Okay, so last night we had another session (our 4th one?) of the Call of Cthulhu game set in 1920's Canada which my buddy Steve is running. We had a great time, with a train ride across Canada, RP with suspicious characters, a freighter blowing up, meeting a weird Japanese revenant ninja, and preparing for a full-on assault by the Deep Ones against our other freighter (the one that didn't get blown up at Vancouver). All in all I must say that Call of Cthulhu still rocks as a role-playing game. I love the creepy feeling of a well-run game, the mystery solving, the role play as you work your character, and trying to figure out what's going on with all the sketchy NPCs. The fact that the "monsters" are usually deadly dangerous really puts the pressure on when violence looms. It's a totally different vibe from the D&D style fantasy games we've been running. I think my friend Bill has been keeping a campaign journal--I'll try to bring him on board as a guest blogger and share some of the game with us.
Speaking of games that still rock, I should mention Paranoia. Last night we found out, much to our surprise, that Steve has never heard of Paranoia! Really?! Well, clearly I shall have to remedy that gap in his gaming education MWAHAHHAHAHAHH!!!
I still can't fathom what attracts folks to CoC. Your character either goes insane or dies. Or dies after going insane. That just doesn't sound fun to me.
ReplyDeleteWell, for me CoC combines a great 1920's vibe which makes for a cool trip back in time with great eerie atmospherics and the delicious thrill that at any moment serious eldritch horror might burst on the scene. The sanity mechanics aren't really that brutal. I've never seen a character actually go insane (which is slightly disappointing given that it's supposed to be a major part of the game). But it's a bit like playing Paranoia: you start out with the understanding that the game won't be about trekking up to level 20 or whatever. It's more like watching a movie, where the characters' ultimate fates are in question, than an on-going TV show where you can be sure they'll pull through okay be back for next week's episode.
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