What are the top 10 elements of a Lovecraft adventure?

[VirgilCaine]

I think a lot of things describe more Call of Cthulhu designer's attitudes, not necessarily HPL's actual stories.

For instance, guns being worthless. The only story where I really remember that was stated was The Dunwich Horror, and that probably had to do with the size of the Horror more than anything else. Wilbur was killed by a dog. If a dog could kill him, a gun likely could have. I mean sheesh, dogs can kill people, but I've never heard of one tearing up a person like Wilbur got torn up. He must have been pretty wimpy, despite his great size.

Similarly, in The Whisperer in the Darkness, the Mi-Go are held at bay in part by the guy's gun (and dogs).

Wilbur was obliged to carry a gun because of dogs attacking him. I thought Wilbur Whately was shot by the museum guards at Miskatonic U's library?

Consulting the text...

The aversion displayed towards him by dogs had now become a matter of wide remark, and he was obliged to carry a pistol in order to traverse the countryside in safety. His occasional use of the weapon did not enhance his popularity amongst the owners of canine guardians.

The thing that lay half-bent on its side in a foetid pool of greenish-yellow ichor and tarry stickiness was almost nine feet tall, and the dog had torn off all the clothing and some of the skin.

He had never seen a city before, but had no thought save to find his way to the university grounds; where indeed, he passed heedlessly by the great white-fanged watchdog that barked with unnatural fury and enmity, and tugged frantically at its stout chain.

Ah, the dog did kill Wilbur. Pretty nasty dog, too.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Yeah, it wants to manipulate it for its own purposes (another example - Hastur apparently has a cult of humans who fight the Mi-Go), but that's still caring.

Actually, I've heard of two. One is a group of isolated, depraved humans with an advanced culture...and the other is a group of normal humans started because the other group is too decadent and doesn't do anything against the Mi-Go.

 

[Drawmack]

Lovecraftian horror can be summed up in one word - DESOLATION.

For every evil, vile, or otherwise horrid secret the character uncovers there is one way to overcome it. However, overcoming that horror harms the character or unleashes greater terrors. For example:
Character discovers low-level cultists and smacks them down --> higher-level cultists show up which the character cannot defeat --> character researches to get powerful enough to smack down new cultists --> the research leads to loss of sanity --> eventually the character defeats new cultists, almost dying, only to uncover even greater evils --> character researches to get powerful enough to take on new threat --> character looses sanity in the process --> character is powerful enough to take on new threat, almost dies in the process --> etc.

Each threat can be overcome but doing so WILL harm the character. At every stage psychological damage makes the next stage harder to achieve, but the threats make the next stage that much more important to achieve. The characters must stay human, this is the divergence from most role-playing games, it does not matter how much you know about the mythos if you get hit by a tractor trailer you're still dead.

That is what makes the story, so what makes the character?
The character cannot be out for personal gain, if this is their motivation they will quickly walk away or go insane. The character has to be a champion of others on some level. Maybe cultists killed their family and it is vengence. Maybe they are the type to caer a great deal about humanity. There can be any number of reasons, but they cannot be personal gain. This is another difference from classic role-playing games.

The twist on this is that the better the character is at helping humanity survive another day, the less a part of that humanity they become. Society begins to view them as insane. The police think they are criminal, since they don't realize they didn't actually kill a person. etc.

Keep it dark, keep the threat of death ever present, keep the character dwindling into the abyss of insanity, all in all back to that one word - DESOLATION

 

[Desdichado]

My Mythos is a bit rusty, truth be told, but ISTR there were several such myths, each with the same main theme. I'll do some research ... if I have time ... or I'll eat my words if someone else does better research.

I'd say no--Lovecraft himself described "the Mythos" as nothing but related plot elements, not a cohesive "Mythos." The concept of trying to force "the Mythos" into "a mythos" was the brainchild (or folly--take your pick) of Lovecraft fan, friend and imitator August Derleth.

Even the tried and true "displaced primogenesis" theme does't hold true for all Lovecraft stories, especially those written later in life. Although it does make a handy hook for "Lovecraftian gaming" to hang it's hat on.

