Canadia and Many Mansions

Just a very quick note to remind folks that, first, I shall be in haunted Toronto - for the first time in my life in Canadia, God help me - this weekend and will not be posting on Sunday. I may even end up at Storm Crow Manor at some point, being as it seems theme-appropriate. 

I don't drink, but I might just break that rule for the sake of the Cthulhu Tiki. If I do, expect a full report, even if I have to make it from under the table. Or a Dungeon Meal! Now there's an experience worth ... savoring ... probably. 

Plus, never had poutine in my life. So there you have it. Toronto in a nutshell. Themed booze and cheesy potatoes. 

Second, to update you on Many Mansions. 

All the scenarios are written and have endured their first edit. Images have been sourced and placed. I'm going to leave it alone for a few days and when I come back I'll go through a final edit. Once that's done, I'll sort out the cover images. [Do I hate art? Well, no, but I'm really bad at it.]

Once the cover images are sorted, it's go time. 

As a reminder, the Many Mansions series includes:

In Memoriam - In which the investigators may attend a funeral in a church that does not yet exist.

When Tides Are Right - In which the investigators may find themselves adrift on Pilot Island.

Your Number, Please - In which our protagonists chase up rumors of a fault on the telephone line.

All of these stories take place in Kingsport, South Shore, in the 1920s. It's part ghost story, part Dreamlands, with a dash of Jacob's Ladder thrown in for fun - and if you recognize that film reference then you know where this is all going.

See you in a couple weeks!

Johnnie To - Three (NBA)

OK, I'm on a little bit of a cinema kick.

Johnnie To is, by far, the best action cinema director working today. I'm going to take one of his films and make a Night's Black Agents Thrilling scene out of it. The film is Three, set in a hospital, where the cops have a robber in custody and are trying to get him to talk before manure hits the fan.

 Trailer sourced from Movie Maniacs

This is a Thrilling Interrogation.

It takes place in a Hospital:

Antiseptic, organized to a fault yet seething with chaos underneath. Security is tight yet not so tight; a little bluff, a little chutzpah, and anyone can get anywhere. Harried medical staff rush from crisis to crisis. Nurses exercise whatever authority they possess, as often as they can. Low chatter from the patients, sometimes moans, once in a while a scream. Expensive machinery hums and gives out information, to what end is unclear to anyone except the medical staff. High-powered consultants breeze in like little Gods, then breeze out again, leaving stressed medical staff in their wake. 

Extras and Cameos

Grim policemen watch over a captured felon. Injured Civilians from all walks of life kibbitz their fellow sufferers, offering unsolicited advice. Medical staff rest wherever they can find an empty space, smoking forbidden cigarettes. Relatives and friends hover on the sidelines, not sure what to do or what civility dictates, anxious and afraid. A Disgraced Doctor on their last day before they get kicked out, trying to steal as much as they can. Reporters in search of a story pretend to be relatives or friends.

Clues

There's a lot of activity in the Morgue for some reason. That Civilian's symptoms are familiar - is this an indication of vampire activity in the Civilian's place of work or home district? Why does that Doctor seem to be under the influence? Is it illicit drug use or something more supernatural? 

Rules Effects

It's easy to hide in this mess, provided you can score a medical gown and have any points in Surveillance. If that applies, refresh 3 points Surveillance at any time. Also, the difficulty for Preparedness for any medical-related task is reduced by 1. However, if an overtly violent act takes place Heat increases by an extra 1 point, due to the sensitivity of the location. 

In A Fight

Preparedness can be used to score impromptu weapons (scalpel, syringes, bone saws) and drugs. If your game uses tasers and stun guns, then assume that Medical Staff have access to sedatives and other drugs that act in exactly the same way as a taser but require a Called Shot (Limb) to work.

