
Check out the Westchester house COC scenback. If you missed it, Seth covered it awhile back.
Blood Brothers reminds me of this other RPG I have called "It came from the Late Late Late Show" where you play as the stars of a "Tales from the Crypt"/ "Elvira" protagonist. That game has two layers of meta, the characters and the actors playing the characters. One mechanic was you could roll your fame to throw a tantrum and go to your trailer to rewrite a scene.
Good game, actually the first one I was a GM in. Weirdly enough, you can still buy it, but only in German.
West End Games actually put out a "Tales From the Crypt" RPG sometime in the early/mid "90's. Reminds me alot of that!
This is literally one of the most classic episodes of Scooby Doo (So much so it had multiple separate crossovers with Batman, Urkle, and Supernatural) and that is so great.
I feel like if someone elects to flee the house in a car, having the demon chase them on the road could be a nice extra bit of drama for what is probably a sendoff to the character. A midnight chase in the pouring rain on a dangerous stretch of road sounds like an awesome final scene, it's super dramatic regardless of if they escape or if they die.
(It also deals with the quite sensible response of "Someone should go call the police" line of thinking)
For that extra B-movie feel, it rips through the soft top and yanks the driver up out of the seat. The car rolls to a stop in the ditch. Later some policeman (maybe that same dude that set up that phony barricade if you use that) finds the abandoned car and goes up to the house and he knocks on the door just as all hell is breaking loose. Enter the player's new character.
rusty entrance gates tend to find a way of getting themselves locked
I don't know if my PCs would have 100% faith in a police rescue if they had to bypass a corrupt officer on the drive up;
can you imagine the phone call??
Yes, we're sending someone right away. Stay where you are...
Why not make the corrupt cop a bastard cousin of the others? I mean he wasn't invited but he wants a piece of the loot.
When playing this you may want to make 'Uncle Timothy' a descendant of Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier. Lavoisier was the contentious father of modern chemistry who took some of the fundamental steps to bring it from pseudoscientific alchemy to a quantitative science, so he was well ahead of his time and bucked the generally accepted theories of natural philosophy of the time. He also was a prominent member of what was essentially a private tax collection company, so he did not have many friends amoung the French poor, working class or many merchants. Due to his unpopularity and his groundbreaking (al)chemical work rumors were common: that he consorted with demons, was rumored to have been seen in two places at the same time and bargained with spirits for secret knowledge. He was executed during the revolution on what were likely fairly flimsy charges. He fits well as a progenitor, though. You could say some of the rumors were true and perhaps the uncle found his ancestor's notes. It also explains the use of French (and why the PCs ought to have it) as well as an enslaved demon protector. Lavoisier is known for laying the groundwork for chemistry as an unimpassioned, scientific discipline and was no friend to the poor. It would not be a long jump to make up a fictitious immortality serum that required as ingredients a number of human hearts. They are just - necessary reagents.
Oooohhhhh! History is so much fun sometimes. Interesting at least.
nice idea
10 minutes into the video and it's like you're setting up for a session mimicking the Clue movie. Adding secret passages and sprucing up the house with more fireplaces clinched it.
That would really work well if that Communist Jack Duncan can't make it to the reading. You could leave clues to the effect that the Communists were behind it from the beginning.
Love the review! my players defeated french handout with french-english dictionary that is 100% should be in uncle's library or study. I love when receiving handouts is not just rolls, but a small puzzle also =)
That does seem like a surprisingly sensible approach. And so obvious in hindsight. Although in you wanted to be mean about it, maybe the has library only has (say) a French-to-German dictionary and a German-to-English one, forcing an extra step in the translation process for maximum Babelfish misunderstanding potential.
Yaa! I have wanted a more campy Cthulhu game review.
Also, a great idea for the Mansion map would be to break out the old Clue game and just steal the old cardboard map. Change around where the secret doors are and where they lead and maybe make an upstares area on a separate piece of paper. With a simple and familiar layout, you can have a super fast and easy mansion in no time at all.
Just wanted to put that out there just for fun.
"By George! It is Colonel Mustard, with a candle stick in the back passage!"
