Author: nataix

Investigator Passports: Update in Progress

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After a long hiatus, gathering some feedback, acquiring some additional software, and a fair bit of work… I’m finally close to releasing a major update for the Investigator Passports.

But first, the bad news.  I’m going to need to increase the price for these moving forward.  Making money off of these was never a goal, but some of the improvements I’ve made require me to get some additional subscription-based software plugins.  So I will be increasing the price in the near future to help slightly offset the additional monthly cost.

But on the flip side, these improvement and additional software should allow me to more easily add more countries and other elements moving forward.  So hopefully, more frequent and substantive updates.

Here’s what’s coming in the update:

  • So the most obvious difference is the inclusion of blank pages for Visa stamps.  This was a highly requested feature.  Each passport will have 2 blank Visa pages, but these are entirely optional.  If you want to print a character sheet on the backside as in the original design, you still can.  If you want the Visa pages, just print two-sided and make one extra cut.  That’s it.  You get two Visa pages with everything held together and are still only using one sheet of paper.  (Ignoring the sloppy cut, you can see the first test print of this design below.)
  • Additional fields – I’ve added quite a few more fields to support passports from more countries.  More characteristics, travel destination, places of birth, children’s names, etc.  These are still all filled out on the first couple of pages and seamlessly appear on your chosen passport.
  • Security stamps on photos – Many passports in the 20s and 30s made use of ink stamps on top of photos as a security feature.  I’ve figured out a way to incorporate these while still allowing you to load your own photo.  I think this makes those passports look much more realistic.  You can see an example in the photos below.  Of course, these stamps were often specific to the city or region where the passport was issued.  Fortunately, the way I’ve done this allows you to choose a stamp in much the same way you would the photo itself.  So you could choose between two different German photo stamps, for example.
  • And I’m adding more countries.  The new list will include: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Indian Empire, Australia, Argentina, China, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, and the USSR.
  • Sample photos – I’m also planning to include a selection of period-appropriate passport photos for each country.  Just an optional tool so you can include more realistic photos if you want.  Note that these photos will be AI-generated.  That way they do not portray any actual people.

So that’s where I’m at and what should be coming soon.  Please share any thoughts or questions.

Experimental Map Handout – Printing and Aging

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One of the projects I’m working on right now is making props and handouts for my recently purchased copy of Chaosium’s Horror on the Orient Express campaign for Call of Cthulhu.

I started with a simple print out of the route map.  Decided to experiment a bit to try and produce some different effects I can use for other handouts and props.  The end result – or close to it anyway – is a nicely aged map that has a heavier/coated feel to it.  Nicer maps designed to hold up the elements have a coated/leathery feel to them, and I wanted to try and replicate that.

A couple of important things to note:

  • The original file includes some faint halos around most text that looks a little like a bleed.
  • I intentionally tried to screw this up at a few stages.  That way I know how much wiggle room I have to play around with the process – plus I wanted to test how well the ink in my new printer holds up to the process.
  • I seriously doubt this will work with just any inkjet printer and ink.  There is a LOT of variety in inkjet inks.  So if you try this, your results could vary quite a bit.
  • Be sure to click each image to see the higher-res photo.

Printing

I printed the map on my new Epson Workforce WF-7820 printer.  This uses a pigment-based ink.  A big goal of this was to see how well this ink resists bleeding when exposed to water, as a common way of artificially aging paper involves water.  It did not disappoint.

I printed the map on a single 11×17 sheet of 67-lb cardstock that has a vellum finish.

HotOE Route Map Printed

Aging

Ideally, you would let the print sit overnight to ensure it’s completely dry and minimize any possible bleeding.  I intentionally took the printed page directly from the printer to soak and age it.

I placed the printed map on a baking sheet and soaked it in coffee.  I looked carefully for any signs of bleeding ink.  At worst, there was a very, VERY SLIGHT bleeding around black text.  Since the original file includes some faint coloring around a lot of the text, it’s hard to tell if there was actual bleed.  If so, it was just a faint bleed of black into the surrounding tissue, but it in no way impacted the crisp edges of the text.  Again, I wouldn’t expect this result with any inkjet printer, but it seems this pigment-based ink holds up very well to water.

Then the map goes in the oven for 4-5 minutes at 225°.  Flipped the map over for another 4-5 minutes.  I placed it directly on the sheet, which evidently had some residual cooking spray on it.  This discolored a couple of areas on the back.  Simple fix is to always place the paper on a piece of parchment paper.

