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I've talked about this investigation before in various comments (and I probably should make a post to just ultimately conclude my thoughts) but Pagan Publishing's Hands of the Living God by Daniel Harms in The Unspeakable Oath, Issue Thirteen has a time limit where the investigation starts at 9:00 am, with scripted events at 9:30 and 10:30 AM with the climax of the investigation at midnight. To help myself keep track of time, I wrote down the hours in between and chunked 15 min increments; every time that my player did something, I would tell them how long it took, what time it was, and then ultimately what happened as a consequence of their action (e.g. Player: I want to research this. Me: you spend 30 minutes pouring through your own personal library. It is now 10 am. You find out blah blah blah.")
I tried to make the passage of time feel very natural, but ever looming. I know that they make clocks for teaching children about how time works where the hands move very easily, but I'm not entirely sure where you could find one. If you go for a physical clock prop you might just find a cheap one at Target/Walmart and change the time manually to show time passing.
Edit: I found the "clock" I was thinking of on Amazon. I also fixed formatting that didn't work on mobile.
Here is my CoC Notion Template from lazy dm.
https://www.notion.so/Copy-of-Call-of-Cthulhu-a416eefc8ab34061aa864a52e6a49279
Since I am Turkish some words are Turkish some are English so don't mind them. This is how I organized my campaign yet I am still working on it and want to play in the summer. If you have some ideas or stuff I would be really appreciated. After some time I wanted to share this with Reddit community with sources. Here is a sneak peek for now.
The single best resource for a curious Keeper is Dan Harms ‘Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia’. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1934501050/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_J7428Y8EW7NBDVQWNYZ0
Link is Amazon but many other options are out there.
It is a great summation of the core stories and authors, including plenty about Egypt. Robert Bloch wrote a lot of Mythos tales linked to Egypt so the collection ‘Mysteries of the Worm’ is a good second resource.
As for Dagon - the name is from the Philistines and it has a long, convoluted history of use in New England - https://sentinelhillpress.com/2015/10/23/october-ganza-day-23-dagon-in-new-england/
The pdf is the official version from Chaosium. If you mean a physical book, you can order it from Chaosium directly, or you can find it on Amazon.
If you are going to use FoundryVTT you can download for free my map pack and get some generic maps ready-to-play with walls, windows and lighting.
https://foundryvtt.com/packages/cthulhu-architect-free-modern-maps
What time period is your adventure?
My go-to for game audio is https://tabletopaudio.com/ There are plenty of sound effects and ambient sounds here for any situation. I don't like to overdo it, but I think even playing some of these at a lower volume can add to the setting.
Make sure to provide opportunities for players to do something heroic or cool-looking before they die!
The boxed set on the right. This one
It really is the best way to get into the game, especially if you're new to TTRPGs that aren't D&D, or if you're not very familiar with Lovecraft yet. Either way, that box is your best bet.
It's a little bit older than you might want, but there's a copy of Modern American Drinks (published 1895) here that you can look at for free.
If we're giving specific recommendations though, I want to put a vote forward for the classic Corpse Reviver #2. Gin, Cointreau, Vermouth and Absinthe seems like a perfect combination to help set the mood.
If you were going with a tropical setting, there's a whole heap of Tiki style cocktails that would fit right in. Saturn, Tropical Itch, Zombie, Dr Funk, Ancient Marnier, Fog Cutter, Missionary's Downfall. Maybe it's just me, but I think there could be a brilliant mashup of Tiki and Lovecraft waiting out there.
due to the restrictions we also had to move our games to the internet. We used Roll20 (actually yesterday for the very first time for all of us). It worked pretty oaky, but you have to buy the modules again if you don't want to create everything yourself. And if you run a custom campaign it seems to be quite a lot of work to prepare with something like roll20.
