Dark Schemes Herald the End of the World

Reanimation of the classic Call of Cthulhu campaign.

The new edition of Masks of Nyarlathotep is a complete revision and updating of this epic multi-part campaign set in 1925, in which steadfast investigators must unravel secrets and battle the minions of darkness in an attempt to stop world-shattering events from destroying humanity.

Get the Stunning Slipcase Set!

Masks of Nyarlathotep has been comprehensively revised and updated for use with Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition, but may also be run with the Pulp Cthulhu supplement.

Global campaign covering seven countries in five continents!

Packed with encounters, side-track adventures, detailed adversaries, geographical information, and more!

Presented in full color, with new artwork, maps and floor plans, and ready to use player handouts.

Appendices collect spells, tomes, artifacts, and travel advice.

Ultimate edition, packed full of advice and tips.

Requires the Call of Cthulhu Keeper’s Rulebook (7th edition) to play, and is optionally usable with Pulp Cthulhu.

The original six-chapter campaign featuring adventures in America, England, Egypt, Kenya, Australia, and China have been developed and updated by Mike Mason, Lynne Hardy, Paul Fricker, and Scott Dorward, and feature enhanced and new encounters, sub-plots, and on-point guidance for the Keeper.

Now written to be playable with either standard Call of Cthulhu or Pulp Cthulhu, the text guides the Keeper and allows for both gritty or action-packed pulp styles of play.

The Introduction chapter features a new foreword by Mask’s creator, Larry DiTillio, and goes on to provide an overview of the campaign, it’s key players and their goals and differing agendas, and the important locations the investigators will travel to while they seek to understand the mystery unfolding before them. Additional material looks at the dark god Nyarlathotep, his cults, and his role in the campaign. Guidance is also provided on running the campaign, including considerations of historical depictions, pulp or standard play styles, and lethality level (just how much danger should the investigators’ face). Rounding things out is plenty of advice on creating investigators for the campaign, replacement characters, and ten ready-to-play investigators for those wishing to dive straight into the adventure.

Complete with a Brand New Chapter... Set in Peru, this new scenario takes place in 1921 and provides an exciting introductory prologue to the campaign, where the investigators meet Jackson Elias, the industrious and charming author, whose researches lead into the globe-spanning mystery. Embarking on an expedition to find a lost South American pyramid, the investigators come face to face with ancient horrors that foreshadow the task ahead.

... and Even More!

And for an added bonus, a Grand Conclusion chapter helps the Keeper to determine just how successful the players have been in tackling the dark schemes of Nyarlathotep’s cults, as well as discussing ways to extend the campaign in a variety of ways.

Each chapter has been tirelessly crossed-referenced to help those running the campaign to keep track of the many locations, characters, player handouts, and items thrown up by the players’ investigation. With new appendices collecting spells, tomes, and artifacts, running the campaign is easiest it has ever been.

We have added Detailed New Appendices!

Running Masks of Nyarlathotep has never been easier thanks to these extensive appendices:

Travel – detailing travel times across the world, means of transport, rest and recuperation for traveling investigators, travel events, and also guidance for investigators wishing to learn new skills and improve existing ones.

– detailing travel times across the world, means of transport, rest and recuperation for traveling investigators, travel events, and also guidance for investigators wishing to learn new skills and improve existing ones. Spells – collects campaign-important spells together for handy reference, with over 30 spells detailed. Including Call the Black Sphinx, the Seal of Nephren-Ka, and the Ward of Anubis, to name but a few.

– collects campaign-important spells together for handy reference, with over 30 spells detailed. Including Call the Black Sphinx, the Seal of Nephren-Ka, and the Ward of Anubis, to name but a few. Tomes – during their investigations the investigators may come across a wide range of Mythos tomes, each bulging with forgotten and dark wisdom. This appendix gathers all of the tomes encountered in the campaign, with over 20 detailed listings, each providing background the tome, the lore within, and relevance to the campaign’s plot, be it the dreaded Necronomicon or the abhorred Black Tome.

– during their investigations the investigators may come across a wide range of Mythos tomes, each bulging with forgotten and dark wisdom. This appendix gathers all of the tomes encountered in the campaign, with over 20 detailed listings, each providing background the tome, the lore within, and relevance to the campaign’s plot, be it the dreaded Necronomicon or the abhorred Black Tome. Artifacts – just as there are numerous tomes to be discovered, there are also plenty of strange artifacts to be found (some useful, some deadly). Here, fifteen artifacts are gathered, from the Mask of Hayama to the Headdress of Eyes, from the Adornments of Nitocris to the very strange Device of Rods, Wheels, and Mirrors.

This Slipcase Set Includes:

The Masks of Nyarlathotep Campaign in two volumes. 666 pages of Adventure!

