Uncaring Cosmos

There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda.… You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning.… And that, I think, was the handle – that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting – on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. You can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark — that place where the nightmare corpse-city of R’lyeh finally rose from the waves. Greetings, my horde of ravenous audiovores! Welcome to the second part of my Actual Play of Bad Trip, a 1970s crime drama scenario by Tyler Omichinski for the tabletop roleplaying game Call of Cthulhu! Draft-dodging stoner John Coscarelli has been sent down to Louisiana by an Arkham crime boss. He’s arrived at a creepy old plantation house in the middle of nowhere, and been greeted by an even creepier young woman who is showing him around… is that the smell of something fishy on the wind? Bad Trip was initially described to me as a cross between Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and H.P. Lovecraft, with a splash of John Dies at the End just for fun. Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes The scenario was written and run by Tyler Omichinski The music for this episode is by Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech.com and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Audio credits Here are the stats for my character: Name: John Coscarelli Profession: Unemployed STR: 9 CON: 13 SIZ: 14 DEX: 6 EDU: 8 POW: 14 INT: 11 APP: 6 SAN: 70 Know: 40% Luck: 70% Idea: 55% Hit Points: 14 Damage Bonus: 0 Handgun: 20% 1d10 Shotgun: 30% 4d6 Anthropology: 20% Archaeology: 5% Art – Writing: 35% Chemistry: 40% Dodge: 40% Drive Automobile: 45% Fast Talk: 65% History: 40% Law: 20% Listen: 50% Own Language – English (American): 70% Pharmacy: 45% Psychoanalysis: 20% Psychology: 65% Spot Hidden: 40% IMAGE CREDITS: Creative Commons BY NC ND 3.0 – eva-guy01

Okay, we’re starting to pick up the pace! Here’s the first part of an Actual Play recording of The Ballad of Bass Rock, a scenario by Cubicle 7 for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop RPG set in Scotland in the 1920s! Professor Cuthbert Dodery is a world-renowned naturalist from Australia. On 29 October 1929, he visits Bass Rock, a volcanic crag sticking out of the North sea (and home to over 150’000 gannets and other seabirds). Accompanying him on the trip is Morgan Duncan, a young female reporter for The Scotsman newspaper. What horrors await them off the coast of Scotland? This one was a learning experience for me; it’s the first episode of Uncaring Cosmos where I’ve actually been running the game as Keeper. It’s also the first episode with more than one player – with Alan filling in the shoes of Professor Cuthbert Dodery, and Niki playing journalist Morag Duncan. Apologies in advance to my Scottish and Australian listeners for the dodgy accents! Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes The scenario is by Cubicle 7 The music for this episode is by Musica Cthulhiana, used with kind permission Audio credits

We can’t stop here, this is Lovecraft Country! I know I’m horrendously slow with my podcast episodes, but please see this as the opening of ‘Season 2’ of Uncaring Cosmos. Hopefully I’ll have a more regular release schedule from now on. I have several completed games waiting to be published, so there’s no shortage of content. To kick things off, here’s part one of a game I played earlier this year called Bad Trip. It’s a 1970s crime drama scenario by Tyler Omichinski for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop RPG. I played John Coscarelli, a junkie drop-out sent down to Louisiana on an errand for an Arkham crime boss. He’s not exactly a mob hitman, so why does the Mafia want him involved? Bad Trip was initially described to me as a cross between Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and H.P. Lovecraft, with a splash of John Dies at the End just for fun. Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes The scenario was written and run by Tyler Omichinski The music for this episode is by Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech.com and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Audio credits Here are the stats for my character: Name: John Coscarelli Profession: Unemployed STR: 9 CON: 13 SIZ: 14 DEX: 6 EDU: 8 POW: 14 INT: 11 APP: 6 SAN: 70 Know: 40% Luck: 70% Idea: 55% Hit Points: 14 Damage Bonus: 0 Handgun: 20% 1d10 Shotgun: 30% 4d6 Anthropology: 20% Archaeology: 5% Art – Writing: 35% Chemistry: 40% Dodge: 40% Drive Automobile: 45% Fast Talk: 65% History: 40% Law: 20% Listen: 50% Own Language – English (American): 70% Pharmacy: 45% Psychoanalysis: 20% Psychology: 65% Spot Hidden: 40% IMAGE CREDITS: Creative Commons BY 2.0 – Tiago Leonardi

