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Hey, so i am a relatively new Keeper at COC and so far my games have been...disasters. More or less. We have been playing Corbitt house and Terror on the Thames and both games ended with either TPKs or the party, understandably, running for greener pastures.
Soo...do published adventures need to have their teeth pulled a little? Or is this just part of the design philosophy and we should find another game to play.appvalley tutuapp tweakbox
Hi
Cthulhu is inherently different to a lot of rpg’s, particularly D&D, in that combat is quite deadly. It requires a different mindset when it comes to encounters, there is no shame in running and re-evaluate the situation.
I might suggest looking at the book Doors to Darkness, as it specifically designed for beginner keepers.
Keep at it, and just work with your players. If they prefer more action oriented adventures, you may want to investigate the Pulp Cthulhu rules, as they make the game more like Indiana Jones.
Hope that helps.
How are your games going in terms of flow? Are the players doing a lot of investigating first and then only using combat as a last resort, or are they treating it like most other RPGs and looking for fights? There’s a saying in Call of Cthulhu RPG circles that goes along the lines of "if you’re going in guns blazing then you’ve probably already lost".
This doesn’t mean that combat should be completely avoided, but it does mean that it shouldn’t be used as frequently as in most other RPGs, especially against otherworldly horrors; the PCs (called investigators for as reason) should investigate what’s going on - usually startng in libraries, newspaper archives and police records, before moving on to physical investigation - which usually shouldn’t be treated like a dungeon crawl.
Hardly any CoC adventures are supposed to be cake walks - this is a game about cosmic horror after all. However, if you and your players really enjoy aspects of the game, but are struggling in other areas, then you may want to look into the pulp Cthulhu is spam soon that makes things a bit more action orientated and a little easier for the investigators in that respect.
I second Doors to darkness, that's a really good book. But as others have said, CoC is about surviving unlike other rpg's where the goal is to level up your power. The Pulp rules are good, adds more skill points and hit points I believe.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnecc
To add to this - in many cases your rookie PCs should not know just how dangerous the big bad is.
They are everyday numpties who do not (yet) know that the horrors in the dark are real.
They should not be going in guns blazing but they also probably shouldnt be going in all tip-toey either - not until they have learnt.
Why would you be scared of the noise in the attic? Its just a possum right.
I think that the original intent of the CoC designers was for a game that does chew thru its investigators - both by death and by insanity.
But players do tend to prefer to hang on to their characters and see them survive and grow.
So I think that most players and keepers do tend to modify things a little in that direction...