I'm getting a little bored of hack-n-slash lately and wanna run some CoC to get some horror fueled weirdness (partially due to by obsessive rewatching of X-Files and Stranger Things). Where the hell do I begin?
1. Where is the most revered version: 7th Edition? 5th? Trail of Cthulhu?
2. What's a good introductory adventure to get a feel for the game?
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Differences are not THAT big between CoC versions. So, imho, it does not really matter. Though my reading of 7E is sparse.
ToC is more narrative. If you want true hardcore Lovecraftian feeling, then the Final Revelation for ToC is the best start. Just expect nothing in the way of combat.
For a pulpier game, stick with CoC. Since I am more of a CoC player, I am not sure about best intro scenario. The corebook comes with a short haunted house scenario, usually.
Bumping you for interest. I want to get my group to play it but they're scared of everything not DnD.
Also if anyone has played Silent Legions, let me know if it was cool or not. Its supposed to be an OSR Lovecraftian sandbox game.
Bought Trail of Cthulhu and was really disappointed by it. 6th is best in my opinion. 7th tried to trim the fat but kept all the BRP crap that is what they should have been trying to cut.
Oh and as for the adventure, theres one in the 6th ed. book that is a perfect intro to CoC
>Bought Trail of Cthulhu and was really disappointed by it
Yeah, the rules are not great. But if you read The Dying of St. Margaret (available solo or as part of Final Revelation)... that is what Lovecraft is all about.
Can you develop what in Toc has disappointed you? I've used ToC and CoC multiple times and I clearly prefer ToC
Too many rules and crunchy shit to be rules lite but it doesn't even give you enough tools to actually play a real game. ToC feels like a halfbaked homebrew. Same issue I have with Dungeon World basically
I see what you mean, thank you.
What's the problem with BRP? I find it rather easy and intuitive. But then again, I grew up playing DnD and GURPS.
Also, OP, I wish you luck. All CoC games I've been in as a player have been a load of godawful pulp.
>lol I unload my dual-wielded thompsons into Cthulhu xD
>lol I have infinite money
>lol the keeper gives us free rerolls for good roleplay (read - bad puns and one-liners)
>"you lose 1d3 sanity for seeing a glimpse of Shub Niggurath"
Theres stuff I like about it and I could see enjoying it as a player. Just as a keeper/judge whatever it's called it felt like too much work for what I was originally sold on.
It's serviceable but especially in the case of CoC, it works antithetically to the idea of being more of a storytelling game. I love CoC though so I can look past it. Don't care for runequest though.
>Theres stuff I like about it and I could see enjoying it as a player. Just as a keeper/judge whatever it's called it felt like too much work for what I was originally sold on.
I've the french version (so translation can interfere in understanding) and I past a lot of times to clearly understand the logic of rules, but once understood they are really simple. The hard part is to understand that ToC has cleary not the same approache than CoC :
- The CoC system focus on find clues.
- The ToC system (Gumshoe) focus on discover the mystery behind clues.
7e is great and much more accessible than 6 or 5.5. It's still compatible, so you can use any materials. But the mechanics are faster, make more sense, and allow for a lot of options that used to be spread over 7 books, some of them BRP, Runequest, or worse, unwritten Keeper lore.
Dowload the free rules
chaosium.com
There's a scenario in there and it's a rite of passage.
There's also a CYOA with chargen if you just want to give it a try
chaosium.com
And if reading is hard on your poor eyes then watch the quick explanations from one of the creators
youtube.com
They also have a great keeper podcast
blasphemoustomes.com
CoC is a generic roleplaying game tuned towards horror with sanity mechanics and deadly balancing. It has decades of tradition, gets played in many different ways, and is generally considered one of the best roleplaying experiences out there.
ToC is a meta framework for inevitable progress that can merely be fleshed out a little with details which are bought with points. I have no use for it.
If CoC seems too imposing (it really isn't) try Dead of Night, Dread, or Cthulhu Dark.
If CoC is 'too hard' on the players then try Pulp Cthulhu.
The lack of tactical combat for one. It's a bit antithetical to lovecraft but it spices up a game session. In CoC, I can switch gears as a GM. Honestly, I wish General Skills were more like CoC and ToC only used its system for Investigative skills.
Also
is not , that's me.
( here) Yeah I can see that. ToC work with a pool system, so the party is more carefull. Sure they can fire on menace with success but they can't do it at vitam aeternam unlike a 98% firearm CoC characters.
>X-Files and Stranger Things
CoC is awesome and will do what you want, mechanically. However, the flavor is more dire than either of those.
Try DELTA GREEN. It's not X-Files, but in the setting X-Files could exist. They'd be the dupes who never get to know anything. DG adds a layer of compromising the characters morally, psychologically, and socially. They have to lie and murder for this job, and they're not even getting payed, but it has to be done!
The classic DG is also deeply settled in the 90s, another parallel to the X-Files. And it would work well for a reversal of Stranger Things where the badges are the /good/ guys. The new DG is hardly out yet, but it is post 9/11 and the landscape as well as the game dynamic has changed. It's not retcon though, it remains a continuous reality.
Here is everything you need to get started
delta-green.com
Let's complete the generic horror crunch dowload-o-rama with Nemesis: ORE mechanics + UA madness
I'd argue Mulder and Scully have seen enough shit to qualify as Friendlies.
Exactly. But to get to an actual cell you have to rise to cancer candidate level. It'd be a senior cell. And as long as Skinner can be handled, the reports Mulder and Scully generate pose no threat of any disclosure. Plus they serve a purpose towards the outside, suggesting the FBI is dealing with things and everything is in order.
...
I have a question myself: what 6e CoC books are good besides the core one? Are there any other adventures on the level of the Haunting out there?
Why 6?
ToC has some of the best Lovecraftian scenarios out there though.
>delta-green.com
this sounds dope, thanks for the link
True. I like the approach to GM materials.
It would be fine if they didn't advertise that they 'fixed' CoC finally and had troves of nublings repeating the ludicrous marketing as supposed game experience.
It is being written right now. The core book should drop "some time between Halloween and Valentine's Day"...
The old DG stands solid and the PDFs are freely available (for purchase or pirating).
Yeah, it cannot replace CoC by any measure. But it's an interesting angle at least.
I found Tales from Sleepless City to have some good adventures in it. Particularly, the one involving an Opera is perhaps my favorite adventure of all time. It's simple enough to run in one night yet filled with some intriguing mechanics.
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