In A Chase

Hospital corridors can turn from calm to chaos at the drop of a surgical mask. Assume chases start Open and move to Cramped within two rounds. Hazards include pools of unidentifiable fluid on the floor, unexpected medical staff or civilians in a romantic clinch in what was supposed to be an empty room, cleaners trying to get rid of biohazardous waste.

Objective of the Exercise

A Renfield of interest to the agents has been brought in for emergency medical treatment. If they don't get that treatment they will die within 12 hours. The Renfield is refusing treatment, for reasons known only to them. 

The agents may be disguised as Police or similar, on a Preparedness check or a Cover spend. If they are not so disguised, they will need to justify their presence and may have to rely on Flattery, Flirting or other interpersonal skills. Anyone with 2 points Diagnosis can pretend to be a Doctor and avoid being challenged, but that only protects the one with Diagnosis, not any of their non-medically trained friends. 

The agents must successfully Interrogate the Renfield before one of two things happens:

• The Renfield dies.
• The Renfield's heavily armed associates arrive to bust them out of hospital. The Renfield may or may not welcome this intervention.

Potential complication: there is vampire blood on the premises. It can be there by accident; it can be there because someone smuggled it in. Regardless, if the Renfield gets hold of that blood they can access all of their powers. Otherwise, they are normal for their type. 

This seed assumes a base Thug template for the Renfield, with possible Gym Rat boosts. 

 

This is an Open interrogation for rules purposes, in that the Renfield is in a public area watched over by medical staff and civilian patients.

Assume for purposes of Maneuver that the Renfield is less ethically constrained.

Enjoy!

Forgotton London - the Folly of the Thames (Bookhounds, NBA)

On the Thames, off Somerset House, was a timber shed built on a strong barge, and called “the Folly.” In William III.’s reign it was anchored higher up the stream, near the Savoy. Tom Brown calls it “a musical summer-house." Its real name was “The Royal Diversion.” Queen Mary honoured it with her presence. It was at first frequented by “persons of quality,” but latterly it became disreputable, and its orchestra and refreshment alcoves were haunted by thieves, gamesters, and courtesans.

HAUNTED LONDON, by Walter Thornbury. 

"The Folly of the Thames", often just referred to as "The Folly", was a floating coffee house. Situated on the river Thames, opposite Somerset House, it was moored in London between the 17th and 18th century. Despite not being on land, the coffee house was hugely popular and in the evenings became a social hub where dancers performed waltzes and jigs.

NB: the Folly of the Thames also features tangentially in the Rivers of London, as a progenitor of the series' magical institute. 

The Folly resembled a large one-storied house, very long in proportion to its width, built upon an immense barge. There was a platform at the top, defended by a strong wooden balustrade, and flanked at each corner by a little wooden turret, with a pointed top, surmounted by a small streamer. These turrets constituted small drinking and smoking rooms, and were fitted up with seats and tables. In the centre of the structure was a sort of open belvidere, covering the main staircase leading to the roof. On this a large flag was planted. The Folly was approached from the water by steps on three sides. It was lighted by a range of large and handsome windows, and entered by two doors, one at the end, and the other at the side. Within, it contained a long music-hall, with a frescoed ceiling, gilded and painted walls, an orchestra, and the necessary complement of benches, chairs, and small tables. There was, moreover, a bar, where all sorts of liquors, materials for smoking, and other tavern luxuries were dispensed. The rest of the structure was divided into a number of small apartments for private parties, and in short, boasted every sort of accommodation afforded by a similar place of entertainment on shore. In summer it was delightful — the view of the Thames from its summit being enchanting. The coolness and freshness, combined with the enlivening influences of beauty, wine, and music, must have made it, on its first establishment, a charming place of recreation; and it cannot be wondered that the Merry Monarch and his merrier court, found it so much to their taste.

Similar situations could be created in Swords of the Serpentine, or any fantasy setting. It's a floating pleasure palace, after all; you could build one of those anywhere. 

