klecser

*cough* @Symphony Entertainment *cough* 😄

I'm pretty sure this is happening and it is in line. My understanding is that Chaosium has a tradition of reprinting "core"-style products for anniversaries.

This is the real crux of the argument. I agree. My take was imagining a player making mild, innocuous military assumptions and being dog-piled for it. But it is important to note that the continuum is wide and I thank you bringing that up. It is also not appropriate for non-military types to bully people with stripes. I play with a group of really assertive people, and I don't have much experience with that possibility, because we hold everyone at the table to a high standard of fellowship. So, as always, thanks for bringing up more dimensions of the issue @g33k!

Damn you, Chaosium. Damn you. 😜

I'm not at your table, but these statements lead me to believe that the problem isn't rules but unwillingness to cooperate or compromise. "I don't accept your attempts to fairly adjudicate this situation" is not something that makes for a healthy gaming environment. I'm not saying it's easy to deal with. "Finding the rule that people will accept" may be a band-aid on a bleeding artery solution.

Every group is different. The game supports a wide variety of different play styles. Characters don't need to die for there to be suspense. In fact, I'd argue that character death is an out. It relieves tension that could continue. If you really want to scare someone, keep them alive. I've also found that skirting the fine line between madness and lucidity over a long period of time can invoke quite a bit of stress. Nobody here is wrong, but there is variation in style that can result in cosmic horror without the need for character death or madness. I disagree with this. The alterations needed to play MoM or HotOE, or ANY campaign, less lethally are there. Some players find character death boring. If you play it according to the RAW, sure. But I don't think I've run a single scenario according to the RAW. And my players have fun. Are we "doing it wrong?" Why should other people have to play your way? I think you understand this. You've pointed out that you think it is ok for people to vary their game play. Yet, you're also coming back to this idea that there is a "right" way to play? It's contradictory. It is ok for you to allow people space to play the game the way they want. And allowing them space does not mean asserting that there is a "right" and "wrong" way to play it.

I'm super happy for you. I too am in a "renaissance" of gaming, having completed the 43rd session with my group, which is by far the most sessions of a group that I've run. Congratulations!

I agree with soltakss. This is less about what the rule is, or should be, and more about how best to adjudicate it in situ. Call of Cthulhu is a squishy ruleset that depends upon a Keeper to make decisions. In this case, you made a decision, and it wasn't a popular decision. That's your first opportunity to use the "Yes, and..." or "Yes, but..." techniques. People hate to be told no. Table fun increases the fewer times people hear "no." That doesn't mean the "Yes" completely acquiesces to what the player wants. soltakss has the simple solution that is the beauty of this system: "Yes you can shoot, but you will take a penalty die on the roll."

I agree that this is a factor. It is not lost on me the effect that "Arrgh, Golden Age of Piracy, Matey!" has on people. 😉 My personal take is that when you have small publishers that prove that they can concentrate on one project and have a shorter timeline, it makes for a pretty strong argument that long timelines on multiple simultaneous projects is a choice. Not a necessity.

I just don't want to drag a company that I like through any mud. PMs sent.

I have two thoughts: 1) They arrive "early" or "late." And the investigation becomes about investigation rather than direct conflict. 2) Many threats of the Mythos completely nullify firearms. If your players are meta-gaming numbers, give them foes that guns can't defeat. There are a plethora in which any firearm does a single damage point to them.

I find it interesting that this one blasts through it's funding in less than three hours and another CoC KS struggles to fund/unlock stretch goals. I have an idea as to why that is. We have small CoC publishers who are consistent in turning out projects on time (three-six months past estimate), and not starting new projects until the existing ones complete. And we have other small publishers starting one or more projects before others are fulfilled, and consistently completing projects six months to a year after projected completion date. Fans are fatigued on the second model. Pandemic is a factor, to be sure. But to be fair, this model was in full swing pre-pandemic too. Publishing is hard. I get that. Yet, some are able to do it nearly on time and with success. I know my opinion isn't popular. But, I'd like to think that if fan standards were higher, product execution would be driven by that. Keeping silent doesn't change things. And we DID change things at SF by speaking out.

I will use this as a return to sailing the high seas in the Dreamlands...

Bridgett is one of my favorite new Miskatonic authors. Her work is so detailed and well researched!

I hope it was cathartic for you to write the article! Yet, I don't think it is necessary for a civilian to alter their actions at a table because a veteran can't reign themselves in. The person that you are describing is potentially toxic to that gaming table. And we do not have to tolerate toxic people at tables. We do not have to alter our behavior to defer to other people's insecurities. Toxicity is not an inherent veteran trait. It is a personal trait. There are many a veteran that isn't sensitive to inaccurate military role-playing, and are capable of taking civilian takes in stride. I'm a teacher. Can you imagine how many times a day people I talk to get teaching totally wrong? A lot. But, as a professional, I recognize that people don't have a frame of reference, and that there is no point in being insecure about people not having the same training as me. It also isn't worth creating drama over something that can be addressed by recognizing frame of reference. Saying "annoying" things like "Grunts don't act that way" is insecurity. My main game group is three veterans and two civilians. And the civilians play "military-style" characters, and not ONCE have the veterans complained about a portrayal. And it certainly isn't because the civilians weren't getting things wrong. It is because the veterans at the table have empathy and social skills, and see the forest for the trees. I think you do yourself a disservice by characterizing this in the context of being a veteran. You may be unintentionally saying "Veterans can't regulate themselves in social situations, so this is what YOU need to do to solve their problem for them." You may not intend that. But that is what you risk saying. I have many veteran friends, and they are all caring, empathetic, socially-capable individuals. And one of the things that bothers them most is treating service as a monolith. The idea that all veterans have the same thoughts, feelings, capabilities, politics, etc.

Every time. My players know about a half a dozen spells between them and they haven't cast a spell in over ten sessions. 😉

Remember, Nyarlathotep is known by many names, and one of those is The God of a Thousand Forms. My personal opinion is that it would be influenced by Cthulhu Mythos score. A low-level cultist likely would see the Bloody Tongue as an entity in of itself. But a high-level cultist or major Mythos villain may very well know that Nyarlathotep is an Outer God. And that Outer God avatars are influenced by the perspective of the snivelling meat bag viewing it.

I kinda respect the audacity of you running Masks as your first go. But I also fear for YOUR Sanity.... 😜

It's at the top of the list of "Most Useful Fan Resources."

Nice product at a great price point. I did not expect this one to be full color.

My pleasure.

As mentioned before, I don't have the expertise to answer that question. I fully acknowledge that you are the one in the driver's seat. I fully acknowledge that there may very well be diminishing returns on proof-reading costs. I also don't buy into the idea that role-playing proof-reading by small companies should be expected to be fully on par with proof-reading in other industries. I'm gonna buy the books because, ultimately, content and ideas matters more to me.

This is a great list. Can I have your permission to quote you and paste this, as is, to the "Are You A New Keeper?" sticky?

And their profit is in the resell market. Cards and miniatures. That's how they afford to sell the rest at a discount. Pretty cynical. For the record, I haven't made a purchase from them in years. Chaosium's perks make it worth the extra cost. 😉