It was forty years ago today

When the sirens told the band to play…

…So may I introduce to you

The scenario you’ve known for all these years…

His Master’s Voice is a series of three Call of Cthulhu sessions by Terry Cooper, Mark Morrison, Liam Routt, Rap and the Duckmaster, played at Arcarnacon IV, 1986. The PC are a rock band in 1967 on their European tour. The first session is set in France, with the Phantom of the Opera making an appearance the same year the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical revived Leroux’s gothic novel. The second session takes place in England and the Dreamlands. The final session takes place in Germany.

Forty years later, there was the launch of Jane Routley’s revised His Master’s Voice on Sunday 27th September at the Railway Hotel in Brunswick. The new edition, published by Chaosium, is 68 full-colour pages with the campaign, handouts and background material for the 1960s. A far cry from the black-and-white photocopied spiral-bound first edition.

Most of the Torps were there. The Torps are the greatest rock band that could not play their instruments. They were invented for His Master’s Voice, but they did more than just play the scenario; they cosplayed the whole thing, creating a whole band with badges, T-shirts, and two movies. And they inspired me to write A Looking Glass Jukebox; for more, see the backstory. 

I don’t think that I GM’d the first His Master’s Voice in 1986; I remember playtesting it but not running it. I had other things going on in my life. I was doing 4th-year Honours in Philosophy, a thesis on philosophical issues with art forgeries and directing Monash Shakespeare Soc.’s production of Romeo and Juliet. I did hear reports about the game at the convention and was determined to be involved in the next two iterations of His Master’s Voice. As it turns out, the Torps had a similar story to mine and only started playing in HMVII.

It was great to see everyone at the launch, enjoying a classic pub lunch and several pints, even though forty years later, it is hard to recognise that kid with hair who now has almost none. Thanks to Mark Morrison for his shout-out for A Looking Glass Jukebox in the newly updated edition.