But what we did was pretty great to try out everything. We used a free and premade module called "Call of Cthulhu - The Lightless Beacon" its a beginners adventure for about 4 people. It just takes 1-2 hours and everything is already prepared. The monsters, the Scenes, the Journals etc. To test it we even went with the premade characters. I was the Keeper and it took me not longer than usual to get used to the software and prepare the campaign (I just had to read through everything and watch a video how to use Roll20 - it took me about 2-3h) everything in it went smoothly though, Video and Voice chat worked and one member had to restart its browser because the screen was empty.
Definitely, something to try out if you never used roll20. I also played around with the blocking out of the area the player can see etc.
For next week I am looking into foundryvtt.com in combination with our jisi server, if you are into self-host stuff. But creating a whole world for just one group of players in any of these virtual table tops seems a bit much to me.
Hope you find a good way for you and have fun playing online!
For my game purpose, I would say use of a Phrase book, speaking with locals and hopefully having a native speaker help out, I would allow them to have the most basis use of the language in a month. maybe shorter if they already know language or roll a critical success. that may give them a 15-25 skill, but would take twice as long to have a conversation (trying to remember the word, look at the guide book)
this would allow them to at least get food, lodging and ask for simple direction. also allows for lots of misunderstandings and NPC getting offended. (did he just cal me a Cheese ear?)
blow is what more professional folks have to say on the subject.
If we are able to put in 10 hours a day to learn a language, then basic fluency in the easy languages should take 48 days, and for difficult languages 72 days. Accounting for days off, this equates to two months or three months time.
here is a basic primer on how long it takes to learn a language. https://www.clozemaster.com/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-learn-a-language/
That's fair, I've been using Doku for a while and have one entry for notes and things which I keep open and save at the end of the session.
It is possible to copy-paste images uploaded to Doku straight into Discord but like you say it's a bit harder to upload them into Doki.
or there is a plugin which allows you to cnp into a entry :https://www.dokuwiki.org/plugin:imgpaste
I was just googling around reddit with the same question. In the past, people have recommended this app for a better experience when handling heavy pdfs: https://www.xodo.com/ Dunno if it will work with any hardware tho, as I'm about to jump into the tablet bandwagon myself...
I opened a Miro (basic, free) account so that my players would have an "evidence board" they could use together. I hope they exploit it.
However, for my campaign personal notes, I am using Obsidian (https://obsidian.md), which has some advantages, namely "I own my data" and "free". It's still under-development (beta-y), but it works well, using Markdown as your text base, internal-wiki-like linking, on-the-fly tagging, and graphing).
Another suggestion is go get some classic pulp (For example: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Lizard-Stories-Vintage-Crime-ebook/dp/B0070O5FKO/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=black+lizard+pulp&qid=1618938513&sr=8-3) and lift the stories. I recently read one where a kidnapping/murder is covered up with vampire trappings.
Depending on your budget, you can get IV bags, tubings and syringes off eBay and Amazon, then you just have to get creative with what’s inside them. amazon IV bags
Has anyone experimented with packing paper? Amazon sells 10lb stock in oversized sheets that I imagine could be cut to fit manual feed on a home laser printer or ink jet. Maybe one could even print tabloid-sized copies on this stock at Kinko's. There's probably a risk of it tearing internally while printing, though.
granted these are a little bit on the pricey side.. But I find them to be just bright enough to read a character sheet just barely. I don't want them to have a nice illumination. Just enough so they can read the numbers.
The players in the past in my games stay to the end because they want to see how it ends and want to see if anybody else dies or goes insane.
they also have the option of leaving and going home if they wish but I've never had anyone choose that before. I work very hard to make sure the stories are compelling enough that they don't want to leave even if they're not participating
Maybe it would be helpfull if you defined what you'd expect of such an application?
I was thinking of creating something myself. Right now I'm working on an interactive character sheet that opens in a browser. It's work in progress.
