Play@YSDC

This is the OOC thread. I will watch both threads so you can continue the conversation over there or come over here.

Location: Yes, Taavi, Seven Dials is right next to the Charing Cross Road. The Road runs from Tottenham Court Road at it's top end to Trafalgar Square at the bottom. On the way down (just up from where Leicester Square Tube station is) it is crossed by Shaftesbury Avenue (at Cambridge Circus), two roads into Seven Dials run off from there so it would be completely possible to have a shop on Charing Cross Road and still be on the outskirts of the area. It is then only a quick walk to Covent Garden, Piccadilly and various upmarket areas as well as to theatreland which works for more respectable patrons whilst still having the strange 'drop in and find something' allure of Charing Cross. It is only a relatively brief walk to the British Museum as well which gives us access to their collections. It is probably the most famous location in bookselling London and nicely central. It was/is also home to quite a cast of eccentrics into which this shop would nicely fit.

EDIT: Thinking about it I reckon we could be 70 Charing Cross Road. There appear to have been no other bookshops at that address in the 30s/40s. Turn left and left out the front door and you are on Long Acre which will take you straight into Covent Garden. Turn left and head down a little way (past Leicester Square tube) and a left puts you onto Cecil Court, Booksellers Row. Head out right and you hit Cambridge Circus on Shaftesbury Avenue and from there you turn left and hit Piccadilly Circus. Equally right out the shop, right and second left and you are smack in the middle of Seven Dials. it gives us a nice spread of locations and is the right kind of area for up and down market clientele alike as well as a certain amount of foot traffic as well (even if they take one look inside and never come back...). No trams I'm afraid but pretty much everything else fits I think.

That address puts us just down from the excellent G Smith and Sons, one of the best (the best?) tobacconists in London, and next door at 72 is Henry Danielson who, according to David Low was 'discouraging browsers in his shop and camaraderie with his neighbours. A tall man in a dark suit, never without the bowler which he wore in the shop too, he strode down the Road never seeing anyone. English Literature was his speciality, and in 1921 he had written an excellent bibliography of modern authors. He was an authority on the writers of the nineties and if it had not been for the bowler, there was Baron Corvo written all over him. Corvine too the way he lovingly handled his books, and the beautifull pencilling in of the price.' The other side is 68, Albert Jackson and Son 'where old Charles's nephew Richard was in charge. The original Albert Jackson had started the bookshop in Great Portland Street in 1873, then after a couple of years in Albany Street, NW1, his son Richard brought it to 68 Charing Cross Road in 1910. He died in 1924, and it was now his son Richard who was in charge.' His assistant was Albert Thomson who came to the shop straight from school after WWI 'with the same gentle smile, during the worst years of the trade depressions of the early thirties...'. And of course we are only a few doors down from the legendary Marks and Cohen at 84 and crucially on the 'right' side of the street, the busy side.

There are some lovely photos of the area and of the period by Wolfgang Suschitzky.

That's a nice looking shopfront at 70 Charing Cross (Google Streetview) with the entrance to the rear courtyard next and all. It isn't knocked together terraces at all though. There's a basement and 5 floors above the shop. We'll have lots of neighbours. Shall we have the basement? Shall we have the floor above? Are the upper floors offices or flats?

I found a blog post about the shop we can see in Streetview closing: R.I.P. Ian Shipley Books

Once quick note: I have every intent of immersing myself and trying to do the best to bring things to life. However I'm not planning on doing accents, or to put it another way the only thing worse than everyone talking in an American accent is an American doing accents badly. Effectively everyone will sound more-or-less like an American.

I realize that for the players who are more familiar with the setting this may break immersion, but I'm not sure that there is an alternative.

Taavi wrote: PS: Remember everyone has to put an investigative point into Bookshop Stock

I think this is right btw. So please make sure you have a point in Bookshop Stock (comes from the investigative pool). I should probably have made that explict in the beginning.

Ok so I took a very slight diversion on my way into work this morning, jumping off the bus at Shaftesbury Avenue and walking down through Seven Dials back onto Charing Cross Road to have a look at the buildings. I think I might have a solution to the design/location of the shop.

Above the shops on the stretch of Charing Cross we were looking at are flats which, according to the side of the building, were finished 1884. Now owing to a peculiarity of the Road (it is on a slight hill down towards Trafalgar Square) each section of the flats is on a slightly lower level than its neighbours. Underneath the flats are the shop fronts, some of them cross over these boundaries rather than just sitting on one level (Henry Pordes these days for instance http://www.henrypordesbooks.com/). Out the back (accessed through gates on the street) is courtyard space for the flats. Relying a touch on handwaving over architecture/cost/planning permission/actual history my thought would be this:

Dear Uncle moves in 1885, just after the buildings are finished, getting a shop front over 58-60 (Pordes will not be there for at least another 20-30 years). Thanks to a combination of cash injection, connections and hard-nosed negotiation he managed to get a shop and the two (three?) floors above and the basement. The basement is used as storage for uncatalogued books and shop supplies as well as having a small staff kitchen and toilet (which favoured clientele and runners are allowed to use). The Grants have a small space at the very top (couple of rooms) for their living space. The ground floor is the main shop floor. This is where the good books are displayed (under the watchful eye of Mr Grant). Out the back is Harwood's storage room/office with the basement access to allow him to shift up new boxes of stock and down horrible unsaleable dogs (I dally with the idea of 1 point spend bookshop stock 'breakers' - battered, incomplete books which can be cannibalised for plates, pages and bindings to aid forgery attempts...). Out of the shop proper are two staircases (at least...) which lead up to the other floors which have been knocked together into a maze of books. These are less interesting military books, the less outre elements of Malcom's reign (anthropology, my do those Fullerites like their anthropology...psychology, folklore and the like) and then in more out of the way areas the real occult stuff (although not the most expensive items, they are held for the discerning clientele who know to ask about them).

Turning to my Low this would give us a new neighbour: 'At No. 56 Mr A.H. Mayhew, another exception, with scholarly interests. Between 1924 and 1929, he published an excellent edition of The Wayland-Dietrich Saga, edited by his friend, Mrs Katherine M. Buck. Like most second-hand booksellers who became publishers, he learned that love wasn't quite enough...'

I think that combines Taavi's maze, my back room and the Aga off the backroom (well, downstairs a little) for the Cap'n to get his chai. The upstairs can be full of those strange piles of books which might hold anything whilst still allowing for hangover of the glory days with a nicely appointed front of house. No trams alas but Carse can leap off the back of a passing omnibus at least. Charing Cross is nice enough to have had a decent client list in the old days and will still bring in some walk-in trade to keep turnover rolling, it's close enough to Seven Dials to have some dubious friends, near to Covent Garden for the toffs, a brisk walk to the military and other clubs and just near enough to Watkins for a friendly rivalry without being right next door. The whole shop would have a faded gentility/aging military aspect to the customers mirrored at least in part by it's location and in part by its staff and runners. Plus Harwood can escape out to the Salisbury for a pint of lunch with the scouts when the grinning of the African fertility gods, the moving things in bottles and the endless drawings of goat heads gets too much...

Thoughts? I don't want to monopolise the design of the shop by any means or tie us down too much so please feel free to change things if they seem wrong to you.

Bookman wrote:The Grants have a small space at the very top (couple of rooms) for their living space.

Grant may have lived there as a bachelor, and Mrs Grant may have lived there in the first years of their marriage, but they moved away to raise their family. Now they live in a flat with a spare bedroom for when the grandchildren stay over. Perhaps Harwood lives there, or cousin Malcolm?

I am very happy with how things are developing. I think I will be leaning on Bookman quite a bit for suggestions on locations for things.

Putting Malcolm up there is a good choice, PC(s) who room up there, or stay there when they are in London (Luke?) also make for potentially interesting developments.

I think we are pretty much ready to start. I've started (a bit) to seed things with players. I will reach out to everyone else with rumors, etc that your characters are currently aware of.

I plan on opening up the IC thread with people in the shop. Think a little bit about what your character would do on an ordinary day. It will be about 2 weeks after the prequel thread (which is waiting for the attentions of a certain Captain before I post again).

Do people have a preference for a starting time period? I am thinking September 1933.

Quick note - as it happens I'm on leave this week and the local Internet is less reliable than might wish for. Don't expect to hear much from me before Friday. Sorry! Andy

Happy to room above the shop, if the rent's reasonable

I'm not sure I have "typical" days, but I would probably be going over auction catalogues noting market trends and who bought what, buying drinks (or being bought them) for other contacts in the biz, inquiring with regular clients (e.g. O'Doggy, Mr Llewellyn) if they are looking for anything in particular, etc. I think a lot of a Catalogue agent's work is networking.

Malcolm above the shop makes sense as he seems unlikely to be able to sort his own place out and someone needs to be on site regularly. Having a spare room used by people as they go through (Laura when watching the shop for instance) makes sense as well, Harwood has his own place in a not-unpleasant lodging house in Kilburn (although he suggests Maida Vale to the more affluent questioner) and comes into work on the Bakerloo line to Piccadilly Circus, changing to the Picadilly to get to Leicester Square. You couldn't pay him enough to stay over the shop knowing what he does about the contents of the cellars...

His general day starts with arriving at the shop early to set up. If Laura has not been around he will do a quick clean, otherwise his main missions are to get the Aga warming and put the tea on and organise anything needed in the shop proper. After which he heads into the back room to get started on the piles, sorting them into possibly worth something (for Mr Grant to price up), breaker (save the prints for framing and selling), possible aid to a Frankenstein job (building something out parts and making it live again) or utter rubbish. The last two are shifted back downstairs. Anytime he runs out he descends to get more. He escapes at some point for lunch at a nearby hostelry (possibly with a scout or friendly punter) and he covers the shop when Mr Grant needs to get away. His day is sometimes broken up by pick ups and deliveries or to help with general labour. Otherwise he lurks in the backroom with the esoterica until he can escape at the end of the day.

And I am quite happy to supply location and historical info. I shall keep the books on the trade and the byways of London close to hand.

How do we want to handle dice rolling? Players rolling, Keeper rolling, Invisible Castle, what?

September 1933 is fine with me. You may find this site useful: London Weather.

A typical day for Kelvin Grant is opening the shop with Harwood and cousin Malcolm; putting the bargain tables on the pavement; going to the bank; pricing new stock with Harwood; buying new stock from Captain Penhalligon (and perhaps other book scouts); serving customers; reading the nicer stock and drinking tea; lunch; doing the books after closing time (Mrs Grant insists); and depositing the day's takings in the night safe at the bank.

