Call of Cthulhu

Thread necro because it's fitting in a Lovecraftian context.

Gacek: Amusingly enough, I know I saw that idea in another Cthulhu rpg, named 'Cthulhu', which uses the detective gumshoe system.

It's kind of an old idea isn't? Like how the first two brothers allways fail.

''That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.''

I found a worn copy six edition in a mysterious secondhand bookstore that wasn't there yesterday, so I thought about reanimating this thread.

So I bought this book on kind of impulse. Was going to buy pathfinder books at a con, but this was cheaper by 5 euros so...

Yeah, now I have another book I'm probably never gonna play because my anxiety of social situations prevent me from seeking out people Hurray!

You would make lovecraft proud!

Yeah same situation. My play group only knows Dn D 3.5 so I'll doubt they would be want to learn a brand new system. Learn new game mechanics is hard man.

How much is Co C different anyway? Besides less combat and more mystery and horrifying endings?

It runs off the Basic_Role-Playing system and not the D20 System. Which are totally different game systems. You might have the D20 conversion however.

edited 16th Sep '13 1:43:35 PM by joeyjojo

God I know it's like going for that real world old school magique but what's the deal with the spell system?

Ew...

My gaming group always does a special event for Halloween, and this year, I put it to a vote as to whether we should play Call of Cthulhu, or Paranoia. It was a tie. As a result, I am doing a crossover of sorts, where we will play a modified Co C one-shot in the style of Paranoia.

Do any of you have advice on a good Co C one-shot? Also, it is many of the players' first times with Co C, and they will probably be disappointed if Cthulhu himself does not appear, so an adventure featuring Cthulhu would be ideal.

You can always run the one in the core book. Although I find podcasts good inspiration myself. try this link. I'm interested in how you're gonna make the crossover work. Paranoid and Call Of Cthulhu are two very very different games.

No seriously don't use him for the sake of meeting player expectations. The guy is seriously over represented. Just don't.

edited 25th Oct '13 4:16:07 AM by joeyjojo

Thanks for the podcast link.

I thought some more and I think I might try a homebrewed adventure. I have a couple of ideas but I'm not sure which to pick. What do you think is a better setting: a nuclear submarine during the Cold War, or the International Space Station in present day?

Is this gonna be an RL session or an online thing?

Real life. Also I have pretty much decided that nuclear submarine is the best setting for this. I figure the Cold War time period is a great backdrop for Call of Cthulhu, and it will be very familiar to Paranoia players because they still get to hunt Commies. The submarine is isolated, dark, and claustrophobic. The onboard nuclear reactor will lead to many dangers and the nuclear weapons will foster arguments and competition between the players.

I think I will have them spend some time on the submarine at first, solving various problems and killing each other. Then they will need to stop at an underwater base for additional supplies, but when they get there, they will find that the crew of that base has all been killed by what turns out to be spooky cultists and assorted Cthulhu mythos creatures.

Do keep us posted how it goes.

It went pretty well. However, there was one pretty big problem that I did not forsee: without the Computer's security cameras everywhere, the players didn't need to kill each other in clever and secret ways. They just shot each other. That made it a bit less fun. Also, I gave them Herbert West's resurruction serum instead of clones, but one of them decided to use it while they were still alive, so I improvised and had him turn into an eldrich tentalcled horror. But then other players did that intentionally, so I had to split the party into two factions and they fought each other to the death until eventually someone gathered enough severed fingers from the rest of the team that he could use their fingerprints and launch the nuclear missiles on his own. He destroyed the world before Cthulhu even showed up.

Well that certainly is closer paranoia then call of Cthulhu.

What was the setup by the way ? I have trouble running a game set entirely on a submarine.

I hate to interrupt this thread, but I have a question. I had intended to buy the core books to the game and play Co C with my roommates, but I accidentally purchased the Malleus Monstrorum instead of the Creature Companion (which the main book says is necessary). The foreword to the Malleus Monstrorum, however, says that it includes most of the monsters from the Creature Companion in its foreword, and I can't find the Creature Companion on Chaosium's site (and it's expensive on Amazon, so I'm assuming it's out of print) so I have to ask: can I get away with using the Malleus Monstrorum in place of the Creature Companion or will I also have to buy it as well?

I honestly don't know I'm afraid. I've never had a chance to actually run the game.

I don't see any reason why you can't get away with just the MALLEUS MONSTRORUM. You may have to fugue some monster stats here and there but I think you'll be okay.

Which edition are you using?

edited 7th Nov '13 3:26:26 PM by joeyjojo

6th Edition.

Well I only own the core version of that but it seems to be more than enough to run a game.

That includes the 1920's Investigator's Companion, right? Because the main book also recommends I have that too, and I didn't buy it because Amazon didn't include it in the grouping I purchased the Co C stuff in (and as such, I wasn't aware it existed or was deemed necessary).

Umm…. I can't really confirm what material is reprises and what's new but you only need the core rule book to run a game. Rules on Monsters, character creation and running an game is all there.

Malleus Monstrorum I believed covers everything in Creature Companion while 920's Investigator's Companion has interesting (but purely option) rules for chracter creation and player back grounds. Worth looking at but hardly necessary.

edited 9th Nov '13 7:43:11 AM by joeyjojo

Ah. Thanks for clearing everything up.

So I am planning to make a Delta Green game basedon ideas like these.

So I found these maps maps for an abandoned house that I used with my buddies on Roll20.net platform. Might as well share if anyone plans the same.

• Ground Floor◊
• Second Floor◊
• Basement◊

Considering how iconic the game is I assumed this thread would be more active...