Masque of the Red Death a 2e Ravenloft expansion world where one of the Dark Powers gets into 1890s earth so we have things like Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster and the Ghost of Sitting Bull.
A big nuance difference is that in the classic Cthulhu story the protagonist fights Cthulhu directly.
Right, so what difference does it make to you if the expression of that theme in Ravenloft has the serial numbers on it or not? Whereas, for the fans who do know and care about the specifics of these characters, it does matter.
Those people are overlooking significant and meaningful differences between the two characters. They are both very cool characters that have a lot in common, but also have a lot of differences. I, as a big vampire fan, like having two cool vampire characters instead of one, especially because they explore different themes through vampirism. Dracula is ultimately about the fear of foreign invaders, whereas Strahd plays more in the territory of fear of aging. It’s awesome that both can exist and be their own distinct things.
Yes, and D&D canon would be the worse off for it. That’s my point.
I like both. I’m glad they both exist, and are both their own distinct things, from each other and from Viktor Frankenstein.
But you’ve already identified yourself as someone who isn’t really interested in the finer nuances of the Lovecraft Mythos. To those who are, the things that will need to be changed are more meaningful. Moreover, by using Cthulhu instead of making a new character inspired by him, the writers rob themselves and future D&D writers of the opportunity to create a new and interesting character that is free to evolve in its own direction orthogonal to that of the source material.
In "The Call of Cthulhu"? What protagonist fights Cthulhu directly?
Gustaf Johansen and the crew of the Alert. They ram the ship into his head. Though, he does recover from the damage pretty much instantly.
That's fair. It occurred to me after posting that you could probably argue Legrasse arresting the entirety of the Louisiana cult could be argued as "directly fighting Cthulhu", if only through his influence. Still, the Alert pulled off an act of desperation after waking Cthulhu essentially on accident, it's not like they sallied forth like knights to slay a dragon.
Yeah, “fight” is a bit of a lofty way to describe what they did, for sure! But I assume that’s what @Voadam was referring to. It does certainly demonstrate a meaningful difference between Cthulhu and Azathoth - one can be mildly annoyed by a single ship bumping into it, while the other doesn’t even register that it created a universe. They both play with themes of “you are puny and meaningless,” but on vastly different scales.
Not at all, my intent is to express my own preference and the reasons behind it, not to invalidate anyone else’s opinions. Also, to clarify, I’m not really that big a fan of the mythos. I like general cosmic horror quite a lot, and I have read most of Lovecraft’s stories once. I’m more opposed to crossover slop than I am committed to Cthulhu purism.
(Dungeons & Dragons)
Rulebook featuring "high magic" options, including a host of new spells.
(Dungeons & Dragons)
Rulebook featuring "high magic" options, including a host of new spells.
