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Dark Adventure Radio Theatre #20
Masks of Nyarlathotep
Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Masks of Nyarlathotep is an epic tale of globe-trotting adventure inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, presented as a 1930s-style radio drama. Dark Adventure Radio Theatre presents the tale with an absurdly large cast of professional actors, exciting sound effects and thrilling original music by Troy Sterling Nies.
Like many Lovecraft fans, we played Chaosium's celebrated role playing game Call of Cthulhu. Now, in partnership with Chaosium, we've adapted their most famed and beloved game supplement of all time - Masks of Nyarlathotep - into a fully dramatized super episode of Dark Adventure Radio Theatre. And if you've never heard of or played the game - don't worry, you don't need to know anything about the game to enjoy this super-sized episode. The death of a dear old friend and an inquiry into a doomed archeological expedition spiral into a global investigation with dire repercussions.
Can a handful of intrepid investigators make a stand against an insidious and bloodthirsty cult? Can a diabolical conspiracy be thwarted before a doomsday plan comes to fruition? Is there any hope for mankind against the machinations of an Elder God or will they meet only despair, death and madness?
Based on the 5th edition of "Masks of Nyarlathotep", a campaign for the Call of Cthulhu® role playing game originally written by Larry DiTillio and Lynn Willis. Fifth edition written by Mike Mason, Lynne Hardy, Paul Fricker and Scott Dorward
Like many Lovecraft fans, we played Chaosium's celebrated role playing game Call of Cthulhu. Now, in partnership with Chaosium, we've adapted their most famed and beloved game supplement of all time - Masks of Nyarlathotep - into a fully dramatized super episode of Dark Adventure Radio Theatre. And if you've never heard of or played the game - don't worry, you don't need to know anything about the game to enjoy this super-sized episode. The death of a dear old friend and an inquiry into a doomed archeological expedition spiral into a global investigation with dire repercussions.
Can a handful of intrepid investigators make a stand against an insidious and bloodthirsty cult? Can a diabolical conspiracy be thwarted before a doomsday plan comes to fruition? Is there any hope for mankind against the machinations of an Elder God or will they meet only despair, death and madness?
Based on the 5th edition of "Masks of Nyarlathotep", a campaign for the Call of Cthulhu® role playing game originally written by Larry DiTillio and Lynn Willis. Fifth edition written by Mike Mason, Lynne Hardy, Paul Fricker and Scott Dorward
8 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 12, 2022
From the famous CoC module. Great fun.
MY GRADE: A minus.
MY GRADE: A minus.
February 12, 2023
MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP remains one of the greatest RPG supplements of all time. It was created in 1984 by Larry DiTillio and Lynn Willis before being updated in 2018 by Mike Mason, Lynne Hardy, Paul Fricker, and Scott Dorward. Its premise is simple: nasty no-goodnik cultists are going to destroy the world and the Investigators have to go on a globe-trotting adventure to stop them. The campaign was famous because it incorporated multiple elements that made it enjoyable as well as flexible in a time when most modules consisted of, "go to dungeon, kill everyone inside the dungeon." While it followed the Shadows of Yog-Sothoth game that tried something similar, most people genuinely agree that Masks was the superior of the modules.
The original campaign was not without its flaws. Much like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, it was a story that took a somewhat too stereotypical view of Native peoples in order to facilitate its Pulp feel. It also was a work that presumed the Investigators would be white male protagonists given the story substantially changes if it's 1920s men of color or women running around shooting up the place.
The campaign also had the flaw of being something of a meatgrinder with stories of whole parties being wiped out a not-uncommon occurrence for Keepers. Generally, the ideal Call of Cthulhu game is player characters investigating sinister goings on, finding a monster, and hopefully having deduced its weakness before using it. Masks of Nyarlathotep is a story best served with Thompson machine guns, two-fisted action, and plenty of dynamite.
