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The latest Trail of Cthulhu releases are now available from Indie Press Revolution as PDF and PDF+Print versions. The PDF is free with the print version. Arkham is here, Rough Magicks here.
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Here are a couple of graphs for GUMSHOE sales. They are monthly cumulative sales from the first date of release, through the distribution channel (that is via Impressions). This excludes retail and mail order sales through IPR, conventions and direct mail order (in total, over 20% of total print sales). PDFs and foreign licenses are a post for another day.
The non-Trail sales are swamped by Trail, so the second one details the sales without Trail.
- The continuing sales of Trail, and the total number of copies sold. mean the market for supplements is sufficient for me to do offset print runs.
- I took a risk with Shadows Over Filmland, doing it hard cover, and I think it will take about three years to sell through the print run.
- The Screen and Resource Book, I am very happy with. I think it means people are playing the game, unless there are screen collectors out there. I couldn't have done this non-offset
- Esoterrorists continues to sell reliably - the same every month for 18 months now. It will be interesting to see how the FactBook does.
- Distributors and retailers have more confidence in the ability of a Trail supplement to sell than Mutant City Blues. The sales for MCB are a little flatter than I would have liked, but the confidence inspired by previous GUMSHOE releases meant a reasonable initial order. The MCB graph is a little flat for my liking, but it's a little early to say. I think Hard Helix, the MCB supplement will help - it was released much more quickly after MCB than we've managed with other lines.
When I run out of the second Trail print run, I'm going to have a difficult printing choice. Risk another hard back? Switch to perfect bound? Should I do a minor edition update?  
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Overheard in a 4th Edition D&D game, when PCs were looking for info leading them to the next stage of the adventure. The player had dice in about to roll against an information skill.
The DM said: "Actually, you need the info to continue. Why don't we just GUMSHOE it?"
You know you are having an impact, when they start using you as a verb.
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) gbsteve point me at a lovelyGUMSHOE thread on rpg.net. It's gratifying that we've reached the stage where there are some people I've never heard of being enthusiatic enough about the actual play resulting from the game to encourage others to try it. Wonderful.
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Rough Magicks and Arkham Detective Tales, two new releases for Trail of Cthulhu are out now from the Pelgrane Press webstore.
Rough Magicks: a magic supplement for the best-selling and award winning Trail of Cthulhu
( Product info... )
Arkham Detective Tales: Cyclopean skyscrapers, bizarre cults, and eerie alleyways – the city of New York stands on the threshold between the modern age and the Mythos. Four labyrinthine and spine-chilling mysteries for your Trail of Cthulhu investigators! A magic supplement for the best-selling and award winning Trail of Cthulhu, written by the master of Lovecraft Lore, Kenneth Hite.
( Product info... )
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We've got a new Page XX up which uses Wordpress. It's not linked into the main website yet. If you see any errors, or have any comments, please let me know so we can make changes.
This month we have GM advice from Adrian Bott and Belinda Kelly, Marcus Bone delivers the first two installments of his new irregular GUMSHOE zine, Rap Sheet, Jérome Hugeunin gives us an insight into his amazing photomontage technique with the cover from our forthcoming Rough Magicks, and Robin tells us what he’d do with a million bucks.
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I just hope I can get it printed in time...
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The Armitage Files brings improvisation to the GUMSHOE system, and to Trail of Cthulhu. It's still Keeper-lead, but players contribute, too. The heart of the book is a series of documents and pictures sent from the future (or is it an alternate time line?) but Dr Henry Armitage. The PCs must follow the leads, and prevent disaster. The Files have been subject to rigorous playtesting, and now include extra practical material on improvising in actual play for both players and the Keeper. Oh, it's written by Robin Laws.
I'm also pleased to announce that Sarah Wroot, our amazing Dying Earth layout artist and illustrator has returned to create the documents themselves. Here is a section:
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There is a review of the Esoterror Fact Book over on the Pelgrane Press forums.
I just didn't get what Esoterror was supposed to look like ... The Esoterror Factbook changed all that for me.
...
The part that really struck me was the section on the Special Suppression Forces. To be sure, all the crunchy combat rules you could possibly want are available here. The good news is, they stick to the theme of genre and narrative use, and do not take GUMSHOE too far down the wargame path. But here's the better part: embedded in this section, along with the sample adventure, is a thinking man's wargame. Mr. Laws has managed to show how the GUMSHOE paradigms of resource management and clue finding can be used in a tactical combat environment. Now, taking down the bad guys guns blazing is more about managing your pools, and using your noggin to get the best advantage. And one by Pookie on Game Cryer for Trail of Cthulhu supplement, The Dying of St Margaret's: There is something awful about the Purist nature of The Dying of St. Margaret’s, but a stark beauty too, one that exemplifies Lovecraftian horror’s uncaring nature.
