vortex said:
If you want more CoC material - why not just use BRP CoC?
Obviosly, from the other postings in this thread, people are keen to keep usind d20 rules for CoC. Can you tell me why?
Because, as simple as BRP is, it isn't necessarily a great system for character development and long-term play.
Don't get me wrong - I love BRP Cthulhu. When I run short-term campaigns and one-offs I use BRP Cthulhu to the exclusion of all else. When I want to run something that involves long term character arcs that has a Cthulhu feel, I turn to d20 CoC.
I'm part of a group that's currently going through one of the published 12-part campaigns using the BRP system, and it's frustrating the hell out of everyone. In the second session we learn that singing is an important skill for us to have even a remote chance of making it through the campaign - the closest we have is a character with an Art (Dancing) score of 20% and most of us relying on our raw talent. While we've made some succesful checks on pure luck, the dice turned against us at the end of the session and we repeated our chances of getting 5% or less when seeing if our singing skills progressed. The campaign moves fast, so we don't have the time to use the research rules to improve (and the Keeper is disinclined anyway).
End Result - we're more inclined to try shooting the unspeakable menaces because we're more likely to have an affect than trying to use the spell the campaign put in place. And there's another three or four semi-critical skills suffering the same problem.
Compare that to d20 CoC, where the development of character development is mediated by levels (which does sound like sacralidge to hard-core BRP'ers) and places the focus of the character development in the players hands. I've played in BRP games where everyone ends up with high scores in the same skills due to constant use, while the abilities that seperate them from one another languish in the background due to the lack of opportunity for them to make a difference in the course of the campaign.
Another big difference that places me in the d20 camp for long-term play is the introduction of rules like take 10 or take 20. In BRP, if there's a clue that absolutely needs to be found, it either hinges on a single die roll (Spot hidden, library use, whatever) which could be failed or the Keeper is forced to engineer a situation that reliese heavily on Keeper-Fait. The players don't find the clues based on their own skill - they find them because of luck or because they need to be found. With Take 20 I can ensure that the clues are always possible to be found if the PC's are willing to take the time rather than relying on a single die roll - and sessions can be engineered to ensure all clues are able to be found by a group of players that engage in clever play and an engagement with the scenario. I can create a situation that rewards player choice, rather than player luck or the demands of the story.
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