As such, I was very excited about hearing that the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society was going to do an adaptation of the campaign to their Dark Adventure Radio series. The premise of them are that HPL didn't remain a obscure but beloved magazine author but was adapted to radio like the Shadow and Superman. The radio plays are deliberately Pulpy (I'm going to overuse that word but it's the best one for it) with dramatic cliffhangers, deliberately ridiculous commercials (asbestos teddy bears!), and overacting. It's very enjoyable and fits the style of the Call of Cthulhu games greatly. It makes me wish they'd adapt other campaigns like the Horror of the Orient Express.
The radio play is adapted from the 7th Edition rewrite of the module and benefits from having a slightly-more self-aware narrative that acknowledges the racism, sexism, and imperialism of the time. It's mostly done in a cheeky and humorous style with the assumption being the characters know that colonialism and misogyny is bad. The radio drama doesn't get into politics as much as the revised module, perhaps for the best given its cheeky half-parody half-serious tone, but it's still able to diversify the cast as well as show the downside to being a non-white person or woman in the early 20th century.
Hazel Kalifan, one of the protagonists, is a real "Annie Oakley type" and does more as the central heroine to make a statement than any direct statements by the narrative. I'm also fond of her supporting cast in elderly Suffragist Victoria Woodhull, Zeke the manly adventurer who would have been the star decades ago, and Cecil the insurance investigator. The casts of characters rotates quite a bit since a good chunk of the protagonists meet their end before the final episode. This is true to the module but contributes to the audiodrama's disjointed tone.
The story takes the protagonists from New York to London to Cairo to Kenya and then all the way to Australia before climaxing in Hong Kong. It's a massive adventure where our protagonists are constantly imperiled by the evil cults and monsters serving the sinister Nyarlathotep (portrayed here as closer to Ming the Merciless or Thulsa Doom than a distant cosmic horror). Our heroes usually manage to stymie the enemy's plans but rarely without cost. The work is a fully-voiced graphic audio drama rather than a book and has a lot of period-appropriate sound effects to help the story move along. It's a loving homage to the serialized stories of the Thirties and Forties.
Overall, the story is enjoyable from beginning to end but does suffer a little bit toward the end. The problem boils down to tonal imbalance and mood whiplash. Basically, the story can't quite decide if it's a rollicking Pulp adventure or a somber horror story that not everyone is expected to live through. It's actually true to the original campaign in that respect but the "Kill Em All" heavy body-count by the end (no spoilers on who makes it through and who doesn't) leaves the ending feeling less triumphant than the climax should be. Mind you, I only played Masks of Nyarlathotep with Pulp Cthulhu rules and heavy modification so maybe my expectations of the story were different.
The Masks of Nyarlathotep radio play was originally only available from the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society website but is now available on Audible. It should be noted that the cost for the audiobook is thirty-four dollars but, for that price, you can purchase three audiobook credits and it only costs one to get the play. For those readers looking for a budget price on the radio play or simply using common sense, it's best to use a credit for the book instead of buying it outright. If you want to support the creators then give the extra credits as gifts to friends.
In conclusion, Masks of Nyarlathotep is an amazing radio play that I encourage everyone to check out. It's about six to seven hours long and is about the length of a decent-sized audiobook. There's a more expensive version that comes with a lot of props for the adventure but I didn't really see the need for that. I'm sure there's plenty of Call of Cthulhu collectors that would enjoy that.
The original campaign was not without its flaws. Much like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, it was a story that took a somewhat too stereotypical view of Native peoples in order to facilitate its Pulp feel. It also was a work that presumed the Investigators would be white male protagonists given the story substantially changes if it's 1920s men of color or women running around shooting up the place.
The campaign also had the flaw of being something of a meatgrinder with stories of whole parties being wiped out a not-uncommon occurrence for Keepers. Generally, the ideal Call of Cthulhu game is player characters investigating sinister goings on, finding a monster, and hopefully having deduced its weakness before using it. Masks of Nyarlathotep is a story best served with Thompson machine guns, two-fisted action, and plenty of dynamite.
