Charlie D
Man on the Silver Mountain
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2017
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Before I wade into the BRP forum I thought I'd ask here. I've slowly been building up to running Call of Cthulhu more often. But there are a few oddities about the RPG that I'd love to hear more about from long term Keepers out there. And yes, I expected CoC to have oddities but this bits are really, truly, mysteriously weird.
First why is movement optional in combat? Don't PCs run away a lot? This is a serious question and I'm really curious. The game has a flamethrower skill and an artillery skill but starting range is missing for combat and movement is optional. Honestly puzzled that after 39 years movement in combat (and starting range) are not core rules. I don't want hit locations or complicated initiative, but movement in combat is not core? Starting range is not included? So my unarmed librarian doesn't know if she is 50 feet from the thug with a gun or 5 feet? And my track star student doesn't want to fight ever but there are not core rules on my running away in combat? This one really puzzles me.
Are there "high level" player characters? I've looked at a lot of adventures and many pregens. Most are unarmed librarians and old professors. But seriously, does Chaosium have any advanced adventures with experienced PCs as pregens? I'd like to look at them. I assume any long living CoC investigator is heavily armed, has booze, has lower Sanity, may know some magic spells, might have alien tech, and likely lives in as close to a fortress as possible. Do CoC PCs keep armed watches at night? Again, serious questions because in all my studying of CoC I can't seem to find pregens of experienced PCs.Why is that? Isn't that an untapped field of possible adventures?
I ask because the game has all this magic and weird tech and yet no pregens have magic or weird tech. That seems really odd to me. I'd think you'd want to allow players to cut loose every once and a while and play experienced investigator without having to claw their way there themselves.
Do you actually use the artillery and flamerthrower skills enough to see the skills advance? Again, I'm serious. A flamethrower? Does that skill actually get used and if not why is it still in the game after 39 years? And what is up with hypnosis? I can see it is useful but what a really truly strange highly narrow skill.
None of these things will stop me from running CoC. But they puzzle me. I'm hoping some of you can share your experiences. Thanks!
First why is movement optional in combat? Don't PCs run away a lot? This is a serious question and I'm really curious. The game has a flamethrower skill and an artillery skill but starting range is missing for combat and movement is optional. Honestly puzzled that after 39 years movement in combat (and starting range) are not core rules. I don't want hit locations or complicated initiative, but movement in combat is not core? Starting range is not included? So my unarmed librarian doesn't know if she is 50 feet from the thug with a gun or 5 feet? And my track star student doesn't want to fight ever but there are not core rules on my running away in combat? This one really puzzles me.
Are there "high level" player characters? I've looked at a lot of adventures and many pregens. Most are unarmed librarians and old professors. But seriously, does Chaosium have any advanced adventures with experienced PCs as pregens? I'd like to look at them. I assume any long living CoC investigator is heavily armed, has booze, has lower Sanity, may know some magic spells, might have alien tech, and likely lives in as close to a fortress as possible. Do CoC PCs keep armed watches at night? Again, serious questions because in all my studying of CoC I can't seem to find pregens of experienced PCs.Why is that? Isn't that an untapped field of possible adventures?
I ask because the game has all this magic and weird tech and yet no pregens have magic or weird tech. That seems really odd to me. I'd think you'd want to allow players to cut loose every once and a while and play experienced investigator without having to claw their way there themselves.
Do you actually use the artillery and flamerthrower skills enough to see the skills advance? Again, I'm serious. A flamethrower? Does that skill actually get used and if not why is it still in the game after 39 years? And what is up with hypnosis? I can see it is useful but what a really truly strange highly narrow skill.
None of these things will stop me from running CoC. But they puzzle me. I'm hoping some of you can share your experiences. Thanks!