klecser

That depends entirely on what you deem important. The major changes are the update to 7th, the option to run as Classic or Pulp, re-balancing of many encounters/situations and the addition of a prologue. The newest version has greatly fleshed out GM tips and an extensive beginning chapter on campaign organization and travel. In addition, there is a ton of high quality art, a GM screen, and full color handouts for each Chapter. That said, the narrative core of the campaign hasn't really changed. The new version is, by far, the defintive version, and improves on the campaign in many ways. So, your call as to whether that is enough to justify the upgrade.

44 minutes ago, jps said:

Then you will be able to do scenarios in both Cthulhu and Glorantha, hopefully, opening your player's minds to playing RuneQuest "for real" ^^

 

Great suggestion!

On 11/6/2018 at 11:16 AM, Rick Meints said:

The second printing of the book is likely to arrive in January. 

Did this already happen and it has sold out again? 

Takes guts for one small boat to take one cargo container across an ocean. 

I'm interested in Runequest, I am likely never to find a group in my area, so I'd like the knowledge that I could use it in games that I CAN play.

Thanks for your insight!

Has anyone ever thought about using the Runequest Bestiary as inspiration for threats while Call of Cthulhu Investigators are in the Dreamlands?  If so, how did it go?

This is a good question, because when I read the sample box it makes it sound like the ally did not Push on the prior round and is making a "totally new attempt" on the next round. Language could be tightened up there, I think.  My personal understanding, which could be incorrect, is that First Aid is only effective "once" when someone is injured or dying, once it succeeds, because once they are stabilized, they are stabilized.  The example talks about how two or more players can combine a roll if they are all there.  But can First Aid be attempted consecutively too?  One character attempts First Aid, then another character attempts First Aid in a later round/time.  I guess it would have the same cumulative effect of rolling simultaneously...

Great report Steve.  Also note that you did a great job with resisting the "No" when they wanted to dig and gave them a "Yes, but...[insert fair warning]" instead. Player choice drives great deaths.

8 hours ago, Damian said:

Thanks, I appreciate that. I might just get Scritch Scratch. I already have Petersen’s Abominations mainly for “The Derelict” and “Hotel Hell” seems fun too.

It's a fun scenario. Definitely check it out. 

8 hours ago, Damian said:

I’m new at collecting all of these. I’ve never heard of Lulu, are there other sites I could look for? I know Chaosium and DTRPG, but that’s it.

Lulu.com is where you can get copies of a lot of the Free RPG Day products.  For example, you can still get the Free RPG Day scenario The Derelict on Lulu.com (down to 4 USD + ship), but note that it was re-published in Petersen's Abominations.  You can also get the most recent FRPG release "Scritch Scratch" on Lulu.com.

I'm not sure why Chaosium does Lulu for just these products.  Perhaps licensing fees or diversifying platforms.

DriveThruRPG is still down for server maintenance but I'd be surprised if a POD copy of Deadlight wasn't possible.

Update: Deadlight is still available on Lulu.com as POD, but not at DTRPG.

Is the Arkham Horror card game of any practical use for Call of Cthulhu Keepers?  Is the defunct Call of Cthulhu LCG of any use?  Art? Card Text? 

Its worth noting that part of the purpose of Armor in this game is to give a statistic that really makes Mythos entities very difficult to defeat in combat. I would call it a gateway statistic to the intended balance of the game.

Another great product.  I appreciate how much love this specific Mythos threat is getting from Chaosium.  I will be porting the bulk of this into my 1920s campaign. Or, there will be time travel.  Probably time travel.

20 hours ago, g33k said:

I'm not a backer, and I haven't read the update(s) provided, but one thing caught my attention:

Yeah, this.

Depression can be as disabling as a heart attack or a stroke; there is no "contempt" involved (more likely is anguish & despair).  I have seen over half my family -- and several close friends -- struggle with depression.  It's a horrible, horrible thing.  I'm glad he seems to be making progress on fulfilling obligations to his backers on KS (and, I presume, other obligations in his life).  That's a real win-win:  the backers get their stuff & he gets to climb out of that black hole of depression.

