Your ideas for show topics

Questions, comments, quips, criticisms, suggestions & compliments regarding the podcast and this forum.
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Eibon
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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by Eibon » Fri Apr 05, 2013 12:59 pm

Whakahoa wrote:Ever since I read Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods', I've thought Bast would be an interesting figure to incorporate into an Egypt based scenario but I haven't seen many mentioned. Most of the AP's I've listened to tend to stay away from Elder Gods.
Bast was used quite a lot by Robert Bloch in his Mythos fiction. I think the RPG made her an Elder God only to bulk the numbers out. There isn't really a good reason why she should be and Nyarlathotep should not be!

The problem with the Elder Gods is that Derleth presented them as the "good guys", and good guys tend to be less interesting adversaries. Of course, because some humans think the Elder Gods are nice because they've done things which have had a good effect for humans doesn't actually mean that the Elder Gods are nice. I have for years now been arguing that rather than cops and robbers we actually have gang wars, i.e. the Elder Gods are just another bunch of thugs trying to displace the Old Ones, but with no more interest in Humanity than the Old Ones have. It is also interesting to note that if you look at how Derleth introducing the Elder Gods in early stories like "The Return of Hastur" he seems to get very confused about what is an Elder God and what is an Old Ones, for example: "...beings are of two natures, and two only: the Old or Ancient Ones, the Elder Gods, of cosmic good, and those of cosmic evil, bearing many names, and themselves different groups, as if associated with the elements and yet transcending them [...] the Old Ones banished from the cosmic places all the Evil Ones, imprisoning them in many places..."

So the Elder Gods are the Old Ones, and the Great Old Ones of the RPG are the Evil Ones!

When I've used the Elder Gods in an adventure or story, I've tended to show them to be as implacable and coldly alien as the Great Old Ones. In fact the last one I used, Vorvardoss, was going to destroy the Earth as a verminous nest of Old Ones without the slightest interest in what other life forms lived on the planet.

There is clearly a human cult to the Elder Gods who tell us they are good, but then, there are cults to the Old Ones who say the same thing about them too.

Logar
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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by Logar » Mon Apr 29, 2013 3:45 am

There is something very specific I wanted to know more about. I don't think it's a whole show topic but maybe a side topic. While making a scenario, I came across a task that needed to be done and I thought of making a new skill for it. But why not a stat x5 roll? I thought that was a bit too generic but later I thought why not? It was one of those things in between if you know what I mean.

Now my quick question/topic is: As keepers, when do you decide to make up new skills or just use a stat check or comparable skill? Specifically, at what line do you cross to decide that something needs its own category?

Here are two examples: In Keeper Jon's "Timeless Sands of India", he had some new skills. I remember, Meditation and ... a weapon skill (not to be too specific spoilerwise). They fit perfect to me and they seemed very natural and organic. That's great. Now, listening to the one-shot DIE HIGH as played on Skype of Cthulhu (ep.96), there was a couple points when characters were to roll skills that just didn't exist. Parachuting/base-jumping and, I believe, Journalism were two examples. They used similar stat/skill substitutes which frankly was also fine to me, but I also thought they should have their own category. So why one or the other?

Now where does the difference sit between the two? At what line do you cross and decide that a new skill is needed? Is it how common you think it is/might be used? As above: journalism yes, parachuting no? Do you only make one up if you don't think anything else fits? Or just simply because it's fun. I imagine its individual, so what are your tastes and/or guidelines as keepers? What are the ups and downs, if any? Can you have too many skills? Why would you do it as opposed to not doing it, or vice-versa. Also, care to share any favorites?

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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by Keeper Dan » Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:39 pm

Great idea Logar. I'm gonna add that to the list. I bet we can have some great talk about this one.
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Thomas R. Knutsson
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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by Thomas R. Knutsson » Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:45 pm

I would like to know your opinions about pre-gen characters.

Me myself, I love them. Sometimes I rather would have a keeper hand me a pre-gen than having to roll up a character, as that can take quite some time to do, especially if you, like I, spend a lot of time weighing between choices. I know some players would rather have it the other way, to always roll their own characters. I like having a character handed to me, as it also gives me an opportunity to roleplay something I might not have thought of myself.
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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by trevlix » Tue Apr 30, 2013 12:58 pm

Thomas R. Knutsson wrote:I would like to know your opinions about pre-gen characters.

Me myself, I love them. Sometimes I rather would have a keeper hand me a pre-gen than having to roll up a character, as that can take quite some time to do, especially if you, like I, spend a lot of time weighing between choices. I know some players would rather have it the other way, to always roll their own characters. I like having a character handed to me, as it also gives me an opportunity to roleplay something I might not have thought of myself.
I like that idea. I would also ask that if you do discuss it, you include how GMs can create good pre-gens. If only you had a contest last year you could pull examples from... ;)
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fear_the_squirrels
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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by fear_the_squirrels » Thu May 02, 2013 3:35 pm

How do you bring the different eras of CoC to life in the game and really set the background and stage to make them unique? What do you do/say/act/allow in Gaslight that is different in 1920's or Modern? Do you change preferred adversaries or how they are organized etc..?

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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by fallingtower » Mon Sep 02, 2013 11:32 pm

I am one of the few people I know who prefer to run Call of Cthulhu in modern mode. I find a lot of the time that period games turn into caricatures of the particular period and often turn quite silly. [queue Yakity Sax (aka Benny Hill Show)]

I like to run a more hard edged, visceral game, more Clive Barker...less 3 stooges ...or as like I call it, "As serious as @$$ cancer."


Two subjects I'd like to hear covered are:

Cthulhu Now...I mean like right now...not 1993 Now.
&
Why so serious? Gritty realism vs. Yuck Yuck's in Call of Cthulhu gaming.

Cthanx
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Dr. Gerard
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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by Dr. Gerard » Wed Sep 04, 2013 7:14 pm

fallingtower wrote:I am one of the few people I know who prefer to run Call of Cthulhu in modern mode. I find a lot of the time that period games turn into caricatures of the particular period and often turn quite silly.

I like to run a more hard edged, visceral game...or as like I call it, "As serious as @$$ cancer."

Two subjects I'd like to hear covered are:

Cthulhu Now...I mean like right now...not 1993 Now.
&
Why so serious? Gritty realism vs. Yuck Yuck's in Call of Cthulhu gaming.

Cthanx
I like these a lot. I completely disagree about the value and the default tone of history-based horror gaming, but both of the above are still excellent topics.
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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by KeeperMurph » Wed Sep 04, 2013 7:32 pm

I think it is more to do with how your past keepers ran the 20s honestly. For what it's worth I found out that Sandy Petersen intended the game to be modern or by Chaosium would not pick it up until the 20s was introduced as a setting. Then they got on board. Just an interesting tidbit of info there.

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fallingtower
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Re: Your ideas for show topics

Post by fallingtower » Wed Sep 04, 2013 8:05 pm

Nice beard. fellow bearded one,

I'm sure not every 1920's game devolves into a farce, just in my experiences. It was more than likely the players (who were D&Der's) in every case I was involved in.

Like I said, I like a game with a more serious tone. The horror!!

Really enjoy podcast and I would love to hear either of my ideas covered.
If religion were true, its followers would not try to bludgeon their young into an artificial conformity; but would merely insist on their unbending quest for truth, irrespective of artificial backgrounds or practical consequences.

H. P. Lovecraft

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