New to Cthulhu, Campaign idea.

[DamonJynx]

Hi All,

I'm knew to CoC, got the starter set and have given the better half a wish-list of CoC goodies, mainly the core books in hard covers and a some scenarios in PDF for my upcoming birthday.

I was wondering, what you folk think of using Matthew Rielly's, jack West Jnr series; Seven Ancient Wonders, Six Sacred Stones etc as the basis for a (modern-ish) Pulp campaign...

From what I've read so far, it would be a good fit...

 

[klecser]

You should do whatever you would find interesting!

Chaosium and the bulk of the fandom have always espoused a YGWV (Your Game Will Vary) approach to gaming.

It wasn't until the last five years or so that I really pulled the plug on what was "expected" of games and started gaming in any way that my players and I wanted.

Call of Cthulhu can be merged with ANY property that makes sense to you!

Welcome to the Cult! 😄 

[Travern]

On 2/7/2022 at 11:59 PM, DamonJynx said:

I was wondering, what you folk think of using Matthew Rielly's, jack West Jnr series; Seven Ancient Wonders, Six Sacred Stones etc as the basis for a (modern-ish) Pulp campaign...

“The right tool for the right job” applies to RPGs. In the case of Matthew Riley’s thrillers, the question is why you’d want to adapt them using a system designed specifically for horror (and Lovecraftian horror at that).

If what you want is pulp d100 action, then the core Basic Roleplaying plus Astounding Adventures is what you’re looking for. (The more expensive and laborious alternative is buying the CoC Keeper’s Rulebook and Pulp Cthulhu and throwing out all the horror rules, particularly SAN.)

Just ask yourself, when does Matthew Reilly‘s Jack West Jr. lose his sanity or descend into madness?

[DreadDomain]

My take would be similar but slightly different than Travern's approach. You absolutely can use the BGB with Astounding Adventures but it is in no way more difficult to use CoC 7e and Pulp Cthulhu. The only real decision needed is "what do you do with Sanity?" The most obvious answer is to just ignore it.

If you like to tinker, you could as easily keep it, rename it "Stress" or "Doom", down play the effect (no mental breakdown) or narrate them differently. 

Yet another option is to remove Sanity but keep "Sanity loss" for certain creature or situation. Remove the point lost from Luck instead.

I find that with Luck, Push rolls, Bonus/Penalty dice, death only if already majorly wounded, and even more so with double HP and talents from PC, CoC has a tendency to play pulping out of the box. What makes it really horror are characters in way over their heads, sanity loss and overall atmosphere of the game. 

[DamonJynx]

@Travern, @DreadDomain Yeah, I've been thinking along similar lines. You make a good point about re-skinning Sanity. There are a couple of times where Jack, and other members of his crew nearly give up, so calling it Hope or as you suggest Doom, would probably work. Overall, I think I'll save myself the time and not worry about it. Between Two Headed Serpent, Children of Fear, Masks of Nyarlathotep and all the other great scenarios out there by Chaosium and others, I'm sure I'll find plenty to keep busy with...

[Travern]

10 hours ago, DreadDomain said:

My take would be similar but slightly different than Travern's approach. You absolutely can use the BGB with Astounding Adventures but it is in no way more difficult to use CoC 7e and Pulp Cthulhu.

The Basic Roleplaying rulebook has the advantage of covering more ground in terms of genres. It’s also cheaper. 😉

10 hours ago, DreadDomain said:

I find that with Luck, Push rolls, Bonus/Penalty dice, death only if already majorly wounded, and even more so with double HP and talents from PC, CoC has a tendency to play pulping out of the box.

Yes, the 7th ed. CoC mechanics definitely shifts away from straight-up horror compared to previous editions. In an unexpected side effect, it winds up competing with BRP when people are looking to adapt other settings or try different concepts for their homebrew campaigns, even if they’re outside the horror genre. (It doesn’t help that 7th ed. slightly forked the d100 rules in terms of stats, etc.)

4 hours ago, DamonJynx said:

@Travern, @DreadDomain Yeah, I've been thinking along similar lines. You make a good point about re-skinning Sanity. There are a couple of times where Jack, and other members of his crew nearly give up, so calling it Hope or as you suggest Doom, would probably work.

Also check out how Delta Green, another d100 RPG, uses Willpower Points. One of BRP’s great advantages is the ease that it allows for modular features. By adding a different subsystem or two on top of the main rules, you can greatly change or expand your experience of playing.

