Mask of Mithra

This beautiful mask of the ancient Iranian diety Mithra comes to us from Canadian artist Menighbe.  Cast in resin and then finished in gold and silver leaf.

 

 

Innsmouth Resources

Over on Reddit, JoeKerr19 was looking for some help:

"Hey everyone, I'll be running DG soon and I'm looking for as many photographs, archives, autopsy info involving the Raid of Innsmouth. Does anyone has a cache of pictures, files etc? The more the merrier."  

That caught my eye because of the rather large number of such resources here on Propnomicon.  Unfortunately, as part of the general enshittification of the internet, Google and other search engines no longer do the kind of deep search that finds most of them.  I'm reposting my answer over there here in the hope they'll start showing up again.

You can find all of these, and a slew of related material, by clicking through on the Innsmouth tag. 

The Innsmouth Submarine- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2012/01/innsmouth-submarine.html

Innsmouth Submarine Officer- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/03/prelude-to-innsmouth.html

Innsmouth Matron- this has been used in a few books- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/12/innsmouth-look.html

Innsmouth Submarine Crew- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/12/innsmouth-crew.html

The Innsmouth Papers- FBI analysis of gold seized during the Innsmouth raid- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2007/12/innsmouth-papers.html

Innsmouth Marines- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/04/reinforcements.html

The Innsmouth Wharf- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/03/innsmouth-wharf.html

S-Class Submarine Plans- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/12/s-class-submarine-plans.html

Gillman House Luggage Label- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/08/gilman-house-luggage-label.html

Esoteric Order of Dagon Priest- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/05/dagon.html

Seal of Dagon- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2008/09/seal-of-dagon_21.html

Innsmouth Fisherman- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/03/innsmouth-raid.html

S-8 Submarine in Dock- https://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2010/03/innsmouth-submarine-aftermath.html

 

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Dossier

Nuke Bear Craft is a huge fan of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. post-apocalyptic game franchise.  He's not only recreated a slew of props from the game, but taken part in multiple airsoft sims set in the same universe.  That was the reason for this awesome dossier, complete with photographs, intelligence reports, and medical readouts. 

 

Cthulhu Portal Key

Maarten Verhoeven has become one of the premiere Mythos artists thanks to his intricate, digitally sculpted designs.  He has a real gift for creating forms on a screen that look even better translated into three dimensions.  Case in point, this Cthulhu portal key.  It's a wonderful blend of organic and geometric forms. 

 

Unicorn Horn

Burned Raven Tales is no stranger to these pages.  Their latest piece is this specimen of a black unicorn horn, complete with a labeled presentation box.  Just the thing for your cabinet of curiosities. 

 

 

Alchemist's Bag

Outcast Props returns to our pages with this nicely done full leather alchemist's bag.  It's designed to serve as a portable workshop and laboratory, with multiple slots for potions, vials, ingredients, and a removable drawer for document storage.  It mirrors a lot of the design cues from historical medicine chests going back to the age of sail.

 

 

Bottled Terrors

Tele-Pots brings us some classic "thing in a bottle" specimens.  On the left a demonic fetus, on the right a spawn of Cthulhu.   

 

Spirit Bound Skull

Artist Axel Torvenius brings us this human skull pierced by a myriad of iron nails.  That was one of the traditional black magic techniques for binding a spirit into your service.  

Just make sure the nails are never removed. 

 

Shaman's Dagger

Artedarme Workshop returns to our pages with this LARP-safe shaman's dagger.  They've done an outstanding job of recreating the look of real obsidian and bone.  That's no small feat. 

 

Deadly Harvest

Artist Nathan Vent brings us this trio of mandrake roots, harvested at considerable danger to himself.  

 

 

D&D Handouts

Over on Reddit, PMbyday_DMbynight shared some excellent handouts from his latest Dungeons and Dragons campaign:

 "During the last session of our D&D, I made handouts for my players. While I handed it to my players, they did not open it right away. They turned it over, checked the seal and held it up like it actually mattered. The whole table was quiet for few seconds. That’s the moment I know physical handouts are essential.

Since last year, I have been making simple “parchment” at home using cheap brown paper, printing on it and aging it a bit. Nothing really fancy or expensive but once you put it in an envelope or add a small prop, it starts feeling like an object from the world!

It is honestly one of the best and easiest upgrades to immersion at the table."

