One shot introduction

[TheFugs]

Hello all

Next month my local gameshop will start with RPG nights to introduce it to new players. I will host Cthulhu but i am not sure which scenario to roll.

Should be playable within a few hours with a good feel of what the game is about and how it is different from d&d and sorts.

Prefer a 7th edition scenario because allready hosting 3 campaigns and dont have to much time to prepare, but all suggestions are ok.

Shoot and tell me why i should pick it.

Cheers

[Kyrral]

The Haunting was my first session I ran, but I spoiled a lot of it for myself by skipping a lot of the investigation to get a "first hand look" at the house before going to investigate further. I ultimately went to the basement and found Corbitt before doing half the researching, cutting the scenario short.

The Scenario I started off with (as a Keeper), I still consider to have been my best ran, and a perfect example of Call of Cthulhu should feel like.That scenario is The Edge of Darkness. I'm not sure  where all you can find it, but it's in the 6th edition rulebook for certain.  

Note: Obviously, some spoilers.

Like many, my group had played D&D before, but not CoC or anything similar. As such, I think The Edge of Darkness is a better introduction for this, since it's not as investigation heavy as say "The Haunting", although it is still necessary and your players try to do so.

In EoD, players have a clear connection to one another. Rupert Merriweather are all called to his deathbed. The characters don't have to be connected at all for this. Hell, they're jobs don't even matter, just having some link to Merriweather. which allows for a good opportunity to meet other investigators and people to share in the experience of the awfulness that is the Mythos. 

Players are immediately given a box with questionable contents perfect for investigation, but also clear instructions on where to go and what to do. These contents offer as perfect hooks for future scenarios, but don't have a whole lot of depth to deter the main course, the farmhouse, after having a short stop at Ross's corners.

Now, here's where the advantage of having a group used to D&D starts to thrive.  Unlike The Haunting, raiding the house like a group of merry adventurers is a bad idea. The hobo in the basement offers a token challenge, but should players attempt to kill him it will not only come back to bite them later, but also be a makes an example of morality. Really grind it into the player that they just killed another human. Should they rush to the attic, the death of at least one investigator, almost unquestionably. Foreshadow the consequence, and this offers immediate contrast to their realm of comfort. 

Players will have to work together to make the excorsism ritual work. There is also a good amount of SAN rolls and spooky stuff that happens which makes it easy to set the mood, and really strike fear into your players. The chance of at least one player having a bout of insanity is decent, another mechanic players should be familiar with. 

In conclusion/summary, it gives an easy reason for characters to come together, speaks a bit louder on action rather than investigation like most players will be used to, and encourages good habit building for future scenarios. It need not be long, and could be finished in under four hours fairly easily, and offers quite a few hooks to continue the campaign.

[Matt_E]

You may like this:

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/193 ... s_id=10499

I wrote it for Mythras, as dark fantasy, but I think you could find enough hooks for CoC.  (For example, the Big Bad very easily could be a lesser minion of one of the Great Old Ones.)  It is meant to have CoC flavor.

 

[Mysterioso]

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/192842/The-Fenworthy-Inheritance