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[Expressions Interest Wanted] Trail of Cthulhu
Aegeri
Tiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered User regular
Tiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered User regular
So as I have been successfully running my Delta Green game, I have been wondering about running a second PbP with some of the material I have written in another system called Trail of Cthulhu. Trail of Cthulhu, as opposed to Chaosiums Call of Cthulhu, is a strictly historical setting version of CoC but using the Gumshoe system instead of Chaosiums. So far I have been intriged at the idea of horror roleplaying in the 1930s depression and I am wondering if anyone would be interested in playing in a game I would run here. Particularly, there are two ways of playing the game:
Pure: Which is basically like my Delta Green game. Combat is lethal, you're likely to go insane eventually and there is an air on inevitability about eventual death or insanity.
In effect this:
Pulp: Which is more like an old action/adventure comic or similar. You can take more damage, there isn't such an air of horror to the game and eventual insanity I don't think is always a given. I like to think of this as the way the Fantasy Flight Cthulhu games tend to work moreso than my Delta Green game or traditional Call of Cthulhu (where avoiding monsters is the best idea).
In effect this:
Bear in mind I am not saying I will run a game, but I am getting interest in doing so from people here and if there is enough I will more than likely do so. I'm primarily interested if people would like to run pure - which is basically 1930s historical setting horror or if they would like a more pulpy action adventure campaign (which would be more like Arkham Horror: The Roleplaying Game). I am very happy to run either of these things.
Edit: So after thinking about this, I know what kind of game I now want to run and actually I think I will adapt one of my Delta Green scenarios into Gumshoe, which I feel fits this game in theme and mechanics better. I was originally going to set my game in New York, but then I thought about the fact America is a really vast place and I should do something different. So I'm going to start this game in Cleveland Ohio, which will take me some time to read up on the history of the place, the state and such to run a convincing game inside of (I know much more about 1920s New York, but my Delta Green game is in New York). I am looking to see if there are easily accessed rules summaries or similar online for you right now.
Pure: Which is basically like my Delta Green game. Combat is lethal, you're likely to go insane eventually and there is an air on inevitability about eventual death or insanity.
In effect this:
Pulp: Which is more like an old action/adventure comic or similar. You can take more damage, there isn't such an air of horror to the game and eventual insanity I don't think is always a given. I like to think of this as the way the Fantasy Flight Cthulhu games tend to work moreso than my Delta Green game or traditional Call of Cthulhu (where avoiding monsters is the best idea).
In effect this:
Bear in mind I am not saying I will run a game, but I am getting interest in doing so from people here and if there is enough I will more than likely do so. I'm primarily interested if people would like to run pure - which is basically 1930s historical setting horror or if they would like a more pulpy action adventure campaign (which would be more like Arkham Horror: The Roleplaying Game). I am very happy to run either of these things.
Edit: So after thinking about this, I know what kind of game I now want to run and actually I think I will adapt one of my Delta Green scenarios into Gumshoe, which I feel fits this game in theme and mechanics better. I was originally going to set my game in New York, but then I thought about the fact America is a really vast place and I should do something different. So I'm going to start this game in Cleveland Ohio, which will take me some time to read up on the history of the place, the state and such to run a convincing game inside of (I know much more about 1920s New York, but my Delta Green game is in New York). I am looking to see if there are easily accessed rules summaries or similar online for you right now.
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*Noting that in no way do I let that just end the game, but it's an example of how you can set something up and a poor roll may deny players important information. Gumshoe just says "You succeeded" and puts emphasis on interpreting these clues.
If that makes sense.
I've updated the OP a bit with some pictures. My apologies for the general lack of information so far, I'm not entirely certain what I am wanting to do with this yet as I've only had the rules a couple of days. I'm getting a pretty good idea very quickly though! I did find they had an online character builder and I am trying to see if there is any good quickstart or basic explanation of the rules. So far as far as I can tell this system works by having two levels of "clues" and is a little unintuitive sounding at first.
Essentially you have skills like any other roleplaying games and these skills have a set number of points. When on an investigation there are necessary and unnecessary clues, with necessary clues being uncovered when you do the bare minimum to find them - EG my example from the OP of searching the garden to discover the bloody footprints. Then there are unnecessary clues, which add more information or detail, but require you to spend the "points" you have in your skills to discover. So to continue my example noticing the bloody footprints would be one thing, noticing the wet slime hidden underneath the windowsill would require spending points in the relevant skill to notice. Although you have a fair amount of these points, they are a finite resource over an investigation and so have to be spent wisely, otherwise you may not have them when you really do need them!
I'm very interested in giving this game a go now I am reading more about it. It has some solutions to some of the problems I have had with Call of Cthulhu for a while now.
That's super classy.
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After reading the rules, I am actually going to combine some pulp elements with the purist elements in this game. For example, all drives will be available and some of the way skills work will also use their pulpy elements. I am probably going to keep skill points a little lower than the default though. We will also be using the pulp rules for pillars of stability - which are basically people or NPCs your characters know who help stabilise themselves.
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Well originally I was going to run the first module from the actual book, but I have now used it as inspiration for structure as opposed to anything else. So I am now using loose elements of it in the game, but it's pretty much entirely different by this point and doesn't resemble the original module that much outside of some really basic story. I rewrote much of it for my own purposes basically.
I am deciding to use a combination of some pulp rules with nearly all of the purist rules in place. For example, I really like the pulp rules for having people or associates as sources of stability for a characters mental health. I actually think this is tremendously appropriate to the game. If you have a really good justification and an occupation/concept that would have non-human sources of stability (say your characters job or maybe something as simple as being able to write) that would also be permissible. NPCs though make the game deeper, provide me more ways of introducing your character to the investigation and of course provide your enemies with tangible targets to attack you (outside of yourselves).
Edit: And I am not using any further official modules in this game at the moment, but I do have the story all planned out actually. There will be some globe trotting in the game as well.
If you can't tell, I really like this system :P
Edit: And just so you know (loosely) what the choice will be
Ghosts of Innsmouth (1936 USA)
or
Black Hound of London (1932 England).