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Whybird posted:The game starts with the PCs in a ritual circle with no memory of what happened but the notes for a ritual that they performed (ornhad performed on them) which was supposed to make them vessels for an otherworldly intelligence. Honestly this is the best start. Start of every session the PCs are in entirely different places and situations than the last session ended, with more and more NPCs they've never met referring to their increasingly frantic 'spells' where they claim they're hearing voices, being controlled, they begged for help don't you remember etc... You could do a straight game like that, with some cultist's plan to be defeated etc. etc. and if you're skilled enough keep them guessing what's the point of what's happening between sessions with the capper at the end that the PC is a puppet of the MiGo or Yithians or 'some other being' that is benevolent enough in that it's interests also include not wanting the reality they live in to be completely shredded. The epilogue would be the PC immediately snaps into NPCdom and curses whoever used them like that.
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Mar 20, 2021 06:52
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PipHelix posted:Yea, it definitely seems like it would be more easy to do with like, PC gaming or something On September 6, 1915, police detective Jack Walters (Milton Lawrence) is summoned to the siege of a decrepit manor house in Boston. The manor is inhabited by a bizarre cult called the Fellowship of the Yith, led by one Victor Holt (Marc Biagi) who has asked specifically for Walters to come and talk to him... When the rest of the police finally break in, they find Walters apparently insane and with a different personality. He is briefly committed to Arkham Asylum, but is released and spends six years travelling and studying the occult. Exactly six years since entering the manor in Boston, his secondary personality disappears and his old personality returns. However, he suffers from amnesia surrounding the events of the past six years... Fragments of Jack's memory from his six years of amnesia return. A member of the Great Race of Yith explains that when he made contact with the Yith in the Boston manor, a Yithian swapped minds with him, leaving his body in control of a member of the Great Race of Yith, while his own mind was projected into the Yithian world. It is for this reason that Walters had a secondary personality when he was incarcerated in the Asylum and in the six years that followed - it was the mind of a Yithian in Jack's body Man, I KNEW I was probably just remembering this concept rather than coming up with an original idea, ah well.
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Mar 20, 2021 06:59
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I've been running a campaign set in the 1930s using the classic CoC rules, where the players are basically part of an early version of the Federal Bureau of Control from the game Control. It's sort of in a transitional spot between CoC and Delta Green, and their job is to find and secure strange and paranormal artifacts. There's an overarching theme of competing against Nazi and Soviet agents who are also running around across the world, trying to gather paranormal items and eldritch tomes for their respective governments as well. Anyway, so with this setup it lets me run a bunch of one-shot scenarios under this guise. I've already run a longer introductory scenario as the "Pilot", followed by Dead Light (the magic box that the Dead Light is sealed inside) and I'm currently running That Jazz Craze from Harlem Unbound. I'd like some ideas for other published modules that would be recommendable while I think up a larger original scenario as a "mid-season arc episode". Are there any that come to mind? Maybe one involving the King in Yellow? The only requirement I have is that the modules need to have some kind of paranormal object or item at the center of the story.
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Mar 21, 2021 00:36
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DrSunshine posted:I've been running a campaign set in the 1930s using the classic CoC rules, where the players are basically part of an early version of the Federal Bureau of Control from the game Control. It's sort of in a transitional spot between CoC and Delta Green, and their job is to find and secure strange and paranormal artifacts. There's an overarching theme of competing against Nazi and Soviet agents who are also running around across the world, trying to gather paranormal items and eldritch tomes for their respective governments as well.
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Mar 21, 2021 01:40
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Nessus posted:You do Dead Man's Stomp yet? I haven't even heard of that yet, but will look it up now that you mention it! EDIT: Ah it was included in the Starter Set. I bought the Keeper rulebook for 7E EDIT2:  https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-starter-set-pdf/ quote:In Paper Chase, the search for a missing professor leads to a grizzly discovery. What, did he get eaten by a bear? That's not very lovecraftian! DrSunshine fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Mar 21, 2021 |
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Mar 21, 2021 02:01
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DrSunshine posted:I haven't even heard of that yet, but will look it up now that you mention it! As for the latter, it might be a black bear - or more terrifyingly, Portuguese. 
