Call of Cthulhu General Thread [+]

[Reynard]

One of my first experiences running CoC was "The Haunting," a classic adventure included in the core book for many editions. My players were have some exceptionally poor luck rolling, having failed pretty much every single investigatory roll they made whether it was Library Use at City Hall or Persuasion to interview neighbors. This didn't stop them from completing the scenario, but it was decidedly less fun as they had no idea what was happening. At the time, there wasn't really any good advice for what to do in the core book to mitigate such things from happening (not that I can remember at least).

1. Remind players they can Push failed rolls. When you fail a skill roll in CoC, you can Push the roll, meaning you roll again, but if you fail, then some calamity befalls you. You fall flat on your butt if you fail a pushed climb roll, you run smack dab into the nightwatchman with a failed pushed stealth roll, or maybe you jump a curb and pop a tire when you fail that pushed driving roll. Pushing a roll really does increase the odds of success.
2. Don't forget about Idea rolls. When players get stuck, have their characters make Idea rolls, and give anyone who succeed a hint about how they might proceed.
3. Be flexible about where clues can be found. If the scenario says a clue can be found in city hall but the player goes to the library, let the clue be found at the library is the player is successful. Maybe the same clue can be found by talking to someone in the neighborhood whose an antiquarian with an extensive collection of maps of the local area produced over the years. (Maybe we can talk about the Quantum Map instead of the Quantum Ogre for a change.)
4. If a player searches in a specific place for a clue, don't make them roll, just have them find it. i.e. If Doctor Watson specifically flips through every book on the shelf, he finds the letter left in the pages of the Bible by Professor Plum. No roll needed.
5. Make sure core clues necessary for the plot to advance are found. If a clue from the Library is necessary, the PCs automatically find it, but a successful roll will net some extra information.

For mysteries and horror, it's critical the players get into the spirit of the game. Accept bad things are going to happen to NPCs and your character. Dealing with the horrors isn't a fail state, it's part of the fun. Make sure the players understand what's happening. A little mystery is fine, you don't necessarily need to understand the motivation of that Colour Out of Space, but a player needs to understand enough to make the experience satisfactory. There are too many scenarios with a lot of cool information the Keeper knows about but there aren't necessarily any practical avenues for the players to learn about.

This post is basically a summary of why Gumshoe exists.

 

[GuyBoy]

I'm about halfway through planning a CoC campaign, set in 1924, and (dependent on investigator decisions) likely to involve Stonehenge area, Norfolk, Kent, Oxford, London and then leaving the UK for France, Italy and Egypt.
Really looking forward to it, partly as a C20th historian and partly as a new Keeper.
Any tips gratefully received; aiming to start running after completing the Vecna, Eve of Ruin game I'm running at the moment, so probably around Feb 2026.

 

[overgeeked]

I'm about halfway through planning a CoC campaign, set in 1924, and (dependent on investigator decisions) likely to involve Stonehenge area, Norfolk, Kent, Oxford, London and then leaving the UK for France, Italy and Egypt.

As strongly as it's possible to suggest, don't prep a plot or story for the PC to follow. Prep a situation with NPCs who have goals. Having something solid in your head about scene A, then scene B, then scene C, etc will only end in frustration all around. Follow the advice in the core book, especially about obvious vs obscure clues. The three-clue rule and node-based design links in the OP are well worth the read.

Really looking forward to it, partly as a C20th historian and partly as a new Keeper.

Best of luck. There's definitely a learning curve for mystery and horror if you're coming from mostly D&D-like games.

Unless you're playing with a group of historians, it's a good idea to write up a quick one-sheet on the time period. What's been invented, what pop culture is like (movies, songs, etc), who the famous people are, etc. Nothing too detailed, but it can throw things for a loop when PCs start talking about things that won't happen for another decade or two. The 1920s seem to be an especially odd time for this. So much is familiar but it's also so different.

That's why I tend to go with Cthulhu by Gaslight, London in the 1880s. There's a lot more general cultural osmosis about that particular time and place.

Any tips gratefully received; aiming to start running after completing the Vecna, Eve of Ruin game I'm running at the moment, so probably around Feb 2026.

