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View Full Version : New System in the Playground: CthulhuTech



TheSaylesMan
2008-01-20, 06:05 PM
CthulhuTech. Have you heard of it? Most likely you haven't as it is a fairly new system. I thought it would be nice to spread the word on it and simultaneously give this forum a breath of fresh air.

For those of you unfamiliar with the setting, it is a difficult beast to describe. In essence, it is a combination of two genres on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, giant robot anime and the mythos of HP Lovecraft. Some of you have probably balked at that, with good reason. I couldn't think of a way that those two things could come together well, but CthulhuTech does it.

Here's a review of the system that puts it far more eloquently than I ever could. http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13516.phtml

Now who else is excited about this game? Its probably going to be a pain to get a group together for this, but when I do I imagine it will be great fun. I imagine I'll have to be the GM for a few sessions (or as they call it in CthulhuTech, the Story Guide). This leads me to my second point.

For those of you with any experience with the game, any idea on how to make a story that will appeal to a group of D&Ders? I've already thought that I could perhaps entice them with the fact that any potential munchkin will be unable to effectively munchkin in this new system. I don't think that would be enough though. I'm thinking of an Engel campaign. Not many people can resist having their own giant semi-sentient robot to own.

The first thing I'll have them do is repel the latest Migou incursion on the border of Washington, just to get them used to combat mechanics. Once they've repelled the first wave, their squad will get called back to base unexpectedly due to what they're told is an emergency situation. They'll return to base to find out that there seems to be a crisis on the East Coast. More specifically, Massachusetts. There was a sudden and unexpected loss of communication with the Cape Cod region, and the military is thinking that Boston is going to be facing immediate attack by Dagon cultists and perhaps even Deep Ones. Once they get to Boston, the expected attack never comes and connections to the Cape Cod area are reestablished, but it seems that most of the region has been emptied of people. It will be up to the players to determine what happened and how to undo the deeds of the assumed Dagonite assailants.

Does that sound good to you experienced Story Guides?

xmolder
2008-01-20, 06:11 PM
I'm actually intrigued by this, but to be honest, a new system seems unnecessary. I was recently (Thanksgiving 2007) playing a True20 Mecha vs. Kaijou game, where we were mech pilots fighting giant monsters. Seems to me you could convert/add the Lovecraftian horrors and just use that, though I favor games that you can jump in or out of at any time.

I'm not experienced with the style of game (I DM fantasy adventure.) but it sounds like it's a good start to a game.

bosssmiley
2008-01-22, 01:48 PM
Been reading through their forums since Sunday night. Looks really cool - halfway between "WH40K" and a grown-ups version of "Mutant Chronicles". :smallcool:

Moral Wiz
2008-04-18, 01:04 PM
Anyone interested in a PBP game of CTech? I'm starting one, and am looking for applicants.

Ghal Marak
2008-04-18, 01:09 PM
Anyone interested in a PBP game of CTech? I'm starting one, and am looking for applicants.

Oh! OH! OHHH! Me me! I'm intrested!!! :smallbiggrin:

EDIT - Oh, and I've heard of C'Tech before. I must say that the idea of piloting a mech (of which there are three types if I remember right) against giant horrors of the deep to be... well, awesome is just not a big enough word.

Moral Wiz
2008-04-18, 01:13 PM
Follow the link in my sig. to the main thread. A mech pilot is fine (And if you want an Engel...)

And if you know anywhere else where you could get applicants.... well, feel free to let them know. I want to stage a successful game here.

Ascension
2008-04-18, 01:22 PM
I almost bought this a month ago, abstaining only because I don't know anyone who would actually be interested in playing it other than me. I think it sounds awesome, though.

PbP CthulhuTech is quite tempting. I might give it a go.

Moral Wiz
2008-04-18, 01:44 PM
We'd be happy to have you. And there will be some pretty fantastic stuff going on. I have plans.:smallamused: I'd recommend it, even if I wasn't the Storyguard.

EDIT I mean Guide! Storyguide! Not Guard. I'm hiding absolutely nothing here.:smallamused:

Lochar
2008-04-18, 02:14 PM
Yeah, I'm the one hiding things. :smalltongue:

Moral Wiz
2008-04-18, 02:46 PM
Hay, quiet you!

Stuffs Lochar back into cupboard.

Sorry about that. :smallamused:

Lochar
2008-04-18, 02:56 PM
And now Moral Wiz is hiding me. LOL

Moral Wiz
2008-04-18, 03:11 PM
Quiet!:smalltongue:

So, anyone want to share their experiences of CTech? I'm interested in one or two subsystems here, like Hull scale.

