Harlem Unbound
Details
1st Edition
Publisher: Darker Hue Studios
Product Code: 1
Publishing Year: 2017
Pages: 274
Cover Price: $? (Hardcover), $25.00 (PDF)
Author(s): Chris Spivey, Bob Geist, Ruth Tillman, Alex Mayo, Sarah Hood, Neall Raemonn Price
Artist(s): Brennen Reece (cover), Nino Malong, Philip Jean Pierre
Format(s): Hardcover, PDF
ISBN: 0-933635-65-6
2nd Edition
Publisher: Chaosium
Product Code: ?
Publishing Year: 2020
Pages: ?
Cover Price: $22.95
Author(s): Kevin A. Ross, Scott David Aniolowski, Fred Behrendt, Keith Herber, J. Todd Kingrea, Mark Morrison, Mike Szymanski, Penelope Love (minor contribution), John Tynes (minor contribution), Richard Watts (minor contribution)
Artist(s): John T. Snyder (cover), Jason Eckhardt, Tom Kalichack (original maps), J. Todd Kingrea (new maps)
Format(s): Softcover
ISBN: 1-56882-115-8
Setting(s): 1920s
Contents
The Innsmouth book is the fourth and final (to-date) sourcebook in Chaosium's series describing the core Lovecraft Country setting. Unlike the other books in this series, which all describe their locales in a nominal time frame of October 1928, this book is set slightly earlier around February, 1928. This time is chosen as being after the protagonist in Lovecraft's story visited the town but before the government raid which followed as a consequence of that visit.
The book contains extensive background information about this New England town -- pertinent buildings, useful people, and important locations are described in depth. Scenarios are provided: the most lengthy and notable being a unique multi-stranded adventure in which the players get to take on the roles of various participants in the US Government raid on Innsmouth. All strands of this scenario are intended to be run in parallel, with the action cutting between different story-lines in a cinematic presentation.
To date, Chaosium have published two editions of this sourcebook. While the nature and detail of the Innsmouth setting has not changed greatly between editions, the second edition incorporates some additional scenario elements, as indicated below.
1st Edition
The original edition of Escape From Innsmouth is a square-bound book that includes a removable (perforated) 17x22" glossy players' map bound-in. Besides the background on Innsmouth there are also two adventures.
The body of the book is organised into sections:
- Introduction,
- Mysterious Innsmouth,
- Welcome to Innsmouth,
- The Shadow Over Innsmouth (not the Lovecraft story),
- A Guidebook to Innsmouth & Environs,
- Scenario 1: Escape from Innsmouth
- Scenario 2: The Raid on Innsmouth
- Project Covenant,
- The Esoteric Order of Dagon,
- The Marsh Mansion,
- The Smugglers' Tunnels,
- Devil Reef,
- Y'ha-nthlei,
- The Raid on Innsmouth: Conclusion
- Keeper's Aids (a sheet to help keep track of NPCs in The Raid on Innsmouth, and a large table of Deep One stats for the same scenario),
- Supporting Character Sheets (blank; these allow the pertinent stats for four supporting characters to be listed per page)
- Sinister Seeds (a dozen short plot ideas)
The largest section, the "Guidebook to Innsmouth & Environs" is a gazeteer which divides the town (and surroundings) up into a collection of regions and describes notable locations within each of those areas. The regions are:
- 100: Northern Shoreward Slums (6 entries),
- 200: Old Towne Square and New Church Green (14 entries),
- 300: Fine Old Residential Section (6 entries) [incorrectly identified in the Table of Contents as "New Residential Section"],
- 400: Northern Residential Section (7 entries),
- 500: Riverfront Factory and Commercial Areas (7 entries),
- 600: Southern Residential Area (12 entries),
- 700: The New Merchant District (14 entries),
- 800: Southern Shoreward Slums (3 entries),
- 900: The Harbor Area (8 entries),
- 1000: Outskirts (13 entries, including outlying farmhouses, South Woods Memorial Cemetary, The Abandoned Railway to Rowley, Boynton Beach, Falcon Point, Devil Reef, Y'ha-nthlei, The Smugglers' Tunnels)
Note: Unlike the gazeteers presented in other Lovecraft Country books, this one contains some entries which are "generic" (e.g., "Brick and Stone Warehouses") and apply to many different buildings or locations within a region.
