How would you run a campaign where The Thing actually ends up in a big city?

Well, I agree but if you want to make an interesting campaign out of it you'll have to nerf the thing quite a bit.

There would be a minimum mass of some kind, since otherwise it would've just infected various microbes on the base.

Just run The Blob instead.

I'd always assumed that the thing was dumped on earth as a sort of prison planet, the "ship" was more a drop pod. No sentient life to help it escape. iirc it crash landed here in like 100,000 BC, so it would just assimilate the life here and be trapped, toss a buoy into space saying "do not fuck with, horrible parasite", and call it a day.

We had it where a player character was a The Thing before, more or less. "She" kept under the radar partly because in a magic setting it was much easier to deal with a potential infection, but mostly because "she" was more individualistic if that makes sense, and didn't like the idea of competition with "herself" through a spread infection.

As for just in general or a modern setting, you could do it that some people are immune to the infecting nature. Like their immune system is strong enough to fight off the invading cells, or their physiological makeup just doesn't jive with The Thing. Of course they can still be easily killed by just being eaten, stabbed, ripped apart or whatever else a Thing monster could do to them, but being infected and succumbing isn't a danger. Naturally, they would be in a minority of people, who are immune.

I think it's minimum is a cellular level, so fairly complex. nothing as bad as say a virus. the tests the scientist was running just had one cell vs another, with assimilation taking place

>implying that anything in CoC ISN'T already a game over scenario

I mean... yeah.

The issue I see with that is this.
What would the Thing do? We know it's 100% infectious and contagious, but what is it's goal? Would is wage war on the not-things? Would it be some weird society where everyone is a thing and all is good in the world? Who knows

>tfw we live in a world already Thing'd
>tfw the only reason we don't realize is becaue everyone and everything is already a Thing so we have no reason to do Thing-like behavior/physical displays
>tfw if for example, an alien one day crash landed in your house, you would start shifting and turning monstrous due to the presence of a non-Thing

there isn't a way to do this properly, anything short of continuous nuclear bombardment wouldn't be enough if it was in a big city

though not canon
clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/

I like to think it is, simply because it makes so much sense and is well written. tl;dr: the hivemind that is the thing is benevolent and taking pity on our horrible alien individualistic existances and is going to bring us into the fold, by force as is probably necessary.

Jed approves of this post.

You don't. The Thing is only possible because it's Antarctica, anywhere with any kind of biomass makes it unstoppable. It just has to dip a tendril into the sewers and start converting cockroaches, then have them all swarm. A single cockroach bite infects, and suddenly the whole city, then the surrounding area, and finally the whole goddamned world if infected.

Fuck, if it dips a tendril into the ocean, it's basically connected to liquid biomass and everything is fucked. Only because it's stuck on the lifeless, freezing ice that it's stopped from ultimately eating everything.

The moment it hits hospitable area, you are fucking done. It takes over everything. Within hours all insects could be carriers. And that means everyone can be a carrier from that moment on.

I'm not sure people fully understand why the story takes place in such isolatated place like Arctic research facility, where there is literally no other life within few hundreds of kilometers.

Pretty sure that the infected are just 'actors' and not actually unaware people infected. They are fully taken over by the thing, as in killed and eaten, and then basically reborn. Remember the half-formed person in the movie?

Hm, I never noticed any infections in the movie, what I remember is that it killed people, ate them, and then slowly spawned a copy.

Except I can draw blood from my body, put a heated wire to it, and nothing will happen. If I were I a "Thing", it'd invoke a fight or flight response in the blood. Like in the movie.
Also the Thing can't copy metal objects and I've got fillings.

All kind of perfectly sensible ways to prove you're not the Thing.

By committing a suicide.

Fuck big city, the moment it hits fucking ocean you are dead. The moment it hits land, you are dead. The planet is taken over, it's that simple. And your best bet is to pop your own cap, assuming you are still you.

Not him, but fuckload of things aren't. In fact, not counting a "deity" waking up, most of the stuff is perfectly possible to contain.

And The Thing is nowhere near deity "class" danger, it's just a simple impostor being that can easily fuck your planet over without some big whoopas event. Hell, you won't even notice it already took over entire biosphere

I remember reading a story that was The Thing from it's perspective linked here once.

...

It was shown in the film that Thing cells can take over individual cells. That was part of what inspired the original plan to test for who was the Thing. An entire 15 minute plot arc revolved around it. The Thing destroyed the fresh blood in the medical room to prevent this from happening so it's otherwise mindless cells wouldn't cause it to be found out. Spoilers, I guess, since it means you didn't watch the film.

