A Chaosium Adventure League

[Elessidel]

I and a few friends are interested in starting a type of Adventure League but for Chaosium games, mostly Call of C'thulhu, but all welcome. 

It would have set rules such as you can't bring a 1920s character to a modern game and vice versa. There'd be season themes and Keepers build their own story with the given theme (ie: an SCP that is found out at the end), as well as some provided prompts and NPCs to help get you started. 

Players would be able to take their current character in between different Keepers' games, without having to create new ones. 

There's be logs to keep track of items gained, stat changes, injuries and the like that all carry over between Keepers' games. 

 

How many of you would be interested in opening your gaming table up like this? 

[Reaver]

I don't play 5e but I've heard of this term getting tossed around of an adventure league. I don't really know how it works though. 

How do you expect this to work with potential high mortality rate or sanity? 

Would it be each session would be like loading a save between games meaning a player can get to know their own character and how to play it etc? Would there be a tally for amount of deaths etc? 

Sorry for my lack of knowledge as I only keeper and play CoC. The idea does sound interesting though 

[Elessidel]

@Reaver

There would be something similar to a save point. Players will know their character because it will be a character they made and they keep the same character between games. 

I was thinking sanity would refresh to their starting sanity if they were under, but would remain the same if they were over, between games. 

And if your character dies in DND, you make a new one. I'd expect the same for CoC, be it the player bringing a backup character or the Keeper having extra characters made that would fit their particular story. 

 

Participating Keepers would keep note of each other, players would announce what Keeper they played with, so then we know they can use their character in our game with out having to make a new one, letting them keep their items and such in between different Keepers. 

 

 

This is a new idea that I am trying to get going with the community, so I am taking suggestions and ideas to make sure it's fluent and makes sense. I feel it'll also help the game exposure for CoC and other Chaosium games if players can bring their Character in between gaming stores. It's not so much sanction play like DND, but I feel it'll make players want to continue to play CoC more if they're able to bring their fave character with them when they're traveling or visiting new hobby shops, or want to join into a big CoC hosted game with their Character that has been through alot and is now a veteran.

We feel it'd make the game more fun as well, having characters that survive one game, be stronger in their next, maybe gearing up towards a time where we'll change the theme to contain Elders and players are less likely to get one-shot. 

 

I do understand the high mortality rate, but often I've found 1-2 of my players survive, but they have no reward for it that carry to other games. This can aid that. 

Edited January 24, 2020 by Elessidel

[Reaver]

I suppose its a good enough idea. I usually run one shots and I allow my guys to use the same characters between games or new ones for each game. It's fun to have total fresh characters seeing another guy freaking out at shadows and what not. I've had people turn up at games I'm running with characters from other games which I just give a quick look at before play. If they die, it's no big deal. They just go back to their regular game as though mine never happened, quick San and hp reset and they are good to go. The leveling/development side could be cool but then it's gonna start generating animosity between players and keepers if and when a character dies. Some games are great for survival and some are not. Individual games would need some Sort of lethality disclaimer etc. 

[Elessidel]

@Reaver and you saying all of this has helped me get a better idea on what to include or not include in this idea before getting more involved. I have a few interested Keepers on boardgamegeeks forum that are interested as well. I'm gathering input and noting changes. 

[Reaver]

Maybe an idea could be that at character development stage, if a character had died then they don't get to roll upgrades? 

[VonJunzt9kx]

I am an active player and GM in Adventurer's League.  I rarely get to play CoC, I am the lone Keeper in my area at present.  I think league play of some kind is a good idea.   

CoC is far more deadly to characters than D&D, the potential for a character to not make it from game to game is much higher and without access to reincarnation or other magical intervention this is an important consideration.  Don't have a good answer for that yet.

Adventurer's League has a tracking system and specifically designed Adventure League scenarios.  So a character will log a specific adventure and can't play that adventure again with the same character.  As a parallel the Scenarios in Berlin the Wicked City would be "legal", but scenarios developed by a Keeper using the sourcebook, say using an episode of Babylon Berlin as inspiration,  would not.   As an example for CoC, I ran the Necropolis (event scenario) for a group, each character would have a log sheet noting that they survived the adventure and then not be able to use that character for another session of the same scenario. 

Consider a reward for the session, in D&D it's gold and magic items and a level.  For CoC maybe borrow a skill from BRP like psionics and give a player an ability like telepathy.   Or allow the character to choose to advance one of the used abilities instead of rolling for it.  Maybe even a "useful" sanity quirk like "feel no pain", or "fearless". 

I agree with the statement above that a character should stay in a timeline.  However, it could be possible to age a character to let them play say a 1920's investigator  is aged 20 years to play in a 1940's scenario.