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Mar 21, 2021 03:00
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re: meta twists, I borrowed A LOT from In the Mouth of Madness when I ran The Armitage Papers several years ago. The Book of Azazoth is described as having a black cover with onion-skin paper and all the terrible secrets of the universe contained inside, so in one of the last few scenarios when they finally found the book, I handed them... ...my black-covered stationary notebook with all my GM notes, copies of character sheets, important NPCs, etc. in it.
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Mar 21, 2021 04:25
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DrSunshine posted:I'd like some ideas for other published modules that would be recommendable while I think up a larger original scenario as a "mid-season arc episode". Are there any that come to mind? Maybe one involving the King in Yellow? The only requirement I have is that the modules need to have some kind of paranormal object or item at the center of the story. Crimson Letters features an accursed Macguffin, AND a decoy fake MacGuffin as well as a chase for it between the mafia, the university and of course, an evil occultist. I'm not sure if it's set up that way, but given that there were multiple versions of the item and no one but like, one or two NPCs really had any idea what the Macguffin was, I was able to spin it out into a real Burn After Reading clusterfuck. PCs getting stalked and later kidnapped by goons over what turned out to be rinky dink gambling debts, dorky college nerds becoming the Big Bad by virtue of being ignored long enough to get possessed... They were playing very 'King of Empty Promises' as far as talking their way out of trouble, at the end of one module they learned that the Macguffin that they'd just recovered kills anyone who touches it, Ringu style, and they were on the hook for promising this MacGuffin to the dean of Miskatonic, the mafia, and an evil wizard. It was a lot of fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7kWPOa4Gy0
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Mar 22, 2021 05:47
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The PoD versions of Horror On The Orient Express and Beyond The Mountains of Madness are apparently going live at Chaosium this month. $89 and $49 respectively.
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Mar 22, 2021 20:18
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Lumbermouth posted:The PoD versions of Horror On The Orient Express and Beyond The Mountains of Madness are apparently going live at Chaosium this month. $89 and $49 respectively. It’s worth pointing out that BtMoM is for 6e, while HotOE is for 7e. HotOE is also gonna be two books, instead of six. There are plans to fully adapt Mountains of Madness for 7e, but with current projects they expect it to be about four years away. Orient Express will probably be getting a redesign/new layout/new art, but they don’t even have it on the timeline yet.
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Mar 22, 2021 20:55
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In the Dark Mirror chapbook, players take on the role of evil characters and SAN is replaced with Focus. It's been a while, but I remember FOC was functionally identical to SAN for game purposes. It represents the characters' ability to stay on-task rather than maniacally cackling, delivering monologues, or writhing in obscene ecstacy.
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Mar 23, 2021 19:36
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moths posted:In the Dark Mirror chapbook, players take on the role of evil characters and SAN is replaced with Focus. It's been a while, but I remember FOC was functionally identical to SAN for game purposes. Does anybody know where to get this legally? I tried Googling, but the only DTRPG link is a sample of the PDF; the product proper seems to have been taken down. Couldn't find it on the Chaosium storefront either.
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Mar 24, 2021 11:00
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moths posted:In the Dark Mirror chapbook, players take on the role of evil characters and SAN is replaced with Focus. It's been a while, but I remember FOC was functionally identical to SAN for game purposes. I am now changing my SAN break rules to "Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Writhe in Obscene Ecstasy." Very different and much more awkward for everyone than freezing, occasionally even eldritch horrors look at them rubbing their crotches, sucking on their fingers and moaning and, after a few moments of standing around with their tentacles at their sides looking at the remaining heroes, they just back out of the scene quietly and carefully. I love this idea btw, I'm toying with writing a one-to-three-shot where some former characters who surrendered their will to Orcus and became his deathknights are the mains and if I do I'm absolutely going to adopt this. Can you stay on task and infiltrate the village, or does their "life smell" offend you so much you've just got to get out that runeblade and make some more converts to the Eternal Church of Orcus? Seems like a fun kinda organic way to turn their evil into an actual problem sometimes instead of just flavor text at the bottom of their card.