In England the term coffee house has a special meaning, in the 17th and 18th century. People gather there, converse, exchange ideas. These are proto-clubs. Pubs and inns are where the other classes go; coffee houses are for those who have ideas. Hence the nickname penny university. You paid a penny to get in and then commenced your education.

It's not clear when the Folly on the Thames ceased to be. However, anything that lives permanently on a river will rot in short order if not looked after, and it's a reasonable bet that once the place became known as a resort of thieves and gamesters it stopped being looked after. Charles II, the Merry Monarch who popularized it, died in 1685. I'm going to hazard that the Folly went the way of all things in the early 1700s.  

However, London has a knack for remembering its past glories. 

Bookhounds: A Set of Engravings

The Hounds are made aware of a valuable lot coming up for auction. These engravings by an unknown artist feature the Great Frost and the fairs held on the Thames, and the most intriguing piece of the set is titled A Frozen Folly. It shows the coffee house locked by ice, with a dance taking place in its ballroom. Shadowy figures quadrille behind the frost-covered windows, while an amorous couple dally at the top of the little wooden turret. A devilish figure can be seen lurking at the other end of the roof platform. Mythos identifies it as a remarkably accurate depiction of a Nightgaunt. The complete set is worth about 1 point History; the Frozen Folly also confers 1 point Mythos, after careful study, not just of the Nightgaunt but also of the starry constellations seen above the coffee house.

One of the potential buyers is a megapolisomancer who, if allowed to purchase, will use the engravings to help their scheme of freezing over the Thames once again, for sinister purposes of their own. They draw on the power of Nodens to achieve this, plunging London into a dreamscape where all is frozen and silent.

Nights Black Agents: A Folly Reborn

A Node based in London (possibly linked with the Satanic Cult of Dracula) has recreated the Folly with a Thames-based restaurant, faithfully copying, among other things, the frescoed ceiling of the original. This classically-inspired artwork has, study will show, more than a few things in common with classical Satanism. Dark motifs and hideous meaning hide behind seeming mythological concepts. Its restaurant is working towards a Michelin star but its main attraction is its discreet gaming tables: poker and blackjack only. 

What isn't immediately obvious is, not only is it copying the original Folly, it has brought back a kind of demonic Merry Monarch. This begins as what seems to be a stuffed and comical doll called Charlie, which presides over the casino tables. People rub it for luck. As time goes by it acquires a sinister reputation and few can bear to touch it; they say it feels clammy, slimy, and its flesh seems to yield. Some say Charlie moves around when nobody's looking. Some say Charlie craves blood ... 

That's it for this week. Enjoy!

 

Murder Most Foul (Bookhounds, Hauntings)

All the gruesome murders!

This week's post comes courtesy of Cambridge University and its labour in the fields of the Lord, the Murder Map. Gaze upon its medieval splendor! Marvel at its gruesome grue!

You’ll notice the map only includes the City of London. That’s what London was, once; the wider area which we now think of as London was, mostly, open fields and mud.

What I find fascinating about this is the effort the University took to provide voiceovers. It makes a difference, hearing all those old tales of grim killings. Like, say, Brother Henry's accusations of embezzlement and subsequent murder, in the old ward of Cheap, City of London. The Hospital mentioned no longer exists. It was dissolved durin the Protestant reformation, and the property probably passed to the Mercer's Guild. It's not immediately clear what happened to it. 

Let’s make a Bookhounds story out of it.

Before I delve deep into that, though, a reminder that I’ve spoken about hauntings before. I said:

There are any number of tales that could be told, but there are some things the Keeper should bear in mind:

1. The truth of the haunting will probably never be known for certain, since most of the facts are unavailable.
2. It cannot be dealt with in the same way as, say, an ordinary antagonist encounter. Ghouls, for example, can be shot, or bargained with. There is no way to communicate with a haunting of place, and probably no way to kill it.
3. It has a great deal of power behind it, possibly magical power. That means other people besides the protagonists are going to be interested in it. That also means it could be very dangerous.

