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Bookhounds of London is a major hardcover supplement to the Trail of Cthulhu that is: a campaign guide, locale sourcebook, and an adventure. Whomever, decides to buy it will certainly get their money’s worth and more. Now to break these elements into their constituent parts…
Campaign Guide
One of the biggest drawbacks of traditional Call of Cthulhu has been the problem of the party. Who in their right minds would delve into ancient crypts raise what should not be disturbed and emerge dead or insane with no chance of playing the same character? Various Call of Cthulhu supplements/adventures have done this either as plot device (the infamous dead uncle’s letter/last will and testament, etc) or created fake Mythos busting secret societies (Theron Marks Society, Delta Green, etc) or simply inserted the players into the action. Each one of these approaches has its merits but essentially play upon the natural paranoia rather than paranormal aspects of the game.
Along comes Bookhounds of London, in which, player characters play the role of hunting down books for the wealthy collector or antiquarian. Allowing one to play all sorts of characters that may be centred on a particular bookshop in London in which all members of the party are employees. This immediately solves the problem of cohesion and drive. In doing so, Bookhounds of London is able to introduce some new occupations and hooks to get players involved in adventure. I found this premise intriguing especially, as I said, I do have a love of books and can completely relate to finding a first edition Dickens or Necronomicon amongst the stacks and estate sales of a great European capital.
After a preliminary setup that guides the player/Keeper through the new occupations and drives, Bookhounds of London then explains the economics of running a bookshop in the typical Gumshoe manner. Providing fast and easy explanations that emphasize role playing over roll playing – reminding the reader not to get bogged down in the dice roll for things like auctions (although, full and accessible rules are provided). It moves the reader along to sample tomes along with clues/herrings to their whereabouts. The idea of a degenerate aristocracy throwing away these family heirlooms does ring of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves & Co. but equally sinister spy novels in which agents of the Third Reich might want to get their hands upon some ominous Mythos tome to give them the extra advantage in the war ahead. Or it could be played as a strictly Mythos investigation and the acquisition of the book is secondary quest (although serves as the primary reward) for a bunch of investigators.
Rounding this section out is a discussion of libraries and the books themselves. All too often, Mythos tomes are presented in the same uniform way – some worm eaten grimoire used and passed down since the time of Hyperborea. As we know that books come in all shapes and sizes…and this chapter also illuminates just what is meant by a folio or a quarto. Along with sample new tomes or at least new variations of a common theme in a thoughtful and dark manner (i.e. no spell book of A. Crowley).
Locale and Times
Trail of Cthulhu moves the timeline of Classic Call of Cthulhu forward one decade – the reasons for this are explained nicely in the main rulebook but Bookhounds of London go one giant step forward by immersing the reader in a particular locale – the Capital of the World or at least Fatally Wounded Colossus… The Thirties in London are not as grim as events that are taking place elsewhere but they present a world very much caught in the struggle between the light and the dark. Bookhounds of London outlines the various parts or cities that make up Metropolitan London outlining each one’s particular flavour and provides many hooks for adventure either through contacts or adventure hooks. Each one invokes the specific flavour of that locale – nicely interspersed are quotes from Lovecraft. At the back of the book, there are 32 authentic colour maps and plans for every major building in the capital. For this reason alone this book immediately becomes worth its price. BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE…
There is a specific chapter on the Mythos influence in London. Gathered here are the scattered references to what is the worm within the tarnished apple or rot slowly eating away. Following that there is a small section on unique monsters that might be encountered by bookhounds, some familiar, some created for this book. Both Gods and Monsters are written up in the familiar Gumshoe fashion that is to provide a description or mood – not a bunch of stats for beings immensely more powerful and stats than mankind. Some of these monsters may be more suited for a pulp game and others for a purist game. But, all are guaranteed to add an extra level of fear. Concluding this chapter is a section on Megapolisomancy or the magic of a place. Sadly, this was reduced to a series of rules rather than evocative experiences – so a bit of a downer there. I would have loved to read of the crypts below Westminster Abby or grass-covered ancient altars in the woods of Richmond Park or even just why buildings in London are placed where they are – perhaps channelling the ancient Ley lines. All this is suggested in the rules but the presentation was a tad too dry for my tastes.
Lastly, there is some advice on building a Bookhounds of London Campaign and how it would differ from a standard Trail of Cthulhu campaign. It does so by adding different categories beyond the Purist & Pulp dichotomy by adding more dimensions to a Trail of Cthulhu game. Long time Keepers may have already done this but fleshing it out is exactly what new Keepers may need. This chapter alone was worth the price of the book. For as much it is sparse in size, its content fires up Keepers’ imagination transforming Cthulhu into a sandbox game. I gained a whole new respect for Pelgrane because of this chapter for the insights are clear and precise – veteran Keepers may have long internalized these lessons but we have to remember a new Keeper struggling with COC or TOC may not have the advantage of experience and give up prematurely on Cthulhu as a result. Furthermore, it turns the investigation game into a true investigation – adding tons of flavour to a campaign that may already have multiple twists and turns.