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Arkham Detective Tales
The various municipal police services in New York and the surrounding area, as well as the federal Bureau of Investigation are becoming aware that certain cases are… unusual. As the investigators have proven to be adept at handling things that are out of the ordinary, they get called in whenever there’s a hint of the occult. Each investigation begins with some terrible crime that stems from some ghastly corruption caused by the Mythos...
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Dan Harms has written a review of DoSM, here.
...this is a chilling scenario epitomizing Lovecraft’s cosmic horror. It not only recommends itself to Trail of Cthulhu purist players, but it’s also an excellent resource for Call of Cthulhu players who want more cosmic horror in their games. Also, Graham and I were also rather chuffed to note this comment from Dr_Locrian on the yog-sothoth forum: The Dying of St. Margaret's is an awesome scenario, all kinds of win! I just love the story, it feels like an old school Val Lewton production (is it a leftover from Shadows Over Filmland?). I'm tempted to contact the writer so I can write a screenplay adaptation!
I think it also has what I would consider the Platonic ideal for Trail of Cthulhu scenario writing format: a non-linear collection of scenes and clues and multiple ways of obtaining information listed. Also liked the hints on how to roleplay the key NPC's.
Bravos all around!
Finally, Indie Pete reviewed it on RPGnow.com. Watch out for the very early spoiler. "The Dying Of St Margaret’s" is a professionally presented and evocative Mythos scenario in the Purist vein...Cheerful stuff, presented in a no-nonsense fashion... this is great, more scenarios and RPG-writing should be so direct.
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Shadows Over Filmland has been reprinted correctly following the flawed first print run and will be ready for shipping shortly. Now I have to decide what to do with 1500 books I am very unlikely ever to sell.
Before:
After:
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I found this sign on a bus shelter near my office. gbsteve kindly took the picture. What could it mean? I find psychogeography is a useful inspiration for Fear Itself and Esoterrorists adventures.
Update: Since this picture was taken, the note, and a similar one on a nearby phone box have been torn away.
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 Mutant City Blues is now out as a PDF at rpgnow.com.
As of this post, we've had eight entries into the MCB competition, so your odds are still pretty good of winning $350 worth of Pelgrane Press products.
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Why am I excited?
Mutant City Blues is on sale, and the latest issue of our new webzine Page XX is out, too. It includes two new columns by Robin D Laws, some advice on CCG design, a cartoon, a Mutant City Blues competition, and new Trail of Cthulhu hand-outs. Mutant City Blues is stand-alone GUMSHOE game of contemporary superpowers by Robin D Laws, out now from Pelgrane Press store, and Indie Press Revolution. Solve the mutant murder mystery and win $150 worth of Pelgrane Press vouchers. See Page XX this month is a bumper edition, and includes:
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The first review of Mutant City Blues is up on rpg.net. It gets a 4/5.
For the first time in months I’m excited about running a new game. I can’t wait for the new season at my local games club so I can get stuck in. And I think this is because Mutant City Blues is one of the more original settings I’ve seen in a while. It adds a decidedly grown up spin to the superhero genre, getting away from Spandex and silly names of X-men and other similar comics, as well as their save-the-cheerleader-save-the-world plots. I can’t wait to get my hands on a hard-copy. There is also a review of Fear Itself over on Game Cryer. As a GM I enjoyed Fear Itself and the GUMSHOE system. It does a good job of supporting horror while giving players the control to shape scenes with their skill uses. Character generation is fast, and a GM could easily rip off nearly any horror movie for quick inspiration if needed. It is a rules light game that does a good job of focusing on the characters.
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Excerpt 2 from the Ordo Veritatis Operations Manual. Expect this post to be removed by the pluggers at any time. Disseminate this information while you can.
On that date a National Guard unit appeared on the scene under orders to secure the facility. They were ambushed by the surviving Circle members.Video footage taken by the guard unit shows one of the women—most likely Joanne Waller—rising phoenix-like from the structure. If the tape is to be accepted as real, she then reduces the guardsmen to ash with a sweep of her arms.
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We've sold out of pre-order Mutant City Blues special editions, apart from four copies for Dragonmeet. I'll pop one in the auction - the rest, first come first served.
There will be some leather-bound Trails of Cthulhu and Shadows over Filmland (perfect-bound special Dragonmeet editions).
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