Less frequently, the day includes a call out, taking along Harwood for experience or Captain Penhalligon for expertise; an auction, taking along Harwood for experience; examining the trade journals (The Clique and The Bookseller); preparing specialist literature orders for collection; and the ABA lunch.

Luke would be willing to help with the pricing, and eager to help with the auctions and call outs. Customer service not so much, unless it's "specialist literature " customers. I suppose I bring in new stock from Paris as well.

Dice rolling is invisible castle. I have no interest in rolling for people, I think IC keeps everything simple and above board.
For a role to be "legitimate" please post with the following format

[GMB]<char name>
(i.e. [GMB]Jory)

Combat started in prequel thread. It brings up an interesting question about "who goes first". From the rulebook it seems like in a "free for all" (i.e. multiple combatants) the agressor goes 1st. I considered using Sense Trouble roles to give the PCs an option to go first (which would make some sense since his action, while sudden, was hardly instantaneous) but it seems like sense trouble is more about noticing non-obvious signs of an impending threat instead of "a guy with a knife".

Thoughts?

I am sorry to be doing combat stuff for the first thing, I just want to make sure there is some general agreement. I will launch the IC thread by the end of the week.

A touch off piste but I though people would rather enjoy this:

http://lovecraftismissing.com/?page_id=379 (That should take you to the archives)

Involving strange books, pulp setting and Lovecraft as a character.

Twiddles thumbs, whistles tunelessly.

Apologies. Works been abnormally heavy. It will probably continue for a few weeks and then subside in Jan. Let me get the IC thread up.

IC is up. I've started sending out rumors (recent events, etc). Not everyone has yet. You can also make up your own to add to the mix.

I'm posting more slowly than normal. There have been some unusual developments at work and it's consuming a lot of time. It'll be temporary, things will lighten up and I will be back to full speed near the end of the year.

The letter laid in is real. It was included with my copies of Stealing Cthulhu by Graham Walmsley.

That is incredibly cool. Now all you need to do is find the annotated copy and ultimate power could be yours too.

Dr. Bloodworth wrote: What was on page 67?

I haven't specified the book or the contents of page 67. I wanted to leave that to you and the other players, improv theatre style.

Hope everyone had a merry Yithmas and Happy New Year. When might we see some further movement, Grafster?

Hi all,

I assume you've all seen Grafster's message (reproduced below, just in case).

First off, to keep a sense of proportion, congrats to Grafster on his promotion; it doesn't sound like the sort of thing you could have seen coming, so don't beat yourself up.

On to the topic. Bookman and I had already been discussing a potential campaign for Bookhounds. So, I'm prepared to stick my hand up, if people are willing to try our campaign idea in alpha-test mode; that is, accepting that it will be a work in progress. I'll do my best to run with Grafster's ideas too.

Here is a list of elements which may crop up, just to wet your whistles: Lost works of Washington Irving; 4th Century Spanish heretics; Pretenders to the throne of Sweden; Maltese falcons; Long-lost codices in dead languages; ruined abbeys in Scotland; John Dee's European adventures; Arian theology; and things from beyond space and time/the grave (delete all which do not apply).

If you'd all like to go with this, I will need a couple of weeks to prepare so that things can at least start smoothly. Alternatively, if someone else has something more developed, that's fine too; or we could do a bit of a round robin and take turns Keeping?

Taavi

Grafster: "As player's you've all really exceeded my expectations in terms of creativity and ability. From my total lack of posting you've probably figured out that I don’t have enough time to run the game. I have my excesses at the bottom but, for anyone who still has a lingering interest in continuing I think this is the key point.

I think someone (an existing player) can plausibly take over the game. You've all really done a fantastic job with your characters and I think that this game concept has a lot of legs.
So if one of you would like to carry on as keeper I heartily encourage it. I'll provide you with the story arcs I had in mind but so little has surfaced that I don't think the new keeper will be bound by them.

Excuses section
When I started this game in October I had certain expectations about my schedule based on certain things like my job, etc.
December looked like fluke when it was unfolding. But it was apparently more like a test. A promotion happened suddenly effective January 1st and the net-net is that I've got a lot more responsibilities and I don't have the brainspace to run a game.
In hindsight it was stupid to start a game. And for that I really apologize."

Taavi wrote:Bookman and I had already been discussing a potential campaign for Bookhounds. So, I'm prepared to stick my hand up, if people are willing to try our campaign idea in alpha-test mode; that is, accepting that it will be a work in progress. I'll do my best to run with Grafster's ideas too.

I'm certainly happy to try your campaign idea.

Hi Guys, I'd be more than happy to continue along with Taavi as GM, if you're willing to take the conn! Consider me on board, and I'm happy to be patient for it to get going.

Unfortunately, the nature of my work (I'm a cop) and shifts etc make it very hard to find the time to run games. I've tried before and really haven't felt I've done anyone a favour. No hard feelings on that Graftser. So, I may have to stay as the perenial PC.

Cheers,

Andy

Looks like I'm in the hot seat then.

In the meantime, you may wish to brush up on your M.R. James and Algernon Blackwood...

Guys, while we're in downtime, can I ask where did you all come up with all those references to books on playing cards etc? Research on the Internet? Just stuff you happen to know??

First of all let me just add congratulations to Grafster, hope the work goes well.

I am very good with Taavi taking over, I like the characters and shop we have so it would be a shame to let it die. The hints and background I have had from Taavi sounds very interesting and offers a lot of chance for running with crazy theories, which is always nice.

In terms of playing cards, Hoyle's is the go-to rule book on cards, it features in Deadlands as the source of Huckster's powers - they play poker against spirits to cast spells. Interestingly the first 1742 Hoyle's was a treatise on whist, and the 1761 book, which is the mainstay of Deadlands system, did not actually contain poker (the game not existing at that point). Hoyle was not a member of the East India Company (Hexes and Hustlers not withstanding), that was a different Hoyle...but I digress...For more on Hoyle try http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/

As with most things in the City there is a Guild. It is actually one of the oldest in terms of original charter but their livery status was granted relatively late so they are only 75th in precedence. In general if you want to know about a trade in the City start from their Worshipful Company. The United States Playing Card Company did produce a bibliography in 1930, I didn't know they did but they seemed like a good bet that if anyone had they would.

Etteilla was the pseudonym of Jean-Baptiste Alliette a French occultist. He wrote on card games and then after Court de Geblin made his claim that the tarot was encoded Egyptian wisdom Etteilla produced a book about divination with tarot. I will admit I had to look that one up. I knew about Waite's Pictorial History which was one of the standard works of the time but followed from him backwards to Etteilla.

For the Lombardy Zeroth deck I (as indeed Ken Hite would) direct you to Last Call and the following books of the trilogy. It is a tarot deck of such artistic power that it awakens the atavistic archetypes of the human mind. Looking at it can drive a man mad.

The Abbe Bullet was an internet search for rare books on cards inspired at least in part by this sale at Christie's http://www.millon-associes.com/flash/in ... &lng=fr%20 I work in an antiquarian bookshop so finding the odd thing is slightly easier. I just looked for the thing with the most bizarre theory I could find. Searching under his name generally brings you people rebutting his ideas. Apparently he had a tendency to explain everything in terms of Celtic myth.

Playing cards interest me, I really like odd designs especially the South Sea Bubble and Cries of Old London decks which you can get from http://www.harrymargary.com/product_list.asp?type=card

Hi everyone,
I will be a little longer starting than I thought (groan) - NOT because my job has changed or anything, just because I need new glasses and until I get them (hopefully, by the end of next week) I'm trying to limit my screen time as much as possible. Eyestrain headaches. ow, ow, ow.

Hi all,

After a bit of thought I've decided that I would be happy to have idiosyncratic magic use in the game, as described in the rulebook - that is, peculiar little rituals with a price, that can give you an edge in certain situations, not fireball-throwing. I imagine this might be something Harwood or Llewellyn would be interested in adding to their characters.

PS I now have my new glasses and they are working very well !

It's now been more than a week since anyone other than me posted, and things weren't exactly zipping along before that. Do people want to continue with this game? Does everyone just want a one-post-a-week slower pace? Am I not giving you enough to go on with? I would appreciate some clear indication of people's level of interest.

Hi Taavi, much sorry about that. Don't give up!!

I have been holding back from having Jory sort of randomly interject as I had assumed the interaction there was not meant for him. I suspect a few of the others may have made the same assumption?

In any event, this may simply be a style of play thing. If you'd like us to be a bit more 'jump in', not a problem, Jory will do! I'm still really keen to see how the system works out.

Cheers,

Andy

Thanks Andy, that clarifies things.

Unfortunately Grafster has not shared with me any of his material on what the other characters were already up to, so I've had to start from scratch rather than continue on with whatever it was Jory was having the conversation at the table about, etc. If people want to send me copies of any exchanges they had with Grafster, that would be great, and I will try to pick it up.

In the meantime, as the Auction for the desk is in a couple of days time, with viewings of lots today and tomorrow, I was expecting that Grant would want all hands on deck to suss out the scene, determine who the competition might be, check that the Contessa is actually good for the money she claims to have, that sort of thing.

The GM's day RPG sales are currently on! In the unlikely event that any of you are crazy rich and feel like throwing cthulhu modules at me, my wish list is here. Otherwise, get yourself something nice!

As Luke is no longer "in play" and things clearly aren't moving faster than anyone can handle , I am considering allowing a couple of new players, as people I know from other games have expressed interest to me in joining this one. I can vouch for them as thoroughly degenerate and unreliable.

Sounds good to me, more = merrier!

I for one welcome our new etc.,

I presume that Christies require us to check our coats, hats, and umbrellas in a cloak room before entering the auction rooms.

Correct on the cloakroom.

Since Bookman seems to modest to mention it, he has written a rather good piece on what makes the Bookhounds world go round for Page XX. Go read!

It is something into which I have a little insight, that and the horrible clash between academic and bookseller...

I am good for more people, I always like different viewpoints, alternate skill sets and the marvellous moment when everyone's seperate agendas crash into each other, but then I used to play a lot of old World of Darkness and Paranoia...

On useful things http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/i ... cale=en_GB A bibliography of the occult straight from the Golden Dawn and adherents. Available print on demand (which is how I got it) and probably ebook as well (for those with postage costs...). Quite a useful starting point for books and pamphlets.

Taavi wrote:As Luke is no longer "in play" and things clearly aren't moving faster than anyone can handle , I am considering allowing a couple of new players, as people I know from other games have expressed interest to me in joining this one. I can vouch for them as thoroughly degenerate and unreliable.

