Call of Cthulhu: Viral - RPG Review

A team of Ghost Hunters livestream their exploration of an abandoned hospital and find far more than they bargained for. Here are my criticisms, tips, and suggestions for this Modern-Era 1-shot adventure.
Pick up a copy of VIRAL at DriveThru RPG: www.drivethrur...
Get your free audiobook and 1-month trail of Audible here: www.audibletri...
Like my shirt? You can get one at my store: seth-skorkowsk...
JOIN MY PATREON (Tip Jar): / sskorkowsky
A very special thank you to my 206 Patrons for their continued support in making my channel possible.
______
CHECK OUT MY NOVELS
If you want to support my channel, or just want to read an action-packed Urban Fantasy about modern-day monster hunters and their sentient weapons, check out my four-novel Valducan series. They feature gun fights, sword fights, chases, monsters, and a smattering of horror. Audio book editions narrated by the badass R.C. Bray: amzn.to/3rehNnJ
I also write pulpy Sword & Sorcery thief adventures in my Tales of the Black Raven series. It's 21 short stories packed with action, intrigue, and daring heroics. Audio editions read by R.C. Bray. amzn.to/3faj4cX
And if you want a kickass and dark revenge story about a modern-day sorceress hunting across the multiverse for lost Carcosa, my novel Ashes of Onyx is available in print, ebook, and audio book: amzn.to/3sfh1IA
If you enjoyed my stories, please leave a rating or review on Amazon, Audible, and/or Goodreads
/ 4088554.seth_skorkowsky
__________
MY PUBLISHED RPG ADVENTURES
A Mother's Love (Call of Cthulhu 7e). This collection of adventures win the 2020 Gold ENnie Award for Best Digital Adventure Book: www.drivethrur...
Mysteries on Arcturus Station (Mongoose Traveller 2e). This is two adventures. One is written by me, and the other is my update to J. Andrew Keith's brilliant Murder on Arcturus Station: www.drivethrur...
And while I didn't write it (Marc Miller has that distinction), I did greatly expand and update the classic Traveller adventure Death Station to Mongoose 2e, which is TOTALLY FREE: www.drivethrur...
__________
GOT DICE?
Check out the Q-Workshop Seth Skorkowsky RPG Icons Dice, a 10-die set that I designed with Q-Workshop: q-workshop.com...
For more of the 12-sided 6d, you can find them here: q-workshop.com...
__________
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
I mostly ramble about movies, tabletop roleplaying games, and random other things as they occur to me:
/ sskorkowsky
__________
I HAVE A PODCAST
Check out the Modern Mythos Podcast where veteran RPG writer Jon Hook and I discuss gaming, especially Call of Cthulhu: modernmythos.l...
You can find the podcast on KZbin as well (You should totally subscribe): / @modernmythos5229
__________
Guest starring Jack the NPC

[@O4C209]

21:08 "And that's when the donations came raining in. Totally worth the sanity loss." The perfect modern horror.

[@blastermaster5039]

YOLO

[@KuyVonBraun]

I like your point about modern scenarios, people forget that the “classic” era of the 20/30s was modern for Lovecraft. Stories like At The Mountains of Madness with it’s Antarctic expedition, high altitude aeroplanes & collapsible mining equipment would’ve been cutting edge tech at the time & it didn’t help the protagonists one jot. In fact our tools & toys being no help only *adds * to the horror IMO. Great review as always Seth 🦑✨

[@CloseingStraw97]

or the fact that the leading tech at the time, a giant shipping boat, only inconvenienced Cthulhu

[@v0dka885]

one way i combatted people searching online for answers is by having websites detailing the cults on how to join and where a temple is or something like that is by having it buried in the surface web on an onion link when put in the tor browser directs them to a website of the cult or a conspiracy theorist detailing the cult and there could be a myriad of reasons why the cults opporate this way, like the FBI being on high alert since the Waco shootout and the Heavens Gate mass suicide or perhaps surface sites are taken down by cultists working in the FBI. and if you wanna make it extra creepy make it so when they enter the site, there would be mysterious people stalking you and slowly escalating to them attempting to kidnap you to be sacrificed because you didn't pay a massive membership fee to join.

[@dutch6857]

Self-propelled naval torpedoes were state of the art when he wrote 'Shadow Over Innsmouth' and AC was bleeding edge tech in 1926 when he penned 'Cool Air' *Edit* So, yep, you are bang on correct.

