Masks of Nyarlathotep 7th Edition Review - Call of Cthulhu RPG (Spoiler Free!)

[@ReustersPlace]

You should publish your keeper notes to help others elaborate on the less developed locations and other info to keep things straight

[@benjustbenwilldo2215]

I'd like to see you give this treatment to other call of Cthulhu campaigns, its good work. Horror on the orient express, and Beyond the mountains of madness would be great options given they are distinct in their settings. Many of other classics share the masks global tour format but Fungi from yuggoth, shadows of yog sothoth and spawn of azathoth are all still awesome but what works for masks works for these in many ways also.

[@XPLovecat]

I would LOVE to do a series on some other campaigns.

[@seamusp5991]

Psyched you’re gonna take a deep dive on this!

[@XPLovecat]

Yay! I'm excited to share all my tips so that Keeper's are well-prepared to run it

[@jirhonarmstrong4107]

I really love this,I’ve been thinking about you running mask just as one shots that tie in with other great scenarios. And this really helped I can’t wait to see more on this

[@XPLovecat]

Awesome! There are some locations that would work better as one-shots than others so I will make sure to mention that in my detailed location videos. Thanks for watching!

[@xchrishawkx]

This was great. Looking forward to the keeper tips!

[@XPLovecat]

Thank you, I have so much to share for each location so I am excited to post the deep dives with keeper tips over the next few months. Thanks for watching!

[@scottyboy1958]

I got this a few months back. Excellent Campaign, am reading through it at moment. Sadly COVID has postponed play. More time for prep though.

[@XPLovecat]

Awesome, I'm excited you will be joining in the adventure (hopefully soon). But in the meantime, yay more prep time!

[@rickhudson7929]

good and fair review. I ran this back in 1984- and although it was fun, it was exhausting! Fair points about the locations too- some of them are a bit like a Hollywood movie version of the actual places. But, overall- fantastic.

[@ReustersPlace]

Ha the end told me you are making videos for what I asked for! Nice

[@XPLovecat]

Yep! I will be publishing all my secrets in the coming months!!

[@ReustersPlace]

@@XPLovecat Thank You

[@ReustersPlace]

@@XPLovecat oh... and now you can run Impossible Landscapes for Delta Green

[@stevengardiner5516]

I love this campaign so much. I've run it multiple times in various editions, and even the first time through in the first edition, with young players in their twenties playing 8 - 10 hours a week, it still took us most of a year. But I recognize the difficulty for players. I've worked as a professional investigator and a social scientist. When I play in CoC big campaigns (I never got to play Masks, grumble), I create case boards and files, type my notes, and organize clues. None of my players has ever been quite that obsessive--though many do take notes, they rarely take the time to summarize and draw conclusions beyond the "we could go to x locations and check it out." It often surprises me just how counter-intuitive simply going and talking to witnesses (or following up on them, "Can you think of anyone else who we should talk to") is for most players. When they are really stuck, I might have a clear-thinking reporter, professor, or investigator contact show up and ask them questions, revealing they know more than they think, even if they can't remember the exact details. (Then they can make an idea roll to remember the specifics that their characters would likely remember or be able to reconstruct--or check their notes more carefully.)

[@qwe1231]

Great video for a great game. And the graphics have improved a lot compared to when you started.

[@XPLovecat]

Thank you, I appreciate it! And thank you for watching.

[@YTAlpha01]

This is one of the best, most useful, game reviews I've seen on KZbin. Thank you!

[@XPLovecat]

That is so kind of you, thank you and I am glad you found it helpful!

[@verlandes1]

Running Masks is a pipe dream for me, having toddlers only allows for one shots here and there. Great review, I just became a subscriber!

[@XPLovecat]

So glad you enjoyed it. Maybe when your kids get to high school you could run masks for them!! In the meantime, at least CoC has some amazing one-shots to choose from.

[@colinflanigan9153]

Wow! That is an accomplishment running such a long campaign. You must be a great Keeper and have such good Players. If you have time can you give some stories about the Investigators the Players made and how some of the sessions went? I love campaign stories and it could inform the campaign. By the way great video.

[@XPLovecat]

Thanks Colin! I do have some great players, so I feel really fortunate for that. Great idea to include some stories and talk about investigator creation for the campaign. I'll make sure to include some in my location videos.

[@DynamiteBlues]

It took me a while to find call of cthulhu channels. Glad I found yours.

[@XPLovecat]

Welcome to the madness!