Well, my candidates have proven their unreliability and are not available

It seems that Dr Bloodworth (Llewellyn) has also withdrawn, as he hasn't posted for some time or answered any of my messages. That means we have four PCs: Grant, Jory, Harwood and Laura, plus Luke as a background NPC. Is that enough (certainly it makes it easy for me to do one-on-one stuff), or should I open the game to more players with a note on the recruitment board, or some such?

Pros and cons:
I'm not too concerned about patchy coverage of investigative abilities, because Bookhounds has a number of mechanics to get around gaps in investigative abilities: you can create "regulars" (NPC clients who can help out a bit), or you can use Bookshop Stock to get dedicated pools in this or that. But small numbers can limit the opportunities for intra-party roleplaying, covering bases, or the rough stuff.

Nearly everyone has one (or more) links to the criminal classes in their backgrounds, contacts, etc, suggesting a strong interest in shady dealings and skullduggery - but I admit I have been scratching my head on how to make connections between organised crime and bookselling. I would welcome some (private message) suggestions on what sort of things you and your criminal contacts might be up to.

Taavi wrote:It seems that Dr Bloodworth (Llewellyn) has also withdrawn, as he hasn't posted for some time or answered any of my messages. That means we have four PCs: Grant, Jory, Harwood and Laura, plus Luke as a background NPC. Is that enough (certainly it makes it easy for me to do one-on-one stuff), or should I open the game to more players with a note on the recruitment board, or some such?

My suspicion is that about two more regulars would be about perfect, if you have 6 PCs then it's more likely than not in any given week 1 or 2 will be busy/away in RL but the others can keep the story rolling. Just a thought. - Andy

A couple more would not hurt for making things tick over. I know I have been in and out recently for one insane reason or another (huge catalogue to finish, wife becoming the director of a football club, you know the usual day to day... ). I shall have a think about possible criminal links to a bookshop.

I'm pleased to announce that new player Quinch will be stepping into the role of Luke Carse, booklegging catalogue agent.

You might be pleased now, but that'll change once I start posting.

Excellent!

Question: Have any of you read Pagan Publishing's sourcebook "The Golden Dawn"? I'm considering reusing one or two of their scenarios.

Welcome aboard Quinch, nice to have you.

I haven't read it so don't stop on my account.

Is anyone else having problems with Invisible Castle? I have been delaying posting because I haven't got an activation email yet. Any suggestions?

I haven't read any of that sourcebook either.

Mike

Bookman wrote:Is anyone else having problems with Invisible Castle? I have been delaying posting because I haven't got an activation email yet. Any suggestions?

It's letting me login and roll dice, though my profile seems to have vanished. So I should be able to roll on your behalf.

I haven't read that sourcebook either.

Cool, cheers for that. I did just wonder if it might have been my email so I shall try with another account just in case, if there is still a problem I shall let people know when situations arise.

Welcome Quinch!! And Taavi, no, I have not read and don't own that source book - bring it on!! - Andy

I'd like to say that that was a totally awesome sales pitch by Quinch.
Also, Adam Gauntlett, who has written a number of Trail modules, is blogging hs Bookhounds campaign http://karloff-shelf.blogspot.com.au/20 ... ening.html, with a number of interesting touches - i liked the mice . I thought I might take a leaf from his book and ask each of you to create a book shop Regular client.

Happy commemoration of one man being nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change.

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Easter break, because these are words I plan for your characters not to experience for some time

Guys, sorry but once again I am holidaying in RL and have limited connectivity. Will try to post a few times but Taavi, please feel free to NPC Jory till next Tues if it will help. - Cheers, Andy

Enjoy your holiday Andy! Thanks for letting us know.
I potentially have another 1 or 2 players to come on board, but they are still thinking about character concepts and time commitments.

Just a heads up, I will be in Worcester Cathedral most of this weekend and alas English cathedrals are not noted for their efficient connectivity (I blame the heavy stone construction, shows poor forward planning...) I will be back again Sunday evening hopefully.

Taavi wrote:Hi all,

After a bit of thought I've decided that I would be happy to have idiosyncratic magic use in the game, as described in the rulebook - that is, peculiar little rituals with a price, that can give you an edge in certain situations, not fireball-throwing. I imagine this might be something Harwood or Laura would be interested in adding to their characters.

I suddenly realised that a lot of you may not have access to that particular bit of the ToC rules, so here they are:

Idiosyncratic Magic

Book-hounds, their customers, their contacts, and all those who haunt the Mythos black market are superstitious, obsessed, and widely read in the occult. This is the kind of combination that leads people to try magic, and in keeping with the weird, uncanny setting, some of it might work. As an entirely optional rule, the Keeper can allow an Investigator (or NPC) to make a 3-point Stability test to exchange 2 Stability pool points for 1 pool point from another Ability. The exchange can happen after the die roll. The player must say what weird ritual action her Investigator is (possibly retroactively) performing, give some notion of the oddball theory by which it works, and tell where she learned it if this is the first time she has made this particular exchange. The primary restrictions are: no player (including the Keeper) should consider it grotesquely abusive, it must be strange and eerie, and it should have a necessary condition. The Keeper is allowed to enforce these conditions for similar trades from here on.

For example: “Rose really needed to make that Sense Trouble test – I’m trading 4 Stability for 2 Sense Trouble, so she gets a ‘5’ on the die roll instead. Rose is smoking cigarettes soaked in rats’ blood and saffron oil, since we think the plague demon we’re hunting is from Russia where saffron grows, and she’s watching the smoke pool around its invisible hidey-hole. She learned this trick from that crazy White Russian who used to trade books for vodka money down in Spitalfields last winter.”

Creative Keepers and players will be able to justify all sorts of weird, eccentric magics to boost Athletics (“I twist the strand of human hair around my neck and pull myself over the fence”), Disguise (“I’ve got his mummified thumb in my ruddy mouth, of course I look like him”), Fleeing (“I cut my finger, let it soak my glove in blood, toss it onto the boot of that speeding car, and run the other way”), Shadowing (“I’m only looking in shop windows with her first initial in them”), and so forth. Keepers may rule that any idiosyncratic magic must have a Mythos source (forcing Investigators to read their wares), that it must involve the caster’s blood (either a token amount, or 1 Health point), or any other restriction she feels suitable. At the Keeper’s discretion, some parts of London may be more conducive to certain magics (the Isle of Dogs for hunting magic, say), lowering the Difficulty of the Stability test from 4 to 3.

The ToC Supplement "Rough Magicks" has more examples for Idiosyncratic magic, which I can share with those interested. Or do people think that this overdoes the supernatural?

I have no problem with Idiosyncratic Magic appearing in the game, but I will not be using it with Mr Grant. It doesn't fit my idea of him as an apparently conventional Victorian-Edwardian middle class Londoner.

AndrewTBP wrote:I have no problem with Idiosyncratic Magic appearing in the game, but I will not be using it with Mr Grant. It doesn't fit my idea of him as an apparently conventional Victorian-Edwardian middle class Londoner.

Agreed - I think the more socially marginal your character, the better this sort of thing fits.

Because sums are bandied around a bit, I've done a bit of number-crunching to come up with average daily and yearly incomes for different Credit Ratings in 1930s UK; just so you know how much you have in your pockets for lunch, tips, bribes, purchases, etc.

UK Trail of Cthulhu

Title...........CR Daily Lower; Daily Upper; Yearly lower; Yearly Upper
Charity Case...0....0............1/-............0...............£20
Working Poor..1....1/-..........2/6...........£20............£50
Working Class..2....2/6.........10/-..........£50............£200

Lower-Middle..3.....10/-........£1............£200...........£400
Middle Class...4.....£1..........£2/10........£400...........£900

Bourgeois......5.....£2/10......£5............£900..........£1,800
Wealthy........6......£5.........£25...........£1,800........£9,000
Ruling Class...7+.....£25+.....................£9,000+

Taavi wrote:

AndrewTBP wrote:I have no problem with Idiosyncratic Magic appearing in the game, but I will not be using it with Mr Grant. It doesn't fit my idea of him as an apparently conventional Victorian-Edwardian middle class Londoner.

Agreed - I think the more socially marginal your character, the better this sort of thing fits.

Yup I would agree. I can completely see Laura using some hobo ritual for pathfinding by tossing coins, or Harwood using a 16th century invisibility charm involving a Hand of Glory or perhaps the Captain using a clever little trick he picked up in India for calming riding animals by whispering the many names of God to them or similar. Time to get out the grimoires of folk magic then.

As before, I'm using Art History & Document Analysis & Textual Analysis to keep the EYT watching me and not Harwood or Laura. I don't want to make spends on the Granada & Columbus but this time I'm prepared to make spends on the Alhambra manuscript.

Sorry for the delayed response - busy couple of days.

I'm pleased to announce that a new player will soon be joining us. WinstonP, who you may know from the yog-sothoth forums, will be playing the upright and only slightly penniless Reverend Oliver Poole, CoE, vicar of the Church of Little St Hugh in Smithfield. He has often dropped in to sell or peruse the odd tome or two, and I believe knows Harwood. I don't doubt that the reassuring presence of a man of the cloth will be most heartening to all good Englishmen (and women).

AndrewTBP wrote:As before, I'm using Art History & Document Analysis & Textual Analysis to keep the EYT watching me and not Harwood or Laura. I don't want to make spends on the Granada & Columbus but this time I'm prepared to make spends on the Alhambra manuscript.

So, no clues in the Alhambra manuscript worth my spending any points on?

I think there is a bit of confusion between the closely related skills of Bibliography, Library Use, Textual Analysis and Document Analysis and so I want to clarify what I think each can be used for.

Bibliography covers everything about books as collectable objects. Whast they look like, how much they go for, the history of particular tomes, the history of various presses how they are made, where to find them, etc. It may help in spotting a forgery, e.g. if the binding, printers mark or date of publication is wrong.

Library Use covers books as sources of knowledge. If you want to quickly skim a book for key facts, search through an archive for the relevant document, anything to do with extracting facts from their repositories, it's library use.

Textual analysis covers books as part of literary traditions. It's the sort of thing you learn by studying english literature at a University or good school. Things like who inspired whom, which school they belonged to, the ability to comprehend allusions and metaphors specific to time of writing, or to laugh at jokes in Olde Englishe etc. It can be used to identify who (or what sort of author) wrote a book that is unsigned, based on the language, characteristic phrasing, etc, or spot a fake lost Shakespeare play that contains words the Bard never used.

Document analysis covers books as physical objects. Size, type face, paper, chemical composition, binding, handwriting style etc. Of great use in spotting (or making) a forgery, proving who wrote or typed that anonymous ransom note to the courts satisfaction, tracing a book back to the printer, etc.

Art history applies to art generally, but might also cover styles of binding, plates and illuminated manuscripts and type faces - books as objet d'art.

