Monday 12 February 2018

Chaosium Inc. - Newsletter

New Call of Cthulhu releases from Chaosium...
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#66 the straight scoop from the well of chaos...

THE MISKATONIC REPOSITORY
for fun and profit

— A quick Q&A —

Q: First off, so what is the Miskatonic Repository?
A: The Miskatonic Repository is a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more!
Q: Is the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu similar to the DMs Guild for Dungeons & Dragons?
A: Yes! The Miskatonic Repository follows same general rules and model for revenue split as the DMs Guild.
Q: How does the Miskatonic Repository work?
A: You create original content, format it to our design template, and then upload the PDF to the Miskatonic Repository on DriveThruRPG. People can view your creation there and can download it if they wish—just like any other DTRPG product.
Q: What kind of products are welcome in the Miskatonic Repository?
A: Original Call of Cthulhu scenarios, settings, spells, stats for monsters, background dossiers, and campaign handouts— more info here.
Q: Who owns material in the Miskatonic Repository?
A: You retain the copyright of any original IP you create for the Miskatonic Repository. Chaosium owns the IP it provides for use including rules, settings, characters, concepts, plots, storylines etc.
Q: Can I sell my Call of Cthulhu creations through the Miskatonic Repository?
A: You sure can! You can set a price, make your product "pay what you want", or even make it free—entirely up to you. Retail sales revenues are split between the creator (i.e. you), One Bookshelf (DTRPG's parent company) and Chaosium.

Q: How much of the sale price do I keep as the creator?
A: 50%. One Bookshelf (DTRPG) gets 30% and Chaosium gets 20%. (Note: this is the same revenue split as the DMs Guild, the community content program for D&D). Details on how revenue split and payment works here.
Q: How do I format my Miskatonic Repository creation?
A: Chaosium has created easy-to-use style templates, which you can download for free: MS WordAdobe InDesign
Q: My Miskatonic Repository scenario needs art - what do I do?
A: Chaosium has created Art Packs specifically for the Miskatonic Repository. They come as zip files of images which you are licensed to use for FREE in content submitted to the Miskatonic Repository:
Q: Can I use my own art in the Miskatonic Repository?
A: You are most welcome to create or source your own art and graphics. We have also helpful links to libraries of copyright free images here.
Q: Can I create and sell content for previous editions of Call of Cthulhu?
A: No, Miskatonic Repository content must be for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. If you have something for a previous edition, you must update it to 7th. Use our free conversion guide.
Q: Where can I find out more information about submitting to the Miskatonic Repository?
A: Check out the Guidelines here. And further information, including writing and art tips here.
Q: What I really want is to be published by Chaosium itself one day; will participating here help?
A: Indeed yes! We see the Miskatonic Repository as a launching site for writing talent and a place we'll be watching keenly for potential writers in our Call of Cthulhu line.
We hope this information is helpful, and you consider contributing—Call of Cthulhu fans are super keen for new content, and we'd love to see your creations up there!
In the meantime, do check out what's already available at the Miskatonic Repository!
CALL OF CTHULHU SLIPCASE SETS
BACK IN STOCK!


There are dark forces in this universe, and they like when you read about them. Due to surging demand we temporarily ran out out of Call of Cthulhu 7th Ed slipcase sets, but they're now available again...

13th Age Glorantha & Glorantha Sourcebook PDFs to be released to backers later this week!

13th Age Glorantha Kickstarter backers have just received the good news that we plan to start distributing the 13th Age Glorantha and the Glorantha Sourcebook PDFs later this week!
More details about next steps are in the most recent backer update, but as a preview of what's coming, above is a near-final version of the 13G front cover, as designed by Lee Moyer & Chris Huth. 

Layout underway for the new RuneQuest!

And speaking of good news RuneQuest line editor Jason Durall reports that layout for the RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha core book is underway!

The Gamemaster Pack will follow, then the Gloranthan Bestiary: we're getting the last of the art and maps for these.
The RQG character sheet is done and is quite lovely - here's a bit of a sneak peak from a recent playtest session and close-up at the end.
Given the timetables involved and production pipeline, we're aiming to have all three books going to print by mid-year (along with a few other things we've teased or announced), and PDF versions out before that.

Jason is looking forward to start sharing some layout samples in forthcoming updates! 

 

GRIFFIN MOUNTAIN, the classic RQ2 sandbox campaign, has gone out to backers of the RuneQuest Classic Kickstarter in PDF — it's what Rick describes as "200 pages of Gloranthan Gold".

