Pulp Cthulhu

[Atgxtg]

I'm not sure if the Mythos really works as pulp-at least in the heroic sense. It wouldn't be hard to do something similar with heroic, larger than life PCs, and horrors that aren't quite so mind bending and invulnerable. In fact, a few RPGs lend themselves towards that approach (Justice, Inc., Spirit of the Century).

But it's probably too "bright and cheery" for a Lovecraft tale. Maybe an August Derleth tale, but not Lovecraft. In Lovecraft mankind survives through a combination of luck, blissful ignorance, and the fact that the stars aren't right, yet. Nothing that man actually does makes much of a difference, specially in the long run. That's pretty much the exact opposite of most pulp stores,where one brave and true hero can make all the difference.

[seneschal]

But Howard's protagonists -- Kull, Conan, Bran Mac Morn -- battled and defeated what essentially were Mythos critters. The difference wasn't in the monsters themselves, it was in the virility, outlook and determination of the heroes. The Worms of the Earth were terrible enough to rob a tough Roman general of his SAN, but Bran Mac Morn held his stuff together after the initial shock and kept on going. How many gods did Conan slice in twain when he was unable to outrun them? Now, one can argue that the ornery barbarian wasn't exactly sane, but he didn't fall apart in the face of supernatural adversity and frequently fought back successfully. The pulp adventurer may not be as wise or educated as a Lovecraftian antiquarian but he's too stupid to realize that the creature can't be beat ... so he wins.

[p_clapham]

Much like one's taste in H.P.L. It does also depend on your take on his tales. One of the things I do keep in mind are the main characters in each story. Not all of Lovecraft's main characters are gibbering "unreliable narrators", some like Randolph Carter are made of Sterner stuff, and are able to triumph after a fashion.

Mechanically you can do this in Call of Cthulhu, BRP and other RPGs. In the former a character with a low Pow and high Int would work nicely as a doomed intelectual. The Higher the Pow, the more likely survial in most cases. A few of the other games I play make use of a Power or Willpower type attribute. In those cases I once again go with a high intelligence character, but with weak resolve.

Resolve does seem to be the name of the game genre wise. It's what seperates the sterotypical mad Lovecraftian protagonist, from the other horror Pulps. Granted a good amount of this will also be up to GM fiat. Someone who wants to create the Misery of Delapore from "The Rats in the Walls", will likely dislike a Doc Savage style PC; and make an example of him.

Another way I think of it: If the universe is so chaotic, insane and random. Doesn't that mean the human race wins a certain amount of the time? :thumb:

[p_clapham]

You hit it right there with the Virility, Outlook and Determination. All things a mentally fragile Lovecraftian Protagonist lacks. In regards to R.E.H. it's a good comparision. Lovecraft seemed to be preocupied with his characters flaws and weaknesses, where as Howard was more interested in their strengths.

But Howard's protagonists -- Kull, Conan, Bran Mac Morn -- battled and defeated what essentially were Mythos critters. The difference wasn't in the monsters themselves, it was in the virility, outlook and determination of the heroes. The Worms of the Earth were terrible enough to rob a tough Roman general of his SAN, but Bran Mac Morn held his stuff together after the initial shock and kept on going. How many gods did Conan slice in twain when he was unable to outrun them? Now, one can argue that the ornery barbarian wasn't exactly sane, but he didn't fall apart in the face of supernatural adversity and frequently fought back successfully. The pulp adventurer may not be as wise or educated as a Lovecraftian antiquarian but he's too stupid to realize that the creature can't be beat ... so he wins.

[Atgxtg]

I think the thing to consider is Lovecraft himself. Lovecraft was something of a recluse, and much of the Mythos is a metaphor for aspects of the real world that Lovecraft had difficulty with. In a nutshell Lovecraft wouldn't be able to withstand seeing a Mythos creature.

Howard, on the other hand, wrote more heroic fiction, but I think the reason for his characters' triumphs isn't so much due to their hero's resolve, but to the author deciding that the characters would triumph. Howard wrote more upbeat stories than Lovecraft.

Had Lovecraft wrote Conan, he'd probably bed driven mad or eaten by something. I doubt Conan would be able to lop Cthulhu's head off, nor would it make a big difference if he did.

The overall world view from Lovecraft's stories is not very optimistic. Other writers can and did give different interpretations on things, and added more to the Mythos, but in Lovecraft man survives mostly because the really nasty things haven't noticed him yet.

Perhaps the most optimistic version of the Mythos could have been in the Star Trek episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". I get the idea that the Federation probably could handle Cthulhu and even figure out a way of dealing with the Outer Gods.

[tedopon]

I get the idea that the Federation probably could handle Cthulhu and even figure out a way of dealing with the Outer Gods.