[@VassTheKeeper]

Really nice and thorough review! I finished running Masks for the 2nd time 8 months ago using the 7th ed version. First time was 22 years ago with the Complete MoN version. Both times my groups had A BLAST. In their own words, the best RPG experience they've had. It does take an experienced Keeper to make this campaign shine, it does require A LOT of prep both pre-launch and also before each session. There are several key moments in the campaign that you need to get right, otherwise the tone will be wrong. This campaign is a classic for a reason. It is not perfect, but a good GM can make it perfect!

[@XPLovecat]

I love that you played this campaign twice! It really is that good that you want to go back again (I feel that way too).

[@zachmckinney2497]

Best advise i can give from running this campaign. Make sure the players have a note taker, and reward players doing recaps of last session for you, with some luck points.

[@XPLovecat]

That is great advice! We did have a dedicated note taker in the group, but we usually did the recap kind as a group. They would talk about what they learned and encountered last session and I would fill in the gaps if they forgot something that happened. I like your idea of rewarding luck points, that way they are motivated to remember!

[@booms]

What a super helpful breakdown, thank you!

[@BenA718]

Very helpful, nice breakdown. Thank you! For the area-specific breakdowns, perhaps best not to have the location in the title of the video to keep it spoiler-free for players?

[@anthonyragan2696]

Congratulations on finishing! That put you and your group in elite company. :) About not knowing if you're done with a section and if it's time to move on, that almost sounds like the influence of video games to me, where you complete a level and scroll to the next. To me, part of the mystery (and the fun) is that lurking fear you might have missed something. BTW, I hope by the end you'll tell us whether your group saved the world or not. ;-)

[@XPLovecat]

Thank you! That's a great point on knowing when to move on. I think my players really were looking for each location to kind of have a nice wrap up to it when really it should be up to them whether they feel like they have enough information to move on. I think part of what would have helped from a keeper perspective is having a way to track what they may have missed, which is where a reference sheet may come in handy. And yes, I will definitely reveal how my players did in my Grand Conclusion video :)

[@Sabretooth7777]

Any idea on when the spoiler-related video will come out? I enjoyed this a lot and as my players are currently elbow-deep in the England chapter, i'm eager to hear your take from 'behind the screen'

[@XPLovecat]

Thanks! I am working on the general GM tips video currently and am hoping to have it out in the next couple of weeks. Then I will be doing a deep dive for every location...which will take some time to release realistically over the next several months.

[@alvaromendes1099]

Great video! Any chance we get more tips for Keepers in a near future? Stuff about making npcs, maps and how to properly adapt your campaign to the era of your choice?

[@XPLovecat]

Absolutely! I'm working on a keeper tips video specifically for Masks and then will be working on location specific videos. I will put on my list to make videos on making NPCs, maps, and setting for your own campaigns as well. Great suggestion and thanks for watching!

[@becmiberserker]

Thank you for this, it was very helpful. I'm just branching into Cthulhu and have run a couple of games and feel ready for a campaign. What would be really useful to know is how many players you had on average during the course of the game, and also how much gaming was face-to-face and how much was VTT (if any). Also, you mention your campaign took 2 1/2 years and the detail around this, but how much deliberation did your players spend on clues? My players tend to really get into clues and, of course, this can delay progress, although not always in a bad way. It would be good to understand how much your campaign progress was affected by the approach taken by your players. Otherwise, happy to sub to your content and will be watching more. 🙂

[@jasonmountain4643]

I've been sitting on this campaign and the prop set for it for a long time. Once my players are done with their epic lvl 1-20 D&D campaign, we shall be switching to this.

[@XPLovecat]

Exciting!

[@elgallorojo1]

Great review

[@XPLovecat]

Thank you! And thanks for watching!

[@riggermortisfpv526]

Ive just started a group on this campaign for 7th.

[@XPLovecat]

So exciting! Check out the video I just posted today to help with overall keeper tips. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKmYXqR8l99je5Y

[@RecklessFables]

How many PC deaths did you guys have? I saw a post where someone had 19 deaths over a 3 year campaign.

[@XPLovecat]

19 is a ton, I'm guessing this was from a previous edition of the campaign. 7e is not quite as meat grinder-y. That being said, we still had 5 PC deaths, 4 PCs go insane, and a few times my players chose to switch characters when we changed locations.

[@DrMocktopus1]

Hi! I’m new to CoC, what campaign would you recommend for new players + a beginner GM?