TehJhu
2008-04-18, 04:46 PM
This system makes me happy in the pants.

But is there anyway to get the crunch without buying the books or stealing them? I'd love to play, but have no way to learn the rules :smallfrown:

neochaos
2008-04-18, 06:34 PM
Could we play DEMONBANE with it? Cooooooooooool! Deus ex Machinas!

....does anyone know Demonbane anyway?

Rutee
2008-04-18, 07:25 PM
Huh. Sounds like Super Robot Wars.

Nerd-o-rama
2008-04-18, 07:29 PM
Huh. Sounds like Super Robot Wars.Like I said in another thread, it's basically Super Robot Wars I. The I standing for "ia ia Cthulhu f'taghn", naturally. And it's only got two or three really recognizable series, but still.

Also, I am signed for Moral Wiz's game like a mook in Death Note.

Rutee
2008-04-18, 07:33 PM
Ya sure? I was vaguely ponderring an actual SRW game..

Nerd-o-rama
2008-04-18, 07:43 PM
There's a chance I'd jump ship to that (normally I'd do both, but I'm rather close to my limit), but what system would you do that in? In my experience, vidja games translate poorly to tabletop (I'm looking at you, Returners FFRPG).

Rutee
2008-04-18, 07:45 PM
Check teh SRT thread. This game inspired me.

The Glyphstone
2008-04-18, 07:55 PM
I want to play in this soooo bad. Too bad it's not a fusion of Cthulu and actual Battletech....gimme my Atlas stocked with LRM20's.....

TehJhu
2008-04-18, 07:56 PM
I WANNA FIGHT FATHER DAGON IN A MASSIVE HALF-ALIVE MECHA WITH ROCKETS!

:frown:

Xuincherguixe
2008-04-18, 08:29 PM
So I could be some useless kid fighting against something that can't die?

Bhu
2008-04-18, 08:42 PM
REally?? I have an old magazine with a cthulhutech system but its Cthulhu and Cyberpunk...

Reeeealy creepy

TehJhu
2008-04-18, 09:21 PM
So I could be some useless kid fighting against something that can't die?

Fighting Mi-Go and Cultists would work fine. Its keeping the Old Ones from comming back thats the problem.

Rutee
2008-04-18, 09:35 PM
Super Robots being able to take the Old Gods in straight up combat isn't that far fetched for most of the higher power ones, I should think. And by "Higher powered" I mean King of Braves Gao Gai Gar, Tengen Toppen Gurren Lagann, the Ideon, and whatnot. What can I expect from Cthulhu Tech's Supers? Mazinger/G-Gundam level of power? Braves (Besides Gao Gai Gar) and Gunbuster? Or the aforementioned ubers?

Xuincherguixe
2008-04-18, 09:40 PM
Mostly I just made that comment because it somehow seemed appropriate is all :P

Nerd-o-rama
2008-04-18, 09:43 PM
Well, CthulhuTech is pretty solidly Real Robot, so Earth is still pretty much ****ed in the long run. The primary antagonists of the setting, though, are an expeditionary force of Mi-Go and some surprisingly well-equipped cultists, which the Federation NEG forces can meet on relatively even terms. Old Ones and the like aren't in the picture unless the GM feels like it's a good time for everyone to go down fighting.

The most powerful Earthling mechs are the Engels, which are (unsurprisingly) basically the same thing as Eva Units, only without the AT Field and with better guns. So yeah, Cthulhu shows up, wave goodbye to your precious civilization.

neochaos
2008-04-18, 09:46 PM
Well, of I play this game, I just wanna be THE "Hero." Efforts of individuals were just nothing in original Lovecraft work, but I think it will be cool if one's effort can really change things to positive side, fighting against god-like powers' wills.

Kick in the ass of big god who didn't even noticed these people who tried so desperately, yeah....like concept. Maybe.

Nerd-o-rama
2008-04-18, 09:52 PM
Well, that's possible. The thing is, the GOO's and gods and such aren't statted, and neither are out-and-out Getter Robo-y Super Robots, so it'd be up to your GM (or future releases).

If you want to be The Hero fighting off unending hordes of hideous half-man-half-insect-half-mushroom alien invaders though, that's what the designers give you in the initial book.

