[CoC] running d20 Call of Cthulhu for the first time--help!

[TheAuldGrump]

If you want 'dark and dangerous' then don't fiddle with the massive damage!

Seriously though, what level are you starting your heroes at? If you are starting at level 1 (highly recomended esp. for a first game) then leaving massive damage at 10 changes very little, if you only have 6-10 or so HP then risking death at 10 points is pretty much redundant, your dead, dying, or unconcious anyway. The rule is there so the players THINK.

Are you adding armor? Again, this gets rid of some of your worries about player death. At low levels even 4 points of armor make a BIG difference.

Massive damage works for the players too, a hit with a sword now has a chance of killing a higher level character if the attacker has even a 14 Strength.

Don't forget, you asked for advice - everyone advising you is saying 'keep the 10 point massive damage'. Stop and think about that.

Giving 'stupid points' a non-regenerating pool of luck - spend one and you don't die in a welter of blood - is a safer bet in the long run, if they run out the player has hopefully learned 'don't do that'. Calling them 'stupid points' drives te point home.

The Auld Grump, done talking, its your game, live with the consequences.

 

[Geoffrey]

d20 CoC has everything I want, but D&D is lacking:

1. I want all my monsters to be Lovecraftian critters. The CoC book is full of them, but the MM is sorely lacking.

2. I want a dark and dangerous magic system. The CoC book has precisely that, but D&D magic is anything but.

3. I want dark and alien "magic items". CoC has that, but the DMG just has the standard fantasy stuff.

4. I don't want dwarves, elves, halflings, etc. running around. In CoC, all PCs are human. In D&D, humans are just one of many races.

5. I don't want classes. I want skills. In CoC, there are no classes. In D&D, classes abound.

In short, D&D doesn't have what I want. d20 Call of Cthulhu does. The only thing it lacks is medieval weapons, but I simply printed those out from the SRD.