This haunting is a little different in that some facts are available. Those facts exist, in the 1930s, in old documents, transcripts, scholar’s research and other esoteric places. They’re not public. What information is public, is a garbled, watered-down (or sexed-up) blow-by-blow passed down from generation to generation. It bears about as much resemblance to the truth of the matter as I do to Greta Garbo.

I’m going to assume, for the sake of this narrative, that some of those old documents are available in an archive of some description, and that more important documents can be had by going somewhere esoteric – Coleshill Abbey, let’s say.

OK, all that said: the haunting follows on the murder of Brother Henry in what was the old Hospital of St Thomas of Acre, long since defunct. That's Rome, for this scenario.

The Knights of St Thomas who used the Hospital as their base of operations were a military order and would have still been one when Brother Henry was beaten to death. By the time of the dissolution, they were a much less violent organization. Charitable work, running a grammar school, that sort of thing. They had links with the Mercers before the reformation (the Mercers used it as a meeting hall) so the purchase and takeover was (probably) friendly enough. The buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. 

I see there would have been a cemetery once upon a time. I also see that the old Hospital would have been involved in the ransoming of captives from the Holy Land, according to Cambridge scholars. Both these facts might come in handy. The Hall as it existed in the 1930s was extensively remodeled during the London Blitz by Hitler's bombs, which has the unintentional advantage of making it much easier to tell lies about the place. 

Let's take all this and make something of it.

Bad Brother

Megapolisamancers linked to the shop (shop employees? perhaps) have been trying to complete a working using the Mercer's Hall as a lever. They encounter an unexpected obstacle: the place is haunted, and the ghost is interfering with the working. It must be dealt with before the lever can be established.

Signs of haunting: areas of extreme cold, unexpected bruising, elevated rage levels, doors open and close without visible cause, stink of sweat and fear, sounds of pleading and shouts of anger.

Written records (public): The story gets a brief mention in a history of Cheapside, Diary of a Clergyman c 1858, author unknown, slightly scandalous for the period but mild as milk to 1930s audiences. The haunting is blamed on the brown monk who is supposed to have seduced a maiden back in the 1600s.

Records (verbal history): The servants and staff of the Mercer's Hall call the ghost old Henry but accounts vary as to who Henry was. Most agree that he was a bad old man but disagree as to why.

Records (Coleshill): In a book of old trials and legal records there's mention of a murder at the Hospital where a brother whose name is no longer remembered was put to death for his crimes, including embezzlement. 

Extensive research similar to that conducted by Cambridge (multiple sources, records from the period, access to private archives) uncovers the truth behind the killing of Brother Henry. 

Option One: Henry's Repentance. It was really Henry who took the money, and he tried to blame Richard. The haunting can be dealt with by expiating Henry's sin. This can mean repaying his debt through donations to charities approved of by the Mercers, who effectively represent the heirs to the old monastic order.

Option Two: Henry's Vengeance. It really was Richard who took the money. The haunting can only be dealt with by exacting vengeance on Henry's killer, Richard of Southampton, Master of the Chapel. This can mean somehow bringing Richard himself back for punishment, or it can mean vengeance against Riichard's representative, the current head of the Mercers. Bonus points if Richard is still alive in the present, perhaps because he turned into a ghoul or is still remembered in dust-thing form.

Option Three: A Misunderstanding. The rents were embezzled, but neither Henry nor Richard were involved. This must somehow be proven to Henry. If it is successfully done, then and only then will Henry dissipate. This version can result in a Henry-shaped tulpa or megapolisomantic entity.

That's it for this week! Enjoy.

Brown Finger (Bookhounds of London)

Today, friends of his sell sexy French and American magazines. These are nearly all second-hand. Customers who buy such a magazine can sell it back at half-price. 

