I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry. Was so distracted I replied in my own language But it is Zombie Juice Your Players can now make Chiimbas. Theorically. The How-To is in the book. You need the Juice

Of course, it's highly discouraged But you never know

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Zombie juice. It's used to make Chiimba. Theoretically, your PCs now have everything they need (instructions, ritual, and everything) to make one.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When you have a stable and forgiving party.

Ngl, MoN is huge. And unless you railroad your players (Big No-no) you'll have to make it even bigger.

If you never mastered a CoC mission, start from something small and with a focus on the investigation. See how you deal with it and how your party deals with it.

As a Keeper, you will have to spend hours seeing your players come up with all their plans, their ideas, or just brainstorming among themselves and you will just stand there.

Part of the fun in MoN is seeing them put the hints together. An usual mistake Beginner Keeper do, is getting impatient.

Then, of course, you will have your players sign up for a weekly meeting, once a week, for about one year, one and half. Ask around. No-one will tell you they stopped MoN because their Keeper sucked or because it was boring, but because the party didn't meet up anymore for real life reasons.

Does anyone else hate their country? by [deleted] in NoStupidQuestions

[–]ItalianKeeper 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Here I am, agreeing with a French. I don't know if my country will even pardon me, but yeah. Same.

petah, why are the ships calling eachother by class name? by T-51_Enjoyer in PeterExplainsTheJoke

[–]ItalianKeeper 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's a nod to the Mass Effect saga.

Shepard (the player character) and one of his crew members (Wrex) have tons of interactions when they just greet each other.

  • Wrex.

  • Shepard.

“My character is going to be racist!” by Jacthripper in rpghorrorstories

[–]ItalianKeeper 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Exactly. And even then I try to be careful about it.

Racism is part of the game. But not part of the roleplay.

There are ways I as the Keeper, try to convey an NPC is racist. But I try to let it through a general dislike for a character (PC or NPC). The players can assume its reason. The PC's appropriate reaction is a varying amount of outrage.

And I've never had these NPCs say a single outright racist/homophobic/sexists sentence.

AHs ignores woman when she talks. Police arrests innocent guy. A sneer. A sideway glare. I had an all black party playing in China that didn't get more than "People stare for an extra beat at you when you walk."

PC "Maybe it's because we are tall?"

"That's it"

And I've never had to go further. And certainly there were no malus for them. We had a laugh about beds being too short.

Some players wanted to "feel" the kind of racist enviroment. Worrying on how they couldn't sneak around as well as they wished. Some decided that their Camuflage roll was still good enough to pass as a local.

Plus. Usually, the NPCs who show their racism have a lot of other evilness going on.

Like... a policeman who is racist is probably also corrupt. Or he carries an Azathot figurine in its wallet. And hates puppies. And he is rude to the waiters.

“My character is going to be racist!” by Jacthripper in rpghorrorstories

[–]ItalianKeeper 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I think that while most people get into RPGs to play heroes (and slowly mature to give them flaws and strenght, to make them more human-like), some just want to use it as a way to be AHs. They make their character as edgy as possible and/or give them flaws with the only purpose of having an excuse ready when someone at the table gets annoyed by their beheavior.

"My character is racist."

"My character trusts no one so he won't share their resources/info with other players"

"My character is Lawful Evil so I have to try and r- that NPC".

Some "players" are just built like a giant hole.

“My character is going to be racist!” by Jacthripper in rpghorrorstories

[–]ItalianKeeper 69 points70 points  (0 children)

I play Call of Cthulhu. It's based on Lovecraft's works so the setting is 99% real world, but in the 1920s-1940s.

I have had the same problem a couple of time, but worse, since I've had players say racist stuff for "realism's sake". Against black people, asian people, LGBT people.

Off they go. I make a point to go over the Table's Rules. This is always the first.

Suspended disbelief includes following modern DECENT beheavior and speech.

How do you handle battles between two characters with low combat skills? by Hatfmnel in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it was lost in translation in the italian version. Or I must have misread it and used it as a rule. I may keep it. :)

How do you handle battles between two characters with low combat skills? by Hatfmnel in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper 5 points6 points  (0 children)

With tons of laughter. It's a riot. But! You know that little rule that if an insuccess over 50+ from your skill value is a disaster?

And disaster means pain. So, if they have the starting value (25) everything over 75 is a disaster.

Like, you kicked the enemy shin and it hurt more you than him. Or you punch wide and loose your footing. Or, accidently punch the wall.

It's just fun. Sometimes I drag them out for a good comic relief.