Apologies are due! I’ve been off holidaying in the windswept wastes of distant Scandinavia, and have completely neglected Uncaring Cosmos. I promise that, in future, I will at least post a notice if I’m going to disappear for a couple of weeks. That said, welcome to the final part of my Actual Play of Fruiting Bodies, a scenario by Marcus Bone for the Gaslight-Era of Call of Cthulhu! Mutiny has finally broken out aboard The Leviathan (aided by a spectacularly botched persuade roll in the previous episode). Locked up in a stateroom overnight, I awaken to find the door mysteriously wide open, and the ship seemingly empty of life… but how long till the hideous slime mold I saw earlier reappears? I’m playing the Call of Cthulhu scenario Fruiting Bodies by Marcus Bone, co-author of the Monophobia set of single-investigator scenarios. Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes The Monophobia scenario set can be downloaded from the authors’ homepage at Unbound Publishing. The music for this episode is by Musica Cthuliana, used with kind permission. Audio credits IMAGE CREDITS: Creative Commons BY NC ND 3.0 – ehioe

Hail, my ravenous and many-limbed congregation! Welcome to part the third of my Actual Play of Fruiting Bodies, a scenario by Marcus Bone for the Gaslight-Era of Call of Cthulhu. I’m leading a small crew of sailors aboard The Leviathan, a seemingly plague-infested ship desperately making its way to the Chatham Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Even worse than the threat of plague, however, is a strange creature that is picking off the crew one by one. And, as the captain grows increasingly paranoid, there are whispers of mutiny amongst the men. I’m playing the Call of Cthulhu scenario Fruiting Bodies by Marcus Bone, co-author of the Monophobia set of single-investigator scenarios. Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes The Monophobia scenario set can be downloaded from the authors’ homepage at Unbound Publishing. The music for this episode is by Musica Cthuliana, used with kind permission. Audio credits IMAGE CREDITS: Creative Commons BY NC ND 3.0 – Morgainelefee

Salutations, my gelatinous cohort! Welcome to the second part of my actual play of Fruiting Bodies, a scenario by Marcus Bone for the Gaslight-Era of Call of Cthulhu. Things don’t look good as I find myself trapped aboard a plague ship floating in the pacific ocean. I’ve got to explore the hold for survivors, patch up any leaks, and deal with a mysterious mould that I find growing everywhere. Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes The rum ration, or “tot”, consisted of one-eighth of a pint of rum at an eye-watering 95.5% proof, given out to every sailor at midday on Royal Navy vessels until the practice was abolished in 1970. The Monophobia scenario set can be downloaded from the authors’ homepage at Unbound Publishing. The music for this episode is by Musica Cthuliana, used with kind permission. Audio credits

Hello there, my squamous critters! Welcome to my actual play of Fruiting Bodies, a scenario by Marcus Bone for the Gaslight-Era of Call of Cthulhu. You may know Marcus as the co-author of the Monophobia set of single-investigator scenarios. I had so much fun playing Monophobia: Robinson Gruesome that I contacted Marcus to see if he would run another scenario from Monophobia for me. He went one better and said he would run an exclusive new scenario from Chronophobia, his upcoming sequel to Monophobia! Fruiting Bodies is set in 1890, the Gaslight-Era of Call of Cthulhu, aboard the Marlborough, a British merchant ship bound for Portsmouth from New Zealand with a full cargo of wool and meat. I play the First Mate, Stephen Oates, leading a small party of crew to investigate a vessel that we spot floating dead in the water about three weeks into the voyage. Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes The Marlborough was a real vessel that went missing in 1890. However, don’t read up too much if you don’t want to spoil the game! In a wooden sailing ship, the “bits of wood on the side” are just called “wooden planks” or “hull planks”. The Monophobia scenario set can be downloaded from the authors’ homepage at Unbound Publishing. The music for this episode is by Musica Cthuliana, used with kind permission. Audio credits

