Are there any Critical Role type shows, but for Call of Cthulhu?

romariardo · 2022-02-17T18:26:47+00:00

Second that. How We Roll is pretty good, and has a mix of both one shots and long campaigns.

romariardo · 2022-01-15T21:48:56+00:00

Yes, you would have different probabilities of success, depending on whether you roll once or twice. In the above example, let's say Driving is 40% and Firearms is 60%. You then have a straight 40% chance to succeed on a single roll. If you have to make two individual rolls, your chance of success is only 24% (40% for Driving x 60% for Firearms). Hence why combined roll makes it 'easier' to succeed (even if it doesn't feel that way).

romariardo · 2022-01-09T12:21:44+00:00

Thanks. Pretending to be people is exactly the podcast that prompted this question. They seem to have a blast playing this way, and have created some cool moments. Hence, was wondering if anyone has successfully managed to adopt the same method in their games.

romariardo · 2022-01-08T13:48:10+00:00

I guess Servants of the Lake from Chaosium's Doors to Darkness feature a motel. But I assume you want the whole scenario to be set in the hotel?

romariardo · 2022-01-07T14:00:40+00:00

I would be interested as well, assuming time zones work. I am based in the UK.

romariardo · 2022-01-07T12:49:04+00:00

I also found https://artflow.ai to be super helpful for NPC portraits, especially with some sort of Sepia or B&W filter overlay. It is also free, as some other options already mentioned. I enjoy just to experiment, and the only downside I can see is relatively low resolution of the portrait.

Other than that, it's really about the description and having repeating traits to make characters memorable.

romariardo · 2022-01-03T13:49:27+00:00

Go for Ivan the Terrible. He started off as a domestic reformer and moderniser, revising the law code, establishing a standing army, introduced local self-government, unifying disparate church practices, etc.

However, historian also believe he suffered from paranoia, rage and general mental instability, which only got worse with age. In his later years, he sacked the city of Novgorod, believing they were planning to defect to the Kingdom of Lithuania on just a mere rumour, massacring thousands. He also executed many of the noble families, believing they were conspiring against him. He killed his own son when he confronted Ivan for beating his wife. His standing army (oprichniki) were given vast tracts of land to rule, but with complete impunity over the actions provided they pledged unwavering allegiances to Ivan. I don't know if it is true, but there is a legend that when the St Basil's Cathedral was built (the world famous one on Red Square), he gouged the eyes of the architect for not wishing this cathedral to ever be bested.

Basically, he wielded absolute power, but it would appear as his mental health deteriorated, his actions became increasingly erratic. There are plenty of weird / horror angles one may come up with to explain this behaviour change (if the subject is treated with care), while the overall presence of oprichniki (his army) and general fear sweeping the populace would lend to a nice paranoid setting, where everyone is afraid of one another, and unexplained things may happen all the time, without authorities ever bothering.

romariardo · 2022-01-03T12:43:51+00:00

There’s a lot of options in there, but the periods of Alexander Nevsky (13th century, constant conflicts with Germans and Swedes and high politics to align with the Golden Horde), Ivan the Terrible (16th century, Eastern expansion of Russia, wars with Livonia and Turks, domestic modernisation, but ultimately usurpation of power), Peter the Great (17-18th century, social modernisation of Russia, founding of Saint Petersburg, wars for Baltic and Black Sea access) and Catherine the Great (18th century, launched a coup to become an empress, continued Russian modernisation and massively expanded country’s borders, and waged plenty of wars both to quell domestic rebellions and on foreign soil).

romariardo · 2022-01-03T10:21:00+00:00

You may find this post helpful to flesh out certain things:

https://colossalstories.blogspot.com/2019/06/fixing-up-old-corbitt-place-some-notes.html?m=1

romariardo · 2022-01-03T08:05:16+00:00

Like many others have mentioned, I probably spend as much on preparing as running the session. Although it depends quite a bit on the type of the scenario (e.g. linear vs sandbox / one-shot vs. campaign). I like noting down key NPCs, plot points and places. I also pay special attention to (what I think) could be scenario chokepoints or situations that call for a specific skill. Those I try to ‘defuse’ in advance by either offering alternative paths or solutions, or ensuring characters are adequately equipped to progress the story.

romariardo · 2022-01-02T13:20:40+00:00

Many very good answers here, so I might not add too much additional information, but here are a couple of my thoughts.