HotOE map soaking in coffee
HotOE map wet

Waxing

This is where I was going completely experimental to try and get the coated/leathery feel.  Basically, I’m using a wax designed to wax and waterproof fabric.  In this case, it’s a product called Otter Wax, and it comes in a bar.

Straight out of the oven, I placed the still warm map on the counter and rubbed the bar back and forth over the surface.  Again, this didn’t affect the printed details at all.  As it’s applied, it adds a subtle, waxy sheen to the surface that slightly brings out the color.  Flipped the map and applied wax to the back.

Supposed to let waxed fabric cure in a warm environment for 24 hours, so I initially left the map out overnight.  The next day it still had a tacky, wax-like feel to it.  Decided to put it in the oven (after I aged some paper for another project) for another 3 minutes.  This finished the wax curing / absorbing into the paper.  No more wax feel to the surface, and slightly heavier than the base cardstock.  I applied a second coat of wax the same way, and put it in the oven again.  You definitely feel the wax when you apply it, but coming out of the oven that slight stickiness is gone.

Route map waxing
Route map waxing closeup

End Result

The aging process always makes the paper wavy and wrinkled, so after waxing the first time (and again after waxing the next day) I pressed the map under weight to flatten it out a bit.  Then I folded the map and pressed it again.

The final map is definitely heavier than the regular cardstock, and it has a texture and feel very close to what I was going for.  I might try another application of wax or two, just to see if it makes a difference.  The waxing also enhances the aged look of the coffee-died paper.  It adds a subtly mottled appearance to the paper that is very reminiscent of natural parchment.

HotOE Map aged and waxed
Closeup of aged and waxed HotOE map

The King in Yellow Annotated Edition – Homebound

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Finally finished up my latest project.

When working on my Yellow Sign display, I was introduced to the amazing Annotated Edition of The King in Yellow.  Unfortunately, I quickly discovered it is no longer available in print.  However, it is available to purchase as a PDF.  So work began…

I’ve done a few homebound copies of gaming books, but I wanted to take things up a notch on this one.  So that means trying a couple of things I haven’t done before.  Most significantly, this is my first time working with real leather in any capacity.  And I needed a new printer to handle larger paper.

So here are some pictures of the finished product.  It was another learning experience, and I already see ways I could have made it better.  But overall, I’m happy with how it turned out.

This copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition uses a paper with a natural parchment appearance.  Subtle variations throughout the paper really give it a nice look that simultaneously says rich and aged.  These pictures really don’t do justice to how they look in person.  The new printer did a great job with both the text and amazing artwork.  The pages are hand-sewn and gilded in gold, with a black ribbon bookmark.  The cover is black sheepskin with gold foil on the spine as well as the large yellow sign on the cover.  The yellow endsheets also feature the yellow sign, this time in black.

Cover of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Spine of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Inside the cover of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Interior of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Interior of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Interior of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Interior of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Interior of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Interior of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition
Interior of homebound copy of The King in Yellow Annotated Edition

Essential Saltes

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All three bottles of Essential Saltes in wire frame, tagged

Finished up my Essential Saltes.

I’d kept this gift set because it seemed like something I could use as a display.  Decided to stick with numbering each subject, with a couple of additional touches on the bottle labels.

It was originally a set of 3 different Jameson whiskeys and is what gave me the idea in the first place. Each bottle is about 9 inches tall.  Used a version of the Copiale cipher on the label – it seemed appropriate given the loose ties to Eastern Europe in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.  Sprayed to give them a bit of an aged look, then wax sealed (both the top and the string).  Add in a university tag and call it done.

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Stone Seals and Clay Tablets

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Stone seals and accompanying clay tablets

Here’s another one of my handmade displays for my Shelf of Madness.  This was actually made prior to my Yellow Sign and Carcosian Star Chart displays – after the brain cylinder.

One of my favorite purchased artifacts is a set of stone seals from the ‘Hastur’ experience from the Mysterious Package Company.  For those that aren’t familiar with these, they are little engraved stone/resin cylinders that when rolled across a soft medium like clay leave an imprint of part of a story describing Carcosa. I always though these were really cool, but anyone simply looking at them wouldn’t be able to easily see the scenes they depict.

