Call of Cthulhu- which version should I buy?

[Gomez]

I followed "What Rough Beast" for quite a while, and the GM and players were quite good -- good enough to keep external readers interested.

Henry,
You should take a look at my Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays IC thread. It was one of the best PBP games that I have ever run. Really great stuff and really great players.

 

[Spell]

What edition of the BRP game would you recommend? Also, what accessories would you recommend picking up?

go with the last edition, if you can... even though, if you don't care for the update graphic, and some very minor additions, you could save some money and try to locate a 5.5 edition book (or even a 5th) which is very similar to the current edition (well, as a matter of fact, the system didn't change much ever since i can remember... and if they're selling a 2nd edition pdf file with the othe pdfs, it means that it didn't change since then).
as for supplements, i'd say the first keeper compendium is very good. i'd avoid the second, unless you really know you like it. it does contain some solid forensic information, but it also features a long long list of published scenarios that i never found interesting or much useful.

other things might be added (like the investigator compendium book), but it depends on what you want to do, what era you want to run your game into, and so on.... more data needed!

 

[Spell]

Interesting thought I was reminded of with Spell's comments: I think it was Piratecat from these forums who once said he ran BRP Call of Cthulhu games for a year or two before he had ever seen a rulebook. He was familair from playing elsewhere, and as long as people had character sheets, he made up the rest on the fly.

that's quite possible. in fact, if you have the statistics of the opponents that the PCs are going to face (human or otherwise), and the adventure, i think you could run a fairly smooth CoC game.
sure, the rules are useful to get information on weapons the PC might want to get and similar stuff, and to look at a rarely used rule, should the need arise... but mostly, if you can wig it, you can leave it at home!

 

[TiQuinn]

There is a d20 Conversion Archive at Yog-sothoth.com.

Gracias!

 

[TheLostSoul]

What edition of the BRP game would you recommend? Also, what accessories would you recommend picking up?

What edition really does not matter much, although the newer books look better than the earlier ones. One of the last three editions is the easiest to get hold of (5th, 5.5th and 6th) and the sixth edition has recently been released in a cheaper paperback edition (5th and 5.5th is also PB, exept for the special editions). The only difference that I know of between the 5th and 5.5th editions (ruleswise) is a change in the incomesystem. There might be changes to some of the spells, but I have never read the 5th edition (only played in a few games powered by it). The post 5th edition books also contains H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Chtulhu short story.

What supplements you would want really depends on the timeperiod you chose. I can really recommend the 1920's Investigator's Companion. Even if you do not play in that era. The first Keeper's Compendium is also quite good, but not really essential IMO. One of the setting books could also be useful, although which one really depends on what era and region you choose to set your games in. Alot of the various scenario compilations are also quite useful, if you want premade stories. They are quite often good, but I would recommend that you check the various reviews of them (I also recommend rpg.net for reviews...).

 

[Bagpuss]

Having played both I'ld go with Chaosiums classic BRP Call of Cthulhu. It's better supported, much more straight forward and suits the genre better IMHO.

 

[KaosDevice]

The changes between versions from 4.0 of the BRP ruleset are pretty infetessimal. The big need is the Resistance table and the sanity rules. The combat rules essentially fit on one sheet. I know the silly rules well enough I could run it in my sleep.

 

[Spell]

The changes between versions from 4.0 of the BRP ruleset are pretty infetessimal. The big need is the Resistance table and the sanity rules. The combat rules essentially fit on one sheet. I know the silly rules well enough I could run it in my sleep.

now it's time for me to ask: does the space for background information/ scenario advice/ creature information expand from some 50+ pages in the english 4th to the vast majority of the book of the 5th?

i had the 4th edition in italian, but when i saw the 5th (in english) i felt it was 300 times better... is that the case of crappy editorial philosophy of the italian publisher at the time (they used to put out partial translations of books...) or a case of vast improvement in the english version, too?

 

[KaosDevice]

now it's time for me to ask: does the space for background information/ scenario advice/ creature information expand from some 50+ pages in the english 4th to the vast majority of the book of the 5th?

Whoooooo boy, yes it does. That is where the changes between the editions really lie. The earlier ones had a much bigger tie to the 1920's as the only era in which to play. Thusly all the supplemental rules were tied more heavilly to that. As the rules editions changed there were tweaks in the rules hither and yon but all the big changes were in the contents and presentation of all the different background articles and historical perspectives. I always thought one of the quickest tells of one edition to the other (aside from the cover) was try to find the section of travel times in the 1920's. (In the boxed edition it wasn't even in the main book!)

 

[Kesh]

Keep in mind that the Arkham, Dunwich and Kingsport setting books are all dual-statted for BRP & d20. So you can't go wrong with those.

I do believe the CoCd20 Keeper's Screen also includes general rules for converting between the games.

And eventually, in some dark eon, Delta Green will get printed in dual-stat format. Eventually.