General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
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Do you feel that you actually end up telling a story using Arkham Horror?
Yes, but it's very limited in scope. It feels like a Story Game to me, as such games tend to have a heavy mechanical focus on building a very specific kind of story but little (if any) mechanical focus on governing actual in-character social interaction (leaving that to the best discretion of the players).
I have run and played in CoC based games that used d20 Modern with rules form CoCd20 - it kinda hammers home the idea that no matter how great you are there is something out there bigger and scarier than you are.
Well, my gaming group recently decided to take a break around the holidays from the game I run, which is 4E D&D, to play a few sessions of something else. I'm going to try my best to convince them to go with Cthulhu Something, but because we won't be playing that many sessions, we want something that's easy to learn, as most of us have never played CoC before, and don't want to spend a bunch of time learning the rules that we could be spending playing.
__________________ Be kind. Be safe. Have respect. We will do the same. - Shai Hulud
Deserve victory.
JustKim: "Cityscape is largely about designing cities while Frostburn is not so much about designing a glacier."
Its very quick to learn, it's percentile based and most of the rulebook is simply support material. Download the Quickstart Guide and browse through it.
You could probably boil down the basics of Call of Cthulhu onto 1 sheet (1 side) of paper for roleplayers new to the system.
Something worth mentioning is that CoC shares with Basic Role Play what is quite possibly the most organic skill and experience system. You get better in the skills that you use, and the better you are with the skill the slower it advances. BRP CoC, any edition, is my preferred rules set for the setting.
As has been mentioned, editions are forward and backwards compatible - any edition rules can be used to run any edition scenario with no change. (I tend to think of BRP as Corel Word Perfect, while D&D is closer to Microsoft Word.... Both do the job, but one has difficulty with earlier and later versions.)
I have not used Trail of Cthulhu, nor Shadows of Cthulhu, but I have used both the BRP and D20 CoC rules. Currently I am running Delta Green using Spycraft, the Fragile Minds supplement, and the magic rules from CoC D20. (Not for those who want less than heroic investigators! While still fragile the PCs are pretty darned cinematic. On the other hand a Dark Young still managed to take a PC down in a single round.)
And while I would not say that Arkham Horror is good for running an RPG I will say that is a heck of a lot of fun! I need to get some of the expansions.
The Auld Grump
__________________ Oh, I am a cook, and a captain bold, and the mate of the Nancy brig,
The midship mite,
And the Bo'sun tight,
And the crew of the captain's gig...
So, my nefarious scheme worked! My group is going to play Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium. I downloaded and checked out the quick start rules, and it seems like a great system. I won't be running the game, which is another bonus!
However, none of us have ever played CoC before, and I have, by far, the most experience with horror games (running them). The guy who is going to be the Keeper has no experience with CoC, either.
So here's my question: other than "The Haunting" adventure contained in the quick start rules, what would be the best adventure to try to get our hands on for a group of brand new players to CoC, and a brand new Keeper? We don't want to run that one because most of us have read through it already to get an idea of what the game is like and how it differs from D&D, which is our staple game. Or, if there really isn't an adventure out there that suits those needs other than "The Haunting", let me know that, too.
__________________ Be kind. Be safe. Have respect. We will do the same. - Shai Hulud
Deserve victory.
JustKim: "Cityscape is largely about designing cities while Frostburn is not so much about designing a glacier."
Others may disagree, but I think you're best off running CoC in the modern era. Unless, that is, you know enough about the 20's and 30's to make it realistic. (For example - were there stoplights?)
It works just fine, and the players will have an easier time getting into it.
In my ongoing game, I got most of my inspiration from Google Earth, Wikipedia, History Channel, and Discovery Channel. I threw in a liberal dose of my background (setting the game in Chicago, since I basically grew up there), and let it go.
You need to deal with cell phones and the like, sure, but it's far from impossible to isolate the characters from the rest of the world. Just build it into the plot. The modern era also opens up new possibilities.... In my game, someone had put up a website with several Mythos tomes. The PCs raided an apartment full of gamers, one of whom had cast a summoning ritual and gone insane.
