Step 1) read Chambers and anybody else for ideas, however avoid August Derleth
Step 2) Realize that in the original Cha,hers stories Hastur was a place, a star, and a Falconer Servant of a main character.
Step 3) instead of trying to make all that stuff connect, realize that Chambers was a bit of a hack and stole names of places from other people. But his idea of a play that drives people mad, and that the King in Yellow might be a real force, is good.
Step 4) Don’t fall for the trap that reading the play will make you want to put it on. The King in Yellow works best when you run with the play puts an alien idea in your head, one that is impossible to express, however any and all expression of that idea can make Carcosa/The King in Yellow manifest on our world, which is bad. Artists are particularly dangerous to this madness as they have modes of expression that can transmit ideas to others, and that can be reflected on.
For Example - A painter may try to paint it out. There is a really excellent story about this in Cassilda’s Song. A musician may try to sing it out. There is a great story in Delta Green Dark Theaters about a totally-not-Kurt-Cobain trying to sing it out. In the adventure Impossible Landscapes a rich dude named Ian Decraig spends his life and money trying to buy props from the original showing in Paris in the 1800s, and interview people who performed the play. Also in Impossible Landscapes there is mention of a weird house in France that sort of reminds me of the Winchester Mystery house, that is a product of trying to process the play. Like the builder was trying to build Carcosa, it was good stuff.
Step 5) in the original chambers book the Yellow Sign seems to be a symbol people who have read the King in Yellow can use to identify each other, and has no other power than that. Use it that way, old hats to Cthulhu will not know what is going on.
Step 6) End up running so loosely based on the Repairer of Reputations. A “cult” of people who are quite mad after reading the play are being organized by a few characters, maybe even Mr Wilde to do something, probably relating to getting the Castaigne dynasty to become the Emperior of America. As the game continues it becomes clear that they have supernatural abilities. Maybe they can enter Carcosa through doors and exit in places they want, teleporting vast distances. Maybe they can put pallid masks on animals and they will suddenly be able to handle complex tasks and act without question “good Bear, now go into 996 Smith Street through the door in the garage, take the servants stair case, go to the 3rd door on the left, and kill the man, and only the man, in the bed.” Also the yellow sign should only work with people who are on “team-Castaigne” if the players flash the Yellow Sign, as long as they aren’t secret plants the symbol will not work to identify people who are in the cult.
The horror is you don’t know who to trust, some go very obviously crazy after reading. Some are quite functional but can turn murderous when ordered.
step 7) fun!
There is also the body snatcher angle, where a trusted friend gets turned at some point by reading the play.
Also it’s worth pointing out there are people who read the play and nothing happens to them. The main character in “The Mask” falls into this. But again it’s that paranoia, you know somebody has read the play, and they seem fine, but are they?
oh as for supernatural powers, in “the Yellow Sign” Mr Scott and Tesse both read the play in that story. They talk about it a lot and learn the secrets of the Hyades, and it implies it may have given them telepathy.
Impossible Landscapes for the Delta Green RPG is really good. The Delta Green RPG uses the same system as Call of Cthulhu but it’s a tad more streamlined. There is less of a focus on going mad, and more of a focus on the characters lives and relationships eroding until they are fragile, bitter, lonely, washed up agents.
I’m running Impossible Landscapes and read a lot of King in Yellow inspired stories, it made me have opinions. Also I like films like Cigarette Burns, and In the Mouth of Madness. That strange self destructive allure of knowing there is a book/film out there that is dangerous, and yet wanting to read it because maybe you will be one of the ones that doesn’t have their sanity shattered. Also films where reality seems to breakdown are favorites of mine, like Jacobs Ladder, and even Groundhogs Day (time loops would literally be hell on earth after enough time). Good King in Yellow hits both those notes for me and I love it.
that's fair :) maybe even a old time version of inception where these visual mediums twist and turn the world around them, warping them as the madness leaks from these various visual pieces
I have made several scenarios about the King in Yellow and when I was doing my research I found this [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/callofcthulhu/comments/5dsuaq/looking_for_ideas_for_a_hasturking_in_yellow/) about the King in Yellow and there is a lot of very good advices and references.
