seneschal

Forget werewolves. Slap your adventurers with shape-shifting, magic-wielding Japanese fox spirits! Immortal, playful in an ornery sort of way, prone to fall in love with handsome adventurers, don't necessarily want to kill the PCs but would love to perform some serious messing with their heads. As they age, they grow more powerful and gain additional tails, up to seven for the most dangerous spirits. Can be male or female but are liable to dog the heroes' steps in multiple guises as long as the PCs remain within their (rather large) territories. That cute girl, the doddering apple seller, the drunk at the inn, the inscrutable wood cutter -- are all the same creature, keeping tabs and plotting mischief.

True. The werewolves of folklore were big and tough but not invulnerable. The preferred weapon against them was an ash (wooden) stake to impale them with, although a large caliber musket ball (any metal) would do as well -- and would help you keep your distance. The full moon thing is movie mythology, too. Werewolves were sorcerers who could assume bestial form to work evil. The transformation involved an animal pelt and a foul-smelling ointment of nasty ingredients -- and could be performed whenever the witch/warlock desired. One way to get the drop on a werewolf was to find his (carefully hidden) pelt and do unpleasant things to it; he'd shiver and get frostbite if it was put in a cold place or suffer burns if it was incinerated.

http://paizo.com/store/games/roleplayingGames/c/callOfCthulhu/paganPublishing/v5748btpy83ix Apparently Pagan Publishing has done a lot of the work for you. See Mysteries of Mesoamerica.

Grrrr! That's what you always say! But at least publish the German version. Then use the mound of wealth acquired thereby to pay a friend to do an English translation. Double the profits. Double the fun.

Three words: "Publish ... finished ... scenario!"

Naturally, the guerillas will hole up in a cave/river ox bow/lake/island that the locals have avoided for generations. They're contemptuous of local superstition, of course, confident that the PCs can do nothing to stop them, and generally noisy and disrespectful. Funny, some of those cavern wall/half-buried ruin glyphs look similar to the ones used by the "destroyed" Indio cult in Episode One. Is this the site of the former temple, the real headquarters of which the cult's previous premises were a mere copy? That bubbling, gurgling sound from deep in the cave/beneath the water -- with a little imagination -- could sound like the breathing of some giant, slumbering beast. Naaaaw, don't be silly. But it's too bad the NPCs haven't seen King Kong, Varan the Umbelievable, Monster From a Prehistoric Planet, etc.

Lands of Mystery details how to create just such a campaign. It was written for Hero System 4th edition but is mostly setting and advice. And it has CoC stats in the back, if I remember correctly.

Range war! Sounds very Western. Except it's waaaay South of the Border. Maybe you could throw in a pair of star-crossed lovers ... the rancher's daughter is in love with the most influential tribal chieftain's son, or vice-versa. Or maybe there's something each side feels it absolutely needs (in addition to the land, of course) that the other side possesses. The rancher has fortified his holdings, but the Indians can control access to essential water. The Indians would love to burn the rancher's mansion and farm buildings, but they don't know which ones he's stashed their precious ancestral relics in. Or the most logical place to engage his retainers happens to be sacred. Both sides are searching frantically for the 500-year-old documents that granted the land to the rancher's family in perpetuity, which have somehow become misplaced. Whoever can get their mitts on them (even the PCs!) can legitimately claim ownership and will have the government's backing.

El Tigre! Check out the old adventure module Temple of the Jade Jaguar for more ideas and critters. Different Worlds also did an article on how to run it as a GM'd adventure rather than solo.

"... frightening the characters into believing that there is more to this than some ruins and mostly harmless remnants of a cult. A nice scary mystery without any actual appearance of Mythos creatures. " Remember King Kong and Varan the Unbelievable. Just because the natives are superstitious doesn't mean there isn't something huge and scary lurking out there in the woods.

But, that's kind of the point. CoC is too pat, too neat. A little diligence and a good Library Use roll and investigators can find out the entire history of a cult, a convenient map of the lost city, plus the cell phone number of the Mother Goddess' OBGYN physician. What if there are no answers, no certainty? Weird stuff is happening, the heroes are being pursued by something, they've discovered unique structures/objects/writings ... why should there be a meaning mere humans can comprehend if they're dealing with hoary cosmic forces? On the other hand, perhaps the modern ceremonies are connected to the ancient site, carefully handed down from shaman to acolyte over generations. That's why they're so secretive. Cult members parade the god down the street in defiance of conventional religion, then sneak it back into its venerable temple, the location of which no white man knows. Take that, you stupid conquistadors! Except now those nosy PCs are poking around near the ruins two days after they were seen observing the annual festival. Obviously the idol's followers aren't going to be too happy about this, and won't believe the adventurers' presence is coincidental even if it really is. Who needs a gloppy monster, since the worshipers know the jungle like the backs of their hands and retain their expertise in headhunting and cannibalism, even if they do drive beat-up Japanese pickup trucks when they happen to visit town?