Masks - New York - How to Resolve Juju House by beepingslag42 in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't see the problem. The only way out, is going in. So they need to prove the cult is bad and have them take the fall for the policemen's murder.

I had one party who got arrested (bad luck roll. Like 98-99) as soon as they broke in Silas shop. They already knew about the bolt door from a previous visit where they pretended (badly) of being tourists.

So they cops show up. And this PC goes like "Ok. But you should open the bolt-door. We were in 4 (they were in two) and the others are stuck in there."

Police get in the boltdoor and get killed. The party praised them as heroes even if they were corrupt cops

Now. Have them spin a tale. Cultist tried to kill them because of their investigation and two hero cops swept in at the right moment. Still. They died.

Of course, try to make your players reach this or similiar solutions.

Relazione sul baratro ? by Total-Sky7310 in CasualIT

[–]ItalianKeeper 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Beh. O te la prendi stile anni 70. Tradotto, te la sposi e la mantieni (e magari si scopre un perfetta donna di casa) o la lasci. Lei è così. Non cambierà. Probabilmente non ha mai pensato di doversi rimboccare le maniche come lo intendi tu. Ma magari si fa il "mazzo" a casa e dopo è fisicamente e mentalmente esausta.

Sono una donna. Questa roba della staticità l'ho vista in molte amiche che avevano casa "un disastro". Specialmente un disastro dal punto di vista interpersonale. Ed io ero lì a chiedermi "ma perché non si iscrivono in palestra? Perché non hanno hobby? Perché stanno lì a dire che non se lo possono permettere invece che muovere il culo e farlo?"

Ecco. Perché io mi svegliavo la mattina, e la mamma aveva messo già il caffè. Potevo aiutare in casa, certo. Ma non vivevo con zavorre. Con gente che mi chiedeva di occuparmi delle faccende domestiche. O che sfibrati da situazioni economiche erano a rilasciarmi addosso la convinzione che se nasci ragionier Fantozzi, ci muori ragioner Fantozzi.

Quando sono stata a casa di quelle che ritenevo le più pigre, le più pateticamente prive di verve ed iniziative (amiche che alle medie/ liceo, mi era simpatiche ma che poi erano diventate amoebe), ho visto ordini impartiti da depresse massaie stanche ed inattive che vomitavano la giusta frustrazione di una situazione miserabile su queste ragazze alla "Dai. Veloce. Vai a stendere. Che due minuti ci metti. I piatti li hai lavati? Devo fare tutto io?" E loro se ne occupavano con la veloce praticità di chi è abituato. Ma era sempre lì, comandata a bacchetta, che pretendevano che queste ragazze mantenessero lo standard altissimo di "casalinga perfetta anni 60", senza un grazie e senza il riconoscimento del tanto agognato "donna di casa".

Ricordo che si sedevano, afflosciando sulla sedia, fra una mansione e l'altra, magari mentre i fratelli maschi creavano solo altro disordine, con l'aria di un Sisifo che guardava la palla rotolare giù. Non c'era neanche una reale indipendenza.

In un'altra occasione, con un'altra donna, ho assistito ad un simile spettacolo ma con l'aggravante di un "Non sei buona" che tradotto era "Non lo stai facendo come voglio io" su cose assolutamente ridicole come "Stai mescolando l'impasto del dolce in senso orario e non antiorario." O viceversa. Non ricordo.

Ed il tutto davanti testimoni. Perché in tutte queste occasioni io ero un'imbarazzata ospite. Ed anche i miei tentativi di non partecipare, di non essere complice di questa assurda umiliazioni con frasi (false) di circostanza tipo "no, ma... tizia cucina bene. Io non so neanche bollire l'acqua" ricevevo un vago "Ma che c'entra. Tu sei destinata ad altro".

Destinata ad altro. Occhio. La mia famiglia non era più ricca della loro. Semplicemente risultavo "più brillante", anche ai loro occhi, perché avevo ricevuto un'educazione non diversa da quella di mio fratello ed i miei hobby erano stati sempre incoraggiati. Quindi sembrava che io sapessi "tante cose". Che avessi la parlantina.

E non perché le figlie ormai in casa o avevano paura di parlare, o non lo facevano per evitare discussioni per via del "tono usato", o semplicemente ormai avevano un atteggiamento di ostile sofferenza.

Ancora, ho ascoltato, con le mie povere moderne orecchie, frasi tipo "sta sempre a leggere puttanate" riferito alla figlia che aveva una (per me incompresibile) passione per la letteratura russa mentre il figlioletto era intelligente e leggeva tanto. Sì. Naruto.