Greetings, my perfidious cohort of cacodaemoniac terrors! Welcome to part one of my playthrough of The Last Door, a 2D pixel horror adventure game by Spanish indie developers The Game Kitchen. The game is set in gaslight era England, in 1891. In the opening episode, Jeremiah Devitt receives a disturbing letter from his old school friend, Anthony Beechworth. Travelling to the Beechworth estate in rural Sussex, Devitt finds the manor abandoned with no sign of his friend. Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes You can purchase The Last Door for PC, Mac and Linux on the game’s website. There’s also an enhanced Collector’s Edition available, and there are versions available for iPhone and Android phones and tablets. My interview with Mateo Pérez, one of the writers and designers of The Last Door, can be read in full at the Lovecraft eZine. According to Pérez, The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen was a big influence on The Last Door. Another influence was the French author Guy de Maupassant, particularly his short story The Terror.

Hello there, my unrelenting host of non-euclidean angles! Welcome to the final part of my playthrough of Fiend. In this episode, I pick my way through the catacombs deep beneath the Corben mansion. Lost and alone, will I find the way out… before something finds me? For those of you that haven’t been following along, I’m making my way through Fiend. It’s a 2001 top-down survival horror by Thomas Grip, Creative Director at Frictional Games. When you’re done here, you can also listen to the other episodes. Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes Fiend for Windows can be downloaded from the Frictional Games website or from the allegro game development community network. I suspect that the beastie at the end was one of these. Audio credits

Greetings, my unwholesome throng of chanting neophytes! Welcome to the final part of the Uncaring Cosmos actual play recording of Robinson Gruesome by Mark Chiddicks and Marcus Bone, one of the Monophobia set of single investigator scenarios for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game. In this episode, the strapping adventurer Alexander Dane finds himself caught in a death struggle with a native priest and his fearsome “god”. But who’s the real monster in this story? Dane hasn’t exactly behaved as a paragon of virtue. From trying to take photos of a shark tearing into the body of his Japanese pilot, to looting religious artifacts, to attempting to bamboozle the locals with his “white man magic”, Dane is a man who clearly feels a strong sense of cultural superiority. If you haven’t already, you can also listen to the previous episodes. Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes Audio credits In fact, Spanish might have been spoken in the Caroline Islands, as the islands were previously part of the Spanish East Indies. They were later sold to Germany in 1899, so perhaps German might also have been understood by some. Finally, they were occupied by the Japanese in the First World War, and would have been governed by the Japanese Empire under a mandate from the League of Nations at the time of the scenario. The Monophobia scenario set can be downloaded from the authors’ homepage at Unbound Publishing. You can find a list of other actual play recordings people have made and released as podcasts (mostly from Skype of Cthulhu) over at the Monophobia website. The music for this episode is by Allicorn, used with kind permission. The role of the Keeper in this playthrough is played by Jim from Skype of Cthulhu. Here are the stats for my character: Name: Alexander Dane Profession: Dashing Author & Adventurer STR: 15 CON: 15 SIZ: 14 DEX: 17 EDU: 20 POW: 16 INT: 12 APP: 10 SAN: 42 Know: 100% Luck: 80% Idea: 60% Hit Points: 15 Damage Bonus: +1d4 .45 Automatic: 41% 1d10+2 .30-06 Rifle: 49% 2d6+4 Anthropology: 12% Archaeology: 11% Art – Writing: 78% Bargain: 19% Biology: 21% Climb: 65% Credit Rating: 68% Cthulhu Mythos: 1% Dodge: 53% Fast Talk: 48% First Aid: 52% Geology: 18% Hide: 22% History: 54% Jump: 50% Library Use: 26% Listen: 47% Natural History: 57% Navigate: 34% Occult: 30% Other Language – Portuguese: 63% Other Language – Spanish: 56% Persuade: 49% Psychology: 22% Ride: 16% Spot Hidden: 60% Swim: 54% Track: 43% IMAGE CREDITS: Creative Commons – BY NC ND 3.0 – Zeeksie