As such, I was very excited about hearing that the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society was going to do an adaptation of the campaign to their Dark Adventure Radio series. The premise of them are that HPL didn't remain a obscure but beloved magazine author but was adapted to radio like the Shadow and Superman. The radio plays are deliberately Pulpy (I'm going to overuse that word but it's the best one for it) with dramatic cliffhangers, deliberately ridiculous commercials (asbestos teddy bears!), and overacting. It's very enjoyable and fits the style of the Call of Cthulhu games greatly. It makes me wish they'd adapt other campaigns like the Horror of the Orient Express.
The radio play is adapted from the 7th Edition rewrite of the module and benefits from having a slightly-more self-aware narrative that acknowledges the racism, sexism, and imperialism of the time. It's mostly done in a cheeky and humorous style with the assumption being the characters know that colonialism and misogyny is bad. The radio drama doesn't get into politics as much as the revised module, perhaps for the best given its cheeky half-parody half-serious tone, but it's still able to diversify the cast as well as show the downside to being a non-white person or woman in the early 20th century.
Hazel Kalifan, one of the protagonists, is a real "Annie Oakley type" and does more as the central heroine to make a statement than any direct statements by the narrative. I'm also fond of her supporting cast in elderly Suffragist Victoria Woodhull, Zeke the manly adventurer who would have been the star decades ago, and Cecil the insurance investigator. The casts of characters rotates quite a bit since a good chunk of the protagonists meet their end before the final episode. This is true to the module but contributes to the audiodrama's disjointed tone.
The story takes the protagonists from New York to London to Cairo to Kenya and then all the way to Australia before climaxing in Hong Kong. It's a massive adventure where our protagonists are constantly imperiled by the evil cults and monsters serving the sinister Nyarlathotep (portrayed here as closer to Ming the Merciless or Thulsa Doom than a distant cosmic horror). Our heroes usually manage to stymie the enemy's plans but rarely without cost. The work is a fully-voiced graphic audio drama rather than a book and has a lot of period-appropriate sound effects to help the story move along. It's a loving homage to the serialized stories of the Thirties and Forties.
Overall, the story is enjoyable from beginning to end but does suffer a little bit toward the end. The problem boils down to tonal imbalance and mood whiplash. Basically, the story can't quite decide if it's a rollicking Pulp adventure or a somber horror story that not everyone is expected to live through. It's actually true to the original campaign in that respect but the "Kill Em All" heavy body-count by the end (no spoilers on who makes it through and who doesn't) leaves the ending feeling less triumphant than the climax should be. Mind you, I only played Masks of Nyarlathotep with Pulp Cthulhu rules and heavy modification so maybe my expectations of the story were different.
The Masks of Nyarlathotep radio play was originally only available from the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society website but is now available on Audible. It should be noted that the cost for the audiobook is thirty-four dollars but, for that price, you can purchase three audiobook credits and it only costs one to get the play. For those readers looking for a budget price on the radio play or simply using common sense, it's best to use a credit for the book instead of buying it outright. If you want to support the creators then give the extra credits as gifts to friends.
In conclusion, Masks of Nyarlathotep is an amazing radio play that I encourage everyone to check out. It's about six to seven hours long and is about the length of a decent-sized audiobook. There's a more expensive version that comes with a lot of props for the adventure but I didn't really see the need for that. I'm sure there's plenty of Call of Cthulhu collectors that would enjoy that.
June 17, 2024
The Call of Cthulhu campaign, that people have sometimes spent years trying to get through. Even more have had groups break up trying to play it all. An epic scope and a ticking time bomb makes it hard to conduct, so it's fantastic to be able to hear it all in action over these 7 hours.
Since it's an adaptation of a roleplaying campaign there are a lot of "game-y" elements to the story that do sound odd or formulaic out of that context, much like with their other game adaptation The Brotherhood of the Beast, but unlike that one I thought this much better realized. The production values across all the Dark Adventure Radio Theatre series are great, but felt especially so here, with so many varied locations and details, from the revving engines of busy streets to chanting cults, clinking cocktail parties to Chinese brothels, the effects and music paint a great mind's eye theatre.
There are some flies in the ointment; commercial interludes are cute, and I understand they fit the theme, but the frequency and stepping on the action so frequently really got old fast. They were much better as part of a simple intro and outro on the regular episodes. They also chose pulp over creepy for a theme, and their other productions show they could have done a more serious slant to the telling, which I think would have fit better. Well worth the listen regardless.