[@XPLovecat]

Welcome to the madness! My best recommendation is to actually start with one-shot scenarios. The keeper rulebook has 2 in the back that are great for beginners. I would also recommend the scenario book "Mansions of Madness". Chaosium also has two free adventures on their website (www.chaosium.com/cthulhu-adventures/), the haunting and the lightless beacon that would be fantastic for beginners. After you feel like you have a good understanding of the system and you know a little more what your group enjoys then I would start looking at campaign options. Hopefully this helps!

[@crax83]

*very minor spoiler* Do anyone have any ideas for players that are determined to get hold of Victoria Post in the America chapter? She's only mentioned once, in passing, in a handout, and then never mentioned again in the book afaik. I don't want to give them another mysterious person and have them set out on a wild goose chase when there are real mysteries to chase here 🙂

[@XPLovecat]

I have a couple of ideas. 1 - you could be clear and honest with your players and tell them that's probably not a solid lead for them to be investigating and that they won't find any additional information by tracking her down. 2- You could make her easy to find (so your players don't waste time) and roleplay the interaction between her and the players. If there is anywhere your players are struggling, maybe she can be used to provide a seed of information to help them down a certain path.

[@crax83]

@@XPLovecat yeah I'm leaning towards doing both of them. They are the kind of group that if something seems even a little bit off they are going to go on a tangent for a session or two and the campaign is long enough without extra complications. I find it weird, however, that they wrote her name in the article and then never ever mentioned her again. They could have just given her a few lines of description in the minor npc paragraph. Or just cut her name out of the article. Thanks for the reply. Keep up the great work.

[@XPLovecat]

@@crax83 I totally agree! It is strange that it is on the handout. You would think they would have mentioned her in minor NPCs. Your group seems very thorough, which can be a ton of fun but can also cause long game sessions! Don't be afraid to be clear with them if they're going down a rabbit hole. Best of luck with your campaign.

[@crax83]

@@XPLovecat yeah, in this case I wasn't sure if I had missed some info about her. I even checked the erratas and my 2010 edition to see if she was mentioned anywhere. Yes, my players are very thorough, but we all like that. The Peru chapter I believe took us at least five 4 hour sessions. It's a pretty roleplay heavy group, which give a great contrast to other more action focused groups I run games for. I just let them set the pace and just provide them with the world to play in. I look forward to seeing your next video, you deserve more subs.

[@theclash24]

Nice vid. Work on the frog voice and it may sound nicer. 😊

[@simonfernandes6809]

My God. I have the previous version of Masks for 6th Edition - it's the softcover similar to the one you held up. Not sure I want to upgrade by spending £££. Horror on the Orient Express was my 'massive campaign' experience for CoC - took 14 months to play through. Seemed easier to manage than Masks (HotOE boxed set. 2016 edition).

[@ybwang7124]

saw this in a Game shop so looked it up. Hard pass, it looks like work more than anything else.

[@taira1180]

Congratulations! I tried about 3 or 4 times and we never finished (old version). You are now part of a really small group. Anyway, the idea of playing a "redux" version is an excelent advice.

[@XPLovecat]

Thank you! Yea, it can be a lot for a group to tackle. I'll share my thoughts on which locations I would choose for a reduced version in the next video, I just didn't want to spoil any location in this one to avoid spoilers. Thanks for watching!

[@taira1180]

@@XPLovecat Your welcome, I like your videos, they are always interesting to watch.

[@seanfsmith]

This was such a good breakdown! I've been a player in an 18mo. game of it (weekly 3h) and a keeper for a 12mo. game (monthly 3h) using Cthulhu Dark - it's such a compelling campaign! I do intend some day to break off a few of its chunks to boil it into a single night of play - but that's years off yet!

[@XPLovecat]

Thank you! Man a single night of play would be TOUGH... so much content.

[@KyleMaxwell]

Glad to see this. I’ve been thinking about running this at some point but I need some more Keeper experience before I do. Do you feel like the material lends itself to being reused in custom scenarios, like using locations / NPCs /etc, treating it as a sourcebook?

[@XPLovecat]

Yes, I think this can certainly be used as a sourcebook. The locations/cults/NPCs can be a great inspiration for custom scenarios and there are sidetrack scenarios that can be used as premade one-shots. The book provides really great maps for each location and background for the environment and time period which can be really helpful if reusing it. I think the only thing would be straying away from the specific motivations and plots in the campaign if you plan to run MoN with that group in the future.

[@getpaidblackman9859]

That’s a big book

[@aaronthomas8190]

"Not cat proof." - Good to know! haha Great review. Really helpful.

[@XPLovecat]

Thank you for watching. I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@rubsfern]

It was really helpful! Thanks :)

[@XPLovecat]

I'm so glad, thank you for watching!