Tell us about something good that you got recently

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
Oh for sure: I’ve ditched all those brittle plastic inserts. I like making my own out of foam board.
The more you can mingle the content the better as it all works together so seamlessly.
 
The more you can mingle the content the better as it all works together so seamlessly.
Yep, I love all the crossovers, although some “teams” seem designed to work well together (eg Guardians of the Galaxy, Cloak and Dagger, Alpha Flight).

I’ve managed to put everything (with a tiny bit of room to spare) in the big promo box and the two core boxes. Phew! Still some custom foam boarding to do, but I’m getting there…
 
Chaosium just put excess stock of their Call of Cthulhu Anniversary Box Set for sale on their web site. I originally backed the KS but, due to an unexpected confluence of events, I had to cancel it (along with my Mothership pledge too). So today I jumped all over the 2 inch Box Set version!
 
Chaosium just put excess stock of their Call of Cthulhu Anniversary Box Set for sale on their web site. I originally backed the KS but, due to an unexpected confluence of events, I had to cancel it (along with my Mothership pledge too). So today I jumped all over the 2 inch Box Set version!
Oh sorry to hear that you had to cancel. I went all in for both the big box and the 1 inch box set and they are indeed awesome. The larger box does have a lot of extra stuff in it. Both boxes are so well done and are a great reminder of why Chaosium back in the day was waaay ahead of the other companies with the quality of their box sets back then. Thieves World, Stormbringer, RuneQuest box sets, all were great, you definitely got your monies worth with what was inside them.
 
These beauties arrived in the mail today. The books are gorgeous to the point that they enter "too nice for the table" territory. I'm finally inspired to get started on my open table project.

View attachment 47546

Mine were waiting for me when I got home. I've been gone for 2 weeks and I think they arrived just after I left so they have been patiently waiting for my return. Haven't had time to dig into them beyond a flip through, but the quality is nice. The art and style has a strong vibe of early D&D / Arduin Grimoire, Warhammer 1E/2E and Heavy Metal magazine.
 
It was disappointing at the time but I'll soon have it anyway so it's all turned out fine. :grin: It certainly looks like a fantastically put together set and the nostalgia vibes are very strong too!

Something about the format of the "classic" set is making me want to play CoC more than I have in a long time. Aesthetically I can appreciate the gaming tome that has become popular, but I find while they get my book nerd hot and bothered, they seem to kill my urge to actually play a game.
 
I broke down and bought Other World Mapper. I have a really easy one I got in a bundle on itch called Hex Map, but you can't use that for commercial works. I wanted to make small maps for a future project, and after failing to make one on some of the online ones, broke down and snagged this. I have some icons I got on itch I wanted to use, and importing them was easy. Currently making a map. Not easy adjusting the icons to the right size, but it's not horrible either
 
Something about the format of the "classic" set is making me want to play CoC more than I have in a long time. Aesthetically I can appreciate the gaming tome that has become popular, but I find while they get my book nerd hot and bothered, they seem to kill my urge to actually play a game.
Nostalgia is a powerful thing, plus unless you are playing pulpier heroes I think the additions to 7E really change the feel of the game..
 
I agree that they don't have that much mechanical effect. At the same time, have Luck as a resource that the players can invoke like characters in D6 Star Wars drawing on the Force is distinctly un-Lovecraftian.

Totally agree but then nothing is easier to ignore than Luck points. So far I've been very impressed by the quality of the 7e CoC adventures.
 
Something about the format of the "classic" set is making me want to play CoC more than I have in a long time. Aesthetically I can appreciate the gaming tome that has become popular, but I find while they get my book nerd hot and bothered, they seem to kill my urge to actually play a game.

Nostalgia is a powerful thing, plus unless you are playing pulpier heroes I think the additions to 7E really change the feel of the game..

IME they don't matter much.

I agree that they don't have that much mechanical effect. At the same time, have Luck as a resource that the players can invoke like characters in D6 Star Wars drawing on the Force is distinctly un-Lovecraftian.

I love the look and feel of the 7th Edition books but I've got to agree that there is something about the Anniversary Box Set that makes me want to run it. I'm not sure what it is exactly. It could be the nostalgia factor, as that cover was the first that I saw advertised, back in the days prior to me owning any RPGs, when I was just really excited about any and all RPGs. It could be the fact that the 2 inch Box Set looks like an amazingly complete game, full of all kinds of cool gubbins, in one compact set. The fact that the core rules are shorter and therefore, probably, easier to sell most people on than the 7th Edition tomes doesn't do any harm either.

