kengar
First Post
Here's an idea I had about running CoC and using a slightly modified set of Sanity Rules.
Characters' Sanity points (Starting Sanity, etc.) are calculated normally. However, the GM keeps track of the Sanity Scores (and Cthulhu Mythos skill) instead of the players. When a Sanity check is required, the players are asked to roll. The GM notes any Sanity losses and moves on. Unless a "temporary" insanity like fainting occurs, the players won't know exactly what happened.
As play progresses, if a character gains a disorder. The GM can use a combination of hallucinations and paranoia as "anti-metagaming" disorders. Examples:
1) The GM calls for Listen checks all around. The GM can also roll in secret to keep them from guessing too easily. ("What's your Spot bonus?" <roll roll>) He tells the player with the 'unstable' investigator that she "Hears faint scratching sounds from within the walls." No one else hears this, of course. It's a hallucination. The party doesn't dare ignore it, but they find nothing if they search or shoot/tear holes in the wall. Plus they might alert the cultists/creatures in the cellar that they are in the house! Was something there and it left? Maybe the other character just imagined it.
2) Spot checks work well too. "You see a shadow move in the corner!" Flashlights & pistols point frantically at...nothing.
3) Sense Motive: "You are sure the pawnbroker is lying. He seems very angry at you and intends you harm." (Paranoia)
4) The party is sneaking through the cellar when the GM says to the player with the 'unstable' character, "You feel a cold, rubbery hand grab the back of your neck!" Everyone freaks, but nothing is there and the sensation of the hand is gone. Is it invisible or is she just nuts?
5) After a bit of this, the party may suspect that you are pulling their collective leg. So the next time the "hallucinating" character sees or hears something, it turns out to be real!
6) If more than one character is affected, the fun is multiplied. Pass out notes to all the players telling them what each sees or hears. One of the notes might contain one delusion, another one says something different, anouther one says "You see/hear nothing unusual." Any of them (including the 'nothing') could be the delusion. Or all of them could be nuts in different ways.
This can be especially fun when the character involved is psychic or magic-using. They are the best suited to detect the paranormal, but their psyches are already fragile from exposure to the Mythos. Was it a clairvoyant vision or a hallucination? The secret is to not overuse it and to sprinkle in just enough "real" stuff to keep them guessing non-stop.
Characters' Sanity points (Starting Sanity, etc.) are calculated normally. However, the GM keeps track of the Sanity Scores (and Cthulhu Mythos skill) instead of the players. When a Sanity check is required, the players are asked to roll. The GM notes any Sanity losses and moves on. Unless a "temporary" insanity like fainting occurs, the players won't know exactly what happened.
As play progresses, if a character gains a disorder. The GM can use a combination of hallucinations and paranoia as "anti-metagaming" disorders. Examples:
1) The GM calls for Listen checks all around. The GM can also roll in secret to keep them from guessing too easily. ("What's your Spot bonus?" <roll roll>) He tells the player with the 'unstable' investigator that she "Hears faint scratching sounds from within the walls." No one else hears this, of course. It's a hallucination. The party doesn't dare ignore it, but they find nothing if they search or shoot/tear holes in the wall. Plus they might alert the cultists/creatures in the cellar that they are in the house! Was something there and it left? Maybe the other character just imagined it.
2) Spot checks work well too. "You see a shadow move in the corner!" Flashlights & pistols point frantically at...nothing.
3) Sense Motive: "You are sure the pawnbroker is lying. He seems very angry at you and intends you harm." (Paranoia)
4) The party is sneaking through the cellar when the GM says to the player with the 'unstable' character, "You feel a cold, rubbery hand grab the back of your neck!" Everyone freaks, but nothing is there and the sensation of the hand is gone. Is it invisible or is she just nuts?
5) After a bit of this, the party may suspect that you are pulling their collective leg. So the next time the "hallucinating" character sees or hears something, it turns out to be real!
6) If more than one character is affected, the fun is multiplied. Pass out notes to all the players telling them what each sees or hears. One of the notes might contain one delusion, another one says something different, anouther one says "You see/hear nothing unusual." Any of them (including the 'nothing') could be the delusion. Or all of them could be nuts in different ways.
This can be especially fun when the character involved is psychic or magic-using. They are the best suited to detect the paranormal, but their psyches are already fragile from exposure to the Mythos. Was it a clairvoyant vision or a hallucination? The secret is to not overuse it and to sprinkle in just enough "real" stuff to keep them guessing non-stop.
