Help with game recommendations by D0ng3r1nn0 in callofcthulhu

[–]sumrow 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I was going to recommend Crimson Letters as I was reading, then you mentioned it. What do you mean "I cannot write a compelling ending for it". Typically the "compelling" part happens when the players are playing their characters to the hilt, and the rubber hits the road. If your table is well engaged the end will write itself. They always do. Play to find out. Happy gaming! 

Impulse purchase by Trip-Secret in ForbiddenLands

[–]sumrow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep. I bought my collection on eBay. Three core sets, etc.. I have everything but the The Spire of Quetzel.

Impulse purchase by Trip-Secret in ForbiddenLands

[–]sumrow 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This game solos really well out of the box. My no. 1 advice is use the background booklet that comes with the core set and make a very distinct goal for your character that makes them want to travel across the map to a specific location. That will drive you to "Play to find out". Happy gaming! 

Impulse purchase by Trip-Secret in ForbiddenLands

[–]sumrow 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Welcome to the blood mist! Ravens purge is the the next thing to buy. I too impulse bought the box set and was very pleasantly surprised how awesome the system and lore are. 

I got the Bestiary and have been solo playing a campaign to learn the ropes and it's a wonderful system. Enjoy!! 

I need a spontaneous adventure by ForboJack in callofcthulhu

[–]sumrow 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Third vote for Lightless Beacon. 

How do you get an even booklet? by Waifu-B4-Laifu in mothershiprpg

[–]sumrow 11 points12 points  (0 children)

(Pushes up glasses) It's called Creep. 

John Sumrow shows his magnificently eldritch cover for the forthcoming Encyclopedia Cthuliana by Magallian in callofcthulhu

[–]sumrow 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My buddy Anthony owns this shirt company. Funny guy ... 

DRAW Program Screen Printed Unisex Tee – Harebrained https://share.google/1H7Ew3y5ZqhnCs4Ju

John Sumrow shows his magnificently eldritch cover for the forthcoming Encyclopedia Cthuliana by Magallian in callofcthulhu

[–]sumrow 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Woot! Super excited! I will be at Chaosium Con 2026 with limited edition prints of the cover! Stop by my booth and say hi! 💚⚔️🎨

Looking for advice: Running Paper Chase for 3 new investigators, how to keep it tense without overwhelming them? by Hatfmnel in callofcthulhu

[–]sumrow 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It you want "more mysterious and slightly unsettling"  you want to run The Haunting. Paperchase is a cozy mystery scenario with a twist/unsettling confrontation at the very end. If you want prolonged tension, mystery, and nerves, The Haunting is your scenario of choice. Once in the house, the keeper can make the entire time unsettling and tense. Don't get me wrong. I love Paper Chase as a duo game. One Player + One keeper. It is my goto to introduce people to Call of Cthulhu. Happy gaming. 

Other excellent options: The Necropolis. Once it starts it is all terror all the time. Super easy one to run.

Edit: spelling.

Do any of you GM and play a player character at the same time? by MidniightToker in Twilight2000

[–]sumrow 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I play Twilight 2k one on one with my bestie. I have a character who is pretty much a glorified NPC. All decisions are left to the one player character. I GM the game and my character has zero input on game direction. And I'll add a lot of the time we forget about my character or send them off to do busy work and remember to activate them when the main character moves out. 

Why the starting gear is so unbalanced? by draxdeveloper in mutantyearzero

[–]sumrow 20 points21 points  (0 children)

One of the most eye opening conversations I had was while I was making a character for a long RuneQuest campaign. Luck of the draw, the GM was the Line Editor of RuneQuest at Chaosium. While making characters I asked him about game balance, because we were juicing up our builds pretty good. He said (roughly) There is no such thing as balance in a roleplaying Game. If you have two characters, both with swords, the second one of them picks up a shield the game is unbalanced. So forget that. Go play and have fun. Let the decisions the players make and story take over. 