@@euansmith3699 Professor Plum: We can’t just jump to conclusions. We must first investigate every part of this mansion. Go see what’s in that pot over there!
*sees cousin get melted*
Professor Plum: You know what never mind. It was Colonel Mustard. Plum out!!!
It sound like a super fun idea
@@doceideer7993 But if you want to know who killed Mr. Body, I did in the hall with the revolver, now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go home and have sex with my wife.
That's actually pretty smart. I'm stealing that idea.
Aw, a Blood Brothers scenario. How nostalgic.
I remember doing practical experiments with a pot roast on the back patio to "prove" they'd underrated the damage an ice pick did. 1d2, seriously?
Ice picks are quite wicked.
I play this scenario for my family and it was hilarious, everyone got a chance to mess with each other. Best session ever!
I'm glad I watched this review. I started avoiding non-Lovecraftian non-1920s Call of Cthulhu games like the plague after a really bad experience. Someone made a zombie comedy set in the 1980s using the CoC ruleset, and it was extremely railroaded, tedious, and awful to play. I walked away from the table midway out of boredom and frustration. I think that GM just had no idea how to make campaigns. But through this channel I've been learning about CoC games outside the normal 1920s Lovecraft wheelhouse that genuinely sound good, and that's opened me back up to trying stuff I'd normally see as covered in red flags. Thanks for all you do, Seth!
Yes more CoC scenario content from Seth. Update for my Horror on the Orient Express game I mentioned a few months ago. We’ve lost a few PCs already and we just finished Trieste. Everyone’s PCs are not of a great mental state after that one lol.
The whole "you have the stay in the house to get your inheritance" thing is right out of the movie Malpertius. Great movie. You should definitely watch it you like or want to run this scenario.
A comment to note this to myself in the future, thank you good sir and cheers!
Re: The small-ish house map, I always thought it reflected the B-movie vibe they were going for. How big a set budget do you really expect out of that sort of thing? :)
Knives out comparison is apt. This scenario sounds like it was fun and exciting
Just don’t make it as plot convenient as Knives out..... it got painful, oh of course it was the theatrical prop he used.... right.
To this day, one of the dumbest, yet simultaneously, one of the most satisfying Call of Cthulhu games I ever run came from Blood Brothers 2 called "Alive & Kicking". I don't want to give up too much, but it's really stupid and involves a footballer (soccer player); I recommend it.
I do wish more scenarios were really, really stupid and just campy fun as it's a great change of pace, they also work brilliantly as one shots where you don't really have any interest in maintaining your characters as much like a Jason film or similar, players sometimes are part of a scoreboard and death can be funny and ludicrously satisfying if some people make really quite unlikeable characters.
If anyone isn't sure about getting Blood Brothers, or Blood Brothers 2. I'll name one more scenario and, you'll know if you'll want it or not.
"Ancient Nazi Midget Shamans"
Simply beautiful!
It's surprisingly difficult to deliberately write a stupid but entertaining adventure. Harder than doing it with a film, anyway. :)
Midget Nazis. Oh my goodness, that is so dang tempting.
I've always remembered plating this back in high school, but never knew the name. Now I do, big thanks!
Looks fun, but yeah, that map... There are only are there only four bedrooms for a game of up to six investigators! They need to be separated at night!
And also as a stately house built in 1877, there should be a parlour, withdrawing room, smoking room, billiard room etc., etc. And the servant's quarters should be way smaller than the guest rooms, possibly in the attic.
Having recently read the handouts from the Scenario. I think 1877 is a misprint, as they say Jebediah Duncan originally left Massachusetts in 1675, all of a sudden 202 years later he's built a house that he's wintering in with his family. Chances are that the house is much smaller than a stately house built in 1877. Probably something more in line with some of the older buildings you'd find in New England.
@@phillipribbink6903 That makes sense (although 1877 might have been a tear down and re-build); but a different map with more guest rooms, a parlour, and some bathrooms would be closer to what I as a 21st century person would call a mansion. And you would separate all six characters at night.