As you would expect, the comments include a lot of very positive player reactions to getting tailored handouts.  That jibes with my own experience.  I've also seen players totally ignore the clues and information included in prop documents.  That can occur even when the participants are experienced investigators.  When it does, I normally have them roll a perception or intelligence check for their characters and offer up varying levels of detail depending on their success (or lack thereof).

Is it meta-gaming to expect players to pick up on things?  You bet, but it's also fun and immersive.  Having the character's abilities as a backup gives them another chance to take advantage of what they've been given. 

 

Hail to the King

Artist Yu Chung brings us this excellent King in Yellow statuette.  Check out his feed and you can see the entire process of it being digitally sculpted, sent out for 3D printing in resin, and the final paint job.   

 

"None More Black" Handouts

Over on Reddit, Nelog has posted a collection of handouts for the "None More Black" adventure from Chaosium's "Doors to Darkness" scenario collection.  The investigators are tasked with finding out what's going on after a student at Miskatonic University dies after taking a dangerous black-market drug.  The original version was set in the classic era of the 1920s.  Nelog had the brilliant idea to run it as a "Delta Green" scenario, transplanting the action to 1980's Miami.  "Miami Vice" meets the Mythos?  Sign me up.

He was kind enough to make all of the documents he created for the game available over here on Google Docs. 

 

Merchant Mask and Armor

I've been a fan of artist Tomàs Barceló for some time, as his past appearances here on the blog can attest.  Head over to his ArtStation page and you can see this mask and armor set he created for himself when he's appearing at shows.  He has a real gift for creating pieces that feel like artifacts from the past.

 

 

Reproducing Vintage Documents

Dean Adelaide of Cthulhu Reborn is no stranger to these pages.  Over the years he has become one of the go-to resources for all kinds of prop documents and handouts for Mythos gaming.  He's distilled some of that experience into an excellent post providing detailed, step by step instructions for creating your own vintage prop documents. 

"Over time I have developed quite a selection of techniques for using digital tools — designed to make crisp and precise artworks — to make things that are not at all crisp or precise. I thought that folks might be interested in seeing how different techniques can come together to make something like the example above look old … so here’s a quick run-through of how I approach creating designs like this.

Although the techniques I mention below make particular reference to features in Adobe Illustrator (my tool of choice), I’m sure that most if not all of them are also available in other drawing packages. BTW: for all images shown on this page, you can click to see larger versions."

 

The Crawling Chaos

Molech996 brings us this excellent clay relief of Nyarlathotep.  

 

 

The Mythos Papers

 "In November 1927 several floods ravaged the state of Vermont. Once the waters settled, some strange stories appeared about bodies found floating in some of the rivers after the flooding. The number of stories was such that even the press picked up several of these testimonies. A group of experts from the University of Miskatonic came to the region to study what was true in them, being the present document part of the field notebook of one of the professors." 

Artist Ion Ander has an ongoing project illustrating creatures from the Mythos in the form of notebook pages.  His entry for the Mi-Go is one of the best takes on the Fungi from Yuggoth I've seen.

 

Homunculus Brain

After a too long absence, Burned Raven Tales returns to our pages with this homunculus brain specimen.  

 

 

Running Cults

Seth Skorkowsky's latest video is an in-depth look at cults in tabletop role-playing games.  In most campaigns, they're just mooks dressed in funny robes motivated solely by a desire to be EVIL!!!111!!!  That's not how real cults work, and Mr. Skorkowsky provides some great examples of what really drives someone to become part of one.  He also has a lot of praise for the Netflix series "Archive 81" for...reasons that are a bit spoilery.  Let's just say I have a reason to renew my Netflix subscription.

Honningbrew Mead Bottle

Fifteen years after The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was released the community is still making amazing props.  Hero Wares and Supplies brings us this Honningbrew Mead bottle, inspired by one of the best side quests in the game. 

 

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Romphoe Edition.

Artist Sqooex Romphoe brings us this masterful take on the traditional Cthulhu idol.  It features some incredible detail work and is one of the very few asymmetric sculpts I've seen. 

 

Crafting the King in Yellow

Hail to the King, baby.

