What deserves some Call of Cthulhu love in 7th ed?

[Professor Murder]

So from what I have seen, 7th edition for Call of Cthulhu has been excellent. The high production values and attention to detail have really stepped up from what came before. What I have really enjoyed is how the game has expanded into new settings, such as Weimar Berlin, The Harlem Renaissance, and the Wild West. We have also seen previous settings get explored again with Australia and Dark Ages supplements. Hell, I have mentioned only a bit more than 1/2 of the settings that have gotten some attention. We even got Pulp Cthulhu for an entirely different style of play.

So what next then? What settings should get the 7th edition glow up with hardcover book, full color illustrations and solid adventures that highlight new themes and cultures? While I could rattle off all sorts of new settings the game has never explored (at least that Chaosium hasn't explored. 3rd party is a separate discussion) more of where my mind is at is how some classic CoC settings have languished without a refresh, some for more than a decade now.

Victorian England: So of them all, this one is least in need of a refresh, but the 3rd edition Cthulhu by Gaslight is still nine years old now and was produced for 6th edition. The introduction of literary/mythic figures of the period could even see the ideas expanded further, similar to Pulp Cthulhu, to make for a new style of play.

Dreamlands: The most recent edition of this setting was back in 2004, so over 16 years at this point. Desperately in need of a refresh and possibly even a reimagining.

Millennial: Under the heading "Cthulhu Now," this setting hasn't received anything since the late 1990s. While a contemporary setting has it's appeal, at 20+ years ago, games set at the end of the 20th Century can explore unique ideas and themes just like any other time period. The advantage to attempting to offer modern sourcebooks is how quickly the information painstakingly researched becomes out of date.

1920's Arkham Country: It is quite wild that, considering that it is the default setting for the game, the material covering Arkham, Dunwich, Innsmouth, Kingsport, and the MIskatonic Valley have never been significantly updated in decades. The last printings of these books were in the early 2000s and were not even significantly changed from materials released in the early 1990s, making the material essentially 30 years ago. While doing new books for every town and village may be an ask, a two book slipcase similar to recent releases could be used to cover the entirety of classic Lovecraft country.

Thoughts?

 

[Blue Orange]

I think one of the problems with modern-day settings is with the Internet it's entirely possible for someone to upload high-quality video of Mythos creatures to YouTube and then either (a) all of humanity goes insane or (b) the whole Sanity system goes in the bucket. 'Secret knowledge' is harder and harder to justify; you might hide some cosmic secret among a thousand conspiracy theories percolating on the Internet (QAnon really does sound like a Call of Cthulhu scenario), but it's harder t believe it would drive you insane.

Dreamlands could work, I think, though it was always kind of a niche setting. Easier to diversify than a lot of the historical settings--new people just discover the Dreamlands.

And they had an Arkham-in-the-90s book. There were even gaming shops.

 

[Wicked Woodpecker]

I mean idea of secret that will drive you insane in my expertise was one that's hardly working in CoC games, often just reduced to mental HP, as team is getting hot on occultist investigator trope.

But then it was not really good trope back then - even in HPL lore it mostly worked that way - because minds of white, rich, educated scientists could not survive with knowledge Universe is just BEYOND their petty qualms of rationality and scientific method.
Which even in HPL times was quite narrow pool of people.

Meanwhile rest of mankind should be just fine - it's not like those monsters have some sanity devouring psychic field.

And XXI century: would be debunked as deepfakes in 5 seconds

 

[TwiceBorn2]

The bottom of the first post in this thread (which is updated regularly) includes info on upcoming CoC 7th products, including the news source: List of Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu 7e books

In this thread, Mike Mason indicates that Cthulhu by Gaslight, Arkham and a Guide to Miskatonic Valley, and Dreamlands are pretty much at or near the top of the publishing priority lists: Some questions about future releases

The pandemic has evidently affected publishing schedules, but it seems likely that at least some of those products will be released in 2021.

Here's a teaser of the cover to the upcoming Dreamlands sourcebook (included in a comment referencing Gateways to Terror): Coming in Q1 2020: Gateways to Terror for Call of Cthulhu

Another thread anticipates what products may be coming out this year to celebrate Chaosium's 40th anniversary: 40th Anniversary Predictions Discussion.

 

[MGibster]

I think one of the problems with modern-day settings is with the Internet it's entirely possible for someone to upload high-quality video of Mythos creatures to YouTube and then either (a) all of humanity goes insane or (b) the whole Sanity system goes in the bucket. 'Secret knowledge' is harder and harder to justify; you might hide some cosmic secret among a thousand conspiracy theories percolating on the Internet (QAnon really does sound like a Call of Cthulhu scenario), but it's harder t believe it would drive you insane.

I think there a few things here. Mythos encounters are so exceedingly rare that documenting one isn't going to be easy. Many of the creatures are otherwordly and might not show up on video in great detail. Most of us would probably look at a video and just think it's fake. And if you think it's fake there's not going to be any sanity loss.

 

[Professor Murder]

If you are of the mind that the internet is good at convincing people of accurate facts through reasonable evidence, I have some bad news for you...

 

[HorusZA]

I want a book about books... all those mysterious tomes that have (maybe) a few lines of description plus some numbers (Mythos Rating, Study Time, etc.) but not much else.
What's in them? What do they look like? What is their history and that of their author/s? Any other arcane knowledge other than spells and Mythos? Maybe some specific insights into the cosmos? Built in Gate or Summon effects? Instructions on how to make enchanted items?
The Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion had this kind of thing for tomes that appear in the campaign and those chapters were brilliantly evocative... my players loved leaning about the books and what they actually contained.

 

[Ulfgeir]

The Swedish version of Call of Cthulhu is a 1920's setting only. That was a deliberate choice, as the publisher Eloso also has a game called "Chock - Åter från graven", which is a kind of a remake of 1e Chill (which was translated into Swedish way back in the early/mid 80's). And they set that game in the modern time as well as the 1940's

 

[WayneLigon]

Definitely want a slipcase with an Arkham/Miskatonic Valley/Miskatonic University book set, with 2-3 large poster maps. Insert with some props or letterheads.
A Boston sourcebook. It's the closest big city to Arkham. It should have some love, here, as well. Or include it as a large chapter in the Miskatonic Valley book.

A modern-day book is a great idea. The usual thing I've seen is that due to their contraterrene nature, most if not all the mythos monsters can't be photographed, and even start to slip out of memory after a time. They also don't leave much in the way of physical evidence as well when they die. And of course, it's super-easy for one of the cult/corporations to find out just who uploaded that video and is ranting about invisible beings from the stars that drain blood, and they simply drop some kiddie porn on your work laptop to discredit you.

Maybe just replace Sanity with Millennial Ennui: you've lived beyond scared most of your life anyway, but just can't be arsed to do anything about it.

 

[werecorpse]

The 1920’s Lovecraft country region needs a campaign in the vein of Masks or SoYS rather than a bunch of unlinked scenarios. It could double as a refresh for the area but it would be more local instead of the standard globe hopping a campaign. Have it all set in the Arkham/Kingsport/Boston/Dunwich/Innsmouth area.