070 - Of Grave Concern

Dr. Gerard · Post by **Dr. Gerard** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:11 pm

I just listened to episode 070 with Keeper Jim and Keeper-as-Player Dan, and I thought I'd start a discussion on solo adventures with this as an example...

Solo investigative scenarios are pretty tough, right?

You guys ended up telling a good story despite the challenges, but it does seem like you ran into some shoals here and there.

I tried to play Call of Cthulhu for many years with just a Keeper and a player. We would meet about once a year, and would try to replicate the kind of fun we'd once gotten from groups. Yes, we tried.

And tried.

But each time, we found that at some point I would, as the player, run into a brick wall in the investigation. It was frustrating. I'd miss a key clue or play my character too strongly for verisimilitude (which can mean rookie moves like calling the cops), ignoring leaps in meta-game logic that are sometimes needed to move the plot along. My Keeper maintained a strict poker face from behind the screen. It made me realize how dependent I had been in earlier years on the process of brainstorming with other players. It made me realize that my best role playing experiences hinged on interaction with other players. Something critical seemed to be missing from the experience. Frankly, I worried that I had "grown out of" my interest in RPGs.

Happily, that turned out to be a false diagnosis.

Anyway, how do you think you guys handled those inherent problems? Dan, you expressed some frustration in- and out-of-game about being stuck. At the risk of putting you on the spot here, was your overall experience positive in the end? Do you feel it's worth it to play one-on-one? Any tips for making it work from the player's side?

And Jim, you seemed to be able to move the plot along pretty fluidly despite some blocks. But I could also detect your slight exasperation when Dan would miss key Idea or Spot Hidden rolls. (Is it just me, or did Dan roll some absolute crap dice during that game?) Did you feel you had to work harder because it was one-on-one? What are your suggestions on how to keep things moving?

Wordcraftian · Post by **Wordcraftian** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:56 pm

I shall download and listen to this episode.

I've been curious about this for some time. I recently moved to a different state where I've got nobody but my wife to play with. She's vaguely into the idea of learning how to play and I REALLY want to play more Cthulhu but it's just the two of us. I didn't know if games could be run with just a keeper and a player. Are there scenarios written specifically for just a circumstance? I'm also interested in all of the answers to Dr. Gerard's questions. How do you guys keep it moving? Keep it Interesting? Keep it Scary?

Also, I've only ever played and never kept, so I figured a small one on one experience would be a good learning scenario for the both of us. How wrong am I?

Post by **Keeper Dan** » Mon Aug 27, 2012 11:12 pm

Yeah, I think it was a good overall experience. This was the first time I played solo, and in this kind of situation crap rolls can seriously kill momentum. The more I play CoC again, the more I think I'm better as a Keeper. I'm just not very quick in my thinking to really grab hold of the threads as well as I'd hope.

This is a very Lovecraftian style of gaming though. Most of his stories featured a lone protagonist, and only occasionally did he end the story with his health and sanity intact. Our usual method of having a team of people trying to stave off the darkness for another day is much more Derlethian in nature, but does suit the milieu of the game far more aptly.

Wordcraftian, the book this came from is called Monophobia: A Fear of Solitude. They're all solo player adventures, and the best part... It's FREE! Just follow this link over and grab it! It's done by Unbound Publishing, over at http://www.unboundbook.org/

Wordcraftian · Post by **Wordcraftian** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 12:24 am

Wordcraftian, the book this came from is called Monophobia: A Fear of Solitude. They're all solo player adventures, and the best part... It's FREE! Just follow this link over and grab it! It's done by Unbound Publishing, over at http://www.unboundbook.org/

Holy crap!

This is awesome. Thank you so much! Can't wait to dig into a few of these.

Dr. Gerard · Post by **Dr. Gerard** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 2:18 am

Wordcraftian wrote: Also, I've only ever played and never kept, so I figured a small one on one experience would be a good learning scenario for the both of us. How wrong am I?

Awesome find, Dan!