[@zeehond23]

Modern technology only adds to the ways our eldritch overlords can mess with us. We have invented our own demise, one microchip at a time.

[@greglong7170]

If you can find your answer on Google odds are strong that answer was planted and will really make things worse.

[@TheJimPlays]

"We're pretty sure mosaics grow around here..." That got me! LOL

[@alancramer1980]

Smile while you still have the chance... He was a boy, She was a girl, I am a sentient octopus. He was a punk, She did ballet, I have eight prehensile legs. He wanted her, She'd never tell, I crept up from the bowels of Hell. All of her friends, And those two as well, Will fall when the seas start to swell. He was a skater boy, She said "See ya later boy." Nothing significant to me. I'm a cephalopod, A miniature Elder God, And soon all my brethren will be free.

[@Whitby_Abbeys_Ghost]

I like this much better than the original!

[@LemonsInTheShade]

I want some singer to make a music video with this version.

[@ClarionMumbler]

@@LemonsInTheShade Jack the npc

[@d.unterreiner161]

😆

[@BrentWalker999]

Amazing

[@SubBrief]

ever closer to 100K and getting some great sponsors. Congrats Seth.

[@TheNoobRapter]

Clearly Seth needs to come across an actual mythos tome disguised as a COC adventure module and fight an elder god on a live stream to help boost thous subscriber numbers.

[@Lallander]

I still can't believe Seth isn't closer to 1 million subscribers by now. Criminally underrated.

[@KS-nm6rt]

@@Lallander He keeps it niche and that's why I love him. Heck he even encourages people not to watch his reviews if they aren't dungeon masters so there you have it.. Pretty much all the 1 million sub RPG channels make me feel like I'm the product with their non-stop click-baity content and their "I got to make a living out of this" BS.

[@tortirion]

Seth: “This is my audible library of over 200 books” Me: *smirks as i am looking through my 400+ audible library* them are rookie numbers Seth

[@jeffbrownstain]

Me, looking at my 8000+ pdfs because I pirate everything 🤔

[@cam4636]

@@jeffbrownstain And with piracy you actually OWN it

[@oz_jones]

"Your" library. Sure thing, buddy.

[@jeffbrownstain]

@@SpookyGroovyPolitoCatMum You can support artists directly instead of Amazon when it comes to anything you would pirate. If I like a band, I'll buy their merch and go to their shows. If I like an artist, then I will put their work on my wall and tell others about them. In a monetary and profit driven capitalist society, all art is degraded into property, so what does your argument really matter anyway?

[@nasir6r996]

Lol get dunked on, Seth

[@JimMcCarthy1]

Play tested this too, such an excellent modern take on the horror genre, well done to Bud and Co. Thanks also for all the extra GM tips, will be running this later in the year.

[@r1n8k]

I love how Jack suggested that thing with the mines. Its great to see him slowly become a real boy.

[@JimParshall]

Spectral Krew needs to be its own game. This is perfect for a full game. You should make it happen jajaja. :) it sounds like you and your group loved this adventure.

[@danielprofeta]

Hell yeah, Bud's Scenario is amazing. So incredibly cool that you reviewed it!!

[@davidbrennan660]

Bud is a great judge of character and characters it seems......he is the voice of Delta Green, be knows the Unnatural.

[@dubuyajay9964]

I wish someone would livestream this so rl chat could affect it. :P

[@tokyobear]

Good to have you back! You had me worried for a moment ... it's been about 3 weeks. Been checking every day for a new one.

[@MarkFillmore]

“Just explodes, with high-speed-Ebola”. Hah, Jesus Seth you’re the best, haha.

[@billharm6006]

Love the transition to "modern" communication modes. Great story potential there. I don't suppose something like that is going to show up in a future book of yours, Seth? (Yes. I've picked up some of you work on Amazon, so I'll keep an eye out... on a tentacle stalk)

[@MySqueezingArm]

Holy crap Seth I didn't know you had a podcast! Now I have more stuff to help me stay sane while working outside. Thanks dude.

[@szymonsokolinski9907]

Congrats on the sponsorship!

