Neophyte Dicebusting: A Question

Ebijin · Post by **Ebijin** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 8:04 am

I've been reading a lot of Lovecraft lately, and it's really messing with my imagination. I've never done any role-playing, but I'd really like to try this Call of Cthulhu thing.Any comments, suggestions, anything?~f
ego cum Flacce sum

Schol-R-LEA · Post by **Schol-R-LEA** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 8:41 am

Let's start with a few of the usual platitudes:Never call up anything bigger than your head. Just when you think you've finally killed the evil unspeakable horror, it will come back more powerful than ever. And it will be immune to whatever did to it the first time. And it will have brought it friends along to help.Don't look at the monster with your remaining eye.If you've just found a grimoire and you don't know what one of the spells it contains does, don't try it to find out. Burn ghouls, stake vampires, and run from everything else. On second thought, run from the ghouls and vampires, too.Stand-up battles against Elder Gods is never a good idea.Never split the party up so you can 'cover more ground'. If you do, you'll end up covering the ground a lot more thinly than you'd like, in pieces.Sanity points are overrated.If the gamemaster is smiling, it's already too late.Concentrate on playing your character. Odds are, you won't have many chances to do so before s/he dies, so make it count.Stay alert! Trust no one! Keep your... oops, sorry, wrong game. My Bad.All that having been said, I know of (but have not played in) a tabletop C of C campaign that has nearly lasted twenty years, playing from the early 1920s to around 1936 in game time, and a few of the original characters are still alive. However, Jan is a truly remarkable GM, and she's very selective of whom she allows into the campaign. The game does have some amazing roleplaying potential, but all too often gamemasters will pull out the big guns early and flatten party after party of investigators. You've got to learn to pace things, and give the party time to develop, not just in strength but as characters. If you actually read the original stories, even ghouls and the like were outstandingly rare. An investigator might spend a lifetime and never see as much evidence as Mulder in the first season of X-Files. Take it slowly, feeding them just enough to keep thme interested, and spend most of the time setting them up to play off each other or deal with more mundane threats - there are plenty of dangers you can throw at them that are perfectly mundane in nature. Think of the Indiana Jones movies - the magic is there, you see signs of it all the time, but it doesn't really show it self unless something big is happening, or until it is intentionally invoked by someone with more powerlust than sense. You can keep a C of C campaign going a long time (like Jen does) dealing with mundane politics, archeological digs, secret cults, rival treasure hunters, native tribemen who want to have you over for dinner, hidden tombs full of traps, careless and/or crazy wizards who go around reading from the Necronomicon aloud, etc. If you really want a high powered game, run it as an Indo-Chthulu scenario: give the players big-ass guns, CIA credentials, and radios for calling in airstrikes, and let'em loose near where some grunt (who may or may not have been stoned) saw some Weird Sh(1)t happen. Then, while they're stumbling around the jungle looking for the big nasty monsters, let them run into an elite VC cadre instead (oops). Don't forget the body bags -lots of them.Needless to say, you probably don't want to run that as a LARP. For live action, stick to either the traditional 1920s scenarios (and give players extra points for costuming), or a else try a contemporary setting for more of a Stephen King/Clive Barker feel. Of course, that's just my suggestion; you can run it any way you like. Go wild.<plug>
When you go to the gaming store to buy a copy of the game Rules, pick up the Beyond the Mountains of Madness supplement, too.
</plug> I hope Jan and Chaz appreciate that...
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Schol-R-LEA;2 ELF JAM LCF BiWM MGT GS
First Speaker, Last Eristic Church of Finagle and Holy Bisexuality
The greatest strengh of the Conspiracy is that it doesn't exist.
The greatest weakness of the Conspiracy is that it does.[This message has been edited by Schol-R-LEA (edited 10-06-2001).]