My wife has depression. Given her struggles, she never would have promised someone something that she wasn't sure she could deliver on.  This is not about being successful or not.  It is about making promises you can't keep.

Some of that news was new to me, thank you! Packed schedule forthcoming.

On 1/9/2019 at 1:02 PM, mvincent said:

Interesting: he's going to use all his own scenarios, and might be converting the project to 7th Edition Call of Cthulhu. This actually sounds like a positive develop to me. I understand frustration from backers over delays... but that ('Curse of Cthulhu') seems to happen with all the CoC related projects I've seen (and really most KS projects in general). Plus: Scott has always been a prolific writer, a stand-up guy, and an icon in the industry. I myself would still back his projects without hesitation. Same for Chaosium projects. I just wouldn't go in with timeline expectations.

I couldn't disagree more with this statement. I have backed many projects and seen the delays that you are talking about. Most projects get delayed by just a few months. This is understandable and there are frequently detailed descriptions for the delays. This is different, and it absolutely amazes me the extent to which people will make concessions for Creators that show nothing but contempt for fans. Years is unacceptable. Communication matters. Action matters. I don't care how prolific, stand-up, or iconic someone is in ANY profession. Reputations take years to build and moments to ruin. And the only reason that people engage in behavior like this is because people enable them. This goes for Sentinel Hill Press and the disaster that is The Dare Kickstarter as well.

You don't make promises you can't keep in a reasonable time frame.  End of story.

I can't seem to find them either!

I prefer the newer layout, color scheme and type face.

The internet is, of course, really bad at communicating tone of voice. Everybody is entitled to like what they like. I DO still recommend Annihilation to people, especially CoC players/Keepers.  I just don't think I'll read the last two. 😕

As a biologist, VanderMeer doesn't seem like he consulted with any scientists in writing his characters.  I find the decision-making of the characters to be counter-intuitive to how actual scientists would approach situations. I understand that some level of suspension of disbelief is needed for fiction. He just went too far for me.  And, I'm not talking about after they start to be mentally affected by the zone.  I'm talking about before that even happens. In the first few chapters I'm like: "Yeah, this is not how we think about things like this."

That's my biggest beef and it may not be a question you can answer.  And if not, that is fine.  I enjoyed the Lovecraftian and science fiction elements of the novel.  But when you don't "buy" the characters, it is tough to get into it.

I'm not condemning the novel or anything.  I can see why a lot of people like it.  I just couldn't personally get into for that main reason.

I'm not saying I expect Lovecraftesque.  There are lots of reasons why people like and dislike novels.  I'm asking if the last two books are similar in terms of how the author handles characters, theme, plot, setting, etc.  You like them.  Awesome.  That isn't my question.  My question is: Are the last two like the first one?

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer is very Lovecraftian in it's cosmic-horror style of Science fiction.  I think what transpires in the novel is great inspiration for Call of Cthulhu Keepers. 

That said, I didn't quite care for the novel itself as a literary piece.

Are the later books "more of the same" or are there enhancements to the story that made it more engaging for you in later volumes?

A lot of necessary information is include in the introductory chapter.  The "combat" section does not identify a "hit points to use for thugs encountered." I also followed your path and agree with you that it appears as if there is missing information.

My personal opinion is that the key to enjoying AATD, or any solo scenario, is to know when to fudge it and to know what will be fun for you. I can't tell you how to feel about your sense of fair play.  For me, I don't consider it unfair to just decide that this steward has 10 hit points (an average person) and play accordingly.  The key factor for me here is that you feel "stuck" when you could be enjoying yourself and it wasn't due to any decision you made, but unclear text.  It should be fun!

Solo scenarios are ambitious endeavors with so many moving parts and one of the challenges of them is that we sometimes have to help the author out just a tad and allow for the fact that these endeavors have errors.