Converting my unofficial Pulp Cthulhu campaign

[Mankcam]

I have been running the Masks Of Nylarthotep campaign for quite some time, and it has been a rollicking adventure which owes more to Indiana Jones than H.P. Lovecraft at this stage. Such a well crafted campaign, full of flavour, and I can see why it has captured the imaginations of many in the gaming community.

 

I really wanted to run a long pulp era Mythos campaign, but didn't want the hassles of TPK from both a GM and player perspective.

I think for one-shot scenarios my players would like the investigative horror genre of CoC, but for a longer commitment they are much more into cinematic adventure.

 

So this campaign has definitely been firmly in the 'pulp' camp rather than a 'purist' camp by design. I could not wait for the official Pulp Cthulhu rules to be released, so I ended up making Call Of Cthulhu fit my needs instead.

 

I am in the process of updating it to run with CoC 7E rules, as I think this edition has aspects that lends itself well to cinematic play from the outset.

 

I have found that the main thing with running any 'Pulp' game over a 'Purist' game is the setting flavour created by the GM.

In addition to this, having a very liberal view of the scope of Skills can also play a huge role in a cinematic game. I find that this encourages very colourful descriptions of what the characters try to achieve with their skills, and can be alot of fun. These things won't really change regardless of which edition I use, as they are more narrative approaches rather than actual game mechanics.

 

My only issue is that in my current game the PCs each have a few 'trademark' talents that we came up with, and these are notions that I will need to presently consider. In my current BRP/CoC 6E rules, I portrayed these extraordinary abilities by importing the Stunts system from BRP Blood Tide, and have made a few new ones up.

Stunts use Power Points just like spells, but are natural abilities rather than magical, and are designed to emulate cinematic play.

 

For example, 'Trick Shot' allows the PC to ignore a circumstantial negative modifier (ie; uneven ground, blurred vision, etc) for 1 MP, whereas 'Steely Gaze' demoralises an opponent down to half skill chance.

 

The main problem is that sometimes these Stunts feel a little overpowered for the level of pulp I am going for (think something between Magnum/Burn Notice and Raiders Of The Lost Ark). Generally these abilities will play in a way that feels right for the game setting; however occasionally these Stunts can feel almost like activating Super Powers, which really isn't what I was initially after.

 

These abilities need to feel different from Super Powers or Magical Spells, so having a similar game mechanic to portray them may not have been my best solution, despite its ease of implementation.

 

The nature of the game still needs to be challenging, otherwise it just becomes too predictable, but I certainly don't want to see TPK unless it is a result of pure stupidity. So it is a balancing act here.

 

My solution for a Pulp CoC 7E is to keep these abilities, but I am re-envisioning the concept by using a house rule I named 'Stretching Your Luck'.

 

This is essentially an extension of the optional rule for 'Spending Your Luck', except I want to reduce the cost of Luck depletion for particular situations.

 

For example, 'Trickshot' would allow a reduced Luck cost for failed Firearms rolls due to incurred Penalty Dice (for situations like uneven ground, blurred vision, etc), or 'Steely Gaze' allows for reduced Luck expenditure for failed Intimidate or Persuade rolls.

 

It also stops the actual feel of 'activating' a Stunt, and brings it back to core skill use and lucky chances.

 

I think this feels more in the low to mid pulp flavour I am trying to emulate, which is along the lines of 'High Road To China' or 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark'. Indiana Jones feels more like he is a character with some trademark abilities who happens to survive just as much by luck than anything else (perhaps moreso in the first Raiders film where he was portrayed with slightly less plot immunity).

 

The characters would still be able to spend Luck at the usual rate for other actions, so it would only be cheaper for their particular trademark abilities.

 

I don't want Luck to be too cheap, however, otherwise it may lose its value. On the other hand, I still want to retain a pulpy flavour to the characters.

 

 

My question is:

 " What should the cost for 'Stretching Your Luck' be?"

 

 

I initially considered 1 Luck Point per 5%, but this may possibly be a little excessive.

At the moment I'm trying to work out whether 1 Luck Point  for 2% or 3% is in the vicinity I should be aiming, or whether it should remain 1 Luck Point for 5%..

 

I would certainly welcome any advice or suggestions on how other GMs may approach this

 

Edited May 12, 2016 by Mankcam

[Mysterioso]

Not much help to you but what you've done sounds like it would be VERY fun to play.

Edited May 8, 2016 by Mysterioso

[Mankcam]

Hmmm one reply within 5 days...not much interest at the moment I guess...!

Edited May 12, 2016 by Mankcam

[Mankcam]

Yes, ToC certainly has captured a fair bit of the old CoC market, and as you say, it does have a big presence on Yoggie. 

I guess if I ask the same question in twelve months from now then it may gather more interest. However there should hopefully be official Pulp CoC 7E rules by then (but history has taught us not to hold our breath for this!)

It will be interesting to see how it holds up to ToC and whether or not it reclaims fans back from Gumshoe to BRP

Honestly I think tweaking the Luck rules for particular trademark abilities is all that is required, as CoC 7E is handwavey enough to do low to mid Pulp quite well.

 

Edited May 13, 2016 by Mankcam

[K Peterson]

16 hours ago, Mankcam said:

Yes, ToC certainly has captured a fair bit of the old CoC market, and as you say, it does have a big presence on Yoggie. 
...
It will be interesting to see how it holds up to ToC and whether or not it reclaims fans back from Gumshoe to BRP

From my experience with it, ToC really seems to offer such a different play experience than CoC, even 7th edition. Pulp or Purist, it turns the storygaming-dial so far away from traditional play that I'd wonder if any converts would want to go back in the direction of CoC. Even with some of the rules tweaks and options that have come about in 7e.

And, isn't there supposed to be a ToC 2nd edition in the works? I thought I'd seen some posts about it on other forums.

[Mankcam]

Not sure what is happening with ToC 2E, I think I read that it may be a possible kickstarter project at some stage.

 

In regards to my own house rules for the Stretching Luck mechanic I think I may end up going for a Stretching Your Luck to be 1 Luck Point for 5% of skills points. It seems pretty cinematic, and I think it sounds reasonable, not too overpowered for low to mid pulp settings.

 

 

Edited May 14, 2016 by Mankcam