Read up on daily life and ordinary topics that are generally overlooked in history books. These can add a lot of great texture and depth to the experience for the players. Period music along with horror soundtracks can help a lot, too. You can also go intentionally incongruous with the wrong period music. Slightly later stuff or wildly later stuff done in an era-appropriate style.

 

[overgeeked]

General music suggestions for Call of Cthulhu.

Alien franchise OSTs and scores, including the games. Anything by Wojciech Kilar. Anything related to the folk music of Romania. Babylon Berlin. Bioshock game OSTs and scores. Bloodborne OST. Call of Cthulhu video game OST. Castlevania OSTs. City of Lost Children OST. Cryo Chamber. Dark City OST. Dark Side of Classical Music. Dark Souls OSTs and scores. Darkest Dungeon OST. Dracula OST (any and all). Elden Ring OST and score. Fear Street OSTs. Fringe OSTs. From Hell OST. Halo OSTs. Hammer Film Music Collection. Hellboy OSTs. John Cartpenter OSTs. Lovecraft Country OST. Lustmord. Mass Effect OSTs. Most any Danny Elfman soundtrack, though most are too easily recognized. Nox Arcana. Pan's Labyrinth OST. Penny Dreadful OST. Planet of the Apes OSTs and scores. Postmodern Jukebox. Ravenloft OSTs. Resident Evil OSTs and scores.Silent Hill OSTs and scores. Sleepy Hollow OST. The Crow OSTs and scores. The Sunken City OST. The Thing OST. Twilight Zone OSTs. Twin Peaks OST. Various Roma music albums. Walking Dead OST and score. Wojciech Kilar albums and soundtracks. X-Files OSTs.

 

[bsss]

One of my first experiences running CoC was "The Haunting," a classic adventure included in the core book for many editions.

I never ran a terribly successful CoC campaign for terribly long, but I introduced CoC to my group by running The Haunting and it was perhaps one of the best one-shot experiences we've ever had. We had the right players to support the right tone to (I think) nail the adventure... right up until the point where the party, of course, let their curiosity get the best of them (intentionally) and then everything went sideways. Someone lost it for a bit, shot another investigator dead, then totally lost it as they realized what they did and self-defenestrated to end the adventure. We had a blast, and talked about it for years.

Another time, we were playing by candlelight and got some parents (this was back in high school) to flip out at us as we were talking about ghouls in sewers or something. Great times. Those are my fondest memories of CoC.

I just wish I was better at improv then; I think my games and campaigns lost steam because I wasn't as able back then to roll with the twists, and learned a bit too many bad behaviors from the written modules --- not that they were bad, but that I wasn't able to come up with a session or adventure that didn't play out exactly like a Lovecraft story. I think that's the most demanding part of running CoC, being confident in finding a Lovecraftian adventure that riffs with the party, especially if they play it straight and avoid the classic eldritch horror tropes.

I always think about doing another run at a game of it, but to be honest I would probably pick a different system.

 

[MGibster]

Unless you're playing with a group of historians, it's a good idea to write up a quick one-sheet on the time period. What's been invented, what pop culture is like (movies, songs, etc), who the famous people are, etc. Nothing too detailed, but it can throw things for a loop when PCs start talking about things that won't happen for another decade or two. The 1920s seem to be an especially odd time for this. So much is familiar but it's also so different.

The very fact that it's both familiar and different is one of the reasons I think the 1920s make for a great setting. It's the modern era, so it's very familiar to all the players. We share a common language, eat similar foods, have the same history, we're familiar with the religions, and they have some of the same things we have like automobiles, radios, movies, skyscrapers, and telephones. But you're right, even though some of it is familiar, it can feel very, very different.

I was running a campaign in Arkham, MA, and one of the players wanted to go to the local hardware store in the evening. Sorry. It's closed, as are most of the retail stores in town after 5:00-6:00 PM. If you need something from the hardware store you're going to have to figure out a way to get inside or find what you need elsewhere. The players were investigating at a tenement and wanted to use the phone. If there was a phone, it'd be in a common area and likely a party line, so good luck if you want a private call.

