COC RPG

[abhorsen950]

Hey guys, now i understand COC Was orginally a novel my H.P lovecraft ive got that far, but i need some insight into the RPG What its like whats the story etc.

What better place to ask than here?

Then again if the wargame rules are better (thats if there are wargame rules) let me know and where i can get them from.

Cheers

Steve

[keeper]

I don't think there are any explicit CoC wargame rules (but I'm happy to be corrected on that).  The CoC RPG used the same basic mechanics as RuneQuest, and games are run using any of the cthulhu mythos elements with a group of players.

When we play (which we will be doing again on Wednesday), its usually more about the story and the scenario than about the game mechanics, and in that sense it is like any other RPG.

Is that helpful, or just far too vague?

[abhorsen950]

keeper dont be daft such a speedy response is perfect no matter what you put towards it for me .

Ive heard that before its very simple and im looking forward to playing i like what you said.

Either way ive now ordered it and will arrive in around a week.

Cheers guys other responses are ace.

Steve

[keeper]

OK   Well, make sure you let us know what you think once it arrives and you've had a scan through it!

[abhorsen950]

Definetly will do. Even if i dont enjoy it im looking forward to the artwork thats what really won it for me.

Cheers again

Steve

[Digitarii]

A few notes about the CoC RPG:

No one wins. Characters usually end up dead or criminally insane and locked away forever.

The great old ones and elder gods are sanity munchers of the highest order. There's only one that even comes close to helping humanity and that's Nodens.

There is not black and white good vs. evil in the game. Humanity seems destined to lose. All we can do is work at holding the critters back and keep their cultists from releasing them. A victory is making sure the great old ones have been held back...this time.

Combat is lethal, make no mistake. Remember that if players carry guns, the opposition can too.

Combat is not a solution to the critters. Combat leads to more trouble, legal and otherwise. Combat may be necessary at times, but it better not be the first line the players drop into.

Read all of the Lovecraft stories to get a real feel for the bleakness of the background

[Stecal]

Hey guys, now i understand COC Was orginally a novel my H.P lovecraft ive got that far, but i need some insight into the RPG What its like whats the story etc.

What better place to ask than here?

Well, actually:  http://www.yog-sothoth.com/

even has a player finder & online option

[voltan]

I haven't played the rpg much but have learn't a few important points,

1: never go anywhere alone, one player stayed alone in a room with an 'artifact' to study it, the next time we saw him was running round the garden chased by a ghostly rhino.

2: never raise corpses to do manual work and not just because the ritual takes a week or so.

3: if you find a ritual in progress, it's a trap by your GM

4: it's a trap by your GM

[thebinmann]

A few notes about the CoC RPG:

No one wins. Characters usually end up dead or criminally insane and locked away forever.

The great old ones and elder gods are sanity munchers of the highest order. There's only one that even comes close to helping humanity and that's Nodens.

There is not black and white good vs. evil in the game. Humanity seems destined to lose. All we can do is work at holding the critters back and keep their cultists from releasing them. A victory is making sure the great old ones have been held back...this time.

Combat is lethal, make no mistake. Remember that if players carry guns, the opposition can too.

Combat is not a solution to the critters. Combat leads to more trouble, legal and otherwise. Combat may be necessary at times, but it better not be the first line the players drop into.

Read all of the Lovecraft stories to get a real feel for the bleakness of the background

Or just plain insane! But hay that's the fun.

CoC is all about keeping your character functional, it's so unlike most other rpgs; just think about the "treasure" a tome that will cause madness, the end of the world or both!

Agreed on combat, it's like Pendragon: I remeber the first time my players (D&D vets) had a combat with a giant, with it's first blow it killed the knight, his horse and made an impact crater in the floor!).

It really is a great game! It's true roleplaying rather than combat adventure. That said blowing Migo apart with the 12gauge is a lot of fun, but then the shells run out and you die!

[abhorsen950]

Cheers guys im really looking forward to it.

Steve

[richarDISNEY]

CoC is a neat game.  Its based on Chaosium's BRP system that they are using now.  Its basically a % system. Yea.  Combat is the last place you EVER want to be.  If you have a good group, CoC can be a lot of 'fun'.

Stay away from Trail of Cthulhu.  Its a d6 system with a crappy 'clue' system.  It rewards bad/non-creative GMs and players.   I liked the 'pulp' feel to it, where combat is a viable option, but...  There were too many problems I had with it.  I went back to CoC.

For wargames, there is Strange Aeons ( http://strange-aeons.ca/sa/  ) with a Demo version of the game  ( www.strange-aeons.ca/doc/SA_Demopack.pdf ).  I do like this system.  Though I have not played it enough to really "put it through its paces" yet, but we are getting there.  Overall, so far, I like it.

[gauntman]

12 Rules for dealing with Mythos Threats

1) There are very few Mythos Threats that cannot be solved with the application of high explosives.

2) Spooky uninhabited Mansions should be burned/or blown up - not explored.

3) That creepy/mysterious guy who works in the antique store,  museum, mortuary, funeral parlor...sould either be left alone entirely or kidnapped with extreme force - held against his will and tortured until to reveals whatever evil plot he is involved in.

4) All harmless gatherings, social circles, clubs or hermetic orders are in reality hateful cults bent on destroying all of mankind.

5) All shipping companies, tea houses, African Novalty Shops, are just fronts for Cults (see rule 1&2)

6) Anyone bearing resemblance to a long dead family member - is or will be impersonated by that long-dead family member (see rule 3)

7) Be very wary of letters or phone calls from old Friends, Excentric Uncles and other obscure Relatives who have traveled abroad...they are often victims, involved in cults, or wish to draw the characters into the clutch of some evil force.

Nefarious books should be burned, not read...

9) Strange Greenish Stone Idols, Relics, and Strange Multi-faceted Jems should be cast in the deepest subterrainan ocean trenches...or see Rule 1

10) Really friendly people ..... aren't

11) Firearms rarely work on Mythos threats but that isn't a reason not to try...

12) Never enlist the aid of Police, the FBI, or the Local Sheriff until you've already applied rule 1...either you will be thought a madman, risk unddue criminal attention or the local sheriff is a card carrying member of the cult himself.  Take care of buisness first.

[bc99]

The game is about investigation, hidden knowledge, and creepy horror. Not horror as in slasher, etc, but horror like the realization that you're slowly going insane, or the realization that the whole town you've been staying in are all members of a blasphemous cult.

Or just the horror of opening a door into an old museum and realizing that something is there, moving unseen, shambling about, and you still need to go find the ancient papyrus... in storage in the basement... past the Egyptian display... right next to the new display of artifacts from the unrecognizable culture that Dr. Pound brought back from the Himalayas...

[SBMiniaturesGuy]

You can also still find the GURPS Cthulhupunk book on ebay. Combined with with GURPS Cliffhangers, that's all you need to have GURPS Cthulhu madness. GURPS combat is also lethal, but a little more detailed and "wargamish" if you want granularity...like a player getting hit with a harpoon by a Deep One and being hauled screaming away from the party to his doom while the other players fumble their attempt at grabbing him or sit in shock thinking modern combat is supposed to be guns at a distance, not harpoons, claws and drowning... 

[abhorsen950]

Cheers guys the book should arrive in the next few days.


Steve