Lost in the Hayes - Trail of Cthulhu - Wednesday Night EST

[Black Hammer]

FG License: Ultimate (anyone can play)
Game System: Trail of Cthulhu (GUMSHOE)

Time Zone: EST
Day of week and time: Wednesday, 7-11PM EST (11PM-3AM GMT)
If new game, planned start date: 10/4
Planned Duration & Frequency: 4 hour sessions weekly
Term: Medium, 6-10 weeks to start off

Text or Voice: Voice, using Discord (Teamspeak if people prefer)

Roleplay & Combat mix: 80/20
Number of Players in game & needed: 2-5
Character starting level & equipment: ToC Standard
Character restrictions:

Details of your scenario: Fall of 1932, Northeast United States. The Hayes family, notable transport barons dealing in shipping and engineering, are among the highly sought connections for those in academia, high society, and politics. Generous in their philanthropy, ambitious scientists, engineers, and social workers alike seek out the family's financial support and social influence. You are fortunate to move in these circles, whether an up and coming dilettante new to their famous parties, a successful academician invited to their summit or business meetings, or perhaps a family friend or even a distant relative. In return for their hospitality and generosity, they have invited you to their rural estate to request a favor.

Trail of Cthulhu uses the Gumshoe system. It is a relatively light system, with easy to learn rules designed for efficient investigation scenarios. I tend to run ToC a somewhere between pulp and purist; I prefer a more purist investigation and research focused scenario, but also like pulp for a dash less hopelessness than Lovecraft's preferred flavor of cosmic horror. No books needed to play; character generation is relatively straightforward, and the character sheet contains nearly all relevant information. First time players are quite welcome, whether new to Fantasy Grounds (I have an ultimate license, so players are welcome to use the free demo client), Trail of Cthulhu, or cosmic horror games in general. Do be forewarned this is not a combat heavy game; you are unofficial investigators in the 1930s, so gunfights are deadly and unnatural horrors from beyond the stars moreso.

Link to Gamecalendar page: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/?id=2781

[Suhayl]

Count me in!

[Suhayl]

Come on people, let's see some enthusiasm! Trail of Cthulhu is one of the best RPGs on the market right now... An all new way to go mad and die! It is noir, detective horror at its best!

[Suhayl]

My character is ready!

Name: Knut Halversen
Age: 37
Occupation: Professor
Drive: Antiquarianism

Raised in the American Midwest, Halversen first travelled outside of the United States when doing doctoral fieldwork in Borneo and inner Java. A trained archaeologist and anthropologist, Halversen became obsessed with the strange rituals of the tribes of the inner jungles and the evidence of a more advanced civilization under the the roots and vines of the contemporary communities. Nevertheless, his findings have been blocked from publishing as part of his tenure track at Dartmouth University by his department chair, who claims that the disturbed folklore and wild legends of the Javanese tribes have no place an anthropological methodology.

Investigative Skills (assuming the usual 16 points, will adjust if needed):

Academic Skills
Anthroplogy 6 (Occupational Skill)
Archaeology 2 (Occupational Skill)
Architecture 1
History 2 (Occupational Skill)
Languages 2 (Indonesian and Javanese) (Occupational Skill)
Library Use 4 (Occupational Skill)
Occult Studies 4 (Occupational Skill)

Interpersonal Skills
Bureaucracy 2 (Occupational Skill)
Credit Rating 3
Oral History 2

Technical Skills
Outdoorsman 1
Photography 1

[Hector Trelane]

I'm interested in playing this system (I own the rules, am familiar with GUMSHOE), although Wed nights can't work on my end, unfortunately. If there are other games you play (esp. Fri/Sat night or Sat/Sun morning), whether as one-shots or otherwise, consider me in the "interested" column...

[Suhayl]

Cool, I could actually do pretty much any day, by the way.

[Hector Trelane]

Come on people, let's see some enthusiasm! Trail of Cthulhu is one of the best RPGs on the market right now... An all new way to go mad and die! It is noir, detective horror at its best!

