Call of Cthulhu PBEM
Friday, October 6th, 2006 - 9:52am
Or: SocialChameleon gets too big for his britches
I've been bandying about the idea of running a CoC game for a while, and it's a setting I'd love to run, but never found an interested group.
So, all of you out there in Goodjerburg, how about it?
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
I might be interested if I knew what the hell "PBEM" or "CoC" stood for.
Are you gettin' there Rabbit, are you gettin' there now?
Yes Lord, Lord, I'm gettin' there now.
Play By EMail.
The clue for CoC is in the thread title.
Sounds like a cool idea SC. Definatly be interested in playing/alpha testing any CoC game you manage to come up with.
Would love to help develop something like this - just have to watch the time I could afford to commit to it.
Love thyself (just not in public)
Love thy neighbour (remember to ask first)
Certis wrote:
Chaosium's already developed a ruleset thats been around for about 20 years. I'll be going with that system. You're on the "player" list, Baggz.
You too, Feral.
Chaosium
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
Can I be the curious yet conservative antiquarian who works for a university until he accidentally stumbles upon untold horrors one late night spent at the library?
pascal's wager is a fool's bet
I would be rather dissapointed if someone wasn't.
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
I'm down. I've been working on a Lovecraft inspired game for the last year, so I am steeped in the Cthulhu Mythos.
Knock Knock,
Who's there?
Cthul!
Chtul who?
Fthagn!
Sephirotic | I am your future...swallowed up in fire | PSN: Sephirotic
I might be interested. I've never played the game though, so I'm not familiar with the system. I am a big Lovecraft fan, however.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
And now that I've embarassed myself completely, I really don't have any further to fall.
So I'll ask another really dumb question:
How does a PBEM game work? I've never played one.
Are you gettin' there Rabbit, are you gettin' there now?
Yes Lord, Lord, I'm gettin' there now.
What kind of commitment is required? I can usually only check e-mails at night central time.
I'd hazard that a minimum of one post per week will be sufficent. Of course, should the payers demand a faster pace, I will do my best to accomodate.
The system isn't difficult to learn. Look for the Call of Cthulhu 6th Edition rulebook, available at Chaosium's site or your Friendly Neighborhood Game Store.
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
Cool I think I can handle 1 post per week. I'll see if I can find out more about the ruleset
I could certainly do a post a week, and am interested in playing. The chances that I'll go out and buy the rule set are very low however.
Will the quickstart PDF that I downloaded from the site be sufficient?
Are you gettin' there Rabbit, are you gettin' there now?
Yes Lord, Lord, I'm gettin' there now.
It absolutely will. It covers the basics of the game, I can fill in the rest during play.
Drop a PM or an email to socialchameleonsr@gmail.com with your character should the fancy strike you.
If you have questions, you can PM, email, or post here.
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
Well, if it makes you feel better, you asked the two questions I was wondering. Never done anything like this, but it sounds interesting.
Unfortunately I'm about to head off on a somewhat long vacation (won't have net access from the 9th to the 18th), so I'll have to try to slip in when I get back. I'll make a good attempt to read the rules as soon as I get back, so they'll be fresh in my mind when I join up.
IronClad Online: PurEvil
I'lll hold a place for you, Pur.
So far, I've got:
Baggz
Feral
Ruhz
Sephirotic
Quintin
Briz
Pur
Anyone else? I think eight is the most I can handle, so one spot left!
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
I'm somewhat interested. I have the core rulebook but I've never really played by email before. Huge Lovecraft fan.
SC here's something else that might spark your interest. I've been contemplating the purchase but don't really know if I'd ever run an event. Maybe next Halloween I could get some non gamer buddies drawn into it.
http://www.hyperwerx.net/cthulhu/
Conversation between two roleplayers:
D&D player:Hey, you roleplay! Cool!
CoC player:Yep!
D&D Player:I love playing magic users! Spells and spell books, scrolls! There all cool!
CoC Player: Uhh...yeah. There cool!
D&D Player: My character 12th level. He's my favorite! Tell me about yours!
CoC Player: Look, dude! My favorite character is afraid of snakes, confined spaces and gelatinous ooze. He got that way by reading those spell books your guy reads like the weekend funnies. He's highly intelligent, much to his detriment, which causes him to lose san points like nobodys business. My GM is so old school that I fear I'll lose my character to perminent insanity the next time I play him. While you are doing your level grinding, fighting rainbow dragons for your little Harry Potter fairy wands, I'm going to be in a rubber room wearing a sleeveless jacket making sure I don't walk in anything resembling a straight line. Go hang out in Hobbiton and drink beer, you pansy! I'm hitting the library to make sure none of my ancestors lived in a small coastal fishing town and consorted with people who couldn't blink their eyes.