[@isadorabandeira6569]

I love modern scenarios for me they always give a twist to COC, great video

[@visageliquifier3636]

The other elder signs are a good addition, but there are a few things that didn't make sense to me. So, lots of graffiti and whatnot on the island, so why hasn't the big bad just tainted some group of drunk teenagers who feel asleep overnight and woke up as drones? Since level 10 taint apparently allows the drone to act and look normal, the cult should have been alive and well. Any drone could go back to the mainland and entice more people. Also, if the place is a frequent hangout, I don't see why there isn't more disease in the mainland and why anything is left for the investigators to find. Some pack of kids roaming around would have definitely grabbed the gun and the video recorder. I think the elder signs are a good step, however I'd also juice it the following way: The government's cover story is that the one island is said to have been a secret Nazi lab that later became a doomsday cult that was experimenting with chemical and biological weapons. The whole island is surrounded by an electrified razorwire fence with plenty of warnings. It also has a bad name in small town on the mainland. Of course kids do go out to the smaller island with the bridge on it for a 'knocking on the door' kind of thrill, but kind of like Gremlins, you never stay past midnight or longer than six hours. If you do, an Italian police launch seems to always come by to escort you off. Due to the receding water, a collapsing cliff face not only damaged an elder sign but provides access to the facility up a slope of scree and under the fence. It just so happens the military's monitoring is focused on people approaching, not internal security, so they didn't see the gap open up. Due to the water receding, you could run a small launch to the unprotected smaller island and with a quick swim, get on the muddy embankment on the other side. There's a type of Mardi Gras in the town tonight, perhaps a festival based on the change of fish migration if it had been a fishing village, so the police are busy and there are a number of tourists around. A group of foreigners running around with camera and boating around the bay won't be out of place. The above is how you could have rumors of the island, fairly easy access, little notice approaching, but also have all the things inside remain there for the investigators to find. The sleazy fisherman could even be a low-key smuggler who noticed the cliff collapse one day, so it isn't common knowledge.

[@richmcgee434]

Bud's RPG Reviews is one of the better "talking hands" channels on youtube.

[@BudsRPGreview]

Thanks... ?

[@SSkorkowsky]

Mi-Go technology is very good a replicating hands.

[@richmcgee434]

@@BudsRPGreview You're not the only one who does that style of vid, y'know. Or maybe you are - I never paid much attention to the details and hands look pretty similar from one Caucasian guy to the next. Do you actually have dozens of channels under multiple IDs, all gesticulating away on different subjects? :)

[@russelljacob7955]

Good day, Seth Skorkowsky! Hows it going? Just commenting on how much I enjoy your reviews. Plus you do a great job of inspiring too. Feeling disillusioned with the campaign I am in? Just listen to Seth and am hyped and inspired once more!

[@AqueleGamer]

This is not likely something for me to run but definetly a goldmine of ideas! Most of my cthulhu/horror RPG gameplay is done through Delta Green. Cleaning up a scene after youtubers mess with what they shouldn't seems like a great prompt for a DG adventure.

[@rickyl3136]

Definitely going to have to play this. Thank you for showing it.

[@RPGImaginings]

Well, I'll just scratch "Your face appears in a Seth Skorkowsky video" off the Bucket List. :O

[@falldownpit]

Sort of a strange suggestion. After the stream is cut, instead of Maya leaving the story they become a sort of mission control. The government agents know the ghost hunters are the first on site and it will be quite awhile for the airstrike to get there, so they have Maya relay new demands and objectives to the players after they are trapped in the crypt. With the possible promise that they won't prosecute the players for their actions if they do exactly what is asked of them. Maya will be more nervous, but still doing her job with new knowledge of the situation. It can help get the players up to speed if they missed something before the endgame. It could help with agency during the end. And an epic way of escape by helicopter as the amorphous horror and the cursed asylum burns in the distance during the aftermath. "Shame you ghost hunters won't be able to tell anyone about any of this." "Can we at least keep this shot? Maybe on a Chan board? This picture's awesome, man!"

[@arthurchadwell9267]

Back when I was in college, I bought the 4th edition "Black Book". At that time (1989+/-) they had two expansion packs - Cthulhu by Gaslight and Cthulhu Now!, which updated CoC for the then current era( the 80s).

[@ithinkwerlost4490]

Is that 2" white box on your shelf the Kickstarter re-release of Classic Call of Cthulhu scenarios? I couldn't resist that one myself!

[@kamikazetsunami9137]

I hope this video goes viral!

