Last week, we asked about “D&D on the screen”* and 57% of you said that you played the original game regularly at least at some point, and 51% of you went on to Burning Crusade as well. 33% of you are completely clean of the Warcrack. 33% of you are also looking forward to Azeroth being torn asunder (by goblins and werewolves), and judging by the reactions, it looks like the newest expansion is going to be another hit.
I have something to confide in you, my friends. I have found myself gripped by an unnatural force. I cannot fathom or explain its depths, but I hope in inquiring in you that I may yet find my way back. It all started when I was sent a collection of strange sounds that carried with it the story of a group of investigators, the source of which came from an entity known as Yog-Sototh who dwells at least beyond the Atlantic Ocean.
Then, upon venturing out to a cosmic confluence, I found myself obsessed with finding a particular thing only identified to me as The Yellow Sign. I wandered aimlessly in what seemed to be endless halls, making a fool of myself at false leads until coming across a hidden nook where upon a Bearded Trickster gave me what I sought… for a price.
I thought that it would give me peace, but I came across a friend of a friend, a skilled master of games, who in hushed tones showed me a rare tome indeed. “Bound in the hide of a mi-go” he told me, with only 3 copies remaining known to man. His salesmanship was unmatched and through some slight of hand, I found myself handing over my savings just to make it mine.
I managed to escape from that gathering, confidant that now I had these things in my possession that my thoughts would return to normal. But no, I would be introduced by some kind of strange Wolf-like creature (who claims to be both King of the Ghouls and King of the Monkeys) to a creature named Azathoth, and promised me that were I to only give myself to their order, that I would move through time and space itself and shape the course of history. His other stories were compelling as well, but I found myself drawn to this strange tale.**
I believe it is too late for me now. With each new tome I uncover, the more I find myself drawn away from my usual realm and into a realm of insanity. Are you with me?
[poll id=”138″]
All of my campaigns, all the original fiction I write, and nearly anything I produce, has some influence from the Lovecraftian mythos or references Lovecraft in some way, however minor. For example, all my campaigns begins with a lovecraft quote – this is a tradition. Which he’d probably not appreciate because I’m one of the damn dirty non-white monkeys he hated so much.
At the same time I feel the poll options are a bit odd to me. I can have my world of dragons with lovecraftian influence. D&D managed to eek in some lovecraftian quota into the Aboleths and various aberrant monsters. You can certainly tell a lovecraftian story with D&D, especially given the crapsack points of light world it tries to push – a place where ultimately, no matter how much evil you vanquish, you haven’t vanquished enough, not even a decimal of evil. You can also easily import the less metaphysical aspects, such as the themes of evil cults or playing with things you shouldn’t have, discovering things beyond your control. Even going mad.
Unless of course by lovecraftian roleplaying, you mean “entirely helpless men in trilby hats headed for inevitable doom.”
So I’ll withhold from answering the poll and just say, I prefer any worlds with a dash of Lovecraft for spice. Which cabinet of Lovecraft is used, and upon which dish the spice falls, is a matter of that moment.
.-= Wyatt´s last blog ..The Feats of Eden I: Weapons =-.
I hate Cthulhu roleplaying, but am also not really a fan of Fantasy, so your poll seems to be lacking an option that I can answer and have it be an accurate answer… so, here’s my answer.
Cheers!
That’s what I get for getting creative with poll options.
Just consider it Positive, Neutral, and Negative toward Lovecraftian-style Roleplaying.
In that case, I’ll vote Positive. I really like Lovecraftian themes. But I really dislike “helpless men in trilby hats” games.
.-= Wyatt´s last blog ..The Feats of Eden I: Weapons =-.
I knew some CoC players 20+ years ago, and they were the really freaky RPGers…I remember a guy who was way too serious about only…ONLY…eating cheese pizza while gaming. Anyway, I stayed away from it probably for that reason: freaks found at those tables.
I started reading Lovecraft in ’92 when I realized that Metallica’s ‘The Thing That Should Not Be’ is entirely inspired by the mythos, but I’ve still never actually played the game. I’ve incorporated (my attempts at) Lovecraftian horror and themes into all manner of games, however, and I’m happy to say that I will be playing in my first CoC game at RinCon, Tucson’s awesome con, this next October. Wish me and my madness luck as I endeavor to lose my sanity first!
Iä! Iä! Cthulhu F’htagn!
Being a fan of lovecraftian literature and having almost all his works(still missing some letters, but soon it will all be mine! Bwahahahaha), I must say It’s really nice to see it stretching it’s tentacles here.
I’ve played the Call of Cthulhu RPG since 1992, both as a player and mainly as a keeper and I recomend it to anyone who can take it.
Just be sure to play with the right group, at the right place and the right time of the day(night).
Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!
Cthulhu themes are cool… but it loses its appeal to me if I can’t just punch him out…
It’s funny to me because I’ve played several Call of Cthulhu games, run a few, and read a lot of the Cthulhu RPG material but it wasn’t until I actually sat down to read an actual H.P. Lovecraft story that I started to understand and be really effected by the material.
Actually that’s a lie, when I ran the theater adventure from the d20 Cthulhu book I definitely got chills a few times while reading or describing what was happening to the players. However, what I learned is that the quality and empathy that comes from reading Lovecraft’s actual writing is extremely tough to match!
@ Lunatyk
For you I highly recommend CthulhuTech. Where not only can you punch the Mythos, but you can outright release a tactical strike in their face.
Hi,
I love Cthulhu, particularly classic Chaosium campaigns such as Horror on the Orient Express (18 player characters – two survivors!). In D&D, I think Cthulhu elements can work well – as in the original Freeport trilogy and the Far Realm, now a key part of 4e.
For those of you who like the Mythos, consider signing up for Wolfgang Baur’s Open Design project – The Red Eye of Azathoth. If it’s good enough for me and Dave, it’s good enough for you!
Cheers
Richard
.-= Richard´s last blog ..Tiny Ramblings Strike Back! =-.