Characters Favorite Weapon vs Players favorite Weapon

[CDL113]

Ok, so earlier today during our D&D game while we were eating lunch we were discussing our groups upcoming CoC game. Now in our D&D game every player has their preferred weapon that deals X amount of damage and make their character cool carrying it even though the actual person would prefer to carry a different weapon for one reason or another but said weapon deals less damage so they opt for the extra damage and cool factor. I've been guilty of doing both.

As keeper do you see this in you games?

As players which way do you go in picking you weapons?

As both does this become a problem during the game?

[klecser]

I explain to my players that 1) Call of Cthulhu is a quasi-realistic game and so they need to consider seriously whether their player would actually carry a weapon.  Most people don't.  2)Any weapon they do carry is probably pretty useless.

It's your game, so you can do whatever you want.

My favorite CoC weapon is my brain.

[CDL113]

As a player, the games that I was involved the Keeper at the time was running  us in the Delta Green setting. So having your character was not only a given but a must. We never knew if we were going to be facing human enemies or monsters from beyond. And I do agree with klecser that the brain is the players best weapon 80-90% of the time. I also agree that depending on the monster that you run into the actual weapons be it knife/sword or pistol/rifle can prove useless. But my question or point was do the players in your games go straight for the weapons "that deal the most damage" or do they go for the weapons that actually fit their characters background/occupation?

[Reanimator]

IME,  players choose only initial weapons that make sense for their characters. For many investigators that means a tool that can be used as a weapon in  pinch, like a jackknife or a cane. Handguns are pretty common for P.I.s and other tough guys who deal with shady characters and potentially dangerous situations. The girl reporter probably relies on her Scream for Help 55% skill--  but women do carry little guns in handbags just as men wear them in tailored coat pockets...

Academics? Sure, they might own guns, but most won't carry them about concealed as a matter of course, unless the setting is urban and high crime.

 

Later, investigators may start packing car trunks with things like shotguns, jerry cans of kerosene, axes, and so on. It depends on what monsters they've encountered (and survived).

Local ordinances about firearms are a factor players may consider. Is unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon worth the trouble that might result if were police to find an unlicensed gun on an investigator during a search? Maybe. Maybe not.

 

 

 

 

 

I usually run games in 1920s America. 

 

 

 

[CDL113]

You made the exact point that I was going for Reanimator, a player outfitting a character with the tool/weapon that fits their background/occupation & the setting not just the tool/weapon that does the most damage all the time like the would in say a D&D or Pathfinder game. This game will be set in modern day, so gun permits WILL be a MUST HAVE!! And riding around with loads of questionable flammables/explosives, ammo, guns, & what-not, WILL RAISE POLICE SUPISION in my game!