You'd know as well, if you'd actually be sapient or not. This thread piqued my curiosity so I decided to google around for some semi-official answers, I found this:

"Yes, a person who has been assimilated by the Thing definitely knows they are a Thing. This has been addressed at some length on the fan site Outpost 31, both in interviews with John Carpenter and Stuart Cohen (the producer), and in the site's FAQ section."

Source: scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/39398/in-the-thing-do-assimilated-victims-know-that-they-are-things

Hm, that makes it retardedly more dangerous.

No, I've watched it many times, been a few years though.

>Except I can draw blood from my body, put a heated wire to it, and nothing will happen. If I were I a "Thing", it'd invoke a fight or flight response in the blood. Like in the movie.
>Also the Thing can't copy metal objects and I've got fillings.

That's really interesting, you don't say? Where do you live? I'd like to come and make sure of that for myself!

Put out any fire you have around though.

Yeah, a Shoggoth, which is basically The Thing, is much easier to deal with because when looking at a Shoggoth it's a) Likely you're looking at one creature or a few instead of every cell being it's own independent monster and b) it has no compulsion to consume and assimilate it's possible for it to be content and calm the fuck down. A Shoggoth can choose to be as dangerous as The Thing if you cross it, though.

>"Yes, a person who has been assimilated by the Thing definitely knows they are a Thing.

Meh, that's not a scary.

I think it's worse, personally. The horror for me comes from not knowing who ELSE is an almost-perfect impostor, not whether or not I am myself. It's more scary for me to imagine a situation where my friends are not my friends, and aware of that and actively plotting to kill me but lying about it, than a situation where they are unaware but 'compelled' to kill me somehow.

I'm not completely up to speed on shoggoths, arent they just formless blods that can assume any shape to be used as a tool? Why would they assume the shape of a person? Could they act like a person convincingly? I only read the mountains of madness once years ago, that's basically all I know about the Cthulhu stuff (except some boardgames and the pen&paper one which i played a few times).

>I remember reading a story that was The Thing from it's perspective linked here once.
If you read the thread you'll find it once more!

My source is the movie commentary with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell:
No one knows if they are the Thing or not.
I don't know what the internet trolls are saying at station 31, but they're apparently not saying what John Carpenter and Kurt Russell are saying.

So, you don't think it's scary that you, too, might not be who you think you are? The fact that you aren't who you think you are doesn't scare you? You are not frightened of losing control of your self?

>Also the Thing can't copy metal objects and I've got fillings.

Couldn't it just absorb the old you and then use your original fillings?

That's scary as well, but I like the other situation more. I reckon it's really easy to find out whether or not you are infected as well, just burn yourself with a lighter. If you spazz out and regain control later, commit suicide by explosion or lock yourself in some bunker with a shitload of canned food and vidya and end threat you are to your family. Not killing my family would probably trump my will to live.

The article adresses the commentary as well.

It probably can't absorb regular static metal (as in not-in-the-blood metal) and plastic and stuff. Otherwise you'd see lawn-chair-thing just waiting for a weary victim.

I'm 9/10ths sure that's referring to the actors not being told if their character was infected.

It's Game Over on so many levels man.

The only way to win this if you Exterminatus the place and the planet if you are at it.

Well its a matter of existential vs paranoid horror.

I personally think both have merits, but i have always seen the thing as belonging more to the latter.

Wasn't the thing kinda obvious though? I mean it'd get found out and quarantined i reckon.

It's the absolute opposite of obvious, dude... that's literally what the movie is about.

But, once you 'spazz out', it's game over. You don't regain control. Your family is dead by your own hand. Is it more scary to think your family is out to kill you, or that you are secretly out to kill your family?

basically pic related

Well, then the article fails, as John Carpenter is the maker of the damned film. The whole POINT of the film is that no one knows.
Besides, if the Things knew, then they could plan together, work together: they never do that. Not once. At one point in the film, there are (at least) two Things, and at no point do they assist each other.

No, user: the actors all read the script; they all knew who was and who wasn't. There were no secrets from the actors.

Body horror and people going spload is kinda obvious ain't it? I mean i know it mimics people and infiltrates, but it feels like it's not an apocalyptic threat to me. It'd get found out, and then the military would be called in to deal with it.

But what happens when that unknown scary OTHER, of whom you are justly paranoid, is YOU? That is the second part of the question the movie asks us.

Then I don't murder people?