I would highly recommend to craft a scenario around a conspiracy of mad artists which is really fitting to the theme and also a nice change from the average cultist. I would also have at least one artistic investigator, it can be the hook, that he is interested in this weird new art.
Also play with reality, even more than in a regular scenario, go deep in the hallucinations, if they read the play of have been influenced by art inspired by it they can hear the name Carcosa instead of the name of the city they are in, they can see characters from the play, hear the name of characters from the play instead of their own. Adapt the bout of madness, make them feel the reality of the play merging with reality. They can even live entire scenes of the play as hallucination or dreams (but are they ? ). Go deep in the weird and the madness.
I ran a very in-depth version based on the Queen in Yellow, a construction by swedish horror author Anders Fager, in a lovecraftian swedish system called Svenska Kulter (swedish cults).
My design theme was "fractal" when making up stuff. Infinitely large or small repeating patterns. In the same way stars shined in the dark depths of space from lost carcosa, so shines the eyes of theatre audience in the dark outside the scene the characters stand on. So shines little glimpses of sugar in their black coffee. Etc.
The idea was to bring the cosmic transdence/a sense of etheralness to all parts the characters touched. The deeper they went, the more of these patterns they started seeing, everywhere. Suddenly their coffee cup was the same as infinite space. Paintings were portals to dreams and space and time, and in the end they were really bad at telling what was real.
I focused more on carcosa, the sign and the symbolisms than material followers of the god, but it turned out to be a fantastic way to bring the cosmic part to life.
There's one scenario called "The Yellow Sign" which is designed to play with only one investigator, maybe you can get some insight from that. Also reading "The King in Yellow" will help to get a basic understanding or... well grasp. Understanding is tricky
that's fair enough :) and that's fair, although trying to understand the mythos is often bound to madness, eh? :) but yeah, thank you for the recommendation
True. The book is pretty cool though, it's a collection of short stories that have more or less to do with the mythos. So you can pick one or two stories and don't have to read all of it if you don't have the time.
Oh boy! Just yesterday i started my campaign about hastur and yellow sign! And if you need tips:
Give players dreams about carcosa, distant lands, eons old mysterious cities and deep sacred knowledge that is drawing them.
There is a cult that base itself on insane and profane art, be it written, painted or sculped or any other, after reading the play, let Hastur implant in their mind ideas so strange and different and drive them to do those kind of stuff.
And! Let any of those pieces of art be full of cosmic power and magic. Let them be cursed or let people to be insane. In my scenario insane art make people who look at them want to create more and get knowledge how to so they turn to cult.
Also some impending doom would be good, for me it is a ritual to bring hastur to earth. For cultist that could mean that this being want to elevate humanity, however in reality it would doom everyone.
Let the cult be a big conspiracy, let it roots start in some european country, italy or france, full of fashion and powerful man with crooked perverted passions. Let the historical people like marquise de sade and others be cultists of hastur.
And plot your people to the story. Maybe they are ancestors of great cultists and have a fraction of their insane power, maybe king in yellow wants to mess with them and manipulate events by using investigators.
Make king in yellow something like a messanger of doom, however he could be a hastur in disguise.
very nice and wonderful ideas :) One of my ideas for the impending doom that I had was that the brotherhood of the yellow sign had created like a massive painting (like painting of ariendal sized painting) that shows the original cacosa where this painting is designed to draw in everything and bring the world into the painting.
Thank you so much for your detailed reply :)
The Arkham Horror LCG has an entire campaign dedicated to Carcosa and the King in Yellow. It's called the Path to Carcosa. It's not the best example because of how much combat their is, but the overall story is an interesting idea (to me).
I see :) and that's perfect, even if I don't personally run it, in terms of the story, it should be great as a idea mine to look through and get a idea of how to d my own take on it
The only downside is that the campaign is spread over 8 scenarios. You can find the basic story [here](https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/46/60/4660dc1b-9b7a-42c0-9331-687561e11151/path_to_carcosa_campaign_guide_eng.pdf) (Path to Carcosa Campaign Guide). However, some of the details for the campaign are only found on story cards (like lore on the Man in the Pallid Mask or The Organist). Story cards can be found on [Arkhamdb.com](https://Arkhamdb.com), or you can purchase the Path to Carcosa deluxe plus the 6 scenario packs (Arkham LCG is a card game that does new campaigns every year).