Since it's an adaptation of a roleplaying campaign there are a lot of "game-y" elements to the story that do sound odd or formulaic out of that context, much like with their other game adaptation The Brotherhood of the Beast, but unlike that one I thought this much better realized. The production values across all the Dark Adventure Radio Theatre series are great, but felt especially so here, with so many varied locations and details, from the revving engines of busy streets to chanting cults, clinking cocktail parties to Chinese brothels, the effects and music paint a great mind's eye theatre.
There are some flies in the ointment; commercial interludes are cute, and I understand they fit the theme, but the frequency and stepping on the action so frequently really got old fast. They were much better as part of a simple intro and outro on the regular episodes. They also chose pulp over creepy for a theme, and their other productions show they could have done a more serious slant to the telling, which I think would have fit better. Well worth the listen regardless.
May 10, 2024
Absolutely brilliant.
June 19, 2025
Wish I'd realized earlier that these were counted as audiobooks and, thus, listed on this site. Now that I think of it, I've referred to these programs as such many times, so it does make some sense. This one is particularly unique in the series for a few reasons: it's by far the longest episode (7 hours, split into 7 chunks, which are themselves split into multiple chapters) due to the 600 page source material and is one of just a few based on a source other than a story by H. P. Lovecraft or one of his contemporaries, namely the most famous campaign module written for Call of Cthulhu. It's widely considered to be the second most famous table top RPG next to D&D and is, of course, heavily based on the works of the aforementioned Old Gent. Where D&D uses high fantasy and medieval elements to make the player feel like a sword-and-magic wielding super hero, Call of Cthulhu is usually set in the real world 1920s and has the players as every day people up against super natural threats that are almost insurmountably powerful. The open nature of RPGs and the associated campaign modules, and the hurdle of not knowing what kind of characters will drive the story until such time as the players create them inherent to RPGs created some unique challenges for the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, but fortunately they happen to have lot of experience with this particular RPG. Also, a quick explanation of the Dark Adventure Radio Theater series. The Society, in case it wasn't obvious by the name, is a fan group dedicated to the preservation of H.P. Lovecraft's works and explaining why his concepts are important and deserve to survive despite his horrific personal views. The group started as two men who did CoC LARP in the '80s, and now has done legitimate conservation work, most recently helping to acquire a large number of hitherto unseen Lovecraft letters from a private collector. They've also been quite transformative with the works of Lovecraft, and Dark Adventure Radio Theater is their greatest achievement in that regard. They are, for all intents and purposes, audiobooks but performed as ensemble pieces in the format of an old timey radio drama. Given Lovecraft's immersion in the world of pulp fiction of his day and the magazines where it was most commonly found, this is a perfect marriage of source material and format.
The story of the book involves the players (all somewhere in New York City) being contacted by a man named Jackson Elias, an investigative reporter that specializes in cults. He's stumbled onto something dark, ancient, and globe-spanning, and fears for his life, which proves to be well-founded. His final wish is for the players to finish what he started and stop this dangerous cult from enacting their plan, which has even more horrifying implications than they realize. This sends the players on a grand adventure that takes them from NYC to England, Egypt, Kenya, Australia and China. This DART episode starts off at a gala where we meet two of the characters created from whole cloth for this program: an elderly but fearless suffragette named Victoria and her younger cousin Hazel, whose life is in a pretty good place as she's about to marry a decent man from a wealthy family. Her dinner is disrupted when she receives a call from Elias, which draws her and her beau to the hotel where he was staying. They get there just in time to see Elias's murderers fleeing the scene. Her unfortunate fiancé also ends up a victim of these strangely dressed men and leaves Hazel devastated. While being comforted by her cousin Victoria, the two of them receive Elias's suitcase and discover some of evidence of the cult he was after and some of the places he had gone. Then, between Elias's funeral and having a chat with a woman attached to the case, they gain a new purpose and two additional comrades in their effort. Elias's will asks them to finish the investigation and expose the cult, and they are joined by a straight-laced insurance adjustor named Cecil and a rough, tough private investigator named Zeke that worked with Elias for a long time and also had history with Hazel. Using the wealthy Victoria's resources they follow Elias's trail around the globe, often splitting up to visit different countries at the same time, often adding new friends and losing old ones as they go. It culminates, as most runs of this campaign do, on a hidden island off the coast of China in an emotional but satisfying way.