[@AuthoritativeNewsNetwork]

Having 'TTS' on could be an interesting addition, provided it does completely ruin the atmosphere. When the chat starts chanting as the Plague God rises from the Charnel pit. ...But mostly likely its would end up more like: "PastaLike send $10 - BallsBallsBallsBallsBallsBallsBallsBallsBallsBallsBallsBalls" 😅😅

[@wmf92]

About to finish my current D&D campaign and a short Call of Cthulhu story is exactly what I was looking for. And I like the idea of modern mythos. Thanks for the well times video Seth!

[@SupremeCleave]

I just received the hardcover version of this adventure. Awesome so far! Thanks for your review. It is the reason I bought it :)

[@BlueLoneWolf54]

I both fear and don't fear every theoretical early to mid-century Italian revolver that could be found at this type of location.

[@richmcgee434]

I'm sure it would be totally safe to use after decades of exposure to sea air - mostly because it's rusted solid and couldn't misfire (much less fire) even if you could pull the trigger without it snapping off. Although I suppose you could get tetanus from it if you cut yourself handling it. That's kind of scary.

[@Ged____]

Clicking on this I half expected to see a wooden table, a book and pair of hands to appear on my screen lol

[@richmcgee434]

And yet Bud seemed surprised when I referred to his youtube work as a "talking hands" channel. It's what he's known for.

[@Torque2100]

In reference to the Revolver, this is a sealed room on an island in the Mediterranean sea. Dampness, humidity and salt are going to leech into that room. That revolver should be a useless lump of rust by the time 70 years have passed.

[@szymonsokolinski9907]

Hello Seth Skorkowsky, internet

[@AubriGryphon]

Don't think we didn't notice that Super Chat from "SethFromTexas". 😁

[@BudsRPGreview]

Most of the Super Chats were based on the playtesters.

[@markgrehan3726]

The adventure is pretty good and looks great but I really dislike the Government intervention at the end admittedly it's a personal preference but it's a little too loud for my preference. Really enjoyed Seths' extra options and advice for tweaking it.

[@thedementedhouse381]

Oooo I like the use of the sea mines. Great Chekhov's Gun.

[@TheWallsofDis]

Get this man’s audiobooks. For real, the Valducan series is fantastic… sorry Seth, I’m biased

[@themindfulgentleman121]

He: „Hello Internet, Seth Skor...“ Me: Already ordering whatever it is that Seth is reviewing... 🤩 Thanks for your great work, Seth! 👍🏼

[@dutch6857]

Congrats on getting a sponsor that is a good fit for you!

[@jollyredgiant203]

Usually I roll my eyes at adds in KZbin videos but... get your money Seth, you earned it. You inspired me to get the keepers guide and I'm getting ready to run my first ever CoC game

[@malcolmdarke5299]

I think that the livestream might give bonuses to the tech-guy's perception. "WHAT WAS THAT" and "WTF" reactions!

[@jesternario]

The authors have updated the adventure since, and have included some of your suggestions in this video, such as The camera one of Emily's crew missed. It's nice when people take constructive about their work.

[@BudsRPGreview]

We incorporated loads of things from the playtests and reviews.

[@jesternario]

@@BudsRPGreview And they're all gems. Very useful and add to the adventure.

[@squeethemog213]

Yo this looks super fun. Thanks for an awesome vid Seth :D

[@randomusernameCallin]

This would be great for more an end to a campaign or the start.

[@TonyE727]

When you started talking about oil drums, I immediately went, "the sea mines!" Then you did the same thing not 10 seconds later. Lol

[@rickyl3136]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one that giggles at taint.

[@danacoleman4007]

?

[@jameskerr3258]

Hope you get to 100K soon!

[@Whootzie]

I'm glad I'm out the only one that giggled at the word Tant 🤣

[@candidgamera]

Love the shirt! Glad to see you nabbing sponsorship.

[@FoolsGil]

Stupid KZbin. I had to realize I haven't seen a vid from you in awhile to realize and check. Smashing the Bell Notification now!

[@mercurion08]

Thanks for the English subtitles, it makes the video easier to watch by translating it into Spanish. (Google Translate) :D

[@dangarthemighty0980]

That was absolutely phenomenal Seth.

[@Zogger568]

The twitch chat feature has the potential for some great comedy as well.

[@TheeAugustCaesar]

Hey Seth! Thanks for the video! 600 subs away from 100k! Good luck!