I tried playing with: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redcroc.cthulhucharacter and it was doable, but I never did it since that time. So I think that was a failed experiment. It also annoyed me a bit that the underlying json is in German :D
This is another great resource if you are playing a game set in the turn of the century. 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue https://www.amazon.com/Sears-Roebuck-Catalogue-Turn-Century/dp/1510735054
I did what most cheap Hollywood directors do, to great effect: put some creepy music at half volume and then without notice play some sound effects at full volume. It works every time.
Some possibilities I used: Falling thru floor on church
Banging on walls
Window rattling
Bed attack
Knife attacks
Angry rats
Corbitt zombie attack sounds (several effects, one different for each attack)
I used a free soundboard android app to great effect https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hipxel.custom.soundboard.maker.creator.free
Came out in the 40s but the classic study (I found it in our uni library) and genuinely worth reading! :)
100% handmade with this Air dry clay
Thanks for mentioning this! I didn't know it existed. Looks like there are two collections out there for the Kindle (not an affiliate link) - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0B4YJRMQL?searchxofy=true&binding=kindle_edition
The Everyday Life in America series is all excellent. This is the relevant volume. Good for browsing through.
In the campaign I've been running this summer, I use Obsidian (https://obsidian.md/), with a template for session prep loosely derived from Sly Flourish's Lazy Dungeon Master. The actual session prep is short, with maybe a dozen bullet points total across the different categories. But most of those bullet points will be linked to separate notes for each major NPC, location, and handout (along with PC notes and copies of their character sheets).
https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Cthulhu-Horror-Roleplaying-Modern/dp/1568821565
If you can get your hands on it, there's a supplement called secrets of japan.
Have you read The Teachings of Don Juan series? You could find some background on Mexican folklore related to Nahuals, skinchangers, witches, elementals, dreamquest besides some other stuff.
From the Aztecs I really like and Tlacanexquilli and not Mexican folklore, Peruvian I believe, but the imbunche is terrifying and could be adapted.
One of the greatest "Now" adventures of all time, IMO, is "Grace Under Pressure" by Pagan Publishing. Getting your hands on it may be a challenge, but it's set in a deep-ocean lab.
Review: https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/classic/rev\_3083.phtml
(Looks like you can get it for ~USD60.00: https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Under-Pressure-Call-Cthulhu/dp/B000NXWR4Q)
The Gaslight Equipment Catalog (a Miskatonic Library Association monograph): https://www.amazon.com/Gaslight-Equipment-Catalogue-Library-monograph/dp/1568822227
Your next Stygian Fox purchase should be Spirits of London: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/229177/The-Spirits-of-London--A-Call-of-Cthulhu-Sourcebook-for-Cthulhu-by-Gaslight
You want this: https://www.amazon.com/Realms-Cthulhu-REB20001-Savage-Worlds/dp/0981987443
CoC is absolutely not built to deal with true super powers. Even Pulp CoC is not up to handling actual comic book super powers options.
you could buy a scenario as a pdf, print out the handouts, and then weather them with tea or coffee.
bonus tip: if you crumple up a page while its still wet, then leave it flat to dry, the crumples wont have sharp edges and look a lot more like years of use.
there's also the option of buying some sort of code lockbox off amazon (like this maybe: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Lincman-GQF-Christmas-Valentines-Birthday-acquaintances/dp/B0782PNY1H/ref=sr_1_5?crid=10Y850OHKHEIN&keywords=da+vinci+codebox&qid=1656589246&sprefix=da+vinci+code+box%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-5 ) and then hiding clues within it, and parts of the cypher throughout the scenario where clues would otherwise be found.
something ive found makes a pretty big difference is the atmosphere, you could serve period accurate drinks, and play period accurate background music. (if your period is the 1920's, my spooky jazz playlist is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0uZR6q3GqT7ZgHqt3oSXpx?si=e86c2a0e9a7d4be4 )
So it's not a question of how to handle the setting, but how to handle the technology.
While not a Modern sourcebook, it contains five modern-day scenarios.
Reading the Keeper's Notes will give you an idea of things to consider for the Modern Era.