Obviously there is a fair bit of potential overlap between these skills and so I'm willing to let people apply one similar skill to a situation which really calls for another on a two-points-for-one basis, or listen to arguments about why one or another should really apply in a particular situation. As a rule, though, only Bibliography or sometimes Art History will tell you how much you can sell them for and to whom. Given that its early days I'm happy if people want to rejig their skills accordingly.

I've since had one more inquiry. Given WinstonP will shortly be joining us, I'm inclined to say we're full, but if people think there is a big gap in the group, I could ask if the new person could fill that gap. Dr Blood worth has told me he has dropped out, so if people like the idea of having a dissolute aristo hanging round, I could ask the new person to fill Llewellyn's shoes. But Llewellyn could just as easily be an npc.

Taavi wrote:I think there is a bit of confusion between the closely related skills of Bibliography, Library Use, Textual Analysis and Document Analysis and so I want to clarify what I think each can be used for.

This accords with how I've treated them as a Keeper, and since Grant is more interested in the books than the sale, why I left Bibliography to the other players.
Being the Bookseller and expert on Textual and Document Analysis is enough spotlight time for me.

I've been home sick today (bleargh) and so have spent some time livening up the threads with appropriate images from the period. Feel free to do the same.

Huzzah, I can post at last.

I just wanted to say hello and thank you all for welcoming me into your game. I'm WinstonP (though my real name is Bret; I answer to both) and I'll be playing Rev. O.G.L. Poole, the impoverished vicar of the Chapel of Little St. Hugh near the Smithfields Market. This is my second game of Trail, so be gentle as I try to figure out the rules (I'm pretty dyed in the wool for BRP, but I love the Bookhounds setting). In real life I'm a stay at home dad with an 11 month old child (who is currently waving and squealing at me to let me know her nap didn't last); I'll likely be posting from my cellphone rather than a laptop. Please excuse typos and overlooked autocorrecting errors (for example, I recently told my wife that our daughter "had not Ethan enough toady"... damnable contraption)

I will post my character description today and will dive in.

Cheers,
Bret

Welcome!

Taavi wrote:I've since had one more inquiry. Given WinstonP will shortly be joining us, I'm inclined to say we're full, but if people think there is a big gap in the group, I could ask if the new person could fill that gap. Dr Blood worth has told me he has dropped out, so if people like the idea of having a dissolute aristo hanging round, I could ask the new person to fill Llewellyn's shoes. But Llewellyn could just as easily be an npc.

I think offering them Llewellyn is good, and allow them to tweak a bit.

AndrewTBP wrote:

Taavi wrote:I've since had one more inquiry. Dr Bloodworth has told me he has dropped out, so if people like the idea of having a dissolute aristo hanging round, I could ask the new person to fill Llewellyn's shoes. But Llewellyn could just as easily be an npc.

I think offering them Llewellyn is good, and allow them to tweak a bit.

New player justinhorner1 (Justin) has indicated he'd like to play Llewellyn. I've discussed tweaking the character to fill areas the party is a bit weak on (the sciences) with him. With that I think we have as many as we need or I can handle.

Hi chaps! Apologies for my quietness, now I'm back and I (or in fact Jory) will get posting as of tomorrow sometime, once I've caught up. Cheers, Andy

Welcome back dude.

We are drawing towards the end of scene 1, the first day of the campaign. Various things have been set in motion that will require subjective time to pass. Once you've wrapped up the business of your current interaction, please give some thought to how your character will spend Saturday night and Sunday morning - going to church, getting over your hangover, or something in between? I have something specific in mind for Harwood and Rev Poole, both of whom should be church going in any case, which we will handle via PM.
Grants shop is closed on Sunday, as are all the others. The races begin late morning and are a very popular way to spend Sunday afternoon. And of course there is stock to price, accounts to do, etc. Given the pressing business at hand of the Contessa's commission, the next Group scene will be early Sunday afternoon in Grant's shop, unless anyone has anything requiring everyone to get back together earlier.

Ok, in no particular order...

Welcome aboard WinstonP, welcome back to the Captain and I am good with having Llewellyn back on board.

I think based on your descriptions Harwood is more likely to have document analysis, given his...extralegal proclivities in the book sphere. I shall swop out textual analysis now.

I will get on wrap up and posting re the night/morning.

Hello, all! Im Justin Horner and Ill be playing Llewellyn from here on out. This is my first ToC experience, so bear with me. The group seems filled with good writers, and Ill try my best to keep up. This is a very cool setting and Im looking forward to tackling it thoughtfully.

I live in Oakland, California. 39 years old. Two kids. Just finished grad school last week. Work as an environmental advocate.

Welcome aboard, Justin!

In other news,Seon has clarified with me that s/he has exams for the next two weeks and asked me to NPC Laura until then. Let us assume that Laura was last seen following the mysterious Spaniard in the direction of the west end, and has not been seen since...

A good (well, I thought so) article on London's history and curiosities (including bookshops) in today's New York Times, here.

I have to like a man who tips us up on the first page...

I'm sure that Grant’s Military Bookshop has the volume Curlew wants in stock, but is he important enough to the plot that I should have a squiz volume in stock? How much should I butter him up?

AndrewTBP wrote:I'm sure that Grant’s Military Bookshop has the volume Curlew wants in stock, but is he important enough to the plot that I should have a squiz volume in stock? How much should I butter him up?

Just like the royal mail, neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night shall stop the plot getting through eventually, but don't ask about the hairy green things with teeth.

Curlew is a published author in his own right, with a newspaper column, well connected among Fullerites. Does that answer your question? You don't think that I'd just fling random npcs at you until something resembling a plot emerged out of the chaotic, primordial soup, do you? (shifty look)

Seriously, like all things in ToC, whether it's important to the plot partly depends on whether you decide it's worth spending points on - that is to say, if Curlew represents the sort of angle you wish to approach on. if you want a squiz, how about an edition signed by Goring, bound in red morocco embossed with the rods and axe motif?

My vote is that, as a shop, we spend points and give him the squizziest version going. We are a military bookshop after all.

Promises, promises, promises. Sorry guys, I was hoping to get back into it a week ago but got waylaid with work. Am now endeavouring to catch up! - Andy

Anyone waiting on others, feel free to put in your Saturday night/Sunday morning, add details to the bookshop, etcetera.

Ok. I have been waiting for people to post on the Sunday thread so I could make something happen, but I get the feeling that people are waiting for something to happen before they post. So I will make things happen and assume you are all (except Laura) there to see them.

Nothing to do with the game, but I feel like boasting, because I just won the Delta Green list's annual competition for short modern Cthulhu scenarios. You can read all the scenarios here: http://fairfieldproject.wikidot.com/dgm ... arios-2012 Mine is "Agent Purple's Green Box Blues".

Congratulations dude.

Taavi wrote:Agent Purple's Green Box Blues

Well done!

Outstanding! Good work!

Taavi wrote:Four point Stability test for everyone! And a little mood music...

Stability test (1d6=5)

AndrewTBP wrote:

Taavi wrote:Four point Stability test for everyone! And a little mood music...

Stability test (1d6=5)

OK, Grant keeps his cool, though this is obviously disturbing...

Do we make our rolls here or in the other topic?

Dah, IC is still screwing with my continual attempts to join up with their merry band. I think I managed to roll this as a guest, let me know if this goes wrong somewhere and I will try again.

(Adding 1 point) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/search/1025318/

I should really start trusting my stability apparently.

WinstonP wrote:Do we make our rolls here or in the other topic?

Actually, I think it would make more sense if rolls were in the other topic, as that way they stay linked to the incident in question. You can set them off from in-character text with italics or the Spoiler button.

I'd also appreciate it if people would describe their reaction after making (or failing) the roll.

e.g.

Grant stands, blinking in puzzlement. "Well, that was... odd"

Stability Roll,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3520210/]Stability test (1d6=5)[/url]

Four point Stability test for everyone!

I confess that this phrasing confuses me in the rules and published adventures. Is it Difficulty 4? Is it risking 4 points lost from Stability?

I end up re-formatting all published adventures using my own standard phrasing for tests and clues so I don't miss them while I'm Keeping. The latest adventures, where Stability tests are just the points risked inside a graphic element are worse for me, because it's more work re-formatting.

My face-to-face game is slightly pulp, so I tell my players "Make a Stability test, Difficulty 4, please." and because they never remember the rules, walk them through it.

AndrewTBP wrote:

Four point Stability test for everyone!

I confess that this phrasing confuses me in the rules and published adventures. Is it Difficulty 4? Is it risking 4 points lost from Stability?

I agree, it took me a few rereads of the rules to get it clear in my head.

A "four point Stability test" means you lose four points if you fail. The standard difficulty is 4, that is you have a 50% chance of passing (without spends).
In especially horrific circumstances, usually involving direct encounters with the Mythos, difficulty goes up to 5, and for direct confrontations with Great Old Ones and the like it can go to 6 or above. But the default difficulty is 4 - if it's different, I will say so.

Further note: As I lay out here on yog-sothoth.com, I've come to the conclusion that the Stability system is broken, from a mathematical point of view. Do people want to keep using it anyway, or shall I home-brew something, probably based on Cthulhu Dark?

I'd prefer to keep using it.

I love the mood music! This is getting impressively audio-vis.

andyw666 wrote:I love the mood music! This is getting impressively audio-vis.

Thank you!
I have a scan of the actual 1885 Burton in question, so I intend to print out the relevant pages, annotate them, and then put them up as a handout for you all

Nice.

I like Burton, he features strongly in the ?4th of the John Dunning Bookman series (and if you haven't read any of them, how dare you call yourself Bookhounds? They are brilliant. Ahem.). I think I agree with Dunning's point. Burton should have been born in Elizabeth's time. He would have been duelling with Raleigh, swopping translation points with Bacon, having races with Drake and piling the treasure of Africa at Virginia's feet. Instead of which he got the slightly more (publicly) strait-laced Victorians, got into trouble for criticising colonial policy, told scurrilous stories about himself which everyone believed, and his wife tried to burn his erotic work. Sad situation for one of the finest explorers, writers, adventurers, fighters, polymaths, linguists and observers of life this Sceptered Isle has ever produced.

Yog-Sothoth is advertising an Occult Walking Tour of London by Paula Dempsey (who wrote Darcy's The Book of The Smoke).
http://www.yog-sothoth.com/threads/2340 ... Occultists

For the second time I am forced to conclude that Llewellyn is playerless as the player has ceased communicating. The role must be jinxed.
I will keep him on the books as an NPC for those times when you need a high-society contact.

Bugger about Ll, but we seem to have a fairly stable central cast now (not that I should boast too loud).