@@dutch6857 By the sounds of the set up, the house started out as something built when the land was settled. Then once the Vermont Duncans died out the rest of the family inherited the house and used it as a summer vacation home. So the small size makes sense in that context.
@@phillipribbink6903 I hear you, and absolutely the original farmhouse can be there as the core of the house with wings and additions; but I, myself, would use a map with more bedrooms, a parlour or lounge (not just the dining room) and some bathrooms if just for game play if nothing else. The family had money, they would have upgraded. Lights, plumbing, more room.
@@dutch6857 Guess I better start digging for good mansions maps, since I'm no architect.
I've watched most of your videos to date and your evolving production quality and content library is quite remarkable. Thanks for doing all this great material for us, Seth.
Jack Duncan sounds like... well, like everyone with that kind of ideological zeal.
I have to say, the bits with Jack really add to the mood.
Now I want a movie done that way. 😂
This scenario reminded me a lot of the old movie The Cat and the Canary, and had almost exactly the same premise. Except the monsters were, you know, real. I ran this at the Gamers Association of Southwestern Pennsylvania at our monthly meeting, and everyone involved had a blast. We had seven players so I fleshed out Peter into a fully fledged player character. I did not think to have the PCs know any secrets about other PCs. But I did actually write a legal summons that all the PCs received and typed up a copy of the will that I furnished to all the players after the reading. And I gave the Entertainer (can’t remember her name) 60% skill in French since her background said she had spent time in Paris. Thanks you so much for reviewing this, as it is one of my favorite CoC scenarios!
I'm in Into the Darkness. I'm not in the game you mentioned but it's cool hearing about the club in a video.
nothing like surviving to the end of the module only to hear the words "when his back is turned we smash him in the head " from the other player
Anyone else watch these just to listen to Seth's soothing voice talking about a cool story you'll probably never experience first-hand?
I must have run this scenario over a dozen times since its publication. I used to run it as a one-shot Halloween special, and it never gets old. No one has ever attempted to just leave the estate. They all want the money, and I make them earn every dime of it.
I actually saw that little session on into the darkness last night; and it was awesome. By the way, congratulations on actually surviving that one and also getting to be the one to one shot the boss to.
Yeah, it's one of their best oneshots. You can really sense the venom and Holly did great as a Keeper
the first 50 seconds of this video made me decide i must have this scenario even though i dont have the rules for call of cthulu
14:32 “I’m sorry Aunt Mabel!” had me cracking up.
I ran this one last year with my regular group. The two changes I made were 1. My players played their regular investigators and one of them took the place of the errant cousin Peter who didn’t show up while the remaining cousins were NPCs, and 2. Uncle Ooze/Timothy has summoned a Night Gaunt to assist him so there’s a Mythos connection.
My helper NPC who accompanies the PCs is proficient in French. The PCs shoved the cousins in the library and had my helper NPC read Timothy’s diary while holding the cousins at gun point.
I did similar changes to the Phantom Strikes scenario from Blood Brothers. Loved that one.
Interesting concept for a group that can really get into character. Already thinking of a bunch of ways to tweak this. Red Herrings and whatnot.
This was the CoC adventure my gm decided to use to introduce the group to the game. We had a lot of fun (despite the issues you mentioned) and somehow all the PCs survived. It also did a great job highlighting just how bad my fellow players and I are at playing terrible people. We kept working together and then suddenly remembering "oh, right, I DON'T want you to succeed". Coulda ended up with a larger share if I'd just let K's character die at the end, but noooo.
Now I'm here watching all your awesome videos while preparing ideas for running my first Pulp Cthulhu game in a couple months
This is one of those "where has this been all my life" moments for me. I have been looking for non-mythos adventures for CoC. Thank you.
White Dwarf magazine had a scenario where investigators visit a house and the set up is that the inhabitant is a vampire but they are not they have some illness making them look pale etc etc plus other stuff - almost entirely made of red herrings IIRC
Nicely done, as always. I got the original Blood Brothers back in the 80s or 90s, I think. I've had it forever. Love the ideas about the secret passages though the whole house seems like it should be bigger. I'll need to revisit this one for a Halloween special again. I did that for Trick or Treat last year. Looking forward to watching the vids of your game sessions.
