Ideas for a d20 CoC Dreamland campaign

Well, as I am writing (slow work on the long run) a sci-fi campaign that will include some Cthulhu ambiance and elements, I have been thinking about running a short campaign (10 gaming sessions or so) of CoC for my players in 2005. But I would like your opinions:

This will be a d20 Call of Cthulhu campaign. However, for characters (PCs and NPCs) I will use Grim Tales as I envision something more "pulpy" rather than weak PCs in a hopeless horror world. Then, I will include the Dreamland (supplement that I ordered a few days ago) to the campaign.

As for houserules I want to add this: no psychic feats as described in d20 CoC. However, I want to adapt them to create dreaming feats. Such feats will enable a character to enter the Dreamland without appropriate drugs (which will have some bad side effects of course), and then enable to exert some kind of control over situations in the Dreamland. Also, I could have these dreaming feats enable some precognitive, clairsentience, and also maybe telepathy like powers, but all of them require the character to go asleep then travel into the Dreamland, often getting info in symbolical ways.

As you see, I want the Dreamland be an integral part of the campaign but I don't want it to be a campaign occuring entirely in the Dreamland. In fact I see it as something the PCs would have to cope with regularly to advance their investigations.

Now my problem is: I want a stark contrast between the Dreamland and the normal world. (Note that I see the Dreamland more like an exotic orientalist place rather than heroic fantasy.) How to do that? I have been thinking:

• New York 1930 (so during the crisis) and the Dreamland.
• Europe World War II (during occupation) and the dreamland.
• An antediluvian city of the Great Old Ones (that the PCs cannot escape for some reason) and the Dreamland.
• Some place in Orient (for example Iraq as the place of ancient Sumer renown for demonology), and the Dreamland matches it yet has many features that aren't found in the normal world of course. So back and forth between the two helps advance investigation in normal world.

If you were to play, what theme would you prefer? What are your other suggestions? What are your ideas to improve one of these themes? Any comment?

Thanks.

If you want a stark contrast, I'd normally recommend the trenches of WW1 and the Dreamlands. Barring that, WW2 seems like a great mix. It gives you some fun war drama alongside the vivid dreams spurred by shellshock. It won't be a "classic" investigatory adventure, of course, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

If I could, I'd play.

I'd got for New York in the 30's. I prefer my CoC to be more classic Lovecraft/CoC over the other options you listed.

Good luck with the game.

I'd second the WWI idea --- of course, that may be due to my compulsive viewing of Carnivale.

Turanil, you had to have known that I would eventually post here. Heck, had it not been for my thread, you probably wouldn't have had the inspiration to run this kind of campaign. Anyway, as for my two cents I'd say 1930s New York sounds very cool. Plenty of online research will help create the feel of the era. Anyway, good luck!

Just curious Turanil, do you GM here at ENWorld? If you do and your players are pretty much online, then I would like to join this campaign.

Frukathka said:

Turanil, had it not been for my thread, you probably wouldn't have had the inspiration to run this kind of campaign.

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I agree that this is all your fault!

Frukathka said:

Just curious Turanil, do you GM here at ENWorld? If you do and your players are pretty much online, then I would like to join this campaign.

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I was running a d20 Future campaign full of color pictures, but then most players ceased to be interested in my game, so it died from lack of posting. It was my first PBP so maybe I was overlooking many things thus failed as an online GM. In fact, if I had to run another campaign online I would not require players to create specific accounts with their PC names (however nice it looked online), I would not ask to roll dice online, I would add a NPCs as the leader, or at least mover of the campaign, and lastly I would put forth much more action and death than pure investigation.

Well, I may be tempted to make another essay at a pbp. Will see once I have got the Dreamland supplement. Of course if I do you already have earned your place in it!

Hum, the poll currently indicates mainly New-York city (+ Dreamland), and secondarily World War II (+ Dreamland). So may be this could happen in New-York during the World War II while nazis are (unknown to all) trying to infiltrate and take over the US, beginning with NY? The only thing that I don't like is that portraying NY in 1930 was an excuse to put the PC in a crisis ridden environment with poverty everywhere, etc.

Well, hope there are other suggestions coming.

If you want to avoid the poverty/wretchedness in NYC in the 30s you can have the PCs be:
- a group of private citizens who opperate an organization dedicated to keep man safe from things they were not meant to know - kind of an occult version of the Doc Savage organization. Or even just occult detectives with rich clients.
- a prewar US secret agency founded to keep foreign influence out of the US.

Giving the PCs rich patrons or a reason to move in affluent society is the way to go, it all depends on what kind of campaing you want the "real world" portion to be.

Khayman said:

I'd second the WWI idea --- of course, that may be due to my compulsive viewing of Carnivale.

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(in Homer voice: ) Mmmmmmmmmmm, Carnivale.

I voted antedeluvian, but 'd think post-deluvian would be fine too.

"And thus Abram lifted his dagger to plunge into his son Isaac's breast, and Isaac sprouted tentacles and worried his father's flesh about the face. And Abram changed his name to Abraham, and lived the rest of his days in shame. And Abraham's son Easu slew his brother Isaac."