Prompted by a post over at Yog-sothoth.com (after I mentioned that I’d updated the site with a new theme) I thought I’d create a brief overview of the status of all the projects I’ve previously mentioned here (or elsewhere). Please note that, as with everyone when they get older, I do not have the free time I once had for elective writing, with work, family and other commitments often getting in the way.

On top of which, Call of Cthulhu no longer quite has the appeal it once did. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the themes and stylings of lovecraftian horror, but 7th edition has left me feeling a bit empty in regards to the direction of the game. Please note that I respect everything Rick and his team are doing over at Chaosium, but this new vision of Call of Cthulhu ain’t my Call of Cthulhu.

With that in mind, and in no particular order…

  • Against the Flames – A mini-campaign set during the last days of the Great War – Written in two parts the majority of the outline is written (this is a framework that is many, many pages of bullet points). I have a bit of art done for it and talked to Ashley Jones (of Tatters of the King fame) about doing a cover. The Hold Up: The transition between part one – England – to part two – France is clunky. That plus the sheer amount of effort to transition from detailed notes to full script is daunting… no more than that… truly terrifying for my little mind to comprehend! 12,000 words.
  • Lurker in the Labyrinth – A Gaslight Adventure in Two Parts – First section is mostly written and have even playtested it twice (until life got in the way on both attempts!). My approach is to create this as a conspectus, or a summary approach to each scene/event and leave the Keeper create the detail. This not only makes the story easier to write, but also allows it to be very open for players to influence the plot and its outcomes. The Hold Up: Some trouble with pacing and plot, but nothing that can’t be overcome with considerable effort. Time invested in this is likely worthwhile, but motivation is currently lacking. 13,500 words.
  • Dire Consequences – A Gaslight Adventure for Unwilling Investigators – Run multiple times and have written it in a ‘convention’ format length, so the core is there. The Hold Up: The effort to move it into a full adventure (say double or triple the length of the existing text), plus the typical side tracking that occurs when I try and create historically correct details in the plot. 16,000 words.
  • Curse of the Nile – A Pulp Cthulhu Adventure set in the Heart of Egypt – Core plot agreed to, and first chapter written. The Hold Up: Making the story pulpy enough while ensuring that there is a good story. This has involved numerous rewrites to date. 5,500 words.
  • Alternating Currents – A Cthulhu By Gaslight Adventure in the Spirit of Bram Stoker’s Victorian Horror – Core plot and structure done. The Hold Up: Difficultly working through the process of creating an adventure that ensures the characters are intimately involved with all the key NPCs. 10,000 words.
  • Chronophobia – More Adventures for Solo Investigators – Ideas for all adventures, but only Fruiting Bodies done in any structure. The Hold Up: Not sure about the interest in rehashing older material (both the idea of solo investigator adventures, as well as dredging my old collection of games I ran back in the 90s). 3,000 words.
  • With Shunned Rites – A Collection of Cthulhu Dark Ages Adventures – Ideas for only some of the adventures, but have a good framework/content for the material about the setting (England in 1000AD) as well as some mechanics to make the system better reflect the world (i.e. extending what I have already written in my Guide to England). The Hold Up: Time… no wait… ah, yes… Time. 2,000 words.

In addition to my Call of Cthulhu writing I’ve also completed a number of other articles, scenarios and supplements for various RPGs. In particular for this site, these include my 26,500 word draft of Farnsley’s Phantasm Investigations (a light-hearted cross between Victorian Horror and Ghostbusters) licensed from Anti-Paladin Games, as well as numerous Esoterrorist adventures (again most of which are in draft).

Finally, if you’re really interested in keeping up to date with the writing I do every week, I regularly write up a summary over at Marcus Writes blog…