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Mar 27, 2021 15:06
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JonathonSpectre posted:I am now changing my SAN break rules to "Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Writhe in Obscene Ecstasy." Very different and much more awkward for everyone than freezing, occasionally even eldritch horrors look at them rubbing their crotches, sucking on their fingers and moaning and, after a few moments of standing around with their tentacles at their sides looking at the remaining heroes, they just back out of the scene quietly and carefully. Yikes.
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Mar 28, 2021 11:54
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Are there any Youtube channels with AP games people would recommend? I'm probably running the CoC start box adventure for friends soon and I'd like to get a better feel for the system. Plus, I enjoy the setting, so it would be fun to watch people play.
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Mar 30, 2021 15:40
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Funzo posted:Are there any Youtube channels with AP games people would recommend? I'm probably running the CoC start box adventure for friends soon and I'd like to get a better feel for the system. Plus, I enjoy the setting, so it would be fun to watch people play. There a lots of Call of Cthulhu Actual Plays. Some have been discussed over the past six years here in the Actual Play thread: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3743698 First off I have to recommend Roleplaying Public Radio, created by goon clockworkjoe. Here is a list of their Call of Cthulhu games: http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradio.com/category/systems/call-of-cthulhu/ The above link also includes their Delta Green games, which is Modern Cthulhu meets X-files essentially, which they do very well. For classic Call of Cthulhu I have to recommend their version of The Haunting. Fair warning, this one is more about humor than horror. http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradio.com/2011/04/systems/call-of-cthulhu/call-of-cthulhu-the-haunting/ In terms of youtube channels, I recommend The Glass Cannon Network for their Cthulhu one shot in New Game Who This? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9qOIRt4CxU&t=5738s There are more but this should get you started.
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Mar 30, 2021 20:26
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Awesome thanks!
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Mar 30, 2021 22:27
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Beyond the Mountains of Madness and the Horror on the Orient Express hardcover reprints are going on sale today
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Mar 30, 2021 22:35
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Aaaaand they’re gone. Sold out in like 10-15 minutes
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Mar 30, 2021 23:20
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To follow up about Cthulhu and related podcasts I just got recommended two groups of Actual Players who are new to me. Black Project Gaming https://www.blackprojectgaming.com/ Mayday Roleplay https://www.maydayroleplay.com/mdrpcampaigns/doomed-to-repeat
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Mar 31, 2021 22:29
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Hello, thread! I've been into Lovecraft since the nineties. Have almost an entire collection of Mythos CCG cards, read most of the stories worth reading, always wanted to play the Call of Cthulhu RPG. I played in a D20 campaign about fifteen years ago (and have played a small amount of D&D as well) but otherwise I've never done roleplaying. Always wanted to though. Some work buddies have also been wanting to play (none have ever played an RPG) so I offered to DM Call of Cthulhu. They're excited - buying dice, dice trays, etc... - and I used some gift cards to buy the 7e book, the starter kit, the grimoire of magic (just something I always wanted) and the DM screen. I also bought a dry-erase rollout mat with a grid, though I don't know how much I'll need it. I've gone through the starter scenario that comes with the starter kit, and will probably go through it another one or two times to familiarize myself with it. Thankfully nobody really knows much about roleplaying so if I do an awful job nobody will be able to tell - I'm hoping my Lovecraft background will help me. I guess my only real question... I have a second edition Dreamlands book. Is it at all compatible with 7e Call of Cthulhu? The Dreamlands stuff is my favorite Lovecraft group of stories and I'd love to incorporate that stuff eventually when I'm not running predefined scenarios, but I don't know if this is usable or more reference than anything.
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Apr 2, 2021 22:49
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Yes, everything is compatible. There’s a conversion guide on the Chaosium website that makes everything simple and easy. Right now, run those starter set adventures. Or maybe run The Haunting first, as it provides a lot of options for seeding into the next adventure. (The Haunting is available for free as part of the QuickStart Rules). Don’t worry about messing stuff up or sweating the petty stuff. Try to tell a fun story! This thread is also great for providing a lot of advice and info, so don’t be afraid to ask.
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Apr 2, 2021 23:31
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It sounds like your group has also got enthusiasm and interest, which is more than you need for a good campaign of anything. You'll do great! My advice would be to pay attention to what works and what doesn't. It sounds super basic, but just taking notes of when their interest waxes and wanes will help everybody have a consistently fun and interesting game.