This way Johnny meets potential customers. Scribbled inside many of the second-hand magazines are pencilled messages using a Monomark or similar box number, and inviting an exchange of letters with the previous reader. 

Anybody foolish enough to follow up on this pen-pal invitation will find himself - or herself - tempted deeper and deeper into obscenities.

Then comes the invitation to the Blue Show! But not until the victim is utterly committed by his own letters ... London After Dark, Fabian of the Yard.

This is a Sordid plot thread. 

The Hounds may or may not sell second-hand sexy magazines. However, even if they don't, they'll know a shop that does. They may find a collection of such magazines in the next auction job lot, or some house clearance or other.

They may find themselves enmeshed by Brown Finger Johnny. 

'He smokes endlessly,' says Fabian. 'His plump crinkled fingers are caked with nicotine. His fingers are also brown with photographic chemicals. It is from both these that he gets his nickname. Johnny began as a commercial photographer, attending weddings and twenty-first parties. He had his own darkroom and made spare-time pin money by developing and printing at cut rates for amateurs. One such roll was of nudes. Johnny developed it. With amazing rapidity the news spread. Soon Johnny found dozens of similar films sent to him to be treated. Commercial firms will never develop any film showing any kind of nude, even if it is supposedly 'artistic.' ... Johnny put up his prices ...' 

From Bookhounds: The Keirecheires are the largest Y’golonac cult in human history … so far. They have nearly 40 active cultists in Brichester, London, Cambridge, New York, and Paris, all involved in academia or the arts. Each branch has perhaps 20 or 30 debauchees (usually called Sons), in addition to the actual cultists in charge.

In this narrative Brown Finger isn't a Cultist or even a Son. He's a convenient middleman for the Keirecheires. He's the one the Hand turns to for new recruits, indoctrinated as Sons at the Blue Show, but not before they're led down hideous paths thanks to those second-hand magazines and the correspondence they provoke. All handled by Brown Finger, who maintains a stable of letter-writers scattered across London to lure the insufficiently cautious in. 

Hounds may notice a pattern in these second-hand magazines, or the correspondence, if they get hold of some. Relatively harmless in and of themselves, closer study shows Mythos-themed subliminal suggestion, just enough to confer 1 point Mythos if 4 or more separate sources are consulted. 

Once that point of Mythos is conferred, and the subject follows up asking for more material, then and only then are they invited to one of the Blue Shows. These are hosted by the Keirecheires and may have a Son in attendance but not a full-fledged Cult member. It's at this point that the Cult starts looking for potential recruits, gauging their susceptibility.  

Meanwhile Brown Finger gets his cut day in, day out. He provides the magazines and the letters, and he provides the venue for the Blue Shows. He knows just enough to know it's better for him to keep his mouth shut and keep taking the Cult's money. That's all he needs to know.

A Curious Pastime.

One of the shop's regulars drops off the radar for a few weeks, to a point that the Hounds may become concerned they've lost them for good. Then the regular shows up again, shaken, a little frightened. 

They ask for help. They're reluctant to say why at first, and Reassurance may be needed. 

It turns out that they were lured away by letters, correspondence with a mysterious figure calling herself Ms. Bloomsbury. The regular claims to have gotten her mailing address from a magazine they bought second-hand. 

It will take the Hounds a scene or two to work out that Ms. Bloomsbury is one of Brown Finger's regulars. Brown Finger doesn't mind losing the shop customer's business; not everyone can be a Son of the Keirecheires after all. However, blabbing cult secrets is a problem that Brown Finger may not be able to deal with easily.

Option One: Brown Finger Intervenes. The middleman is forced to use force. At first this is intimidation courtesy of some Rough Lads, directed mainly at the errant shop customer but also at the Hounds, just to make sure nobody's tempted to do anything they shouldn't. This may limit itself to bruises and broken bones. Brown Finger isn't a violent man by nature, but he knows what will happen if the Cult decides to get involved. A little persuasion now beats a lot of pain later. 