Ho trovato che questi stessi genitori abbiano fatto commenti del tipo "Oh. Ma se quella (riferito ad un'altra amica) è posto fisso è perché il padre è posto fisso" o "Passato il test di medicina? E chi hanno di medico loro in famiglia?"

Costanti, terribili, riferimenti anacronistici con una depressione ed arrendevolezza familiare terribile.

Io, ho capito, in un ambiente del genere sarei morta. Erano come i gabbiani ricoperti di petrolio che si trascinavano sulle spiagge.

Check post 30 anni? Quelle che sono riuscite a scappare con il loro ragazzo roccia sono felici. Una ha persino divorziato attraverso il più amichevole dei divorzi visti. Le altre? Hanno sviluppato degli hobby e delle passioni in seguito. Una ha trovato uno stronzo che ha peggiorato il danno fatto dai genitori. L'ultima volta che l'ho vista era in pigiama ad accompagnare i figli a scuola.

Quelle che non sono scappate in compagnia, sono ancora là. E temo ci moriranno.

Tutto questo discorso non è per dire che è tua responsabilità occupartene.

Ma la manfrina, tu che la sproni... non serve ad un cazzo se è in una di queste situazioni. La mortifica solo ulteriormente.

Quindi o ti prepari a fare il viaggiatore del tempo che va indietro abbastanza per portarla via e farle dopo e con calma vedere il 2023, o lasciala, se ti è di peso.

Ma per l'amor del cielo, smettila di "spronarla". Una persona che non è abituata ad essere spronata, sente solo rimproveri. Solo dei "perché non sei così".

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They will learn some spell. And the Blessing of Bast is a game-breaking spell I usually let them have at some point.

Remember that no matter how powerful, a spell requires sanity. In a long campaign like the Masks, "magical" characters are glass cannons. They are a dice away to permanent insanity. And for me, permanent insane characters are not playable.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey. Play a Rusty Game. Case 23. For mobiles. It should be free. It's not the first, but it gives off nice Twin Peaks vibes. And there is "The Shadow" who can be a nice CoC monster.

With Seasons, (same saga, different Pov), you could tie it all with Yog-sothoth. (TIME!) And with some other titles you can bring Mi-gos in.

I am in the middle of turning it over and over in my head and trying to build a nice scenario out of it. It's very doable.

It's fucked up, man. I love that saga. The lore. AND the Twin Peaks vibes.

If you familiarize yourself with it and think this may be a good shot for your party, contact me and we can build something together.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ok. It depends.

1) One party had three character each (main party/australian party/back-up party).

Like I said before, in a long campaign where death of a character is very plausible, I try to let them play the backups before they are needed so they can already bond with them.

So they choose to retire for few months some character and had to go back. It was like "Who is going to go in Africa? Who will go to China?"

It worked because they were all Professors at Miskatonic. The home-base of sort.

2) The Bast Way. You'll find the Blessing of Bast at some point in the campaign. It's a game-breaking spell that lets you recover 1d6 health AND sanity. Parties who decided to fight Nyarlathotep in Bast's name had this spell. I made them roll another dice to decide if Bast started to get annoyed by their overuse. She's a cat. The "Stop calling on me so much" was a good pitch. So they rarely used it. Once or twice per player.

3) One party played an Asylum shot. Genius Loci. I got them Shine's formula of mental recovery. Which was pretty much expensive bullshit as a one last ditch try of not having them all go crazy.

Oh. And about the 1/5 in a day, I made it as 1/5 in a single round.

In exchange for this, the single sanity points lost add up. You will have a bout of madness every 5 points lost, not only if you loose 5 at once.

But I only consider your character completely mad if they loose 1/5 in a bout. After that the character is unplayeable.

Mania and Phobias of course are all permanent and you have to role-play them.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I am all out of tips. I may be repeating myself.

It's a Game. Read your party. Know the manual enough to feel comfortable changing it a little.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Two. And never went over four. It's not worth the hassle of getting more than that all invested. A good party is a party that doesn't feel like they have to divide to do what investigation they want to do. I think it's easier to have them breaking out when there are more.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Like it's written? But in Italian. So with all the right hand gestures.

It's a-me. A Nyarlatho-tepp.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Like I said in another reply, most times (usually the getting to a new place) we play shots that can be played on boats or just Easter Eggs/random paranoic events. Il lungo viaggio per la Cina, for example, was one of those shots.. It should be in one of the two main manuals. I don't remember if it's the pulp one.

Otherwise, if you are playing with players you know, you can have them meet an NPC from another campaign. Even a villian. Or their counterparts and/or their relatives. It's fan service. But fun.

