Anyone played or read Kult or Victoriana?
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Nightchilde-2
First Post
I've run quite a few games of Kult back in the day. Personally, I like the old cover (angel being sacrificed) over the latest one that I saw.
Kult is an evil, evil EVIL game. I highly recommend it, if you can find players to play it. It's like a darker version of Call of Cthulu.
Kult is an evil, evil EVIL game. I highly recommend it, if you can find players to play it. It's like a darker version of Call of Cthulu.
Ron
Explorer
I read Victoriana and I liked the rules but not the setting. It is very well written, but it feels like Shadowrun in the XIX Century, which was definitely not what I was looking for. I was looking for a much closer parallel history setting and Victoriana includes elves, orcs, and so on. Still, it is one the few games in which there is an incentive to play a communist engaged in a revolution against the aristocracy.
I never read Kult, but my roommate (10 years ago) used to say that the setting was disturbingly good. Whatever he meant.
I never read Kult, but my roommate (10 years ago) used to say that the setting was disturbingly good. Whatever he meant.
dvvega
Explorer
I own and have read Victoriana cover to cover. Contrary to the previous poster, I do not think it is like Shadowrun. Well depending on what you term "like". It is steampunk-ish, but at the same time magical.
The world history is, as a necessity, slightly divergent from our own. It accounts for the Eladrin (elvish people) and mystic abilities and how they might have affected the course of history. However, that said, there is a whole section dedicated to changing the history of the world to suit your own vision.
It is close enough to a d20 system (Fuzion in this case) to be an easy conversion over to d20 if it is desired, and a lot of the information can be gleaned and pump straight into your own campaign. In fact my homebrew has benefitted from the setting which is reflected in the city-state on the main continent.
The world history is, as a necessity, slightly divergent from our own. It accounts for the Eladrin (elvish people) and mystic abilities and how they might have affected the course of history. However, that said, there is a whole section dedicated to changing the history of the world to suit your own vision.
It is close enough to a d20 system (Fuzion in this case) to be an easy conversion over to d20 if it is desired, and a lot of the information can be gleaned and pump straight into your own campaign. In fact my homebrew has benefitted from the setting which is reflected in the city-state on the main continent.
I ran a lengthy Kult campaign back in the 1st edition days (the sacrificial angel cover, as Nightchilde termed it). Great fun. Think of it as a surreal mix of Hellrazor/Books of Blood-era Clive Barker and the old Tim Robbins movie, Jacob's Ladder. The game is all about what the PCs DON'T see, and works best when you keep the players in the dark as much as possible. As a primer for the game, I used to have a fake article, posted on the old Kult listserv, that described a scene at the first world trade center bombing where people trapped inside described seeing very odd, horrific things creeping amidst the dust and gloom. It remains by far the BEST teaser for the game I have ever seen.
Anyway, if you like your horror more psycological than macabre, and don't mind the overt religious themes, Kult is a great game. It requires the right group of players to really make it shine, however.
As for Victoriana, I can't say much. I'm a HUGE fan of Castle Falkenstein, so my disappointment in flipping through Victoriana at the book store (Hastings, IIRC) may come as a surprise. The big turn off for me was the inclusion of halflings. That, to me, screamed cheap DnD rip off, and since it wasn't a d20/OGL book, their inclusion in the setting seemed to be nothing more than cheap pandering. If you are looking for a quality Victorian-era steampunk game with a healthy dose of the fantastic, hunt down a copy of Castle Falkenstein. You will not be disappointed!!
Tom
Anyway, if you like your horror more psycological than macabre, and don't mind the overt religious themes, Kult is a great game. It requires the right group of players to really make it shine, however.
As for Victoriana, I can't say much. I'm a HUGE fan of Castle Falkenstein, so my disappointment in flipping through Victoriana at the book store (Hastings, IIRC) may come as a surprise. The big turn off for me was the inclusion of halflings. That, to me, screamed cheap DnD rip off, and since it wasn't a d20/OGL book, their inclusion in the setting seemed to be nothing more than cheap pandering. If you are looking for a quality Victorian-era steampunk game with a healthy dose of the fantastic, hunt down a copy of Castle Falkenstein. You will not be disappointed!!
Tom
Wombat
First Post
Yep, Kult is dark, evil, slimey, and can be a lot of fun with the right crowd, but you can lose you lunch with the wrong one. I found it an intriguing read, but not the kind of game I would want to run myself (although I did play in a couple of sessions).
As for Victoriana, well, I find it an odd book. Its sort of steampunk meets social revolution meets fuzzy critters. It is also the only game I know of that divides Bolshevism from Communism as specific ideologies. I think the point of the game, as mentioned above, is to complete the Revolution of the Real People (not necessarily socialists or communists, mind you, just somehow more "real") over the Lazy Aristocrats that obviously took place during the 19th century. Equally I find it very odd that in a world with half a dozen different races that human beings get along perfectly well with elves and dwarves, but are still massively prejudiced against blacks and asians. The system is okay if you like the Fuzion rules, but the setting is ill-concieved, poorly thought out, and ultimately rather silly.
If you are interested in the Steam Punk feel, I also suggest either Castle Falkenstein or Forgotten Futures, both of which do the job much better.
As for Victoriana, well, I find it an odd book. Its sort of steampunk meets social revolution meets fuzzy critters. It is also the only game I know of that divides Bolshevism from Communism as specific ideologies. I think the point of the game, as mentioned above, is to complete the Revolution of the Real People (not necessarily socialists or communists, mind you, just somehow more "real") over the Lazy Aristocrats that obviously took place during the 19th century. Equally I find it very odd that in a world with half a dozen different races that human beings get along perfectly well with elves and dwarves, but are still massively prejudiced against blacks and asians. The system is okay if you like the Fuzion rules, but the setting is ill-concieved, poorly thought out, and ultimately rather silly.
If you are interested in the Steam Punk feel, I also suggest either Castle Falkenstein or Forgotten Futures, both of which do the job much better.
Gothmog
First Post
Kult is a great game, with a very unique and dark tone to it. I ran a campaign back in the 1st edition days as well, with great success. It is a true horror game, not elves and dwarves fighting Drac...I mean Strahd, nor superheroes masquerading as vampires, but a visceral, dark, psychological and supernatural horror game (as compared to Cthulhu- another great game- which is more cosmic horror but less personal). The tone of the game isn't right for a lot of people, but its a great read, and with the right group its probably my favorite game out there to run. You can also pick up a lot of the old supplements on Ebay for cheap, and the supplements are very high quality and full of lots of great inspiration.
Psion
Adventurer
I have them both.
Kult's not my cuppa, but it has some pretty decent aspects to it. I especially dig that disadvantages aren't just point farms, and some things that would be disads in other games are actually good for you in Kult, because they help keep you stable.
Victoriana, OTOH, I don't like. The setting's okay if you are into fantasy/historical hybrids. But I gotta say, I think fuzion really lacks for portraying characters of different races. There just isn't enough of a sensible difference between character races that you couldn't have acheived by character choices.
Kult's not my cuppa, but it has some pretty decent aspects to it. I especially dig that disadvantages aren't just point farms, and some things that would be disads in other games are actually good for you in Kult, because they help keep you stable.
Victoriana, OTOH, I don't like. The setting's okay if you are into fantasy/historical hybrids. But I gotta say, I think fuzion really lacks for portraying characters of different races. There just isn't enough of a sensible difference between character races that you couldn't have acheived by character choices.
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