Spence

On 5/8/2019 at 11:38 AM, JonHook said:

That is all fantastic and solid advice. I would also add a couple of other resources, the Miskatonic University Podcast, and the Good Friends of Jackson Elias Podcast.  

Each of these excellent podcasts discus ways to run your Call of Cthulhu games. If I don't mind saying so myself, each podcast is hosted by a roundtable of guys with years of experience running Call of Cthulhu. They're witty, sarcastic, and imaginative. I think fans of the Call of Cthulhu RPG greatly enjoy both podcasts. 

If they posted transcripts it might be of use.  Podcasts have pretty much ended a lot of games up where i play.  getting spare time to game is rough, spending valuable time listening to people talk on the off chance they drop a nugget of useful info is a no go these days. 

On 4/24/2019 at 8:30 AM, Valyar said:

Nowadays, the fragmentation is huge everywhere and it is getting our of control - Facebook, reddit, Discord, fan forums, to name a few. It takes so much time if you want to really follow your favorite product and not miss something interesting.

Yes, this.

On 4/24/2019 at 2:59 PM, mvincent said:

Agreed. I'm regular both here and on Yog-sothoth, but the post rate for both sites combined seems less than say, the MoN-Keepers Facebook group (which is very niche, closed and supposedly small). Unfortunately: Facebook's UI doesn't serve my purpose compared to forum UI's (it lacks formatting, hypertext, quoting, search, threading, etc.)... but that's where people post.

I have an account and post here and there but FB is useless to actually follow a topic.  I do not FB every hour of every day, instead I may check my feed once or twice a week.  Trying to find posts relevant to me as opposed to the garbage FB wants me to see makes it worthless.    If the information is on the companies site in a format that I can search and read, like a forum, then I follow it.  If I have to dig through social media feeds to painstakingly excavate small grains of news, then I go find another game.  

The only thing that screams "do not buy our products" louder that over reliance on social media is defaulting to PODcasts.  If I don't have time to search and skim through pages of social media streams, how can anybody think I have hours to listen to people babble about minutia just in case they actually mention a usable piece of information.

I may sound a bit harsh, but I work full time with a hour+ commute.  I actually love my job, but my gaming time is very very limited and I absolutely refuse to squander it digging for information that should be being pushed to me.  

The social media and PODcast craze masquerades as methods of easy communication, but the reality is it makes product information virtually impossible to easily access.  

Quick, in less than 5 minutes tell me if the 50 minute PODcast gives a release date and price. 

Quick, jump on FB and in 5 minutes or less find that post from sometime last Wednesday. 

Pretty much the only companies I really bother with are the ones that maintain active forums with an actual company presence or they maintain and actual updated website with a news page/blog. 

Well I guess I should end my rant now 😳

12 hours ago, klecser said:

I think a big thing that holds back a lot of Keepers is the misconception that they have to play a game "a certain way." And they just end up hamstringing their own effectiveness in reaching their table.

True statement there. 

32 minutes ago, Joe Kenobi said:

I think perhaps in a modern setting, it's harder to establish some of the isolation and idea of vast uncovered secrets that I associate with Cthulhu. The Thing is a good example of how to achieve that--but it does so by setting things in a remote location. I don't think of The X-Files as particularly Lovecraftian horror; more monster-of-the-week.

True, the X-Files is not Lovecraftian horror in of itself.  But it is a wonderful collection of seeds that can easily be made that way. 

But I really don't run Lovecraftian horror exactly myself.  I like to run suspenseful horror or thriller horror instead.  The unexpected twist.

I will admit I am more pulp than purest and the periods I enjoy most are 1880's (Colonial British Empire and American Old West), 1930's (interwar period), 1940's(WW2), 1960/70's (Delta Green style), and 1980's (my Modern).  I am less inclined to enjoy modern era's once we had internet and cell phones. 

The big thing I have found is that players will enjoy a good horror game and will work with you to make it fun.  They really enjoy the unknown.

So in my one-shots I try to mix up traditional CoC Mythos with non-Mythos horror to keep them guessing. 

On 3/18/2019 at 9:57 PM, Realmprotector said:

Any update as to when the hardback will be out?

 

and make it into distribution?

On 3/27/2019 at 10:03 PM, Joe Kenobi said:

I have trouble imagining playing CoC with a modern setting.

Just think about Carpenters' movie The Thing,  Scifi's series Helix, the series The Burning Zone, X-Files, Project Blue Book and so on.  Any of them give you material for a modern CoC game.  Just mode the plot to be driven by Mythos or a servitor.

It actually comes together pretty easily. 

Of course, when I run CoC it is almost exclusively one shot sessions with pre-gens. 

So here goes my 2 cents 😜

First Organized Play and Convention Play are two different things.  

Convention Play, being different than Organized Play also has two general types.  

First is a short adventure designed to introduce the game to people that have never played it or are returning to try it after many years away.

Second, a short adventure designed for veteran players to have a chance to play and have fun with gaming peers.   