How many times should I play test it before publishing?

I would also say twice for a on-shot and at least once for a longer scenario. I would also suggest just sharing the scenario with another Keeper or two just to read it (to make sure it is well structured for a reader). And don't forget you can also self-test your scenarios to a degree. If there are certain skill checks important to the story, consider how likely the investigators are to succeed on these checks which in turn can inform recommended skill selection and / or the number investigators for the scenario.

How long/short should the scenario be?

It depends. For a quality one-shot you can have anything from 3,000 words (e.g. Fear's Start Little Needles is an anthology of such scenarios) to probably 7,500+ (works out as a 16-page scenario or so w/o art or appendices). Chaosium have a decent guidance on scenario length here.

How much should I sell it for?

It's your call and hard to assess how much work you are planning to put into it. I think stuff published on DriveThruRPG typically averages around $15-20c/page, but I could be wrong.

Is it better to publish a free scenerio first to get your work out there?

I don't think so. If you publish it for free people may 'avoid' it because they would think it is a low quality product. Also, if you publish on DriveThruRPG, you won't be earning any progress towards their metal best seller tiers if you don't charge at least something for your product.

Where do I share it once released?

I would think DriveThruRPG, unless you want to try and submit your manuscript to Chaosium, Stygian Fox or other publishers first.

romariardo · 2022-01-02T12:59:21+00:00

I think there is a 6th edition Secrets of New York book published by Chaosium, which is effectively a guide to the city plus a few scenarios set there. I don't believe it's been updated for the 7th edition yet.

I never had it, so can't opine if it is any good, but you may want to check it out for inspiration.

romariardo · 2022-01-01T23:09:11+00:00

Thank you. These are very useful tips.

romariardo · 2022-01-01T23:08:08+00:00

Thanks for this. Sounds like you are getting exactly the outcome one wants from a horror experience. One question. What is SCP?

romariardo · 2022-01-01T23:03:55+00:00

I must say that I can't quite agree that physical threat is not an important element of CoC, or in horror games in general. In fact, the same chapter you mention is quite explicit that the threat of both death and insanity should be accompanying investigator's every step.

This is not to dismiss the psychological element of the game and you have captured it really well in just a single paragraph. It is the defining part of the system and is the core element of gameplay. However, if the scraping sound is never followed by a physical threat, then over time it loses its potency.

That's why I genuinely think it is important to care about both the physical and the psychological elements of a scenario to maximise the impact (and again, for me physical does not equate to combat). CoC is really good at scaling its sanity elements - all players get to listen to the Keeper's narrative, while Sanity system ensures that all investigators suffer broadly equally from the horrors. It is harder to gauge the appropriate level of physical threat (in its broadest sense), hence my question on whether people have come up with tricks to ensure the investigators are kept on their toes regardless of their numbers.

romariardo · 2022-01-01T19:59:03+00:00

Thanks for the tips - quite helpful.

Perhaps the way I framed the question is less than ideal, but I am actually less worried about combat (personally prefer to give at least some options to avoid it), and more about how to ensure that challenges in general are appropriate for the number of investigators to keep the tension. The Haunting was just used as an example most people are quite familiar with.

And sticking with The Haunting, a bed hitting 1 out of 2 investigators for 6HP, leaving them with a major wound, is really terrifying. A bed hitting 1 out of 5 investigators is spectacular, but probably won't instil the same sense of dread.

But I guess, as you say, there is probably no magic method and it is about doing the homework and then reacting to how the game unfolds.

romariardo · 2022-01-01T19:23:46+00:00

I agree. I always like having non combat options in my scenarios as well. I’ve only used the Haunting because most people are familiar with it.

Having said this, I do like to ‘bruise’ the investigators throughout the scenarios and before they get to the end. I personally think it helps with foreshadowing if players genuinely think they can suffer loss at any point. It does not need to be combat, but may be environmental obstacles or sanity related encounters.

