CoC Clueless

[Crothian]

Okay, since the book is out and people are talking all about it, can someone tell me what it's about? I've never played the game in any of it's versions. I've heard a few not so detailed stories of people playing. What's the atmosphere and the setting like? What is a "typical" adventure? Campaign? I'm trying to decide if I should get this. I'm happy with d20, so I'm not concerned with the rules system as much as I am about the actual game.

 

[EricNoah]

I get the impression that if played the "typical" way (or maybe the way it was "intended" -- and I use that term loosely), CoC would be more suitable for one-shot games or short campaigns. It just doesn't look like the PCs are going to be all that durable compared to the stuff that's going to get thrown at them. Unlike in D&D where you might fall in love with your PC and keep him/her for years and years, you might want to not get too attached to your CoC PCs.

That said, I would recommend that you read at least the short story "Call of Cthulhu" -- I also enjoyed the story "At the Mountains of Madness." From that starting point you might have a better idea of what it is "supposed" to be about.

 

[Morpheus]

If you like The X-Files' sense of conspiracy and mystery, then you will like CoC in modern times. Add a dash of insanity and a healthy portion of horror and there you have it! A typical CoC game...

 

[MerricB]

I felt that the Speaker of Dreams (which I loved, btw) was an attempt to fuse D&D and Call of Cthulhu. A lot of the feeling of CoC is there... except for the "we're all doomed" bit.

My summary of CoC:
Human investigators discover things Man was not meant to know, attempt to stop the world being destroyed, and either get eaten or go insane. The world may or may not be destroyed in the end.

Cheers!

 

[Crothian]

Sounds good. I'll have to see if aI can find those stories somewhere. Ah! To much to read. Any other thoughts?

 

[Akunin]

It looks like we have another needing to be "converted"

http://www.gizmology.net/lovecraft/works/

And I'm going to keep on pimping that URL until the whole world falls into the eternal thralldom of my da.. of Great Cthulhu!

 

[EricNoah]

Sweet!

 

[Crothian]

It looks like we have another needing to be "converted"

http://www.gizmology.net/lovecraft/works/

And I'm going to keep on pimping that URL until the whole world falls into the eternal thralldom of my da.. of Great Cthulhu!

Not converted just yet. Thanks for the link, though. It'll take me a while to get through all that info.

 

[cybernetic]

Not converted just yet. Thanks for the link, though. It'll take me a while to get through all that info.

Go straight to the "Works" section.....there are many many great stories posted there

 

[Skywalker]

I get the impression that if played the "typical" way (or maybe the way it was "intended" -- and I use that term loosely), CoC would be more suitable for one-shot games or short campaigns. It just doesn't look like the PCs are going to be all that durable compared to the stuff that's going to get thrown at them. Unlike in D&D where you might fall in love with your PC and keep him/her for years and years, you might want to not get too attached to your CoC PCs.

CoC comes in two flavors.

One is a long term campaign, though durability is an issue. The fact that CoC has probably some of the best written campaigns shows this. I recommend Mask of Nyarlathotep, Horror on the Orient Express, Beyond the Mountains of Madness and Escape from Innsmouth. All have over 6 months and probably over 1 year worth of playing in them.

The other flavor often seen at conventions is a one shot where everyone dies.

As for how the game plays - there are many styles. Delta Green is a modern setting that melds X Files with CoC. Traditional Cthulhu set in 1920s is normally about a group of investigators banding together to get to the bottom of a mystery, add cults, monsters and horror. The other traditional setting is 1890s which has a Jack the Ripper meets Orson Welles feel

I recommend readin a few stories by H P Lovecraft (some are free on the net).

Also check out the Dark Ages Cthulhu fee web supplement floating aorund. Its quite good.