They say that every Game Master is different, but there is one thing that will always be true about each and every one of them: Game Masters love resource materials. They just can't seem to get enough of them. Well, about twelve years ago, I got the GM bug, and it was with my very first RPG: Call of Cthulhu.

Ever since then, I've been on the look-out for resource material. I've walked through the cramped and dusty corridors of used book stores and through the dark and dismal hallways of the public library, looking for sources to draw new stories from.

Then a friend turned me on to The Unspeakable Oath (TUO), a magazine published by a small publishing house called Pagan Publishing. The tiny magazine was loaded with information to use for CoC, as well as a big old parody section that made me fall on my face laughing. A lot of people think at horror gamers have no sense of humor. If you believe that, you should see the Cthulhu For President poster I have hanging up on my wall.

Not only were these guys informative, educated damn fine writers, but they were also funny! I was hooked, and I've been a devoted follower ever since.

There are three story sourcebooks available now from Pagan, all of which deserve high praise. Devil's Children tells the four witches from witch-haunted Salem. In a stunning two-part tale, the players play both witches and then play the part of the ancestors of the men who caused their downfall. To reveal more would be to spoil Hitchcock-style surprise ending.

Of Gates & Keys presents three early stories published in TUO, all of which deal with extradimensional threats, and lastly, Grace Under Pressure details the story of a doomed submarine and its encounter with the Cthulhu Mythos forty fathoms down. Each of these books provide extensive playtest notes, game master props (a must for any CoC game), bibliographies and sources and priced under $8 apiece.

The two "campaign" books Pagan has published are Walker In The Wastes and Coming Full Circle (both written by John W Crowe III and priced at $19.95 and $17.95 respectively, and reviewed separately below). As for the backbone of Pagan Publishing, The Unspeakable Oath is perhaps one of the finest small press magazines in existence, certainly the finest for Lovecraft addicts. Very recently, TUO has changed its format a bit and it's meant nothing but improvement.

Regular features include Mysterious Manuscripts (Mythos and non-Mythos tomes); Tales of Terror (quick snippet stories with multiple endings to fit your style); and The Eye of Light and Darkness (reviews of all things Lovecraftian and horrible). TUO also regularly offers complete stories to spring on your players. Most of these are single session stories and most are also better off left to the grown-ups.

One of my favorites (and a good example of a typical scenario) is In Media Res. I wouldn't dream of letting you in on the secrets of the plot, but I'll tell you how the thing starts out. There are four people standing in the middle of a room. Each of them are wearing prison garb. None of them know who each other are, or why they are there. One of them is holding a bloody knife and there's a body in the middle of their little circle. The face of the body has been cut away and one of the players is wearing the skin over his own face! Did I forget to mention he also has the tongue of the corpse in his mouth? Put your players in that situation, then sit back and say "Go" and see what happens.

Pagan Publishing has produced some fine products since its birth in 1990. I've met the towering John Tynes (the guy must be over well over 6') and despite the fact he writes the most disturbing adventures I've ever read, he was a courteous, soft-spoken, eloquent gentleman... who signs his correspondence with "Blood and kisses." Yup. You just can't beat well-read guys with a sense of humor, not without a really big stick, anyway.