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Author Topic: Call of Cthulhu RPG  (Read 8751 times)

ScriptWolf

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Call of Cthulhu RPG
« on: December 17, 2012, 07:50:32 am »

So I have recently come across this RPG and have read the latest rule book it really does seem like something which should be played at least once.

also I will be setting up and Keeping a game at some point soon ( this will be done on roll20 ) i just need to get use to a few things first. But in the meantime please post your interest and i will update when I’m ready. I’m also aiming this a lot at my DnD group as well.

anyway has anyone else played this ? I’m interested with other peoples experiences with it.

The most interesting thing seems to be that people who want to play the spell caster really are the weakest in the group and most fragile.
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hemmingjay

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2012, 07:56:28 am »

I found it to be a generic RPG with above average lore. I didn't find any new mechanics or anything really exciting about it and preferred reading the book to playing it. Some of that is surely due to my own preference as well as the group I had to game with.
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ScriptWolf

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2012, 08:09:11 am »

I found it to be a generic RPG with above average lore. I didn't find any new mechanics or anything really exciting about it and preferred reading the book to playing it. Some of that is surely due to my own preference as well as the group I had to game with.

Out of interest what would be your own preferences ? and I think the group really makes the game and how much time the GM invests. in the start i thought DnD was going to be very boring, But out GM has really made it something spectacular. If you dont like any rules you can change them or bring new mechanics into the game.
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mcclay

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2012, 10:48:26 am »

I love Lovecraft's work and I've always wanted to play this game.
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Xeron

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2012, 11:00:04 am »

I am interested in playing this too.Depending on the time when we do it.
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nenjin

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #5 on: December 17, 2012, 11:01:04 am »

The people I found liked CoC games the least were the kind who enjoyed big, heroic adventure games. The kind who liked it the most were the kind who tended to want more out of their D&D games than just a decent story, monster-bashing and loot.

The general arc of a CoC game goes like this: investigators go in, get subjected to weird stuff, maybe kill a cultist or something exceedingly normal, do some more investigating, see something they shouldn't have, make some sanity checks, the big monster is revealed, more sanity checks, someone might die, monster is defeated through non-confrontational (ie. standard combat means), the end.

That kind of story isn't for everyone. If you're being true to CoC, there is no battle royale. There is no Sword of Owning Elder Things. Most of the fun of the setting comes from your character being subjected to danger and surviving, changed or unchanged. Getting to live is the real victory in CoC. And for some people, that's just not as fun because it's the opposite of heroic fantasy. A lot of people also hate mechanics like Fear and Insanity because they take control out of the player's hands and often stick them with bizarre disabilities that are hard to make believable. ("You see a Deep One." "I fail my sanity check." "You're now have a crippling and all consuming fear of DAISES!")

It's still possible to kick ass and chew bubblegum in the CoC setting, but done right it always inevitably comes down to a problem the players aren't supposed to be able to handle by direct means. Amulets, mystic rituals, NPCS, there's always something in CoC that's there to help you resolve the big problems rather than straight confrontations...and that leaves some players feeling like they're not the stars of the show, the big bad monsters or the NPCs are.

I personally like CoC and what it asks of you as roleplayers, it's one of the few games that actually inspires some genuine fear and caution in players. But the endings often feel like an anti-climax. If you're not flopping around helplessly in the face of an elder thing, you're on the edge of whatever is happening so you can continue to function in the game. (Ie. killing hordes of cultists while the big bad is awake and going crazy at the center of the compound.) I mean, most CoC stories end with the main character doing the smart thing and running the fuck away.

In the end it always comes back to the players and what they enjoy. Some players just genuinely do not enjoy their game setting trying to scare them, either thematically or mechanically. They don't enjoy feeling like they're not the stars of the show or that they can't take control of the game setting and do things on their terms. On the other hand, there are players who like restrictions, who like that CoC narrows their options because it leads to a more believable-CoC experience. They like watching their characters fall apart and they like a threat they can't simply shoot in the face. If your typical heroic RPG is about player agency and why agency is awesome, in some ways CoC is about taking away agency and why that, too, can be awesome.

For me, I generally like reading CoC novels more than I enjoy trying to live them, but I do appreciate a CoC game now and then simply because it changes the pace of what your average RPG offers you.
« Last Edit: December 17, 2012, 11:04:32 am by nenjin »
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mcclay

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2012, 11:06:04 am »

Honestly everything in the above post sounds pretty fucking awesome so I'm game.
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anzki4

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #7 on: December 17, 2012, 11:36:45 am »

Honestly everything in the above post sounds pretty fucking awesome so I'm game.
This. I have also been wanting to try CoC for a while now.

This thread would probably fit to "Forum Games and Roleplaying" better than here.
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ScriptWolf

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #8 on: December 17, 2012, 11:46:10 am »

I dont see why it would be in forum games? its not a forum game and something played outside the forum.

any who i will start crafting a story and hopefully GM soon. i will let people know when i am
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Cthulhu

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2012, 05:36:40 pm »

I'm not sure I'm up to snuff for GMing one, but I'd play one.  I GMed once and it was okay.

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Lectorog

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #10 on: December 17, 2012, 05:38:13 pm »

I'd like to watch a game, if not participate in one. I am interested.

I like both Lovecraft's works and RPGs, and the described playstyle seems fun.
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Scelly9

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #11 on: December 17, 2012, 05:41:34 pm »

I'd be interested in playing, if this ever gets going.
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Neonivek

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #12 on: December 17, 2012, 05:42:09 pm »

Quote
There is no Sword of Owning Elder Things

Sometimes there is... It will always end up being something created by Elder things that will drive the user insane or kill him.

Or it will be a ritual sword and thus if it is used to kill an elder thing the person will die because it wasn't made to kill things.

The secret to Call of Cthluhu is that combat is something to be either avoided or as a last resort. That if an entire adventure went by without a single piece of combat that things went well.

Of course CoC D20 is garbage.
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Chattox

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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #13 on: December 17, 2012, 05:50:32 pm »

Oh dear god I want to play this so hard. Could I be included in this if a game gets started? Assuming it's online, of course.
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Re: Call of Cthulhu RPG
« Reply #14 on: December 17, 2012, 06:00:04 pm »

I've run a couple CoC games in the past, but my playerbase these days shies away from horror-games for some reason so its not often brought up. Whereas, I seem to have them constantly asking for me to run more Aniventure Anime games. Go figure.

Still Nenjin has the essence of the game nailed down to a T. In my case, it was a Hounds of Tindalos plot if I recall.

Actually, thinking about it, I could combine the Cthuluverse and Anime together; like Deus Machina Demonbane does. That's always a good start point, lol.
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