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I promised myself I wouldn't write a review of 'Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep' until I and my group had actually finished the whole campaign. Well, a year and a half after we started, it is done. I can say, with confidence, that 'Masks' is hands down the best ready made campaign I've ever played.

Chaosium re-printed this classic campaign updating the old 1st edition released in 1984. The 'Complete' edition is just that, and includes "the lost Australia chapter" which was left out of the first edition and really gives this version an extra kick. It's sort of like a 'director's cut'.

The movie analogy here is correct. The campaign moves along at an adventure film pace, balancing investigation with action. The international settings for each chapter add to the epic nature of the campaign.

And it is EPIC! The investigators travel from New York to London, Cairo, Kenya, Shanghai, and Australia in pursuit of a lost archaeological expedition and its members. On the way they uncover a conspiracy of monumental proportions and must race against time to stop it. The plot is written in such a way that after the investigators finish in New York, they can proceed to any of the campaign locations. There is a logical sequence to the chapters, but the investigators don't have to follow it, and not following it won't ruin anything. There are also a lot of red herring adventures to pare down the party a bit (and they do get pared..) Once I ground up a few investigators with one of these, they learned to sniff out the real leads from the fakes.

One of the best things about this campaign is that it's very GM friendly. The layout is fantastic; each chapter is concise and tightly written. The GM is given a large introductory chapter, explaining how to handle this complex and involved campaign. There is a comprehensive timeline and complete list of NPCs. As with most Chaosium products, there is a heap of handouts for the players to pore over. Forty-five in all! The clues are reproduced in the back of the book (and indexed and cross referenced to the chapters they're in) for the GM to photocopy. Keeping tabs on those clues would be a real chore if not for the excellent chart at the beginning of each chapter. This chart lists all the clues that lead to places, people or events in the chapter, and clues found in the chapter and where they lead. I found it an invaluable part of the campaign.

This is a big campaign, and you will need a lot of time to finish. But the campaign rewards persistence and the plot thickens nicely, revealing a little more of the horror bit by bit.

Perhaps on the down side, the deluge of clues at the beginning of the campaign may seem daunting, but it's all a matter of prioritizing. Also, the color plates in the 1st edition are reproduced in black and white. If they'd been in color in the 'Complete' edition, I'd have very little at all to complain about.

As a longtime GM, I undertsand how hard it is to write something this big and complex and keep it all straight. My hat is off to the authors of 'Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep.' They have written a masterpiece of a campaign that I can recommend without hesitation.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep
Author: Larry DiTillio, Lynn Willis, and others Category: game Company/Publisher: Chaosium Cost: $22.95 Page count: 224 ISBN: 1-56882-069-0 Capsule Review by Mike Montesa on 11/06/98. Genre tags: Horror	I promised myself I wouldn't write a review of 'Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep' until I and my group had actually finished the whole campaign. Well, a year and a half after we started, it is done. I can say, with confidence, that 'Masks' is hands down the best ready made campaign I've ever played. Chaosium re-printed this classic campaign updating the old 1st edition released in 1984. The 'Complete' edition is just that, and includes "the lost Australia chapter" which was left out of the first edition and really gives this version an extra kick. It's sort of like a 'director's cut'. The movie analogy here is correct. The campaign moves along at an adventure film pace, balancing investigation with action. The international settings for each chapter add to the epic nature of the campaign. And it is EPIC! The investigators travel from New York to London, Cairo, Kenya, Shanghai, and Australia in pursuit of a lost archaeological expedition and its members. On the way they uncover a conspiracy of monumental proportions and must race against time to stop it. The plot is written in such a way that after the investigators finish in New York, they can proceed to any of the campaign locations. There is a logical sequence to the chapters, but the investigators don't have to follow it, and not following it won't ruin anything. There are also a lot of red herring adventures to pare down the party a bit (and they do get pared..) Once I ground up a few investigators with one of these, they learned to sniff out the real leads from the fakes. One of the best things about this campaign is that it's very GM friendly. The layout is fantastic; each chapter is concise and tightly written. The GM is given a large introductory chapter, explaining how to handle this complex and involved campaign. There is a comprehensive timeline and complete list of NPCs. As with most Chaosium products, there is a heap of handouts for the players to pore over. Forty-five in all! The clues are reproduced in the back of the book (and indexed and cross referenced to the chapters they're in) for the GM to photocopy. Keeping tabs on those clues would be a real chore if not for the excellent chart at the beginning of each chapter. This chart lists all the clues that lead to places, people or events in the chapter, and clues found in the chapter and where they lead. I found it an invaluable part of the campaign. This is a big campaign, and you will need a lot of time to finish. But the campaign rewards persistence and the plot thickens nicely, revealing a little more of the horror bit by bit. Perhaps on the down side, the deluge of clues at the beginning of the campaign may seem daunting, but it's all a matter of prioritizing. Also, the color plates in the 1st edition are reproduced in black and white. If they'd been in color in the 'Complete' edition, I'd have very little at all to complain about. As a longtime GM, I undertsand how hard it is to write something this big and complex and keep it all straight. My hat is off to the authors of 'Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep.' They have written a masterpiece of a campaign that I can recommend without hesitation. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)