Thursday, October 28, 2010

Masks of Nyarlathotep Re-Released -- in Hardcover

The classic Call of Cthulhu campaign, Masks of Nyarlathotep, has recently been re-released by Chaosium in a limited edition hardcover format. If you follow the link, you'll see a photograph of the book and it looks very nice indeed. At $44.95, the price is quite reasonable, but it's a little too rich for my blood at the moment, particularly since I'm not running a Call of Cthulhu campaign. If I were (or if I were independently wealthy), I wouldn't hesitate to snag a copy. If you're at all interested in this gaming masterpiece, get a copy soon, since there will only be 1000 of these produced.

17 comments:

  1. I'll pass. I love "Masks" (greatest published campaign ever), but my prior experience with Chaosium's limited editions left a bad taste in my mouth.

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  2. Grognardia said: If I have any real complaints about Masks of Nyarlathotep it's that, like so many Call of Cthulhu adventures, it doesn't feel particularly Lovecraftian.

    Right first time. I read this and its shit.

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  3. The greatest CoC campaign ever written, and one of the top ten RPG releases ever published, period, for any game. Jump on this while you can.....it's been out of print far too long.

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  4. No matter your opinion of the pricetag, it's a far better deal than the alternative of buying a dog eared copy off ebay replete with coffee stains and ashtray smell.

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  5. There is also a regular paperback release for 10$ less.
    http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?products_id=5150

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  6. I got lucky, finding a used copy at my FLGS.

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  7. Anthony, can you say more? Binding issues, or what?

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  8. Mask's is well written but I think one-shot scenarios work better for CoC.. The Asylum and Other Tales and Curse of the Chthonians had some of my favorites.

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  9. I wouldn't mind a copy, but holy heck in a handbasket -- the USPS charges like a wounded rhino for international delivery! I'd end up paying twice the ticket price to get it here to New Zealand, so I guess I'll have to pass. Pity.

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  10. Yep, I waited until payday to order, and found out that shipping to my little island was as much as the book itself!

    So much as I'd like the hardback, I will probably wait for the softcover to appear in the shops over here. Shame.

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  11. I got together with fellow devotees to order multiple copies and so save on shipping. I have the last limited edition of the campaign as well, plus all of the previous versions. It is the collector in me.

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  12. Re: shipping, they are overcharging for it in the U.S. so it's probably even worse for you international people. They want $11.87 to ship it for the cheapest USPS method. Per the official USPS site, media mail (7 day delivery) would cost $3.16 to ship from their office to my address and priority 2 day delivery would be $10.70 to my address.

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  13. Shipping to here in the U.K. was listed as $36 for a single copy of the book -- basically an 80% mark up on top of the costs of the book. Fortunately it took a purchase of three copies to break the free shipping thresholding.

    Of course, this is not as bad as with some publishers. One wanted to charge $40 for a book that cost less than that.

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  14. Motortree:

    Nah, I shouldn't, as it was years ago. I will say it had nothing to do with the physical quality of the books, which was excellent.

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  15. Frankly, I so much adore the cover of the softcover that I'm looking more to that than the hardcover. The price might be prohibitive, but for me the lack of that cool cover is a factor!

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  16. I look forward to more hardcover collectors' editions of classic rpg materials.

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  17. It was the first COC adventure I had ever had the pleasure to buy. Yes it needed a lot of elbow grease to make it flow, but it was the first time I had all those lovely clippings to give to players.

    Lazarus Lupin
    http://strangespanner.blogspot.com/
    art and review

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