I think any house that's smaller than the mansion from Clue is probably too small. Lots of space for secret passages and getting lost.
@@SSkorkowsky Right. Hell House or Hill House would probably do as well.
Dang. The premise alone makes me hope Chaosium does a either a 7e update or a typo-corrected reprint of the books. :)
"You are all such little People" should be MY CATCHPHRASE... for Life 😏
Jack is so funny 😂 Love the channel!!!
You must have a collection of 70's and 80's RPGs to match my own.
Old roleplayers never die, they just roll away.
So Jack Duncan is like Marx: all talk and no work
man, I really thought that something had happened to your channel, for almost a month NO video from you in my sub fee, when I looked there was 5 videos that never saw, and BTW I have the "bell" thingy activated.oh well, I am happy that you are ok and that is only the algorithm god screwing me. Big salute from Spain
Yeah, RUclips has a slight habit of forgetting to share when channels you've subscribed to post. The Bell icon helps, but not by terribly much. It's annoying.
"...meaning that it requires three French rolls to read this."
Would I still pass if I had croissants?
For added amusement, throw out the map given for the mansion and go find the map to the film version of Clue! and use that. Give a free advantage die or whatever reward you think is appropriate to whomever figures it out first.
I wonder if asking players to contribute 10-20$ to a pot to divide between the survivors might create some neat incentive for the game.
While I admit that would be interesting, I feel like that would encourage the players to take risks with their characters' lives. That don't fit with these greedy characters, that are largely motivated by self-interest. I mean even a money-grubbing relative has a point where they say "Screw the money, I wanna get out of here with my life and my sanity intact."
I suggest just having a prize for whoever makes it the whole weekend with the most inheritance. And a bonus for best roleplayed
Oh, these one shots sound right up my alley. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
Anyone else notice that Jack the NPC looks like Trip from Enterprise?
Had the most wonderful time playing this scenario - I played as Cousin Barnabus Collins-Duncan II also known as "Barmy Barney" a Bertie Wooster type that's surprisingly well travelled, but is a bit of a wastrel nutjob.
He spent most of the scenario investigating with glee, dressed in a smoking jacket and smoking cap with a large magnifying glass. Only to take up arms towards the end for the final confrontation.
He actually survived with only the tiniest bit of sanity loss, so the Keeper and I have decided that in the near future Barney goes on to help my previous character, Gertrude Millard, fund her paranormal/mythos research and combative organisation "The Millard Foundation"
DriveThruRPG ought to pay you commissions.
I do get a little Affiliate Commission if anyone purchases from them using the link in my video description.
Hi from Spain, love your channel!
Thank you very much.
Hi, Seth! I was looking forward for this review! I watched the episodes and had a blast! Really liked your suggestions, especially the gargoyle idea.
I myself tweaked the scenario and added a bunch of details to try and tie the story better. One exemple was a paragraph in Richard Duncan’s journal saying that the spell would be more potent the more blood ties the hearts shared with the sorcerer. This would explain why Uncle Timothy set his nephews up, instead of murdering random people for their hearts. I even added a part where Richard lamented not having children. Just to add to the creepiness!
Another big change was the house map, that I drew on AutoCad, based on a real Victorian Mansion.
Great scenario! Hope you play more games with Holly and the gang!
Edit: spelling
I was looking for a good halloween scenario. This seems perfect :3
19:10 How very "Creepshow" of Uncle Timothy!
But does he get his Cake?!
I LOVE this scenario! I've ran it several times for groups at conventions, though when I first read it, I knew I had to make one major change. From the 1920's to 1989. Why then you ask? Because its the end of the 80's and the bag phone was invented in 1988 (I bought one off ebay as a table decoration). This game really felt to me like those terrible 80's horror movies where you looked forward to all the scummy, awful people getting killed. And let me tell you, my convention groups always made me proud of just how awful human beings can be to each other over money. I am always tweaking it and I have already changed a few things you brought up, but I will be using a lot of the rest of them from now on. Great game and I was stoked to see that the Master finally did a review on it
I loved these detective mansion movies as a kid. There were a lot of German Edgar Wallace movies like - The Monk with the Whip - The Hound of Blackwood Castle - Der Hexer
I will be doing this next week
Best of luck with the game.
