Invisible Sun Homework

I am excited about Invisible Sun - like so many others.  I was thrilled to hear that MCG was working on a game that emphasized surrealism (over the weird and the strange).  I thought it was worth taking a moment to bring another gaming resource to people's attention:  Robin Laws' excellent surrealist adventure for Trail of Cthulhu The Dreamhounds of Paris.

Dreamhounds of Paris by Robin D. Laws -- by Pelgrane Press

Dreamhounds (as I will refer to it from here) is an improvisational campaign frame for Trail of Cthulhu in which the players take on the roles of historical (mostly) figures in the emergence of the surrealist movement.  The artists and their patrons/hangers-on realize that they have power to shape of the Dreamland -- though this may come at a terrible cost.  Furthermore, the psychic forces pushing the world toward war are having their own effect on the Dreamland.

This is an excellent campaign in its own right.  Though I likely will not play it, I had a great time reading it for the history of the surrealist movement.  You see the variety of players and some of the remarkable moments in history as the paths of various surrealist figures cross.  If nothing else, it sent me to many enjoyable hours on the internet looking up references to various peripheral figures.

If you are eagerly waiting to see what Invisible Sun is going to offer as a surrealism-influenced RPG, you would be well-served giving this book a read.  You will see the political context of the surrealist movement, its precursors, and some sense of its end.  I suspect there will be some interesting thematic connections between these games as well.  I am confident this will get a re-read in the long wait ahead.