Blondlot · Post by **Blondlot** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 10:00 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>If you really want a high powered game, run it as an Indo-Chthulu scenario: give the players big-ass guns, CIA credentials, and radios for calling in airstrikes, and let'em loose near where some grunt (who may or may not have been stoned) saw some Weird Sh(1)t happen. Then, while they're stumbling around the jungle looking for the big nasty monsters, let them run into an elite VC cadre instead (oops). Don't forget the body bags -lots of them.
[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>If you want to run a game like that, get WW's Guide To the Technocracy supplement, from the Mage line. They'll remind you of the F.I.B in a ton of ways (right down to philosophy) and unlike a CoC game using similar elements your HIT Mark or Void Engineer will live long enough to make it home and get a pay raise. Take it from a Technocrat.Cthulhu is great fun. I remember the first time I ran a scenario. It was night in October and the house lights were dimmed. Through the night the players had investigated strange happenings in Manteno, a small Illinois town. Their search had led them into the country where they were to seek out an all but abandoned industrial district and explore the decommissioned asylum in search of the ex-administrator's hidden journals which may contain the information concerning the whereabouts of a set of... well, it gets really complicated. Oh, and they had to go at night because the police keep heavier patrols during the day and they don't take kindly to intrusions on private property (Manteno bought a large portion of the land in hopes of building houses, but gave up after realizing the costs of removing the asbestos from the many buildings before they could tear them down would be too high).All of the players were scared enough that they actually huddled together, their eyes darting to growing shadows stretching like cobwebs from the wall to the floor as they nervously laughed each time they opened a door or turned a corner. Finally, as things seemed to be getting perilous (as they readied themselves to explore a series of underground tunnels stretching from the asylum to a factory, no less), I pulled out the first of my truly big guns- a sharp knock to the bottom of the table with my knee (look ma, no hands!) that echoed in stillness of the room. Everyone screamed and one guy fell out of his chair. Of course the sound was only a precariously perched filing cabinet falling to the floor in a room above them, but they didn't know that. Good stuff, if I do say so myself. You do have to be a little sadistic as a GM to put someone through a really good game, though.Ex animo,
m.d
[This message has been edited by Blondlot (edited 10-07-2001).]

Schol-R-LEA · Post by **Schol-R-LEA** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 10:30 am

Now that is the way to run a C of C game. And I mostly agree with you on the first part, too. Most Indo-Chthulu games have body counts comparable to Paranoia, and most players who are in games like that would prefer the better survivability of a Technocrat. However, like with anything else, it depends on ho much skill and work the GM puts into it. IndoC can be interesting in and of itself just from the environment alone. Also, there's a world of diference in being a trained Void Marine, and either being an Enlightened Technician yourself or backed up by someone who is, setting out to face what you know are nasty and brainbending Deep Universe Things; and being a competent, but otherwise normal, Green Beret or CID officer who is investigating the mysterious deaths of some soldiers out in enemy-controlled territory. They are similar in a lot of ways, but not the same.Also, I know a lot of gamers who just don't like Mage, for whatever reasons of their own. Besides, Ebjin was asking about C of C specifically, so I answered the question with that in mind. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">

Agent13 · Post by **Agent13** » Sun Oct 07, 2001 3:06 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Blondlot:
Through the night the players had investigated strange happenings in Manteno, a small Illinois town. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>It always comes down to a strange small Illinois town, doesn't it?

Amorph · Post by **Amorph** » Sun Oct 07, 2001 4:05 am

Well, it does have to play in Peoria... <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">One more tip: Don't get too attached to your character. He might live a while, but in that game a sudden, gruesome death is always a distinct possibility.
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James"Without death there would be very little progress." - Steve Jobs

Blondlot · Post by **Blondlot** » Sun Oct 07, 2001 4:33 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Agent13:
 It always comes down to a strange small Illinois town, doesn't it?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Oh yeah. Small Illinois towns tend to be really, really odd. Manteno has a lot of creepy history to it AND a decommissioned industrial district just sitting miles from the main hub of town WITH an old asylum still intact! I won't even get into the occult stuff linked with the entire area. My family was actually kicked out of Manteno when they moved from Scotland because my great Grandmother remarried after her husband passed away. Park Forest would also be a good place for a CoC game. I think it was voted as having the second worst signs of urban decay in the Midwest a few years back, but it's where I grew up and I love it. It's full of winding roads with Indian names that seem to go nowhere. Rows of large, crumbling houses with overgrown lawns and weeping willows line most streets. At the same time nature is abundant, giving the urban area an almost provincial feel. Where large buildings stand most likely a forest or field grows behind, or even around when they fall to disuse. I lived on Suwanee road, in a VA district built after WWII to serve as start-up homes for returning soldiers and their families. Our house was on a dead end that connected to a field that connected to a forest. I have many happy memories of exploring it all as a young boy. Geez, this thing is turning into a biography! I