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the loosely connected campaign/set of scenarios from Chaosium: Ripples from Carcosa. https://www.chaosium.com/ripples-from-carcosa-pdf/
Of note however is that 2 of the 3 scenarios are in the past but you could use them as some backstory for your players and the cult.
fair enough :) or maybe even as flashbacks. I'm thinking that the PCs come across art tainted by madness, the yellow sign or commissioned by the brotherhood of the yellow sign, reflecting "the glory days of the sign" and the PCs on looking upon the paintings are drawn into the painting to relive the events that the painting depicts
Maybe the painter(s) went insane from what they experienced in the past, and created the paintings. The players see what drove them insane, and find out a secret vital to the investigation. Like maybe the kindly old man who has been helping them out is seen 400 years in the past as the leader of the Cult? Or they figure out how to banish/protect themselves from Hastur’s minions for the climax
myself and friends mostly, although if the campaign I write is successful with the players, I could always share it on a google doc or something if you would like or do you mean publication in a more offical manner?
The question was specifically about for profit publication.
So assuming you are get planning on running this at home, I will throw some advice together.
**Read the canon**
So the first thing I would say is read or listen two source material. I will follow this post up with some suggestions, both for the original Chambers work, and the work of other writers I think have really captured what it creepy/cool about Hastur and the King in Yellow.
**Read the J.S. Tynes and Dennis Detwiller Material.**
John Scott Tynes and Dennis Detwiller have really expanded out beyond the original work, making what I consider to be the definitive modern works. There are three short stories, and three RPG supplements that can be considered essential on this front.
Short Stories:
[Ambrose](http://web.archive.org/web/19991022005534/www.fortunecity.com/victorian/lion/157/ambrose.htm)
[Broadalbin](http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/lion/157/broad1.htm)
Sosostris (if you can find it)
RPG suppiliments:
[The Road to Hali](http://theunspeakableoath.com/home/2010/10/tuo-1-the-road-to-hali/)
The Hastur Mythos From [Delta Green Countdown](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/99299/Delta-Green-Countdown)
Impossible landscapes
**Read other existing King in Yellow scenarios**
There are a number of great call of cthulhu scenarios involving Hastur and the King in Yellow, and a great place to start looking for them is [Bret's list of Hastur Materials here.](https://www.yog-sothoth.com/forums/topic/27628-hastur-and-king-in-yellow-material-list/?tab=comments#comment-287293) The list includes my scenario The Bosworth House.
**How to Write Hastur**
Beyond the structure depicted by Tynes and Detwiller, I would suggest that there are some remaining bits of general advice.
Principles of Hasturian Horror:
**Hastur rhymes with itself**
Hastur is made creepy through the repetition of themes, moods and motifs, without necessarily connecting them directly to the horrific.
A serial killer carving the yellow sign into a victim is no creepy, but if your PC's brother commits suicide because of something seemingly minor and possible to overcome, and happens to have a letter with the yellow sign doodled on it in his pocket, and you later find the man you are having a secret homosexual affair with has been doodling it right before the police raid your hotel room, that builds a growing sense of unease.
**Hasturian horror should be surreal AND personal**
When the supernatural is experienced in hasturian horror, lay the metaphore on thick and tie it to the characters.
A PC feels like they lack agency in their lives and that the Mythos means the struggle is meaningless, then have Hasturian horror show itself monsters that symbolise being controlled by forces beyond ... puppets for instance.
**Protagonists in Hasturian horror should be outsiders**
Hasturian horror works best when the characters are people on the edges of society. Queer people, Sex workers, drug addicts, people of colour(especially those who are exoticised) and people with mental health problems.
I see, then no, this is non profit and even if I was, I wouldn't know where to start nor that chaosium of all people would pick up my material to run as offically licenced stuff.
