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Giving Call of Cthulhu a shot, any advice?
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<blockquote data-quote="overgeeked" data-source="post: 9087035" data-attributes="member: 86653"><p>Cool. Hope you have fun with it. You'll do great.</p><p></p><p>Find out how much and what kinds of horror your group are okay with. Look up safety tools like lines and veils and the X card. Whatever they tell you, respect it. Even if you have to rewrite or throw out the scenario you're planning. Some Cthulhu scenarios are barely more horror-filled than an episode of Scooby-Doo others would give the Saw franchise writers nightmares. Read the scenario ahead of time and make sure your players' lines and veils are respected.</p><p></p><p>No matter what the scenario says, never...ever...ever lock the players' ability to continue the scenario behind any single roll. Most Call of Cthulhu scenarios dropped that habit decades ago, but they occasionally weasel their way back in.</p><p></p><p>Play the solo scenario by yourself first. It will help you get a handle on the mechanics.</p><p></p><p>The vast majority of the system is roll 1d100 equal to or under your stat or skill. That's really all there is to it. You can do 90% of the game with just asking for this stat or that skill check.</p><p></p><p>Combat is more involved, because of course it is. You can also run combat just like the rest of the game without breaking anything.</p><p></p><p>Don't let the players have automatic weapons. The rules for automatic weapons are...involved.</p><p></p><p>Bookmark the 1/2 and 1/5 values chart. Make sure your players write down those values on their sheets for any skills they have. This really saves time.</p><p></p><p>Bookmark the important bits of the Sanity rules.</p><p></p><p>If you're not sure what an investigator would know, make and EDU check. This is the cleverly named Know check.</p><p></p><p>If the players are absolutely stuck and have no idea how to proceed in the mystery, have the one with the highest INT make an INT check. This is the cleverly named Idea check. Decide what the most important missed clue is and set the difficulty based on that. If it was never mentioned in game, regular. If it was mentioned but the players missed it, hard. If the players got the clue and even talked about it, extreme. If they succeed, give them the clue. If they fail, give them the clue...along with some armed cultists or other scenario appropriate goons. This is the old pulp standby of when the story stalls send in a guy with a gun.</p><p></p><p>Don't worry about historical accuracy. Unless you and your entire table are historians, you'll flub something. It's okay. Accept it and don't worry about it.</p><p></p><p>Do everyone at the table a favor and <em>do not</em> enforce the racism and sexism of the era. It's a game. Let it be fun for everyone.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="overgeeked, post: 9087035, member: 86653"] Cool. Hope you have fun with it. You'll do great. Find out how much and what kinds of horror your group are okay with. Look up safety tools like lines and veils and the X card. Whatever they tell you, respect it. Even if you have to rewrite or throw out the scenario you're planning. Some Cthulhu scenarios are barely more horror-filled than an episode of Scooby-Doo others would give the Saw franchise writers nightmares. Read the scenario ahead of time and make sure your players' lines and veils are respected. No matter what the scenario says, never...ever...ever lock the players' ability to continue the scenario behind any single roll. Most Call of Cthulhu scenarios dropped that habit decades ago, but they occasionally weasel their way back in. Play the solo scenario by yourself first. It will help you get a handle on the mechanics. The vast majority of the system is roll 1d100 equal to or under your stat or skill. That's really all there is to it. You can do 90% of the game with just asking for this stat or that skill check. Combat is more involved, because of course it is. You can also run combat just like the rest of the game without breaking anything. Don't let the players have automatic weapons. The rules for automatic weapons are...involved. Bookmark the 1/2 and 1/5 values chart. Make sure your players write down those values on their sheets for any skills they have. This really saves time. Bookmark the important bits of the Sanity rules. If you're not sure what an investigator would know, make and EDU check. This is the cleverly named Know check. If the players are absolutely stuck and have no idea how to proceed in the mystery, have the one with the highest INT make an INT check. This is the cleverly named Idea check. Decide what the most important missed clue is and set the difficulty based on that. If it was never mentioned in game, regular. If it was mentioned but the players missed it, hard. If the players got the clue and even talked about it, extreme. If they succeed, give them the clue. If they fail, give them the clue...along with some armed cultists or other scenario appropriate goons. This is the old pulp standby of when the story stalls send in a guy with a gun. Don't worry about historical accuracy. Unless you and your entire table are historians, you'll flub something. It's okay. Accept it and don't worry about it. Do everyone at the table a favor and [I]do not[/I] enforce the racism and sexism of the era. It's a game. Let it be fun for everyone. [/QUOTE]
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