On an unrelated note, I wonder if it would be useful to have a page where we update skill points each PC has spent during the course of the adventure? I haven't been maintaining a physical, written record of Jory and am already finding my limited memory cells straining to recall what he has spent. Obviously, I can go back through the logs as it were, but a quick look up might be easier?

Andy

Hiya,
Sorry I haven't updated for the last day or two. I've been preparing for a job interview which is this afternoon. So I should be able to post something this evening.

andyw666 wrote:On an unrelated note, I wonder if it would be useful to have a page where we update skill points each PC has spent during the course of the adventure? I haven't been maintaining a physical, written record of Jory and am already finding my limited memory cells straining to recall what he has spent. Obviously, I can go back through the logs as it were, but a quick look up might be easier?

Andy

This is a good idea. I think I will set up an additional google spreadsheet which is used for ongoing spends, separate from the one which records your ratings. I or you can then record spends on this as required.

As a matter of interest, how do you insert pictures into these posts? Seems like a picture has to be on a website already?

Andy

andyw666 wrote:As a matter of interest, how do you insert pictures into these posts? Seems like a picture has to be on a website already?

Andy

Yes - you use the "Img" button. You can always put your own pictures up on facebook/flickr/etc.

*LAUGH* Ah, I love the parrot. Gold.

And I finally managed to get the picture insert to work, Luddite that I am, and posted a piccie of the sturdy old Enfield .38 snubnose into my first Berm Square post - just a touch more period flavour.

Taavi, do you have any objection to my reading the adventure at the back of the Bookhounds Rules? I have been holding off looking at it just in case...

Apologies if this question has been asked / answered before, I had a quick squizz but couldn't see the issue raised before here in the OOC discussion (I suspect that was a simple Library Use check but at -1 as I am currently sleep deprived).

Cheers,

Andy

andyw666 wrote:Taavi, do you have any objection to my reading the adventure at the back of the Bookhounds Rules? I have been holding off looking at it just in case...

Apologies if this question has been asked / answered before, I had a quick squizz but couldn't see the issue raised before here in the OOC discussion (I suspect that was a simple Library Use check but at -1 as I am currently sleep deprived).

Cheers,

Andy

Nope, go ahead. I think this came up in the original "Bookhounds?" thread - Grafster asked, and most of us had read it already. I may end up reusing the odd bit or piece of it, but not in ways that would give those who'd read it much of an advantage...

I suspect people are waiting for Jory's phone call. Keep in mind that Jory has gone from the shop, to his house, to Bermo dsey in South London, to the pubs around Bermondsey, had a long chat with Long John Copper, then found a phone booth. Meanwhile, in the bookshop, you are still in the middle of the conversation you had when Jory left. In the Bookshop timeframe, Jory is still en route to Bermondsey I suspect.

Aha! I thought the topic of reading that adventure in the back of the book had come up, just couldn't remember where. Excellent...

Taavi wrote:I suspect people are waiting for Jory's phone call. Keep in mind that Jory has gone from the shop, to his house, to Bermo dsey in South London, to the pubs around Bermondsey, had a long chat with Long John Copper, then found a phone booth. Meanwhile, in the bookshop, you are still in the middle of the conversation you had when Jory left. In the Bookshop timeframe, Jory is still en route to Bermondsey I suspect.

Yes, that was my understanding too. The telephone call may even happen off camera in the bookshop scenes.

Sounds about right. There is no tube at Bermondsey at this point so you would have to do something like train from Charing Cross to London Bridge and a bus round the corner. That is about 25-30 mins, add walking and waiting either end and you are about an hour travelling time. I know Harwood can talk but he hasn't gone on that long...

Don't forget that the good Rev spent a pt of Lib Use researching the bookie. That must have chewed up a bit of time!

Not that I'm complaining mind, Jory ran off of his own free will. Assume he is smoking a Gauloises somewhere, alone and palely loitering, waiting for you all to de-time-lag.

Andy

Hi all,

We are coming up to a long weekend here in Aus and so I and family will be away for a couple of days. I should be back online monday or tuesday.

Cool stuff, you enjoy!

Hi all,
I came back from holiday to get an offer of a postdoc in Paris in the mail, and so the last couple of days have been rather busy. Normal service should resume by the end of the week.

Cool, postdoc work in the City of Lights. How cool! I've just been listening to a podcast series about the Brigade Fluvial, the Gendarmes who do water police work on the Seine, and another podcast on Paree's very extensive catacoombs. Which it is illegal to enter. So I would never do that. Ever. Really. (Can I sell you some shares in Notre Dame Cathedral, Gov?)

Just adding my congrats, very good work. In what is your doc?

Also of course, that puts you a touch closer to the Smoke. Should you find yourself in Dear Old London Town do let me know, we can go on a wander of the strange, the ancient and the mystical. And the pubs...

And I have loved the Paris catacombs since Deus Ex. There are also some amazing things in the Moscow system as well, including, possibly, the hidden library of Ivan the Terrible. Man, Bookhounds game in 30s Moscow. Secret police, British consular staff, strange sewers, an underground cult of the Black Madonna (for those Kult players out there). Nice.

http://www.gufon.no/agenda/undermoscow.htm

http://unmyst3.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/l ... great.html

Sorry Chaps, seem to have caught the real flu, will try to post tomorrow. Can't concentrate today. Andy

andyw666 wrote:Sorry Chaps, seem to have caught the real flu, will try to post tomorrow. Can't concentrate today. Andy

Get well soon!

Ps My doc is in development anthropology.

OK, think my brain is firing again. Buggery flu bug.

Hi all,
Partly owing to the postdoc, before EOFY I have a job interview and two grant applications to complete, so I beg your indulgence if my updates slow down!

Hi all,
2 job interviews, one grant application and a horrible cold virus later, light at the end of the tunnel approaches. I should be back to the book-paved streets of London next week. Sorry again for the extended delay.

That's no good. You may well have the flu thing I had: included chills, aches, a great cough, three days in bed asleep and the next two weeks' coughing up bits of lung. All this after I had the flu shot!! Hope you feel better!

andyw666 wrote:That's no good. You may well have the flu thing I had: included chills, aches, a great cough, three days in bed asleep and the next two weeks' coughing up bits of lung. All this after I had the flu shot!! Hope you feel better!

Sounds a bit like it - I had my shots too. My whole family went down with it.

I have had another inquiry from a player willing to brave the Curse of the Llewellyns. We shall see...

Should I write an intro for the Little St Hugh's Heretic's Library?

WinstonP wrote:Should I write an intro for the Little St Hugh's Heretic's Library?

Yes, that would be good. Sorry, wasn't quite sure where you were planning to head next.

Er... anyone wondering where I was... Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land is really good.

Taavi wrote:Er... anyone wondering where I was... Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land is really good.

Is that the new phone app? I read a reviews, sounded very good.

Andy

andyw666 wrote:

Taavi wrote:Er... anyone wondering where I was... Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land is really good.

Is that the new phone app? I read a reviews, sounded very good.

Andy

Yes. Also ipad, android & PC. Had a great time playing it, although the end-of-game monster was slightly anticlimatic (pro-tip - it didn't enjoy being beaten to death with a shovel). Have also been v busy with other stuff, but I should have a comprehensive update for Grant's up tomorrow.

Just a quick thing for some period colour:

http://christies.scene7.com/s7/brochure ... 4904ecat_0

Some really very nice things in there, all with far too high estimates...

Sorry Guys, been flat out with very busy shifts of late, post to follow shortly... Andy

By the way, I should tell you all that my wife will be gving birth to our second child in (in theory) about a month. However, anything from now on is considered a normal pregnancy. So if I suddenly stop posting for some time, that's why. I'll try to put up a post when the happy day arrives.

Oops, sorry guys, been doing lot of travelling for work of late, will start posting a bit more regularly now. And Taavi, yours is the best of all possible excuses!

Is everybody still on board the good ship Grant's? It's been some time since anyone other than myself and andyw666 posted. Have I not given enough clues/cues to go on, are you losing interest, or are you just really busy?

Busy, not sure what Poole would do besides call it a day, and kind of assuming you'd had your baby.

No baby yet...

Best of luck when the little one does come.

I came across this bit of colour for a London game- Polari, a sort of Thieves Cant for gays, part coded language part secret handshake

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polari

http://www.yog-sothoth.com/threads/3133 ... -of-the-UK

*LAUGH* Polari, that's very cool. But what are you implying about our little cabal of bookhounds!!??

Sorry, sorry, been totally rubbish, and with out even the excuse of children (nice Taavi, best of luck with the new one). I will blame slightly the lack of reception and connectivity in Devon and Norfolk though, and those pesky family members who expect you to spend time with them instead of trying to write out time lines...

Hi all,

No baby yet, but the doc says within a week, no more than two, and preparations are chewing up most of my time. Sorry for slow posting.

Thought I would mention Pelgrane are having a sale on Trail of Cthulhu PDFs for Lovecraft's birthday: http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?cPath=8 ... e_id=31059

Best of luck with the soon-to-arrive baby, Taavi.

Baby! Ettien Xuan, boy, 3.52 kg. Excuse me while I go all mushy for some time.

Congratulations!

Otanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu

Hi all,

I think it best to set some definite dates rather than saying "I'll resume sometime". I'm likely to have more time on and after Monday 24th September. So Grant's is now officially on vacation, and will resume on Monday the 24th.

Cheers James (Taavi)

Huge congrats! Well done to you and family!

And copy the pause, shall wait impatiently.

Cheers,

Andy

And... Action!

All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up.

I'll post about Rev. Poole's evening soon. Glad we're back!

Hi Team! Sorry, just checked and found we're back on deck. Right, better late than never, to business! Andy

AndrewTBP wrote:All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up.

Grant struck a hunter's pose upon the head of the great beast, stroking his elephant gun's muzzle lovingly as the wind ruffled his moustache romantically, he basked in the admiring gaze of Shana, the Atlantean Jungle Warrior Princess.

Now that is a great image, Bookhounds the H Rider Haggard edition. Fewer books, more villanous native witch doctors and tigers.

Post up, sorry for slight delay, internet problems. Still meant I had more time to read Neil 'Between the Lines, Drop the Dead Donkey, etc.' Pearson's excellent biography/bibliography of Kahane and Obelisk. Just reading the various authors' histories. Some very intriguing people published with old Jack. And that is without counting the people like Joyce and Miller.

Do people like the game blurb? or is it too silly?

Interesting blurb . . . but what does it mean ?

I think the blurb is great! Very Bookhounds.

Tabs wrote:Interesting blurb . . . but what does it mean ?