Why not ditch Lovecraft on this one and embrace a real-life mystery? My father has traveled to Central and South America many times while working for various charitable and missionary organizations. It was in Peru, I believe, that he witnessed a strange procession through the center of town. Just as Latin American Roman Catholics parade statues of Jesus, Mary, or various saints, down the street during festivals, Indians (as opposed to those of Spanish or mestizo birth) were carrying an ancient pagan image topped with a straw cowboy hat and so swathed in flower garlands (and possibly a cowboy shirt or some sort of cloak) that its features couldn't be made out. I don't know the correct spelling, but in English the name of the deity sounded something like "Masha-moan." The Indians would pause periodically to give the idol a swig of the local alcoholic beverage, and the idol was drenched in booze. No non-Indian was allowed to actually get a good look of the idol, and the worshipers were generally unwilling to discuss who Masha-moan is or what they believe about him. He's apparently a holdout from before the Indians were converted by force to Christianity by the conquistadors, and his worshipers preserved his sect by couching it in Catholic symbolism and terminology. Who is this Masha-moan? What does he really look like? What is his religion all about? Why the booze and the procession? What's the deal with the cowboy hat? Does his "thirst" tell us anything about what he is like or what his followers are like? Why is his cult so secretive? Presumably his followers, cleaned up and perhaps a bit hung over, would be at Mass the following day, maintaining their facade as devout Catholics.

Hero System is much less intimidating than it appears if you are running 75-point plus Disads fantasy characters instead of superheroes. It is tricking out all those powers that increases the effort. By default, it is much more cinematic than BRP; Hero System characters tend to be tougher than their BRP equivalents. BRP character creation seems faster at first blush ... until you have to allocate all those 250 or more skill points. Then you're back to point-buy again. Hero gives you more flexibility and guidance in creating your own fantasy critters. While BRP has a great number of pre-done monsters to throw at your heroes, making your own unique ones often requires some guesswork, especially when dealing with SIZ. But both systems are solid, time-tested games that can handle a variety of genres, including fantasy. Which one is "best" depends on you and your players and the style of play you enjoy. Check out my character creation comparison in the superheroes projects thread. That may help you get a feel for how Hero System and Basic Roleplaying differ, and how they are similar.

In other words, what's the most unlikely Lovecraftian reference you can recall in popular media or elsewhere. One of my own: An episode of the '80s cartoon G.I. Joe had COBRA trying to communicate with a mysterious entity inhabiting an isolated, ancient well; of course, the Joes ended up having to fight the thing, a massive worm-like intelligence. Batman's crazy enemies are shipped off to Arkham Asylum (hmmm, where have we heard that name before?), run by a sinister family of psychologists whose rehabilitation theories are consistently unsound.

The strike rank system in BRP reminds me of the Speed Chart in Hero System, where characters can act so many phases in a 12-phase (second) combat Turn, depending on their Speed stat, which is influenced by Dexterity.

On the other hand, the WoW Superworld (which can be downloaded free from this site's links section) has a lot of nifty powers that got left out of Big Gold Book. Maybe we could borrow a few.

Short haft, three blades, can be thrown like a war club as well as used as a knife. Treat as a dagger when used as such, perhaps with a bonus to hit because of the extra blades. Treat as a boomerang or axe when thrown, no penalties since it is apparently balanced for throwing. Naturally it requires a specific skill, not a generic Knife skill, and perhaps Martial Arts as well in order to use the extra blades to trap an opponent's weapon. If the handle was longer, I'd treat it as a halberd.

That means no one can gainsay your take on the region. And, given what I've seen of your work on your Varun and Pharos IV campaigns, you don't need to compare your work unfavorably with anybody's. My only request is that your translate your translation into English and publish the finished version as the definitive West African sourcebook. Besides, game mechanics won't be an issue here. A West African spear is ... a spear. A Liberian sword or shield is ... a sword or shield. An Ivory Coast fisherman, farmer, herdsman, or warrior is ... a fisherman, farmer, herdsman or warrior. Your cultural and historical research will be invaluable to your fellow role-players, but as far as game stats are concerned, it's all more of the same. No sweat. The region may have 37 shapes of knives with 14 spiritual or ceremonial associations, but in game terms they're all just a 1D6 dagger. Do the research you were going to do anyway, and let the mechanics take care of themselves.

Sorry to hear leonmallett's project is dead. As someone who cut his superhero teeth on Champions, BRP's suite of powers seems a bit limited, although the Superworld PDF has a broader catalog of them. However, I've built several character concepts successfully with the Big Gold Book, so it is doable. I've used the super powers to create the abilities of more than one fictional critter as well.

Just to make sure I understand, you are looking for pre-done RPG material for the period and region? I mean, from a game mechanics standpoint there shouldn't be any big adaptation required. If you already have historical and historical personality info, just run with it. Surely there are enough odd events and odder people to fuel your campaign. History is always stranger than fiction, Mythos included. Here's a GURPS Horror adventure set in the region: http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/Roleplayer/Roleplayer10/IsleofNight/HorrorAdventure.html It even has the appropriate Lovecraftian flavor.

In other words, the BRP magic system is arcane and unpredictable? Sounds ... appropriate.

Holy handcuffs, Batman! First BRP fans, now the Seattle police. Seems a superhero can't get an even break these days. http://news.yahoo.com/video/odd-15749658/seattle-superhero-arrested-accused-of-assault-26895615.html

"I am the mighty Xerox!" At least they could hide out at the local Kinkos.

Bah! I say let Strahd and Dracula go at it hammer and tongs, then have the PCs step in at the last minute to slay the weakened "victor." Let the Big Bads wear one other down. If the adventurers can get the Skinless One to attack the other two while they're at it, so much the better.

Or "RuneQuest Two, Too (Electric Bugaloo)"