Cthulhu 2020 (Modern day Japan sourcebook)
Provides a few pointers about technology:
Cellphones:
- Discuss and decide beforehand the "limits," if any. This is a collaborative storytelling experience, so Players shouldn't be trying to "outwit" the Keeper.
- If the Keeper says, "there is no service in this area," etc, the Players should roll with it.
- Double-edged sword: Cultists / Mythos entities can hack a Player's phone.
Takeaway: If Players are too reliant on their phones, do things to make them want to throw them away!
Internet:
- Not all information on the Internet is reliable.
- Not all information is ON the Internet, period.
- Technical information requires specialized knowledge to understand. (Ask an NPC for advice)
Takeaway: Allow your Players to research mundane information on the Internet. The real dirt they need to dig up themselves.
For police forensics / proceedings, Delta Green probably has you covered... but unless the Players are members of law enforcement, the specifics don't matter and you can hand-wave it with CSI BS.
This is out of print, and hence expensive, but it has some good ideas about reverse-sanity mechanics and a short scenario where the players are cultists: https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Library-Assn-monograph-Cthulhu/dp/1568822146
Stephen King's The Mist audio drama in 3d sound is amazing.
Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald is a great listen.
HPLHS Dark Adventuresare great as they take HPLP stories and turn them into audio dramas
The fiction books are the Rivers of London series. And yeah, I don’t believe the scenario is based on anything that actually happens in the books, but all the characters and locales from the books will be included in the sourcebook (at least they were in the game I played).
https://www.amazon.com/Aaronovitch-Collection-Whispers-Foxglove-Sleeping/dp/9123894245/
There is a number of ~~CYOA~~ gamebooks, as others have mentioned. They've also been adapted as an app: Cthulhu Chronicles.
If you want a level based version of the game, then Call of Cthulhu d20 is a game that exists (though getting a copy might be tough). Alternatively, you might consider Pulp Cthulhu if you want a bit more of an adventure feel to your game.
I also take umbrage with your "most roleplaying games" statement (/s). CoC is a skill based system (much like the Cyberpunk RPG if you're familiar with that). Sure, DnD is a level (or class) based system (and obviously the most popular RPG out there), and neither is better than the other (it all comes down to personal preference). Skill based games focus on levelling up skills (and allowing every character access to every skill) rather then levels and abilities, and usually lends itself to more realistic type games (and yes I'm aware of the irony of calling CoC or Cyberpunk "realistic")
Seth Skorkowsky actually did a vid on this recently which I recommend checking out
No, that is not the starter kit. This is the starter kit. You’re welcome to get the Keeper handbook, but the starter kit is really good at introducing the rules and tone of the game to you— there’s a very nice solo adventure that explains everything, plus three adventures for groups that are excellent as well. The Keeper handbook is a lot of rules thrown at you, and it’s pretty and detailed, but if you’ve never played and they’ve never played, I think it would be a lot.
I've been running Masks of Nyarlathotep for nearly a year now, and I've run multiple campaigns in the past. Because of my players being on multiple coasts, I run everything through Roll20. So instead of a keeper screen, I have the rulebook pulled up in a tab and bookmark the pertinent stuff (combat, spells, etc.). After a few sessions, I've had to utilize this less and less; as others mention, you get better at the rules over time.
As far as remembering what happened previously, I keep a notebook and jot down quick notes as to what happened in the previous session—nothing excessive or highly detailed, but rather a few key words that will trigger my memory as to what happened last time. The nice thing about a module like MoN (my first campaign involving a module, too) is that you can mark where your investigators are, and the flowcharts can help figure out where they're likely to go, giving you time to prepare for what's to come next.
One other thing for organization purposes: getting everyone to the table, whether it's virtual or IRL, is extremely difficult, especially as people begin to resume their normal lives. I use Doodle to help establish which days people are available and select the best one(s) for our upcoming sessions. It's pretty easy: you select the dates on a calendar on which you're available, and invite the other participants to select all the days they're free out of those dates. It's been a godsend, and I don't know why the GMs in games I participate don't do it, as well.