Allow me to introduce Tabs. Tabs wishes to play the role of Long John Copper, haunted war veteran and match-seller to the gentry.

Welcome! I hope you enjoy the game.

Hi all,

Because Quinch hassn't posted or responded to messages for the last 3 months, I must reluctantly conclude that he has dropped out.

The role of Luke, booklegger and topic of a curious amnesia, will now be played by Cearlan who has kindly stepped into the breach.

Taavi wrote:The role of Luke, booklegger and topic of a curious amnesia, will now be played by Cearlan who has kindly stepped into the breach.

Welcome! I hope you enjoy the game, and that chitinous noise isn't serious.

AndrewTBP wrote:

Taavi wrote:The role of Luke, booklegger and topic of a curious amnesia, will now be played by Cearlan who has kindly stepped into the breach.

Welcome! I hope you enjoy the game, and that chitinous noise isn't serious.

I think the surgeons used to say something like that before they cut the limbs off maimed sailors after battle ... "This won't hurt al all ...

Thanks for the welcome - just hope I can step into the breach left by Quinch adequately.

Norman

I have taken some liberties with the book's description above but if this goes against your own description or needs then feel free to amend as needed.

It isn't stated whether the Landlord is up in the attic with Luke or not - if not, then Luke would probably try and conceal the book if he thought he could get away with it - purely for research purposes of course. After all, you gotta make your own luck - and as Horace is often quoted as saying "Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero" or "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future"

Also at the start of the investigation, Luke had to pay some extra cash to customs officials when returning from Paris - could this be a contact or am I looking too deeply into things?

Taavi wrote:Do people like the game blurb? or is it too silly?

I like it, it conveys Grant's problems very well.

AndrewTBP wrote:Welcome! I hope you enjoy the game.

Thanks. Hi all.




John Cooper "Long John Copper" with (ex) fiancé Mirabelle, 1915.



Marmaduke

I've filled in google doc. Investigator Matrix. The points add up and I've remained faithful to abilities in the occupations discussed. Trust all is okay.

Welcome aboard both, I was just thinking the game needed more parrots.

Marmaduke says: "Out Of Ignorance Into Wisdom; Out Of Light Into Darkness."

Sorry, how does this dice thing work? Am totally failing to figure it out... Andy

PS Taavi, feel free to roll for Jory, 1 pt spend.

andyw666 wrote:Sorry, how does this dice thing work? Am totally failing to figure it out... Andy

PS Taavi, feel free to roll for Jory, 1 pt spend.

My sincere apologies. Apparently the dice mod is still in beta and not rolled out across all forums yet. Sorry for giving you the wong information. Back to Invisible Castle then.

Hi all, somehow the button for dice is missing.
I, however, activated dice on your forum.
The code is as follows:

So, I roll 1d100: [dice]0[/dice]

To change to 1d20 or 3d6 for instance just swap the value between the brackets.
Cheers!
/Dave

Welcome Tabs! I am (or at least Jory is) already a fan of Long John + Parrot.

And welcome Cearlan! Am I right that you played the slatternly Pearl to my obnoxious and biggoted Calum in the late lamented Haunting (Redux) game on this forum?

Andy

Addendum: Oh no! Our first genuine casualty, drunk like an Unclean Milkshake by an Eldritch Angler! Hors de Combat.

andyw666 wrote:Addendum: Oh no! Our first genuine casualty, drunk like an Unclean Milkshake by an Eldritch Angler! Hors de Combat.

He's not quite Hors de Combat (or Hors d'Oeuvres), yet.

PS Sense Trouble tests are meant to give you a hint that something is wrong...

Taavi wrote:He's not quite Hors de Combat (or Hors d'Oeuvres), yet.

Jory is facing a mind-flaying entity from beyond, or limp leafy vegetables in an oily dressing, which is it?

andyw666 wrote: And welcome Cearlan! Am I right that you played the slatternly Pearl to my obnoxious and biggoted Calum in the late lamented Haunting (Redux) game on this forum?

Thanks Andy, but for the record I was no slattern, you obnoxious bigot well not quite, just a bit flirty.

andyw666 wrote:Addendum: Oh no! Our first genuine casualty, drunk like an Unclean Milkshake by an Eldritch Angler! Hors de Combat.

hehehe - I can honestly say that I have never been called an unclean milkshake before

Taavi wrote: PS Sense Trouble tests are meant to give you a hint that something is wrong...

Ah but the chase for the ultimate squiz overrides all common sense

Doing a quick review of the day's events, I'm not sure that Jory even knows where Luke went? I think Jory headed off before Luke made his plan (based on Laura's info). Does that sound right?

On that basis, Jory is going to have to get Grant, or another person, to remember Luke enough to recall where he went so that a rescue mission can be planned.

andyw666 wrote:Doing a quick review of the day's events, I'm not sure that Jory even knows where Luke went? I think Jory headed off before Luke made his plan (based on Laura's info). Does that sound right?

On that basis, Jory is going to have to get Grant, or another person, to remember Luke enough to recall where he went so that a rescue mission can be planned.

Your prompting is enough to refresh Grant's memory. I'm not sure where AndrewTBP is at the moment, so let's assume that Grant has told you Luke's movements in order to keep things moving and not leave Luke hanging, as it were.

Copy that, or as those Soviet spies used to say, Doneski! (Shall now formulate a rash plan...)

Sorry, somewhat of a delay posting, I had the misfortune to go down with a nasty bug. Feeling like you have been beaten round the head with a sack of cottonwool is not terribly conducive to creativity...post now up, normal service resumed and all that jazz.

Sorry! This week's been crazy. Prepping for Saturday's The Green Ape, yesterday's Ride to Work, yadda yadda.
Grant's a very confused man right now.

Have been making another stab at APR's The Club Dumas and had to quote this from it, on the contents of one's satchel. Jory shall be taking a leaf out of Corso's book:

He always carried a good supply of aspirin in his canvas bag, together with books, pencils, pens, half-filled notepads, a many-bladed Swiss Army knife, passport, money, a bulging address book, and books belonging to him and to others. He could, at any time, disappear without a trace like a snail with its shell.

The Club Dumas is definitely a must-read.
I'm afraid I (like others) have had a hectic week, but things should slow down slightly on the coming week-end.

Future break:
As I may have mentioned already, on the 24th of November I and the family are upping sticks and moving from Canberra, Australia to Paris, France. As I'm going to need every minute in the surrounding weeks, I will not be writing anything for Grant's MB between the 17th of November and the 2nd of December (inclusive), after which we should be settled enough for me to come back to the game. I'll try to keep posting regularly up until the 17th. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves in the meantime - might be a good time to plan your Auction strategy(ies?)

A more radical alternative might be - there are now several sub-plots up and running, which are loosely connected, but Only I Can See The Big Picture. It would, I think, be possible to make this a more round robin sort of thing where a player who is not very involved in one subplot became the Keeper for that plot. This would mean more work from players, and possibly spoilers if not handled well, but would also mean that Grant's doesn't grind to a halt when I'm unavailable. Is this an option people would be interested in exploring? This is just an option, I am happy to keep GMing as we are.

(A) All duly noted. Grief, Canberra's miserable climate + annoying street layout traded for the City of Lights, Gendarmes, Catacoombs...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespear ... bookstore)

(I heard the current Sylvia interviewdd in a podcast on the gendarmes who police the Seine.)

(B) I really have to re-read the ToC rules, I keep forgetting pertinent parts...

Andy

I take it you speak French: Bonvoyage, monsieur! Why are you moving? I went back a few pages and saw that you had a second child--you are a busy man!

A more radical alternative might be - there are now several sub-plots up and running, which are loosely connected, but Only I Can See The Big Picture. It would, I think, be possible to make this a more round robin sort of thing where a player who is not very involved in one subplot became the Keeper for that plot. This would mean more work from players, and possibly spoilers if not handled well, but would also mean that Grant's doesn't grind to a halt when I'm unavailable. Is this an option people would be interested in exploring? This is just an option, I am happy to keep GMing as we are.

I'd be up for it (Keeping for another plot) . . . what does everyone else think?

Yes!! More part-time GMs while Taavi's en route to Croissantia welcome!

BTW, that link I posted seems buggered, but needless to say I was referring to Left Bank bookstore Shakespeare + Co, somewhere I'm sure Bookhounds would be comfortable.

(Until froggy Deep Ones pop out of the Seine.)

Andy

While I lack the time personally to Keeper a sub-plot, I'm game to share the work, especially while Monsieur Taavi is in transit. Mayhaps Rev. Poole might do something other than darn his socks soon?

In Paris the Froggie Deep Ones wander the streets in daylight...ahem, English xenophobia aside, it is a marvellous city for the bookhound lifestyle, strange barrows on the riverbank, little shops down dark alleys, home to Jack Kehane and his son, Maurice Girodias, the isle where Jacques d'Molay burned, the plaza where Louis lost his head, the corner where Diana was sacrificed (I love The Invisibles...), place where hangs Foucault's pendulum, setting for one of the two best levels of Deus Ex...

Not so sure about being a part-time GM myself, I don't think I can guarantee enough time to keep flow moving and have never GM'd either Trail or a pbp before.

Hi all,

We are almost up to Monday, after which it's only one more game day til Auction time, huzzah! Given that Jory and Luke (if they survive) will probably be a bit tired the next day, I think I will start a Monday thread for the other characters so as to keep things going, and Jory and Luke can join it when they stagger out of bed/hospital/the morgue.

I will discuss subplot options with Tabs. I'm sure you'll all be in good pseudopods.

PS For those who were curious, I'm going to Paris to take up a postdoc at Sciences Po, I will be doing some research on how social businesses (cooperatives, non-profits, et al) have handled the Global Financial Crisis.

Sorry guys, my best efforts to get posts in quickly get derailed by work.

Andy

[dice]0[/dice]

Hi everybody,
I apologise for lack of updates. I have been swamped with preparations and work wrapup. I will try to get a few posts in before I leave and give some handover notes to Tabs. Sorry again.

Taavi wrote:Hi everybody,
I apologise for lack of updates. I have been swamped with preparations and work wrapup. I will try to get a few posts in before I leave and give some handover notes to Tabs. Sorry again.

Don't sweat over it - real life gets in the way and this is something we all have to deal with - though trans-continental moves are a bit extra-ordinary for us common folk

hi all,
Tabs will now be GMing the plot related to Mr Sabini's 'orse. in order to create narrative space for this while i'm out of contact, the christies auction will now always have been scheduled for wednesday rather than tuesday.

Oops, sorry guys, didn't check in for a while. - Andy

Hi all,
Mor or less settled in the city of light's dreaming now, so sholdb be able to resume. French keyboards have a different layout so apologies for any typos.

