Cthulhutech: Full Eldritch Jacket - #CFCthulhutech Go Go Go!

Rainfall

Critical Failures Presents
CTHULHUTECH: Face Damnation


The world sucks. Everyone knows it.
And that was BEFORE the Migou came to earth and started trying to kill everyone.
Also, it was before fish-men came up out of the sea and dragging people away, sacrificing them as they tried to find their god.
Before the Dead-God was awoken on the Plateau of Leng, and his Cults swept over Asia.

So now the world really sucks. And someone needs to save it, or die trying.

Cthulhutech is a game set in the future, in 2085. Humanity has discovered how to mix arcane principles with technology, and coined the somewhat cliched term 'arcanotech' to describe it. Unfortunately, aliens from a planet just past Pluto, the Migou, decided that they had the copyright, and so decided to invade Earth.

Meanwhile, the stars are almost right, and Cthulhu(yes that Cthulhu) is preparing to rise from the briny deep, so his cultists are searching for R'lyeh and killing a lot of people in the process.

Oh, and Hastur(yes that Hastur) has decided to show up on the Plateau of Leng in Asia, and his monsters and crazed cultists are murdering and raping their way across Asia.

So humanity seems pretty pooched. What do we have going for us?

1. Arcanotech! We've got infinite power sources and we're almost post-scarcity economy. Not quite, but almost. We don't have nanotech, but we can pull some crazy stunt.

2. Giant robots! Yes, that's right. Arcanotech means that we're putting mecha on the battlefield against all the nasties. Of course, they also have giant robots, so it's fair play. All the standard equipment applies. Laser cannons, rocket pods, swords, etc.

3. Even larger robots! The Engel Project decided to fuse our mecha technology with alien beings. Think EVAs and you're pretty much there. Only a few people can pilot these babies, but they trump anything the aliens and monsters can put on the field.

4. Psychic powers, sorcery, and the home field advantage.
Well, we don't really have that last one. But we can pull out dirty tricks, and quite frankly we're holding our own, as you can see from this map just below. It's not easy, but we're alive.
Still, we need some people to save our asses.

Map of the World As It Stands, 2085:

The Rapine Storm are Hastur's guys, the Esoteric Order of Dagon are Cthulhu's, and the Migou are the aliens. The Nazzadi are space drow and not too important in the grand scheme of things.

SO MAYBE YOU READ ALL THAT, MAYBE NOT. This bit is about the game I'm running.
I'm running a game! It will be on IRC, hopefully weekly. It will be held on a day that is not a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Thursday seems likely, but we'll see.

NOTHING HERE IS SET IN STONE.

I've got a few ideas for games, and I'm willing to run any of them. Mostly, I want to run a game that everyone wants to play in. Here's what I'm thinking. I'm also open to more ideas.

1. Mecha/Engels

This would be set in China, holding the borders against the Rapine Storm and the Migou simultaneously. It would be pretty action heavy, a grim relentless pace as the soldiers of the NEG try to hold their own against completely absurd forces. Character interaction would be between squadmates and soldiers, trying to hold each other together, since nobody can really take a break for psych treatment when they're in the hottest zone on earth.

2. Soldiers/Technicians

65 miles northwest of Las Vegas lies the old Nevada Hydrogen Bomb test site. It hosted the Weisskopf project, focused on creating tiny wormholes for teleportation. Militarily invaluable research.
Then it exploded, and created 'The Zone.' 160 miles across, it's a circular area of shifting black nothing. Only things come out of it that try to eat people.
So there's an entire mechanized regiment and a few companies of troops there to stop it from eating the entire world. This wouldn't be quite as action-packed as the Mecha game, and it would be a lot about character interaction and possibly stranger goings-on. Still, you'd get to shoot monsters.

3. Tagers

You work for the Eldritch Society. You're fused with an alien beast that lets you fight against the monstrous creatures of the Chrysalis Corporation. The Thousand Masks of Nyarlathotep are hunting you. And, well, you're hunting them. This would be set inside one of the arcologies, Seattle or New York, and be a noir-ish, very grim investigation game. Battles would be deadly, player death would be a distinct possibility. So, y'know, grimdark.

4. GhOST

These are the best of the best. Para-psychics, sorcerers, mutants, and geniuses. They're the people you call when you want a job fucking done. The players are a GhOST team, on assignment to find R'lyeh. Find it before the Esoteric Order of Dagon does, and blow it the hell up. So, y'know, a team of guys going to kill Cthulhu. There's only an entire ocean full of fishmen and Deep Ones and giant sharks and so on to stop them.

