Berlin: The Wicked City: Unveiling the Mythos in Weimar Berlin (Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying)

Arrived well-packaged & intactGreat content, and interesting too!Ia! Ia! Ia!Cthulhu Fhtagn!

This book is a gem! An awesomely rich source material, regardless of the rpg system you are playing.The purpose of this book is to provide an interesting and appealing scenario, not to be a "documentary" or politically correct history book! So you get why some people post "triggered" reviews, just ignore it.I was worried if amazon would deliver a damaged version of the book as others complained about, but I was lucky - the book arrived in perfect state.

If you want to try 1920s or 1930s Europe in your Cthulhu campaign, and have a soft spot for Weimar Berlin, this is really a packed, atmospheric, and historically accurate / inspired source book. It may border on PG-13 or 18+, especially with a serial killer adventure, based on real serial killers of the time, but if you like the sort of thing and do not read up too much Wikipedia about the more gruesome real thing, it's rather good. You may be surprised that almost every NPC you encounter is based in reality.

Well, let's be clear, Call of Cthulhu has never exactly been PG-13. One of the earliest scenarios I played as an investigator involved building a miniature train track out of human bones and organs while using a heart as the locomotive. Oh, and there was a cannibal present, too. Yes, this source book for Weimar Berlin contains mature subject matter, especially with regard to sex and sexuality. I'm not sure how you can avoid that, however, if you're planning on setting scenarios in Weimar Berlin any more than you could avoid drugs, sex, rock and roll in a scenario set in Haight-Ashbury during the so-called "Summer of Love." It more or less comes with the territory. But yes, if unusual and bizarre sexual proclivities, prostitution, sexual-sadistic killers, and an age of consent of 14 (historically accurate, I'm afraid) turns your stomach, avoid this book. There, you have been warned.In terms of strengths, like all 7th ed Call of Cthulu publications thus far, this is of far higher quality than its predecessors, in this case the source books. Not just because it's a hardback but because of the sheer amount of information herein and the three fully developed scenarios it contains. The devil -- or Cthulhu -- is in the details and, honestly, as a Keeper, you'll probably need to create a cheat sheet just to keep up to speed with what this book covers, whether with respect to landmarks, neighbourhoods, personalities, events, institutions and whatnot. The adventure seeds are very good, too. It also has the advantage of being very well written and profusely illustrated. At $45, it's a deal.With respect to the scenarios, they're hit and miss and none are really designed for beginner Keepers. Of the three, I thought the first and third were solid, while the second one was somewhat weaker. All three suffer from too many moving parts syndrome. I'm definitely going to trim them, such as removing the assassination of Walter Rathenau plot from the first one (it really doesn't add anything, and if your players prevent the murder, German history changes in ways that are too lengthy to list here). The third scenario, however, is outstanding, involving as it does two separate plots to really hook (or kill) the investigators.In terms of weaknesses, this is very much Christopher Isherwood's Berlin (to the extent he should have been listed as a co-author). The writers overemphasize the sexual aspects of Weimar at the expense of the occult ones. Berlin was a hotbed of occult activity and while this fact is indeed referenced in here, there's little discussion of Berlin's occult underground. The Thule Society, for example, is mentioned once and in passing. It strikes me these various groups and personalities (not all of which were right-wing, let alone pro-Nazi) fit a Cthulhu campaign like a glove. Their absence seems to be an opportunity missed. That said, Aleister Crowley, complete with stats, appears in the final scenario.I also think the authors might have added some additional names to their bright young things chapter of Berlin's personalities (who should have been given statistics, too) such as Ernst Jünger, author of Storm of Steel, who lived in Berlin from 1927 and Gustav Meyrink, the occult author whose novel the Golem ties very nicely with the second scenario in here. There's also some further reading I'd add, such as Otto Friedrich's Before the Deluge, among others.So why the five stars? Because it's very difficult to create a work of this quality and very easy to criticise it. A mythos Berlin is long overdue (aren't you a little tired of London?) and this is a great addition to any Keeper's collection.

I was thrilled by the content of this book: the post war Berlin which was the most open city of all Europe -if not the world- at the time is quite surprising seeing how it evolved afterwards. City of diversity and pleasure, Berlin has a particular and sensual nightlife infiltrated by creatures of the myth. An exploration of the myth through the nightclubs and cabarets, in the depth of hedonism and pleasure excesses. I'd say this is for a more mature public to really enjoy.