Adventure
[Note: it is never my intention to provide spoilers but rather overviews lest players read these descriptions and spoil the fun].
The single scenario in the book, “Whitechapel Black-Letter,” follows a party of Bookhounds as they endeavor to hunt down a sixteenth-century Latin book for an especially shadowy patron. Naturally, as can be expected in any Cthulhu game this triggers the party to thwart paths with a diversity of unpleasant, unsavoury and dubious characters at the same time as working for or in opposition to vast cosmic entities, the identities of some of which will be unforeseen to Mythos enthusiasts. As can be expected from the name of the scenario, there is a link to the infamous Ripper, who stalked the streets of London within living memory of the characters or important NPCs. Notwithstanding, the scenario is quite open ended (i.e. sandbox) leaves a great deal to individual reading and does not by any means overpower the scenario. It does move the characters around quite a bit around London of various archetypes presented in the earlier chapter on campaign advice as well give good examples to graft the new rules onto any scenario. So, it does not so much railroad characters but does make a heroic effort to ensure that things get done. I have not played it, yet, so I cannot report the holes but the adventure seems solid.
The maps that have been described earlier are simply phenomenal invoking a sense of place. London has become more alive than any previous Cthulhu supplement. For this reason alone, if Keepers of any other version Cthulhu use London either as a base of operations or as a reoccurring locale, they would not go wrong in purchasing this product. Extra and useful forms make the product invaluable. I loved the designer notes that Ken Hite included, for I could then find references to all the wonderful to inspire my imagination further. Notwithstanding, readers would be left wondering what of the other book mentioned? Better get a bookhound onto tracking one down asap, quick, quick – the game is afoot.
Lastly… (Or on the other hand)
What criticisms for the product…not much, I am always impressed the care and production value that seems to go into every Trail of Cthulhu product that Pelgrane Press produces. But, here are few criticisms and more or less nitpicks. I would also find the marketing around the product to be rather poor – as I had not really been following the TOC, so I had no idea about this product before receiving it. In some ways, this allowed a fresh perspective and to be wowed as I was when I first picked up TOC rules – however, any newbie seeing this in the store shelf would not know if it was a supplement, an adventure or rulebook. Clearer direction must be indicated that this is supplement to the Trail of Cthulhu rules system lest some old BRP grognards come to the Pelgrane Press offices with torches… It is also very much a Trail of Cthulhu product – converting it over to BRP would be a challenge, perhaps a one page appendix would not go array that does do the conversion to reach a larger audience? No? I could understand that position. Monsters and Mythos section is rather sparse and could have been expanded some more with more London fiends – both of the supernatural and mundane variety – why not have a listing of the criminals/psychopaths of 1930s London? As I am not a big fan of monsters for monsters own sake in any version Cthulhu – I like the idea that TOC gets across about the Mythos being a taint on the human condition. However, Bookhounds of London seems to emphasize more the Monsters as monsters rather than human beings who have acquired the taint. I would rather see more NPCs with the taint than largely similar renditions to Mythos found in the main rulebook. And, while the art is on the whole excellent (see below) it does not always connect with the text. You have do some hunting to connect the image with the text. Not much. But, clearer connection between the text and image would be appreciated.
Conclusion
Bookhounds of London provides a nice framework for a larger campaign- one firmly attached to its setting. It takes London as a place and gives you a firm sense of place in a serious and comprehensive manner. The other Call of Cthulhu books that I have read have presented a city for use in a game without any distinction or character of its own relying instead on the Keeper to fill in those details – made all the more difficult if the Keeper has never visited that location – therefore, Budapest is identical to Zagreb and Leningrad and Venice share the same canals. Bookhounds of London dispels all that in favour of making the locale, an integral part of the story – although it must be said, it is an imaginary London, but one flamboyant and animated with familiar tropes but also realistic. It can be without too much difficulty ported to other campaigns, if the Keeper does have a strong sense of that other locale’s history and mythology.
But, elements of decay are certainly more specific to London of the 1930s….but not entirely inconceivable that other grand old cities like Shanghai or Bombay could be press ganged into service – but as I said, it does require the Keeper to have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of that city. Notwithstanding, I can more easily conceive of it as an idea for other more generally Antiquarian campaigns in another locale by focusing on collecting in general. The meticulous designs of how to handle a business and auctions could also be used in other non-Cthulhu campaigns. Bookhounds of London could obviously be easily used by a conventional Call of Cthulhu Keeper who uses the 1930s time period and I would strongly recommend they purchase it.
Furthermore, any person with an interest in London or England in the first half of the 20th Century ought to think about it purchasing it as well. For this is a beautifully and hauntingly illustrated book, in which the graphics are not horrific but do instill a certain sense of dread. I am a big fan of Pelgrane’s art direction and believe that it better reflects Cthulhu than traditional Call of Cthulhu – so I am biased. I would commend Pelgrane Press once again for creating yet another beautiful product that is both attractive, functional and serves a multitude of purposes.
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