So those are the four gameseeds that I've got. If you're interested, post in the thread. Hell, if nobody wants to play we can at least talk about this game. Ancient Enemies, the supplement that focuses on Tagers and their nemesis, the Dhohanoids, is coming out soon, and it's going to be rad as hell.

ONE LAST THING: Damnation View is out. That's a book that has a bunch of plotlines and world development. The first chapter is really cool, it has a lot of information on music and fashion and stuff like that. Don't touch anything after that, because it develops the story and I'm going to go there.

Plutonium

I'm totally in on this.

simonwolf

You know I'd be in like McGuinn!

I like the mecha and Engels seed most, but they are all good ideas.

Plutonium

Either Mecha/Engels or Ghosts seem awesome.

simonwolf

Now that I have seen that picture, GhOST is appealing to me so much

Egos

Im with the Mech or Ghost likers.

Soldier has potential though, if it played out like the Thing or Dead Space

adventfalls

Mecha or GhOST looks cewl.

INeedNoSalt

This doesn't look like No More Heroes at all!

cj iwakura

GhOST does look really cool.

Egos

INeedNoSalt wrote: »

This doesn't look like No More Heroes at all!

wait till the light saber-esque swords are introduced mid-way.

Rainfall

That would be a travesty. Seriously. Anyway, looks like there's enough interest to roll with either Mechs in China or Terror From The Deep(Cthulhutech edition)

To flesh them out a bit more...

1. Mechs in China.
I'd be tempted to say no Engels here, just because of the nature of the conflict and how it's more defensive than aggressive. Also, the psychological toll would be really high in this game, with no real hope of relief. 'Twould be brutal, unforgiving, and I'd like to see where it goes. I'd be able to take the time to really flesh out your border area, take some maps off of googlemaps for details, build rapport with superior officers, and the like.
This also plays right into the best campaign in Damnation View, so I like that.

2. GhOST: Terror From The Deep
Everyone would be starting at a higher power level than normal, probably via extra cheat points. I'd expect everyone to either have some magical skills or be a para-psychic, with a focus on being total badasses. You'd be able to effectively requisition any kind of equipment required, so there'd be mech portions as well as groundpounding investigative work.
You wouldn't be fighting Migou much if at all, it would be all about the cults. Run-ins with the Chrysalis Corporation and the EOD, as well as possibly having to head into the Plateau of Leng to find long-lost knowledge, stuff like that. It would be pretty radical.

Zandracon

Sounds interesting. And it looks like it'll be set around the weekend, even better!

Rainfall

Right, well with Zandracon, Plutonium, Egos, CJ, AF, and Simonwolf all interested... that's enough for me to say that this is going to be run.

Toss out character concepts and the like! Talk about which you'd rather do, Mechs or GhOSTs. There's still time for other people to jump in, obviously.

Egos

Something I'm curious about since I don't have the campaign settings with me right this exact second. I know the Engel pilots don't have the longest life span. Now I wasn't sure if this was due to the mental strain or because of the fact they see so much action and their are a limited number of Engels.

For some reason I thought it was the later.

Zandracon

Egos wrote: »

Something I'm curious about since I don't have the campaign settings with me right this exact second. I know the Engel pilots don't have the longest life span. Now I wasn't sure if this was due to the mental strain or because of the fact they see so much action and their are a limited number of Engels.

For some reason I thought it was the later.

From skimming the text, it's both, I believe.

Rainfall

Engels are in incredibly limited supply. They're also the most effective weapons against the Migou and the Cults. They end up where the action is hottest, every time. Combine constant combat stress with the weakened psychological resolve of Engel pilots, and they go crazy pretty quickly. They also get blown up a lot, because as good as they are, they aren't quite invulnerable yet.

There's no adverse effects on the physical health of Engel pilots, aside from the frequent exploding, but since it's just been a short time since they rolled onto the battlefield, there may be long-term stuff that has yet to be unveiled.

The going crazy tends to be survivable, though. The NEG has really good psychiatric care, and they like to give it to their military. Provided you don't snap in the middle of a battlefield and die, they pull you off for a few months and get you going again.

If you guys haven't made up your minds by Thursday as to which campaign you want to play, I'll be choosing. From there... probably a week or so until we start.

Powerslave

I hardly see Cthulhutech games, so count me in. I'm partial to Engels or GhOST, with Tagers a distant third, but any one of them would be great.

Premier kakos

Count me the fuck in. GhOST or Soldier/Technicians would be my choice.

Egos

And the candyman is back in town.

felt like saying something somewhat epic

Rainfall

In order of who's posted, this is what I've got:

Plutonium: GhOSTs/Mechs
Simonwolf: GhOSTs/Mechs
Egos: GhOSTs/Mechs
Adventfalls: GhOSTs/Mechs
cj Iwakura: GhOSTs
Powerslave: GhOSTs/Mechs
Kakos: GhOSTs/Soldiers

So right now it looks like more people want to go Cthulhu-hunting than mech-jockeying. Let me know if you prefer one over the other, Plut, Simon, Egos, AF, and Powerslave.