Kinda wordy, but I hope that helped!
If you want a preview, the author, Jon Hook, ran the scenario for Microphones of Madness not that long ago. Here’s a link if you’re interested: https://player.fm/series/microphones-of-madness-2370957/actual-play-the-night-door
I would suggest https://radiooooo.com/ . you can choose a wide variety of decades and countries to find music of a specific time and place.
i use this as background and to find interesting songs for my game.
https://www.amazon.de/Cthulhu-Reisen-Passagen-den-Tod/dp/3941976710
Or
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/120077
The adventure in question is called „Himmelfahrt“. Not available anymore except as .pdf and obviously German. I’ll try to find a short summary of it.
If you're looking for people who do not exist to use try https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/ every time you reload the page it give you an AI generated human potrait.
I like https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/ if you want a face to put to a name. Might have to generate a few depending on era.
I have one player who is awful with names unless I give him a face to go with it, then he can remember anyone's name, even without seeing him again.
well, i'd recommend Guilded for the features - if you're avoiding VTTs, Guilded can be a great screen share / calendar / voice room option, have a great app for those in mobile and it's very simple to use. Don't even need to download it, can be used within browser.
The whole script definitely, but what would be the effect of only changing a few lines here and there in an otherwise 'normal' play? There was a story I read a while ago, I think it was from this [book] (https://smile.amazon.com/Madness-Orient-Express-Lovecraftian-Unforgettable/dp/1568823991) where the Phantom of the Opera is slowly morphing into the King in Yellow.
I have a strong recommendation on metal dice.
Earlier this year, in the brief window when the numbers were way down and before the delta variant screwed everything up again, my group was able to get together for two in-person games, and as a welcome back gift, I got my players these dice from Haxtec.. They're quite nice, hefty, easy to read, and a whole set is under $20. Get some for all your gamer friends!
No, I don't work for Haxtec, and that's not an affiliate link. I'm just super impressed with how nice those dice are for the price.
A good way to get a feel for the rules is playing through Alone Against the Flames, a solo adventure that plays out like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, just one where a lot of your choices are dictated by your stats and skills. All you need is is the Quick-Start Guide, a character sheet, some dice, and a few hours to play. And, if you somehow survive, your character is completely compatible with the full Seventh Edition rules and can be used in any future sessions, if you so wish. (So long as your Keeper doesn't call shenanigans about you being a couple levels in already.)
This is a pretty nice user experience for creating your own posters / newspapers / fake movie posters and lost of other paraphernalia - https://www.postermywall.com/index.php/posterbuilder/search?st=newspaper&pt=all&tt=all
A while back i made a laminated sheet for drawing maps on. I used vector graphics from Freepik to create a mysterious background.
Artbreeder is an AI tool, that can mix images.
It gets really weird and creepy, really fast. I played around with a hamster and combined it with a friggin cigarette machine and the results were as Eldritch as it gets.
May be helpful.
A free page layout / desktop publishing program is Scribus. I have not used it in some time, so I'm not aware of current ease of use or feature richness. There was a steep learning curve last I knew.
I'm sure there are other programs available as well. Wikipedia frequently provides a list of software if you search by type / category.
twitch.tv/grimjack21502 has Project Athena - an adaptation of the Pulp Cthulhu campaign Two Headed Serpent. You can see the backlog on YouTube (same channel name). They also have campaign notes and recaps here: https://padlet.com/lerwin721/hvp9loc2rwds Highly recommend!
Oh yay!
I’m so glad - more Olympians for the fold!
They have recaps here for anyone who doesn’t have time to go through the other seasons: https://padlet.com/lerwin721/hvp9loc2rwds
Hope to see you in chat sometime!