I mentioned the Society has a number of achievements under their belt to this point with real-world consequences to them, and this should really be one of them. The two men who founded the Society - Andrew Lehman and Sean Branney - write, produce, and act in every DART episode. Usually the episodes are about 70 minutes long, and those are involved enough as it is that they usually only make one of these episodes per year. They also have an ensemble of regular actors that are in most episodes, and, as you might imagine, they had to call on every one of them for this massive undertaking. They also had to create several characters from whole cloth, and did so without touching on any of their own campaigns. They've done so many times in the past, most notably with their recurring characters Nate Ward and Charlie Tower, played by Lehman and Branney respectively. Lehman, Branney, and the rest of the ensemble have always been great in these episodes, but they all go above and beyond in this. It's the best acting, writing, and effects that have been featured in the series. Now that I've recently finished reading the most up to date version of the source material, I have an even greater appreciation of what they did here. They did some small but notable rewrites to make it work better for the radio drama format and the use of certain optional things from the book (such as several of the characters that join them being listed in the book as NPCs that would make good replacement investigators and using several of the optional things from the book for groups using the much more forgiving and action-oriented Pulp rules). It's a long listen but it if you have the time and interest in CoC or Lovecraft, it's so, so worth it. I also have to mention that Society creates a set of physical props for each episode that serve no purpose other than being beautiful visuals elements to go along with the story. In this case they made an entire box of props that can be used for the campaign itself. In addition to the highly realistic newspaper clippings and other papers, there are also clips of recordings from the episode for key sequences and there are incredible full sized props of some of the important items involved. It's the best thing the Society has ever produced and one of my favorite pieces of media I've ever consumed.
The story of the book involves the players (all somewhere in New York City) being contacted by a man named Jackson Elias, an investigative reporter that specializes in cults. He's stumbled onto something dark, ancient, and globe-spanning, and fears for his life, which proves to be well-founded. His final wish is for the players to finish what he started and stop this dangerous cult from enacting their plan, which has even more horrifying implications than they realize. This sends the players on a grand adventure that takes them from NYC to England, Egypt, Kenya, Australia and China. This DART episode starts off at a gala where we meet two of the characters created from whole cloth for this program: an elderly but fearless suffragette named Victoria and her younger cousin Hazel, whose life is in a pretty good place as she's about to marry a decent man from a wealthy family. Her dinner is disrupted when she receives a call from Elias, which draws her and her beau to the hotel where he was staying. They get there just in time to see Elias's murderers fleeing the scene. Her unfortunate fiancé also ends up a victim of these strangely dressed men and leaves Hazel devastated. While being comforted by her cousin Victoria, the two of them receive Elias's suitcase and discover some of evidence of the cult he was after and some of the places he had gone. Then, between Elias's funeral and having a chat with a woman attached to the case, they gain a new purpose and two additional comrades in their effort. Elias's will asks them to finish the investigation and expose the cult, and they are joined by a straight-laced insurance adjustor named Cecil and a rough, tough private investigator named Zeke that worked with Elias for a long time and also had history with Hazel. Using the wealthy Victoria's resources they follow Elias's trail around the globe, often splitting up to visit different countries at the same time, often adding new friends and losing old ones as they go. It culminates, as most runs of this campaign do, on a hidden island off the coast of China in an emotional but satisfying way.
