57 thoughts on “Events & Contact”

  1. Randall Scott Trussell (I go by 'Rand')

    Hey, just wanted to say that I just found your review videos (and other) the other day and have watched like 8-10 of them already, starting with the classic AD&D modules. For the ones I have ran (I am a 40+ year gaming vet) I pretty-much agree on most of your points. Anyway, just thought I would say hi. So, Hi.

    Reply
  2. Stephen Beat

    Hello there! Just wanted to say ‘thank you’ for dragging me into the murky world of Call of Cthulhu! I really didn’t know I wanted to become involved in such eldritch goings-on until I ‘accidentally’ watched one of your YouTube reviews (CofC: Starter Set)…

    Now there is no hope for me…So, again, ‘thank you’ for that.

    Seriously, a sincere thanks for all the hard work you have put into the CofC community with your very helpful – and entertaining – tutorials and reviews.

    All the best, Stephen

    Reply
  3. Colby Johnson

    I stumbled upon your website and I want you to know I appreciate everything you and you are a big inspiration to me in both my table top play and my own personal writing. So thank you for all you do.

    Reply
      1. David Keith Kolliker

        Hey Seth , I recently found your youtube channel and it is awesome. I really like your reviews on Coc material. I find it to be very informative and entertaining. I have just started learning to be keeper of lore for seventh addition. Have you reviewed Down Darker Trails the western supplement to Coc? I would like to hear your take on it.
        Thank you and best regards

        Reply

        1. Hi David. I only recently (last week) got to play my first game of Down Darker Trails. I dig it. I like that they have the Pulp Cthulhu aspect so it’s more like a Western movie. I’m not sure how much my players would like it as a long-term game (more personal taste than anything), but I found it very enjoyable.

          Reply
      2. Chris Forever Young

        Seth, recently discovered your stuff and am a big fan. Been playing d&d since 1980 and love your reviews of the old mods and all of the other videos you put out!

        Question, have you ever done an article/video on running contests, tournaments, etc during game sessions?

        Reply
  4. Ron Smith

    Hi Seth!
    My favorite RPG is Traveller, with Call of Cthulhu as my second favorite. Needless to say I was delighted when I recently discovered your Youtube channel.
    Even though I love Call of Cthulhu I have not been able to find players for a very long time, and don’t expect to any time soon.
    I have an original set of Grenadier Adventurer figures (22 pieces, all painted). They have been collecting dust on my shelf for almost 30 years now. I watched your CoC miniatures video, and I noticed you have several of them already, but yours are mostly unpainted.
    Anyway, if you are interested, I would be quite happy to send them to you, as a gift and thank you for your great channel. This way I at least know they will have a good home and actually get used as they were intended to be.

    Reply

    1. Hi Ron. Thank you very much. I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the channel. Call of Cthulhu and Traveller are both wonderful systems and always deserve more love. D&D always gets the spotlight, but it’s not even close to the only system out there. While I do appreciate the offer (and who wouldn’t) I’ve already got more miniatures than I know what to do with. The collection has grown a lot in the years since I did that video, and I’m pretty set. But thank you.

      Reply
  5. Steve

    Hello, Seth.

    Three things:

    Firstly, love your channel. 2020 is a year of head-shaking times, but I always smile when I see a notification that you posted a new video.

    Secondly, I wish to thank you for your keen insight into RPG’s. I had taken a “life happens” hiatus from D&D from the mid-90’s until recently but I have resumed playing and acting as DM for several groups of friends. Your videos have been particularly helpful. As a side note, I have been trying to figure out why I subscribe to some channels (e.g. yours) and not others – of which there are many related to D&D – and I think I have landed on the theory that if I would be comfortable playing in that person’s campaign, I subscribe. (Insert informal salute.)

