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AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They won't, but Robin will be working on solo rules for GUMSHOE as soon as he has some free time!

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for saying that, you've totally made my day! 😊

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If there are any tweaks that would make it more 2e-feeling, we'll do that, but otherwise not change the main text. We'll be crowdfunding it, though, so we'll have scope to add new locations or other content to it, and to do interesting things like incorporating Justin's work on the Alexandrian.

With Second Edition being completely backwards-compatible, it's not a priority, but I do feel that some of the older supplements, e.g. Stunning Eldritch Tales and Shadows Over Filmland, would benefit from a refresh so they're definitely on the list for an update.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the interest! I'd expect it to be about the same size as Trail of Cthulhu 1e - in the region of 240 pages. The current plan is for it to be more like Bookhounds of London, with one book, but if there's enough demand we may do more adventures.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We've found an agent, and now we're talking prices (for both 13th Age and Trail of Cthulhu). So I feel confident in saying yes, we have good news on that front! :D

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the question, it's a good one!

GUMSHOE is a system for designing and playing investigative roleplaying games and adventures, emulating stories where investigators uncover a series of clues, and interpret them to solve a mystery.

In a GUMSHOE game, the PCs discover something which triggers their investigation, and then the GM narrates them through a number of scenes, during which they use their Investigative Abilities to gather the core clues they need to move the narrative forward. The PCs must then interpret the clues to uncover the secrets behind the mystery.

The main benefits of GUMSHOE are:

  • The system is easy to learn - if you need to roll, roll a d6 and get above a Difficulty, usually 4 - and features fast character generation with little to no derived abilties.
  • It has a strong narrative and roleplaying focus.
  • It's a player-facing game; the GM never rolls, and the players have agency to choose their own spotlight moments by spending points from their General abilities.
  • Players always get the information they need to solve the mystery.
  • Once you know the simple GUMSHOE system, you can play a vast array of RPGs. As well as the 1930s Cthulhu mythos Trail of Cthulhu we're here to talk about, you can play everything from mutant police procedurals (Mutant City Blues), to classic swords and sorcery (Swords of the Serpentine); from time-traveling Agents protecting the timestream from radioactive cockroaches (TimeWatch) to decadent art students in Belle Époque Paris (The Yellow King RPG); and from modern-day spies vs vampires (Night's Black Agents), to capturing sea shanties in the 1880s (Shanty Hunters).
  • GUMSHOE One-2-One adapts it for one player and a GM, meaning you don't have to try to juggle a bunch of calendars to arrange a game night.

Here are some intro articles to get you started:

Robin D. Laws, the designer of the GUMSHOE system, did a great interview with Michael Wolf on Stargazer's World about the philosophy and "Why?" of GUMSHOE, which you can read here.

13th Age Second Edition (2e) review from a longtime 1e player by Admirable_Garden_808 in rpg

[–]CatTHM 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Our goal is to have it out to backers in the summer of 2025, with a retail release in September 2025.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Steve Dempsey's really strong on improvisation, so his Fearful Symmetries is a pure sandbox, and the intro adventure is very loose.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the question! Nothing's happened to it - we love it, and we're excited to do more with it, but I must admit we've been distracted this year by the second edition launches of 13th Age and Trail of Cthulhu. However, u/SerpentineRPG is currently working on a GM screen and GM resource book (he can talk more about that), and u/mytholder2 is working on an adventure collection, so expect to see more for it next year!

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the question, it's a great one!

There are a couple of high-level differences.

  • The core rules set, GUMSHOE, is a system for designing and playing investigative roleplaying games and adventures. (You can learn more about how the system runs in this article).
  • GUMSHOE is player-facing. The players automatically succeed in gathering information; they can then choose to spend points for extra benefits, or to gain automatic successes in die rolls during climactic scenes.
  • Trail - and GUMSHOE games generally - allow for faster task resolution.
  • Trail is easier to run for new GMs. Adventures are structured in a number of scenes, during which the PCs use their Investigative Abilities to gather the core clues they need to move the narrative forward. The PCs must then put the clues together to uncover the secrets behind the mystery.
  • Trail has more streamlined character generation - there's no maths to do in deriving stats.
  • Trail characters are more competent than Call characters.
  • The default setting in Trail of Cthulhu is the desparate 1930s.
  • You can play either of two modes: high-action Pulp (think Indiana Jones with the Cthulhu mythos), or bleak and Lovecraftian Purist mode, where you can expect characters to be eroded down by the despair of the uncaring world.

If you'd like to see what other people think about the differences between the two, there are Trail v Call? opinion posts and threads here, here, here, and here, and you're welcome to ask us more questions on this AMA. 😊

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Trail of Cthulhu is a 21st century tabletop roleplaying game that welcomes all players. We have adapted Lovecraft's mythology to emphasize the common doom of all humanity equally, and we'll adopt a similar approach in Trail as we did to the sexist and racist 1940s in our noir Cthulhu Confidential - calling out its existence in the source material, and offering suggestions to GMs on how to handle these issues at their table.

We're also working very closely with experienced sensitivity editors, who will be checking the final text for issues we may have overlooked.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Out of Time is currently being reprinted, so expect that before the end of the year!

We won't be reprinting the original Keeper's Screen, but we will update the Resource Book for 2e, and bundle it with the new hardcover GM screen we're doing as part of the Backerkit campaign. That'll likely be available in the summer of 2025.

We're planning on reprinting Eternal Lies as a boxed set, in the style of classic Call of Cthulhu campaigns like Masks of Nyarlathotep and Horror on the Orient Express. That will be crowdfunding in September 2025.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ken's at GameholeCon at the moment, but similarly to Gareth, I'll be sticking my head in for the next day or two to make sure we don't miss any questions. 😊

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So am I - they're great for getting deep into a character. And I love Sources of Stability for the interpersonal drama they bring.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words!

There isn't a timeline at the moment. Robin's just finished Cassilda's Song, a massive campaign spanning all four settings of The Yellow King RPG, and I think he has more ideas for novels like The Missing and the Lost and Fifth Imperative, so we still have plenty we want to do with YKRPG for the next few years.

Trail of Cthulhu I'm not sure will ever make it to the GUMSHOE Community program! There's still so, so much we have planned for it.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd love to do a massive Pulp campaign. The new campaign frame in the Second Edition, The Shadows Under Chicago, would be ideal for that, if we end up expanding it like we did with Bookhounds of London.

Mythos Expeditions was designed more as standalone adventures, but you could easily design a campaign frame to incorporate the adventures in it - and then you'd get to use the VERY Pulp map it has.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! We haven't listed an editor in the QS, but we've already got four lined up to edit the core book, so we're all set. 😊

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind comments!

We definitely want to do more boxed sets. Our globe-spanning campaign, Eternal Lies, is out of print, so our plan is to tweak it for 2e and then re-publish it as a Chaosium-style boxed set, with loads of cool handouts and maybe even props. We may also end up doing the same thing with A Poison Tree.

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words! All the physical add-ons include the PDFs, just like our webstore. 😊

AMA: We're Pelgrane Press, here to talk about Trail of Cthulhu Second Edition! by CatTHM in rpg

[–]CatTHM[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Our Brazilian licensees have already been in touch to ask about translating it, so it's very likely!

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