Role-playing games and horror fiction have often been rejected as unimportant literature. These books are usually placed in the ghettos of bookstores. People whisper about how weird the authors must be to write such things—even though these people keep buying tales of terror themselves!

Unseen Masters was created to challenge this stigma by using a horror role-playing game as a medium for disseminating important issues on mental health and addiction—a melding of entertainment, terror, social interaction, and education.

Written as a set of lengthy adventures for the Call of Cthulhu Role-Playing Game, the horror elements are predominately Lovecraftian. However, the book is also a tribute to numerous horror writers. The tips of the hat go towards TV, film, radio, comic book and written sources—hidden (subtly to blatantly) within the text.

The role-playing factors were given special treatment so that players could empathise with the pain of someone suffering from addiction and psychiatric syndromes. To bring out a more human element and enhance character development, almost every character in the book is given details on their interactions in the plot. Numerous sidebars of source material are provided to expand the adventure in a variety of ways.

Between the lines, numerous facts and built-in role-playing opportunities have been embedded for experiencing and understanding certain addiction and psychiatric symptoms. These include:

· A brief history of psychiatry, psychology, hypnosis, psychoanalysis, and various forms of psychotherapy
· A detailed simulation on how to have players' characters experience psychotic symptoms
· How to get someone proper care for addiction and psychiatric problems
· Information on various illicit psychoactive drugs, such as cannabis, ketamine and phencyclidine
· Rave culture
· Some insight into the world of forensic psychiatry and forensic medicine
· The psychodynamics of vampirism—distinguishing lines between Goth culture, sadomasochists, antisocial people, and those suffering from delusions in terms of different aspects of vampiristic behaviours
· Facts on post-traumatic stress disorder, bereavement and grief
· The highlighting of special populations with and various social factors leading to increased chances of mental health issues (e.g., street youth, run-away teens, homeless, sequelae of being into the drug scene)
· The role of family background and history in the context of mental illness.

Lynn Willis, Editor-in-Chief of Chaosium, was very enthusiastic with the project and gave it his full support. David Mitchell helped edit the ponderous tome while engaging in discussion of the subtleties of the Cthulhu Mythos. Drashi Khendup expertly designed the interior maps. The book was also fortunate enough to be illustrated by two excellent artists in the field of horror role-playing games; Paul Carrick, master of the dark pulp-noir-esque art and Matt Harpold, who painted the terrifying cover. (The cover is an interpretation of schizophrenia).

The book was released in the first quarter of 2001. It seems to be accomplishing its purpose—it has already won a few awards, been recommended for others, and received excellent reviews, not only in the horror fiction and role-playing game communities but also in the field of academic psychiatry!