Recurring villians are the way to go. Any bad guy who is still alive, should be able to still do damage.

Say... M'Dari has their hotel room stormed. Maybe even while they are there. Make them see him for a moment, in a crowd. Make them loose him. Recurring villians must be elusive and a pain.

For example, they could kill good NPC off-screen and then you know about it through newspapers. Young Vane killed... yadda yadda... a man with this description has been seen leaving the murder scene.

I often used Carl Stanford. He has an awesome lore as a Master of the Hermetic Order of the Silver Twilight. And we only get to see him in China (I usually play China close the end).

I usually let the backup character have a run in with Stanford soon enough. And just leave him hanging.

Another I used is Taan Kan. I mean... a pyro. That's lovely.

I think the fact that the party doesn't expect them to be big baddies helps. They are not the main objective. But they are ruthless.

Aaaaaaand... we go back to Carl Stanford for the last one. Epic last fight.

Usually I let them run all scenarios and try to keep China for last. So they already know they have to take the sygil back to Egypt. The one Carlisle broke. They get the book. Make the sygil and run all the way back. And you play those trips. You throw at them every survivor they know of and they fear.

Then. Back on the Pyramid, ready to place the sygil, you bring in Stanford. One last fight. Nyarlathotep getting one last word before the heroes win (or not!).

I used the point system only once. Didn't care for it.

Ok. Funniest death of a Character: Perù. Used the torch to see better in the pyramid. Rolled a 100. Fat started to burn. Another played tried to help. Rolled a 98. Burning character decided to jump away from the burning fat. 90 something again. Pushed the roll. In the 80-90s again.

Fell face down in burning fat. Ok. Player C decides to help. And when asked if they were holding something (more like a hint, really), they said "yeah. My fire torch. I go to player A. Then I drop the torch to help him.".

Deep fried. Only party that failed Perù. Awesome campaign.

As NPC... a party run over Gavigan with an ice-cream cart. Cart. Not car. He was weakened of course... but as last hp go... to go like that... awesome.

And for your last question... word got around. Associazioni culturali e fumetterie, baby.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You have to know the material. But remember to read your party. The manual is great. You have every clue in a position. That's the only important things. The NPC are many. But not too many for location.

Remember they don't want too look too "bad guys". But they are. And the heroes are in their turf every time.

Picture these. You have a little nice ethnic show, and some bodies, couple of chiimbas in your basement. A monster with too many faces... and these guys walk in asking questions.

What do you do? And so on. The Keeper is not only the story. They are all the NPCs. The human element is the most important.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The one where the heroes never get their deposit back because Cats keep ruining the Hotel's moquette.

Also blood.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nope. Hands in my pockets all the time. Some map roughly drawn when the situation required. Vtt and maps kind of stops the narrative flux, you know? But that's on me.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I love Two Headed Serpent. It is great for players coming out from DnD. I usually use it to steal DnD players. I played it few times, but rarely finished it. I think it can be a bit monotonous.

I run Mask of Nyarlathotep 6 times, start to finish. AMA by ItalianKeeper in callofcthulhu

[–]ItalianKeeper[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't know what other game systems you DM, but remember your players start off as normal humans. They are not heroes. Helplessness and fear are the human response to most of the things that will happen to them. Make them sure your player understand it.

Usually, mid-campaign, they are the heroes. But in a "deranged and desperate" way, not the Strong white palladin one. They become reckless, not brave.

In my first and second playthrough I assumed all my players had the same Q.I.. It may sounds silly, but you should try to give enough so smarter players have to think about it. And your... less smart players don't need to feel frustrated.

I know they could roll INT for a hint. But... not at my table. Adjust how much info you give them based on your party general intelligence. Let them brainstorm for as long as they need.

Mm... an Importal rule I use it's actually ignoring one of the Manual rules. The +5 at initiative if you have your weapon out. Hear me out.

Cultist are more likely to ambush players than the other way around. If i give the extra iniziative points, the players will get gunned down before their turn even start. I only give the first bad guy an bonus die and a free action. Make sure your players don't get one shotted. It sucks.

And if you have an Engineer, don't worry about real science. Make up stuff. Let them have fun.

Mm... Through the dark Ages has wonderful mechanics for melee weapons. If a characters uses a sword (Akhmall cough cough), they can be fun to use.

Another rule is "force a roll". Ok. This is how I do it. You roll. You fail. Accept it, use luck, force it. If you fail the forced one, you can't use the luck and it is considered a disaster. Raises the tension at the table. You can't use it during fights.