To be honest, it's probably a bit of all of those along with simple New Purchase Excitement.

Count me in the camp of not understanding the big reaction against 7th Edition's changes though. It works as well as any previous edition but it just leans a little more in the pulp direction this time. I think a lot of people tried to run it in that style anyway. Personally, I tend to look at all BRP derived games as another part of a big toolkit though so I tend to enjoy it when one of them introduces some new mechanics.

So far I've been very impressed by the quality of the 7e CoC adventures.

I haven't checked out all of the adventures/campaigns but the ones I've looked at are pretty good stuff. The various sourcebooks are great too.
 
Last edited:
I’ve played in a number of 7E CoC games since it came out and think it works fine for adventures that are, as stated above, pulpier. I think if you want to play up the horror and oppressiveness pushing one’s luck with rerolls and having luck as a resource actively works against that. It’s something that can be fixed with a simple house rule and doesn’t break the game or anything.

I’m not attacking 7E and recognize the pulpier style of game is what many want to play, it’s just something I would use a different system for personally. Mind you also prefer older versions of Dungeons & Dragons, Tunnels & Trolls, Stormbringer, Boot Hill, Star Wars and Top Secret (although I do need to give SI another chance) to name a few.
 
I think if you want to play up the horror and oppressiveness pushing one’s luck with rerolls and having luck as a resource actively works against that.
That's part of why I've no interest in 7e... also because, when I read through it initially, I felt that the authors were after some current trend of being more 'actiony' and 'narrative'. I might have read an early pre-release version... but it put me off.
I did play in one session, and it didn't feel different... but I think we were all still thinking in pre-7e mode and none of the newer widgets came up.
Now that I've got the new-old boxed sets I'm feeling even less compulsion about getting on with the new stuff... and leaning more toward Delta Green if I did.
 
I love the look and feel of the 7th Edition books but I've got to agree that there is something about the Anniversary Box Set that makes me want to run it. I'm not sure what it is exactly. It could be the nostalgia factor, as that cover was the first that I saw advertised, back in the days prior to me owning any RPGs, when I was just really excited about any and all RPGs. It could be the fact that the 2 inch Box Set looks like an amazingly complete game, full of all kinds of cool gubbins, in one compact set. The fact that the core rules are shorter and therefore, probably, easier to sell most people on than the 7th Edition tomes doesn't do any harm either.

To be honest, it's probably a bit of all of those along with simple New Purchase Excitement.

Count me in the camp of not understanding the big reaction against 7th Edition's changes though. It works as well as any previous edition but it just leans a little more in the pulp direction this time. I think a lot of people tried to run it in that style anyway. Personally, I tend to look at all BRP derived games as another part of a big toolkit though so I tend to enjoy it when one of them introduces some new mechanics.



I haven't checked out all of the adventures/campaigns but the ones I've looked at are pretty good stuff. The various sourcebooks are great too.

There may be some nostalgia in play, but I think it is mostly the format. There is something very nice about grabbing rule books in sections, just the bits you actually need. Also agree a box full of goodies is always enticing.

I think there were changes made in 7E that are just for the sake of change (stats = the stat roll), but there are no deal breakers in 7E for me.

I do agree some of the changes if used do take away from the stark fear of earlier editions, but many of these changes as optional rules do make the rules better for a variety of game types beyond just horror. CoC has long been my 2nd favorite system* for general 1920-30s action adventure, so some of the pulpier rules are a welcome addition there.

*Justice Inc is my favorite for "pulp" action adventure games.
 
I agree that they don't have that much mechanical effect. At the same time, have Luck as a resource that the players can invoke like characters in D6 Star Wars drawing on the Force is distinctly un-Lovecraftian.
I thought that the 'Push' rules are okay - allowing non-combat scene re-rolls. I quite like that if the PC fails a second time, then it is akin to an automatic fumble, so that gamble for us is alot of fun at the table. The game doesn't suffer if this optional rule is ignored, but I felt it heightened the stakes somewhat.

The other optional rule are the Luck Pts, which really are not optional, considering they are a score on the PC's character sheet.
I initially didn't like the Luck Pts tally, but I now feel that it can add to the tension of the game.

I'm a strict GM for CoC 7E - there is no wiggle room for the PCs, which forces them to reduce their Luck Pts a fair bit.
I think the trick is to provide lots of opportunities for the PCs to drain Luck early on in the scenario, that way it keeps things feeling urgent later on.
But if they don't drain the Luck Pts early, then I agree that later on things feel much less threatening if they have a huge supply of Luck Pts to fudge their failed skill rolls with.

