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Raiders of R’lyeh: Gamemaster’s Guide & Complete RulesClick to magnify
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Raiders of R’lyeh: Gamemaster’s Guide & Complete Rules

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LATEST NEWS! 

RAIDERS OF R’LYEH: FROM THE TIDELESS SEA, our first big expansion (at 564 pages) for RAIDERS of R’LYEH is now available for sale in PDF, with the hardcover POD soon to follow https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/412990/Raiders-of-Rlyeh-From-the-Tideless-Sea!

RAIDERS of R’LYEH is a stand-alone roleplaying game and sourcebook in which mercenary rogues explore forbidden frontiers, unearth ancient artifacts, and outwit villainous scum. Derived partly from the Runequest rules that have been released under the Open Game License, the game is crafted to emulate not only adventure in the CTHULHU MYTHOS of H.P. Lovecraft and his circle of influences, but especially the savage and evocative feel of Robert E. Howard’s Mythos and Weird menace stories.

Attention has been made to keep the game mechanics compatible with other percentile systems — while innovating additional rulesets unique to the setting and atmosphere — so those players wishing only to use Raiders of R’lyeh as an Edwardian era adventure sourcebook will have a massive global setting to explore and use in their preexisting Mythos campaign, as well as modular adventure, monster and scenario resources for gaming in 1900-1913. Those players wanting a standalone rulebook with its adventure modes of play, will have a complete toolkit for interacting with the Cthulhu Mythos.

  • A complete sourcebook for expeditions, intrigues and adventures in the pre-Great War Edwardian period (can be used as a rules-independent sourcebook)
  • A wealth of resources about technology, inventions, architecture, weapons, gear, currencies, class structure, etiquette, vehicles, mounts, ports of call, and travel for the period
  • An expansive monster construction kit, with new weird monsters and twists on old favorites from the Mythos, drawn from the works of Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, M.R. James, William Hope Hodgson, Clark Ashton Smith, Algernon Blackwood, Lafcadio Hearn, among others
  • Hundreds of pages of GM support and world building resources for developing adventures, enemies and organizations
  • A global network of back-alley criminals, controlling gentry, avaricious smugglers and a campaign-spanning conspiracy known only as “The Glove,” drawn from the pre-War era and tradition of Weird adventure
  • Setting creation support — including a collection of organizations from the era, from intelligence agencies to detective bureaus and secret society lodges, as well as ideas for secret factions and cults within these organizations or as separate entities, NPC stats for warlords, criminals, soldiers, spies, thugs, beasts...all the added Kickstarter-backed NPCs and organizations...and more
  • Faction rules, with a complete toolkit for developing your own factions
  • Guidelines for facilitating node-based investigation, using Circles of Influence (derived from other systems), Clue Webs and Scenario Nodes, Networking and Connections rules, and Organization Responses and Hierarchies
  • A robust and extensive chapter on magic, sorcerers, occult works and artifacts from the world of 1910
  • A simple yet robust sanity system integrated into the PC and NPC motives and bonds
  • Options for “pulpier” occultists and occult detectives adventurers — akin to much of Lovecraft’s original material and most of Howard’s, and to the occult detectives in the works of various weird writers such as William Hope Hodgson, Arthur Machen, and so on — for players who want to incorporate pulpier magic into their mythos game
  • New adventurer roles, drives, bonds, and special abilities for players that emulate the period and feel of Weird menace and adventure
  • And much more: new skills, new gear, basic and tactical combat rules, chase rules, etc.
  • Includes an OGL and bibliography of sources, with support for open-ended customization, enabling designers to adapt the game and hack their own settings and derived rules

As a bonus, you receive with your purchase “Dark Swamp,” a 27-page introductory scenario plus an expanded toolkit for developing and using the artifacts, legends, minions and magic of Tsathoggua in your campaign

At over 500 pages, BW, Raiders of R’lyeh comes with a vast assortment of toolkits to build and run your own adventures set in the Mythos!