    Thirdly, I go through waves of trying to absorb ideas, advice, etc., then playing and creating my world/campaign and running the adventures, etc. …. then returning to mode of trying to learn. I am stuck, though. I am running out of learning sources and I find a lot of content out there to be focused on things that are not my thing:
    – streaming of someone else’s game
    – lists (“The Top FIve Spells…”)
    – “problem players” (which I don’t have)
    – horror stories

    The End Game: I guess I am looking for thoughts on campaign ideas, concepts and plot hooks that engage the adult audience. I try to lift things from history (e.g. Napoleon, Hannibal, the Aztecs), and current events. Where do you (and Scott Brown) look for inspiration? Any surprise sources?

    Regards,

    -Steve

    Reply
  6. adam

    Hey Seth I have been enjoying all your traveller videos on youtube and will be running a number of the modules you have vlog’d about for our group.

    Do you have a repository of the handouts and edits you made to bat-sht-365?

    thanks!

    Reply

  7. Hello, Mr. Seth Skorkowsky. My name is Isaac Mandagie, and I am an Asian-Indonesian TRPG fan and first time creator from Indonesia.

    I have been a fan of you and your channel since 2017, around the time when you uploaded the review for “The Haunting”. That video got me to become a Keeper in the same year! Ever since then, I follow your videos religiously and keep on recommending it to other people in our Indonesian TRPG community. Your video even helped me learn Cyberpunk Red, which I was able to run a few months ago!

    I would like to say that you’re one of my inspirations for the first adventure module that I have ever written! I made it as part of the summer course for RPG Writer Workshop (2020 ENnie award winner for Best Online Content, which you also won back in 2019!), which helped me create the first adventure module that I’ve ever written in a proper way.

    It is a Lovecraftian Horror one-shot adventure, filled with references to the Cthulhu Mythos, that I made as a love-letter to my favorite horror genre by using the TRPG system that is presumably “the world’s greatest roleplaying game”.

    So thank you, Mr. Skorkowsky, from the bottom of my heart.

    Reply
  8. Soren

    Hi,

    I’ve come across your YouTube videos and I love the way you present your material, the skits, the thoughts behind, the honesty. All of it.

    Is there any way to just donate for a cup of coffee or something? Id love for you to keep making awesome relevant content.

    Reply

    1. Hi Soren, I’m glad you’re enjoying the channel. As far as donations, I do have a Patreon, but you can also just buy some of my book (and hopefully enjoy them). After that, reviews/ratings on Amazon, Audible, or Goodreads are always appreciated.
      I also have a Teespring store with shirts, so you can pick up a shirt or sticker and I make about 50%.
      https://www.patreon.com/SSkorkowsky
      https://teespring.com/stores/seth-skorkowsky

      Any of those will work fine.

      -Seth

      Reply
  9. Alex Ramirez

    Hey I Loved your CoC review and I really want to be a keeper, however I would like to play at least one game as player 1st, here in my city is almost imposible to find groups (and now with COVID is worst) what would be a good place to find groups online? I have tried but no luck

    Reply

    1. Hi Alex,
      The recommendation I have is to join one of the Call of Cthulhu online communities. There’s a good one on Reddit and the Facebook one is also great. Chat with people and you can learn when game might be, but also if they’re the kind of people that would mesh well with you. I’ve never used those groups for that, personally, but I’ve seen other people do it.

      Best of luck on your quest.

      -Seth

      Reply
  10. Chase Johnston

    Hi Seth, big fan of your videos, I did have a question though. Have you played any of the RPGs focusing on the super hero genere such as Marvel by TSR, Heros Unlimited by Palladium, or Mutants and Masterminds by Green Ronin? Anyway thanks for all the awesome videos and tell Jack he is awesome.

    Reply
  11. John F. Kennedy

    Seth,
    I sent you an email about the the adventure called “The Mauretania”. I know you’ve done several “transportation” related adventures. Side adventures, attempting to get someplace, is sometimes half of the fun.

    I thought the officially released illustrations and lack of handouts very inadequate for such a grand ship, so I created my own for our own CofC game. I thought you might find them useful too. Let me know if you’re interested. They are all PDFs.