Are you looking for a program that will allow you to edit pdf files? I haven't done this in a while, but there are programs that can do it. A quick Google search led me to https://smallpdf.com/edit-pdf
Walker in the Wastes gets a lot of mentions as a great "forgotten" campaign.
https://www.amazon.com/Walker-Wastes-Call-Cthulhu-Campaign/dp/B0012H2XE6
As you can see the prices for used copies are astronomical but PDFs do exist
I recommend *The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life from Prohibition Through World War II* which is part of a series of guides to different historical periods. It will hopefully answer most of your questions and has other helpful resources for adding period flavor, such as common slang terms, fashions, and popular dances.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Writers-Everyday-Prohibition-Through-Guides/dp/0898796970
Any craft or office supply shop should have newsprint paper. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QTZDMB8/ref=sspa\_dk\_detail\_3?psc=1&pd\_rd\_i=B07QTZDMB8&pd\_rd\_w=jomOW&pf\_rd\_p=887084a2-5c34-4113-a4f8-b7947847c308&pd\_rd\_wg=noNhO&pf\_rd\_r=JS1K4BY98VAGQJPPD2XN&pd\_rd\_r=e5cbb2cd-b3bd-...
Found some rather cheap one on Amazon. Not an exact replica but it does give you that "news clip cutout" feel that normal paper does not.
And, I would be grateful if you sent me that template. :) Thanks again.
There is a sourcebook about Hungary in english for Cthulhu, titled Secrets of Hungary. it is out of print, fir some time though: https://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Hungary-Library-monograph-Cthulhu/dp/1568822189
I have two
Gatsby and the Great Race by Paul Fricker - this is an extremely difficult scenario to run because it requires 10+ players, 3+ keepers, and at least 2 separate rooms. It is a multitable scenario in which things done at each table affect the overall game state. Very well written and so much fun. Basically can only be played in a convention scenario. Decently beginner friendly to play but not at all to run.
King from Cthulhu Brittanica by Keary Birch. It's not the most satisfying investigatory scenario, but it begins with the characters blindfolded, and allows the wonderful (if everyone is into it) experience of having the players be blindfolded as well. This could be a good beginner's scenario though because the investigation portion is super light and the scenario is mostly about atmosphere. Strong recommendation for including a trigger warning in the description and making the player wearing a blindfold part of it optional in case someone isn't into that. I got this set of blindfolds on Amazon for $10, which is enough to run the scenario with a full 6 players five times.
just to add something different from everyone else:
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1952089026/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
this thing is super boring, but its a gold mine when you need to come up with stuff on the fly.
its more of a nice to have, than a need to have, but personally, i like it.
Upon further research I think it's the leatherbound 20th anniversary edition (5th)
https://www.amazon.com/Call-Cthulhu-Anniversary-Leather-Hardcover/dp/B0032O946M
5 NPCs isn't that bad. If you are playing physically get more dice and a dice cup. Roll all the NPCs simultaneously. Each NPC has a color.
If you are doing VTT, the automation should alleviate this.
It has a published RPG! It’s a leetle old, but it means you can pick up copies fairly cheaply (think I got mine for £5)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laundry-RPG-Gareth-Hanrahan/dp/1907204938
After that you only really need to have read the first book, but more books are good.
They are from a limited edition sold by Pegasus in Germany in 2009. The red version seems to be available on Amazon right now, but I cannot find the green one.
Yeah, the box for Dead Light is a good prop! You can also do a little work with sealing wax on it too. I used this box - Amazon link -, which is pretty heavy for its size (only a few inches around) and holds up to the sealing wax well.
You can see what I did for Dead Light in my write-up on my blog too, if that's what you're into!