[@roadmarch0364]

Worlds okayest player... LOL. I need that shirt. 🤣 OOPS, it says Keeper, either way, that's funny.

[@ProfBoggs]

Before today I had never considered that a Great Old One could be microscopic. Or resemble a virus (see 04:32). Does the ghost using the Ouijia board use English or Italian?

[@BudsRPGreview]

English. It only spells out one word anyway. Also, Hastalÿks earthly form resembles that of a viral bacteriophage.

[@richmcgee434]

@@BudsRPGreview Given that "Hastalyks" is a nonsense word to anyone but a Mythos scholar or cultist anyway, the ouija board is functioning normally. Might as well spell Kwyjibo for all it's going to mean to the PCs.

[@NekiyPie]

I want this movie...as long as it isn't in the Found Footage Genre.

[@mikethetooth]

I figured the worst part for Jack would be being covered in green

[@LHRPG_Official]

I didn't even print out the live chat handouts. I'm just gonna read them to my players so I can change them if necessary.

[@cygnia]

Who was more fun to play: the obnoxious host or the cameraman when you played the other CoC game with Glass Cannon?

[@loke6664]

I did decide to pick this one up, bought it both as a hardback and a PDF (to make it easier to print the handouts or to clip them in to Roll20). Just read through the entire thing and rewatched this (you did convince me to buy it but your advice are more helpful when I actually understand the entire scenario). I must say it do look pretty awesome and I will book a time with my players as soon as I get the hardback. Yeah, I could run it using the PDF but I am a bit old fashioned and like to have a physical book when I run things, it is just faster for me to find things that way and I enjoy the feeling of a physical media even if that kinda goes against the spirit of the module here. :) There are some things in here that isn't for the faint of hearth but then, Call of Cthulhu might not be the perfect game for anyone who scares easily.

[@danhenry9108]

They do say that reading the comments is the surest way to lose sanity.

[@MySqueezingArm]

Another question for you Seth: Any interest in playing Shadowrun? I know you like Cyberpunk RED, and Shadowrun has more fantasy elements in it. Recently started a 4E game and love the gear so far.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Shadowrun has never called to me. I'm more cyberpunk than cyberfantasy.

[@MySqueezingArm]

@@SSkorkowsky Totally understandable. I know you said previously that fantasy lost it's appeal to you a while back. Thank you for answering, have a great day.

[@Joel-kk9he]

@@SSkorkowsky Somehow life will have to go on without Jack the NPC, Troll Streetsamurai.

[@larsdahl5528]

@@MySqueezingArm From what I have played, have seen, and heard of: From great games to games that fell apart. I have reached the conclusion that there are two things you have to be aware of to be successful with Shadowrun: (1) The rules are complex, there are many "things" in the game that can give some unfortunate surprises. (2) Some see it as having a build-in disease; Fantasick. I have seen campaigns die due to those two problems. They drive players away from Shadowrun. (Seth is far from the only example; Many leave Shadowrun behind due to its complexity and/or fantasickness.) Here I understand why CyberPunk becomes more appealing, as it is simpler and cleaner. Still, I have seen others play excellent Shadowrun, and I have myself played excellent Shadowrun. Just be aware of those two pitfalls and you are good to go! (And stay away from 6E that version is only a cash grab from the publisher.)

[@MySqueezingArm]

@@larsdahl5528 Much appreciated. Personally I love the crunch. It's why I wanted to play Traveller. My GM can't get his usual group to drop the fantasy elements, so instead of running CPR, he's running SR4. I'm the new person in the group, and I'm just happy to be a player. Your advice is certainly sound and will be heeded to.

[@soundsurfer7]

Where can I get a Yellow King T-shirt? A throwback to True Detective, Season One.

[@mr.pavone9719]

off the top of my head I can imagine the internet and whatever being available to the players could be used against them to good effect. The idea of being that the players are overwhelmed with information rather than just learning the things they (as PCs) need to know.

[@BudsRPGreview]

I mean... who *really* know whether it is actually Google answering your search queries.

[@robbabcock_]

Great review!🐙☠👻

[@michaelbranz101]

Love you Seth keep it up

[@maxnomicon]

Great video as usual! Any actual play of this scenario?

[@BudsRPGreview]

Miskatonic Playhouse have it on the way.

