Published: 2022
Content Notes: Hardback Edition of Call of Cthulhu: Berlin The Wicked City Role Playing Game Supplement by Chaosium. Includes one hardbound book. Publisher: Chaosium Rule Set: 7th Edition Call of Cthulhu ISBN: 978-1-56882-417-8 Year Released: 2019 Format: Full Color Hardcover Page Count: 272 Author(s): David Larkins, Mike Mason, Lynne Hardy Cover Artist: Loc Muzy Interior Artists: Sam Beck, Kristina Carroll, Caleb Cleveland, Emanuele Desiati, Trevor Henderson, Chris Huth, Pat Loboyko, Michelle Lockamy, Magdalena Mieszczak, Lic Muzy, Odessa Sawyer, Dimitar Stoyanov Cartography: Matt Ryan, Vandel J. Arden Handouts: Matt Ryan Layout: Nicholas Nacario
Watch the unveiling video to see the book for yourself. Remember that you get the PDF when getting the physical copy.
The city of Berlin, I recognized, had a definite color of its own;it had, plainly, become a world metropolis now Berlin hadacquired an authentic entity. It resided in the young, and wascomposed, mostly, of a direct recognition, a faintly bitter butundisturbed acceptance, of all, all, the realities of existence. Itwas an attitude nowhere, that I could see, irradiated by hope. Thecustomary optimism, the romantic confidence, of youth, were absentin Berlin So much, the bearing of the young showed, had failedthem, turning out false or hypocritical or insubstantial, that theyhad concluded all the celebrated reassurances and rewards were lies.
Joseph Hergesheimer, Berlin
Chapter 1: The City, presents an overview of 1920s Berlin. Creating investigators for a Berlin-centric campaign, as well as advice for bringing in existing player characters. Investigator organizations and Experience Packages are designed to add new dimensions to investigative groups. The chapter includes an overview of Berlins history, as well as its topology, identifying key districts that best reflect the citys character. Details are provided on travel, communications, housing, crime and punishment, drug abuse, the citys underworld, and its high culture.
Chapter 2: Uncovering Berlin containsa range oflocations of interest for investigators, from libraries and museums to cafs and nightclubs. Due to the citys sheer size, we eschew a block-by-block description, instead highlighting locations of interest and filling in the blanks with a system for generating details of the urban landscape on the fly. Berlins predilection for hedonism centers on the citys relationship with prostitution, food and drink, and cabaret. Guidelines are provided for a range of investigator contacts and the chapter concludes with details on neighborhood street encounters, all providing the Keeper with inspiration for cabarets and clubs, architectural details, and businesses. With the tools provided in this chapter, the Keeper gains an understanding of what makes Berlin unique and has the tools to bring the city to life at the gaming table.
Chapter 3: Oh! You Pretty Things details notable historical personalities to provide color and insight into the city. Whether Marlene Dietrich or Joseph Goebbels, short biographies highlight the time certain individuals lived or worked in Berlin, providing inspiration for encounters and scenarios.
Chapter 4: Strange Berlin considers how the Cthulhu Mythos festers in the dark corners and shadows of the city. A range of scenario seeds and cults ensures the Keeper has the material for creating a decade-spanning campaign of horror.
Three scenarios spanning the history of Berlin include more of Berlins colorful details. Each scenario may be run as stand-alone episode or linked together to form a mini-campaign.
In The Devil Eats Flies Germany teeters on the brink of economic ruin and political chaos. The ghost of a madman stalks the city, turning its own citizenry against itself. To stop a demonic spirit and save a Russian princess in exile, the investigators must strike a bargain with other sinister forces and ask themselves: who else are we prepared to see die in order to save the city?
Dances of Vice, Horror, and Ecstasy takes place in the citys golden years, when things have become superficially stable and prosperous again. A bungling sorcerer, a debauched dancer, and a strange cult of gnostic Saturn-worshippers threaten to put all of that to an end and turn Berlin into a pit of madness and depravity.
Schreckfilm sees Berlin racing toward its grim future. The investigators come face to face with a shadowy cabal of the citys movers and shakers who are determined to turn the citys world-famous film industry toward ill ends. Trapped in a labyrinth of their own making and hounded relentlessly by dark forces beyond their ken, the investigators must confront the fundamental question of what is real and what is illusion.
Concluding the book is a selection of inspirational media, including books, film, and websites for those wishing to delve even deeper into the mysteries, history, and geography of Berlin.