 

[Mighty Veil]

Purity of the bloodline (a belief of his era). Lots of stories deal with alien creatures using humans for reproduction and creating a hybrid race.

 

[Desdichado]

My homebrew setting is heavily influenced (almost based) on Lovecraftian principles, and most of these elements are present in almost all of my adventures (well, except for Naughty Tentacles.) I absolutely love Lovecraft, if not his actual writing, then the ideas behind it. His has been the biggest influence on my DMing style, more than any other writer.

That's probably true for me as well--including liking the ideas (especially as focused through subsequent generations of fans, not necessarily exactly as Lovecraft himself invisioned them) better than the writing itself.

That said, I'm still a pretty big fan of "The Shadow Over Innesmouth", "Call of Cthulhu" and "The Dunwich Horror." I actually think "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" is my favorite actual Lovecraft story, though. And even though it's part of the dream-sequence of stories, not the mythos-sequence, it also happens to be one of the very best of the Mythos stories at the same time.

 

[mmadsen]

Anyone who is a fan of both D&D and Lovecraft should take a look at Clark Ashton Smith's writing. Like Robert E. Howard, he was a contemporary of Lovecraft's who wrote "weird tales" taking place in a fantasy swords & sorcery world and sharing elements of Lovecraft's mythos, but CAS's stories tread closer to Lovecraft's in tone.

 

[Aaron L]

That's probably true for me as well--including liking the ideas (especially as focused through subsequent generations of fans, not necessarily exactly as Lovecraft himself invisioned them) better than the writing itself.

That said, I'm still a pretty big fan of "The Shadow Over Innesmouth", "Call of Cthulhu" and "The Dunwich Horror." I actually think "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" is my favorite actual Lovecraft story, though. And even though it's part of the dream-sequence of stories, not the mythos-sequence, it also happens to be one of the very best of the Mythos stories at the same time.

The Rats in the Walls can actually still give me goosebumps.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

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

Actually, the protagonists in Delta Green are ordinary people, too. They just happen to be ordinary people who are in the employ of an US law enforcement or intelligence agency (or who know people who are).

This mostly gives them somewhat more data than would be available to civilian investigators, as well as some very limited ability to call on backup - but the backup they get from Delta Green itself is rarely enough (because there are so few DG members around and they have to cover a lot of territory), and getting backup from one's nominal employers can very well end your career if you can't justify it.

It certainly doesn't make you above the law. Since you presumably at least know how the law works, you have better chances of - literally - burying the bodies without getting caught. But if your legitimate superiors catches all those incongruities in your report, you will be investiaged, and you will likely be screwed.

Delta Green investigators don't get better attributes, better skills, and certainly no higher SAN. They aren't black ops commandos - they are members of an illegal conspiracy abusing their employers for what they think is right, and they are constantly in fear of discovery.

In the end, they are ordinary people. They are just thrust into extraordinary circumstances. But isn't that true of all Mythos investigators?

 

[Desdichado]

Anyone who is a fan of both D&D and Lovecraft should take a look at Clark Ashton Smith's writing. Like Robert E. Howard, he was a contemporary of Lovecraft's who wrote "weird tales" taking place in a fantasy swords & sorcery world and sharing elements of Lovecraft's mythos, but CAS's stories tread closer to Lovecraft's in tone.

Yes, the three of them were described at times as "the three musketeers" of weird tales. CAS is a much more clever and talented writer than Lovecraft, but his stories, while excellent, lack the breadth of imagination of Lovecraft at the same time. It almost seems at times as if the two of them were unconsciously imitating each other--CAS imitating Lovecrafts themes and ideas while Lovecraft tried to imitate CAS's wonderful prose. But that's just my opinion and is completely speculative.

CAS also adds such main standbies to the Mythos as Tsathoqua (under various spellings), the Book of Eibon, and others. His stories are mostly public domain now too, and many of them can be found on the Internet. Check out in particular the Zothique, the Averigoine (sic?) and the Hyperborea cycles.