"Now witness the awesome lethality of the Alan Parsons Project!"
-Dr. Evil
Chief Wiggum might be interested too.
"Now witness the awesome lethality of the Alan Parsons Project!"
-Dr. Evil
Hell, with this many people, I'd probably be better off splitting the players into two different campaigns.
Glad to see the response.
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
What timeframe are you looking at for your campaign? 20s, 50s, current, something else entirely?
I accrue pens like Hefner accrues bimbos. -- duckideva
I agree on the balls. Not a fan of the balls. -- wordsmythe asserting himself in OOC Theater
1920's.
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
There is an old rule that says that I have to GM any CoC group I am a part of. Don't ask what happens if I don't follow the rule, just be happy it hasn't happened yet
Indignant, as avid live action roleplayer, I've yet to be convinced that it is possible to run a good CoC LARP. Even the relatively undemanding low-fantasy, medieval-setting cons I prefer tend to limp in terms of presentation. It's only to be expected since they are run by enthusiasts on nonexistent budgets.
Establishing a believable atmosphere for a Cthulhu adventure (-> last-century-looks + horror + 'tease, don't show'-aesthetics) just exceeds what can be acheived for most LARPers, if you ask me. Especially in the often a little too lax American scene, if I may add that small jab
And if I haven't seen further, it's because those bloody giants blocked my sight.
Link
I beg to differ, my dear Zero.
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
SC steps up and shows us how it's done with the come uppance link! Seriously those guys are great. If you haven't seen the film of Call of Cthulhu they made, buy it for $20 bucks. My wife got it for me for our first anniversary along with the movie poster which is also awesome. These guys have been doing this stuff for a long time and it shows.
NZ, you don't have to do 1920's. You can keep it current. Combat is light as Live follows the PnP rules. Guns kill. Players are exceedingly vulnerable both physically and mentally. Props are easy. The games not really about keeping your charaters on the leveling treadmill as to good roleplaying and atmosphere. Plus, it's fun to scare the willies out of people.
No budget actually helps COC larps. Lovecraft was a less is more writer you didn't frighten readers with shock value. He did it with atmosphere. Just means the GM has to be more creative.
"Now witness the awesome lethality of the Alan Parsons Project!"
-Dr. Evil
Since there's been so much interest, I've decided to split the players into two campaigns. This should be easier for me to manage than one large set of players.
Here's the list:
The Tatters of the King
Start Date: October, 1928
Ideally, one investigator should be a published psychoanalyst or alienist, and one or more of the other investigators should be involved in the arts. All investigators should live in or near London.
Players: FeralPug, Baggz, PurEvil, Indignant,
Spawn of Azathoth
Start Date: May, 1927
At least one investigator should be a student of Phillip Baxter, a scholar from Providence, Rhode Island. All investigators should be based in New England or otherwise able to travel to Providence.
Players: ruhk, Sephirotic, Quintin_Stone, Brizahd, Rubb Ed
If you don't have the CoC core book or don't want to pick it up, you should be able to create a character using the Quick Start Rules here.
I'll be posting posting guidelines soon. Questions can go here, via PM or email. Characters should be sent to socialchameleonsr@gmail.com.
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard
Arrgh! My wife and I are searching for a house and have begun putting stuff in storage. My dice and rulebook are buried amongst our possesions at the local Public Storage. Crap!
"Now witness the awesome lethality of the Alan Parsons Project!"
-Dr. Evil
cool will check out the quickstart rules and come up with a char. Never played coc so looking forward to checking it out.
Sounds good, SC. I need to roll up a character.
Are you gettin' there Rabbit, are you gettin' there now?
Yes Lord, Lord, I'm gettin' there now.
Found this:http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Haven/4173/byakhee.html
"Now witness the awesome lethality of the Alan Parsons Project!"
-Dr. Evil
So I'm guessing it is the honor system when it comes to rolling attributes? Or would you rather roll the d6's and pm me? I'm only bringing it up cause I know as murphy's law will have it I'm gonna roll all max stats
I trust everyone to be honest with their stats. Although if you're offering me the opportunity to roll dice, I'm not going to say no.
Sometimes, if you wanna save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
-Bernard