Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Call of Cthulhu => Topic started by: Doc Twilight on 11 December 2009, 10:28:43 PM
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Ok, guys...
I am looking to do a Strange Aeons campaign for my group, but this will be a little different. I intend to set it on an abandoned moon colony (or something similar, maybe it'll be on another moon/planet, but you get my point.) I know there are a plethora of Lovecraftian horrors out there, but I'm not familiar with all of the possible sources.
Has anybody got some creative ideas they'd be willing to share?:)
-Doc
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You might look at the background for Cthulhutech Game...
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I've toyed around with the idea that the United States landed and colonised the dark side of the moon sometime in the early '30's. All that 'actual' footage was (as you all well know...) created by Stanley Kuberick on a sound stage in the late '60's to asuage peoples suspissions...
Alternately, the computer game 'Dead Space' is kinda like a lovecraftian 2001, also a pretty good cartoon movie by the same name...an O.K. comic spin-off with art by Ben Templesmith :-*.
Or, for insperation, what about the movies:
'Life Force' - Space Vampire run amok on earth!
'Ghosts Of Mars' -Yeah, it sucked...but what is with that face on mars anyways...
'Alien' - Dangerous dink-headed monster chases self-sufficent yet sassy space mechanic thru bowels of space ship.
'Forbidden Planet' - Classic with Leslie Neilson (Naked Gun... lol) and space crew fighting an invisible Id monster.
Or what about that ol' chestnut 'Enemy Mine' - Human and alien forced to help one another on a savage alien world...
Hope that gives you a couple ideas...
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'Life Force' - Space Vampire run amok on earth!
That description doesn't really capture the essence of the film. You should have said Hot Naked Space Vampire Chick runs amok on Earth!
It's not a very good film really, but that evaluation of its merits overlooks the fact that it's about a Hot Naked Space Vampire Chick who runs amok on Earth.
lol
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Good point...she is hot... ::)...and yes lads, she is naked...still, pretty cool space ship and the overall story is pretty good. Guilty Pleasure.
Let's also not forget:
'Prince Of Darkness' - crap modern horror story about the mathimatical nature of evil...cool idea at least...
'Event Horizon" - Sam Neill chews the scenery...in space. Also, hell is up in space...not heaven.
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GDW's magazine 'Challenge' had an article about Cthulhu mythos in Space:1889
http://www.heliograph.com/trmgs/trmgs4/cthulhu1889.shtml
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Just remembered another one. The Call of Cthulhu RPG had a 'Cthulhu Now' supplement from the late '80s, early '90s, that featured a scenario based on 'The Colour from Space'. The colour infested a space shuttle, which then crashed somewhere in the midwest. It should be easy enough to shift the action to your moon base!
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My first thought was Phantom Space Man. ;D
I'd go with "exploring a haunted spaceship" type game myself. The first CoC game I ran involved an old colony ship that had reached the end of the universe and made it's way back. Time and space were warped in the ship. It was dark, and an unwholesome fungus was infesting all of the instrument panels.
I say take a story or scenrio that you favor, and put it up into space.
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All of the 'Quatermass' stuff is pretty much Lovecraft in space. If you can find them...
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Worldworks games has some great paper models, including a MARS base, that would work really well for this if you are planning to do 28mm.
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"life force" is quatermass with one awesome naked chick, and a great story and some wonderful game ideas...
one of my all time favorites
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Cthulhu Rising: a CoC RPG supplement for Cthulhu in space, think "Outland" meets Cthulhu for the 23rd century.
http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=55&products_id=637
Jovian Nightmares: Madness in the Jovian system, source and adventures for Cthulhu Rising
http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=55&products_id=2531
The books are based on hard science, and quite well done.
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There's a short story in an anthology I read that had a Cthulhu-esque feel to it and was set in space... I think... though to be fair nothing much happened, in gaming terms. Some guy spent a long time brooding over whether old Perkins going mad had something to do with the 'things from Outside' or something. I won't spoil the end.
I'm sorry, I'm not really selling it, I know, but it was good. Shaft Number 247 by Basil Cooper it was, in "New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos" edited by Ramsey Campbell, a collection of short stories inspired (in pretty direct homage to, most of them) Lovecraft's work, and an unfinished short by Lovecraft completed by Martin S Warnes.
There was an old CoC short scenario in White Dwarf about 25 years ago where a team of investigstors working for an interstellar mining and frieght company had to investigate (what else would investigators do?) a survey ship that had disappeared. I can't remember off hand what issue, but I'll try to find out, you never know, someone might have one up on ebay.
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I remember that WD scenario. It was played out using the Grenadier Space Marines and had a eagle transporter.
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Deadspace (360game) and Event Horizon (Clive Barkeresque Hellraiser in space), two great ideas for a Cthulhu sci-fi game. Also take the essence of Alien, (abduction, impregation & mass murder) and you've got another great option, just throw a secret cult in there and Bob's your starspawn!
;)
The Commander
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I remember that WD scenario. It was played out using the Grenadier Space Marines and had a eagle transporter.
Yeah that's the one. It was called "The Last Log" and it was in issue 56.
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I ran the Lost Log as a tabletop game a couple of years ago and you can see some photos from the game, taken and posted by my regular opponent and a fellow LAF member, here: http://picasaweb.google.com/whisperin.al/ScienceFiction#
For the rules I used an unofficial CoC to Savage Worlds conversion, but I now use a mix of Realms of Cthulhu and the Savage Worlds Science Fiction Toolkits to run all my sci-fi CoC games.
Cthulhu Rising has already been mentioned and in addition to the two downloads available from Chaosium there is a ton of free stuff, including several adventures, available from here: http://www.cthulhurising.co.uk/
Pete
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Important to think about the isolation aspect of space, which is why it works so well as a scene. Whatever they have to face they have to face, as there is really nowhere to run.
Also depending on your gamers you could turn/posses one of your party who would then have to remove or turn the rest of the group for dark intent...
The accidental open portal is always good, they either have to close it or accidentally open it. Kind of Half Lifes plot.
Also it can be really science/mysticism based as it is unlikely to be military and have weapons.
I really like this idea and would love to know how it goes, I may have to steal it a lot lol
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colony in space built over the ages covered alien servitor races city... while digging a new sewer line.....
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Or what about that ol' chestnut 'Enemy Mine' - Human and alien forced to help one another on a savage alien world...
Not seen that old gem in ages. Shame about Ghosts of Mars though, if that's right. Not seen it yet, but I have a folder on my computer with concept art for the colony which I rather liked.
Alien is beautiful. Period.
Dead Space is an excellent game and has a bunch of 'culty' elements to it already. Plenty of gribblies and other stuff to. Actually, I've been wanting to do a Dead Space-type project, but I am finding there is practically nothing useful that wouldn't require a pile of green stuff among other things. Why are proper astro/cosmonaut-types either very terrible sculpts or non-existent?
The animated film is interesting if not a tad inaccurate with its canon-crock-ups.
The Dead Space wiki (http://deadspace.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page) is pretty comprehensive on everything pertaining to the Dead Space universe.
If anyone wants I can send them .rar with all the concept art and renders I have found from the DSU. And I will say right now that there is more material on there than you could find just through google-fu. I had to find the portfolios for some of the artists involved for some of it.
That's part of my two bits anyhoo.
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Agreed that Dead Space is a beautiful game, but HATED the control interface. Wanted a first person option, or a "just behind" option ala Assassins creed, but the "off to the side of the head" camera was just a nightmare for me. My loss, I guess. Partly, I just wanted to be able to see all that beautiful detail up close.
-Doc