Update 2023-10-31 Romanian Mythos is now live, in PDF and physical formats: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/454061/Romanian-MythosβSourcebook-of-Horrors-for-Lovecraftian-RPGs
Lovecraftian horrors inspired by Romanian history and culture
This has been a labor of love for the past seven months. But Iβve finally finalized a manuscript. Itβs now reached whopping a 45 000 words! This is an insane amount for me, considering I only started writing CoC modules last summer (I published two so far).
Writing this has been a struggle tbh. Romanian history and culture are vast, and Iβm just an amateur. I get maybe 4-5 good hours of writing in on a good week. I have a full-time job as nothing creative (Software Engineer - cliche, I know).
So what is it?
The product blurb so far:
βRomanian Mythosβ (working title) is a compendium and setting guide for Lovecraftian investigative RPGs, inspired by Romanian culture and history.
While a small and oft-forgotten country today, Romania harbors many dark secrets within its history and collective subconscious. These are now brought to unlife to be used in any Lovecraftian d100 RPG game.
It includes
- secret occult history of Romania, from the ancient Dacians to the modern communist regime, written to fit a cosmic horror setting
- unique cults, NPCs, monsters, spells, and artifacts, all inspired by Romanian folklore, culture, literature
- New custom rules inspired by Romanian psychology and magical traditions.
- Hooks for involving your PCs in the mysteries.
- Advice for campaign frameworks across different time periods and locations.
The supplement is written for the d100 OGL-based Cthulhu Eternal system, which is free here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/384110/Cthulhu-EternalβModern-Age-SRD. The mechanics can easily be adapted to the other popular d100 Lovecraftian RPG.
Why?
I have been fascinated by my countryβs history and culture the for past year(s). I never really cared for it while growing up in there. Living it was exhausting and saddening. When I moved away about ten years ago, I just breathed a sigh of relief and tried to block all the negativity that I associated with it. But recently, after some emotional distance, I felt like I needed to understand my past. Who are all those imposing historical figures looking down at me from classroom paintings? Why did our teachers insist that LuceafΔrul (transl., βEvening Starβ) (1) was the greatest poem of the Romanian language? Why is my countryβs relationship with religion so messed up?
Donβt know if Iβve managed to find the answers to all these. But digging through books and archives has at least yielded inspiring bits to bring into horror gaming (2).
The manuscript is now with an editor and beta readers. Hopefully, the feedback wonβt be soul-crushing. Once that is integrated, I move on to layouting.
I hope to have it published sometime in late Autumn.
1: It is pretty dope actually. Itβs about a star demon falling in love and being betrayed by a mortal woman. The English translation is good too. It definitely went into this setting guide. 2: and maybe fiction soon