I think Luck needs to feel like a declining and limited resource, much like Sanity, so the PCs makes feel more vulnerable the more times they deplete their Luck. I think it's got the potential to be a good addition to the rules especially for ongoing campaigns.
However I'm not so sure about having Luck Pts in short scenarios which are only one or two sessions duration - I wish that Chaosium put out a current character sheet (specifically designed for one-shot game play) that doesn't have the Luck Pts tally on them.

I do love the look of the CoC Anniveraryy Box, all those classic reprints together in one box - the nostalgia level is high here!
 
Last edited:
I haven't played the latest edition and the Luck mechanic doesn't sound like a great idea but I've always run Call of Cthulhu with a little action. I disagree with the trope that rolling an overeducated coward who runs from everything is the optimal way to play CoC. Granted, I haven't played since 5th edition but I remember the BAR and dynamite seriously fucking monsters up. Anyway, I own literally dozens of Call of Cthulhu adventures and many of them require incredible bravery and/or sacrifice at some point to achieve anything close to a "good ending"
 
Yeah my group for CoC usually resorts to dynamite at some stage too, it gets the job done well, heh heh

I find that opponents with pistols often level the playing field even before any mythos beasties show up, it only takes one or two shots and a PC is bleeding out, so CoC 7E plays pretty much as gritty as it's earlier versions.

I don't feel the Luck mechanic is too pulpy in CoC 7E - it's basically a tally akin to Sanity Pts, and if you fail a roll, then you can deplete Luck Pts to make up the difference. I think the main thing is to give lots of opportunities for it to be used early on, so that its a much bigger gamble later on in the scenario.

In reality, it probably works alot better than what often happens with GMs occasionally allowing PCs to succeed in rolls that they fail - I'm sure many GMs do this from time to time, especially if the rolls are not combat or pivotal, as it sometimes allows the plot to move forward quicker. In this way the GM just gives the option to the PC to deplete their Luck Pts if they want to succeed in that roll. If they rolled quite badly, then thats quite alot of Luck Pts to make up the difference

So it's not really a 'pulp' mechanic as some people often think. I think there needs to be alot more dials in the Pulp Cthulhu book to make CoC 7E a really pulpy action game like that title suggests, but in the core mechanics the Luck mechanics is certainly not a big pulpy kind of mechanic

Regaining Luck is quite hard to do, especially if the GM is stringent (which I think is ideal for the tone of the core game).

The main thing is not to have a huge supply of Luck Pts later on, it's there if needed but the characters still feel vulnerable that way.
It's not like Fate/Luck Pts in pulp action games or anything like that, there is no doing Indiana Jones stuff in the core rules as written unless the GM runs it this way (which is easy enough to do). It can be quite action-orientated if wished, although the risk to the characters is pretty high as well.
I don't really see too many concerns with CoC 7E's Push and Luck mechanics changing things in the game, it's more they just extend gameplay for a bit.

My main issue with CoC 7E is the fact that core characteristics are recorded differently to the stat blocks of every earlier edition (now a %) - a reasonable change, but the horse has bolted and they should of just gone for consistency.
I do like how percentile success levels are measured, but the default sheet records too many numbers on the character sheet, the success levels did not need to be there, that can be easily worked out in game play just as long as the skill standard successes are on the sheet (this later bit only makes sense to those who have CoC 7E, they will understand what I am probably poorly articulating here)

The art direction should be a little more grim and darker in the CoC 7E corebook. It certainly has the pulpy flavour, but perhaps a little too much for the core book, it has completely lost the darker tone of the 6E edition, and IMO some of that needed to remain in the core book to present a tone more consistent with Lovecraft's writings. As it stands, I do like the artwork in CoC 7E, but too much of it makes the default core game feel as if it is the Pulp Cthulhu game, which is really just a mode/supplement for CoC 7E.
 
Last edited:
Making Luck rolls has always been a part of Call of Cthulhu. Now you can get a guaranteed success on a non-combat roll by spending Luck, but it will lower your Luck stat; do it too often and you'll, quite literally, run out of Luck. I'm fine with this. Regaining spent Luck points should be next to impossible, though.

I do not like the way the "pushing a skill roll" rule forces the GM to handle repeated attempts and the consequence of failure a certain way: as a GM I'll determine if and when a second attempt makes sense and what the consequence of a failed roll will be on a case by case basis. That said, this mechanic doesn't make the game "pulpier", it just forces a supposed genre trope onto the players.

