Giving Call of Cthulhu a shot, any advice?

[Velderan]

So one of the things I've been trying to do is take a look at more TTRPG games out there and give them a try. The OGL situation brought a lot of attention to different systems which inevitably made me curious to try them. I've bought a few different Beginner Boxes/Starter Sets and pitched trying some to my table that I play PF2e with. Fortunately they are basically willing to play whatever I'm willing to take the time to put something together for, so after a quick poll we landed on Call of Cthulhu as the first game up. Starfinder, Shadowrun Sixth World, and Pendragon were the other options.

I'll be running one of the scenarios in the Starter Set, probably Dead Man Stomp since it sounds like it will be possible to get through it in a session or two. Having read the rules, the game doesn't sound very complicated but I figured I'd see what suggestions people had for things to pay attention to that might not be readily apparent for a new Keeper or players. It definitely seems like character death is a much more possible thing, which the group is absolutely fine with.

 

[overgeeked]

I'll be running one of the scenarios in the Starter Set, probably Dead Man Stomp since it sounds like it will be possible to get through it in a session or two. Having read the rules, the game doesn't sound very complicated but I figured I'd see what suggestions people had for things to pay attention to that might not be readily apparent for a new Keeper or players. It definitely seems like character death is a much more possible thing, which the group is absolutely fine with.

Cool. Hope you have fun with it. You'll do great.

Find out how much and what kinds of horror your group are okay with. Look up safety tools like lines and veils and the X card. Whatever they tell you, respect it. Even if you have to rewrite or throw out the scenario you're planning. Some Cthulhu scenarios are barely more horror-filled than an episode of Scooby-Doo others would give the Saw franchise writers nightmares. Read the scenario ahead of time and make sure your players' lines and veils are respected.

No matter what the scenario says, never...ever...ever lock the players' ability to continue the scenario behind any single roll. Most Call of Cthulhu scenarios dropped that habit decades ago, but they occasionally weasel their way back in.

Play the solo scenario by yourself first. It will help you get a handle on the mechanics.

The vast majority of the system is roll 1d100 equal to or under your stat or skill. That's really all there is to it. You can do 90% of the game with just asking for this stat or that skill check.

Combat is more involved, because of course it is. You can also run combat just like the rest of the game without breaking anything.

Don't let the players have automatic weapons. The rules for automatic weapons are...involved.

Bookmark the 1/2 and 1/5 values chart. Make sure your players write down those values on their sheets for any skills they have. This really saves time.

Bookmark the important bits of the Sanity rules.

If you're not sure what an investigator would know, make and EDU check. This is the cleverly named Know check.

If the players are absolutely stuck and have no idea how to proceed in the mystery, have the one with the highest INT make an INT check. This is the cleverly named Idea check. Decide what the most important missed clue is and set the difficulty based on that. If it was never mentioned in game, regular. If it was mentioned but the players missed it, hard. If the players got the clue and even talked about it, extreme. If they succeed, give them the clue. If they fail, give them the clue...along with some armed cultists or other scenario appropriate goons. This is the old pulp standby of when the story stalls send in a guy with a gun.

Don't worry about historical accuracy. Unless you and your entire table are historians, you'll flub something. It's okay. Accept it and don't worry about it.

Do everyone at the table a favor and do not enforce the racism and sexism of the era. It's a game. Let it be fun for everyone.

 

[JAMUMU]

Dead Man Stomp, as I saw it in the olden days, could get very messy. Which is okay so long as you plan ahead for the mess.

Oh yeah, definitely don't aim for historical 'realism'. The olden days took care of that stuff, so you don't have to.

Don't lock clues and progression behind skill rolls. But still, if the players get really stuck, I wouldn't move the game forward with checks Nuh-uh, I'd kill them in various hilarious killarious ways and make way for the next group. Call of Cthulhu should be like the express lane at a supermarket checkout.

Anyone who doesn't bounce off that and comes back for more, I'd line up for a Delta Green campaign.

 

[Transcendental Dream]

The very basic: CoC is not about killing the monster and taking their stuff. The game is about the journey itself, or the investigation. They are not meant to handle what they find out. Generally speaking, of course.

 

[dbm]

We generally have the players create two PCs each, one more thinking focussed and one more doing focussed.

This has a few benefits in our experience. First, you can mix up the PCs in the group to more align to a specific adventure (perhaps one player has a Greek scholar while another has a Sociologist and the adventure hook might be more appealing to one character over the other). Having a mix of thinkers and doers also makes it more viable in terms of having someone who can break in to places, see off the occasional cultist, drag out unconscious compatriots and so on... Finally, you can bind these characters into a group, for example a society of amateur paranormal scholars or some such. That makes it easier to keep the PC group going if multiple PCs die or become inactive without it seeming too contrived.

If you are playing 7e then a small but important rule is that characters have +50 to initiative if all they are doing is standing a firing a gun…

 

[Fenris-77]

If you haven't run investigative games before they can be tricky to balance. As mentioned above, don't gate every clue behind a skill check. I would recommend putting lots of information in the heads of NPCs. NPCs can be relocated without resorted to illusionism and can just come out and tell the PCs something if it's needed. NPCs can also carry physical information and clues. A lot of newer GMs get caught up in hiding info on paper locked in sfaes or secret compartments in desks and are then stymied by their groups inability to find those clues. You may want to google node based investigations for some ideas on wide to spread clues and whatnot,. Good luck with your game!

 

[Clint_L]

Going to third the comment about not gating vital information behind skill checks - Call of Cthulhu is a bit weirdly designed in that skill checks for lore are very tough, yet also typically essential to the story. I would also emphasize to players that combat is FAR more lethal than D&D, if that is their frame of reference, so if it comes down to it they definitely want to go into a fight with a plan and an escape route. And that it is really a game about investigating, so they won't get anywhere unless they keep notes and follow up on leads.

I ran the "Edge of Darkness" scenario in the new starter set and two of the five player characters died, though ultimately the party was successful. More or less. Success is not always that cut and dry in CotC.

 

[CleverNickName]

Insanity is a thing that can happen easily in Call of Cthulhu, especially for characters that dabble in the arcane mysteries. When it happens, let the player describe what their character's insanity looks like to the rest of the group--don't let it become something that you impose on them. Movies and comic books give us all kinds of examples that the player can pull from: Hannibal Lector, Lex Luther, The Joker, Dr. Strangelove, and Tyler Durden are just the first to come to mind.

If/when insanity strikes one of the characters, roll with it and have fun. Let that insanity be a true part of the character--both a strength and a weakness. One character in my group was driven insane by a horrible entity called The Buried, the manifestation of claustrophobia. Well, the player decided that his insane character would act normal for the most part, except he can't stop thinking about being buried alive--it's all he ever wants, it's the only thing he craves--and so he is always subconsciously trying to bury himself: whether literally, by burying himself under sand at the beach, or figuratively, by burying himself under paperwork back at the office.

 

[Fenris-77]

Yeah, CoC is way more fun when you lean into the insanity rules rather than resisting them. Resistance is futile anyway.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Be ready for inquires about heavy weapons. Remember, you could buy Thompson SMGs from Sears & Roebuck until the early 30s.

CoC 7th has a remarkable robust combat system. Be ready for that.

If you have the time, watch the first season of True Detective. Besides great TV, it does an amazing job of portraying a CoC investigation.