RATTLING THE CHAINS

When you release a product references the works of H.P. Lovecraft, whether that’s a new RPG or a novelty The Colour out of Space kaleidoscope, it can mean confronting some rather ugly issues. A lot of the original Cthulhu mythos stories had underlying themes of racism and xenophobia that are hard to just sweep under the carpet these days.

This is as true with Cohorts of Cthulhu as it is with any other game, but this time around the Roman Empire setting brings along an additional slice of potentially sticky subject matter: slavery.

“We’re going to have a sensitivity note in the rulebook about how to approach slavery, because it was so widespread in the Roman era,” Birch explains, “if you went into the average Roman house, the servants would probably be slaves. They might have been treated well or treated badly, but that’s still a tricky subject to deal with.”

“We want groups to have a chat about how they approach slavery, and to try and approach it sensitively. You might choose to gloss over it and just get on with the adventure, or you might want to have your party run around freeing slaves. It’s really up to you how you approach it.”

However, the Modiphius team says that their approach to tackling the thorny issue extends to more than writing up sensitivity notes. The game has led to the company “getting involved in a big anti-slavery effort” that will begin this summer.

“There are more people in chains today than at any other point in human history,” Birch points out, with a shake of the head, “more than in the Roman Empire, more than at the height of the slave trade. There’s a very good chance that there are slaves in your town at this very moment. It’s the second biggest criminal activity in the whole world.”

“We want people to be aware that this isn’t something confined to the past. In the rules, we’re going to have a page with information on what you can do to help fight modern slavery. What charities there are, what resources there are that you can access.”