I'd have preferred blackjack-style opposed rolls and doing something with rolling doubles.
 
Last edited:
We have played a few adventures with those Cthulhu Pulp rules, where you can spend 50 luck points to avoid getting killed. Almost like WFRP Fate Points or whatever. I didn't like it very much, but some other players were overjoyed when escaping certain death. Not very Lovecrafty, I think, but to each their own...
 
Still, lots of neat stuff and the kids love them.
I think I know how you got to like the Marvel game...:grin:

You somehow ordered all of this and didn't remember? Well, if it's not breaking the bank, just have fun:thumbsup:!

Also: got it, you don't drink, but do you have kids that have access to your credit card:tongue:?

...and you didn't have enough to read yet:grin:? Granted, all of your choices are rules-lite (except WtF2e, which trends rules-medium) but I kinda envy your enthusiasm, here:angel:!

I agree that they don't have that much mechanical effect. At the same time, have Luck as a resource that the players can invoke like characters in D6 Star Wars drawing on the Force is distinctly un-Lovecraftian.
"It's an optional rule. We ain't using it".
My Keeper when he ran my first face-to-face CoC game ever, using 7e.
That's part of why I've no interest in 7e... also because, when I read through it initially, I felt that the authors were after some current trend of being more 'actiony' and 'narrative'. I might have read an early pre-release version... but it put me off.
I did play in one session, and it didn't feel different... but I think we were all still thinking in pre-7e mode and none of the newer widgets came up.
Now that I've got the new-old boxed sets I'm feeling even less compulsion about getting on with the new stuff... and leaning more toward Delta Green if I did.
My first face-to-face exposure to CoC was via 7e...actually it was using some Free RPG Day or a quick-start, not sure which.
Anyway, the game played exactly the same as 5e or whatever it was that I played next, except the character sheet was a bit different. Made exactly zero difference to me, and I was obviously no "old hand from other editions".
IMO, the whole "more action-y and narrative-y" is an advertisement strategy.

Two key points: Luck points are an optional rule, so just don't use it; Push rules only apply when it makes sense and the GM has veto power over using them (and "I can't think of a complication" is grounds for using it:shade:).

OTOH, I suspect that the grognards are now buying the old editions of CoC corebooks. I wonder whether Chaosium had big stockpiles of those:shock:?
 
I think I know how you got to like the Marvel game...:grin:
If this is an insinuation that Marvel United is for children, I would say that from my experiences that is clearly not the case. It has a very broad appeal and, though it can appeal to younger players which is pretty rare for these big box KS, it has plenty of depth and variation which is satisfying to older and experienced players as well. Marvel United is just an all round great game.
 
If this is an insinuation that Marvel United is for children, I would say that from my experiences that is clearly not the case. It has a very broad appeal and, though it can appeal to younger players which is pretty rare for these big box KS, it has plenty of depth and variation which is satisfying to older and experienced players as well. Marvel United is just an all round great game.
No, it's an insinuation (albeit not a completely serious one:tongue:) that you're getting into it because the kids like the cool toys that are coming with it...:grin:
 
10-DCCDE-4-Mind-Weft-of-the-Moonstone-Palace.jpg

That Sanjulian cover is amazing. The cover he has done for the upcoming DCC Dying Earth adventure Mind-Weft of the Moonstone Palace is fantastic as well. The body language of both figures is perfect.
SanJulian’s Conan art is pretty amazing, too.
 
Making Luck rolls has always been a part of Call of Cthulhu. Now you can get a guaranteed success on a non-combat roll by spending Luck, but it will lower your Luck stat; do it too often and you'll, quite literally, run out of Luck. I'm fine with this. Regaining spent Luck points should be next to impossible, though.

Yep totally agree with this.
Nailed it, especially the bit about ensuring regaining Luck Pts is next to impossible.
This keeps it as a valuable resource, just as much as Sanity Pts or Hit Pts, and the characters will realise that depending too much on Luck is not a wise thing to do.

I do not like the way the "pushing a skill roll" rule forces the GM to handle repeated attempts and the consequence of failure a certain way: as a GM I'll determine if and when a second attempt makes sense and what the consequence of a failed roll will be on a case by case basis. That said, this mechanic doesn't make the game "pulpier", it just forces a supposed genre trope onto the players.

I forgot to add previously that I think the Pushing rules may work best as a GM-initiated option for the PCs, rather than a player-initiated option.
But yeah if the game rules feel too cluttered with this Push option, then it's easy to just ditch it.
 
Last edited:
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top