BORDERLANDS, the iconic campaign of linked scenarios, will follow later this month!

If you're not a Kickstarter backer, you'll find these available at Chaosium.com several weeks after they're released to backers.
 

Licensee Focus



The newest Call of Cthulhu licensed Kickstarter from our friends, the Gold ENnie award-winning Stygian Fox! Experience violent horror across NE America with their latest Kickstarter, The Wild Hunt for Call of Cthulhu. Some nightmares you can't outrun.

Funding on its first day, the campaign already over 170% funded. The Wild Hunt runs until March 1st.




Licensee Focus

 

The Griselda Stories, by Oliver Dickinson

Oliver Dickinson's gloriously Runyonesque Griselda Stories are now available as chapbooks from Chaosium! Set in the mean streets of Pavis, these tales are fondly-remembered Gloranthan classics.
Oliver (right), now in his eighth decade, and who "may well be the oldest person interested in Glorantha", maintains a Griselda web page, where you can discover more about his character's exploits:
http://www.griselda.org.uk.

The Griselda chapbooks are a fundraiser to support The Kraken, the "baroque gathering of international gamers and game creators" that takes place in a Prussian schloss outside Berlin every October.

The "Grand Shaman of Gaming" Turns 70
Happy Birthday Greg Stafford!

Unnatural Selections—Reviews To Take Note Of...


self-confessed actual cattle rustler (or at least unwitting accomplice to cow stealing) reviews our Reiner Knizia family game Khan of Khans; meanwhile, Dreams & Nightmaresexplains how you can become the world's greatest uncle/aunt/friend; and Games Vs Playcomes up with 5 reasons why Call of Cthulhu is actually one of the best historical RPGs around... click on the links for the full reviews:
"For a quick, family style game, this is fantastic. …it packs into a box about the size of a hardback book, so it can easily be stuffed in a backpack or other bag and taken on travel. It doesn't take long to learn, and whether you with children or strangers at a convention, Khan of Khans is easily something you can break out for 30 minutes of entertainment…
Do I Recommend? Yes! Emphatically, yes."

MWStephens.com
"If you like weird fiction and have read The Call of Cthulhu, you owe it to yourself to buy this book. And if you know a child into the weird, scary, and peculiar, you will be the world's greatest uncle/aunt/friend if you buy them this book (The Call of Cthulhu for Beginning Readers)."
Dreams & Nightmares magazine.
"The ultimate horror RPG, Call of Cthulhu is a stone-cold classic of the tabletop."
Tabletop Gaming Magazine (UK)

"Call of Cthulhu has been called “one of the best roleplaying games of all time” (Geek & Sundry). But something that’s overlooked about this classic horror RPG… is that it’s also one of the most versatile and well-researched historical RPGs around... I mean honestly, you can now play CoC in more time periods than your average season of 
Dr Who. "
Games Vs Play
"Morrison’s love for this work shines through, and a reader easily recognizes the care and painstaking attention he and his team spent on this project… (There are) times when the players — the actual players — will want to run screaming from the room. It’s scary and it’s creepy and it’s gross and it will definitely give your more impressionable players nightmares. Just like it ought to."
Reckoning of the Dead.
"Does Down Darker Trails succeed in offering background material, locations, non-player characters, Mythos creatures, story ideas, and enough tone, mood, and flavor for a complete Western setting? The answer is yes, unequivocally."
Reckoning of the Dead.

Recent Call of Cthulhu Releases from Chaosium...

Available in Hardback (with PDF included)...
Now available in PDF. Get the full price of the PDF back as a discount when the hardback is out!

JOIN THE TRIBE! 


7000 members and growing! Come join the CALL OF CTHULHU RPG & PLAYERS group on Facebook...

...and the over 9000 followers on CHAOSIUM TWITTER
What is Ab Chaos?
(...from Ab Chaos #7, May 31 1992)

Ab - Latin "from"
Chaos - (1) Any condition or place of total disorder (modern vernacular); (2) the disordered state of unformed matter which preceded creation (since Milton, Paradise Lost); (3) the dark, empty space which preceded creation (Greek Mythology); (4) the [formerly] Californian roleplaying game company.

Ab Chaos is an informal newsletter for Chaosium fans. Through our history we have tried to serve the players and gamemasters through craft and art as well as (and sometimes at the expense of) marketing and moneymaking. We appreciate your loyalty, and offer this communication to those who are curious about us, beyond the mere "product".

It is planned to be informal and irregular. We are, after all, not the Orderium.
Copyright © 2018 Chaosium Inc., All rights reserved. 

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