Cthulhu Dark Ages (2nd edition) (2015)

Publisher blurb:

Cthulhu Dark Ages is a world lit only by fire. The ancient empires collapsed centuries ago, taking their culture and learning with them. It’s [a] dark world and people are right to be afraid of the dark. Apart from the Viking raiders, witches, and outlaws, there are the unquiet dead, ancient horrors, and other malevolent beings stalking the countryside. Dark entities, beyond good and evil, wait hidden in the recesses of time and the angles of space. A few brave souls try their best to resist these horrors and push them back from whence they came. Will you be one of them?

Cthulhu Dark Ages has been updated for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition, completely revised and with a wealth of new setting material. Included are a player’s guide to the Dark Ages, an optional Sanity mechanic which mirrors the medieval mindset, rules for the oral tradition of story telling, rules for mounted combat, a grimoire of Dark Age spells and optional rules for folk magic, a bestiary of monsters, as well as a fully detailed setting - the Anglo-Saxon community of Totburh in England’s Severn Valley which includes interesting characters, dwelling descriptions, and a multitude of plot hooks for Keepers to use and develop. In addition, three scenarios introduce players to the Dark Age Severn Valley.

Currently only the ashcan version released at GenCon is available. Only 250 copies of the ashcan were printed. A full distribution copy with final art, index, and corrections was planned but has not been released.

From the book:

The first Cthulhu Dark Ages was a success, spawning several monographs. Unfortunately, it never received official support in the form of released-to-distribution books. Rather than reprint the original Cthulhu Dark Ages, Chaosium decided to produce an updated version, with an increased page count. Andi and I were handed the task of building upon Stephane’s original masterpiece. As a fan of the first edition, and somebody with an advanced degree in 10th century history, I was thrilled. Deciding how to update it and increase its value as a game proved a monumental challenge. One of the most important changes is that the new Cthulhu Dark Ages is a supplement, not a standalone product. While most of the rules you need to play are contained within, the book does reference some spells and creatures from the core Call of Cthulhu rulebook.

As you read through the book, you will undoubtedly see many changes. Some changes were minor. First and foremost, Cthulhu Dark Ages has been updated for the 7th edition of Call of Cthulhu. There are some changes to the combat system to make it more deadly, a new, optional Sanity mechanic to better situate the rules within the early medieval mindset, and rules for the oral tradition—something to take the place of Mythos tomes in an illiterate world.

Some other changes are more grandiose in scope. The original Cthulhu Dark Ages was a toolkit but lacked a defined world for players and their Keeper to tackle. There were hints of the Dark Ages world here and there, but nothing to tell the players what made the Dark Ages unique and different from the High Middle Ages or the ancient world. Now, there’s the village of Totburh, a fully developed Anglo-Saxon burh (fortified dwelling) nestled snuggly within the Severn Valley; filled with interesting characters and more plot hooks than a Keeper can shake a shoggoth at. Granted, not everybody is going to be excited by Anglo-Saxon England, so there’s also a player’s guide to life in the Dark Ages that explains many of the concepts that were fairly widespread, but by no means universal, across the continent during the 10th century, which aims to illustrate exactly how alien the 10th century can be to modern players.