Cool, nice to hear you are in (ish...). I have been holding off on Monday to make sure Sunday was squared and away. I'll get a quick post in now to keep my hand in and await developments.

Hi all,

I've been quite sick for a couple of days so given that and the time of year things will be a bit slow over Yithmas. Sqamous yuletide greetings to you all.

And a very Merry Xmas to all!

Beware the eldritch Xmas pud, oozing in unwholesome custard... Or is that just my family?

Happy New Year to you all. I now have a new computer and once my son goes back to school (Jan 6th) I can give Grant's the attention it deserves. In the meantime, here is me attempting to look intellectual at a secondhand bookshop.

It's a Paris thing.

Funny, I'd pictured you as looking like your avatar. (I look a bit like mine )

Hi all,

I'm starting to fear that AndrewTBP has dropped out as he hasn't logged on since November. Of course he may just have a long xmas holiday.
This does leave a bit of a narrative hole as the Bookseller is supposed to make decisions for the shop e.g. what's your strategy for the Irving auction, what are you going to do about Mr Sabini. NPC-ing these decisions feels a bit too much like railroading to me, and Luke, Jory and Harwood are freelance or employees.
I'm soliciting a couple of potential players to either take on Grant or Llewellyn, the other executive figure - but in the meantime do any of you feel like wearing two hats, or maybe playing Mrs Grant while Grant takes to his bed from the shock of it all, muttering about Boers? Or Grant can say "Jory/Harwood/Carse, you take the helm for a bit and I'll pay you a bonus" if your PC feels like stepping up.

I've always found absent players mean investigators with a serious head cold and laryngitis.

Hey! How cool, Shakespeare + Company no less! I am very impressed. - Andy

Hello everyone! I'm just reading to catch up and then I'll be joining your fair ranks.

Laraqua wrote:Hello everyone! I'm just reading to catch up and then I'll be joining your fair ranks.

Laraqua has graciously agreed to take on the role of Mr Grant. Huzzah!

I'm done. All read up.

I can't say I know the rules for Trail of Cthulhu, though I do own the Bookhounds .pdf, so if you could just clue me in as we go I'd appreciate it. I do know about spends. That's the main thing I do know though I don't know how they affect rolls when they do affect them nor do I understand stability.

Hi Guys, apologies for being quiet of late - silly season getting in the way. And welcome Laraqua! - Andy

Yes, welcome to Laraqua.

Yes, welcome aboard. One of us, and all that.

Taavi, my apologies, would you be able to NPC Jory for the next week? Few problems to sort, should be back on deck by then. - Andy

Since we have a bit of player turnover this seems a good time to take stock. How are people finding the game? I have gone for a multiple-plot-strings sort of campaign because a) Bookhounds is supposed to be "a seedy scrabbling on the verge of disaster" according to Hite, and b) because I figure that the slower, written online format enables people to keep better track of everything that's happening. But if the plot is too overwhemling or if there are other things you'd like changed, feel free to speak up.

HeLLo Chaps,

Seems I am about to join in as Anthony Llewellyn. Currently getting up to speed on character and events.

Toodlepip
Andy (Priest)

Hi Priest.


Taavi, I feel G.M.B. could do with a good recap of story so far, incl. possible leads. Ol' Long John went to the shop expecting to be interviewed regarding his double identity, Robert Louis Stevenson; but now, the story regards Luke and one of Burton's books, I'm unsure what to do next: I cannot multi-task

This book, the 1885 Burton that Wellington had, is it still around? 'cos R.L.S. could have a peek.

Welcome to those who joined after me, Priest and Laraqua.

As for the idea of doing a recap I think that would be a good idea for the newer members, myself included. I like the multi-plot idea very much, but must confess that when I joined I found it daunting to make sense of it all, so can sympathise with both Priest and Laraqua if they were to feel this way.

With regard to Wellington and the 1885 Burton book ... I was going to look at that once I had done my psycho session in the office with the good Reverend. I was trying to keep the timing of this realistic for the kind of discussion the two of us would be having - whilst allowing for the "shop floor" to run at it's own, parallel, pace.

Yes a re-cap of events would be a splendid help, to remove some of the fear of attempting to join in. A kind of 'where we are now'. However have no fear, Llewellyn will be back.

Where We Are Now

Deep background:
Formerly a staid bookshop catering to military gentlemen, both the financial exigencies of the times and the book orders of its most prominent patron, General R.F.C Fuller (retired) have caused the shop to drift sideways into occult and esoteric books, including the kind of "esoteric" imported in plain paper from Paris. Harwood, an out-of-work army clerk with an interest in the occult, has been employed to deal with "this stuff".

In the last few days:
Grants has been rocked by a series of bizarre and possibly inter-related events.

1) A book scout named Wellington, a great war veteran, brought in a hand-made book, pressed between wooden covers, which seemed to contain several plates from alchemical works of great antiquity (and price). Harwood became somewhat obsessed with the tome, especially after, the next day, Wellington vanished into thin air in full sight of the shop staff (while dropping another book, which he had perhaps also stolen from his killer). According to Harwood's translations, the book is a compendium of lore of the "Cor" family, scottish heretics who specialise in trapping spirits in bottles, and it is thought this is what happened to Wellington after he "obtained" the book. It is believed the current Cor family head is a doctor at King's college Hospital. Furthermore, the Cor necromancers apparently have a business selling the trapped spirits of departed authors to wealthy bibliophiles, who have formed a club of sorts around this pursuit, possibly within the bibliophile society known as "the sette of odd volumes". Apparently, obtaining the possessions of departed authors can assist in this process.

One victim of this process was the late Robert Louis Stevenson, whose ghost is now cohabiting the body of Long John Copper, a one-legged match seller and war veteran, for reasons which remain unclear.

2) Concurrently, Mr Grant was hired by Contessa Christiana di Napoli to obtain the writing desk, and if possible other possessions, of the late Washington Irving, which are being auctioned by the American Embassy to the Court of St James at Christies. A spanish Don with scottish ancestry called Don Alejandro Glencoe is also apparently planning on bidding on Mr Irving's possessions. A tramp, Laura, was hired to follow the Don but had something happen to her which she was unable to satisfactorily explain. Luke, the Catalogue agent, attempted to follow the directions given by Laura and also had something odd happen to him, from which he was rescued by Jory. This Auction is on Wednesday.

Harwood has some theories about the relationship between don Aljandro and the Cor family which strike gentlemen of breeding and discretion as frankly farfetched, which I will leave to him to describe.

3) On Saturday, Luke sold an occult book to Henry Rickmansworth, who (claimed to have) used it to win a horse race on Sunday afternoon, thus causing the wrath of Mr Sabini, a "colourful racing identity" to fall on all concerned, including Mr Grant.

It is now Monday morning. Time is running out.

Despite reading the threads connected to Luke when I joined, there was a lot of stuff in there I was not aware of - Thanks for filling in a lot of blanks

I'm not sure that every character has actually had the opportunity to learn about all of that in character, e.g. Luke hasn't yet been told about Long John/RLS, and Mr Grant has been playing the auction pretty close to his chest, but I'll assume that you've all filled each other in, at least to that extent. There are various fine details elided in this summary, which you will doubtless hunt for when you realise that your lives and souls depend on them.

A nudge from the GM - comparing the annotations Mr Grant saw on the Irving Manuscript in the Christie's Auction room with those on the Burton may prove rewarding, or at least offer further lines of inquiry.

PS I have relabelled all the in character topics/locations with day 1, day 2, etc, to make the order in which things happened a bit clearer for everybody.

In case, which I doubt, no-one has seen this site;
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthrea ... 32&page=67
Some great pictures of London, many of which show areas as they were circa 1930. Great resource.

Cheers, Andy (Priest)

No, I've never seen this site, thanks. Talking of sites, I noticed "Kelvin Grant" in Cast of Characters has some cool links; Mr. Sabini was a real person, see "Hoxton Mob."

A nudge from the GM - comparing the annotations Mr Grant saw on the Irving Manuscript in the Christie's Auction room with those on the Burton may prove rewarding, or at least offer further lines of inquiry.

I'll have a look at that. Also, I like the "Ruminations."

Hi all. I have been away for a few days, hope it hasn't been an inconvenience.

A couple of notes to get things moving - I have been unsure of the extent to which people are waiting on me to drive events, or if you are still in "planning" mode. In order to know when I as the Keeper whould post somethng, I have been waiting for people to say things like "X leaves the shop in order to track down Henry Rickmansworth" in which case I would start a new thread on that location/topic or "Y uses Bibliography/Bookshop Stock to find a copy of this Glencoe translation of the Arabian Nights", or "Z uses Credit Rating to make the acquaintance of a member of the Sette of Odd Volumes", etc. Trail is structured so as to be very player driven and to enable you to get the clues to solve the mystery (or close the sale), even without points spent - point spends are like critical successes or spotlight grabs which provide extra degrees of success.
In a nutshell, I'd encourage your characters to take the bits between their teeth and start following leads withput worrying too much about whether they are the right leads to follow - look to your character's Drives to pick your course of action instead.
Hope this doesn't come across as too pushy/railroady, I've been enjoying the whole thing so far and hope that you are too!

Hi all,
Apologies for light posting, real-world deadlines encroaching. Will try to keep things going regularly.

My character sheet isn't in the character thread and I've lost the copy you sent me. I imagine I have those three skills however so would be happy to spend points where needed to get me a map version!

I am working on it, I think I can get this - although I am aware that this kind of insanity in a horror film leads to me in a room lined with tinfoil screaming about the angles.

Is there an effective way to keep track of skill points we've already spent? It has been about a year of play in real time and I worry I'll end up spending points I've long cashed in. Obviously we can go back and check our posts, but if there was some field or topic with tallied points, that would a lovely aid.

Dear all,

Sadly, I am facing overwhelming work/life/time pressure with the move to Paris, my academic work here, children and so on, and I will have to cut everything in my life that is not totally essential. That includes Keeping for Grant's.

As I see it, there are three options here:
1) I will be returning to Australia and my regular job in August and will probably have more time then. If you honestly think that your interest would be held until August, then we can resume then.
2) If someone wants to step into the hot seat and take over keeping, I am happy to lay out the plot(s) for them and let them steer as they see fit.
3) If neither appeals, I am happy to "debrief" you all with a few posts which explain everything, or at least, the majority of things.

I apologise for the abruptness of this. Things are very difficult for me at the moment and don't look like improving for some time

Yours sincerely,

James Haughton aka Taavi

Taavi,

Thanks for trying to keep up the game, despite a shockingly full workload. I would feel busy with half of that to contend with.