While a worthy topic, it is not the subject of the OP.

So on to Organized Play (OP).

My first point is that it is generally designed as a means for players and GM’s to be able to actually play.  Whether it is the GM that simply does not have the time to create the material to run regularly or the player that does not have a gaming group.  It is also the spring board for new players to be introduced to the game.  

But OP cannot exist in information overload.  Here is an example and actually the reason I haven’t picked up Runequest (RQ).  Though I am still really interested or I wouldn’t be here now.  The current version of RQ has more history than some real-world countries and a new player usually will not expend an effort equivalent to a 4-year degree just to be able to make an educated guess on what to play.

D&D 5th has fixed this by reducing it’s Forgotten Realms information by 99.999999%.  It lightly covers the world and cultures in the PHB and has a single campaign book on the Sword Coast.  Sure, the old hardcore players can remember volumes, but the new player only has a small slice of information that can be read and comprehended in a single evening.  The Adventures used in the League will have additional adventure specific options and rules, which are also short and concise.  Pre-Gen PC’s are available for each class/race from 1st to 10th levels.  In each organized play arc, a player can show up and play the entire arc or can simply drop in and play any session.  At my FLGS D&D 5th has become the only active OP and is actually running out of room and is even having to turn away players due to a DM shortage.

This translates to: “We can make a character or use a pre-gen.  They can be from Esrolia, Sartar, Prax, Esrolia or Dragon Pass…..   Hey come back! It’s really easy I promise….” As they flee to a game they can play today.

For each League Play Adventure pick ONE region with a short list of options for characters.  Have multiple scenarios with each one accommodating character advancement from the previous.  That way a player can use one character through the entire adventure, but drop in players can simply take one of the pre-gens suitable for each scenario.    Do not try to encompass every single race/culture/occupation/religion in the OP Adventure.  Pick a small manageable selection and go with it.

Each subsequent OP Adventure could showcase a different region/setting with included options.

Each OP Adventure should be accommodating to new players who will only have the 5 or 10 minutes to read about their PC prior to starting play with the pre-gen they picked in those 5 to 10 minutes.  

That is what draws in players.  That is why D&D 5th’s Adventurers League is always packed.  

Also avoid mandatory specifics for players to participate.  
Pathfinder Society has practically disappeared where I am at and D&D Adventurers League has snowballed because a player can simply arrive and play.

The last time I tried to drop in and try to see if I’d still like Pathfinder, the Pathfinder Society people running the “event” were more invested in the Pathfinder Society Rules and registration than playing.  Tax season was more fun.  So, I tried D&D 5th instead.  The D&D peeps asked me if I had a DCI number and when I said no and I wasn’t interested in one now, they said “cool, well pick a Pre-Gen and jump in”.

Now I fully understand that Pathfinder Society isn’t really supposed to work like that.  But it is an illustration of what not to do.

Remember that RQ may have close to 30 years of world building, but those new players that you need to expand the game are not really interested in learning it in their first exposure.  

Aim for the NEW player, not the already established Fan.  Established fans are already building their own adventure and campaigns using all of their knowledge.  An Organized Play system is really there to help spread the game to new players.

Simple, concise and accommodating.
And most importantly, short to learn. 

If a new player cannot get a feel for the game setting and playing their character by reading a one page summary, the adventure has missed the point of OP.

Add me to the list wondering about that....

I have a question on the upcoming Free RPG Day packets. 

In the past some of the sponsors have posted their packets NPC character sheets online.  This allowed the GM’s running the adventure to print them without mangling/flattening/destroying the binding.   I have my copy of CoC: Scritch Scratch and am prepping to run. 

I really don't want to pull the staples and take apart the book so I can copy the characters, any possibility for PDFs copies of the PC's to happen for Scritch Scratch?

Sounds good.  I have the Bermuda book too.  I just make the default assumption, yes yes I said assume, that it was 20s/30s, not modern. 

If you change your mind, just hollar 👍

I have a couple good sets, but the Empress of Japan (liner)(1930, 1260 passengers, 22 kts) might be a good choice.

Post a cryptic abbreviation and then wait for someone to answer or........ 

Define what you are talking about

I always wondered why RPG's are lumped into CCGs and Mini's while Boardgames is it's own category.  It seems like games ie Boardgames and RPG's would be together and all the collecty stuff could be their own.     

Just wondering...

Are you using Adobe?  I just looked at them and I don't see any problem with spacing or legibility.

@jajagappa

49 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

Esrolia certainly has the galleys, particularly Nochet and Rhigos.  While they do have spearmen and axe men (and of course Axe Maidens), they don't have classical hoplites/phalanx.  However, they do hire mercenaries at various times, probably including the Sun Dome Templars from Dragon Pass who are hoplites.  Before 1622 they might also hire other hoplite-style mercenaries from the Lunar provinces to help defend against the barbarian Greymane.

