D&D 5E (2014) Sandy Peterson's Cthulhu Mythos for 5E ??

[VorpalBunny]

Take a look at the Strange Aeons adventure path as well. There's lots of stuff in there that can be taken for a D&D game as well.

 

[schnee]

Well, the Mythos & D&D have mixed since the 1e Deities & Demigods.

Well, less 'mixed' than 'snarked when nobody was looking'.

That said, even with some of the Lovecraftian monsters in the game now (Aboleth, Gibbering Mouther), the feel of Cthulhu Mythos stuff would be better served by the horrors appearing in a 1900's world, facing incredibly fragile characters.

A level-based, combat-heavy mechanic doesn't really do it justice.

 

[Quartz]

I disagree. Monster-stomping fun is fine as part of the Mythos. It just means that you let them stomp the cultists and then hit them with The Monster. Which stomps the PCs unless they're prepared.

 

[trinculolives]

Bleh, my favourite part of Call of Cthulhu is how, in D&D terms, everyone is kind of 1st level and never goes beyond that. I ran a game of it yesterday for the first time, and I felt such sweet, sweet joy when one of the Investigators died instantly after being impaled by a dagger. Similarly, the major antagonist of the game was killed by a well-stabbed chopstick and a dagger.
After years of describing how multiple "hits" from D&D monsters slowly "chip away" at the large health pools of adventurers, it was the most refreshing thing to play a game that allowed for such sudden and dramatic outcomes to combat.

In CoC I don't have to worry about balancing every encounter to be winnable. I don't have to ask for Initiative rolls, I don't have to look up how much loot the players should be getting, I don't have to build monster ecologies, I don't have to draw dungeons replete with farcical traps, I don't have to read through five pages of pseudo-fantasy backstory full of cliches about orcs...

D&D is one thing. CoC is another. Like a person who wants to be sane and a tome of eldritch lore, the two should not mix.

 

[schnee]

I disagree. Monster-stomping fun is fine as part of the Mythos. It just means that you let them stomp the cultists and then hit them with The Monster. Which stomps the PCs unless they're prepared.

Name a Lovecraft story that had the protagonists 'stomping' anyone again? I'm a bit fuzzy on that.

Not saying it's not fun - it is - but high level Wizards throwing Fireballs or Clerics casting Resurrection had no place in his stories. It was body horror, fear of the unknown, insignificance in the universe.

 

[Quartz]

Name a Lovecraft story that had the protagonists 'stomping' anyone again? I'm a bit fuzzy on that.

I think you missed that it's the monster that stomps the PCs. But the cultists get stomped plenty. For instance in the story with Inspector Leblanc (Lestrade?) where you have the gunship taking on the monsters.

 

[Elderbrain]

I implore the Great Old Ones to release a 5e compatible COC - or at least a book with the monsters in it (I was delighted to find Shoggoths and a few other Lovecraft critters in Kolbold Press's Tome of Beasts.) Hail Nyarlathotep!

 

[ScaleyBob]

It's a Kickstarter I'd be falling over myself to pledge to. A 5E version of Peterson's Guide to the Mythos would be amazing!

Getting the Cthulhu Wars miniatures as additional add ons would be the icing on the cake.I was sorely tempted to pledge to the Pathfinder one despite my general disdain of the system. Bright heroism can fit in a Mythos story - it just means there's that much more to lose when the revelations of soul destroying pointlessness start to be realised.

I suspect we won't see it for a while though. Sandy Peterson is currently busy with getting the PF version done, getting the Hero Wars board game out, AND working on the new version of Runequest. (yay!) Everyone at Chaosium seems very busy at the moment.

 

[darjr]

Count me in. A 5e mythos with characters of low power would be a no brainer buy for me.

And I thought the D20 version was very low power for the characters? Didn't their advancement deviate drastically from D&D?

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Monte Cook's d20 version of CoC had the characters using NPC classes rather than PC classes. And, though I'm not looking at it, I wouldn't be surprised if stats were rolled using 3d6 or were bought with a lower point buy than standard 3.0/3.5 D&D.

— EDIT: Just checked... The d20 version used 4d6dL for scores and gave you a choice between an offensive class or a defensive class. The type of class impacted BAB and saves, but not much else.

I think I'm going to get the PDF of the Pathfinder version, if and when it becomes available. And, I may look into getting the Strange Aeons Adventure Path around that time and start planning a Pathfinder Mythos campaign.