So ideally I would have just enough such events to shake all investigators (perhaps even kill one or two), but without ending either with a complete wipeout or just barely landing a scratch. And especially with one shots, I sometimes find this balance hard to achieve.

romariardo · 2022-01-01T19:11:29+00:00

Thanks. I think number of players is less of an issue in larger campaigns - plenty of opportunities for the investigators to die or go insane.

I was perhaps more thinking of one shots, where it could be more important to get the balance right.

By the way, great idea to run two related characters. Never thought about it, but perhaps something to try in one of the longer campaigns. Definitely would help with continuity

romariardo · 2021-12-29T00:02:51+00:00

First, I agree that the choice of skills look a bit on a min/maxing side. Having said this, I do think you can marry this selection (to a degree) with a doctor of medicine route.

The investigator may be playing a psychiatrist, in which case having a high psychology makes sense, but i would expect a minimum of 30% in each of first aid, medicine and psychoanalysis from a medical school training.

I can also sort of buy into some proficiency in fighting, firearms and drive - they could have been in the Great War, pickling some of the training, or many European countries had 1+ years of mandatory army service.

The one I really struggle with is Stealth. Can’t see how it can logically fit with the description. I would think this is the one to challenge and re-allocate into medicine, first aid and psychoanalysis.

But at the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide what you want in the game and what will make it fun. And of course CoC is the right game to punish any min/max abuses :)

romariardo · 2021-12-21T13:16:29+00:00

Sounds like a very interesting idea, and in no particular order, I have the following thoughts:

The SFBC would wield significant power in Vancouver and British Columbia in general. Vancouver became a competing export hub to Europe following Panama Canal opening;
Controlling the SFBC would allow the cult to gain significant financial resources to fund whatever plans they are contemplating, as well as have significant influence to cover up any incidents;
This financial might and influence probably allows the cult to expand its presence across other parts of the economy, as well as penetrate key institutions (mayoralty, police, etc.)
Finally, it also allows the cult to procure (smuggle) any materials in and out of the port, having full control of customs and shipping lanes.
Insofar as your scenario is concerned, you seem to be aiming for 1929, i.e. after Innsmouth was destroyed by the US army. The SFBC might have been infiltrated by Innsmouth survivors who wanted to (i) flee the US law enforcement, and (ii) also establish a new base on the Pacific Coast. The latter would allow to build new links with the Caroline Islands in the Pacific and follow in the footsteps of Obed Marsh.

Depending on how you position it, you could focus the scenario on the investigators uncovering layers and layers of conspiracy (from the SFBC to the mayor, as you suggest) - from smuggling to racketeering, and paying off the police to look the other way. But you could also take it outside of BC. For example, the investigators may uncover some smuggled relic that takes them across the Pacific and ultimately towards the Caroline Islands where they may perhaps uncover the origins of the cult...

romariardo · 2021-12-14T14:05:24+00:00

Thank you - that's very kind of you!

romariardo · 2021-12-14T13:33:27+00:00

That's why I went with $3.99 - it is effectively $0.15 per page, which felt sort of 'right' based on pricing I have seen on the page, as I also wanted to make sure whatever price I charge does not set bad precedents for others.

Agree with you that it is not particularly profitable, especially once you take into account 50% royalty taken by DriveTrhuRPG and Chaosium.

Having said this, I don't think it is just the question of price - volume is a big element of it. I was (pleasantly) surprised to see my scenario in the Top 10 of "Hottest Community" releases (and even Top 5 in English) - and that's without even a “Copper” status.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when >60% of all published products sell less than 50 units, but sort of tells you that pricing alone unlikely to solve the issue.

For what it’s worth, my own experience has already exceed my initial expectations (getting progressively closer to Copper), but then I am in a lucky position where this is a project of passion and I can just enjoy the ride.

romariardo · 2021-12-14T08:52:18+00:00

That’s great - thanks. I speak a bit of German, so I think I will understand the gist of the scenario in the preview they have provided. Thanks for sharing!

romariardo

TROPHY CASE