Soldiers of Pen and Ink: What is it?
The cover art for Trail of Cthulhu Soldiers of Pen and Ink was tweeted by Pelgrane Press publisher Simon Rogers, attributed to Jerome. A google search revealed that this was a new, upcoming scenario conflating the Cthulhu Mythos and the Spanish Civil War.
Scenario author Adam Gauntlett shared a few more tidbits on his
blog.
The thing's huge - more than 43,000 words - and includes, among other things, four new character archetypes: the Extremist, Volunteer, Black Marketeer and Spy. For those of you who picked up Dulce et Decorum Est and liked the lists of tanks and aircraft, there's new stats here for even more military equipment. There's also a new Ability, Politics, and a new take on Hastur the Unspeakable and his terrifying Byakhee: The Hastur Mneme.
The official Pelgrane Press website gives the following description for the book material.
The protagonists, sponsored by the Paris-based political organisation BNVS, have come to Spain to shoot a documentary on the war, and find themselves marooned in Madrid. One of their team goes missing, and their literary colleagues say it’s pointless – even dangerous – to ask what happened to him. In a war of competing ideologies, unorthodoxy can merit the death penalty, but is this Communist oppression or something more sinister?
Looking forward to it?
Honestly, I'm both excited and apprehensive for this thing. Generally speaking, I get really excited about historically themed role playing supplements, but I am often unable to convey my enthusiasm for the material into research and get my players excited about it. I am going through a major King in Yellow phase right now, having just come late to the party for True Detective, and am working my way through "A Season in Carcosa" as we speak.
UPDATE: I wrote a review of the supplement, which is now available from Pelgrane Press at the Link below.
Trail of Cthulhu: Soldiers of Pen and Ink