Another very nice Cthulhu adventure review video, they are my favorite.
Thank Seth. Your reviews and rpg philosophy videos has helped me become a better DM. Gonna be running a Kult game in a week.
Happy to be of help. Good luck with the game.
@@SSkorkowsky Thanks for replying. The game was great. Wouldn't have been near as good with out all the help I got form the videos you make
21:33. You forgot the Immortality Spell. That's nice too.
My biggest problem would be that at least some player death are almost predetermined to happen early on - just to get that "ten li'l injuns" Horror B-Picture mood going. But that _by design_ leaves one or two players to basically spend at least half the evening sitting on the sidelines and watching, with nothing better to do... Maybe there could be a way to either free some of the servants from the spell they are under, so they can become replacement PCs, or perhaps instead of already being dead, the "missing" couins are just tied up in the basement, because the ritual has to happen withing 24h or so... just some way to allow the first two players whose characters get killed early on to stay in the game.
this whole thing reminds me of the elegant dinner party scene from Archer and I love it!
Scott brown real estate didn't want the property,which says quite a lot!
Another excellent preview. I really love your videos.
On that note. I would love for you to make a review of SLA Industries 😊
Its really cool to have your usual super informative content AND the option to watch you play the adventure.
Super cool video :3. You also inspired me to design a Resident Evil style mansion for my next game.
Oh and on a side note: Im used to playing with twins who constantly bicker about anything. I really need to play this adventure with them. They don't even need to roleplay. They are naturals xD.
Hey Seth have you heard of Mothership, it's a scifi horror game with plenty of modules, most of which are like a few bucks, its reminiscent of call of cthulhu and traveller mixed
sounds like an interesting and fun module..
I wish I was running Call of Cthulhu right now so I could use all this excellent advice.
It took me about three quarters of the video to realise that the adventures sounds like its based on MR James's Lost Hearts, with the demon from the film version of his Casting the Runes (Night of the Demon).
"Me, I'm a man of action. Jungle action. Dealing with the Pekingese man-o'-war, the Rubenesque laughing cobra, the knock-kneed squirrel-cat, or the Tahungan mouse-bunny, I'm right at home then. But my jungle... is the jungle. Not the house jungle, with walls and lamps and...stuff. Here I'm the hunted, not the hunter." - Jack Tugdon - Dark and Stormy Night (2008)
Considering how much I like to play necromancers and conjurers, I kind of like the way Uncle Timothy operates! 😁
5:40 and we mustn’t forget Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film
I wonder if maybe instead of having a PC be in cahoots with the Keeper on the police roadblock obstacle, it could have been from the Peter NPC. That way, it adds more to the initial red herring of Peter being an antagonist (and set up the idea of backstabbing still) but then it could be interpreted later as them actually trying to help the PCs (with the hope of keeping them from the house and turn away).
@Seth Skorkowsky
Totally unrelated but I have been listening to Hounacier on Audible and just finished Chapter 12 (Adavay). Just as it was wrapping up, I sat here feeling the excitement of the moment. Holy f*ck Seth. That is some wicked shit you got packed into that noggin of yours. Of course I listened to Damoren first and I will admit that Hounancier got off to a slower start but now that I am halfway through, I've come to realize that it is a slow burn and with the ending of chapter 12, that has erupted into a blood-spun sphere of demon fire. I have been running Kult and I am seriously considering adapting the Valducan series into a campaign because I know my players will absolutely love it. Simply awesome.
Glad you're enjoying it. Damoren was more of an action/adventure. It's got big guns and big battles and tons of monsters as we save the world. I decided for Book 2 to flip that around and make the stakes personal. It's more of a noir/horror. Originally, I'd planned to do Ibenus as Book 2, but a couple weeks after finishing Damoren we spent an extended weekend in New Orleans and I got the idea for Hounacier and couldn't get it out of my head until I wrote it out. It cemented the pattern that every book not only focuses on a different weapon but a different theme, that way I could ensure they never felt like the same thing rehashed. Hounacier is my favorite of the series. It's also the darkest.