[@timd4524]

Isn't there an island off the coast of Italy that was a sanatorium and all kinds of other sketchy stuff. Cool adventure.

[@BudsRPGreview]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poveglia

[@johnnysizemore5797]

You know, it's not that hard to turn this Scenario into a Cthulhu Modern Campaign Starter, you can even still use Call/Pulp for the system (just add or replace a couple of Skills for the modern day equivalents). Having the player's as members of "the NEW Skeleton Krew"(if all the previous PC's died or there was only one survivor) trying to carry on the search "for the truth"(and KZbin fame) would be a great way to start...

[@arjunchoong8012]

500 more subscribers are we will get a full-length movie starring Seth and only Seth!

[@promiscuous5761]

Thank you..

[@MaxWriter]

Interesting. Sounds incredibly detailed. Do they factor in the time lag for twitter comments too?

[@Rodjunior9]

I'm quite late to the party and you probably won't read my comment now, cause no upvotes, but I would love if you could make a video about Call of Cthulhu in this decade. I have already tried to tap into all possible sources, including the reddit sub, but unfortunately I don't really get much out of it and as a beginner keeper I could really use tips from a pro :) The internet, smartphones, cloud storage, GPS and basically the deadening of horror through the internet and "because you see a lot online" are interesting aspects that can massively influence a typical CoC scenario. Basically, I find it a pity that there is not much official information on this :(

[@SSkorkowsky]

I'll probably do one eventually over internet and cell phones. Jon Hook and I talked about it some on the Modern Mythos podcast we do. The internet would certainly change things. But not always for the better. Sure you could look up monsters and the supernatural, but also get flooded with tons of wrong information. The insane ramblings of that one person who legitimately knows of the mythos is going to look a lot like the insane ramblings of a million other people. Library Search and time would still be required to sift through it all. Old records from before the 1990s probably wouldn't be digitized and still require going to city archives to find anything. The other big aspect cell phones and GPS give is that the badguys have them, too. In many cases, the badguys have access to better tech than the PCs. Your character goes looking stuff up and ends up with some tracker on their phone and now the badguys know where you are or can listen in. They're now filtering your calls and messages, only letting you hear what they want you to hear. Now the badgys are Googling you, finding out about your family and where you live through social media, putting them at risk. Phones also add some cool liabilities. Fail a Stealth check as you're hiding under a bed from some cultists? Your phone goes off in your pocket because some scammer wants to talk to you about your car's extended warranty. Fail that Jump roll and the Keeper decides to let you succeed at a cost? "You catch the other rooftop and slam into the brick wall. Something crunches in your pocket. Pulling yourself up you scramble onto the roof to safety but discover your cell phone was smashed."

[@Rodjunior9]

@@SSkorkowsky Wow, I never thought you would answer so quickly! Thank you so much for that Seth! "I'll probably do[...]" doesn't sound very promising, but I understand that your time is limited and even more so when you've already discussed the topic elsewhere. I definitely have to listen to the postcast. Haven't heard anything about it until now. Thank you for your detailed thoughts on the subject. I think it has a lot of potential and would love to hear more from you on the topic :)

[@schmuckmcgee7294]

27:27 Stranger Things Season 3 says hello.

[@ShyDMs]

An idea would be.. if you trust your players, use the super chat system to kick everything off. Instead of the ritual being ready when the PCs get there. In the final scenes before the reveal have a person that's unknown to the PCs and had never commented before post an insane amount of money in a super chat with instructions to do a task that completes the ritual. If they refuse have the ratings suffer calling them cowards and noting that since the money was paid they should do it..still make it their choice obviously but like I'm real life, no one likes getting stiffed in a livestream and the influence of a crowd is powerful

[@ShyDMs]

Should have finished the vid before committing

[@trioofone8911]

Seth, have you ever seen/played/ran/read about an rpg that synthesizes Cthulhu with cyber punk? If yes, have you done a review thereof?

[@SSkorkowsky]

One of the old Interface Magazines for Cyberpunk 2020 (can't remember which one) had a section dedicated to doing CthulhuPunk, including new cyber and the like.

[@kalajel]

Hey, don't you dare diss my d12!

[@Reds994]

Is there a stream I can watch Seth playthrough this at?

[@SSkorkowsky]

We didn't record it.