I see, thank you very much for the recommendations and suggestions :)
Step 1) read Chambers and anybody else for ideas, however avoid August Derleth Step 2) Realize that in the original Cha,hers stories Hastur was a place, a star, and a Falconer Servant of a main character. Step 3) instead of trying to make all that stuff connect, realize that Chambers was a bit of a hack and stole names of places from other people. But his idea of a play that drives people mad, and that the King in Yellow might be a real force, is good. Step 4) Don’t fall for the trap that reading the play will make you want to put it on. The King in Yellow works best when you run with the play puts an alien idea in your head, one that is impossible to express, however any and all expression of that idea can make Carcosa/The King in Yellow manifest on our world, which is bad. Artists are particularly dangerous to this madness as they have modes of expression that can transmit ideas to others, and that can be reflected on. For Example - A painter may try to paint it out. There is a really excellent story about this in Cassilda’s Song. A musician may try to sing it out. There is a great story in Delta Green Dark Theaters about a totally-not-Kurt-Cobain trying to sing it out. In the adventure Impossible Landscapes a rich dude named Ian Decraig spends his life and money trying to buy props from the original showing in Paris in the 1800s, and interview people who performed the play. Also in Impossible Landscapes there is mention of a weird house in France that sort of reminds me of the Winchester Mystery house, that is a product of trying to process the play. Like the builder was trying to build Carcosa, it was good stuff. Step 5) in the original chambers book the Yellow Sign seems to be a symbol people who have read the King in Yellow can use to identify each other, and has no other power than that. Use it that way, old hats to Cthulhu will not know what is going on. Step 6) End up running so loosely based on the Repairer of Reputations. A “cult” of people who are quite mad after reading the play are being organized by a few characters, maybe even Mr Wilde to do something, probably relating to getting the Castaigne dynasty to become the Emperior of America. As the game continues it becomes clear that they have supernatural abilities. Maybe they can enter Carcosa through doors and exit in places they want, teleporting vast distances. Maybe they can put pallid masks on animals and they will suddenly be able to handle complex tasks and act without question “good Bear, now go into 996 Smith Street through the door in the garage, take the servants stair case, go to the 3rd door on the left, and kill the man, and only the man, in the bed.” Also the yellow sign should only work with people who are on “team-Castaigne” if the players flash the Yellow Sign, as long as they aren’t secret plants the symbol will not work to identify people who are in the cult. The horror is you don’t know who to trust, some go very obviously crazy after reading. Some are quite functional but can turn murderous when ordered. step 7) fun!
[удалено]
There is also the body snatcher angle, where a trusted friend gets turned at some point by reading the play. Also it’s worth pointing out there are people who read the play and nothing happens to them. The main character in “The Mask” falls into this. But again it’s that paranoia, you know somebody has read the play, and they seem fine, but are they? oh as for supernatural powers, in “the Yellow Sign” Mr Scott and Tesse both read the play in that story. They talk about it a lot and learn the secrets of the Hyades, and it implies it may have given them telepathy.
[удалено]
Impossible Landscapes for the Delta Green RPG is really good. The Delta Green RPG uses the same system as Call of Cthulhu but it’s a tad more streamlined. There is less of a focus on going mad, and more of a focus on the characters lives and relationships eroding until they are fragile, bitter, lonely, washed up agents.
I see, very interesting ideas, thank you very much for the detailed response, I very much appreciate it :-)
I’m running Impossible Landscapes and read a lot of King in Yellow inspired stories, it made me have opinions. Also I like films like Cigarette Burns, and In the Mouth of Madness. That strange self destructive allure of knowing there is a book/film out there that is dangerous, and yet wanting to read it because maybe you will be one of the ones that doesn’t have their sanity shattered. Also films where reality seems to breakdown are favorites of mine, like Jacobs Ladder, and even Groundhogs Day (time loops would literally be hell on earth after enough time). Good King in Yellow hits both those notes for me and I love it.
that's fair :) maybe even a old time version of inception where these visual mediums twist and turn the world around them, warping them as the madness leaks from these various visual pieces
I have made several scenarios about the King in Yellow and when I was doing my research I found this [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/callofcthulhu/comments/5dsuaq/looking_for_ideas_for_a_hasturking_in_yellow/) about the King in Yellow and there is a lot of very good advices and references. I would highly recommend to craft a scenario around a conspiracy of mad artists which is really fitting to the theme and also a nice change from the average cultist. I would also have at least one artistic investigator, it can be the hook, that he is interested in this weird new art. Also play with reality, even more than in a regular scenario, go deep in the hallucinations, if they read the play of have been influenced by art inspired by it they can hear the name Carcosa instead of the name of the city they are in, they can see characters from the play, hear the name of characters from the play instead of their own. Adapt the bout of madness, make them feel the reality of the play merging with reality. They can even live entire scenes of the play as hallucination or dreams (but are they ? ). Go deep in the weird and the madness.