So, Wordcraftian, I wouldn't want to discourage your enthusiasm for trying it out at home, but I have to say for my part that 1-on-1 is pretty hard to pull off. When I wanted to dive back into RPGs a few years ago, the first thing I did is try to run a solo with my girlfriend just to show her what gaming is like. I was rusty, had to look stuff up in the rulebook a lot, ran my own improvised adventure that was pretty flat...and I think I might have turned her off of the whole thing. If your wife is super patient, maybe it'll go better for you. My girlfriend is a geek but not really a horror or genre fiction fan, so I was up against a lot of alien territory with her.

Dan, I know what you mean about being not a great puzzle-solving player. The way I tend to play, I get stuck imagining how my character would react to the supernatural weirdness, and I lose the clue trail very quickly. It's not so bad if I have other players around, but as I mentioned above, it can be deadly on my own. You seem to be a little more in your element in Ilsley and ep. 071.

The knife trick was actually kind of brilliant -- too bad it happened to be the worst thing you could do for the ending...

Post by **Keeper Dan** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:25 am

Yeah, I was all kinds of proud when I thought up the thing with the knife. What I should have done was do stuff to hobble the dead body so he couldn't cast when he was in there. I could have done something to mess up the ability to chant/talk when I had possession, and that would have helped me out a ton at the end.

Dr. Gerard · Post by **Dr. Gerard** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 12:45 pm

It strikes me that the body-transference device in that scenario was a useful way to move things along from scene to scene. It reminded me of the season of Lost in which the characters were jumping around in time without any control. It would probably get obnoxious if it went on for many sessions, but for a one-shot it helped to increase the threat and maintain momentum in the pace. Dan, did you find that aspect of the scenario to be frustrating or more engaging?

Wordcraftian · Post by **Wordcraftian** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 5:14 pm

Dr. Gerard wrote: So, Wordcraftian, I wouldn't want to discourage your enthusiasm for trying it out at home, but I have to say for my part that 1-on-1 is pretty hard to pull off. When I wanted to dive back into RPGs a few years ago, the first thing I did is try to run a solo with my girlfriend just to show her what gaming is like. I was rusty, had to look stuff up in the rulebook a lot, ran my own improvised adventure that was pretty flat...and I think I might have turned her off of the whole thing. If your wife is super patient, maybe it'll go better for you. My girlfriend is a geek but not really a horror or genre fiction fan, so I was up against a lot of alien territory with her.

Yeah, you might be right. She's never gamed before, and only has a small sense of what it even is. I was hoping to find a very short scenario with which I could introduce her to the core concepts of horror/investigative gaming. If I do give it a shot, I'll be sure to know as much as I can going into it to avoid having to pause gameplay to look stuff up. Thanks for the input!

TAK · Post by **TAK** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 5:23 pm

Wordcraftian wrote: Yeah, you might be right. She's never gamed before, and only has a small sense of what it even is. I was hoping to find a very short scenario with which I could introduce her to the core concepts of horror/investigative gaming. If I do give it a shot, I'll be sure to know as much as I can going into it to avoid having to pause gameplay to look stuff up. Thanks for the input!

If you don't wanna keep looking up rules, you might wanna try something like Cthulhu Dark first, it's super-simplified rules for more Lovecraftian feel (there are no combat rules, cos combat just kills you, as an example). It's also free.

Dr. Gerard · Post by **Dr. Gerard** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 5:51 pm

TAK wrote:If you don't wanna keep looking up rules, you might wanna try something like Cthulhu Dark first, it's super-simplified rules for more Lovecraftian feel (there are no combat rules, cos combat just kills you, as an example). It's also free.

I couldn't agree more. I've used Cthulhu Dark to introduce new role players, and I think it's a great way to sharpen Keeper skills. Character creation takes less than a minute. No stats. Just pick a name and a profession. That's it. I think character generation can be a barrier to new players who have never seen a character sheet, because it's very statistical and abstract until you jump into your first dialogue. Call of Cthulhu is far lighter in rules than, say, Hero or even D&D -- but Cthulhu Dark strips gaming down to its bare bones.