Depending on how deep you want to dive, and excellent and very readable book on the topic is Frederick Lewis Allen's _Only Yesterday_, available for USD2.99 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Only-Yesterday-Informal-History-1920s-ebook/dp/B00VH7BEFA/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=only+yesterday&link_code=qs&qid=1565630192&s=gateway&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-2
What can I see is helping. Making a character so you don't need use paper. Helping with nod reaction making a rubing of game much smoother. Here is App
Complete list of current features: - Character editor, incl. rolling attribute points and spending skill points - Dice, from D3 to D100, incl. penalty and bonus - Saving your characters, health, sanity, major wound,... even over multiple sessions - Overview of attributes and skills of all participating characters - Adding and controlling your own background music and sound effects - Adding your own pictures - Display map tiles
If you can find it there's an awesome cyberpunk-ish story by Jeffrey Thomas called "Grand Theft Hovercar" about the King in Yellow having an effect on a VR game. Could be good for inspiration. I read it in an anthology called "In the Court of the Yellow King" edited by Glynn Owen Barras.
There is a nerf revolver.
The solution is pretty simple. Run d20 Call of Cthulhu. :)
https://www.amazon.com/Call-Cthulhu-Horror-Roleplaying-WotC/dp/0786926392
If a player successfully rolls, the outcome is what the player was trying to accomplish. If the players fails the roll it is up to the keeper to decide what happens. So in general, a failed spot hidden roll can result in not spotting something or in spotting something AND some sort of punishment, like the "something" spotting the character right back.
If a roll is critical for not stalling the narrative, it should always result on an outcome that allows the story to progress further.
Regarding the library use:
Maybe someone has to gain entry to a part of the library that is not open for normal visitors, using either lockpicking or social skills
Maybe researching some topics in the library and uncovering some foul happenings calls for a sanity check?
You can order small metal puzzles from Amazon like this. Instead of rolling dice, the player has 45 seconds to solve the puzzle.
Can't go wrong with a statue of the ol' boy himself:
There is one copy on Amazon it looks like
https://www.amazon.com/Horrore-Cosmico-Scenarios-Cthulhu-Invictus/dp/0989560325
Only ones I know of are the Q Workshop ones, but I think those retailed for around $80 US.
I think you might have to compromise and go with either dark metal dice that aren't incredibly Eldritch or go with Cthulhu dice that aren't metal but maybe someone else knows a great deal that I'm not aware of.
I highly recommend the Custom Soundboard Creator for Android. I use it every time we play for background music and sound effects.
You just need to feed it with your soundfiles. You can adjust the volume for each clip, loop them, give your own color code and if the clip plays over other clips.
My soundboard is full with ambience from Cryo Chamber, rain, various thunders and gunshot effects, monster growls and action sequence soundtracks.
What you're looking for is Ctharacter. Pretty simple little app, but makes the daunting task of rolling up 4 - 6 pregen characters super easy. I'd go insane without it.
Aside from the rulebooks others have mentioned, The Keeper's Companion Volume I is an excellent source of mythos information for keepers. It's just chock-full of mythos facts and background material.
"Good Cthulhu hunting", "Suggestions for Keepers", extensive information on occult and mythos tomes & some artifacts and cults. Explanations and overviews of alien races and languages as well as ancient civilizations.
It's an interesting, well-written, and useful book for beginning and experienced keepers alike and, really, anyone who's interested in the Cthulhu Mythos. I highly recommend it. Even though it's out of print it's still available and well worth $15-$20.
https://www.amazon.com/Keepers-Companion-Blasphemous-Knowledge-Roleplaying/dp/1568821441
Wow, the price on the Q Workshop dice is astonomincally high. I paid that much for a set of metal die from Die Hard Dice.
I would not advise paying the Q Workshop price. Amazon even has some of their dice cheaper than they sell from their own site.
There is one based off a game of The Horror on the orient express game. It I'd called the express diaries and was an excellent read. Can be found here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TFYW604/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
I went ahead and searched on Amazon and found this. Granted it is $9.99 for the eBook http://www.amazon.com/Thing-Shore-Tom-Fletcher-ebook/dp/B00LSX4X3I/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449777326&sr=8-1&keywords=the+thing+on+the+shore