MUP 079 - They Did the Monster Mash

Post by **Keeper Dan** » Mon May 18, 2015 2:52 am

In this episode, Dan, Jon and Chad dive into some Mythos mash-em-ups by picking three creatures and riffing on gameable combinations between them. It's like jazz, but with monsters. This episode was recorded on May 17th, 2015.

Campus Crier
Nameless Horrors PDF Released

Chaosium GenCon News from Mike Mason
I’m doing a Call of Cthulhu seminar on 2015/07/30 04:00 PM in Pennsylvania Stn A, Crowne Plaza. Event: SEM1567753
I and Sandy, amongst others will be on the big Cthulhu panel - Cthulhu All-Stars - at 12pm Saturday in the Paizo seminar room, #203.
We’ve also got Chad Bowser, Paul Fricker, Matt Sanderson, plus possible other authors who will be around the Chaosium booth over the show.

Dan may have solved the connection between Paizo and Cthulhu. The Pathfinder Bestiary 4 has the Big C himself on the cover!

Strange Remnants - a New Expansion for Eldritch Horror

Video Guide to: Call of Cthulhu Quick-Start Rules (Part 1: Character Creation)

Video Guide to: Call of Cthulhu Quick-Start Rules (Part 2: Game System)

Awesome Cthulhu Blanket

New on-site storefront for our SpreadShirt products.

Cryptocurium Spotlight
Elder Thing Magnet
A sculptural magnet depicting the star-faced alien race that was said to have “created all earth-life as jest or mistake”. From the epic H.P. Lovecraft novella, “At the Mountains of Madness”.

Main Topic
Each host picked a creature, Mythos or otherwise, to add to a monster stew and see what might emerge from combination between them.

Chad's pick: The Crawling Ones

70s B-movie vermin flick Squirm -- (a trailer of this masterpiece can be seen here)
Another one called Bug --(See the trailer here)

RPPR Actual Play: U-Boote Heraus - Part 1: http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradi ... us-part-1/
RPPR Actual Play: U-Boote Heraus - Part 2: http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradi ... us-part-2/

Dan's pick: Mummies
The Mummy 1932
The Mummy 1999

Bog Bodies
Kreepen Man

Monster Island - a series of books by David Wellington.
Mellified Man
HPLHS product: mummy dust.

Jon's pick: The Servants of Gla’aki
Bushnell Bone Collector Edition 200 Lumen HD Torch Flashlight (discontinued)

Scott Dorward · Post by **Scott Dorward** » Tue May 19, 2015 11:10 am

Great show again, gentlemen! Thanks for the mentions of Nameless Horrors and Paul's video tutorials! We just recorded an episode that explains a bit more about where Nameless Horrors came from, as well as some ideas on making the Mythos your own. It should be out a week today.

Your discussion of the Crawling Ones put me in mind of the assassin (played in a creepily affectless manner by John Billingsley) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who could transform into a writhing mass of worms. If I remember correctly, he used this to pass under doors, although I don't think he got as far as burrowing.

One of the scenarios in Europe Ablaze uses an unusual variant of a Crawling One. Andy Nicholson's Lift Not Thy Hands has a related antagonist, whose worms have metamorphosed into clouds of flies.

EddyPo · Post by **EddyPo** » Tue May 19, 2015 6:07 pm

Great show. I really appreciated your treatment of the Crawling Ones. I've been kicking an idea for a Delta Green scenario for a little while where A Crawling One is neither the protagonist nor the antagonist, but a victim.

Loved all the different takes you came up. I'm always inspired after one of your brainstorming episodes!

trevlix · Post by **trevlix** » Tue May 19, 2015 6:14 pm

Nice show!

Don't forget that MST3K did Squirm too!

Dr. Gerard · Post by **Dr. Gerard** » Tue May 19, 2015 10:02 pm

Right! I forgot about that. Maybe time track it down and watch again.

Thanks, Eddypo. The brainstorming segments seem to do well. Maybe because they ignite dormant (and likely better) ideas of listeners.

