Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

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Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by Wordcraftian » Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:43 pm

Good day all,

There's a lot of discussion concerning D&D players learning to transition into Call of Cthulhu but not a lot regarding the transition going the other direction. I was recently invited to play in a local D&D group and I'd love to establish those connections and friendships but I don't know thing 1 about Dungeons and Dragons. My entire RPG experience is centered around CoC. Any hints, tips, advice?

Good news is that if the group holds they told me they wouldn't be against trying some Call of Cthulhu down the line :cthulhudance:
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Re: Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by Keeper Dan » Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:09 am

That's the direction I went in. First CoC, then all other games.

The thing you'll notice about D&D is that the rules are not designed with the same ideas in mind. It does not just get out of the way after resolving the task. The combat rules can become extensive and complicated if the DM let's every option from all the supplement books on the table.
There is also having a Class, which is more than having a career path. It will guide every aspect of the character's future and what they can learn to do down the line.
And then there are Levels. CoC has an organic character progression through getting better at skills by using them. Level-based games are set where you learn new things all at once after you've done enough unrelated things, usually killing enemies or completing other goals.

Each version of D&D has its own feel. I don't mind 3.5 too much, but I loathe 2, and didn't enjoy playing 4. For a point of comparison of my opinions, I liked D20 Modern, and love Star Wars Saga Edition (D20 game based on Modern as a start point).

It's a different world, but just remember that it's classic power-accumulation gaming, and have fun with it.
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Re: Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by Nvision » Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:30 am

D&D is awesome, but the motivations of the players are generally quite different from those in a CoC game. Slay monsters, acquire loot and fame! If you've done any computer/console gaming, then it's like a pen & paper based version of Baldur's Gate or Skyrim. 4th Edition, likely the most divisive game iteration ever, has kind of a board game/strategy element mixed in, along with a big focus on miniatures. It's quite a different beast from 3.5, but I like it for its streamlining of some rules (3.5 felt cluttered to me). Almost certainly the group you're joining will be playing one of those two versions, as older version groups are becoming rare.

Go in looking for high adventure, and bring some CoC roleplaying chops, and you'll have a great time. :)

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Re: Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by KeeperMurph » Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:49 am

I must admit that I loathe 4th ed. In fact, when I play did it is almost always an OSR, Old School Revival game. They are based either on 1st or more commonly 2nd editions.

They feel is entirely different, you can kill anything you go up against so long as you work as a group and do not have a dick DM.

I enjoy the game still in this format as it holds a special place as the first game I played for years on end with the same group.

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Re: Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by Keeper Jon » Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:37 am

I long to play some old school D&D with all of my old books, but now I find d20 based rules so cumbersome. I freaking love the simplicity and fluidness of Chaosium's BRP and Call of Cthulhu rules.

I'm a sap. :cthulhu1:

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Re: Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by Howard » Tue Apr 23, 2013 6:42 am

I just play the old editions of D&D as well. There are so many styles of playing the game that differs between each group your just going to have to wing-it at first. If your DM is running a sand-box style game, or a gritty low-magic setting, or a hack-n-slash combat driven game or a heavy "Role-play" story scenario. Dungeon crawl or Monte Hall are some more. A ship scenario could feel like a pirate game, it could go anywhere. The safe bet is a human fighter with a sword and shield.......go.

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Re: Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by Thomas R. Knutsson » Tue Apr 23, 2013 7:07 am

Wordcraftian wrote:Good day all,
What do you mean? Do you wish us a good day, or mean that it is a good day whether we want it or not; or that you feel good this day; or that it is a day to be good on? [Channeling Gandalf. Just ignore the questions.]
Wordcraftian wrote:There's a lot of discussion concerning D&D players learning to transition into Call of Cthulhu but not a lot regarding the transition going the other direction. I was recently invited to play in a local D&D group and I'd love to establish those connections and friendships but I don't know thing 1 about Dungeons and Dragons. My entire RPG experience is centered around CoC. Any hints, tips, advice?
Well, it depends a lot on which edition of the D&D rules they use, but I'm guessing the most basic things, that probably, I hope, are consistent, are the ability scores and how you do skills. STR, CON and DEX are the same as in CoC. Changes are that POW is Wisdom, APP is Charisma, and INT and EDU are baked together into just Intelligence. When you do skills you try to get above a difficulty level decided by the Game Master. (Am I right or wrong? Feel free to correct me.)
Wordcraftian wrote:Good news is that if the group holds they told me they wouldn't be against trying some Call of Cthulhu down the line :cthulhudance:
Maybe their transition from D&D to Call of Cthulhu will go easier if you do CoC D20 with them. I love the rule book for that. Great illustrations and good writing. Find the errata, and use the character sheet found on http://www.mad-irishman.net/. For some extra flavour, you could add some features from the "d20 Call of Cthulhu Gamemaster's Pack" and from the appendices to "H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham".
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Re: Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by Nvision » Tue Apr 23, 2013 1:42 pm

For those of you jonesing for some old-school D&D, I'd suggest checking out Adventures Dark & Deep http://www.brwgames.com/?page_id=11 It's kind of a spiritual successor to 1st ed. I've done a handful of illustrations for them as well, so I might be a little biased, but the core book is out and the DM's Toolkit book is almost complete.

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Re: Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by Scriven » Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:06 pm

I cut my teeth on basic ("Blue Box") D&D back in, what, '79 I guess, but mostly played AD&D growing up in the '80s. I'll always have a fond memory for that particular ruleset, flawed though it was. All the same, I've got to agree with Keeper Jon that it's hard to recalibrate to such a cumbersome rules system after being exposed to BRP. I never truly got the hang of D&D 3.5 even though I played in a campaign for about 2 years not too long ago. I just like the elegance and intuitive nature of a d100 system with use-based skill progression rather than arbitrary class/XP benchmarks. I also think the Vancian magic system is just a little hackneyed (though I do like Jack Vance's work), but have yet to see a solid, easy-to-use alternative. Admittedly, I don't have a wide experience of the current FRP marketplace.

I still think it's possible to have an absolutely great time with D&D, especially if you're lucky enough (like I was) to be sitting down with a group that prioritizes roleplaying over rules mastery. Even though I understand that D&D had its genesis in wargaming, I never chimed with the tactical combat focus that the game seemed to acquire in its later iterations. I suppose it helps to know a little bit about the personality and playing style of the group ahead of time. If these are folks you know and trust, so much the better.

Just out of curiosity, would anybody be interested in playing in a darker, grittier, BRP-based fantasy game set in or around Fritz Leiber's city of Lankhmar? I've been kicking that idea around quite a bit lately. I used to run a Lankhmar-based campaign using the old TSR supplement for AD&D back in the day, but it could be totally cool to reinvent it from the ground up for BRP. Could even include Mythos elements, considering the Lovecraft-Leiber connection. Just a thought for a future project...
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Re: Call of Cthulhu vs Dungeons and Dragons

Post by TAK » Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:20 pm

The less said about D&D these days the better. However Lamentations of the Flame Princess is an awesome CoC (among various other things) inspired version of OD&D. In fact many of it's adventures can be used in CoC with minor modifications.

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