D&D + Cthulhu: how did it go?

[Chaos Drake]

The next issue of Dragon magazine focuses on Lovecraft's creations. But I think folks here have had lots of experience combining the two. How have the adventures been?

Played in a campaign that had an 'unspeakable horror', though not quite a Great Old One. It was fun and the campaign was infused with villagers forced into cults, a band of formerly-heroic knights who had turned to the dark side and infused with magical powers (+ the odd tentacle or two) and a chaos-worshipping priest behind it all, all ready to sacrifice virgins (or was it goats...) to that Lovecraftian, amoeba-like demon. Ah those were the days...

 

[Henry]

I've played d20 Modern + Cthulhu before: It went quite well! However, I see too much heroism inherent in D&D to do cthonic horrors justice.

I say this, despite having run my d20 modern games with Cthonic elements with a feel in the tradition of Army of Darkness.

 

[rbingham2000]

I've played d20 Modern + Cthulhu before: It went quite well! However, I see too much heroism inherent in D&D to do cthonic horrors justice.

I say this, despite having run my d20 modern games with Cthonic elements with a feel in the tradition of Army of Darkness.

A heroic D&D game with Cthulhoid horrors has a very Conan feel to it that I like.

Conan occasionally encountered critters in Howard's stories that seriously creeped him out in a "cosmic horror" sense. Some of them were killable (like the monster he took down with the phoenix-marked sword in The Phoenix on the Sword) while others even he knew to run from (like the horrors of The Scarlet Citadel).

 

[Desdichado]

Which issue of Dragon is that? When will it hit the shelves? I'm all over that one. I regularly use that kind of weirdness in my fantasy games, and I also play Call of Cthulhu almost as much as I play D&D anyway.

There's a lot of overlap anyway; the gibbering mouther is like a junior version of a Shoggoth in most respects, and the illithids were specifically meant to emulate Cthulhu himself. Oh, and the kuo-toa -- if those aren't deep ones, I don't know what is.

 

[Rauol_Duke]

Which issue of Dragon is that? When will it hit the shelves?

The article, The Shadow Over D&D is in the upcoming issue of Dragon (#324) which ships to subscribers on 9/3. It'll probably be hitting the FLGS's later that week...long before most subscribers get thiers.

 

[GlassJaw]

Which issue of Dragon is that? When will it hit the shelves? I'm all over that one. I regularly use that kind of weirdness in my fantasy games, and I also play Call of Cthulhu almost as much as I play D&D anyway.

Oh wow, sign me up. I'll definitely be picking that up too.

I actually just ordered Grim Tales. I would love to do a Conan meets Cthulhu style campaign. Horror and insanity checks, big biceps, magic that hurts you when you cast - woo hoo!!

 

[Achan hiArusa]

Sanity Resistance

Actually, a friend of mine is running it now. She removed the Sanity Resistance because it "ruined her fun." She only applies Sanity loss to Cthulhu-oid horrors and not standard D&D creatures.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

D&D + Cthulhu has been an olllld fave of mine for a while. It's not hard to see the connection, especially since that name was dropped quite a bit in the older editions. I've been able to live with the beholders as thinking of them as a Cthuloid monster. I've had similar fun with the origins of the grick as well.

 

[jester47]

One word:

Mindflayer.

Aaron.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

Much as I love the Cthulhu stuff, it may well be really hard to effectively integrate all that stuff in to a high fantasy game. At some point they just become really tough monsters as opposed to these sanity blasting horrors.