Blood Brothers 2

BLOOD BROTHERS2 is designed to be a collection of one-night-stands for the game Call of Cthulhu. The gimmick of BLOOD BROTHERS2 is that it has no Mythos, no Cthulhu, no Lovecraft. It is roleplaying of horror movie archetypes, from silent pictures to teenager beach movies to zombie flicks. Each adventure is really theater, with characters and a script. Some might find this confining, but I think it is an intriguing alternative to standard Call of Cthulhu. Each scenario even comes with a sketched poster and a "trailer". BLOOD BROTHERS2 seems intent on producing a more campy atmosphere than genuine horror, although I suppose an experienced keeper could make it go either way. I certainly found some of them too amusing to not play. Some of the highlights: "Nightmare in Silence": this is a silent picture. The characters don't speak (of course, the players may, but only in describing their actions or thoughts). Minimal dialogue is done with cards. "An Alien Kicked Sand in my Face": Teenager beach movie. I think this would end up played as a farce, when evil aliens come to take over the world by assuming the form of lustful teenagers. "El Tigre": Masked wrestlers fight alien invaders on the moon after being kidnapped by female Nazis. This explains itself. "Carnival Knowledge": Think "Killer Klowns from Outer Space". This is the only one I actually found scary - I think it would make great horror as opposed to the campy theme of the whole book. Overall, I thought the campy stories would be fun to play. I mean, who could pass up a chance to play a masked wrestler? Many groups might enjoy the opportunity to go beyond the somewhat formulaic, albeit well-appreciated, storylines that Call of Cthulhu traditionally presents. That said, I wouldn't want to play BLOOD BROTHERS2 every night, but as I said before, it would make a great diversion.