>it would become action, not horror

You don't see the "horror" in walking around in a hazmat suit in a desolate city only to find enclaves of people that may or may not (very likely may) be infected with a virus that turns any living thing into an other-worldly body-horror in 15 seconds flat?

I love the idea of Things not knowing who else is a Thing, and individual Things throwing one another under the bus to ensure they live a little longer.

Mmm interesting point, could you tell me where do you live so I can go there and test my blood too?

Zombie themed Clue where everyone eventually gets flamethrowers and power armor, somehow.

It's kind of cool because it wouldn't even be like that. If it's a hivemind, it's more of "If I sacrifice this one it will draw attention away from the other, increasing it's chance at survival."

Its a chameleon dude. You're right, the Thing actually is pretty easy to kill in a one on one fight [until the reboot that is], its pretty slow and its shapeshifting just makes it about as durable as a particularly obnoxious animal.

The problem is, it looks exactly like a human being. Its basically a modernization of the fear that initially was attached to vampires and werewolves. The fear that the person you're talking to, the normal everyday human being may actually be something evil or alien, and attack without warning.

It only uses body horror to defend itself and to assimilate lifeforms. So basically yes, if it hits a populated area, mankind is fucked unless the IMMEDIATE unquestioning response is nuclear KILL IT WITH FIRE.

>That last line
Jesus fuck. I feel like that should be added to the list of hentai quotes.

>what happens if you aren't you?
>well, I certainly won't kill people!
...erm...but, user: you aren't you - you can't stop yourself from doing shit you don't want to do. How does that make you feel?

But you just said I was me

>It only uses body horror to defend itself and to assimilate lifeforms. So basically yes, if it hits a populated area, mankind is fucked unless the IMMEDIATE unquestioning response is nuclear KILL IT WITH FIRE.
This.
Anything else ends really really poorly.
Ideally the US Gov has procedures in place, from previous alein contact.

Like nuke it a lot, blame terrorists.

in a contemporary setting the only thing that would stop it (hopefully) would be if the area it had been discovered in was nuked. Immediately. No evacuation, no discussion, just nuked. And even that's not a surefire way, considering cockroaches and rats hiding in walls and rubble could have survived.
This is assuming it was discovered within the hour

In a setting like 40k, I guess you just blow up the planet and hope nobody infected already left, and then keep blowing up planets it shows up in. Or virus bombing if you want to keep the rock

That little shit from the blood test didn't even try to hold it together, though.

I think that was an ill advised admission to make on this board. If you tell me where we can meet up I can explain in great detail about why the blood thing works that way. We just need to meat face to face.

As a side question you don't smoke or carry lighters or matches about your person as a habit do you?

Id suggest taking a look at the script for the tv series sequel.

coronacomingattractions.com/news/exclusive-look-return-thing-screenplay

A more interesting thought experiment is what happens if it lands in your average Typical D&D Setting.

Paladins are immune
So are undead [the Thing never absorbs dead tissue]
So are high level casters
Clerics can heal Thingdom [at least in its early stages]
The gods could intervene if things get too hairy

You may well end up with a world dominated by body horror, Paladin-run police states, wizard communes, and vampire kings ruling endless swathes of literal scorched earth JUST to keep the 'Curse of Flesh' from taking root in their lands.

>the Thing actually is pretty easy to kill in a one on one fight
Yeah, no: it only seems to die after being exploded with copious amounts of dynamite - and we can't even be certain that all of it actually dies.
In a one on one fight it grows a doghead out of its fist and bites your face off while wrapping you with spiny tentacles. Or somesuch.

Parasites from Kiseijuu had fixed numer though. Thing can infect more and more people.

The shoggoths could copy living things convincingly enough that their shape shifting and regeneration was used for the culinary imagination of the Elder Things. Part of the Elder Thing downfall was the rebelling Shoggoth's ability to perfectly mimic their masters to bring betrayal from within.

I like it.
Stuff like paladins working with Vampires, because even if they're evil undead shits, they aren't world ending monstrosities.

Maybe doing stuff like exporting blood and bodies, in return for goods they cant get inside walled cities.

I don't think I'd make wizards immune. They should be able to kill it with fire, and maybe wish it away, but immunity doesn't make a lot of sense.

Yeah, the last line of that really amps the cringe...can't take it seriously at all given that the author actually decided to go with that line: the entire inner monologue of the alien makes no sense with that line tagged onto the end - the Thing knows nothing of individuality: how does it know 'rape'? How can it even conceive of 'rape'? That is a concept that has no meaning to a Thing.
That is what a Thing does, yes: but a Thing will not be aware of the negative connotations of the act. The word, to a Thing, is meaningless.