    Thanks,
    John F. Kennedy

    Reply
  12. Jeff Kelly

    Hello Seth. I was wondering if you know of an organization, website, or anything that lets someone game online, like through zoom, or FaceTime or something. Role playing online note gaming. I live in a very rural area. I would like to play Traveller again, but have not played since I was in the 8th grade, and even then I did not know all the rules. If you ran a game online through zoom you could charge the players.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jeff, I don’t know of any official boards for groups seeking players, but I recommend joining up with one of the online Traveller communities, such as on the Mongoose Publishing Forums, Reddit, Facebook (there’s several to choose from). Every now and then there’s a call for players or players showing up and asking about groups with an opening. They’ll usually play through Discord or Roll20 or the like. I think Roll20 has a board for groups seeking players, but I’ve never looked into it, personally.

      Reply
  13. Nikos

    Hi Seth,

    I’m a recent subscriber to your YouTube channel and long time player of tabletop fantasy games. I’m in my twenties and my first foray into this world was through Warhammer 40k. The taste for paracosms runs in the family though as my dad’s been on the scene since the early days of Traveller. He’s not played in some time now and I’d love to reignite that spark.

    I’ve just watched your review of the Mongoose 2ed Starter Set and it looked like the perfect entry point back in for him and 1st time introduction for me. I was going to get him a physical copy for Christmas but can’t find one online anywhere. Seems they’re all sold out.

    I’m writing to ask if you know whether there will be another print run/release of the sets?

    If there’s anywhere that I can track down a copy from, potentially 2nd hand even?

    Any suggestions for alternatives that would make for a nice gift and do the trick of reigniting the passion for Traveller? At the moment I’m considering buying a physical copy of the core rules and a pdf version of The Fall of Tinath to essentially recreate the starter set.

    I’d appreciate any advice you’ve got for me. Thanks for your time!

    Nikos
    (p.s. my account registration for Mongoose publishing is pending approval at the moment so I should be able to direct my questions to the forum community in the future)

    Reply

    1. Hi Nikos,

      From what I’ve read on the forums, Mongoose ran out of corebooks and had to order a new print run of them. Those are printed and should be in soon. Last update was a week ago, and they say the plan is to have them in the warehouses and shipping out around the start of the New Year. The Starter Set they evidently decided to not re-print. I’m not sure why that is or what they have planned to put in its place.

      Good luck,
      -Seth

      Reply
  14. Hubert Boisvert Boucher

    Hi Seth !

    My gaming group startet playing around with the idea of trying Traveller (Mongoose 2nd edition) and I shared your playist with the guys and everyone loved it ! We got pretty excited. We were looking for a pre-written adventure because few of us have a lot of time to invest in making a homebrew game.
    We looked at The Pirates of Drynax but realized the amount of preparation that would be needed since we would also be trying playing on Fantasy Grounds for the first time…we got pretty intimidated !
    Although we still want to try it out, maybe we should start with something a bit less ambitious…
    What adventure would you suggest is best for a group of new players ? I’ve tried many forums, but no answer is the same, most suggestions are to use material from Classic Traveller….What is your opinion ?

    Oh and since I’m writing, I want to say that I have absolutely loved the Valducan books ! I ran trough each one at a frantic pace and was left wanting more. Terrific work ! I’ll obviously try your other books soon !

    Reply

    1. Pirates of Drinax is pretty intimidating. I have it, but haven’t tried it. As far as shorter introductory adventures, High & Dry is a very good one.

      Reply
  15. Ian Tanner-Nosker

    Hi Seth,
    Love all your Youtube vids, especially RPG philosophy.
    Your latest vid about your TPK story was phenomenal.
    If “The Fiendish Nazi Mummies of the Third Reich” was a module, I’d buy it this minute.
    Hell, I’d even settle for a PDF.
    Anyway, love from Wisconsin,
    Ian the Forever DM

    Reply
  16. Ronald M Smith

    Hi Seth!
    First, I want to give you my best wishes for recovering from the Great Texas Freeze. I hope you were not too badly impacted.