Option Two: Brown Demotion. The Cult finds out about this little discrepancy before Brown Finger can do anything about it, and the Cult is not pleased. Brown Finger becomes a Rat Thing in short order, and his first task as rodent overlord is to deal with the Hounds and their shop. Cue rat packs galore, as Brown Finger starts to get into his new role as Mythos henchman to darker forces. However, the Hounds may be able to turn to Brown Finger's network, and the elusive Ms. Bloomsbury, for assistance. Brown Finger's network is terrified of ending up on the Cult blacklist and is willing to help anyone who can keep them off the Rat Thing's menu.

Option Three: The Fat Man Returns. It gets worse. The shop regular didn't just correspond with Ms. Bloomsbury and say a few indiscreet things. They went to a Blue Show, with disastrous results. It turns out that the regular is absolutely the last person who ought to go to a Blue Show and see its subliminal imagery. The regular's innate Magickal skill, such as it is, plus the Son's ability, plus the Mythos in the Show all adds up to a very bad night, and it hastened the Son's conversion to an Avatar of Y'Golonac. This wasn't something the Keirecheires wanted. Now it has a missing Son to deal with, an unwelcome breach of secrecy, and a particularly messy event to cover up. If only there was some convenient scapegoat to blame all this on ...

That's it for this week! Enjoy.

The Tin Man (Bookhounds of London)

Newmarket has over fifty horse training stables, two large racetracks, the Rowley Mile and the July Course, and one of the most extensive and prestigious horse training grounds in the world.[4] The town is home to over 3,500 racehorses, and it is estimated that one in every three local jobs is related to horse racing ...

Hamilton Stud Lane, on the Exening Road, is the haunt of Fred Archer, the great jockey, who died in 1886 aged 29. He is also thought to ride on the race-course, and to have caused several horses to shy or stumble during a race ... Haunted Britain, Antony D. Hippisley Coxe 

The next day, Monday 8 November 1886, he was at his residence, Falmouth House, Newmarket, under medical supervision. About 2.25pm his sister, Mrs Colman, visited him in his room and he asked her to send the nurse away. Colman was looking out of the window when Archer got out of bed. She then heard him say "Are they coming?" and saw he had the gun in his hand. She sprang towards him, and while she was struggling with him, he put the gun in his mouth and fired the revolver. He died bleeding in her arms, the bullet having passed out of the back of his neck. The doctor was on the scene very quickly and pronounced him dead ... He was buried in Newmarket cemetery on 12 November ... Some of his effects are now on display at the National Horseracing Museum, including the gun with which he shot himself ... News of Archer's death reached far beyond racing. In London, special editions of the evening newspapers were issued, with crowds queuing in Fleet Street to buy them, and omnibuses stopped to allow commuters to read the billboards. ... 

In which an unscrupulous gambler uses a dead jockey to win Newmarket and unwittingly unleashes horror.

Newmarket in Suffolk is horseracing's Vatican. Its jockeys and horses are worshipped, and Fred Archer's name still rings out long after his suicide. The Classics - 2000 Guineas Stakes, 1000 Guineas Stakes, the Oaks, the Derby, the St Leger - are world-renowned, and have been going for decades, in some cases centuries. Someone wins that, and their name is made. Leaving aside the bountiful financial rewards, of course. 

Fred Archer took them all.

He was known to be rich and reputed to be a miser - hence the name Tin Man, as in Tin, slang for money. Not, say, slang for lacking empathy, although it might be fair to say Archer had a bit of that problem. 

Nobody knows what Archer meant by 'are they coming?' though there are plenty of theories. In this scenario, the assumption is that there's some kind of Mythos context, though the exact meaning is left deliberately vague.

For purpose of this storyline, I'm going to use a fictional version of The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, a sister publication to the Illustrated London News. The Sporting and Dramatic was first published in 1874. Archer would have read it and there would have been a special edition published upon his death.

