klecser

I'm currently writing a scenario that features a Mythos threat that has been written about a lot, but there are definitely some areas that can be expanded upon. I like this idea of what "weird tech" alien species have access to that could be used to write scenarios around...

Chaosium has never (to my recent knowledge) provided "official" release dates on their products. Nor can they, with the variables involved.

There isn't much that I like about Lovecraft himself. He was racist and anti-Semitic and not really a positive role-model for anyone. What draws me to the style of writing that he is famous for is the heavy reliance on verbose description and an unknown and overwhelming threat. I enjoy Horror because, like science fiction, is a genre that has been constructed around the concept of confronting very difficult issues in life safely and with acceptance. You can talk about issues around the frame of science fiction or horror that are socially unacceptable in "polite" conversation.

Hey all, I'm getting close to putting my first scenario up on the Repository. It is called Test Subjects and my goals are simply to contribute something to the Community, celebrate the game, and accomplish something that I've thought about doing for a long time. Here are my questions from a fan to fans: 1) I've done all the maps and handouts for the scenario myself. I'll be crediting myself for "maps," but one of the Handouts is a bit of graphic design. I'm not sure I feel comfortable calling myself an "artist" for the credits. Does doing art, no matter the medium, qualify me for an "artist" credit? I don't want to offend artists in the audience if there is some aspect of artist credits that I may not understand. I'm not a professional artist. Should I credit myself as "Additional Art?" 2) The scenario breaks down like this: 4 pages: Cover page, title page, credits, table of contents 14 pages: Scenario text 1 page: Keeper aides 5 pages: Collected Handouts and portraits Is my "advertised" scenario length 24 pages (all of it)? 20 pages (exclude beginning pages)? 14 pages (just the meat of the scenario)? I don't want to be the guy who inflates his page count with fluff pages if there is a standard. 3) How much should I spoil in the "blurb" on DTRPG? Leave the Mythos threat out of that text? The PDF preview will have the setup so anyone can read "The Horrible Truth" and get the basic idea of the scenario.

No, I don't expect it to need to be a linked document. I'm just an amateur trying to get my content out there.

Can anyone offer me any advice on how to get page numbering to work in the Word template? None of the advice I have found online is helping. I foolishly thought that I could insert my own cover page and page breaks without consequence, but I've managed to completely mess up how Word puts in page numbers. I obviously want the first page of my scenario text to be "1," with no numbering on the cover page, credits page, or table of contents. These are all labeled as "Section 1," but the document is inserting page numbers on these prior pages and doing weird things like: 1, 4, 2, 3, 2. I understand that page breaks in word result in new "sections" for numbering. When I set it to "start numbering at," it never puts in the number that I type in the box. Ironically, the most stressful part of attempting publishing a scenario for me right now is getting the page numbers to work. Is there a way for me to just manually alter all the footers to do the page numbers individually? Update: I've now fixed it so that my numbers are sequential, but no matter what I do the first page is labelled "2," not "1." If I tell it to start numbering at "0," it numbers it a zero. If I tell it to number it as 1, it numbers it 2. I literally can't get it to start with the number I want it to LOL. It is either 0 or 2. I tried making a "next page is odd" section break, but that numbered it a 3!

Grabbed me the template, thanks!

Does anyone know what the standard scenario font size is for Call of Cthulhu scenarios?

Holy...crap. I am excited. Congratulations Dr. Hardy! @Lynne H

This is an incredible amount of content and history for the price. I will give it a thorough read later, but I was very impressed by my skim. Congratulations Bridgett and thank you for contributing this to the community!

I snagged a 1st edition copy of SoY-S recently. That prompted me to make a short video about it's contributions to the hobby. Enjoy!

I really appreciate you posting all of these here. I can check this thread daily without extra clicks. And that just increases the chances I'll make a purchase or two!

Here is my Overview of Apocthulhu Core Rulebook PDF and Quick Start POD! Spectacular work @kross! Congratulations!