Wizards are 'immune' in the sense that they have a million and one ways to detect, preempt or remove Thing-ness in its early stages. They CAN get infected, its just much harder.

I mean A Thing is easy to kill. You just burn it. In a side-book, the Thing is defeated repeatedly by fucking Vikings. With axes and torches.

There's also the question on whether the Thing can assimilate magical creatures or not. Unicorns, pegasi, griffons, dragons, etc are all questions that would have to be addressed.

>Thing-Dragons
>Bythegodshowhorrifying.

Did I? Or was it merely someone with my appearance?

the basic premise of Kiseijuu is basically The Thing, at least, that's how I saw it
but also, you forget that the Parasites could divide themselves like Migi did

>I know enough, you motherfucker. You soul-stealing, shit-eating rapist.

>I don't know what that means. There is violence in those thoughts, and the forcible penetration of flesh, but underneath it all is something else I can't quite understand. I almost ask—but Childs's searchlight has finally gone out. Now there is nothing in here but me, nothing outside but fire and ice and darkness.

>I am being Childs, and the storm is over.

The Thing DOESN'T know what rape is in the short story, he simply think its implies a violent penetration of flesh, perhaps against one's will. Hence the last line.

>I still don't particularly like the line though.

Kek, the blood was too simple an organism since it was still just a group of cells.There are other posts in the thread that address that too.

>I mean A Thing is easy to kill. You just burn it. In a side-book, the Thing is defeated repeatedly by fucking Vikings. With axes and torches.
Sorry, but given that the burned up and then frozen body they find IS STILL ALIVE (after having been flamethrowered and burned with kerosine), no. Northmen with axes and torches do not win; no matter how big your viking boner is...
...but, for fantasy purposes, one could say it would work; just not according to the film's logic.

I think the line's just there to hammer in a final time that its thought process is alien to ours.

It's a shit line that takes the nu-twist that 'rape' is worse than 'murder' - the Thing doesn't rape its victims: it murders them, utterly and totally and forever. There is no rape; just slow agonizing implacable murder.
The author just used 'rape' for kicks and drama and because rape is edgier than death these days.

Now yer saying the Thing needs a brain to survive? Nawwww. It knew how to build a space/airship after being freeze-dried for 200,000 years. It's thinking is top-notch. It don't need brains like we need brains.

Lock yourself in a bunker and do the test, then.

This.

The Thing is essentially a deeply pessimistic film about humanity's extinction.

It's an nearly-infinite cycle of the Thing getting thawed out, infecting people, getting frozen, etc. And each cycle brings the Thing closer to civilization.

But it would exponentially take over people in secret until the whole world was overtaken. The only thing that hinders it in the movie is lack of access to unaware people.

Its not my viking boner, its canon. They released a comic to go with the 2011 movie, and yes, Things are killed by axes and torches.

>a comic
*clapping*

Totally valid element of the canon, and not a cheap cashin.

It can probably only think and access 'dna memories' or whatever once it's big enough to grow a proper brain.

>No, user: the actors all read the script; they all knew who was and who wasn't. There were no secrets from the actors.
Are you sure about that, because lots of directors give their actors partial, incomplete, or incorrect scripts (their lines are correct) specifically to keep the actors in the dark about stuff like this.

And there's you know, the original movie where a fucking flamethrower is used repeatedly to kill it. Go back and watch the first movie, every time the Thing reveals itself, it gets killed pretty easily.

That's actually the biggest problem with the sequel, is that they make the Thing too powerful. If it could just rampage, why did it bother with the whole paranoid conspiracy causing hiding nonsense in the first place?

The reason is that although the Thing as a disease is a global epidemic, as a monster its pretty laughable. It has some weak regen abilities and other then that its a bear or hippo-tier. Just burn the damn thing.

How in the fuck is that canon? It's a stand-alone 80's movie we are discussing, there's no canon 'thing-mythos' outside of the parameters set by the movie (no, not the original story either since they differ so much).

>In a side-book

That side-book sounds really stupid and retarded, especially when The Thing is supposed to be an alien virus (debateable) and it crashed in Antarctica and would've had nothing to do with Vikings, so that really just sounds more like fan-fiction, and dumb fan-fiction at that. If it EVER came into contact with humans pre-germ theory, it would've wiped out every single person, for fucks sake, they didn't even know how the bubonic plague spread.

I'm not completely sure, but I think that the vikings did not have portable flamethrowers.

The Thing still remains the scariest monster ever for me.