The Tin Man

One of the Hounds' regulars is pursuing copies of the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic, with intensity. It's not clear why. Nor is it entirely clear which one they want. It's as if they don't know themselves, but they're willing to pay almost any price. 

In its day it was a weekly paper. As might be guessed from the title it isn't always about sports; even Agatha Christie appeared in it, back in 1929. This means copies can be had from those interested in the theatre and dramatic arts as well as racing enthusiasts. The British Library is also known to have a complete set. 

Judging by the regular's buying habits, it seems they're only interested in editions published in 1885 or prior, and they're not interested in anything published before 1880. That leaves a five-year window. Further investigation (Oral History, Reassurance, Flattery, Art History, History) indicates the regular is only interested in those papers in which Fred Archer appears. Given Archer's talents, he appears in multiple editions. Archer won the Derby, the Oaks, 1000 Guineas, 2000 Guineas and St. Leger in that period. Not counting overseas victories at the Grand Prix de Paris or the Prix du Jockey Club. 

In fact, riding the horse Melton, he took both the Derby and the St. Leger in the same year, 1885. Melton went to stud eventually and died in 1910, at the ripe old age of 28. By that point Melton had outlived Archer by 14 years. They both died in November; Archer in November 1886, Melton in November 1910.

If the Hounds pursue this line, they discover that the regular has discovered there's a racing cheat using Mythos Magick to make a gambling fortune and relying on Archer's ghost to do it. The regular wants in on the deal and enlists the Hounds to help them. All the regular knows for sure is that the cheat, a fellow named Auburn Salt, is using the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic to do it, but the regular doesn't know which edition, which is why the regular's chasing up any and all copies they can get their hands on.

Option One: Idle Hands. Salt is a member in good standing of the Devouring Hands, or Keirecheires. Technically he's not a full-fledged member; he's a Son, following one of the cultists based in Doncaster. However, the expenses of being a Son are catching up with Salt and Salt thinks he's found a foolproof means of guaranteeing income. Salt is using techniques borrowed from his Father and copies of the Sporting and Dramatic as well as a horse sired by Melton to assure himself of winnings at those same races Archer triumphed in back in 1885. What Salt doesn't appreciate is that unsanctioned use of Keirecheires techniques will earn him the ire of his Father, and the stern, punishing hands of the Cult.

Option Two: Dead Horse. Salt is Archer, reincarnate. He has the same look, same lean, tall build, and would be a rider himself, were it not for the fact that horses are terrified of him. Salt doesn't understand whether he's actually Archer back from the dead or simply bears a resemblance, and he doesn't care. What he does care about is money. He's cultivated his appearance and adapted his personality to be as much like Archer as possible and has gathered together a small group of like-minded occult types with one goal in mind: take the Derby and the St. Leger. What Salt doesn't appreciate is that his actions have raised the actual Archer, whose ghost is now causing havoc. Or perhaps he does know and doesn't care.

Option Three: Melton Resurgent. Once, long ago, the jockey Archer found himself indebted to the kind of Mythos forces you don't want in your life. It was thanks to this influence that he was so successful, relying on a totem he kept near him at all times to win the day. At least, so says the horse breeder Auburn Salt, who has a colt spawned by Melton in his stables. Salt is doing everything in his power to ensure that his colt, Balfour, performs just as well as Melton did, but for that to happen Salt needs to recreate the totem Archer made. Salt isn't entirely sure how to do that, and his attempts are only causing problems for anyone and everyone near Salt's stables. Not that Salt cares, so long as he races a reincarnate Melton.

That's it for this week. Enjoy!

Dungeons and Dragons DMG, Monster Manual 2025

A while back I posted my thoughts on the new PHB release, and I wasn’t thrilled. I said at the time that it “feels as if there's not as much there” and that in spite of its increased length there didn’t seem to be as much going on under the hood.

I also said I would have to reserve judgement until I saw the DMG.