Over on YouTube, Greig Johnson has succumbed to the corrupting influence of the Yellow Sign.  Driven by forces unknown, he's crafted his very own King in Yellow from bits and bobs.  That includes everything from a miniature Marvel super-villain to repurposed jewelry and toy rats.  It's inspiring to see such a creative mind at work, and the resulting wall art is pretty cool.

Cthulhu Returns to Dungeons & Dragons

Cthulhu is coming back to Dungeons & Dragons.

Those of us of a certain age can remember when Lovecraft's Great Old One (and much of the Mythos) was statted up in the first edition of the Deities & Demigods handbook.  For many, TSR's heavily Derlethian write-ups were their introduction to Lovecraft's work.  That gateway closed after the second printing, when Chaosium politely pointed out they'd "officially" licensed the Mythos for their Call of Cthulhu TTRPG.

Now, decades later, Cthulhu is returning to the game.  WOTC have announced Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, an expansion of the popular setting incorporating new realms and darklords.  Cthulhu rules over Innsmouth, an island based on the town that debuted in Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth.  On the bright side, it's always nice to see the Mythos getting more exposure, but it remains to be seen how effectively it will be incorporated into the wider 5th edition milieu.  

That said, there is one thing I'm excited about.  Beadle and Grimms, the company that specializes in producing super-deluxe editions of WOTC's campaigns, have announced Strahd's Silver Edition of the Horrors Within.  It includes a slew of high-end accessories including maps, gaming aids, handouts, a new Tarroka deck, and...the Cthulhu Mist Talisman.  

 

The cast metal amulet looks pretty cool.  The physical prop apparently represents the in-game magical item needed to enter the Innsmouth realm.  

Wooden Cthulhu Idol

I love this primitive carved wooden Cthulhu idol from artist Cheng YuYu.  Realistically, there are probably a lot more of this kind of effigy in this world than the ornately sculpted pieces we normally focus on.   

 

Beninside Cthulhu Idol

Thai artist Beninside brings us their Cthulhu idol, featuring a paint job from Paneaw Colour.  It's always nice to see a take incorporating the multiple eyes of Lovecraft's original sketch.

 

 

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Paper Props

Over on Reddit, SkipperShinema has posted a great selection of paper props from the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle video game.  You can tell how much the developers loved Indy by the sheer amount of faux ephemera they created for the project.

 

 

Grimoire of the Eye

Mille Cuirs brings us the Grimoire of the Eye, a handcrafted leather tome featuring custom embossments and an inset glass eye in the cover.

 

 

Shaman's Head Dress

Brutal Workshop brings us this incredible shaman's head dress.  The way they create layer after layer of texture really sets their work apart.

 

 

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Landron Edition.

Landron Artifacts returns to our pages with this very nice Cthulhu idol.  The stone texture is really well done. 

 

Making a Glowing Skull Lantern

Skill Tree has a detailed tutorial on crafting a glowing skull lantern.  The materials are easy to acquire and it doesn't require any wiring at all.  A couple of hours work and you'll have a great prop for your gaming room or LARP event.

 

 

Before and After

Over on Reddit, the Muff1nKing posted a look at the clue board he created for his run of the Call of Cthulhu scenario "Tatters of the King".  The first photo is from the second session of the campaign, while the second comes from the tenth.  It features some great props and handouts, but it should go without saying the images contain significant spoilers.  

Clueboards are a fantastic tool for both Keepers and their players.  They allow everyone to keep track of their progress, and are an ideal way for players to get into the groove again at the start of a new session.  They're also a good reminder for the Keeper of a journaling campaign what handouts he'll need multiple copies of for the players. 

 

D&D Themed Gaming Room

This is the very best kind of gamer pr0n.  Andrew Havlicek brings us this look at "The Storm's Respite", his recently completed Dungeons and Dragons gaming room. It's pretty darn impressive.

 

Casper

Spooky Jack returns to our pages with "Casper", a wonderfully aged fetal skull specimen. 

 

 

Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes Props

I absolutely love discovering obscure props created by passionate fans.  This thread over on the Replica Prop Forum is a prime example.  Like all right-thinking people, Lukeiswho is a huge fan of the Granada Television Sherlock Holmes series starring Jeremy Brett.  Over the years he's created an impressive collection of props based on those used in the show, recreating them in excruciating detail.  You really need to click through to appreciate the level of dedication on display.  

 

Mummified Fairy

This outstanding mummified fairy sculpt comes to us from artist Hector Lim Choon Hoong.