Professor Murder
Hero
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The advantage to attempting to offer modern sourcebooks is how quickly the information painstakingly researched becomes out of date.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?
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?