Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep: Adventures to Thwart the Dark God (Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying.) [Paperback]

Masks is an adventure taking place in 1926-27 (game time of 1yr exactly). This is perhaps the most comprehensive and compelling storyline I have ever seen in a role-playing product. The story starts as a simple murder investigation, and deepens more and more until players are knee-deep in trouble, are chased by secret cults and have the chance to uncover terrible mysteries of forgotten civilizations. A great deal of emphasis has been given in historical accuracy and depth of atmosphere, so in every chapter (New York, London, Cairo, Kenya, Ausralia, Shanghai) you get loads of info as to how the region was at that era, political situation, important people-factions etc. Various elements of the Cthulhu mythos and some very well-known Lovecraft novel elements and plots are incorporated into the book. Loads of carefully prepared handouts await the players, as they are about to embark in the journey of a lifetime. A must have! There is absolutely no negative - this adventure, once carefully prepared, is the perfect campaign for experienced storytellers.

Many Call of Cthulhu gamers consider MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP to be the ultimate Cthulhu product. You might ask what is so great about MASKS? Well, there are many reasons to like MASKS; it's versatile, non-linear, covers many interesting locations, has tons of clues and sleuthing to do, and from the Keeper's perspective, it has maps, handouts, spare cultists, monsters, traps, and side-adventures. Something for everyone! Plus, you get to fight just about everyone in the entire world.

MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP started out as a boxed set, with stapled booklets for each location you visit. And there are a lot: New York, London, Cairo, Kenya, and Hong Kong/Shanghai. MASKS was reprinted as a softcover later, and then re-reprinted in the late 90's as THE COMPLETE MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP - in this version, you also get the Australia chapter, which was cut from the original box and appeared in TERROR AUSTRALIS. I'm not so keen on the Australia chapter; it seems unnecessary and doesn't add to the plot, but I'm glad it's in my copy. That makes it COMPLETE!

The non-linearity is great, too. So, you want to go to London from New York? Sure, you could also go to Cairo instead. Or Shanghai if you desire. The players decide, and the order doesn't realy matter. That is, how you play each chapter probably depends on what you already know, but there isn't a sequence that has to be followed. That might worry a lot of gaming groups, so the Keeper needs to know whether his group needs strong clues to point the direction or whether they would enjoy exploring at their own pace.

You see, there are a lot of clues. The COMPLETE MASKS helps you (the Keeper, not the player) by listing all the clues for a region at the beginning, why you would be pointed in that direction, and where they lead to. Whoo, that's very helpful. You'll have to read this book a few times before you see how all the clues fit together. You don't need all of the clues either; many are redundant, or lead to side adventures, or to elements of the main plot that aren't essential.

Speaking of side plots, just to really mix things up, each chapter has a diversion or two that investigators can get sidetracked on. The side adventures in London are the best, and there is an hilarious one in Shanghai, but everywhere they give the players the option of false leads; not every clue is valuable and some should be ignored. On the other hand, some subplots that seem inconsequential can offer up some serious clueage (is that a word?) for the next stage.

Did I mention that you can fight a lot of cultists? At the beginning, anyway. By the end, we're talking thousands of armed loonies cheering on their dark lords. By the final showdown, you may possibly even have an army and a navy to help (good luck with that, by the way). Of course, you may decide that discretion is the better part of valor and hide in the shadows instead of gunslinging the cultist ceremonies. And heaven help you if you open your eyes and watch. Have you ever watched your electric meter while the AC is on? yeah, that's what your sanity score is like, only in reverse.

From the Keeper's point of view, MASKS has a lot of helpful elements. Besides the previously mentioned clue cross-check at the beginning of each chapter, there are also stats for everything. And if you need some extra cultists, there are extras rolled up. Spare monsters? They're there too. Some Outer Gods to perform perverse and blasphemous rites? They even have names and special powers. Maps, clues, handouts, the works; it's all there. Of course, your real task is coordinating investigators as they run clues to the ground. Heck, you might even want to have a separate group for each chapter, and the survivors report back to HQ. Just a thought.

Well, MASKS should provide both players and keepers with plenty of excitement and adventure. Plenty of horror too. Some images just keep coming to mind - like the exploding pregnant woman infested with the spawn of Nyarlathotep. Ehhhh... Good time for that lobotomy I keep putting off. Good luck saving the world!

This is an amazing adventure in which you travel all over the globe in search of the lost carslyle expidition. An amazing adventure. It took 7 people, the storyteller, over 20 charecters and total of over 100 hours to play. An amazing adventure that hase every thing from wild goose chases to nyarlathotep the black pharoh himself. I would give it 7 stars if I could.

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