    I am thinking about trying my hand at writing a Traveller adventure for publication. I already have a rough outline and was wondering if you could recommend any videos or other advice sources for how to go about writing an adventure well, and actually getting it published. Of course I could just self publish on line, but I’d like to try submitting it to established publishers.

    Reply

    1. Hi Ronald, the best advice I can give is to study how modules are laid out. You need to be clear, but also not overly-wordy. Writing for publication can be very different than writing for your own group, since with your own group you can write things in a way to anticipate their actions. With a module, you have no clue what the group will be like, so you have to be much more open in what you write. Write it out in the format of a module, with sections and headers and everything. Give a good into that tells the GM what will happen. I also like a cast of important characters and a brief bit of who they are in the beginning. Remove all passive-voice. As a tip, try to remove all uses of “will” such as, “The characters will see a skull on the table” would be “A skull sits atop the table.” Put it all together as best you can and then query the publisher. Just check to see how the publisher takes submissions. Have a short pitch ready, like 3-5 sentences. If they want more, have the manuscript ready. As far as channels or sites that go over it, I don’t know. I’m sure they’re out there, but I’ve never looked. Of course you’ll also want to playtest the adventure, then go back and plug any holes that the players poked in it. For my recent Traveller published adventure, I sorta cheated. I already had a relationship with Matt and he was familiar with me. That’s the hardest part. Even then, I submitted my query and had the adventure “The Hunt for Sabre IV” ready to roll when I did (it hadn’t been playtested yet, at that time). He liked it, asked for a manuscript, which I had ready, and we went from there.
      If you go self-pub, find an editor. Not a friend who reads a lot, but an actual editor. Also look into getting a sharp cover. Some modules have bland covers, or do the black covers like the old Traveller adventures used. Those aren’t eye-catching. I’d say Maker-God is my favorite example of a self-published Traveller adventure that comes off as feeling totally professionally published.
      Good luck,
      Seth

      Reply
  17. Belugus

    Hi Seth, I’m a young (wannabe) writer, though to be honest I don’t think I have the talent. I’m a junior and I have failed every English class since 5th grade (strangely I do stellar on state exams). Every time I look at my writing I just want to vomit because there’s so much to improve. How did you know that you were a writer, how do I know I’m a writer?

    I love reading Martin, Herbert, Tolkien, Lovecraft and I want to be the next one.

    Reply

    1. If you have the desire and drive, then that’s the key. Writing itself is a technical craft. You can learn the technical aspect. Having the desire to write stories is the foundation. My early writing was pretty terrible. I joined an online writing workshop and kept at it for several years, honing my ability. It wasn’t easy, but it gave results. As long as the desire continued, I kept at it. Eventually, I started submitting to different magazines and anthologies for short stories. Everything built up from there. Best of luck.

      Reply
  18. Lars Grabowski

    Hey Seth,
    I draw a huge ammount of inspiration from your videos (besides lots of laughs about Jacks shenanigans. You have helped me improve my CoC-Sessions a lot.
    If I may dare to make a suggestion.. there is a topic that i´d love to know your oppinion and recommendation. I find it very hard to kill of characters (especially in the middle of an adventure when it is too late to establish a reserve investigator). What would you recommend to deal with these situations?
    Best regards from Germany
    Lars

    Reply

    1. Hi Lars,
      Honestly, it’s all case-by-case. Sometimes it’s best to take out the character and let the player bring in a new PC, or have them play a NPC as their temporary characters, or just hang and see what happens. The risk is what makes the reward sweeter, and removing the threat of death can end up hurting things more in the long run. Other times it’s best to just let the PC survive. Maybe there’s still a cost for whatever should have killed them. Maybe it’s an item, some stat points, or something else. Again, it’s all case-by-case and most importantly what your table ultimately prefers. Some tables want the risk to be very real all the time, even if that means character deaths at unfortunate times. Others prefer to keep them alive until some dramatic time such as a finale.