Scott, I looked for Billingsley in the Buffy world, but only found him in an episode of Angel. Is that the one you mean?

Scott Dorward · Post by **Scott Dorward** » Tue May 19, 2015 10:33 pm

Dr. Gerard wrote:Scott, I looked for Billingsley in the Buffy world, but only found him in an episode of Angel. Is that the one you mean?

Oops! Mistake on my part. The character was played by Kelly Connell. I could have sworn it was Billingsley!

fox01313 · Post by **fox01313** » Wed May 20, 2015 12:42 am

Great show guys.

Is there a link to the RPPR recording mentioned in the podcast with the highly entertaining & insightful Adam Scott Glancy?? Maybe the current rum levels is just creating problems at finding it. Another thought on this wormy creature would be that a small number of them get into someone alive where it influences their choices or takes control only when someone is asleep possibly turning them to the cause or putting them on the path to the ghouls.

Spoilers for one scenario tied to all this Trail of Cthulhu - Final Revelations

Agreed with Bug!, very creepy when they start thinking the way they do. Squirm & the Frogs movie was a bit more silly. Still not reaching levels of another fun movie, The Stuff (go in cold as possible on this, quite fun but the trailer might spoil things).

The mummy is a great way of mining for influence for pulpy games & at the times you can always as a keeper put in a roaming exhibit (or look at the Miskatonic University sourcebook) to inject them anywhere even if it's just the servants from the Lovecraft story tied to this with Harry Houdini. Another good spot to look at the Shadows over Filmland with it's mummy scenario. And yes with the Karloff film, he was mummified & then was restored by whatever means to back to a sorcerer more than undead. One I'd highly recommend is the 'Blood from the Mummy's Tomb' from the lovely Hammer films.

Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GinUdr1lPKI

Always keep thinking that the lead actress from this mummy movie is in the other fun later Hammer film of 'Dr. Jekyll, Sister Hyde' film but I'm wrong (though also quite fun)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6D7bzltR2U

And as many have put it, if you can't make a scenario out of just the trailer of either of those films you are doing something wrong.

Thanks for the recommendation on the monster series, been curious on it but not yet picked it up. Will hunt for that after finishing the 'Ghouls of the Miskatonic' book.

Ps-Animal Planet (cable tv channel) this week doing Monster week if looking for more inspiration.

Keeper Jon · Post by **Keeper Jon** » Wed May 20, 2015 11:59 am

fox01313 wrote:Great show guys.

Is there a link to the RPPR recording mentioned in the podcast with the highly entertaining & insightful Adam Scott Glancy?? Maybe the current rum levels is just creating problems at finding it. Another thought on this wormy creature would be that a small number of them get into someone alive where it influences their choices or takes control only when someone is asleep possibly turning them to the cause or putting them on the path to the ghouls.

Thanks Fox! I have added the RPPR links in Dan's show notes posting above.

Nvision · Post by **Nvision** » Wed May 20, 2015 2:16 pm

Damn it! Your link to "Squirm" brought back one of my deepest childhood scares! I turned on the tv when I was four, right as the shower scene from that movie was playing...I thought I had blocked that image, but there it is again :p

The Crawling Ones, and their method of consuming their host, also reminds me of how Eihort's brood functions, though the brood is just getting meat, and the host just gets a few more agonizing days of life out of the bargain. I'd go for the worms.

Keeper Jon · Post by **Keeper Jon** » Wed May 20, 2015 3:33 pm

Nvision wrote:Damn it! Your link to "Squirm" brought back one of my deepest childhood scares! I turned on the tv when I was four, right as the sower scene from that movie was playing...I thought I had blocked that image, but there it is again :p

The Crawling Ones, and their method of consuming their host, also reminds me of how Eihort's brood functions, though the brood is just getting meat, and the host just gets a few more agonizing days of life out of the bargain. I'd go for the worms.

Yeah, Squirm was one of my childhood horrors too. Totally freaked me out. Still does. Worms with teeth... CHRIST!!!