[DreadDomain]

9 hours ago, DamonJynx said:

@Travern, @DreadDomain Yeah, I've been thinking along similar lines. You make a good point about re-skinning Sanity. There are a couple of times where Jack, and other members of his crew nearly give up, so calling it Hope or as you suggest Doom, would probably work. Overall, I think I'll save myself the time and not worry about it.

Here's an idea.

• Remove Sanity Points but keep sanity dice, now called "Doom dice"
• Rename "Luck" to "Fate" (or even "Hero Points).
• Fate works exactly as Luck in CoC 7e, but...
• When Doom dice are rolled (because of monstrers, bleak situation, etc...), Doom damage is taken out from Fate. Doom grinds the ability to leverage Fate.
• If a character suffers 5 Doom in one go, they become discouraged, stressed-out, demoralised. They get one penalty die to whatever they attempt until they get the opportunity to "regroup"

9 hours ago, DamonJynx said:

Between Two Headed Serpent, Children of Fear, Masks of Nyarlathotep and all the other great scenarios out there by Chaosium and others, I'm sure I'll find plenty to keep busy with...

Oh yeah...

4 hours ago, Travern said:

The Basic Roleplaying rulebook has the advantage of covering more ground in terms of genres. It’s also cheaper. 😉

But CoC and PC look so much better 😉 . Agreed, as a toolkit, BGB covers more ground but it also means more tinkering to do to adapt to the game you want. CoC/PC minus Sanity feels like pulp right away.

4 hours ago, Travern said:

(It doesn’t help that 7th ed. slightly forked the d100 rules in terms of stats, etc.)

What do you mean by that?

[Travern]

53 minutes ago, DreadDomain said:

> (It doesn’t help that 7th ed. slightly forked the d100 rules in terms of stats, etc.)

What do you mean by that?

Only elements such as how 7th ed. changed stats to 3d6x5 while BRP uses 3d6 and suchlike. These aren’t major differences, but for people new to the system, it’s a mental leap.

53 minutes ago, DreadDomain said:

Remove Sanity Points but keep sanity dice, now called "Doom dice"

Sure, though the thriller genre doesn’t run on the “Doom”/“Fate” spiraling concept (noir, maybe). “Luck” and “Will” reserves that can be depleted and replenished according to story beats are probably more in line. Again, BRP is flexible enough to accommodate modular rules to reflect any number of different genres.

[DreadDomain]

On 2/14/2022 at 7:11 AM, Travern said:

Only elements such as how 7th ed. changed stats to 3d6x5 while BRP uses 3d6 and suchlike. These aren’t major differences, but for people new to the system, it’s a mental leap.

Agreed. I understand why they went 3d6x5 for characteristics in CoC, and it works very well, but I still prefer the 3d6 range

On 2/14/2022 at 7:11 AM, Travern said:

Sure, though the thriller genre doesn’t run on the “Doom”/“Fate” spiraling concept (noir, maybe). “Luck” and “Will” reserves that can be depleted and replenished according to story beats are probably more in line. Again, BRP is flexible enough to accommodate modular rules to reflect any number of different genres.

Good point, "Luck", "Will" "Bad luck", Setback", "Villainy" would also work and probably better than "Fate" and "Doom" for pulp.

Edited February 24, 2022 by DreadDomain

[TheEnclave]

CoC's built on Basic Roleplaying, which is a generic multipurpose system. It definitely encourages some horror themes, but it can easily be used for just about any kind of game in any kind of setting. I've heard of people using Down Darker Trails, a Wild West supplement, for purely Western games with no Cthulhu or horror elements at all, and that's just one example.

Edited February 25, 2022 by TheEnclave

[Ian Absentia]

Call of Cthulhu (pre-7th editions) has long been my go-to game for cross-genre roleplaying.  And even when sticking to horror themes, I've found that it has a conveniently useful sliding scale when it comes to mind-blasting weirdness and supernatural lethality -- it's really just a matter of how much you leave out, or what branch of the Mythos you concentrate on.  Early published adventures even included encounters with werewolves and mummies that weren't consistent with Lovecraftian sensibilities.

If CoC can do "pulp" and the Dreamlands, it can probably do your favorite horror stories.

!i!

[Edit:  The only reason I excepted CoC 7e is because, while I own it, I haven't played it.  I'm sure it would still fit that sweet spot I described above.]

Edited February 26, 2022 by Ian Absentia