[@Emohawk707]

What if the players can find a flare with which they can tag Hastalic and help the planes blow him to bits? Edit: Your mine idea is better

[@ronaldsmith2284]

Italy does not have any nuclear weapons, officially, but maybe they have been given a small one, by U.S. or U.K., just in case something like this occurs.

[@richmcgee434]

They're just as likely to have quietly purchased a few "lost" Soviet nukes from corrupt Russian officials during the 90s. You know, just in case. Never can tell when Napoleon might reincarnate or something.

[@haydendean7970]

Hey Seth! How do you feel about keeping Taint scores secret? That way the players slowly start feeling the Taint effects rather than having a more tangible digit that they may or may not get meta game paranoid about. Heh..taint.

[@SSkorkowsky]

I'm 100% cool with it. Bud just had us keep track of a number, but we never had any idea what it was or for until the end when the monster appeared.

[@BudsRPGreview]

It's partly why we didn't have it called Taint on the character sheet - people could meta-game once they worked out what it was. As Seth said, I just made them track a number, then punched them in the face with it at the end.

[@haydendean7970]

@@SSkorkowsky That’s fair. Another great video! You’re my go-to resource for new scenarios. Your insights on scenario flaws and fixes are incredibly helpful in the prep phase so that we’re not fumbling around mid scenario. I’ve definitely used that as the make or break decision 👍🏻👍🏻

[@haydendean7970]

@@BudsRPGreview Excellent! Definitely dropping a sub to check out your stuff

[@LaszloStadler]

A shame that we don't have more (or any lately) first party modern scenarios. I prefer them to anything else, but definitely to the 20s.

[@BudsRPGreview]

Well you just may be in luck! Alex and I have at least two more lined up.

[@blastermaster5039]

34:15 Oh my God. All of the players super fan donations will go to jet fuel...😥

[@owenhodson7921]

Got to get his dice so I can get that d12

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

Play "Call of Catthulhu", it's purrrrrrfect.

[@SSkorkowsky]

It's impossible for me to not to read that in an Eartha Kitt Catwoman voice.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

@@SSkorkowsky You fell for my spell! Mwahahahahaha!

[@utubebgay]

Thanks for doing what you do, Seth. Yours vids always make me smile.

[@PichulRixth]

Is this a spoiler free review?

[@truemisto]

spiritual forces have long been noted to interact and tamper with photography, recording equipment and electronics so people shouldnt be as negative about modern horror

[@greglong7170]

I've lost count of the number of Found Footage movies with this EXACT plot.

[@BudsRPGreview]

You've seen a found footage video where they face a great old one?

[@greglong7170]

@@BudsRPGreview mmmmm, maybe? I've seen some that follow this plot. And I can think of two were they don't define the horror entity faced and as such it could easily be a Great Old One. Grave Encounters and it's sequel Grave Encounters 2 feature a haunting that could be a great old one. The first one doesn't make it that clear but you should watch the first to better understand the second. In the second some entity is at work that isn't defined in concrete terms as a ghost and exhibits powers that could easily be that of great old ones. Others that I could list generally blame ghosts. But I love found footage horror movies so have seen a fair amount that one could use even if the horror is just a ghost or haunted house.

[@alessandroraviolo1305]

As an Italian myself, I find it deeply amusing to see anybody having faith in our secret service. Or military. Or anything else from our country. 😁 Anyway, great video as always Seth!

[@R2M27]

Oof man 😂. Love the honesty

[@vincenzoberetta1085]

The Italian Secret Service is actually among the best in the World - and part of their strength comes exactly from the fact that they are not CIA, Mossad, MI5… Being underestimated is always a plus.

[@irontemplar6222]

well considering your guys military actually is rated is actually rated as number 3 in Europe, and considering that the top military (AKA Britan is only up there because of their navy, and SAS) Thats actually pretty good.

[@matthew_thefallen]

You'd be surprised! 😅

[@zubbworks]

You've never heard of the Italian secret service? Good.

