Taking a look at Chaosium’s legendary Call of Cthulhu campaign – Masks of Nyarlathotep
I’ve had this set for a while, but only now have I finished reading through the books. I’m running a campaign for some friends, making use of both HPLHS’s excellent prop set and Syrinscape’s ambient sound pack. Here are my thoughts (TL;DR – it’s great).
Masks of Nyarlathotep is considered by many to be the most epic roleplaying adventure written (for any system). It is certainly one of the longest. It was created by Larry DiTillio with Lynn Willis, and published for the first time in 1983.
Back then it was a little over a hundred pages long; it has grown throughout its revisions, and the latest edition contains over 600 pages. That doesn’t even include the handouts – it’s a fair chunk to read through.
What’s in the box
A lot; there’s a lot in this compact slipcase. You get a nice keeper screen with campaign-specific information on the rear, the two main books, and nearly 100 pages of handouts. Many of those pages contain several articles that you’ll probably want to cut out. That’s a lot of documents and maps!
While I will be using The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s prop set, there is nothing wrong with what you get here. The print quality is excellent, both for the handouts and the books themselves.
Edition changes
With the latest edition being substantially larger than the previous, you might wonder what has been added. The introductory section has been fleshed out, there’s a new prologue adventure set in Peru, and there is advice on running the campaign in a pulp setting. The chapters have also been substantially expanded.
While I have never run earlier editions of Masks of Nyarlathotep, they were a notorious meat grinder. Groups of investigators were routinely driven insane, or if they were lucky – simply murdered. This has apparently been toned down a little for 7th edition. After reading through material, there are still sections where I have to question a group’s chances if they make a wrong turn.
Set in the 1920’s, racial, gender, and sexual prejudices were unfortunately a thing (I’m not saying they aren’t now). This aspect has been refreshed to make it more palatable for the modern audience. I don’t think this detracts from the settings; if you read my review of Dead Man Stomp then you’ll know I’m not overly interested in roleplaying racial conflict. I’ll always include it in the scenario setting to some degree.
There’s nothing to stop one dialling it back up for a more historically-accurate game.
Structure
The material is laid out very well. While it’s generally recommended to read the entire campaign before running the first chapter, it became clear that this isn’t entirely necessary. Flow diagrams link clues, but more crucially, the initial text of each location clearly describes how it ties into others. The start of the book contains a general timeline of events, and gives a good overview of the overarching plot.
Key pieces of information such as skill checks, important objects, and locations are emboldened. This massively improves the ease with which you can skim the chapter at the table. NPC stat blocks are all in one place at the back of the chapter, which is very convenient.
Both important and minor NPCs are fleshed out with personality traits and motivations in the opening chapter pages. This is handy as it allows one to quickly refresh their memory before sitting down for the next gaming session.
The beginning of each chapter describes the environment very well. You get details on the social and economic setting, which is excellent if you don’t happen to be hot on the 1920s across multiple countries. The general climates are explained; you get more precise weather conditions for locations where the arrival dates are known – such as New York. We all know that the Tanami Desert is going to be rough, but how to weave that into the story? The Australian chapter has you covered.
Masks of Nyarlathotep’s story spans seven countries; the investigators will travel the world as they follow clues from one country to another. While one could railroad the group into a particular chapter sequence, it’s not necessary. The chapters have not been written with a strict chronological order in mind. There is a suggestion of the most common route taken by investigators, be that by retracing steps or pursuing the most efficient path. Each chapter contains advice and considerations if players deviate from the norm.
For those who feel that 600+ pages isn’t enough to be getting on with, there are H.P. Lovecraft reading recommendations for certain sections.
Artefacts and tome details are all located in one section of the second book. While my preference would be to have them within the chapter they are to be discovered, I understand the logic. Keepers may wish to have key objects uncovered at alternative locations if the investigators missed them the first time.
You will of course need the Keeper’s Rulebook to run Masks of Nyarlathotep, although you likely already own it if you’re considering running this campaign. Relevant rulebook pages are referenced throughout the text.
The campaign
This story is quintessentially Lovecraftian. It’s going to be a bleak, grim, horrific, and terrifying time for the investigators. They will face the elder gods, battle (a lot) of deranged cultists, bear witness to terrible acts, and probably go insane in the process.
Players will start in Peru, 1921 – where they will form a friendship that is their motivational basis for future adventures. Time jumps forward to 1925 for New York, which makes the intervening years a good opportunity for players to tweak their characters. One could inject some additional adventures here – but really, you probably don’t want to.
While Peru could be considered tame foreplay, things only get tougher and tougher. Areas such as the Mountain of the Black Wind (Kenya) and the City of the Great Race (Australia) are incredibly dangerous. The monsters are lethal – it’s often best to simply run away. Human foes are no joke, either. In classic Call of Cthulhu style, one lucky swing with a machete can kill an investigator outright.
Players should probably be forewarned that their characters will likely die, at least once. The whole group could easily be wiped out if they encounter something truly horrific (there are some d100 sanity roles) or physically devastating (perhaps a Flying Polyp). That doesn’t need to be the end of their adventure; the joy of roleplay games is that you can simply conjure replacements. It’s a bit more challenging when everyone dies at the same time, so perhaps consider who might follow in their footsteps, and why.
Although running Masks of Nyarlathotep can be a daunting prospect, you can relax a little. Know that you won’t remember every detail, but that it doesn’t matter. Important artefacts and clues can be moved around as necessary. You definitely need to have read the chapter your players are experiencing at least a couple of times. I’d still recommend reading through the entire campaign once before your first session. It’s not essential, but it allows information from rereading the immediate locations to slot into place a little easier.
Final thoughts
Masks of Nyarlathotep as a campaign is truly epic in scale. If you like Call of Cthulhu or are a fan or horror RPGs in general, you should give this serious consideration. You will likely want to hold off running it for a group that isn’t well established. Gameplay could easily last a year or two, and it would be disheartening to have it fall apart halfway through.
This is definitely one of those campaigns that has replay value for a GM. The adventure will always be different, and the keeper will be much more comfortable with the details during a second playthrough. Although I’ve only run six sessions so far, I can easily see myself reaching out to form another group when I’m done.
If you’re new to running games and are worried that this adventure might be too grand – don’t be. You only need to study the immediate content; read the rest of the campaign in your spare time at a more leisurely piece.
Regarding the slipcase set and books themselves, there is nothing I dislike. The production quality is excellent, and every handout you need is included. Material in the book is well-structured and logical; it’s easy to read through the campaign and perfect for skimming at the table. I can’t really think of anything I would have done differently.
It’s not particularly cheap at around £100, but good value for the sheer volume of content. You can get it for a few quid less if you shop around, although I’m partial to supporting publishers directly where possible. It’s worth noting that you get a PDF version included when you buy the slipcase edition. One can buy the PDF version alone for about £45.