What are the top 10 elements of a Lovecraft adventure?

[Johnnie Freedom!]

Other than the protagonists, what are the top 10 elements that make up an adventure or Lovecraftian story?

Celebrim brilliantly summarized the elements of a Lovecraftian story; but I would suggest that what makes a great short story and what makes a great RPG adventure are two separate things. Here's a few thoughts about what makes a Lovecraftian RPG adventure:

1. Protagonists are ordinary people (exception: Delta Green, which Lovecraft would probably have hated).

2. A sanity mechanic.

3. Set in the 1920's/30's (for "canonical" Lovecraft, anyway).

4. Opponents that are so powerful that melee combat will usually mean death; characters must succeed by some means other than combat. [Exception: some low-level cultists that can be bitch-slapped by the characters early on is usually a good idea.]

5. Spells that character can cast, but that will harm them whether or not they succeed.

 

[Rl'Halsinor]

A lot of excellent things have already been said. For me it is ...

1. The isolation of characters or character in a setting that is familiar or foreign.

2. A sense of ever present foreboding that is miniscule at first but grows upon the setting as the character realizes something dangerous is going on, happening, but explanation is missing of how, what, and when.

3. Valiant hopelessness; rage against the machine.

4. The facade of structured reality in the presence of hidden chaos that threatens to break through.

5. Will saving throws for sanity checks.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Unspeakable horrors that cannot be described ... they're unspeakable!

That, and the dwindling loss of sanity.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Here's a list of things I made when I was looking at various prefab scenarios to select one as my first scenario to run, ever. I wanted as broad a range of things as possible:

(no particular order)
1. PCs dealing with strange/magical objects.
2. Investigating someone or something through local sources (records, word of mouth, interviews, etc.).
3. Attacking/being attacked by monsters/cultists
4. PCs encountering tomes and spells
5. Gathering Evidence via B&E at someone's home
6. Considering/dealing with the attention of the authorities.

I happened to get all six elements in the adventure I ran (Spirits over Arkham, which you can find at Yog-Sothoth.com).

I run games in the modern day--it is, IIRC, November 4th, 2006 in game right now. The PCs are regular people...mostly.

The current roster includes a car photographer (who runs a chop shop and is hunted by the Yakuza), a doctor, an epileptic private eye, a demolition expert, an archaeology professor, a Catholic priest, a generic ex-military guy, as well as an retired machinist NPC. Also, a stage magician PC will be entering the fold soon, to replace the Catholic priest's character.

Next game I think I'm going to stress a more middle class vibe.

 

[Heathansson]

1 There's more going on in the universe than most people know.
2 Knowledge of this can only bring madness and doom.
3 There's no hope.
4 Magic = Madness
5 Humankind is an insect in the cosmic schema of things

Those are the basic trends of reality.

6 Don't trust anyone over 40.
7 Don't read anything that's not from Amazon.com
8 Guns are useless
9 Don't ask yourself, "what does this button do?"
10 If you receive a piece of mail or telegram from an old colleague,...get your affairs in order.

Those are the typical ingredients of a CoC sandwich.

 

[Nifft]

7) The insignificance of humanity and all of its achievements. This is probably the most important one and it involves rejection of both humanism (man is important because of his singularity) and traditional religion (man is important because the universe cares about him). In Lovecraftian horror, man is not alone and not unique but the universe does not care about him, and does not even really acknowledge his presence any more than it acknowledges an insect or a mouse.

The official literary name for this is displaced primogenesis -- the idea that humanity is NOT the favored son of a benevolent creator, but rather a mistake, an afterthought, a joke by an utterly uncaring entity.

IMHO, this is the big one.

Cheers, -- N

 

[VirgilCaine]

8 Guns are useless.

Strange, the rules don't seem to support that at all.

 

[mmadsen]

You forget eldritch, Cyclopean and blasphemous.

That earned a chuckle -- and led me to look at Amazon's entry for the Library of America's H.P. Lovecraft compilation, which notes the following Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):

curvilinear hieroglyphs, greenish soapstones, tarry stickiness, twilight abysses, nameless scent, spiky image, shunned house, twilit grotto, elder things, membraneous wings, attic laboratory, hill noises, fishy odour, domed hills, buzzing voice, scientific zeal, frantic note, lurking fear, blasted heath, captive mind, slanting wall, frantic letter, grocery boy​

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"Grocery boy!"

 

[Cheiromancer]

The official literary name for this is displaced primogenesis -- the idea that humanity is NOT the favored son of a benevolent creator, but rather a mistake, an afterthought, a joke by an utterly uncaring entity.

IMHO, this is the big one.

Cheers, -- N

Interesting. I googled "displaced primogenesis" and got... nothing.

The current roster includes a car photographer (who runs a chop shop and is hunted by the Yakuza), a doctor, an epileptic private eye, a demolition expert, an archaeology professor, a Catholic priest, a generic ex-military guy, as well as an retired machinist NPC. Also, a stage magician PC will be entering the fold soon, to replace the Catholic priest's character.

Ah yes. If only I could tell you the adventure's I've had... it would blow your mind.