Well, that proved prophetic, because I didn’t see the DMG for months after my initial purchase. There was a shipping delay followed by an unexpected cancellation followed by … I’m not sure what, actually. But it meant more delay. I picked up the Monster Manual before I saw the DMG. Not entirely by choice, but I figured since it was on offer I ought to give it a go.

What do I think?

Ehhhhhhh … pass.

As with the PHB, there’s more stuff on offer. Pages of it. The previous edition clocked in at 320 pages, more or less. This one has 60 extra pages of new material. About 20 pages of that is devoted to Bastions, a new concept for this edition, and another 20 pages or so are maps of various generic areas - Barrow Crypt, Crossroads Village, Spooky House, that sort of thing. No monster lists or anything like that. Those are for the Monster Manual, which is packed full of everything that walks, crawls and flies. 

Factor in the various trackers, each with their own page, and you've got the bulk of the new material in the DMG.

Very little of it intrigues me.

The only bit that I find genuinely useful is the collection of trackers. I don’t care which edition of Dungeons and Dragons I play, I’m swiping those. But I don’t think I paid north of $60 per book for a set of trackers I could pick up for free from teh internets. Or create on my own with a modicum of artistic skill, come to that.

The bit about Bastions seems a little over-the-top. Apart from anything else, the whole point of adventuring is to go on an adventure. To leave the comforts of home behind and defy dragons, or cleave goblin chieftains in twain, befuddle ogres till they turn to stone by dawn's early light, that kind of thing. Not to spend however many hours in the day keeping track of all the things going on at the hobbit hole I left behind. I don’t mind the concept so much as the execution. This starts at what level, now? 5th? Really? For why? At 5th they've just this minute become heroes, not homebodies!

The Monster Manual is by far the best item in the bunch. Its reorganization of everything alphabetically is a nice touch, and for once the mantra ‘more stuff!’ pays off with, well, more stuff. All sorts of monster entries packed in like happy little sardines, and the stat blocks are sufficiently generic that you could probably mix & match these creatures with the previous edition and suffer no pain. There are probably some changes that might affect CR. Nothing I choose to worry about.

Besides, when in doubt I can always just dip into Mordekainen’s or Volo’s or any of the other books and use their stuff instead.

I mentioned the art last time so I suppose I should go into it again. Worth repeating: not an artist, not trained to appreciate art. But as with the PHB there isn't much here that doesn't seem generic, and the bits that don't seem generic feel as if they were lifted bodily from previous products. Little of it feels inspiring, or interesting enough to be worth more than a glance. Including a hexmap of what I think must be the Forgotten Realms is a nice touch. I'd have to tear it out of the book to be certain that's what it is. A handy resource, if so.

I’m going to be playing the game with some new gamers soon. I think I mentioned the play I’m performing? Tonight's the last night, as I write this; by the time I publish the cast party will have come and gone, leaving me exhausted. I shall break legs. Well, two of the cast are keen to play and I said I’d be happy to run a game for them. There’s a local venue where space can be rented for a fee, so we’ve booked a spot. One of them is so keen to play that she had already grabbed a copy of the previous PHB, not realizing that there was a new one. She and her husband are busy devising schemes and PCs as I type this.

When I mentioned that there was a new edition, she wanted to look at it.

Seldom have I seen a more sour expression. 

She criticized the art right away. It didn’t look anything like the art in the previous edition. Nothing like as inspiring, as heroic, or as interesting. Next it was the rules. Too many rules, too confusing. She put it aside after half an hour; not interested.

We’ll be using the previous edition in our game. 

For me, I’m not in any rush to pick up any other book in the new version. Not that I was ever going to be in a hurry to grab up, say, the Forgotten Realms material. But still. I said a while back now that the only reason I got back into this game was because of Ravenloft. That creaky old Gothic mansion was my inspiration, my guiding star.

I can play Ravenloft in the old edition.

I will.