Plutonium

GhOSTs, I guess seems more fun.

Egos

I'd say Mech over Ghosts. Though GhOSTs could be cool if the right party is put together. I could see it be cornball though we got the wrong crew... like too much Bad Assery in one place.

If it was kinda akin to Hellboy where everyone has a pretty distinct role (the bruiser, the AoE'r, the scout/ambibian guy, the scientist, etc.), it could be pretty neat. If its more like X-Men (everyone is a kick ass gymnast + some other power), not quite as much.

cj iwakura

Is there anything that needs to be considered for creation? Because I'm not familiar with the book(or much of anything Cthulhu really).

Egos

You can be an Alien created from the Migou that look exactly like Human beings but are Grey and have cool tats...

I think they're a bit lame...at least if you play them in a Drizzt-esque (cool boy) style.

Powerslave

cj iwakura wrote: »

Is there anything that needs to be considered for creation? Because I'm not familiar with the book(or much of anything Cthulhu really).

The Macross hurricane slammed into the Evangelion typhoon at the Cthulhu cold front. Tragically, a crew of Guyvers fishing for pulp comics lost their lives in what was known as the perfect storm... of geek.

The core book sort of suffers in that it decided to include three or four different game types all with radical alterations to the power level and system, and THEN only fleshes them out in supplements. As far as the story, quickly summarized: aliens invaded with genetically-altered humans who defected to earth's side, eldritch abominations broke free of the dimensions over in China, ancient cultists are searching for the ancient city of their slumbering demigod, an evil corporation which is a front for even more eldritch monsters is in a struggle with a secret society of even more guys using less-evil eldritch monsters, and mankind has cooked up genetically-altered giant robots, regular giant robots, and X-Files/Hellboy/X-Men organizations to try and deal with the issue.

So what should be considered is that you should know what game type and character you're shooting for, or you can get lost trying to trace through all the other stuff.

Edit: And I'd prefer Engels/Mecha over GhOST, provided there are Engels.

JacquesCousteau

Why do I never check the forums?!

I'm afraid of that other game I'm supposed to play in.

But anyway, I wanna get in on the fun and because tomorrow is my last day of the semester I have time to dick around with a new system. gHoS75 sounds like the cooliest out of the two most popular options.

I'm thinking of a big-brain type guy with all these overarching plans that he lets out on a need-to-know basis to his comrades. Manipulative, underhanded and ice cold type of guy who is willing to make small sacrifices (literally and otherwise) to preserve the world.

Maybe he kind of looks like Gordon Freeman?

Rainfall

Powerslave wrote: »

Edit: And I'd prefer Engels/Mecha over GhOST, provided there are Engels.

I already said that Engels would probably not be occurring in a mech game.

Anyway, for those of you without Vade Mecum...

1. Get Vade Mecum. It's really sweet, and you'll need it to build a para-psychic(or it adds more sorcery options for you magic-users.)

2. GhOSTs are the elite of the elite, super-agents of the NEG. They're totally black-ops, nobody except the highest ranked members of the NEG even know about them. If they want something, they get it. They are all, without exception, either para-psychics or sorcerers, although they aren't necessarily experts at either. They work in small teams on assignments to save the world. If you want big damn heroes, they're the ones.
Of course, they're doing black-ops for the super-fascist human government, so they don't have to be nice.
You'll all be part of the same GhOST team, so getting along with the other PCs is a must. Just sayin'. Minor conflicts are fine, major conflicts are not.

JacquesCousteau

You know how I'm not typically a shit disturber RF. I just play hard. Reading the core book right now.

simonwolf

Personally, I don't really like the GhOST one as much as the mechs - GhOSTs strikes me as being a pretty "generic" kind of setting for this kind of play, while the mech game seems like it could be a refreshing change in pace from the usual "we're a team of super-awesome dudes who kick butt and kill the occult, that is how we roll" game that gets played.

Plus I want my mech's callsign to be Snugglebot, is that so much to ask

cj iwakura

I think it would be very easy for a GhOST team to get in way over their heads in this kind of setting.

Crimson King

Now I have no idea how this game works, but you should definitely set something in Purple New Zealand and Tasmania. I'm assuming what happened is all that incest and sheep-shagging finally caught up with them to produce wold-conquering mutant monstrosities?