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Reviews (2)
Discussions (33)
Customer avatar
Attila K October 13, 2023 9:51 pm UTC
Any chance of having a colored edition?
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Customer avatar
Quentin B October 17, 2023 8:14 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
By colored edition, I am assuming you mean color interior or possibly color illustrations? This is something we’d like to do down the road, and most likely with a dedicated artist, and a traditional printer (perhaps as a collector’s edition through crowdsourcing). Nothing concrete planned, yet. But thank you for the interest and question.
Customer avatar
Bryan N September 15, 2023 4:54 pm UTC
Does this version have the cover with the corpse sitting on the throne?
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Customer avatar
Quentin B September 26, 2023 10:44 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
The content is the same as the version you are describing, but the cover has been updated to look like the one in the preview here.
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Customer avatar
Bryan N September 28, 2023 8:09 pm UTC
Darn, I much preferred the original cover.
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Customer avatar
Quentin B September 30, 2023 6:47 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for the feedback, Bryan!
Customer avatar
Raffaele P August 10, 2023 7:26 am UTC
Still got few copies of the original book delivered via Kickstarter.
If anybody interested in Europe, please drop me a message.
Location: Belgium
Customer avatar
Luis R July 23, 2023 12:30 am UTC
PURCHASER
Hey guys this is a non standard issue but by you guys locking down the PDF file my screen reader JAWS in this particular case is unable to generate an OCR of the document so it can interact with. When I use OCR on Adobe it asks me for a password to allow me to OCR the document. Is there any way we can resolve this accesibility issue on the file for us who are low vision//blind.
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Customer avatar
Quentin B August 30, 2023 1:45 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Apologies that this is an issue for you. For future reference, is there a way on our end to make this easier for you? I’m not sure if the fix happens during our prepress of the document, or during the processing and upload of the document. Thanks for the feedback, Luis!
Customer avatar
Steven O June 12, 2023 5:08 am UTC
PURCHASER
I'm looking at purchasing this, as I love both the Cthulhu Mythos and the Raiders-type theme; however, I do have a question:

Are there mechanisms in place to convert Call of Cthulhu or other established scenarios to Raiders of R'lyeh?

Thank you in advance!
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Customer avatar
Quentin B June 16, 2023 11:37 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
There is close compatibility between systems, this being descended from the same family of systems. I would say Raiders is easily adaptable. But I would be curious to know (for our future reference to gauge the need for such a document) how much and specifically what needs conversion notes. Thanks for the inquiry!
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Customer avatar
Steven O July 19, 2023 11:56 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I have a few CoC adventure booklets that are set in around the same time frame. I could take a look and see what I can find and let you know, if you like.
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Customer avatar
Quentin B August 30, 2023 1:43 am UTC
PUBLISHER
If you have any insights, you can send them to mail@thecipherbureau.com. Thanks for the inquiry!
Customer avatar
May 27, 2023 8:58 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I've had the pdf for a while and I like the game (big d100-based fan :D). I have one concern that I hope someone could answer for me. For anyone who has purchased the POD for this massive tome, how is the binding holding up with regular use?

Customer avatar
John D April 29, 2023 3:03 am UTC
PURCHASER
Slightly off-topic, but can you post a permanent link to the fan Discord server? The link in the Kickstarter for From the Tideless Sea is no longer valid.
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Customer avatar
Quentin B May 05, 2023 12:33 am UTC
PUBLISHER
This is the current link I have: https://discord.gg/nFfzMNRE

Hope it works...
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Customer avatar
John D May 10, 2023 8:49 pm UTC
PURCHASER
That worked! Thank you.
Customer avatar
Ed S March 22, 2023 6:17 pm UTC
"March madness 70% sale on Raiders of R’lyeh!"

I think you mean 30% sale. :)
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Customer avatar
Quentin B March 23, 2023 9:22 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Yep! Apologies for the miscommunication...
Customer avatar
Cameron M July 27, 2022 10:41 am UTC
PURCHASER
Just wondering if there is a form-fillable version of the character sheet available at all?
Customer avatar
Michael B September 07, 2021 7:02 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Just purchased Raiders of R’lyeh: Gamemaster’s Guide & Complete Rules, but the corebook download is called zz-PRINT-EDITION-PDF-Variation-04-02-2018 and appears to be formatted very oddly, especially on my tablet. It there another file I'm missing?
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Customer avatar
Quentin B September 08, 2021 10:04 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Michael,

Thank you for the purchase and support!

