I've been thinking of looking into the Call of Cthulhu games, but it seems there are a *lot* of editions out there, and was wondering which ones to look for and which ones to stay away from. Any tips, /tg/?
No? Okay then.
>>47753938
There really aren't any terrible call of Cthulhu games out there. Basic Chaosium CoC is the go to, and Delta Green is good for modern stuff.
That's really all there is to it. Avoid d20 CoC stuff, and you're golden.
>>47754256
Chaosium, would that be 6th edition?
>>47753938
THE game to beat: Call of Cthulhu 7
Contender: Nemesis
Modern setting: DG, Laundry
Fine but not perfect: CoC 1-6
For fluff: ANY
Nu-uh: ToC, D20
>>47753938
Just for the system I highly recommend the new Delta Green edition. It's much better than any CoC edition. The rules are much more streamlined, and the bond system is something new and really cool. The main drawback is that it's not full compatible with CoC and that you will have to do conversions.
If you absolutely want to play vanilla CoC, I recommend the sixth edition. I absolutely hate the 7th edition, probably because I'm so used to the earlier editions with stats going from 01 to 20 and % skills. 6th edition is compatible with everything that was ever made for CoC, while 7th edition needs conversions for old supplements.
Now, what is really needed to play CoC? Not much. The CoC 6th editions contains most information you could find in the old Investigator's Guide. IMO, the main issue with CoC is that it is very well known. Relying one published material always bears the risk that your players will know it. That's a reason why I like to create my own stuff. Anyway, the different cities and country guides are pretty good (Arkham, London, Cairo, Tibet...) and might come in handy. The Dream Lands book is pretty darn good and also pretty much mandatory if you want to play in the dreamlands.
>>47754515
Have another look at 7. They didn't change much, but the details really make the game better. Successes are now qualified at first glance. Sanity is much more comprehensive. Push and luck spending are great.They really did keep it the same game while also eliminating many of its issues. It's really worth getting into.
I do not agree that converting takes any effort. It still is the same game.
DG is great, but very much made for its mission structure. It is very streamlined by comparison. CoC7 really lets you flesh out any character and decay them in any horror scenario, not just a professional lier going on mind breaking missions without their family or anyone knowing. Bonds wouldn't work in most CoC scenarios, let alone one-shots. The DG skills are very much built around modern agent life and completely inept to handle 1920s. I like the hardening tracks for violence and helplessness, but I like the UA Madness Meter even better. DG is great for what it is supposed to do, but requires some basic work to function in a CoC context.
I have combined CoC7, DG, and Laundry elements for my Laundry campaign. CoC7 is the trove and DG as well as Laundry feature some neat ideas. But they both build on CoC and carry unnecessary strings that 7 cuts, like the opposed rolls table, primary characteristics counted like dnd attributes, or too many melee skills eating up hobby skill points.
I have played this and am very much taken with it. Most of it is CoC7. The new CoC sheet offers a much more at-a-glance structure. The counters for health, sanity, magic, and luck are great. The new qualified skill roll results really improve the level of detail without making it clunkier.
This is my optimal solution for playing Laundry. For something more Lovecraftian I'd still use Nemesis or UA, depending on flavor. If the focus is on character decay, UA is the best approach. It really takes some work to get away from its setting, but it's worth the effort. Nemesis incorporates the best of UA with the excellent ORE mechanics. It's free, bare bones crunch, incredibly fast to resolve while also providing more detail for building a story than anything even close to resolving that quickly, and it does anything from 1920s to modern out of the box. It also mods better than any other crunch I know, everything balances in simple dice pools.
Alright, I'll check out 6th and 7th edition as well as the Delta Green stuff then. Thanks for the advice.
>>47755198
Considering 6 when you have played neither is a waste of time. 7 is much more accessible. There are a lot of unwritten things in CoC6, like how to handle skill failure, how to make sanity matter, or how to avoid super skills in a longer campaign.
If you're new to CoC then start with 7. The only reason to stick with 6 or 5.5 is nostalgia or because you have the books. 7 got a great work over, and it was overdue.
The quickstart is free to download and there are videos by Paul Fricker on YT explaining chargen to lazy players.
If you want to have the details explained then listen to the Good Friends of Jackson Elias podcast. It's one of the main authors and two other experienced British keepers dissecting every element of CoC7. Their audio quality was lacking until last year, but they fixed that. The content is excellent. Their style is rather purist in CoC terms, but they cover every aspect in the light of different playing styles.
d20 CoC is best Call of Cthulhu
Let's you play CoC without having to learn d100 so you can be 3.x/d20 master-race forever.
But seriously just get CoC 7 and Delta Green and you are basically good to go unless you want to play a classic 1920s or 1890s game.
Haven't seen any other threads, so
https://youtu.be/RhXvQMIU3bE
Thoughts on the new CoC vidya they announced?
>>47760014
There isn't much to look at. The trailer is shit. Narrator and all. Could be a great game, too soon to tell. But the flavor is far from purist even though they're trying from what it looks like in the trailer.
You can't make a major video game and produce it for fans of HPL, there's too few of us. They have to go for mass appeal with cheap effects and campy creatures. Every bit they want to explain Cthulhu or cosmic horror beyond what people know from South Park will be a battle against marketing. And I believe marketing lost a lot of those. But not enough to appease my sensibilities.
Let's see what it is before we tear it up. But tear we shall.pic is bait