I think this is right, btw...

[Ellspeth]

Damn Hammer, except this is Wednesday night weekly, and I all ready played this scenario at your table I would join this. Suhayl you are in for a treat, though hopefully your party will fare better than we did.
As I recall we ended with most of us spending months in the hospital recovering from serious injuries. Except Grace. Grace was a minor member of the British royal family. They took her back into their care, far from public view after she was found running screaming through the Tower of London in her nightdress, and bloody bare feet, apparently from the blood of the dead guard since her footprints were all through it. They were particularly disturbed since she had been in America, and all of her things, passport, paperwork, luggage was still there, and no evidence of how she re-entered the country.
My Mattie didn't do so bad, pretty battered, but hey she made progress, she had gained a lot of knowledge of the Cthulu Mythos, and she does not believe those who seem to think she was losing sanity the more she learned.

[Suhayl]

Damn Hammer, except this is Wednesday night weekly, and I all ready played this scenario at your table I would join this. Suhayl you are in for a treat, though hopefully your party will fare better than we did.
As I recall we ended with most of us spending months in the hospital recovering from serious injuries. Except Grace. Grace was a minor member of the British royal family. They took her back into their care, far from public view after she was found running screaming through the Tower of London in her nightdress, and bloody bare feet, apparently from the blood of the dead guard since her footprints were all through it. They were particularly disturbed since she had been in America, and all of her things, passport, paperwork, luggage was still there, and no evidence of how she re-entered the country.
My Mattie didn't do so bad, pretty battered, but hey she made progress, she had gained a lot of knowledge of the Cthulu Mythos, and she does not believe those who seem to think she was losing sanity the more she learned.

Who needs Sanity anyway? With a high enough Stability, you can make it look like you are sane and that's what counts!

[Black Hammer]

I could move this to Friday afternoon or evening if there's interest.

[Ellspeth]

Friday afternoons I could make a longer term commitment to, there is still the matter I all ready played this scenario. You will just have to be satisfied with killing me off in Warhammer. :).
Suhayl your character sounds very much like Mattie, and I agree sanity is overrated.

[Black Hammer]

Friday afternoons I could make a longer term commitment to, there is still the matter I all ready played this scenario. You will just have to be satisfied with killing me off in Warhammer. :).
Suhayl your character sounds very much like Mattie, and I agree sanity is overrated.

Actually, you haven't played the scenario, since I'm planning on just continuing from where your group left off.

[Ellspeth]

Actually, you haven't played the scenario, since I'm planning on just continuing from where your group left off.

Does that mean I could play Mattie from where she left off? Hmmmm, if that is the case I think we can find a mutually agreeable time.

[Hector Trelane]

Does that mean I could play Mattie from where she left off? Hmmmm, if that is the case I think we can find a mutually agreeable time.

Of the times listed, Friday nights would be my only shot (9 pm Eastern ideally), and I couldn't commit to weekly, realistically. So that may mean I miss out or play an NPC or cameo character on occassion. Don't know what works for you, Black Hammer?

[Suhayl]

Of the times listed, Friday nights would be my only shot (9 pm Eastern ideally), and I couldn't commit to weekly, realistically. So that may mean I miss out or play an NPC or cameo character on occassion. Don't know what works for you, Black Hammer?

Any time or day would be fine by me, including 9pm EST.

[Black Hammer]

Of the times listed, Friday nights would be my only shot (9 pm Eastern ideally), and I couldn't commit to weekly, realistically. So that may mean I miss out or play an NPC or cameo character on occassion. Don't know what works for you, Black Hammer?

Hm. 9pm is a bit late for me, seeing as I work at 4am Saturday morning. What about Saturday or Sunday afternoons?

[Hector Trelane]

I ought to bow out of the running except for one shots, unfortunately since afternoons in the eastern time zone are tied up with family time.