@@SSkorkowsky Okay, I finished Hounacier and then blew through Ibenus in about a week before jumping right into Redemptor. Through the four books, I really enjoyed how each had its own viewpoint, tone and feel. And now that I have completed the series, I feel the urge to listen to it again so I can remind myself where the characters came from and where they ended up. So thanks for the stories. Here's hoping that the Valducans journey will continue one day, perhaps with Sister Gaze and Scarecrow at their side. Oh an Oogway (apologies if I am mispelling his name) but I really liked that little guy and his interactions with Matt.
Sounds good! It's nice to see adventures that can be run with different game systems.
Very nice review, as usual. May I suggest something? You mentionned a while ago that you would like to see more one player scenarios for CoC. I bought "Does love forgive?" last week and the two scenarios within seem pretty cool. Your appreciation/comments on those would be great. (btw, Damoren is in the mail right now :) )
So Seth's favorite character is Bernie Sanders? (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
Creep Show Movie No.1. 1st chapter. "Where's my Fathers' Day Cake, Bedelia?!" Maybe mix in a little "Clue" & "Knives Out".
Step 1: Make an adventure with pregenerated characters.
Step 2: Make an obvious clue for information that spells out the most of the plot be written by the antagonist in french.
Step 3: Have none of those characters speak french.
I haven't read or played it, but based on the tone of this adventure, I'd dare say that the point is in the fact that no one can read it. Uncle Timothy hates these people, knows who they are, and knows darn well that none of them speak french. Likewise, the idea the one of these schmucks would sit there for four hours staring at a book they can't read for any chance of a clue to some stashed away cash seems not all that out there, and also pretty funny. If it's the only source of information on Timothy's overall plot, then sure, it's a bit mean. But if things can be pieced together from other clues, it seems like a pretty good joke that shouldn't waste too much of a player's time, even if it does waste the character's time.
Ah, yes. Nothing evokes the horror of the unknown quite like probate!
Jack! As a lawyer, I promise we have hearts.
Always love seeing your videos. Keep it up!
I ran this and blood oath which is mobsters vs vampires. Both were a lot of fun.
3:39 - 3:58 So things haven't changed much since the 20's.
Finally, a Blood Brothers review! XD
The hideous, bubbling face of Uncle Timothy says: "Bonjour, mais amis!"
Good Ol Seth Bringing the Content on a boring day :)
Hey Seth! Have you ever heard of Beyond the Mountains of Madness? Its a fantastic campaign and I'd look forward to a review on it from you, im currently running it for my group and hoo boy. Theres a lot of stuff , almost 30+ hand outs of maps, notes, clues
That's my favourite scenario for beginners! I've already done it 4 times with 4 different groups and it's very funny!
This sounds fun. I like to use Dread for campy horror, like Soviet cosmonaut knockoffs of Jason, or recreating the absurd horror of Killdozer.
I know this video is three years old, but I'm literally about to run it for Halloween, and there's one thing that's giving me pause: Handling the player deaths. It seems like at least one, maybe two of the PCs will get whacked by Uncle Timothy, and one of those deaths comes quite quickly (the demon/gargoyle). What does that player then do for the next two hours? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated - this video has already given me loads of ideas for enhancing the scenario, so your channel is an insta-subscribe for me!
Haha, Sydney Duncan has 90% in "Fist Aid". I'm kinda terrified to ask.
Sounds like a fun adventure with a few tweaks.
You know, I don't think I can blame uncle Ooze. To turn a bad family into something positive would be a great achievement.
14:44
I laughed so hard I scared my cat
Hey Seth! Great video as always. This is sort of unrelated but I was wondering if you had any experience running Spelljammer! I'm prepping a campaign for my players and I figured you might know something about it since you always have knowledge of these sorts of D&D products :)
That seems a bit like "It came from the late, late, late show", an RPG from the 80'ies all about being actors in B-Movies. Surprisingly still for sale in German.
Fun video and great additions to a classic horror game!