So I decided to make some faux clay tablets that show each scene. These are actually made of a moldable EVA foam that has been painted to look like clay. I then mounted these tablets in shadow boxes with their respective stone seals and tags that include a small excerpt of the story told in each scene.

After finishing this project, I got the green light from my wife to expand my Shelf of Madness 😁, so they have moved around a little since these photos were taken.

(By the way, photographing these was much more difficult than I expected. Apologies for the glare and reflections.)

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Carcosian Star Chart fragment

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This all started when I saw this cool star chart an intrepid Keeper made for their game.  The constellation referenced in Tatters of the King campaign gave me ideas on the specifics.  And it kind of grew from there…

I originally just made the star chart with a couple of notes.  Trying to decide which version to go with, I asked around, and it seemed everyone agree that a version with notes was the best way to go.  So I decided to expand the notes a bit.  Using a floating frame I discovered amongst my various parts and pieces (still a pain to photograph well) I put together a slightly larger display than I first planned.

The chart itself on the left with a museum tag, and a full page of notes on the right outlining each part of the diagram – while still leaving enough mystery to fire the imagination.

Created all in Illustrator and Photoshop.  These were actually all printed on a single sheet of paper, then cut/torn out.  Just applied a bit of tea/marker/flame to the torn edges that were showing white.  This piece features a version of the Yellow Sign created by Zacharias Holmberg that’s quickly becoming my favored version.  He’s got some cool designs in his Redbubble shop.

For those that are interested, here’s a full resolution PDF of the complete display that you can print yourself. Be aware that the original was created at a resolution of 600dpi, so this PDF is over 80MB.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SYF2i5FFMlsrRK3ec-55sWo9wW2wpJSX/

Here’s an alternate version with no background, for those that want to age their own paper.  Be sure to do a test print on regular paper first to make sure it’s printing at the correct level of detail.

Shelf of Madness Archives

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Building from my collection of mythos-related games and book, as well as my interest in integrating props into tabletop games, I’ve gradually developed a fondness for displaying my collection.  In some areas it’s modest, in other areas less so.  I have dubbed this constantly evolving display my Shelf of Madness.

And I’ve recently taken to creating some props and display pieces of my own.

I’ve posted pictures of some of these items here and there, and I’ve gotten a few requests for a more detailed description of some items, where they are from, etc.  So I figured I could start posting some of that here as well.  That way when I post some new acquisition or creation and someone sees something in the background, I’ll have a place where I can point them to check out what’s in the collection.

You can see all the posts describing the Shelf of Madness here.

Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?

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Another addition to hang above my Shelf of Madness – followed by a companion piece after some fellow Reddit cultists pointed me to some other variations – these contain a number of examples (9 actually, or maybe 10…) of the Yellow Sign.

Yellow Sign display 1

First Display

The main display includes 4 versions of the Yellow Sign.  Three of these are featured in major tabletop games, and the fourth I came across while doing some research on the others.

Top left is the Kevin Ross design, owned by Chaosium, along with his originally intended inverted version a little smaller next to it.

Bottom left is by Kurt Komoda and appears in the Impossible Landscapes campaign for Delta Green by Dennis Detwiller.

Bottom right is by Christian Knutsson for The Yellow King from Pelgrane Press.

Top right is the work of Zacharias Holmberg. You can read a brief explanation of its creation here: https://zachholmbergart.tumblr.com/post/618992728119902208/i-wanted-to-post-my-design-of-the-yellow-sign-with

Yellow Sign display 2

Second Display

This includes 5 more variations.  The first two are at the top with the notes and are from the earliest printings of Chamber’s The King in Yellow.  You can read about them here: https://kmalexander.com/2017/06/20/hunting-the-yellow-sign/.

The beetle-looking version comes from the amazing Annotated Edition of The King in Yellow from Arc Dream Publishing.

Middle version comes from the board game Carcosa from One Free Elephant.

And the spiral version was made famous by the TV show True Detective.

 

Greetings from Innsmouth

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I’ve back quite a few Kickstarter projects, almost all of them either tabletop gaming or mythos related.  Recently I backed a project producing some really cool Innsmouth postcards from Russel Smeaton.  The project is still ongoing with some more stretch goals to hit – and perhaps a couple more to be announced.  *wink, wink*

Really hoping we can hit all the stretch goals for this one, so check it out.