That is the correct and most current file. I just downloaded the file on my end, and all of the formatting looks correct here. Can you specify what “formatted very oddly” means? This is the first we’re hearing of an issue with the formatting, and knowing what it is you are experiencing as odd would help us identify if there is an issue with your file.
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Customer avatar
Michael B September 09, 2021 8:36 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thanks for the quick response Quentin. It seems to be my PDF reader, Foxit, which has the issue with the file. I have tried it with other readers, including Adobe and it looks fine. I'm a Linux user, so Adobe doesn't support us, which is why I use alternatives. Foxit reads the first page (the covers) and then formats the interiors pages as landscape. No idea why, never encountered this before. I'll just remember to use one of my other PDF readers, and pop a not to Foxit about the behaviour. Thanks again!
Reply
Customer avatar
Quentin B September 09, 2021 10:08 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Michael,

Thanks for the response. Working with all these technology variables can be tricky, and (as reasonable as possible) we want to stay on top of issues that may affect the reader experience. Ideally, we’d like to know what interaction between Foxit and the file is causing it to present as landscape. But in the meantime I’m glad you found a reader that works.
Customer avatar
James C September 05, 2021 4:48 am UTC
There are two options for the physical book - Black & White and Standard Color. Is any of the interior art in color? And if not what do I get for the extra $10?
Reply
Customer avatar
Quentin B September 05, 2021 10:15 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for the inquiry, James.

As noted above, the “Hardcover B&W Books” are printed on 50# white paper, while the “Hardcover Color Book (Standard Heavyweight)” uses a thicker 70# white paper which has better page opacity. Please note that despite being listed as Color, both editions are in black & white. However, some customers notice a discernible difference in quality in the thicker edition, so that option is offered here.

Hope that helps!
Reply
Customer avatar
James C September 06, 2021 4:29 am UTC
It does. Thank you
Customer avatar
Mike S October 26, 2020 6:02 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I snagged the print and PDF bundle when Raiders was up as the DriveThru Deal of the Day (marketing works).

Is there a form-fillable version of the character sheet floating out there? Due to Covid, my group is playing remotely and this is a contender for our next game.
Reply
Customer avatar
Quentin B November 02, 2020 8:15 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Mike, thanks for the inquiry. Creating play aids such as the ones you’re suggesting is on our to-do list. We’re at the tail-end of layout on our first big supplement for the game — then will be tackling the play aids. It’s possible that others have created them and released them to the wild, but we have not made any official ones yet.
Reply
Customer avatar
Mike S November 03, 2020 9:44 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thank you
Customer avatar
Steven E August 21, 2020 6:19 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Great game and setting! Looking forward to seeing any new releases. Any updates???
Reply
Customer avatar
Quentin B September 26, 2020 5:51 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thank you for the interest and support, Steven E! We are currently finishing our first major expansion, and hoping to reveal details before the end of the year.
Customer avatar
Will H August 13, 2020 6:40 am UTC
Why is my earlier remark missing?
Customer avatar
Ian M March 10, 2020 12:13 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Are there plans for any more releases in this era?
Reply
Customer avatar
Quentin B April 02, 2020 7:51 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Yes, we are excited about our first major expansion, which looks to be over 200+ pages. We’ll be announcing details about it within a couple of months, as we near completion on the last chapter and final layout.
Reply
Customer avatar
Ian M April 15, 2020 12:13 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Any chance of a preview? Hint, hint...
Reply
Customer avatar
Quentin B April 21, 2020 9:13 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Soon! We want to have everything in working order before any confident announcements. We we will be posting to our blog at raidersofrlyeh.com when we are nearing completion.
Reply
Customer avatar
Quentin B December 02, 2020 12:42 am UTC
PUBLISHER
UPDATE:
We are nearing completion on FROM THE TIDELESS SEA, our first big expansion (at 280 pages and in final layout) for RAIDERS of R’LYEH! More here: http://raidersofrlyeh.com/design-journal-series/#part-thirty-two-update

Customer avatar
February 04, 2020 1:54 am UTC
PURCHASER
I bought this game when only the pdf was available. Is there some way that I could get a coupon to order the hardcover at the price of the Hardcover + pdf? I love this game and I would definitely get the $59.99 color hardcover, but I don't want to end up paying $100 for the book and pdf.
Reply
Customer avatar
Quentin B February 14, 2020 1:07 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Than you for the endorsement! Please go ahead and email us at mail@thecipherbureau.com and we will see what we can do.
Reply
Customer avatar
February 17, 2020 2:29 am UTC
PURCHASER
Sorry, missed this the other day because I was out of town. Sent email tonight. I mentioned in the email that I am looking to get the hardcover color book; I realized in my comment above that I mentioned the B&W price instead of the color price. Again, no worries if you can't do anything; I will get the hardcover one way or the other, but I appreciate your response above anyway!
Reply
Customer avatar
February 29, 2020 3:27 am UTC
PURCHASER
Got the link and ordered the hardcover tonight. Thank you for helping me out, and I really appreciate what you did for me!
Reply
Customer avatar
Quentin B March 23, 2020 12:24 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Thank you for support!
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