That being said, I'd be happy to table the game for now with a plan to resume in August. I do not have the time to take over the game myself (and still barely understand the Trail system, certainly not well enough to run a game) but would welcome a different Keeper is someone will take it on.

Thanks for the fun so far,

Bret/WinstonP/Rev. Poole

I share WinstonP's sentiments. It will be hard, but I too am willing to pick it up later in the year.

Andy (Priest).

I would add my thanks for a game well played so far ... although I have run the game myself, (ToC not this particular adventure which has been finely played out btw), I feel that it would need your steady hand on the tiller as it meanders it's way through the Straits of Agamemnon en-route to Troy. I would be prepared to await further tales of derring-do on the streets of London as this mythos threat is given short shrift by the assembled group from Grant's Military Bookshop. Till Later my friend!

Cearlan / Norman / Luke Carse

I would just like to echo the sentiments so far. Superb job Taavi, really enjoying banging my head against strange cults and stranger personal theories. I certainly could give neither the time nor the proper knowledge of the system to bring this to a conclusion, and I certainly don't just want to be given the answers. I need to realise them in a sanity blasting moment of horror which ends my ability to function as a rational human being. In the game, obviously...

Happy to wait till August, and will be ready and raring to pick it up on the other side. Hope your life calms down a little without our demanding natures in it.

Harwood/Mike/Bookman

Thank you everybody for your kind words! Allow me to apologise again for bringing things to a screeching halt, but I'm rather out of hours in the day. August it is then. Hey, it's only half as long as the wait for the next Hobbit movie...

August is fine by me too. Work hard in Paris, James, and be successful!

I'm happy to wait until August as well. My upcoming wedding in late March will have me pretty busy and somewhat off-line until mid-April anyhow.

Hi all,

Just letting you know I have now returned to Australia, still plan on restarting in August - I hope you'll all still be on board!

James

Hurrah old chap. Still here

Still here!

I totally missed this. HERE!

So you are fluent in French now? . . .

I wouldn't say fluent. More conversational than I was, perhaps.

You should have said: "Parfait, monsieur."

Hi Guys, sorry, typically I got sidetracked at exactly the wrong moment. Will try to start posting tomorrow. - Andy

Yes, sorry. Went on holiday to perhaps the only house I know in the UK (well Wales...) without internet, and then onto a place with internet but no computer access. Will get on my next moves now.

Hey all. Sorry for the slow updates - I just returned to full-time work last week and am feeling exhausted, but as I get back into the rhythm, the spice will flow.

Criminal mugshots from the 20s. Just because. http://twistedsifter.com/2011/05/vintag ... ack-white/

Taavi wrote:All those following the labyrinthine map, please move to the "Seven Dials" thread.

Is there a seven dials day 3 thread or shall i/we post in the day 2 thread that was last posted in, in December?

Long John is hopping over to Seven Dials, too.

I have made a new thread for the journey to Seven Dials, day 3 - "Down these labyrinthine streets".
Sorry (again!) for slow start. Apparently I need new reading glasses which is why computer work has been tiring me out so much.

I had the same thing about two year ago - anything over 30-45 minutes in front of the screen and I was getting splitting headaches. Readers helped, but my eyes are different, and now my prescription glasses have different lenses for each eye. Long distance in one and short in the other - can't remember which is which off the top of my head. Makes contacts interesting if you get them mixed up

Hi Taavi,

I'm trying to tabulate all of the pts Jory has spent so far. This is what I've come up with:


Day 1:
2 pts Evidence Collection on a certain piece of paper.
1 pt Streetwise at the Palace Tavern.
2pts Bookshop Stock.


Day 2:
1 pt Stability (Wellington)
1 pt Bureaucracy (Kings College Hosp)
1 pt Evidence Collection (Bermondsey Sq)
1 pt Evidence Collection (Wellington)
1 pt The Knowledge (Kings College Hosp)
1 pt Oral History (Smith, Sabini's goon)
1 pt Stability (Bull & Bear)
2 pts Stealth (Bull & Bear)
2 pts Sense Trouble (Bull & Bear)
2 pts Stability (Bull & Bear)


Jory will be able to refresh his Stealth overnight but I don't think any of the others can be refreshed in mid adventure?


Taavi or team, please tell me if I've used up a pt I shouldn't have or have missed something!


BTW, Jory will use his 4 XP to get Library Use 2, Textual Analysis 1, Filch 1, if that's OK.


Andy

Taavi: Does Jory think the Brit Library would be the best place to do some trawling through newspaper back issues? Or is there a better option?

(Now that Jory has rediscovered his long forgotten University skills, he's keen to start spending those Lib Use pts!)

andyw666 wrote:Taavi: Does Jory think the Brit Library would be the best place to do some trawling through newspaper back issues? Or is there a better option?

(Now that Jory has rediscovered his long forgotten University skills, he's keen to start spending those Lib Use pts!)

Um. I hesitate to be a blocker, but in those pre-google days, finding information (if any) on anyone without a significant public profile (i.e. not in Who's Who) by trawling through newspaper back issues might take a very long time I suspect. What sort of information are you looking for?

I had in mind major scandal involving the doctor or the hospital. Am not wedded to the idea, Jory is just keen to dig up intel on the enemy.

Is there another good source of doctorly scandal I wonder? Medical Board?

I think you could indeed find information on major scandal etc from the newspaper morgues or the British Library as they do index stories to some extent.
the British Medical Association or the General Medical Council are the bodies which represent and regulate doctors. They would certainly be a potential source of gossip and scandal, but you'd need an "in" to get them to talk. Maybe a squiz for a bibliophile doctor?

Taavi wrote:I think you could indeed find information on major scandal etc from the newspaper morgues or the British Library as they do index stories to some extent.
the British Medical Association or the General Medical Council are the bodies which represent and regulate doctors. They would certainly be a potential source of gossip and scandal, but you'd need an "in" to get them to talk. Maybe a squiz for a bibliophile doctor?

I think Jory will continue on to the British Library to look for newspaper stories of major scandal. Am not sure at this stage how useful it would be to go the medical board route, given our aims. Can always do that later.

Library first, where Jory's colleagues are already hard at work I believe.

Joijn the library thread anytime.

Terribly sorry for my absence over the last week. Sudden outbreak of real life, lingering spots, responding well to treatment.

Hi everybody,
I'm very sorry for this long and unscheduled absence. I work in the Australian public service - as some of you might know, we have just had a change of government and this has meant a lot of extra work. I've been dealing with some mental health issues too. All of which has left me a bit burned out in the evenings. Pressure is easing off now, I really want to tell this story, and am going to get back to it!

No problem Taavi - hope things settle down sooner rather than later for you, both on the work front, but especially on the other issues as well. We are all waiting for your return - though there is no rush - get yourself sorted first; that HAS to be the priority!

Absolutely. I echo Cearlans words.

Completely, sort yourself first, we'll wait. Salivating. Twisting our selves into strange shapes whilst we consider what happens next.

Hi Mate,

No panic and no rush! We will wait.

When I was dealing with disasters last Christmas, I was amazed by how little energy I had left for anything not completely urgent that second. I couldn't find the strength to play Words With Friends let alone Cthulhu.

Thinking positive thoughts your way!

Andy

Hi all,

Thanks for what (I hope) has been your patience. I am now attempting to climb back into the saddle.

A quick roundup of Bookhounds relevant news:

Cubicle 7 is doing a Cthulhu Brittanica: London Kickstarter, finishing in 6 days.

Naples is hit by an astonishingly large and lucrative theft of ancient books and Public Domain Review covers the history of lost and fictitious libraries.

And finally WinstonP, known to you as Reverend Poole, has published Issue 1 of the Arkham Gazette. Huzzah!

Merry Christmas to all. If not of a Christian outlook, then have a great time over the festive period and go easy at New Year - don't want no mishaps now. Either way I hope that Santa is good and that 2014 brings you whatever it is you want most.

I will probably be taking a break from playing over the Christmas period due to family commitments, but may post if I manage to get the time.

Sorry all, I made the terrible error of attempting to move house and leave a job just before Christmass because apparently I am a sucker for punishment...I am now back at a place with internet and with time to spend so I am back again.

welcome back Bookman

Happy New Year everyone! Tomorrow I resume work so look forward to wasting my employer's time on Grant's once again (you know the soviet joke, they pretend to pay me...)

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/198876/ ... e-in-1927/

A fascinating look at the London streets just before our period. The music is a touch annoying so worth watching without...

Hi all,

The family and I are taking a 2 week camping holiday starting in a couple of days - so I will probably be off air until early February. See (read?) you all then.

Sorry, guys, but I'm going to have to drop out. My situation has changed so I need to cut down on things.

Thanks for letting us know Laraqua.

When I get back from holidays I will put up a call for anyone interested in stepping into Grant's shoes.

The curse strikes again!

More seriously, sorry to lose you Laraqua.

Damned bookshops seem to be accursed places lol

Sorry to lose you Laraqua, I hope your situation changes again - this time for the better (just remember that this is a game at the end of the day - we all have to prioritise our real life situations).

Just to echo the others, a great shame indeed. Pleasure gaming with you.

So, here I am.
I must apologise for leaving you all in the lurch. Since we got back from Tasmania I have had one crisis after another, or so it seemed. Things are a bit more stable now but I can't yet tell whether my time will be more available going forward, or if demands will mount once again.

So, options.
1) I can continue Keeping Grant's. I don't know if I'll be able to update more than once or twice a week, which will make for a slow game.
2) I can turn it over to someone else (any volunteers?) and tell them the plot(s)
3) We can call it quits and I will post a plot(s) synopsis of what it was all about and where it was going to go.

Please let me know your preference.

Taavi/James

Taavi wrote:So, here I am.
I must apologise for leaving you all in the lurch. Since we got back from Tasmania I have had one crisis after another, or so it seemed. Things are a bit more stable now but I can't yet tell whether my time will be more available going forward, or if demands will mount once again.

So, options.
1) I can continue Keeping Grant's. I don't know if I'll be able to update more than once or twice a week, which will make for a slow game.
2) I can turn it over to someone else (any volunteers?) and tell them the plot(s)
3) We can call it quits and I will post a plot(s) synopsis of what it was all about and where it was going to go.

Please let me know your preference.

Taavi/James

Glad you are back Taavi, whether partially or full time - it's always good to see people returning. I hope your crises (sp?) have all abated now and it will all be plain sailing from here on in for you and yours.

As for the three preferences you gave I would happily fall in with any / all of them, but do not really feel that I could volunteer to run the game as I have three games on here to run and real life issues of my own that need attention (Damn real life!!!)

Cearlan / Norman