I mentioned the Society has a number of achievements under their belt to this point with real-world consequences to them, and this should really be one of them. The two men who founded the Society - Andrew Lehman and Sean Branney - write, produce, and act in every DART episode. Usually the episodes are about 70 minutes long, and those are involved enough as it is that they usually only make one of these episodes per year. They also have an ensemble of regular actors that are in most episodes, and, as you might imagine, they had to call on every one of them for this massive undertaking. They also had to create several characters from whole cloth, and did so without touching on any of their own campaigns. They've done so many times in the past, most notably with their recurring characters Nate Ward and Charlie Tower, played by Lehman and Branney respectively. Lehman, Branney, and the rest of the ensemble have always been great in these episodes, but they all go above and beyond in this. It's the best acting, writing, and effects that have been featured in the series. Now that I've recently finished reading the most up to date version of the source material, I have an even greater appreciation of what they did here. They did some small but notable rewrites to make it work better for the radio drama format and the use of certain optional things from the book (such as several of the characters that join them being listed in the book as NPCs that would make good replacement investigators and using several of the optional things from the book for groups using the much more forgiving and action-oriented Pulp rules). It's a long listen but it if you have the time and interest in CoC or Lovecraft, it's so, so worth it. I also have to mention that Society creates a set of physical props for each episode that serve no purpose other than being beautiful visuals elements to go along with the story. In this case they made an entire box of props that can be used for the campaign itself. In addition to the highly realistic newspaper clippings and other papers, there are also clips of recordings from the episode for key sequences and there are incredible full sized props of some of the important items involved. It's the best thing the Society has ever produced and one of my favorite pieces of media I've ever consumed.
December 13, 2024
So, I will first state that this one is much better than Brotherhood of the Beast. That being said, it still isn't my favorite. I think the problems that I have with these original adaptations of the role-playing game is that they get so outside the norms of Lovecraftian Horror and take such a deep dive in the Pulp Action Adventure, that it makes it a bit hard for me to appreciate them. The characters are all over-the-top, hokey stereotypes that you would find in a tabletop or video game. The horrors that came with Lovecraft was that you were seeing something that was so abhorrent, horrifying, or outright unfathomable, that you essentially couldn't go on without going mad, dying, or living your life in misery after knowing what you know. Here, the creatures and abominations are essentially just used as challenges for our goofy cast to overcome, and they really don't seem to be anything that can't be overcome with the simple ease of a Thompson submachine gun or a trusty 1911 pistol.
On a more positive note, the production value is absolutely superb. The sound effects, music, and story flow incredibly well. Everything in that aspect is absolutely amazing. It's a lot of goofy, pulpy fun and definitely derived from the horrendously long campaign from the game, but I usually don't go into the DART production for pulp. I find most of their best productions are those that stick close to the source and really try to be more serious and creepier.
On a more positive note, the production value is absolutely superb. The sound effects, music, and story flow incredibly well. Everything in that aspect is absolutely amazing. It's a lot of goofy, pulpy fun and definitely derived from the horrendously long campaign from the game, but I usually don't go into the DART production for pulp. I find most of their best productions are those that stick close to the source and really try to be more serious and creepier.
August 29, 2025
The 20th installment of the Dark Adventure Radio Theatre series is its most ambitious work to date.
Adapting a Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game supplement designed to be played over the course of a year, Masks of Nyarlathotep is over 7 hours long. Most of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s (HPLHS) audio plays have been 75 minutes long, with their adaptation of the novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward coming in at 2.5 hours. Masks of Nyarlathotep spans across the Earth, uses many of Lovecraft’s most memorable creations, and has dozens of characters. I most enjoyed Victoria Woodhull, a real historical figure who would have been in her 80s during these events! Her fiery personality is a great feature of the storyline. The many satirical advertisements that break up the audio play are also highly entertaining, matching the pulpy feel of the plot.
You can purchase Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Masks of Nyarlathotep from the creators via this link: https://store.hplhs.org/products/dark...
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[Image: Book Cover]
Citation:
H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. (2018). Dark adventure radio theatre: Masks of Nyarlathotep. HPLHS, Inc. https://www.audible.com/pd/Dark-Adven...