      Reply
  19. Aaron Pittman

    Hello Seth,

    I’ve recently run my first Call of Cthulhu 7th ed. game with some friends. I always viewed the system with trepidation as I perceived it to be overcomplex and clunky. The prospect of running the game, despite my rabid love of the world of H.P. Lovecraft, was very intimidating to me. Your exceptional videos (on your exceptional YouTube channel) helped me to change those perceptions, your obvious love of the system was infectious in the best possible way. While the game itself was by no means perfect, we weathered the stumbles and had an amazing time. Call of Cthulhu has firmly cemented a place in our rotation. and I feel that is owed in no small part to your outstanding contributions to the hobby.

    From one Keeper to another, thank you very much. Stay safe.

    Reply

    1. Awesome to hear! Glad you had fun, despite any bumps. But those should hopefully smooth out as you get used to it.
      Welcome to Call of Cthulhu.

      Reply
  20. Lawrence Miller

    Hi Seth,

    Love your videos.

    Are you likely to review Sandy Peterson’s Cthulhu Mythos 5E? I have seen it on the internet and am wondering which Jack the NPC you would use? The original Call of Cthulhu one or the fantasy one, maybe some sort of unholy amalgam of both of them.

    Kind regards

    Lawrence.

    Reply
  21. Andrew Trnacek

    Seth
    I enjoy your youtube channel. I have returned to Call fo Cthulhu after a long break, a long, long break. My recent experience with TTRP is all via a VTT. I am currently running Masks of Nyarlathotep. While VTT is convenient, and indeed critical (In Melbourne we are 210 days into Lockdown), I feel it doesn’t have the same atmosphere as playing face to face. What are your experiences with distance playing and what tips do you have. The topic might make for a good segment.

    Reply
  22. Patrk

    Hi Seth,

    I really enjoy your videos!
    I was thinking that it would be great to hear how you prepare for a gaming session. I play Traveller myself, so I would be extra happy to hear how you prepare for a non-D&D session (i.e. not only focused on combat encounters, traps in dungeons, and magic item/loot).

    Also, curious if you would want to do a video comparing the newly released Cepheus Deluxe to Traveller MGT2, and your thoughts about the differences between the two.

    Reply
  23. Michael John Mcdonald

    Hey Seth, I’ve loved your videos and regularly recommend your reviews of Hopes Last Day and Chariot of the Gods to new GMs looking to run them on the Alien RPG reddit and Discord. I myself am a pretty experienced GM and normally just watch your reviews for fun and idea but I’m struggling with Destroyer of Worlds and was wondering if that was on your list to play and then review?

    Reply
  24. Scott

    Hi Seth!

    Scott from Colorado here – Just wanted to give you a quick shout to thank you for all of the great videos you’ve posted! I know you put a lot of time and effort into them, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching them. Thanks for all the reviews and tips, and the fantastic introductions to both Call of Cthulhu and Traveller (and Cyberpunk too)! I’ve spent a small fortune recently at Mongoose and Chaosium due in no small part to your vids (they should pay you some sort of headhunter fee, lol)! I don’t get to play very often, but my library has surely grown!

    As a thank you I wanted to share some custom Traveller character sheets that I’ve recently worked on (link below). I think I have them mostly finalized, but would appreciate any feedback you might have. The print-friendly versions are a little ugly (a lot ugly maybe), but they’re functional. Please feel free to pass them along. I enjoyed working on them (sort of cathartic after a long day at work, lol) and I hope others will benefit from using them.

    Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vQNMb4k5Tz4GQINQwtvERTsGVAwOouRg?usp=sharing

    I’ve never posted anything via Google drive before so I hope that link and the access setting work for you. I’m working a couple of CoC versions too, and I’d be happy to share those as well once complete.