:eek:

The only thing that bugs me about that statement is that it exists.

[threedeesix]

Perhaps the most optimistic version of the Mythos could have been in the Star Trek episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". I get the idea that the Federation probably could handle Cthulhu and even figure out a way of dealing with the Outer Gods.

I'm sure it would have something to do with the main deflector array, at least in the Next Gen, that thing did everything. I don't know why it bothered to carry normal weapons.

[seneschal]

Troi: Captain, I detect a disturbance in the Force, er, I mean a chaotic emotional presence of immense power and hostility.

Worf: Blast it with full phasers and a photon torpedo barrage!

Data: That would be highly illogical. Besides, we haven't said "Hi" yet.

Geordi: We could route all auxiliary power through the main deflector array and zap it with accelerated nanoonites.

Picard: Make it so!

[Atgxtg]

:eek:

The only thing that bugs me about that statement is that it exists.

In that I stated it, or that the Trek episode was Mythos related?

I'm sure it would have something to do with the main deflector array, at least in the Next Gen, that thing did everything. I don't know why it bothered to carry normal weapons.

Because the Klingons wouldn't ally with someone who didn't put weapon on their ships.

I wonder if Starfleet pruposely mislabled everything in order to confuse enemies and shipjackers. For instance, "Spinal Mount Energy Weapon" is labled "Main Defelctor Array", "Airlcok" is labeled "Main Computer Core", "Psychological Warfare Room" is labeled "Holodeck" and no door is ever marked "Restroom". On TV no one ever manages to keep a hijacked Starfleet ship for very long, and you never seen a toilet.

[Atgxtg]

Troi: Captain, I detect a disturbance in the Force, er, I mean a chaotic emotional presence of immense power and hostility.

Worf: Blast it with full phasers and a photon torpedo barrage!

Data: That would be highly illogical. Besides, we haven't said "Hi" yet.

Geordi: We could route all auxiliary power through the main deflector array and zap it with accelerated nanoonites.

Picard: Make it so!

At least is beats the way they did things since Janeway-- waiting around until the shields drop below 20% before returning fire.

[p_clapham]

Star Trek and Call of Cthulhu? That could work.

I'm pretty sure one of my buddies from Boston used the CoC rules for a Trek game a decade ago. Quite a few of the old non-humanoid trek baddies would work well in a CoC game. The Salt Vampire from Classic Trek stands out in my mind.

[Atgxtg]

Star Trek and Call of Cthulhu? That could work.

I'm pretty sure one of my buddies from Boston used the CoC rules for a Trek game a decade ago. Quite a few of the old non-humanoid trek baddies would work well in a CoC game. The Salt Vampire from Classic Trek stands out in my mind.

Well, I raised the idea specifically because one of the Star Trek episodes ("What Are Little Girls Made Of?") was written by Robert Bloch (a Mythos author) and the episode does make references to the "Old Ones". I think Block was suggesting that the site found in the episode belonged to the Old Ones/Elder Things, but it's vague enough that it could be interpreted however you want.

The two setting mix relatively okay, except perhaps that the Federation might be too well adjusted to have traveled around in Lovecraft's Universe.

Perhaps even better than the Salt Vampire is the energy creature from Obsession. The one that sucks out hemoglobin and is immune to most weapons. Fairly similar to Bloch's Star Vampire.

Even that Jack the Ripper thing could work in CoC.

[seneschal]

The TOS episode that strikes me as particularly Lovecraftian is Miri, in which the away team finds a crumbling city filled with frightened, starving children. Seems a pandemic bio warfare agent turns people into mad monsters as soon as they reach puberty ... and the team is now infected.

[Atgxtg]

The TOS episode that strikes me as particularly Lovecraftian is Miri, in which the away team finds a crumbling city filled with frightened, starving children. Seems a pandemic bio warfare agent turns people into mad monsters as soon as they reach puberty ... and the team is now infected.

Corrections:

1) It was not a bio warfare agent, but a life prolongation experiment gone wrong.

2) The "madness" is also due to the effects of going through puberty and rapidly aging without understanding anything about either. Having all thier friend turn on them probably wasn't any help either.

3) The children aren't very frightened or starving. For the most part they are playful, but have been without any adult guidance or supervision for 300 years. The episode does mention that the food store will run out soon, but the kids were not starving yet.

Your alterations (unintentional or deliberate) would certainly make for a darker story. Imagine if the food had run out and the children became cannibalistic. The children probably have an enhanced healing rate, too.

The other children episode, " And the Children Shall Lead", with the "Gorgon" (Space Lawyer) is very Mtythos-esque, except that it has a happy ending.