The classic Gloranthan hoplites are the regiments of the Lunar Empire (e.g. Marble Phalanx, Granite Phalanx, etc.).  There is an expeditionary force of Lunars sent in 1623 to try to retake Nochet for their Esrolian ally, Queen Hendira, and they besiege the city for a good part of the year until more anti-Lunar forces (including Argrath and Harrek the Berserk) arrive in 1624.  The siege is not complete since the Lunars don't control the sea.

It is still the best current source for the history (though there are also references in History of the Heortling People).

If you think Minoan mixed with Etruscan, some ancient Vedic Indian, and a Bedouin-style, but matriarchal rulership, you'll have the general feel for Esrolia.

Hmmm...   Well the setting may be calling the Lunar Empire troops Hoplites, but the pictures they used are clearly based on Roman Legions.  The hoplite art is repeatedly used in the core rulebook and in the Big Rubble setting when referencing the native Pavis troops (I haven't read to see exactly what nation/culture/people in the Core Book/Big Rubble belong to). . 

I can picture the mix you are describing for Esrolia, but don't see how the classic Greek influenced adventure base gets shift to a Etruscan/Indian/Bedouin adventure base?

So I dug out my copies of the RQ Rulebook and the Big Rubble. 

Unless they were just slapping anything on the page the majority of the humans in armor on the Core book and most of the Pavis guards in the Big Rubble are clearly cribbed from from the classical Greek hoplite.  

The Lunar pics appear to be taken from Rome.  I picked out Roman cavalry, a Centurion and a Legionnaire with Moon Crescents in for the plume.

So it looks like they took some things from the classical and ancient worlds.

I didn't think my memory was too far gone. 

Since I've decided to reenter RQ with RQG I am hesitent to start buying large numbers of older pdf's. 

With that in mind, which reference would be best to read up on that location?

@g33k

Thanks

In the way back, 80-90’s?, we played RQ with the visualization of classical Greece.   Like the old 50’s/60’s  sword and sandal movies.

There was a part of the RQ world that was close enough and we did the whole galleys (bireme/trireme), merchantmen, alongside Hoplites and such.  We had a great time of it.  And even though I cannot remember details, I can remember how fun it was.

So I guess the meat of the question is where in the RQ world would come closest to this style/theme of play? 

Free RPG Day is an event and the adventures are distributed to the participating GM's with enough lead time to prepare. 

I would guess that the Runquest adventure will hit the Cult about the same time so they don't spoil the event.

This year it is 17 June.  I run in it most years and we usually get our material 1 to 2 weeks in advance depending when the FLGS gets them. 

Looks good

How many PC's does the adventure support? I'll be running it at my FLGS and I want to avoid the too many signed up issue.

I can say Hero Lab is a great program.  I've used it for years. 

Now I am waiting for Pulp Cthulhu to be incorporated.

For me 7th Edition has finally "fixed" that "something off" from the other versions.  I never could put my finger on it.  But the earlier versions of CoC always had me coming back, but I always left again because they were missing something.  Don't get me wrong CoC is an awesome game in all it versions, but for me personally there was just something that didn't click. 

7th's small changes, more tweaks than changes IMO, have finally smoothed that disconnect.  Plus adding Pulp Cthulhu as a separate add-on supplement is perfect for me.  I love Pulp and I love CoC's original dark horror.  So now I have both in distinct separate presentations. 

I can understand why the previous versions are preferred by some, but to me 7th is a clearly positive improvement to the system.  One thing PC has that 7th does not is the selection of Archetype as well as Occupation.  I would love to see an expansion that inserts Archetypes into the core game, but most of the games I run have a high fatality/insanity rate and anything to make chargen faster would help

On 5/2/2017 at 8:26 AM, g33k said:

In most or the old-school RQ settings (Dragon Pass, Prax, Sartar) the players would probably have had more "Battle Magic" (aka "Spirit Magic" etc) than Rune Magic:  spells like Bladesharp, Befuddle, Glue, Speedart, Disruption, etc...  Rune Magic was something achieved only by more-advanced characters.  The new "RQG" edition moves away from that old-school "zero to hero" trope, however, with PC's starting play at/near "master" level in their core competence, and Rune Status not too far away.

The "Runes" are often worn, tattoo'ed, scribed onto weapons/items, yes... but in Glorantha they are much more metaphysical than that, and the outward signs are at least as much a reminder to the user or the maker of the item, and/or a display to others of the affiliation of the wielder.

 

OK.  I can see my old noggin has forgotten much detail.   It must have been Battle Magic I was thinking of. We liked the idea of the requirement to affix the "Rune" to the device (sword, armor, what have you) and then invest personal power to be able to invoke the effect.  Yes the sword was now "magic", but only for that PC unless/until they also knew the "spell" and invested the needed power.  And if you lost you sword you had to go through everything to invest/create another. 

I really do not remember the details of how any of it actually was done rules-wise.  Just that it wasn't an easy process and the players in my group expended more effort to recover a lost/stolen object rather than create new ones.

Even after 30+ years I can remember how much fun we had.  Just can;t remember the nuts and bolts of the system.