2nd Edition
The 2nd Edition includes largely the same content as the first (with minor corrections), but makes two significant additions. The first is the addition of a new standalone scenario, The Crawford Inheritance. The second change is the augmentation of The Raid on Innsmouth scenario to add another (parallel) thread to the previous five parts.
This edition features a Separate, glossy map of Innsmouth tucked into the book.
The contents of this edition are:
- Introduction,
- Mysterious Innsmouth,
- Welcome to Innsmouth,
- The Shadow Over Innsmouth (not the Lovecraft story),
- A Guidebook to Innsmouth and Environs,
- The Crawford Inheritance,
- Escape from Innsmouth,
- The Raid on Innsmouth
- Objective One: Esoteric Order of Dagon,
- Objective Two: The Marsh Mansion,
- Objective Three: Smugglers' Tunnels,
- Objective Four: Devil Reef,
- Objective Five: Y'ha-nthlei,
- Objective Six: Marsh Refinery (new to this edition),
- The Raid on Innsmouth: Conclusion,
- Sinister Seeds,
- Appendix: Lovecraft Country,
- Index,
- Support Character Sheets,
- Investigator Sheets (Front),
- Investigator Sheets (Back).
Scenarios: The Crawford Inheritance (2nd Edition only), Escape from Innsmouth, The Raid on Innsmouth (scenario with multiple inter-twined threads of action)
1st Edition Front Cover Text
A Desperate Stand Against The Mythos in Lovecraft Country
1st Edition Back Cover Text
I was leaving the South to fling myself into the unknown... I was taking a part of the South to transplant in alien soil, to see if it could grow differently, if it could drink of new and cool rains, bend in strange winds, respond to the warmth of other suns and, perhaps, to bloom. RICHARD WRIGHT
HARLEM UNBOUND
Investigate Mythos mysteries in 1920s NYC’s Harlem Renaissance! An RPG sourcebook for Call of Cthulhu and GUMSHOE.
PICTURE THIS...
New York City in the 1920s: Prohibition is in full swing, and bootleggers are living high. African Americans flee the oppressive South for greener pastures, creating a new culture in Harlem. The music of Fats Waller and Duke Ellington pours out of the city’s windows and doorways, and the sidewalks are crowded with women in stylish skirts with silk stockings, and men in white gloves and Chesterfield coats. There’s a feeling of possibility in the air, like never before. But even in this land of promise, Harlem is a powder keg. While classes and cultures collide, Lovecraftian horrors lurk beneath the streets, creeping through dark alleys and hidden doorways into the Dreamlands. What Great Old One shattered our reality? Can you hold it together and keep the Mythos at bay for one more song?
This sourcebook flips the standard Lovecraftian view of minorities on its head, putting them in the role of heroes who must struggle against cosmic horrors while also fighting for a chance at equality. By default, the protagonists of Harlem Unbound are African American, not white (which is the standard assumption found in Lovecraftian fiction). Our heroes and heroines come from all walks of life with regard to class, ethnicity, race, religion, gender and sexual orientation.
The heart of the Renaissance was a revolution aimed at changing the world through art, ideas, and the written word. It was a uniquely powerful movement against the unjust status quo, a time in history that still inspires today. The history, people and stories in this book shine the spotlight on the people of Harlem, their successes and their struggles.
The Skinny on the Goods
- Seven unique Occupations
- Five new Mythos creatures to terrify your investigators
- A bunch of ready-to-play PCs/NPCs
- A random scenario generator
- A crash course on addressing race in gaming
Beautifully designed in the Art Deco style, Harlem Unbound contains everything the Keeper needs to run adventures in the Harlem Renaissance for either Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition or GUMSHOE.
2nd Edition Front Cover Text
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2nd Edition Back Cover Text
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Comments / Trivia
2018 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming Nominee 2018 Gold ENnie for Best Cover Art, Best Setting, Best Writing 2018 ENnie Nominee for Best Rules, Product of the Year 2018 Indie Groundbreaker Award for Groundbreaking Supplement 2018 Indie Groundbreaker Nominee for Best Setting
Links
Link to outside reviews
- [Link 1]
- [Link 2]
Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only
Players should not read any further.
Comment here to Keepers about this book. Comments on specific Scenarios and Campaigns go on their respective pages. Keep DISCUSSION on the talk page.