Random Nerd · Post by **Random Nerd** » Sun Oct 07, 2001 9:34 am

Oh, and if you want to do modern-day, fbi type stuff, take a look at Pagan Publishing's Delta Green.If you can't find a copy you can page through in a game store, try taking a look at the reviews at rpg.net (looking for reviews of CoC there might be a good idea too). The reviews there aren't always great, but there are a lot of them, and odds are good that at least one reviewer has the same sorts of opinions that you would.

FlyingFish · Post by **FlyingFish** » Sun Oct 07, 2001 11:39 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Schol-R-LEA:
For live action, stick to either the traditional 1920s scenarios (and give players extra points for costuming), or a else try a contemporary setting for more of a Stephen King/Clive Barker feel. Of course, that's just my suggestion; you can run it any way you like. Go wild.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Ah, that brings back memories. I once got involved in a quickie weekend LARP based on Lovecraft (but not directly on CoC). Set in the present, but at good old Miskatonic U. The fun part was that some of the people involved got to play cultists (my brother included, who had an absolute ball being evil), so you're constantly paranoid that person X might be the one who decides to sacrifice you to Cthulu.Unfortunately, the game ended rather abruptly when we attempted to banish one Old One and it turned out they were summoning another. I've been informed that the "good guys" have yet to win the scenario (and that we got closer than anyone), so I suppose I should be satisfied. Plus I got to help kill my brother along the way. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin.gif">

Schol-R-LEA · Post by **Schol-R-LEA** » Sun Oct 07, 2001 11:39 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Quinch:
Uhm, can someone explain the new guy what's this about? I mean, I've read Lovecraft, I just have no clue about the RPG that ties into him...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>A company named <a href="http://www.chaosium.com/">Cha osium</a> has, for about 2 decades (modulo a period in which there was a conflict while renegotiating the rights with HPL's estate, IIRC), had a well-respected but rarely played tabletop roleplaying game called <a href="http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/index.shtml">Call of Chthulu</a>. Most gaming specialty stores will carry it, but it is rarely seen in major chain stores. It is a game that, if the gamemaster runs it well, should at times leave the players shaking - and I'm talking the actual human players, not just their characters. But there also should be more to it than just horror.The basic setting for the game is 1920s New England, just as in most of the stories, but you don't have to limit yourself to that. There are specific supplements for different time periods - Chthulu by Gaslight for the 1880s, Indo-Chthulu for Vietnam War scenarios, Chthulu Now! for the present day - as well as ones for different locales in the 'default' time era such as Arkham (including Misk. U.), Innsmouth, Montréal, and New Orleans; I think there is a Hollywood supplement too, but I'm not sure. It can make a good system for Doc Savage/Indiana Jones type swashbuckling as well, if you keep the truly horrific things to a minimum. A good game can be a lot of work, though, especially if the GM takes the time to properly research the times and places involved.Generally speaking, the player characters ('investigators') are researchers, adventurers, innocent bystanders, etc. who are either investigating or have been caught up in some kind of supernatural phenomenon. There's no limitations on what you can play, however; types I've seen include University professors and students, teenagers with occult fixations, Green Berets, police, smugglers, spies, Manhattan socialites, politicians, Hollywood actresses, Nazi fanatics(!), Australian big game hunters, and so on.Given that this based on Lovecraft, it should be obvious that even a minor incursion of the occult is going to be way beyond the ability of even a well prepared party to deal with; therefore, it pays to have a slow build up, just as in the stories themselves do, and concentrate on atmosphere and suspense rather than the big ugly monsters per se. Also, in addition to the physical threats, there are also psychological and mental dangers; just reading a book can cause your character to go slightly insane (the game mechanics for it are in the form of 'Sanity Points', a basic character attribute in the game system; learning about Chthulu Mythos lore can cause SAN loss, while seeing a supernatural creature or something awful such as a dismembered body or Tim walking around naked, can cause a lot. If you drop below 20 points, or lose more than 20 points at a time, you are officially bonkers and need to go rest in a nice room with padded walls). It is a dangerous world, but despite this, a well run game should give the players room for some real character development, not just the chance to write up new characters every week. The hallmark of a good game is one in which the characters don't merely survive, but develop enough to seem like real people.I mentioned the Beyond the Mountains of Madness supplement because a) it is the largest such module ever published for a roleplaying game, have a page count about twice that of the rulebook, and b) I happen to know some of the people who wrote and playtested it, and I wanted to plug it for them.