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Apr 4, 2021 15:00
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One trick is to listen while your players speculate about what the bad guys are up to, then make that true in-game. You get to save yourself some prep work and your players get to feel smart.
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Apr 5, 2021 06:04
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I’m a long time DM who played some CoC d6 way back in the day and I’m looking to run a game set in the Korean War, likely using Delta Green rules. Looks like on drivethru RPG there’s a two pack with a player/handler guide for the latest version, but any good expansion books I should grab as well? edit: players will be Soviet agents, so I guess it’s Delta Red if there’s anything neat that could help me
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Apr 5, 2021 10:50
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Karandras posted:I’m a long time DM who played some CoC d6 way back in the day and I’m looking to run a game set in the Korean War, likely using Delta Green rules. Looks like on drivethru RPG there’s a two pack with a player/handler guide for the latest version, but any good expansion books I should grab as well? the box set should be perfect for you. possibly the adventures Kali Gati and Star Chamber for military based inspiration if you need more ideas
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Apr 5, 2021 11:14
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Cold Harvest is a 1930s standard CoC adventure that has the players acting as NKVD agents. It might be worth it for you to check out, as it deals directly with the Soviet bureaucracy.
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Apr 5, 2021 11:22
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Pththya-lyi posted:One trick is to listen while your players speculate about what the bad guys are up to, then make that true in-game. You get to save yourself some prep work and your players get to feel smart. This is handy to do in moderation, though you do generally want to add one more horrible aspect to keep them a little surprised. Re: Delta Red, there's also a scenario set in the USSR called Dead Man's Hand. I believe it's in one of the Unspeakable Oath magazine issues, written up in base Call of Cthulhu rules. Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/117823/The-Unspeakable-Oath-23
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Apr 5, 2021 16:05
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Karandras posted:I’m a long time DM who played some CoC d6 way back in the day and I’m looking to run a game set in the Korean War, likely using Delta Green rules. Looks like on drivethru RPG there’s a two pack with a player/handler guide for the latest version, but any good expansion books I should grab as well?
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Apr 5, 2021 17:31
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Run Kali Ghati or Night Visions, but set in the 1980s instead of the 2000s.
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Apr 5, 2021 18:07
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CornHolio posted:Hello, thread! My move, and this might be for me and my friends, is to figure out who the major NPCs are and what they're like, what they want, how they'd react to various situations. Generally, in real life, trying to execute any complicated plan is difficult, and a world ending conspiracy I'd imagine is more so. And that doubles or triples when a group of previously unknown who the fucks wanders in and starts meddling. The books often present the plot as a series of static vignettes the investigators move through, when in reality the first time the investigators stumble onto and break up a robbery/murder/sacrifice in the first act, all focus would swing entirely around to figuring out and coopting/eliminating these new interlopers. Plus it lets the players do literally anything they want, I had a villain send a PC out for a 'cup of coffee' during a period of strict rationing, dude secured dry grounds and presented them, the NPC rightly got mad, it became a shouting match that ended with the PC slaughtering the bad guy and his henchies (pistol expert vs unarmed, no combat skill civilians) and ended up turning public opinion in favor of the now sympathetic cultist group. And the PC team then became a group of hated, hunted outlaws. Another thing I've been toying with is making SAN hits rewarding; 'dont look in the box' SAN hits suck in CoC. I'm gonna flat say it. You should never create content just to punish your PCs because #1 it's bad feelings all around and #2 they eventually get wise and don't look in the box, and now you've either written or if the module is pre-made memorized content that no one is going to see. So like, if a player looks at a map of a region or a blueprint of a building with 'swirling geometries that seem impossible roll for SAN' that character gets a bonus finding their way around. Ritualistically murdered bodies gives the player IDEA bonuses if they're trying to figure out the cultists' next move or something (They seem to be focused on these livestock's anuses! Quick! To the hot dog factory!). As long as you can come up with literally ANYTHING to make the SAN hit worth their while, the PCs will usually play along and put their hands into the cold spaghetti/Frankensteins Brains. PipHelix fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Apr 5, 2021 |
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Apr 5, 2021 18:14
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Karandras posted:I’m a long time DM who played some CoC d6 way back in the day and I’m looking to run a game set in the Korean War, likely using Delta Green rules. Looks like on drivethru RPG there’s a two pack with a player/handler guide for the latest version, but any good expansion books I should grab as well? The old Delta Green: COUNTDOWN supplement for Call of Cthulhu contains a big ol' chapter on GRU SV-8, the Soviet equivalent to Delta Green.