    Anyways, thanks again – and say “Hi!” to the gang for me!

    -Scott

    PS – Really enjoyed listening to the Valducan series on Audible too – just finished Redemptor on my way home from work today.

    Reply

  26. I just got back into Traveller about a year ago after a short 30 year hiatus and I found your videos very early on and I have to say I’ve enjoyed them a lot! I’m very much looking forward to diving into Murder on Arcturus Station, which, thanks to this website, I just found out you brought back!

    Thanks for the great vids and thank you for keeping Travller alive and kicking!

    Reply
  27. Rob

    Seth… I’ve been playing CoC on & off since the mid-80s… yes, I’m old & probably older than you… Have you ever used/converted/played CoC using the Gumshoe System? If this was asked before, I apologize… I just came across Gumshoe within the last 6-7 months & want to know if it’s similar to “Pulp Edition” or whatever else. It looks pretty easy to convert to…. you thoughts, sir?

    Reply

    1. Never played Gumshoe outside of a single session of Yellow King at a con, and that version has some mechanical differences than the Gumshoe Trail of Cthulhu system. So I honestly don’t know how it’d really compare to CoC.

      Reply
  28. Joe Massey

    Hi Seth. I continue to enjoy your youtube content and I am adding your books to be TBR list. Any plans for local, DFW, events or appearences?

    Reply
  29. Jon Crocker

    Hello Seth! I enjoy your videos, and picked up the ‘Mysteries on Arcturus Station’ book – I’d run the ‘Murder’ adventure years back, hoped to give it a go again some time. We finally played it again yesterday – my wife & our two kids, and it went well. Youngest has been watching a lot of “Murdoch Mysteries” with mom, and so immediately decided they were going to be ‘bad cop’. “Murdoch always starts by going to the morgue” so that’s where they went first. We had fun, and borrowed some of your ideas.
    One thing I tired was, the Station seemed a fairly ‘frontier’ type station. So I’d decided that the penalty for ‘public drunkenness’ was a thousand credit fine, and you’re locked into your quarters until noon the next day to sleep it off. The murderer tried to use that as his alibi – he’d picked up a ‘electronic door pick’ to pop doors. So he fakes drunkenness in the afternoon and causes a disturbance. Station Security hauled him back to his stateroom to lock him in. That night he popped the door, goes and commits the crime, and gets back with what he thought was a perfect alibi. Good thing not every one of those security cameras were fake! Thanks again, and say ‘hi’ to Jack for me.

    Reply
  30. Thomas Maul

    Hi Seth

    Thanks to your videos and advice, I’ve been dragged willingly into the dark world of Call of Cthulhu, and so far I’m enjoying myself torturing my players in the most delightful ways.
    I want to say thank you for your insightful reviews, and your very helpful advice for being a great Keeper. I try my best to live up to your example.

    I had a question that I was hoping you can help me with.

    I have recently purchased The Dare after your advice, but I was disappointed to find out that noone published revised maps based on your feedback.

    So my question goes: Do you have revised maps, you could share with the world?

    Regards, Thomas from Denmark

    Reply
  31. Mooner

    Hello, Seth.

    Because of your videos on Youtube I have become one who enjoys TTRPGs. It’s actually much more nuanced than that as I have become a Traveller. Your series is spectacular. As someone who has never played a tabletop game myself, you are an invaluable resource. Forever, thank you. I’ve been running a game at house for the past few months, and it’s been going great. It’s a mix of theater of the mind and some basic props and mini’s. Something I’m running into as a Ref is that a lot of the time I’m having to make huge adjustments to the administered game due to player choices. I like that, but a lot of the time I feel disarmed. The nature of the writing of an adventure is the broad vagueness of situation. Man, basically, it’s a lot. Do you have any advice for new Refs or GMs that you feel can curb some of the organization hurdles one might face? I’ve bought a larger table, but the issue is more cerebral, I fear:)

    Reply

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