Chaosium has done it again! Mansions of Madness is now available on Roll20 and we had a chance to interview David Naylor, Digital Content Manager over at Chaosium about this latest release:
What can players look forward to in the new encounters in Mansions of Madness?
Two of the scenarios, Mister Corbitt and The Crack'd and Crook'd Manse, are staple Call of Cthulhu scenarios and the other three are brand new to this collection. Each scenario has your classic monsters, secrets, tomes, and plots, but they all bring something new to the table.
In Mister Corbitt, the investigators aren't going after an unknown adversary. Instead, it's their neighbor, their friend, who has become wrapped up in the mythos. The Crack'd and Crook'd Manse has a truly alien adversary that is completely oblivious to the investigators' mundane desires.
House of Memphis features warring stage magicians and the investigators need to determine the difference between tricky illusions and genuine spellcraft. The Code boldly drops a time machine into play, so be prepared for the inevitable timeline tampering and chaos that the device brings. Finally, The Nineteenth Hole tasks the investigators with chasing ghosts across a haunted golf course in Scotland as they race against the clock.
In all five scenarios, the investigators will navigate social scenes, formidable combat encounters, pit themselves against the mythos and the sanity-bending horror it always brings.
What is your favorite aspect of Mansions of Madness?
My favorite thing about these five scenarios is how open they are. They all centre around the investigation of a haunted house, but how the players approach each mystery is up to them.
They can carefully plan their approach by researching the destination in libraries, chasing down leads, speaking with NPCs, and then enter the house armed with knowledge. On the other hand, they can grab their guns and their heavy leather coats before smashing open a window and taking the house one room at a time.
They just shouldn't be surprised when the house smashes back.
What can new players expect from Mansions of Madness? Is it a good entry point for those that are new to the Call of Cthulhu series?
Mansions of Madness is a great jumping-in point for Call of Cthulhu, especially for new players that have already tried the one-shot Gateways to Terror scenarios (available on Roll20). The haunted house is a fiction staple that everyone can immediately grasp and any one of these scenarios can serve as a springboard into a longer campaign. There's a heap of Keeper advice for adapting each of the scenarios so they can be tailored for any table's playstyles.
What is unique about the Roll20 version of Mansions of Madness?
Late-night visits to crumbling mansions and the Roll20 dynamic lighting are a perfect match. The players can plot their way through each location as they investigate for clues and secret rooms. As the night grows darker, they can continue to push their luck by searching "just one more room" and pointing to the door they passed earlier in the session. When everything goes wrong, the monsters can leap from the darkness and into the torchlight to chase the investigators back the way they came.
It's the easiest way to track movement through these sprawling interconnected mansions and the Keeper always has the necessary information at their fingertips.
Is there anything else you want to share about Mansions of Madness?
I'm actually running my own group through the Mansions of Madness scenarios using Roll20 at the moment. So if you're curious to see the modules in action or to get a glimpse of how each scenario runs, you can check out our 'Stream of Chaos' games on the Chaosium YouTube channel: - https://www.youtube.com/chaosiuminc
Ready to investigate what secrets lie within the haunted house? You can grab your copy of Mansions of Madness right now on the Roll20 Marketplace.