Title: Masks of Nyarlathotep
Author(s): The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, Sean Branney & Andrew Leman (radio adaptation), based on the 5th edition of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game supplement Masks of Nyarlathotep by Mike Mason, Lynne Hardy, Paul Fricker, & Scott Dorward, with the original supplement by Larry DiTillio & Lynn Willis
Series: Dark Adventure Radio Theatre® #20
Year: 2018
Genre: Fiction - Audio Play: Mystery, Adventure, Horror, Historical Fiction
Length: 7 hours & 5 minutes
Date(s) read: 8/14/25 - 8/19/25
Book 166 in 2025
***************************************************************************
Adapting a Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game supplement designed to be played over the course of a year, Masks of Nyarlathotep is over 7 hours long. Most of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s (HPLHS) audio plays have been 75 minutes long, with their adaptation of the novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward coming in at 2.5 hours. Masks of Nyarlathotep spans across the Earth, uses many of Lovecraft’s most memorable creations, and has dozens of characters. I most enjoyed Victoria Woodhull, a real historical figure who would have been in her 80s during these events! Her fiery personality is a great feature of the storyline. The many satirical advertisements that break up the audio play are also highly entertaining, matching the pulpy feel of the plot.
You can purchase Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Masks of Nyarlathotep from the creators via this link: https://store.hplhs.org/products/dark...
***************************************************************************
[Image: Book Cover]
Citation:
H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. (2018). Dark adventure radio theatre: Masks of Nyarlathotep. HPLHS, Inc. https://www.audible.com/pd/Dark-Adven...
Title: Masks of Nyarlathotep
Author(s): The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, Sean Branney & Andrew Leman (radio adaptation), based on the 5th edition of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game supplement Masks of Nyarlathotep by Mike Mason, Lynne Hardy, Paul Fricker, & Scott Dorward, with the original supplement by Larry DiTillio & Lynn Willis
Series: Dark Adventure Radio Theatre® #20
Year: 2018
Genre: Fiction - Audio Play: Mystery, Adventure, Horror, Historical Fiction
Length: 7 hours & 5 minutes
Date(s) read: 8/14/25 - 8/19/25
Book 166 in 2025
***************************************************************************
November 22, 2025
It was interesting to relive the moments of the Call of the Cthulhu role-playing game classic campaign Masks of Nyarlathotep through this Radio Theatre presentation right after me & my party had completed our version of the perilous adventures. This isn't an audio book as such, but rather a fully voice acted dramatization of the key moments in the story enhanced through a narrator and sound effects. Cool feature are also 1920-era appropriate commercials between chapters. Also, worth noting is that this isn't an Actual Play recording of some people playing the game.
I had had this campaign on my bucket list since late 1980s and finally had a chance to experience it myself. For our party, completing the epic campaign took 1.5 years IRL time. This presentation takes about 7 hours. Therefore, the drama arc worked actually in a way better as compared to our (mis-)adventures. After the campaign I couldn't help but feel a bit of repetition from one continent to another with a different cult worshipping a different deity. In this Radio Theatre version each location felt as a distinct yet connected to the overall storyline.
Finally, as much as I enjoyed the audio version of the story, I wouldn't be ready to recommend to people who haven't played the campaign. I doubt that the story in itself would have the same impact as it has on those who can relate to the locations, NPCs and different solutions to different obstacles.
I had had this campaign on my bucket list since late 1980s and finally had a chance to experience it myself. For our party, completing the epic campaign took 1.5 years IRL time. This presentation takes about 7 hours. Therefore, the drama arc worked actually in a way better as compared to our (mis-)adventures. After the campaign I couldn't help but feel a bit of repetition from one continent to another with a different cult worshipping a different deity. In this Radio Theatre version each location felt as a distinct yet connected to the overall storyline.
Finally, as much as I enjoyed the audio version of the story, I wouldn't be ready to recommend to people who haven't played the campaign. I doubt that the story in itself would have the same impact as it has on those who can relate to the locations, NPCs and different solutions to different obstacles.
October 28, 2020
So stoked to finally get to experience this. It’s more than just plugging in headphones and listening, it’s definitely an experience, and one worthy of ol’ H.P. Lovecraft himself.
I’m lucky enough to have visited the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society in LA and I own and have listened to many of their DART (Dark Adventure Radio Dramas). They do good work and this one wasn’t a let down. I love the feel of these as they evoke the old timey radio dramas like something from Orson Welles.
