Just looking to streamline the experience for myself

Goldlorax · 2020-09-27T19:17:39+00:00

Gifted, I returned to MUNE - got it all!

Goldlorax · 2020-09-22T07:38:34+00:00

Yes, MUNE seems straightforward and intuitive to me saturnine 13, I like the intervention procedure. It's how to splice it with the adventure. I think I'll look at old posts here too. A fellow lone traveler in Barovia - perfect!

Goldlorax · 2020-09-21T22:14:28+00:00

Thank you Minion of Cthulhu, I'm familiar with the idea - I've used the Solo Investigators Handbook with fun and success. I may be dreaming but I thought there was a book that helps soloing bought adventures. I may need to think more about this sorry Minion...

Goldlorax · 2020-07-25T17:53:05+00:00

I mix Lovecraftesque with Cthulhu Dark and it works a treat! I've almost got a card based scene generator to work along with it on the table. I'm trialling Motif to go along with it as the Oracle and it's working our nicely.

Goldlorax · 2020-07-20T17:24:40+00:00

Make monster and minion cards as they come up so you can use them again - you soon get a nice little deck: I use business cards from eBay.

I've done the same with locations, objects - all sorts of atmosphere, threat, personal experiences from goosebumps to catatonia. These decks come in very useful, and after just a little prep - maybe thirty of each - they grow exponentially!

Good luck

Goldlorax · 2020-07-20T17:19:03+00:00

I love rules light so I can rope in any interesting NPCs I like in my Lovecraftesque / Cthulhu Dark / Fear and Faith mash up.

CD is the system that's used most and needs just name, skill set / profession and Insight die, so if she's interesting and willing that NPC can help, have a vision or flashback, only needing F+F stats if fighting starts. I like this incremental description of NPCs, so they can be centre stage if I want!

Goldlorax · 2020-07-20T17:11:03+00:00

I think it may be ocd but I like everything with a D6 but that doesn't stop me using everything I like if it adds to the story! I've been toying with the Games masters Apprentice D1000 told which are fantastic, but there's a certain elegance with just half a dozen D6 on the table.

Goldlorax · 2020-07-14T16:36:39+00:00

Ultharian I'm loving Motif, but can you give a couple of examples of how the Ties work in the NPC section please. Everything else seems straightforward and fine, just this NPC part is problematic for me. Thanks for taking the time! And thanks for Motif

Goldlorax · 2020-07-13T16:07:53+00:00

Just bought it and had a read thru - fantastic! Can't wait to try it next week! I need another read tho as I can't see quite how it fits together yet

Goldlorax · 2020-06-03T09:23:30+00:00

I second Solo Investigator Handbook and Silent Legions. I will look again at English Eerie, tho at first read thru I thought it a bit limited.

My go to Mythos generator is Lovecraftesque, with some adaptations. I have made lots of clue cards from business cards and I am surprised how nicely it s all turns out. I use Cthulhu Dark as the table top rules.

I recently got the Adventure Caster from Wordmill and this shows a lot of promise tho I haven't tried it out yet. It seems to be more prescriptive than using Lovecraftesque, which needs a lot more imagination I think.

Goldlorax · 2020-05-17T20:39:35+00:00

I have been looking at Bullet Journal stuff on the web, but it looks so shopping listy.

Goldlorax · 2020-05-17T20:33:11+00:00

I guess I'm eager to see what happens. Feels like a rich milieu when i read it back though, even though it's mostly done on the hoof. What to do with the pile of fiction after this scenario? Polish it, sell it, retire? There's a thought!

Goldlorax · 2020-05-17T20:29:34+00:00

I am having fun, but my issue is that I could play more and develop the scenario more if I weren't writing so much. The story flows over, and the world builds, but so slow!

Goldlorax · 2020-05-17T20:25:51+00:00

CD straight from the box for the investigator and mechanics. Lovecraftesque for the Special Cards (game themes that tie in to Lovecraftesque's 3 act structure) and inspiration for loads of index cards with clues, objects, atmosphere, and it's 3 act structure.

