Call of Cthulhu (7th ed.) for a new GM (or how do I stop these people getting eaten?)

[PseudonymAlter]

Hi there. I'm running a Call of Cthulhu campaign for 7ed. (specifically the Masks of Nyarlathotep) and have run into some problems.
Specifically it's hard to keep everyone's interest in the investigation side of things, which ties into not getting eaten since, if they don't know what's going on, they're not going to know what they have to do to avoid getting killed off in job lots. I think that a total party kill is not necessarily a bad thing, given the setting (and I've managed two already) but I'm trying to play fair.
Any advice for a beginner both at being a GM and at tabletop RPG's in general?
Thank you.

[RazorChain]

The problem with CoC is the campaign aspect. I played a lot around 20 years ago and we were usually focused on short mini campaigns as our characters would usually end up dead or insane.

CoC isn't a epic journey where the characters grow, it's a struggle for survival (and the survival of mankind) and to keep your sanity. Therefore I recommend either one shot adventures or a mini campaign. Another thing is not everyone enjoys what CoC has to offer, hiding in a closet from a Byakhee or running from a Nightgaunt isn't everyones cup of tea. Maybe try to switch it up and run other systems as well.

[Mordar]

The problem with CoC is the campaign aspect. I played a lot around 20 years ago and we were usually focused on short mini campaigns as our characters would usually end up dead or insane.

CoC isn't a epic journey where the characters grow, it's a struggle for survival (and the survival of mankind) and to keep your sanity. Therefore I recommend either one shot adventures or a mini campaign. Another thing is not everyone enjoys what CoC has to offer, hiding in a closet from a Byakhee or running from a Nightgaunt isn't everyones cup of tea. Maybe try to switch it up and run other systems as well.

Razor, I really disagree...and then really agree with you.

Campaigns, long or short, work perfectly well in CoC...I also played a lot, though a bit more than 20 years ago, and our group of careful investigators managed a few years of play. Sure, there was some turnover - but that was as much due to wanting to switch characters as death (which happened more than insanity), but I don't think it was much more than in other game systems of the time. And as you might expect over the course of a few years, characters did grow a lot, sometimes in surprising ways. So in that regard, I disagree with your conclusion (but certainly not with your experience).

The comment you make about not everyone enjoying what CoC offers, however, is absolutely correct from my perspective. In terms of game play, methodology and power scale it can be a significant departure from what RPGers are used to and/or enjoy, and the transition can be really jarring. I think a discussion of expectations and design is vital here...its far too easy to have a group of primarily action-RPG players start a CoC game and promptly be wiped because they haven't had a chance to learn the ropes. I think CoC might be the mainstream game most divergent in this regard...maybe the far opposite on the spectrum of action from D&D? - and new players could have a very hard time adjusting.

So, even if the players seem interested, baby-step them into the process that is a CoC investigation (kind of like the conversation currently going on in that Shadowrun thread) and reward them for good investigative technique while dissuading them from high action (and not punishing them too badly too early when they succumb to the fight-it-out bent of RPG heroes). And if that doesn't work...well, perhaps it isn't a good fit game for the group...or maybe the group needs a few more iterations?

Masks might not be the best intro to new players (despite being a great world-spanning campaign), but I think the opening chapter(s) are pretty solid. Still, I might have started with one or more of the stand-alone starter scenarios (even potentially recommending character re-makes before jumping from those to Masks).

Anyway, I hope it works out for your group...I've many fond memories of CoC!

- M

[PseudonymAlter]

Razor, I really disagree...and then really agree with you.

Campaigns, long or short, work perfectly well in CoC...I also played a lot, though a bit more than 20 years ago, and our group of careful investigators managed a few years of play. Sure, there was some turnover - but that was as much due to wanting to switch characters as death (which happened more than insanity), but I don't think it was much more than in other game systems of the time. And as you might expect over the course of a few years, characters did grow a lot, sometimes in surprising ways. So in that regard, I disagree with your conclusion (but certainly not with your experience).

The comment you make about not everyone enjoying what CoC offers, however, is absolutely correct from my perspective. In terms of game play, methodology and power scale it can be a significant departure from what RPGers are used to and/or enjoy, and the transition can be really jarring. I think a discussion of expectations and design is vital here...its far too easy to have a group of primarily action-RPG players start a CoC game and promptly be wiped because they haven't had a chance to learn the ropes. I think CoC might be the mainstream game most divergent in this regard...maybe the far opposite on the spectrum of action from D&D? - and new players could have a very hard time adjusting.

So, even if the players seem interested, baby-step them into the process that is a CoC investigation (kind of like the conversation currently going on in that Shadowrun thread) and reward them for good investigative technique while dissuading them from high action (and not punishing them too badly too early when they succumb to the fight-it-out bent of RPG heroes). And if that doesn't work...well, perhaps it isn't a good fit game for the group...or maybe the group needs a few more iterations?

Masks might not be the best intro to new players (despite being a great world-spanning campaign), but I think the opening chapter(s) are pretty solid. Still, I might have started with one or more of the stand-alone starter scenarios (even potentially recommending character re-makes before jumping from those to Masks).

Anyway, I hope it works out for your group...I've many fond memories of CoC!

- M
Thanks. I'll have to keep the baby steps in mind, since, now that you mention it, I probably am doing too much too fast. I'm fairly certain that everyone's enjoying it, though, so I think we'll keep going. I ran the demo adventure on the website, and a short adventure I came up with, to make it clear going in that CoC would require new character sheets with some regularity, in case the warnings of anyone on the internet who'd ever played it weren't enough. It seems to have helped enough that they don't regard everyone in the world, and more importantly, the party, probably dying or going insane to be a deal-breaker.
Thanks again for your help.

[PseudonymAlter]

The problem with CoC is the campaign aspect. I played a lot around 20 years ago and we were usually focused on short mini campaigns as our characters would usually end up dead or insane.

CoC isn't a epic journey where the characters grow, it's a struggle for survival (and the survival of mankind) and to keep your sanity. Therefore I recommend either one shot adventures or a mini campaign. Another thing is not everyone enjoys what CoC has to offer, hiding in a closet from a Byakhee or running from a Nightgaunt isn't everyones cup of tea. Maybe try to switch it up and run other systems as well.

Thanks for your reply; it's given me some things to think about. I did try to introduce the system using the demo adventure, and a couple of other short sessions, and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves generally. I'm mostly concerned that the players are skipping investigating to get to the parts where they fight or take flight (or die/go mad). While I don't want to make it boring by forcing them to pay attention to it, I also don't want to have to kill them all off because they didn't loot the shop filled with interesting magical artefacts before burning it to the ground.