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Ravenloft vs. Call of Chtulu
- Thread starter fimp
- Start date
Sir Apropos
First Post
It would depend on whether you wanted to run a fantasy horror campaign or a modern day horror campaign.
I haven't had a look at the new 3E Ravenloft book but I am familiar with the 2nd edition stuff and it was a pretty decent horror fantasy campaign. But it's still D&D fantasy.
However, I have picked up the new CoC D20 and love it. Mainly because it's all about telling a story rather than a lot of hack and slash monster killing. CoC is a simpler, rules light version of D&D. No AoO, No classes, mainly a Skill based investigative kind of game.
I'm looking forward to running a new campaign because I'll have some first time D20 player's and they will not have a lot of rules to learn. D20's simple skill task resolution system works well for CoC. The Feats are less combat oriented and more skill oriented. All in all I think CoC would make a better horror campaign than Ravenloft but that's just my opinion.
In the end it's probably best to take a look at the reviews on this website and decide for your self.
I haven't had a look at the new 3E Ravenloft book but I am familiar with the 2nd edition stuff and it was a pretty decent horror fantasy campaign. But it's still D&D fantasy.
However, I have picked up the new CoC D20 and love it. Mainly because it's all about telling a story rather than a lot of hack and slash monster killing. CoC is a simpler, rules light version of D&D. No AoO, No classes, mainly a Skill based investigative kind of game.
I'm looking forward to running a new campaign because I'll have some first time D20 player's and they will not have a lot of rules to learn. D20's simple skill task resolution system works well for CoC. The Feats are less combat oriented and more skill oriented. All in all I think CoC would make a better horror campaign than Ravenloft but that's just my opinion.
In the end it's probably best to take a look at the reviews on this website and decide for your self.
jaerdaph
#UkraineStrong
I agree with Sir Apropos - they really are two different settings, and it all depends on your tastes and the tastes of your players. I prefer both, for different reasons.
If you want to run a horror campaign with Gothic tones that's in line with traditional D&D, go with Ravenloft 3e. If you want a more modern horror campaign with eldritch terrors and cosmological horrors set in the present or near present, go with d20 CoC.
One way to see which you and your players will prefer is to look at your movie and TV preferences:
Do you like Vincent Price movies, Hammer films, Dark Shadows? Go with Ravenloft 3e.
Do you like X-Files, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, sci-fi B movies? Go with d20 CoC.
Admittedly, these examples aren't perfect matches to the two settings, but it might give you a general idea.
Fortunately, either way, you won't be disappointed.
If you want to run a horror campaign with Gothic tones that's in line with traditional D&D, go with Ravenloft 3e. If you want a more modern horror campaign with eldritch terrors and cosmological horrors set in the present or near present, go with d20 CoC.
One way to see which you and your players will prefer is to look at your movie and TV preferences:
Do you like Vincent Price movies, Hammer films, Dark Shadows? Go with Ravenloft 3e.
Do you like X-Files, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, sci-fi B movies? Go with d20 CoC.
Admittedly, these examples aren't perfect matches to the two settings, but it might give you a general idea.
Fortunately, either way, you won't be disappointed.
el·dritch
Pronunciation: 'el-drich
Function: adjective
Etymology: perhaps from (assumed) Middle English elfriche fairyland, from Middle English elf + riche kingdom, from Old English rIce -- more at RICH
Date: 1508
: WEIRD, EERIE
The word "eldritch" is a favorite of H.P. Lovecraft's -- along with "cyclopean", "non-Euclidean", and other odd terms.
Pronunciation: 'el-drich
Function: adjective
Etymology: perhaps from (assumed) Middle English elfriche fairyland, from Middle English elf + riche kingdom, from Old English rIce -- more at RICH
Date: 1508
: WEIRD, EERIE
The word "eldritch" is a favorite of H.P. Lovecraft's -- along with "cyclopean", "non-Euclidean", and other odd terms.
Strictly by the book, Ravenloft emulates Gothic Horror. Think Dracula. Lots of vampires, werewolves, and animated corpses, lots of curses, lots of dark and stormy nights -- all mixed with D&D: Clerics, Wizards, Paladins, etc.
Call of Cthulhu presents rules for modern investigators in the modern world (1800's through today). The monsters aren't the classic monster-movie monsters but misshapen tentacled abominations from beyond, the kind of thing you'd find in H.P. Lovecraft's writing.
Ravenloft presents rules for horror checks; if you see something scary, it might scare you. Call of Cthulhu presents rules for insanity; you keep a running tally of your Sanity score, and unearthly horror might permanently scar your psyche.
In many ways, I find Call of Cthulhu scarier. The investigators aren't generally great warriors, and even if they were, the monsters aren't carefully scaled to their power level. (Ravenloft has a bit of that too, just not as extreme.)
The investigators also aren't great wizards, and -- my favorite part -- magic comes with a price. No one automatically knows spells, and learning a spell costs Sanity. Casting it costs even more Sanity, along with a couple points of Ability Drain (e.g. Str drain or Wis drain). There are no free spells per day.