This one takes a while and I was intimidated for quite a while, but I finally got ahold of this through Audible and it was absolutely great! The voice cast is phenomenal and though it’s long, it’s broken up really well and for your ease. The fake commercials add to the enjoyment and bring a bit of humor as well.
🖤🖤🖤🖤
I’m lucky enough to have visited the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society in LA and I own and have listened to many of their DART (Dark Adventure Radio Dramas). They do good work and this one wasn’t a let down. I love the feel of these as they evoke the old timey radio dramas like something from Orson Welles.
This one takes a while and I was intimidated for quite a while, but I finally got ahold of this through Audible and it was absolutely great! The voice cast is phenomenal and though it’s long, it’s broken up really well and for your ease. The fake commercials add to the enjoyment and bring a bit of humor as well.
🖤🖤🖤🖤
June 30, 2020
The chances I'll ever get to experience Masks of Nyarlathotep for myself are slim to none. (I distinctly remember way back when staring at the first edition jaguar box set at Waterloo Hobbies and thinking: "That would be AWESOME!") Accordingly, when this mega DART was announced, I saved my pennies for the deluxe edition so as to have the best possible DART take on this epic. It did not disappoint at all. The story is well worked into the DART format, with the extra pleasure of there being a "Choose Your Own Adventure" aspect to it. As always, the supporting prop documents are top notch. This is a truly epic DART!
April 26, 2023
This is my first audio book. I know people love them, but I constantly fall asleep when I try to listen. This was no exception. I probably slept through about 20% of it, which is fine. The story is told in the form of an old-time radio play, which I enjoyed very much. The fake commercials were great. The story is based on an old Call of Cthulhu role playing campaign from the 1980s. I have fond memories of running it for my friends when we were in high school, so this got me right in the nerdy, nostalgic feels. Good stuff.
August 8, 2020
This was just like an old format radio serialisation, complete with enthusiastic adverts for totally dubious products between episodes. Each episode ends on a cliff hanger, as would be expected, and the storyline never lags.
I binged this audiobook and really didn't want it to end. I hope the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society make another one like this, and just as long.
I binged this audiobook and really didn't want it to end. I hope the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society make another one like this, and just as long.
January 25, 2026
Dark Adventure Radio Theatre along with a variety of authors from Chaosium have really out did themselves with this audiobook project. It's just over seven hours long, radio play, full cast , sound effects and fantastic music, The story is extremely, tight and well written ; even better than, just a roll of the dice and many, many Easter Eggs. Love it!!!!!
April 27, 2023
A clever rendition of a globe-spanning battle against the Cthulhu Mythos, taken from the Call of Cthulhu RPG and transformed into the form of a 1930s radio-show, complete with sound-effects, episode cliffhangers, an announcer and product sponsors. Very charming indeed!
March 24, 2020
A masterpiece. The best in the series so far.
June 3, 2020
So so happy I binged this. It was delightful!!
September 17, 2022
Wonderful production, listened the whole think in 2 settings and looking to get more from the HPHLS.
January 2, 2025
Spannend, gruselig
January 15, 2025
a great HPesque audio drama
January 24, 2026
Worth listening to for the commercials alone.
December 12, 2023
Dark Adventure Radio Theatre does it again with the "Masks of Nyarlathotep" based on the Call of Cthuhlu role-playing game as a mismatched group of investigators race to stop multiple cults from bringing a new dark age by the god of many faces Nyarlathotep.
Remember never go anywhere alone. If it looks bad, don't look & save the last bullet for yourself.
Remember never go anywhere alone. If it looks bad, don't look & save the last bullet for yourself.
August 6, 2021
Just finished Masks of Nyarlathotep from the ever-brilliant H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
I've loved all the previous dark adventure radio theatre episodes, but this was nice to get a more substantial bite of vintage terror.
I've loved all the previous dark adventure radio theatre episodes, but this was nice to get a more substantial bite of vintage terror.
May 14, 2022
So much fun. :)
July 24, 2025
another example of "how good you wish your RPG campaign goes"
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