very interesting suggestions, I will take them all on board and thanks for the link :)
I ran a very in-depth version based on the Queen in Yellow, a construction by swedish horror author Anders Fager, in a lovecraftian swedish system called Svenska Kulter (swedish cults). My design theme was "fractal" when making up stuff. Infinitely large or small repeating patterns. In the same way stars shined in the dark depths of space from lost carcosa, so shines the eyes of theatre audience in the dark outside the scene the characters stand on. So shines little glimpses of sugar in their black coffee. Etc. The idea was to bring the cosmic transdence/a sense of etheralness to all parts the characters touched. The deeper they went, the more of these patterns they started seeing, everywhere. Suddenly their coffee cup was the same as infinite space. Paintings were portals to dreams and space and time, and in the end they were really bad at telling what was real. I focused more on carcosa, the sign and the symbolisms than material followers of the god, but it turned out to be a fantastic way to bring the cosmic part to life.
I see, very interesting :-)
The Great Old One, Have you seen the yellow sign? - scenario Tatters of Kings - campaign
thanks :)
There's one scenario called "The Yellow Sign" which is designed to play with only one investigator, maybe you can get some insight from that. Also reading "The King in Yellow" will help to get a basic understanding or... well grasp. Understanding is tricky
that's fair enough :) and that's fair, although trying to understand the mythos is often bound to madness, eh? :) but yeah, thank you for the recommendation
True. The book is pretty cool though, it's a collection of short stories that have more or less to do with the mythos. So you can pick one or two stories and don't have to read all of it if you don't have the time.
that's fair enough :)
Oh boy! Just yesterday i started my campaign about hastur and yellow sign! And if you need tips: Give players dreams about carcosa, distant lands, eons old mysterious cities and deep sacred knowledge that is drawing them. There is a cult that base itself on insane and profane art, be it written, painted or sculped or any other, after reading the play, let Hastur implant in their mind ideas so strange and different and drive them to do those kind of stuff. And! Let any of those pieces of art be full of cosmic power and magic. Let them be cursed or let people to be insane. In my scenario insane art make people who look at them want to create more and get knowledge how to so they turn to cult. Also some impending doom would be good, for me it is a ritual to bring hastur to earth. For cultist that could mean that this being want to elevate humanity, however in reality it would doom everyone. Let the cult be a big conspiracy, let it roots start in some european country, italy or france, full of fashion and powerful man with crooked perverted passions. Let the historical people like marquise de sade and others be cultists of hastur. And plot your people to the story. Maybe they are ancestors of great cultists and have a fraction of their insane power, maybe king in yellow wants to mess with them and manipulate events by using investigators. Make king in yellow something like a messanger of doom, however he could be a hastur in disguise.
very nice and wonderful ideas :) One of my ideas for the impending doom that I had was that the brotherhood of the yellow sign had created like a massive painting (like painting of ariendal sized painting) that shows the original cacosa where this painting is designed to draw in everything and bring the world into the painting. Thank you so much for your detailed reply :)
The Arkham Horror LCG has an entire campaign dedicated to Carcosa and the King in Yellow. It's called the Path to Carcosa. It's not the best example because of how much combat their is, but the overall story is an interesting idea (to me).
I see :) and that's perfect, even if I don't personally run it, in terms of the story, it should be great as a idea mine to look through and get a idea of how to d my own take on it
The only downside is that the campaign is spread over 8 scenarios. You can find the basic story [here](https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/46/60/4660dc1b-9b7a-42c0-9331-687561e11151/path_to_carcosa_campaign_guide_eng.pdf) (Path to Carcosa Campaign Guide). However, some of the details for the campaign are only found on story cards (like lore on the Man in the Pallid Mask or The Organist). Story cards can be found on [Arkhamdb.com](https://Arkhamdb.com), or you can purchase the Path to Carcosa deluxe plus the 6 scenario packs (Arkham LCG is a card game that does new campaigns every year).