Quinch · Post by **Quinch** » Sun Oct 07, 2001 11:57 am

Uhm, can someone explain the new guy what's this about? I mean, I've read Lovecraft, I just have no clue about the RPG that ties into him...------------------
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Agent13 · Post by **Agent13** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 12:10 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Blondlot:
 Ha! I've been through Slapout!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Good thing you didn't blink. To quote my uncle, Slapout's what we call a "pokin' clean" town - by the time you poke your head out of the car window, you're clean out of town.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Southern Illinois scares me sometimes.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>You should try living there sometime. Drive a minute west and you'd be at my parent's house...

Roscoe · Post by **Roscoe** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 9:26 am

Another interesting idea for a modern CoC game:
Ghostbusters. Say 'nobody steps on a church in MY town' to Cthulhu and see what happens.

Agent13 · Post by **Agent13** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 10:57 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Blondlot:
 Oh yeah. Small Illinois towns tend to be really, really odd. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Oh, believe me, I know all about it. I grew up in a section of Southern Illinois where the closest town with a population over 300 was a half hour's drive away. The closest "town" was Slapout, which consisted of two houses, a long-empty church with obligatory old graveyard, and a crumbling general store. Of course, about five years ago, I moved to Western Massachusetts, putting myself smack dab in the middle of (to return to the topic at hand) Lovecraft country.

The Dark Otaku · Post by **The Dark Otaku** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 11:00 am

Here's another Call of Cthulhu idea, from a group of friends of mine who used to play back in High school. One of the guy's parents were very into spelunking (caving), and had a place out in western Virginia near a number of cave systems. So, several people from the group would go out there for the weekend, go into one of the caves with their gaming gear in backpacks, and get far enough in that it was completely pitch black aside from the lights they'd brought with them, and then play Call of Cthulhu *there*, in the Cave, in the utter darkness.

Blondlot · Post by **Blondlot** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 11:09 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Agent13:
 Oh, believe me, I know all about it. I grew up in a section of Southern Illinois where the closest town with a population over 300 was a half hour's drive away. The closest "town" was Slapout, which consisted of two houses, a long-empty church with obligatory old graveyard, and a crumbling general store. Of course, about five years ago, I moved to Western Massachusetts, putting myself smack dab in the middle of (to return to the topic at hand) Lovecraft country.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Ha! I've been through Slapout! Southern Illinois scares me sometimes.Right now my family is living in Peotone, where they want to build the new airport, most likely to disperse the homeless discharged mental patients and blood-cursed, ancient German farming legacies.Ex animo,
m.d

Blondlot · Post by **Blondlot** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 11:22 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by The Dark Otaku:
Here's another Call of Cthulhu idea, from a group of friends of mine who used to play back in High school. One of the guy's parents were very into spelunking (caving), and had a place out in western Virginia near a number of cave systems. So, several people from the group would go out there for the weekend, go into one of the caves with their gaming gear in backpacks, and get far enough in that it was completely pitch black aside from the lights they'd brought with them, and then play Call of Cthulhu *there*, in the Cave, in the utter darkness.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Wow, that IS a good idea. Too bad Illinois doesn't have any caves. I had toyed around with the idea of hosting the game at the asylum, but everyone was too chicken (mostly afraid of getting arrested). Instead, I ended up doing some footwork at the asylum myself- gathering photos, logbooks, left over drawings, etc. The crimes I commit for my friends... <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">Eh, who am I kidding? I go to places like that on my own all of the time. Ex animo,
m.d

Manticoraus · Post by **Manticoraus** » Wed Oct 10, 2001 4:25 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by FlyingFish:
 Ah, that brings back memories. I once got involved in a quickie weekend LARP based on Lovecraft <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Geez you make it sound like a hustler or harlot wish I could game so recklessly I could call a weekend of of Rping a "quickie"