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Apr 5, 2021 21:37
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Karandras posted:I’m a long time DM who played some CoC d6 way back in the day and I’m looking to run a game set in the Korean War, likely using Delta Green rules. Looks like on drivethru RPG there’s a two pack with a player/handler guide for the latest version, but any good expansion books I should grab as well? As Acebuckeye13 said, GRU SV-8 is covered in COUNTDOWN. After querying the Night At The Opera Discord, they said there was a GRU SV-8 story in Tales From Failed Anatomies (I'm not sure which one) and there is a GRU SV-8 NPC ( Agent Renko ) detailed in The Labyrinth. Tales From Failed Anatomies -- DG fiction: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/130002/Delta-Green-Tales-from-Failed-Anatomies The Labyrinth -- DG Sourcebook: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294687/Delta-Green-The-Labyrinth I've read Tales From Failed Anatomies and I like it because it covers DG operations from 1928 to 20XX. So pick your favorite time period between those dates and there is a story nearby. I have to recommend Drowning in Sand (1981) and The Thing in the Pit (1977).
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Apr 5, 2021 22:13
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Cross posting from the gaming 3D printing thread.  These are sort of uncommon. STLs for Call of Cthulhu 1920s investigators and cultists. For 19 Euro you get the whole set. It's a kickstarter and there are only a few days left! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/adaevycreations/innsmouth-investigators?ref=discovery_recommendations
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Apr 6, 2021 01:23
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I want to run the "Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays" Delta Green scenario that features The Traveler, but I can't for the life of me figure out where the hell to actually buy the module. I've heard it comes with the Delta Green Handler's Guide, but it's not in the latest edition handbook that I have. Does anyone know where the first edition handbook can be obtained?
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Apr 9, 2021 20:16
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DrSunshine posted:I want to run the "Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays" Delta Green scenario that features The Traveler, but I can't for the life of me figure out where the hell to actually buy the module. I've heard it comes with the Delta Green Handler's Guide, but it's not in the latest edition handbook that I have. Does anyone know where the first edition handbook can be obtained? It’s in this one: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/99212
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Apr 9, 2021 20:18
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Lumbermouth posted:It’s in this one: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/99212 Ahh thank you so much, I was going nuts!!
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Apr 9, 2021 20:58
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So me and a few buddies got together on Discord last night so they could make their first characters. Strength and Constitution are both 3D6x5 and one rolled three ones for strength, another rolled three ones for constitution. They'll make for interesting characters (the one with 15 strength also has 80 constitution) but between sessions (like once every two weeks) I'd like to have them make an improvement check for them. Strength is easy to do - their character goes to the gym. Works out. Should be able to increase their strength to something reasonable. But how does one increase their constitution? Seems a lot more... difficult. Any thoughts?
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Apr 11, 2021 22:30
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CornHolio posted:So me and a few buddies got together on Discord last night so they could make their first characters. Strength and Constitution are both 3D6x5 and one rolled three ones for strength, another rolled three ones for constitution. They'll make for interesting characters (the one with 15 strength also has 80 constitution) but between sessions (like once every two weeks) I'd like to have them make an improvement check for them. Cardio and/or lifestyle improvements. Maybe they take up jogging and begin biking to work, or stop buying fast food and start shopping at the farmer's market.
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Apr 11, 2021 22:48
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CornHolio posted:So me and a few buddies got together on Discord last night so they could make their first characters. Strength and Constitution are both 3D6x5 and one rolled three ones for strength, another rolled three ones for constitution. They'll make for interesting characters (the one with 15 strength also has 80 constitution) but between sessions (like once every two weeks) I'd like to have them make an improvement check for them.
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Apr 12, 2021 06:13
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