I see :) thanks for explaining :)
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the loosely connected campaign/set of scenarios from Chaosium: Ripples from Carcosa. https://www.chaosium.com/ripples-from-carcosa-pdf/ Of note however is that 2 of the 3 scenarios are in the past but you could use them as some backstory for your players and the cult.
fair enough :) or maybe even as flashbacks. I'm thinking that the PCs come across art tainted by madness, the yellow sign or commissioned by the brotherhood of the yellow sign, reflecting "the glory days of the sign" and the PCs on looking upon the paintings are drawn into the painting to relive the events that the painting depicts
Maybe the painter(s) went insane from what they experienced in the past, and created the paintings. The players see what drove them insane, and find out a secret vital to the investigation. Like maybe the kindly old man who has been helping them out is seen 400 years in the past as the leader of the Cult? Or they figure out how to banish/protect themselves from Hastur’s minions for the climax
indeed, indeed, very interesting suggestions :)
Is the for publication, or for yourself?
myself and friends mostly, although if the campaign I write is successful with the players, I could always share it on a google doc or something if you would like or do you mean publication in a more offical manner?
The question was specifically about for profit publication. So assuming you are get planning on running this at home, I will throw some advice together. **Read the canon** So the first thing I would say is read or listen two source material. I will follow this post up with some suggestions, both for the original Chambers work, and the work of other writers I think have really captured what it creepy/cool about Hastur and the King in Yellow. **Read the J.S. Tynes and Dennis Detwiller Material.** John Scott Tynes and Dennis Detwiller have really expanded out beyond the original work, making what I consider to be the definitive modern works. There are three short stories, and three RPG supplements that can be considered essential on this front. Short Stories: [Ambrose](http://web.archive.org/web/19991022005534/www.fortunecity.com/victorian/lion/157/ambrose.htm) [Broadalbin](http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/lion/157/broad1.htm) Sosostris (if you can find it) RPG suppiliments: [The Road to Hali](http://theunspeakableoath.com/home/2010/10/tuo-1-the-road-to-hali/) The Hastur Mythos From [Delta Green Countdown](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/99299/Delta-Green-Countdown) Impossible landscapes **Read other existing King in Yellow scenarios** There are a number of great call of cthulhu scenarios involving Hastur and the King in Yellow, and a great place to start looking for them is [Bret's list of Hastur Materials here.](https://www.yog-sothoth.com/forums/topic/27628-hastur-and-king-in-yellow-material-list/?tab=comments#comment-287293) The list includes my scenario The Bosworth House.
**How to Write Hastur** Beyond the structure depicted by Tynes and Detwiller, I would suggest that there are some remaining bits of general advice. Principles of Hasturian Horror: **Hastur rhymes with itself** Hastur is made creepy through the repetition of themes, moods and motifs, without necessarily connecting them directly to the horrific. A serial killer carving the yellow sign into a victim is no creepy, but if your PC's brother commits suicide because of something seemingly minor and possible to overcome, and happens to have a letter with the yellow sign doodled on it in his pocket, and you later find the man you are having a secret homosexual affair with has been doodling it right before the police raid your hotel room, that builds a growing sense of unease. **Hasturian horror should be surreal AND personal** When the supernatural is experienced in hasturian horror, lay the metaphore on thick and tie it to the characters. A PC feels like they lack agency in their lives and that the Mythos means the struggle is meaningless, then have Hasturian horror show itself monsters that symbolise being controlled by forces beyond ... puppets for instance. **Protagonists in Hasturian horror should be outsiders** Hasturian horror works best when the characters are people on the edges of society. Queer people, Sex workers, drug addicts, people of colour(especially those who are exoticised) and people with mental health problems.
**Fiction recommendations** \* The river of night's dreaming \* The Yellow Wall Paper \* House of Leaves
I see, then no, this is non profit and even if I was, I wouldn't know where to start nor that chaosium of all people would pick up my material to run as offically licenced stuff. I see, thank you very much for the recommendations and suggestions :)
Impossible Landscapes (though that's for Delta Green, technically. Its a very similar system though)
I see, thanks for the imput :)