Author: Madeline Crane

Fantasy writer, tabletop gamer, wearer of hats.

Midwinter Gaming Convention 2020!

As promised, here is my Very Exciting News: I will be running two Call of Cthulhu games at Midwinter Gaming Convention in January! This con takes place every year in downtown Milwaukee. We’ll be playing the first two chapters of my module, The Well Below the Valley. Part One will take place on Thursday, January 9th, at 5:30 pm, and Part Two will be Saturday, January 11th, also at 5:30 pm. Both games will be at Table 4 in the MacArthur Room. Tickets are free (you’ll need a convention badge), but there are only 5 slots per game, so if you want to play with me, get them fast!

Here is the event page for Part One.

Here is the event page for Part Two.

Here is where you can get convention badges.

To avoid spoilers, I will be hiding all the posts from Chapter One and Chapter Two of my module until after the con, but the introductory material will remain available. I also won’t be posting any new parts of the module, and will instead be updating Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea every week. We’ll resume with Chapter Three and the normal posting schedule the week of January 13.

I am so excited to host this game and look forward to playing with you!

Song of the Week

Garbage, “As Heaven is Wide”

Happy Monday! It’s now December. This year has both been extremely long and flown by.

Last week, against all odds, I finished NaNo! I also received some Very Exciting News, which I promise I will actually tell everyone about soon.

In less exciting news, my sweet cat Odin was very sick last week. He seems to be back to his old self, but it was very scary there for a couple of days and he had to have a lot of tests done. If you have a few extra dollars and want to help me cover his vet costs, you can donate to my Ko-Fi, but please don’t feel obligated.

A black and white cat sleeps on a jeans-clad leg with his paws folded under his head.
He is a good boy with a very good face

I hope everyone has an excellent week.

NaNo Update: I did it!

A photograph of the NaNoWriMo winner's certificate, as displayed on my laptop screen. Text reads: "You met your NaNo goal head on, never gave up, and completed your novel!"

Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Three)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The time of the summoning grows closer and closer. Can the investigators find the cult’s base of operations and stop the ritual?

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: kidnapping, murder, blood sacrifice, potential mob violence, eldritch horrors.)

Continue reading “Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Three)” →

Song of the Week

Phoebe Bridgers, “Motion Sickness”

Happy Monday! It’s the last week of NaNo! One of the first books I ever read, when I was learning to read, was The Little Engine That Could. I feel a bit like the train in that book: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!” It’s amazing I still remember that mantra after so many years, and don’t remember stuff like…algebra.

I’ll be finishing up Chapter Two of The Well Below the Valley here on Wednesday. I hope you enjoy it; my players certainly did! They were thoroughly spooked and missed almost all the side plots in Chapter Three, they were so determined to stop the cult.

Some bad news in the Twitch department: my internet connection here isn’t strong enough to be able to stream live. It can more or less upload footage, but can’t do it in real time, which means that I won’t be able to interact with anyone in the chat. Streaming is going to be on hold until I can figure out how to fix it.

I hope everyone has an excellent week!

NaNo Update: For the first time this month, I’m actually not behind

37,590 words! I just have to keep this up for another week.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter VII

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which Eske speaks to Khalim about home, and the contest of oratory takes place.

Table of Contents

The next day was to be the day of the contests of oration and magecraft. I awoke to find the house in disarray, Garvesh having spread out his books on every available surface. With an exaggerated sigh, he sat down at the table before one of his tomes and placed his chin in one hand, the other tracing the rows of characters on the page. I was tempted to close my door again and see if the scene was any more comprehensible upon opening it a second time, but instead I strode into the common room and wished everyone a fine good morning.

Garvesh gave me a look sharper than a javelin, but I paid him no heed. I was still in a good humor from my victory the day before, having won my team a lead over even the Ascended’s own champions, and despite a narrow loss to the warrior Heishiro in an arm-wrestling match outside of the games.

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter VII” →

Song of the Week

Ishtar, “Lamouni (Ligharou meni)”

Happy Monday!

I hope to return to our regularly scheduled nonsense this week, which means the next chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea will be up Wednesday, and I’ll be on Twitch Thursday night.

I’m trying to stay on top of NaNo, so maybe my Friday update will be a positive one. We’ve passed the halfway point, so the pressure is on!

Have an excellent week!

NaNo Update: All Words are Good Words

It’s been a rough week, and I’ve decided to count basically everything I write this month toward my total, regardless of what project it’s for. The good news is, I’m at 24,550 words today, which means I’m almost caught up! There’s a decent chance I can actually complete the challenge!

Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Two)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The cult of the Great Mother is well-established here in Oxmoor, and the investigators need to find out whom they can trust. The notes written by Professor Ragnarsson’s murderer indicated that the cult is seeking a book at the Westmont estate. Finding that book will be the key to the investigators’ next steps, but time is of the essence: the cult is preparing to summon an eldritch horror from ages long forgotten.

This section includes the Westmont Estate, notes on the book, and other locations around Oxmoor.

(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: violence, death, murder, cult activity including blood sacrifice and implied forced pregnancy.)

Continue reading “Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Two)” →