JacquesCousteau

Door after door hisses open as a man in a black suit walks through the countless barrage of rays and scans that ID him as Craig Wensen. The last of the doors has a small cup that looks like a soap dish protruding from the wall - a nickel-sized hole above it. With a clink, a small disc - plastic in appearance - dispenses into the dish and in several languages a computerized female voice says, "Please swab disc and place in reader."

With familiarity the man in black grasps the disk between two finger nails and runs it along the inside of his cheek before placing it in a small circular indent in the centre of the soap dish. After a few moments, the final door hisses open, revealing a spartan and thoroughly-white foyer. Doors stretch into the distance past a large central staircase that climbs into the white distance.

In the foyer, a single desk curves seamlessly from the floor. A woman in her mid-twenties, Susan Pickering, sits behind it and surveys the man for a moment, her eyes widening slightly with recognition. 

[I]oh dear that must be him younger than I thought they say he'd kill his own mother to get the job done - really hates the enemy calmer than I'd imagined doesn't look as ruthless as they say - can't even tell his father was one of them[/I]

"I didn't kill her myself - I just led the force back in my NEG days. But that's classified. So is my family status - but I suppose I can't blame you for the rumours. It's the truth that my dad was one of those fishmen hybrids. You can use that around the water cooler. And to answer your next question, no you didn't say that out loud. And my meeting with McGoughry? Thanks."

The woman sits in stunned silence as "Black" Craig Wensen walks past her desk towards the Director's office. [I]I thought this was his first time here how does he know? were his lips moving?[/I] Susan Pickering shudders and goes back to work.

Pre-emptive strike!

Egos

Susan Pickering?

And Crimson King, your post disturbs me on all sorts of levels :winky:

INeedNoSalt

JacquesCousteau wrote: »

oh dear that must be him younger than I thought they say he'd kill his own mother to get the job done - really hates the enemy calmer than I'd imagined doesn't look as ruthless as they say - can't even tell his father was one of them

"I didn't kill her myself - I just led the force back in my NEG days. But that's classified. So is my family status - but I suppose I can't blame you for the rumours. It's the truth that my dad was one of those fishmen hybrids. You can use that around the water cooler. And to answer your next question, no you didn't say that out loud. And my meeting with McGoughry? Thanks."

Egos wrote: »

I'd say Mech over Ghosts. Though GhOSTs could be cool if the right party is put together. I could see it be cornball though we got the wrong crew... like too much Bad Assery in one place

i loled

JacquesCousteau

I was trying to be more rude. But good point. hahaha.

INeedNoSalt

Egos wrote: »

Susan Pickering?

And Crimson King, your post disturbs me on all sorts of levels :winky:

at least it's not susan pickman

JacquesCousteau

Uh Pickering is a town in Ontario. That is in Canada.

Egos

just sounds funny, like Hammermen.

Is it still up in the air whether its mech or ghost or does JC know something we don't?

Egos

so Ms. Rain, is it ok we post various character concepts for both Mech and GhOst? I have some base ideas for either.

JacquesCousteau wrote: »

Uh Pickering is a town in Ontario. That is in Canada.

Wow...you mean to tell me this whole time Ontario is in Canada. Here I thought all these people I knew were Peruvian.
Now you'll tell me that Toronto isn't in Brazil and that Montreal isn't in Sri Lanka.

Rainfall

Sure, go ahead. The hard work of making a concept for both means that at least one will be wasted, though.

Rainfall

So, let's talk about time, everyone.

This is an IRC game. That means that every week, you'll have to devote a few hours straight to playing this game. That means that I need a commitment for you to show up. I've had a lot of people blow off games on a regular basis, and it is not cool.

So if you feel that you can spare 3-5 hours a week to play Cthulhutech, then you're in. I don't care if you never post in the thread while the game runs, or if you even talk to me outside of it, but if you want to play the game, then make sure that you'll be able to play it.

Now, my time is not 100% reliable. I have a job that puts me on flexible schedules. I can attempt to get Thursday nights off, and probably succeed, but the time may vary from week to week. I'll let you know as soon as I get my schedule, so that you don't waste time, but if you're not cool with that, it might be difficult for you to play.

So.

Day: Thursday, Weekly.

Time Zone: MST (GMT -07:00

Start Time: Between 9 PM and 12 midnight.

Duration: 3-5 hours.
Later nights will run on the shorter end, because I have to sleep as well.

If you can't make this, then too bad. If NOBODY/less than three people can make it, then I'll reschedule. I'm attaching this to the OP, and I'll be making a list of everyone who can make it out then.

Edit: I'm still going to decide which game happens this Thursday.

Also.

IF YOU CAN'T MAKE 3-5 HOURS A WEEK ON A REGULAR BASIS, JUST LEAVE. I DO NOT WANT YOU.