[@leemansius6078]

If the players lose I would have the subscriber list go from 1 million to 2 million to 100 million to 1 billion-as if Hadrolik is creating thralls witnessing his greatness. And then-the game-ends

[@cam4636]

Was absolutely hoping for this interpretation of "viral"

[@reubenwatts2172]

Thanks for the video, Seth. I ran this as a Halloween one-shot for my usual Shadowrun group, and it rocked! For sure, a highlight was our Enoch, the roadie, deciding to do a heroic sacrifice where he ran back across the bridge to destroy the wireless repeater while the rest of the team got to safety. He rolled a extreme success on his attack, rolled max damage breaking the thing beyond repair, then rolled another extreme success on a dodge against getting stomped by the now 30 foot tall eldritch virus monster. I threw on Tenacious D's "Roadie" and had him roll out CON checks while he ran to catch up to the escape boat, while helicopters exploded overhead. Enoch is the best roadie of all time.

[@SSkorkowsky]

Awesome to hear!

[@zubbworks]

Well, did he live?

[@kaelang12]

sounds like Enoch was just a fake name for Eddie Riggs lol

[@TheJimPlays]

Seth, just some thoughts, but what if Mary is actually an agent of the Italian government pretending to be a local fan that showed up to tag along. In reality she's supposed to be an on-site fail-safe if the crew pokes too hard. However, she gets tainted and keeps having lapses in jugement that let the PCs get in too deep. At some point she acquired a backpack that has communication equipment and a laser designator for the incoming air strike. This way when the resurrection starts she frantically rips open her bag and starts military speaking into her radio only to trail off and drop it on the ground when she has her literal "melt down". Now the PCs get the sqwacking radio and her bag and some Italian officer instructs them they have to use the laser to paint the target for the jets. "Don't let it get to the ocean or it will start devouring sea life. By the time it makes landfall again it'll make Godzilla coming out of Tokyo Bay look like a chihuahua playing in a puddle!" So of course our guy is going too fast and they have to slow him down. The mines are amazing! Though as a believer in multiple forms of crazy heroics, I could see there being an old ambulance that could be convinced to work again. They could ram the dude or if there's some rope/chain about maybe they go full Battle of Hoth and try to bring him down.

[@BrewerMeister]

Always excited when I see Mr. Skorkowsky drop a video.

[@kamikazetsunami9137]

Don't forget to share

[@anthonymangia8890]

Especially a CoC one.

[@colinmerritt7645]

Hi Seth! Until I found your channel I was always a little trepidacious about CoC. I played a few one-shots at cons, but that was more doing whatever the Keeper told me to do. I didn't know the system above skill rolls, and fell for many of the myths you mentioned in your CoC Introduction some years back so had little desire to go further. I started watching your reviews thinking that the adventures sounded great, but I didn't want to get into something overly complex that seemed too gritty for my style anyway. Then, late last week, I decided to see what it was I was missing and worked my way through your entire 9-part CoC review. I wasn't even completely done before I bought the Keepers Guide, Investigators Handbook, Keeper Screen and Pulp Cthulhu. Your series made the game easy to get into and, perhaps more importantly, easy to like. Now I just need players.... Thanks for opening my eyes!

[@SSkorkowsky]

Happy to have helped. Welcome to Call of Cthulhu. Best of luck assembling a team of Investigators.

[@jesternario]

Players are easy to find if you know where to look. You can check various game stores, libraries, and similar. If you are a student, there is a chance your school has a gaming club. Online players can be found in several places, including discord. I hope by now you have a group and are having a great time. Good luck and happy gaming.

[@Shenaldrac]

Hey just commenting to say that "trepidacious" is a fantastic word.

[@MichaelB-jw5po]

I can't tell if the idea of an ancient evil mythos entity using donations in an internet chatroom to tempt the investigators towards doom is brilliant or completely stupid. Either way, that idea alone is making me want to check out this scenario.

[@BudsRPGreview]

In the seven times I ran it, they fell for it EVERY SINGLE TIME.

[@jeffbrownstain]

There's a lotta weird stuff going on online that many are either blind to or ignorant of. You know this is literally a government battleground, right? Cyberwar is happening every moment of every day and it affects most technologies you use whether you're aware of it or not. Why wouldn't elder things be able to speak through the vibrational frequencies of wifi, just as they have done with radio?

[@felixschreave354]

tfw an eldritch god learned internet slang, or the cultists taught the god about it, I don’t know what’s better

[@arnantphongsatha7906]

HasterlikPOG

[@ADiceySituation]

Reminds me of Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, where it's hinted that the ghosts were manipulating the viewer ratings to trick the crew into going further than they really should have.

[@dubuyajay9964]

People watching the livestream: *FAKE! FAKE! IT'S CGI!!!*