Salutations, my black cloud of charnel pilgrims! In this episode, I creep around the second floor of the abandoned Corben mansion, looking for clues. I learn more about the sad fate of the mansion’s previous occupants, and stumble across an ancient diary crammed full of juicy Lovecraftian references (Cthulhu, R’lyeh, oh my!). For those of … Continue reading Fiend Part 6 – Cthulhu, R’lyeh, Oh My! ?

Salutations, my chitinous army of winged beasties! Welcome to the second part of the Uncaring Cosmos actual play recording of Robinson Gruesome by Mark Chiddicks and Marcus Bone, one of the Monophobia set of single investigator scenarios for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game. In this episode, the dashing author-adventurer Alexander Dane finds himself marooned on a … Continue reading Call of Cthulhu: Robinson Gruesome Part 2 – Hunting Fish with Rocks ?

Welcome to another episode of Uncaring Cosmos! In this episode, I make my way through the cobwebbed halls of an abandoned mansion. What secrets does its faded splendour mask? Where do the hairy ape-creatures who roam the dusty corridors come from? And why is there brown stuff on those stools? This one’s another short episode … Continue reading Fiend Part 5 – Hairy Ape-Creatures ?

Hail, my fearsome swarm of scaly terrors! Welcome to the first part of the Uncaring Cosmos actual play recording of Robinson Gruesome by Mark Chiddicks and Marcus Bone, one of the Monophobia set of single investigator scenarios for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game. We’re mixing things up a little this episode and introducing a tabletop roleplaying … Continue reading Call of Cthulhu: Robinson Gruesome Part 1 – Lovecraftian Castaway ?

Welcome to another episode of Uncaring Cosmos! In this episode, I finally escape the basement of the cursed mansion. But, creeping through the shadowed corridors, something stalks me. I’ve had some feedback to my first few episodes, and I’m changing the format slightly in response. Essentially, I will be trying to keep my episodes to around … Continue reading Fiend Part 4 – Through the Shadowed Corridors ?

Hello there, my terrifying horde of unctuous broodlings! In this episode, I tool up and kick some buttocks. Making my way into the basement of an abandoned mansion, what unnameable horrors will I unearth? I’m making my way through Fiend, a 2001 top-down survival horror by Thomas Grip, Creative Director at Frictional Games. When you’re … Continue reading Fiend Part 3 – An Abomination in the Basement ?

Greetings, my gibbering horrors! In this episode, I interview Tomas Rawlings, designer of the turn-based tactical Lovecraftian horror game Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land and, most recently, the video game adaptation of classic Games Workshop boardgame Chainsaw Warrior. More Fiend-y goodness to come next week! Video Like this video? Why not subscribe on YouTube? Show Notes The … Continue reading Interview with Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land Dev ?

Welcome to episode two of the Uncaring Cosmos! In this episode, I shoot at wolves and get bitten to bits in a basement full of rats. Everybody in the village has disappeared, which at least means there are no dodgy accents this time round. I’m making my way through Fiend, a 2001 top-down survival horror … Continue reading Fiend Part 2 – Bitten to Bits in a Basement of Rats ?

Welcome to the very first episode of Uncaring Cosmos! In this episode, I interview Thomas Grip, Creative Director at Frictional Games. Grip is probably most famous for the Penumbra series of first-person horror games, as well as the critically-acclaimed Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I’ve only included some short extracts from a much longer interview, and the … Continue reading Fiend Part 1 – Why are they so THIN? ?