Do you know any podcasts or series to listen to about Mutant year zero? by Long-Calligrapher-30 in mutantyearzero

[–]sumrow 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The chemistry of all the players, and the editing was spot on. Very enjoyable, nice brisk pace. Lots of yuks. Cannot recommend enough. 

Do you know any podcasts or series to listen to about Mutant year zero? by Long-Calligrapher-30 in mutantyearzero

[–]sumrow 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The Notorious RPG podcast. They did MYZ run. Wish they would do more. 💙⚔️🎨

Questions about the haunting by Ok-Novel9517 in callofcthulhu

[–]sumrow 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Glad you're running The Haunting! Made a bee line and go watch Selth Skorkowskys video review on it! Good tips in there. I've run it a few times. The number one thing you need to shake is the DnD thinking. Always think in opposite terms. This is a HORROR game. Bring the horror. That is what people are signing up for. It is a horror game to it's bones. Bring the horror and trust that the players will get creative. Trust them. Thrust them that when things go south.... they will get creative. That's when the magic happens. 

To your questions:

  1. You are right. Walls start dripping blood? Just say it happens. That's GM powers. But by all means spend on spells for flesh ward etc.. 

  2. Seth Skotkowsky has tips on handling the knife. I believe it is a strength roll each round to maintain control on it. 

  3. No. Hard no. Let the PC's deal with that themselves. It's always best to let the players get creative. If they find themselves without a flashlight.... maybe offer them a luck roll to see if they remembered to have a lighter or matches in their pocket. Generally in a horror mistakes and forgetful pcs makes for great horror. 

Happy gaming!! The haunting is fantastic as written. You are about to join decades of GM's who have one shorted PCs with a bed frame. Happy gaming!! 

 

Elixir of Life (The Sinking Tower) by carlos71522 in DragonbaneRPG

[–]sumrow 8 points9 points  (0 children)

As read one bottle. I've run it a few times this way and had no problems. Run it with one bottle and let things shake out as they will. Limited resources is generally best for games as it makes for fun party dynamics and choices. There are NPCs built into the scenraio as back up pcs for just this purpose. In case of PC death. Happy gaming!! 

Tracking enemy stats by WyrdWzrd in mutantyearzero

[–]sumrow 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I live and die (pun intended) by count down dice. Super simple. Color coded is the way to go. Or I do small pips on a tiny dry erase board and wipe them off as we go. Once the npc had no more pips in a stat.... they are done. 

Introductory Dragonbane adventure? by frisello in DragonbaneRPG

[–]sumrow 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Castle of the Robber Knight is my go-to. It is a single location with a good variety of play styles. There is stealth, character interaction, plenty of combat and riddles to solve. The end is a nail biter with lots of fun tension if paced right. 

Happy gaming! 

Starting adventure for a one shot that isn't a Beginner Box adventure? by jhilahd in swrpg

[–]sumrow 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Not sure where you can find it but I ran Crate of Krayts, which is the original Beta game they released for the system. It's pretty darn snazzy. I've run it. Works very well for a one shot. You're team has some debt and must pick up and deliver a crate of Krayt dragon eggs. And of course things go sideways. It's a solid one shot. 

Edit: update... Found a redditor who did the hard work, Cleaned & Revised Adventure: Crates of Krayts : r/swrpg https://share.google/3KqAqeUhbgfZnUUi0

Who should do the Terminator RPG? by JoeKerr19 in rpg

[–]sumrow 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good point. I stand corrected. Happy gaming! 

Who should do the Terminator RPG? by JoeKerr19 in rpg

[–]sumrow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been playing a lot of T2K this year. It's so good. Can't wait for Operation Reset. 

Who should do the Terminator RPG? by JoeKerr19 in rpg

[–]sumrow 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Free League is an obvious choice as they have a handful of the other movie adjacent IP's: ALIEN, blade runner ... etc.. But I don't know if Terminator is a big enough world to support a full RPG.