Bonus: Chaosium and the Malleus Monstrorum
We’re making big changes in MonsterTalk, joining up with the AirWave podcasting network. This should mean more regular release schedules! Karen and I have been banking content and I’ve been working my arse off with behind-the-scenes administrative work.
So our next regular episode is about UFOs and I’m excited about it because there is a lot of really interesting stuff to be said about what’s happening in that part of our culture right now. But for now? Let’s relax and just talk monsters!
I’m excited to bring on Mike Mason of the roleplaying company Chaosium to discuss their new 2-volume book of Lovecraftian monsters: The Malleus Monstrorum!
MonsterTalk Podcast
Chaosium and the Malleus Monstrorum
Guest: Mike Mason
Episode Summary
In this episode, we’re talking with Mike Mason of Chaosium, the gaming company that makes the role-playing system Call of Cthulhu. Mike is here to talk about the newest version of Chaosium’s monstrous bestiary, which is called the Malleus Monstrorum, for the seventh edition of the classic game ecosystem based on the works of HP Lovecraft, and all kinds of Lovecraft-adjacent horror.
Notable Quotes
“Storytelling is a tradition and an art form that goes back to the very beginnings of humanity. And I think role-playing is just a different iteration of the same kind of will to tell stories.” – Mike Mason
“At the very heart of the [Call of Cthulhu], it’s a horror role-playing system. And if you want to not use the Cthulhu mythos in any way, and you want to focus on traditional folklore monsters like werewolves and vampires, you can do. You could do a version of Dracula or whatever horror film you want to name, and use the game as a vehicle to do that.” – Mike Mason
“I’ve described in my own work how important narrative is to literally every culture. Like there’s elements that are repeated inside these cultures, in their own different sort of idioms, but the storytelling process itself seems to be a very human thing. I’m not aware of any culture… and I don’t know if you can have culture without story.” – Blake Smith
“I’ve mentioned it before, I’ll mention it again. People ask me, wait, if you’re going to start with Lovecraft, what do you think the best book to begin with is? And I always say a dictionary.” – Blake Smith
Relevant Links
Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft
Shadow over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft
The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft
Dreams of the Witch House by H. P. Lovecraft
The Horror from Red Hook by H. P. Lovecraft
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
George RR Martin’s WIldcards to become TV Series
Basic Role-Playing system (BRP)
Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rule Book
Gef! The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose by Christopher Josiffe
In this Episode of MonsterTalk
· (00:00:01) Introducing Mike
· (00:03:04) Call of Cthulhu, the role-playing game
· (00:08:21) Shadow over Innsmouth and The Dunwich Horror
· (00:09:27) Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green
· (00:11:42) The sanity game mechanic
· (00:14:50) Long-form, continuous gaming campaigns
· (00:16:36) Pulp Cthulhu
· (00:18:32) The Malleus Monstrorum, Book One: the monsters
· (00:21:00) The Malleus Monstrorum, Book Two: the deities
· (00:22:40) The art of The Malleus Monstrorum
· (00:26:03) The versatility of Call of Cthulhu’s game mechanics
· (00:30:12) Role-playing games and the pandemic
· (00:33:44) Demon Slayer
· (00:36:36) Role-playing and the cultural importance of storytelling
· (00:40:29) RuneQuest, Superworld, and the Basic Role-Playing (BRP) system
· (00:44:02) Lovecraft Country and the new, diverse voices of Lovecraftian horror
· (00:50:09) How to start playing Call of Cthulhu
· (00:53:35) Mike’s favorite monster
· (00:59:27) Embracing contemporary technology in horror role-playing
· (01:00:43) The importance of “the Onion” in storytelling
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