Harlem Unbound 2nd Edition Releases in Hardback and Limited Edition Leatherette

media release: for immediate release

Darker Hue Studios’s Multi Award-Winning Roleplaying Book Tackling Race and Racism at the Gaming Table is Back for a Second Edition with Chaosium

Alexandria, VA/Ann Arbor, MI. July 16, 2020

Harlem Unbound 2nd Edition, a sourcebook and scenario collection for the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, releases this week in hardback. The 368-page book presents a New York where Prohibition is in full swing and bootleggers are living high. Blacks flee the oppressive South for greener pastures, creating a new culture in Harlem. There’s a feeling of possibility in the air like never before. But, even in this land of promise, Harlem is a powder keg, ready to explode. This updated edition expands the Cthulhu Mythos and contains seven scenarios, new occupations, Mythos entities, and a crash course on addressing race in gaming.

Roleplaying can educate, build understanding of history, and help foster community, all of which are essential to building a more equitable future. Chris Spivey, author of Harlem Unbound and founder of Darker Hue Studios, offers a vision of the Harlem Renaissance as seen through the lens of the Cthulhu Mythos. The book’s core centers around a conversation about racism and injustice in America—and, indeed, the world over—in an honest and clear way, inviting people from all walks of life to thoughtfully consider the Black experience in history and the present.

Harlem Unbound is like no other published roleplaying book. Created by an African American game designer, its approach to race and social injustice presents clear and actionable advice on race and oppression in a roleplaying context, and explores what is and what is not appropriate at a gaming table. Significantly, the first edition won multiple gaming industry awards, has been accepted into the collections of museums, and has been taught at universities as part of the curriculum.

WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT HARLEM UNBOUND 2ND EDITION

"An essential Call of Cthulhu 1920s supplement, expanding not just the game we love, but how you view the entire genre and society itself."
— Mark Morrison, Call of Cthulhu writer (Horror on the Orient Express, Reign of Terror, Terror Australis, etc)

"A strong labor of love that combines both passion for a vital time and place in American history with a deep pool to draw various strains of horror, both familiar and unfamiliar, into the Call of Cthulhu game. I love this book and cannot recommend it enough."
— Never Read the Latin

"Strongly Recommended. This product is exceptional."
— Gnome Stew

Chris Spivey said, "I am grateful to Chaosium for approaching me to make a second edition of Harlem Unbound. As an African American game designer in an industry that is dominated by white males who tell stories from the white perspective, it was my mission to bring the stories of Black Americans and other marginalized communities to the forefront, and to challenge the assumptions of the status quo."

Chaosium president Rick Meints added, "We at the Chaosium know that Harlem Unbound rightly deserves to reach a wider audience. We take pride in sharing this important journey with Chris, now more than ever."

HARLEM UNBOUND SECOND EDITION

By Chris Spivey, with Brennen Reece, Neall Raemonn Price, Ariel Celeste, Sarah Hood, Cameron Hays, Bob Geis, Noah Lloyd, Alex Mayo, Jabari Weathers, and Steffie de Vaan

Artists: Brennen Reece, Alex Mayo, Jabari Weathers
Cartography: Alex Mayo
Layout: Nicholas Nacario

ISBN: 978-1-56882-422-2
MSRP: USD$49.99, includes PDF
Format: Full color. Hardcover. 368 pages.
Product Number: CHA23166-H
Release: Available now

Available from Chaosium.com, DriveThruRPG.com, and through standard distribution channels to hobby stores and bookstores.

CONTACT INFORMATION

DARKER HUE STUDIOS
Chris Spivey, CEO
darkerhuestudios@gmail.com
darkerhuestudios.com

CHAOSIUM INC.
Michael O’Brien, VP of Licensing
mob@chaosium.com
chaosium.com

###