Help me understand Call of Cthulhu

[Committed Hero]

I think every GM has to ask that question of every clue. If it's an essential clue, the GM has to decide what failure means. Maybe it means they get partial info, or slightly incorrect info. Maybe it means they only find out later at a critical juncture. What we have to get out of our stubborn heads is that "failure = not getting the clue."

Does this mean I have to have three contingencies planned for when the party succeeds, when they fail, and when they don't think to look? That's a lot of work, two-thirds of which that will probably go unused.

 

[Wolfpack48]

Does this mean I have to have three contingencies planned for when the party succeeds, when they fail, and when they don't think to look? That's a lot of work, two-thirds of which that will probably go unused.

If it's a scenario, many writers do that work for you. If I do it on my own, I'll just put a short note on what happens then see where it leads. No need to do War and Peace adventure paths. Sometimes it's just fun to decide in the moment what happens based on what's going on. One of the great joys of roleplaying is serendipity.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

Does this mean I have to have three contingencies planned for when the party succeeds, when they fail, and when they don't think to look? That's a lot of work, two-thirds of which that will probably go unused.

If you are authoring a tightly-plotted investigative game, then yes, my experience is that you will end up with a lot of unused material. System isn't relevant, as it's been the same for Agatha Christie plot I moved into The One Ring, various Cthulhu games, and the 13th Age game I plan to run next Monday.

One design strategy to consider is similar clues: Create multiple ways the PCs can find the same basic info. In my One Ring Game, I had 3 ways a hidden identity could be found out. That means you have essentially one positive outcome, flavored differently, and the fail or ignore conditions are simple; nothing happens and hopefully a different scene will find the info needed.

 

[Wolfpack48]

Create multiple ways the PCs can find the same basic info. In my One Ring Game, I had 3 ways a hidden identity could be found out. That means you have essentially one positive outcome, flavored differently, and the fail or ignore conditions are simple; nothing happens and hopefully a different scene will find the info needed.

That's a great point and something I do as well. Clues need not be tied to a specific location or even media. The same clue could be found word-of-mouth or in a tome, or in an old newspaper archive, or on a tombstone.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

That's a great point and something I do as well. Clues need not be tied to a specific location or even media. The same clue could be found word-of-mouth or in a tome, or in an old newspaper archive, or on a tombstone.

Agree. It's also nice to have different skills/abilities to discover it. For the hidden identity "clue" I had:

• Housekeeper's memory of one character having used a different name in the past (Needed to chat in a friendly way to reveal it)
• Copies of handwriting that could be compared
• Legal documents on file in town (The Master of Laketown would needd serious persuading)
• Letters from an old lover to a different name kept in the target's room

Didn't need a lot of prep and I didn't even define the skills needed to find/understand them. My notes were not much more than the above.

There's also the "teleporting clue" concept. I'm not a big fan of that, but its certainly much easier. That's where a specific clue will be found at the first of several possible locations that is successfully investigated. I don't find it too much trouble to have simailr, but different clues. But if you are short on prep time, that also works.

 

[Desdichado]

Does this mean I have to have three contingencies planned for when the party succeeds, when they fail, and when they don't think to look? That's a lot of work, two-thirds of which that will probably go unused.

It's not a rule, it's a concept. You can also do other things, like just tell them what clues that they find to make sure that they don't miss them, for instance. The point is that the PCs could miss clues, and if they miss clues or don't grasp their significance, then the adventure potentially grinds to a halt and the players are all frustrated. There's more than one way to skin that cat, but the point is to be aware of it.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

It's not a rule, it's a concept. You can also do other things, like just tell them what clues that they find to make sure that they don't miss them, for instance. The point is that the PCs could miss clues, and if they miss clues or don't grasp their significance, then the adventure potentially grinds to a halt and the players are all frustrated. There's more than one way to skin that cat, but the point is to be aware of it.

Another thing you need to decide up front is: Are you Ok with the PCs straight up failing?

If so, then make sure there is a definite end, not just a "I can't think what else we can do" trailing out as the players dumbly look at each other. Have the villain complete a plan; steal the McGuffin and leave; murder the ingenue, laugh maniacally, and ride off into the sunset; whatever. Make it clear the scenario is over.

 

[Brewhammer]

Translation: "I don't want my character to take damage or be impeded. Ever."

CoC definitely is not the game for that kind of player. If you were ever unfortunate enough to actually encounter Great Cthulhu, one of his abilities is just straight up "Cthulhu kills 1d6 investigators on his turn."

 

[Wolfpack48]

CoC definitely is not the game for that kind of player. If you were ever unfortunate enough to actually encounter Great Cthulhu, one of his abilities is just straight up "Cthulhu kills 1d6 investigators on his turn."

I unfortunately have played with players like this so I have a pretty adverse reaction when I hear "the system doesn't make me feel heroic enough..." I shouldn't jump to conclusions, but it's happened enough times that I can't avoid it. Heroes are people who do the right thing despite the odds or difficulty - being bulletproof isn't a requirement.

 

[Coroc]

CoC definitely is not the game for that kind of player. If you were ever unfortunate enough to actually encounter Great Cthulhu, one of his abilities is just straight up "Cthulhu kills 1d6 investigators on his turn."

Spoiler:















When playing mountains of madness, my character was the only one surviving, ahm kind of, his head did survive integrated into some biological matrix. Rest of the group as well as all npcs did perish in the end one after another, in pretty horrible ways.