 

[overgeeked]

I never ran a terribly successful CoC campaign for terribly long, but I introduced CoC to my group by running The Haunting and it was perhaps one of the best one-shot experiences we've ever had. We had the right players to support the right tone to (I think) nail the adventure... right up until the point where the party, of course, let their curiosity get the best of them (intentionally) and then everything went sideways. Someone lost it for a bit, shot another investigator dead, then totally lost it as they realized what they did and self-defenestrated to end the adventure. We had a blast, and talked about it for years.

Another time, we were playing by candlelight and got some parents (this was back in high school) to flip out at us as we were talking about ghouls in sewers or something. Great times. Those are my fondest memories of CoC.

Nice. The Haunting is a great scenario. It's kinda too bad it's so famous, though. Makes it harder to run the thing without people knowing exactly what's coming. Not from cheating by reading the scenario, but it's just general gamer lore at this point.

I just wish I was better at improv then; I think my games and campaigns lost steam because I wasn't as able back then to roll with the twists, and learned a bit too many bad behaviors from the written modules --- not that they were bad, but that I wasn't able to come up with a session or adventure that didn't play out exactly like a Lovecraft story. I think that's the most demanding part of running CoC, being confident in finding a Lovecraftian adventure that riffs with the party, especially if they play it straight and avoid the classic eldritch horror tropes.

Yeah, that's one of the most common myths about Call of Cthulhu. You don't have to use the Mythos or run H. P. Lovecraft's stories. It's just as good at generic mystery-horror.

I always think about doing another run at a game of it, but to be honest I would probably pick a different system.

I prefer lighter systems, but Call of Cthulhu just works. There's also Cthulhu Dark, the Cthulhu Hack, and Dread. And a dozen others besides, I'm sure.

 

[overgeeked]

The very fact that it's both familiar and different is one of the reasons I think the 1920s make for a great setting. It's the modern era, so it's very familiar to all the players. We share a common language, eat similar foods, have the same history, we're familiar with the religions, and they have some of the same things we have like automobiles, radios, movies, skyscrapers, and telephones. But you're right, even though some of it is familiar, it can feel very, very different.

You're right, of course. But the devil is in the details. My hesitance for using the 1920s is mostly down to people (myself absolutely included) constantly flubbing things by decades. Having to look things up mid-game sucks, so I prefer not to. Making the wrong call and having something not invented until the 1940s show up as a dust-covered relic in an abandoned barn or something just became way too distracting. I could easily gloss over that or make it part of the mystery, of course. But it was too much to bother with. So I default to Cthulhu by Gaslight and London circa 1880s. Fewer things that are similar but different to keep track of.

I was running a campaign in Arkham, MA, and one of the players wanted to go to the local hardware store in the evening. Sorry. It's closed, as are most of the retail stores in town after 5:00-6:00 PM. If you need something from the hardware store you're going to have to figure out a way to get inside or find what you need elsewhere. The players were investigating at a tenement and wanted to use the phone. If there was a phone, it'd be in a common area and likely a party line, so good luck if you want a private call.

I love the Arkham books they've done for Call of Cthulhu. So much detail and so many story hooks and mysteries waiting to be explored. The latest version is wonderful. Such a great sandbox to play in.

 

[overgeeked]

I have never played CoC, but it has definitely been on my list after watching a bunch of videos from Seth Skorkowsky and a few others. I have the CoC Starter Set. I also have the rules supplement for Pulp Cthulhu and The Two Head Serpent adventure. But I still need to get around to actually buying the core rules themselves. However, the main issue is just finding time to get around to playing the game. I mostly play with my partner nowadays, and there are higher games on our priority list.

The starter set has a solo scenario, Alone Against the Flames, to help you learn the system. It also has a 1-2 investigator scenario, Paper Chase, which would be great for you and yours when you get to it. Edge of Darkness and Dead Man's Stomp are both for 2-5 investigators.

 

[Committed Hero]

I have played in some very good CoC games, but I always feel liek the GMs were what made them good, not the system itself.

So acknowledging that COC can be great with the right GM, I am curious what folks who really like the game have to say about the system. How do you make it shine? What tools, including but not exclusively house rules, do you use to make it work for what is essentially a mystery game?

We played the original Shadows of Yog-Sothoth in high school, and the Keeper had made props for the Arc of Vlactos and others. It left a lasting impression on me for sure.