Added links to two of James Coquillat's showcase games that he ran at digital Cons recently. I think that he is also an excellent Keeper model for any CoC Keeper, new or experienced.

I don't have any of my copies readily available this instant, but the biggest change is that the support documents in the originals are basic text boxes and typed in most cases, with very basic and limited maps. GTT has professional quality handouts. I also think that the text is expanded with more tips for running it and a box to help new Keepers with SAN thresholds, IIRC?

Yep, Keeping is difficult sometimes. That's my response. And I'm not trying to be sardonic there. You have to make choices to adjudicate as fairly as you can. One technique to consider is simply communication with your players. Ideally, before a session in which you know things may come up in the future, talk to your players about how they think particular mechanics should be house-ruled. If something happens that was not discussed in advance, have a debrief and ask what they thought. Better yet, there is nothing wrong with hitting PAUSE and saying: "Hey, let's take a quick break to discuss what we think is fair here, because I'm getting the feeling that there might be a difference in perspective here."

Great idea. Any time players can have personal reasons deeper than "your one friend who you knew," it will be a more meaningful experience.

I think you're bringing up an important discussion point that we could have with your question Phil. Call of Cthulhu does have a few mindset shifts when coming from other role-playing games. Most people come from a DND background, and versions of that game (and many others) usually impose penalties for "untrained" skills. This is one of the more notable differences in CoC: anyone can attempt any skill at any time no matter what their skill value is. We could speculate on why that is. I'm of the opinion that role-playing games aren't any fun when you are forbidden from even attempting things or are penalized by the mechanics for creative solutions. It is also noteworthy here that, in your example, the chance of actually hitting and the chance of succeeding on a single raw roll are not the same thing. You certainly have a 25% chance of getting a success on a single roll just rolling d100. But, depending on what other conditions exist for firing, bonus and penalty dice will likely be involved, and that can change the probability of hitting significantly. I'm only bringing that up because I can imagine some players, coming from a DND mindset, deeming it "unfair" that you have "such a good chance" to hit with no training. But it really isn't an amazing chance at base level. This is not a mechanics system designed for success through martial means.

Usually four to six months after the release of a PDF. It all depends upon manufacturing time, boat transit times, and customs. That can vary tremendously, especially under the pandemic. Chaosium does not publish release dates for their products.

I guess I'm confused by this announcement. My records show me having purchased this, with my coupon, in April. I checked my shelf, and sure enough it's there already. Did the US get this way before AUS/UK or something?

I enjoyed this. Clearly very deeply researched and well-written/edited.

Hey @Joe, welcome! I recommend Mike Mason (Call of Cthulhu lead writer and editor) running a scenario for Penny Arcade: Also, Mike running The Dead Within, a forthcoming campaign for the game: To begin to help you wrap your brain on how Keeping differs in Call of Cthulhu from many other games, the key is to recognize that Call of Cthulhu is an investigative role-playing game. Combat in CoC is frequently side-lined in favor of seeking and interpreting clues of mysteries. Physical handouts and managing access to clues and their locations are a big part of the ebb-and-flow of the table. Players are ordinary people and the most effective are most often academics with lots of smarts and willpower. Feel free to drop further specific questions! klecser

I may never understand the legal subtleties of the difference. But that's fine.

Big names in role-playing behind it. I am also curious. Edit: I found the Wordpress for the game. I've requested a copy of the PDF for review on RPG Imaginings. We'll see if it happens. https://cthulhureborn.wordpress.com/2020/08/21/reviews-of-the-apocalypse/ MU Podcast just featured Jo Kreil and Dean Engelhart speaking about it: https://www.mu-podcast.com/mup-ep-205-apocthulhu/ The system has a lot in common with CoC and DG. The credits page lists Wizards OGL, which I find strange. Wouldn't this fall under BRP OGL?

Absolutely. More access in gaming.