Call of Cthulhu d20 Preservation Society

[TerraDave]

I've sent Chaosium a query asking if they'd be willing to license support of CoC d20 to a third-party publisher, but no response as yet. (I'm not surprised, this is Chaosium we're talking about...their response time can be measured in geological epochs )

It occurs to me, however, that given the copyright issues (S.T. Joshi layed out a nicely detailed picture in one of his books on Lovecraft that pretty much ends with the conclusion that it's all PD), that it would be a fairly simple matter for a publisher (say, I dunno, Adamant) to put out a line of PDFs using the Open Content sanity/madness rules and other stuff from OGL Horror, and release it under the title "Lovecraft D20" or something...

Hm. Something to think about.

Just to repeat, the CoC D20 Sanity rules are also open content thanks to Unearthed Arcana...I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

 

[GMSkarka]

Just to repeat, the CoC D20 Sanity rules are also open content thanks to Unearthed Arcana.

That's true...I completely forgot about that. (...and, that's what I get for not reading the thread more closely...)

Coincidentally, I heard back from Chaosium this morning: Dustin (Wright) told me that he didn't think they'd be interested, but that he'd talk with Charlie (Krank) about it. I'm not holding my breath. It looks like support would have to be in the form of the unofficial "Lovecraft D20" that I mentioned earlier.

 

[Turanil]

That's true...I completely forgot about that. (...and, that's what I get for not reading the thread more closely...)

Coincidentally, I heard back from Chaosium this morning: Dustin (Wright) told me that he didn't think they'd be interested, but that he'd talk with Charlie (Krank) about it. I'm not holding my breath. It looks like support would have to be in the form of the unofficial "Lovecraft D20" that I mentioned earlier.

Yeah, lets do an unofficial "Lovecraft D20", if only to piss them off. By the way, I would like it to be based on d20 Past rules, and including not only sanity from UA, but also incantation rules. Of course, adding stuff from OGL Horror would also be an intersting thing.

(BTW: I would be interested in contributing a few things to this project too. I have created some material for my next "Indiana-Jones meets Cthulhu" campaign, and would be willing to propose them to the endeavor...)

 

[Gomez]

I just hope that Lovecraft d20 is not confused with the Book of Erotic Fantasy!



I like the name Lovecraft d20 by the way!

 

[JoeGKushner]

I've sent Chaosium a query asking if they'd be willing to license support of CoC d20 to a third-party publisher, but no response as yet. (I'm not surprised, this is Chaosium we're talking about...their response time can be measured in geological epochs )

It occurs to me, however, that given the copyright issues (S.T. Joshi layed out a nicely detailed picture in one of his books on Lovecraft that pretty much ends with the conclusion that it's all PD), that it would be a fairly simple matter for a publisher (say, I dunno, Adamant) to put out a line of PDFs using the Open Content sanity/madness rules and other stuff from OGL Horror, and release it under the title "Lovecraft D20" or something...

Hm. Something to think about.

Heck, start with a monster book of aberrations and other things that go bump in the night.

 

[Henry]

Yeah, lets do an unofficial "Lovecraft D20", if only to piss them off.

You might have been suggesting this tongue-in-cheek, but it's not a good idea to do anything for spite - especially since there's so much cross-pollination in RPG companies. Your annoying opposition today is your boss tomorrow.

But if anyone could succeed at bringing a lovecraftian horror game back to d20, it's Gareth. I just wish Chaosium would allow the idea to expand a bit more back into d20.

 

[Desdichado]

I just hope that Lovecraft d20 is not confused with the Book of Erotic Fantasy!

I like the name Lovecraft d20 by the way!

How's about Yog-Sothothery d20? Use HPL's own term.

 

[TerraDave]

It looks like support would have to be in the form of the unofficial "Lovecraft D20" that I mentioned earlier.

That would still be pretty kewl. Compatible with 3.5 D&D, D20 modern, some sort of mix and match (yes, I realise it is a little early, but what are your thoughts?)

 

[barsoomcore]

Lovecraft d20 is brill.

As in "iant".



The thing about the CoC Sanity system is that it provides a sort of "alternate hit points" system that players have to work with and compensate for. Most other horror mechanics (haven't seen OGL Horror so am completely talking out of my posterior just at the moment -- see if anyone notices) have a "Save Vs Fear" kind of effect which is just right for some games, but one of the key "flavour" bites to CoC is that steadily-dwindling store of Sanity every character possesses.

It makes the fear not just something that happens in the game, but something that the game actually revolves around, much like hit points do for combat.

 

[barsoomcore]

I wonder about the sales appeal with such a wide-ranging focus. Also, I'd be talking more about doing adventures (since that's what people would want, I think, as time-savers) rather than genre supplements.

I think, though, you could usefully combine the two. Release adventures set in different genre "worlds" along with whatever mechanical doohickeys you need to support that era (an equipment list, notes on skills and feats, maybe a couple of Backgrounds or something). If the game is flexibly designed enough (like d20 CoC was) you won't need much to support different time frames/genres/settings.

Don't view them as genre supplements -- view them as adventures that need just a little bit of supporting crunch and fluff.