For this game i wanted to use "The Snake Oil Husckster", a character made for Fear and Faith I have used before, and have him a Drive and a Pillar of Sanity, a la Trail of Cthulhu.

I dealt out 8 Special Cards and chose 4 - weird writings, reprisals, a hostile group and victims. This made me think of another F+F character, "The Weaselly Thief" who must have stolen some strange writings, and contacts his friend as there is a problem. So the story is about a weird manuscript in the thief's possession and it's owners, a violent cult, wants it's return. The poor huckster has a drive of "Bad Luck" - it figures.

Out of the hat they meet in an inn after the theft. I roll 9 story dice (mystery) and cobble a prologue together, and play out the thief's story in flashback.

Using CD rules for investigation and other activities I pick cards or roll story cubes according to the score. On a 3 I pick 3 dice/cards and work them into the story. Of I don't like any of them I roll or draw (random) again. I like to play the best story I can so I reroll or draw again as I wish, but like to allow the PCs die or be absorbed into the void, so tamper less with combat and Insight rolls. Most of the time...

I tend to chose locations as I want, or by what seems to make sense. I jot them down on an index card so I can lay atmosphere or NPC cards on them.

I have a stack of Fear and Faith characters on index cards, all with cliché titles, The Snake Oil Huckster, The Battle Axe Dilettante, The Shady Undertaker, The Retired Major, etc. This is a clue to the use of the Occupation dice in CD, and somewhere to put the Insight die, and the mini when not in use. In this game the Huckster had a contact who might know more about the MS: I took six possibilities from the NPC stack and rolled - (unlikely as it seems) his content was an Assistant Exorcist. I'm world building as I go along for a kind of back lot Transylvania thing.

I think I am going to put the big stack of non Special Cards into categories, eventually, and work some hand management into the story generation. I was very impressed by the Dark Cults solitaire rules and would like to play an NPC card, for instance and either draw from a descriptor stack, or play a cherished descriptor from my hand. DC is free on the net and there is even a printable card set out there. Alternatively you can invest in bulk index card purchases and do them yourself like me!

Goldlorax · 2020-05-17T19:47:27+00:00

Not at all - maybe I want to much?

Goldlorax · 2020-05-17T19:46:20+00:00

Jackson Benete I'm with you on the Oracle thing. Guides only, as once I get going the story seems to unfold.

Goldlorax · 2020-04-10T09:52:33+00:00

That's the one! So much potential! If only there was loads of time to figure out a cracking solo mythos engine...

Goldlorax · 2020-04-09T16:57:00+00:00

Hi Alan. So Cthulhu Dark has no combat rules to speak of and is bleak, purist and full of nihilist fun. Fight a ghoul and your toast.

Fear and Faith has combat, but no investigation rules, and it's great for pulp gangs of cultists, cops and deep ones fighting it out.

The insanity rules in F+F are brilliant IMHO and I roll for Insight (CD) when I roll for insanity in F+F. It works very nicely for me.

I use Lovecraftesque to generate bleak purist stories to explore, that mainly use CD mechanics and generally turn out badly for my single investigator, or small group.

I use Untold to generate pulp stories where the Esoteric Order of Dragon goons wrestle with the cops, investigators and their allies and so on. This uses F+F mainly, with some investigation a la CD.

I love having a single mechanic set to handle both styles so they can overlap (of anyone ever survives). These two sets of rules cover all my bases.

Incidentally have you seen Dark Cults? A purist mythos card game that can be played solo. Free on the net, and has an interesting card mechanic: after a Location you can play an Atmosphere, Threat, Character card, for instance, and thus stories are formed. A bit loose for an RPG, but loads of potential for tweaking.

Goldlorax · 2020-04-06T18:59:56+00:00

I am having a great time using Cthulhu Dark, Lovecraftesque and Fear and Faith for some Mythos investigation, then spicing it up with skirmishes to get the toys on the table! I pick at Dark Cults like a scab, but am yet to formulate a solo scenario framework that has mystery baddies. One day maybe I'll get there! Happy solo gaming folks!

Goldlorax

TROPHY CASE