The root of intolerance against RPG players by some Christians is ignorance. The root of intolerance against Christians by some RPG players is ignorance. It's part of being human, but it's still good practice to not fall into the same behaviour one condemns.
_________________ Looking for a Cthulhu game in Houston.
So no ideas on a good scenario for beginning players?
In the free downloads section of the afore-mentioned yog-sothoth.com there is a scenario called "Spirits Over Arkham" that is a lot of fun. It starts very "real world-ish" with mythos stuff appearing in the final (third) section, IIRC.
I ran a couple of sessions of Call of Cthulhu rules I cribbed together from the 2nd Edition box mixing in Dread's Jenga tower rules. It worked very well. I find the best investigatory games are the ones that give the players more than just a mystery. It's like D&D in that way. Instead of just combat, you get powerful spells too. In CoC you try and solve a mystery, but you can cut corners by using spells. Of course, using spells also can cause sanity loss and attendant mental disorders. With a group full of crazies casting Cthulhu spells in hopes to stop other crazy Cthulhu spell-casting cultists fun can easily be had. Solving the mystery is now only part of it.
I think everyone had fun and it took two long sessions to arrive to a sort of conclusion. CoC always leads to a conclusion one way or another. As Keeper you rely on that.
__________________ The 4 forms of roleplay simulation:
Spoiler:
A customer calls tech support for help in solving a computer problem:
1. Neither are acting, but are consciously or unconsciously performing social roles.
2. Both are acting. The tech support specialist is knowingly learning from a trainer.
3. Only the customer is acting. He really has no problem or is a trainer performing unknown tests.
4. Only the tech is acting. He believes he is in a role play, but is unknowingly taking actual calls.
1 is the common RPing we do whenever conscious.
2 is the theatrical performance normally used in hobby games.
3&4 are both duplicitous forms of roleplaying.
And 4 could also be called the Ender's Game scenario.
Remarkably, all 4 transcripts are potentially identical.
I'm definitely going to check out those quick start rules for CoC, and maybe check out some Trail of Cthulhu as well.
Here's the difference: Chaosium's rules are easy to learn--very intuitive and straightforward. The game's been around for this long (since the, what?...early '80's?) without substantial changes, so it must be doing something right! As some have mentioned, the combat rules can be annoying. Also, there is the "You failed a Library Use roll? Nope, you don't find the single, solitary, lone vital clue and the story screeches to a halt" syndrome. Wise referees can get around this.
Trail of Cthulhu is a little...brainier. I found the rules to be significantly less intuitive--I couldn't have a 100% inexperienced gamer playing a ToC investigator in 5 minutes flat, whereas I could with CoC. I also found Hite's writing to be vague, even a bit World-of-Darkness-y in places. On the other hand, the rules are crafted to allow for investigative play, so the PCs will always find the clues needed to move the story along...they have levels of success, from 'finding the clue (yawn)' to 'finding the clue and you pwnsauce everything on Earth!!!!111!oneone11 and Sherlock Holmes is jealous of yer madd skillz'.
Last edited by Wraith Form; 16th December 2008 at 01:10 PM..
I think I'm going to start with Edge of Darkness which is in the full rule book.
This is arguably one of the best adventures to start with. (Assuming you're OK with gaming in the '20's....and if not, it's adaptable to the modern day.) It can be found in any copy of the full CoC rule book from the early 5th edition all the way to the most current version in print, so it's easy to find.
Another suggestion? It may seem obvious, but have everyone in the group read Lovecraft. Get a public domain copy of the actual short story The Call of Cthulhu, or pick up a inexpensive paperback of Lovecraft's work. Have everyone in the group read it. This will help them prepare for what to expect in a CoC game.
Those gamers familiar with the "kill everything in our path" mentality of D&D are in for an abrupt and rude awakening when the TPK happens against a few measly ghouls, for example. You'll want to make sure the players (and referee) all understand that you're playing mortal men and not action movie heroes. (Unless you want to have that type of pulp game, in which case ignore what I typed).
Last edited by Wraith Form; 16th December 2008 at 01:05 PM..
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I need to get some of the expansions.
I threw in a liberal dose of my background (setting the game in Chicago, since I basically grew up there), and let it go.
As Keeper you rely on that.
Linear Mode