A three part Keeper Screen designed for the campaign

A tuckbox set with every player handout

11"x17" world map

Individual Maps for every campaign location

10 Pre-Generated Characters with Character and Background Sheets

What are you waiting for? Go Save the World!

Want copies of the Handouts?

Download them here you can print them out again and again.

What the Critics Said About Past Editions (just some of the many amazing reviews we have gotten)

"...a milestone for Call of Cthulhu and for RPG campaigns. It expanded our ideas of what roleplaying game adventures could be and raised the standards for the industry and the RPG art form."—The New York Review of Science Fiction.

"...the holy grail of horror, and in my opinion the best, most frightening, atmospheric, awesomely realized campaign for any game."—Dennis Detwiller (Delta Green).

"Considered by many the War and Peace of roleplaying, Masks of Nyarlathotep changed the way in which roleplaying campaign were designed. It coupled a complex, non-linear plot with such an incredible amount of historical detail and invention that made the experience of playing it an absolute delight and, in many ways, a life-changing experience."—AuthorsDb.com.

"...widely considered one of the best RPG adventures ever made" —Gizmodo.

What the Critics Say About the New Edition

"The long and short of it is this: the new version of Masks of Nyarlathotep is an extraordinarily well produced product in every way that you look at it. Not only is it gorgeously laid out and illustrated, but the content is going to make for some truly epic campaigns... However, beneath the bling is a solid and epic campaign clawing and writhing to escape into your players brains. It is full of fantastic stories and despite its at times, almost comically complicated webs of clues, I think it will be a delight to run. So much thought has gone into making sure the GM's job is as easy as possible."—YSDC.

"For something which had already established itself early on as an rpg classic, Chaosium have gone and ratcheted-up this one to 11."—Whispers from the Ghooric Zone.

"...this new edition of Masks will set the bar for roleplaying campaigns for some time to come... the new Masks of Nyarlathotep is everything that fans of Call of Cthulhu would want from an update of one of the most compelling RPG campaigns ever written. For players it will be a defining experience of what an RPG can be, offering an immersive, multi-faceted adventure into the heart of both cosmic and human darkness. For Keepers, the book is meticulously researched and provides all the resources and tips for running this holy grail of campaigns."—Games Vs Play.

"The Greatest Roleplaying Campaign Ever? If Masks of Nyarlathotep is the campaign by which all other Call of Cthulhu campaigns are measured, then Masks of Nyarlathotep: Dark Schemes Herald the End of the World just raised the bar."—Reviews from R'lyeh.

"Should you get Masks?... This will be an adventure you and your RPG friends will be talking about 20-30 years after the event. If you played Masks years ago and want to play it again, yes. The best commercially available RPG scenario has got better."—British Fantasy Society.

"The fifth edition design team of Mike Mason, Lynne Hardy, Paul Fricker, and Scott Dorward has managed to the unexpected; they have released an edition of Masks of Nyarlathotep that actually improves upon the original. This is the same thrilling--and often terrifying--Masks that you know and love, but in every measurable way it surpasses any iteration before it. It looks better, reads better, and with massive amounts of support for the Keeper, runs better. If you play Call of Cthulhu, you need to own it. If you don't play Call of Cthulhu, now is the time to start. Masks of Nyarlathotep once again sets the standard for what a complex, lengthy RPG campaign should look like, and with products like these Chaosium reminds us exactly why it is as storied an institution as it is. Masks is a classic car rebuilt from the ground up with modern parts and the original's soul."—Andrew Logan Montgomery, Exploring the Otherworlds of Fiction, Magic, and Gaming.

"HOLY COW! You took the time and made this thing amazing… The 7th edition Masks of Nyarlathotep is an phenomenal product."—Throatpunch Games.

"…a grand campaign that spans the globe as players go searching for the lost Carlyle Expedition by chasing down clues in newspaper clippings, photographs, and other resources. The campaign lets the players determine their direction and while it has a deadly reputation, it’s one that most fans of Call of Cthulhu remember fondly as they talk about how they died or went insane."—Geek & Sundry.

"...blends the globetrotting pulp momentum of an Indiana Jones movie with the dark cults and uncaring gods of the Cthulhu Mythos… It’s good to see a fan favorite campaign back after all these years."—Geek & Sundry, Best RPG Supplements of 2018.

"Everyone should play Masks of Nyarlathotep. It's one of the best roleplaying campaigns ever written - and now it's easier than ever to play."—The Vintage Podcast (podcast).

"When Masks first came out [in 1984], it was the best. In the years since, rivals to the throne appeared. The new edition vanquishes them. Masks of the Nyarlathotep is the best. Full stop."—Vintage RPG.