Xuincherguixe
2008-04-18, 09:54 PM
"Sir! Shub Niggurath is approaching!"
"Quick! Assemble all the robots that combine to form a bigger one!"
"Sir, if you'll remember that was something you just hallucinated after looking at Cthulhu too long. We don't have anything that stupid. "
"Oh. Right. Uh, what do we have."
"Well, we've managed to clone an angel which was also the commanders wife. We're using their kid in order to get it to go berserk in order to protect him."
"... You sure you didn't look at Cthulhu too?"
"Some days I don't know sir."

neochaos
2008-04-18, 10:01 PM
Demonbane is Japanese H-game which used Cthulhu Mythos "background." Common hero, who knew a bit about magic, meets female (of course) incarnation of Necronomicon, and fights with great evils with his Deus ex Machina, robots magicians summon with their magic books (like Necronomicon). Well, our hero's robot was Demonbane, which was the only robot ,unlike others, made by human to protect humans from outer being and other evils. It was considered as "fake" at first, but it gets strengthened after several episodes by power of love, good will, etc. Demonbane became real "bane of evils" and later even beats behind-the-scene mastermind Nyarlathotep and actual final evil son of Yog-Sothoth, if I can say it was "beat."

Well, I like that game very much, and kicking Cthulhu-tic bad guys' butt was cool. I hope that I could play this epic with actual "hope" in Cthulhutech.

Nohwl
2008-04-18, 10:26 PM
how is it on a scale of 1-10? (10 being excellent, 1 being horrible)

Mewtarthio
2008-04-18, 10:26 PM
Demonbane is Japanese H-game [...] female (of course) incarnation of Necronomicon, [...]

:eek:

I think I'll take a page from Sluggy Freelance and say, "Gyah! The papercuts!"

...Anyway, I'm not sure you could actually kill any of the Great Old Ones in any game that can really be based off the Lovecraft mythos. The entire point of the mythos is that, if they wake up, humanity dies (also you can really only stave off the inevitable). Let's not forget that they generally defy all human understanding, so killing them with any sort of weapon would likely prove futile. Now, if you wanted to take on Cthulhu, you probably could--if a steamboat can hurt him, then so can a giant robot--but not anything beyond him. Otherwise, you're just killing universe-destroying monsters with names that are coincidentally similar to the Great Old Ones'.

Rutee
2008-04-18, 10:30 PM
:eek:

I think I'll take a page from Sluggy Freelance and say, "Gyah! The papercuts!"

...Anyway, I'm not sure you could actually kill any of the Great Old Ones in any game that can really be based off the Lovecraft mythos. The entire point of the mythos is that, if they wake up, humanity dies (also you can really only stave off the inevitable). Let's not forget that they generally defy all human understanding, so killing them with any sort of weapon would likely prove futile. Now, if you wanted to take on Cthulhu, you probably could--if a steamboat can hurt him, then so can a giant robot--but not anything beyond him. Otherwise, you're just killing universe-destroying monsters with names that are coincidentally similar to the Great Old Ones'.

What's the upper tier of the Great Old Ones' power? 'cause I'm pretty sure that if the /lower tier/ (Cthulhu) can be hurt by crashing a steam boat into it, (Which is well beneath the lowest tier of Super Robot, the Mazinger/Getter Robo/G Gundamish level of 'merely' altering Geography as a side effect of attacks), then I must question whether the upper tier is really that far beyond a Super Robot. The whole point of Super Robot Anime is that Hot Blood and Burning Spirit can overcome pretty much any problem. That's why this game's diametric opposites amuse me :smallbiggrin:

Edit: IIRC, btw, Cthulhu isn't all that far beneath the Elder Gods. So.. that would actually mean that Super Robots should probably not go beyond the Braves/Gunbuster level, so as to keep things even, perhaps :P

neochaos
2008-04-18, 10:34 PM
Well, I like the story, so I'll give 8, for its H-scene was not what I deserved(...)

And basically, I just think it as a Cthulhu spin-off, or fan-fiction kind of thing, which shares some settings, but has totally different story. I just liked it, and that game had some Cthulhu sort of things, but it didn't share actual Cthulhu background idea of "mere human" kind of stuff....

By the way, the hero uses the Silver Key to fuel enegy from other dimension for his unlimited-amount energy sublimation attack (named "Lemuria Impact") and...

Its setting sees Shinging Trapezohedron as a seal that imprisoned Azatoth himself inside, that Elder Gods made. And the hero uses it as a final weapon.

Just think it as a Japanese H game which used Cthulhu element, but not its spirit, sort of. It has an anime version too, but I don't recommend you to watch it.

TehJhu
2008-04-18, 10:43 PM
What's the upper tier of the Great Old Ones' power? 'cause I'm pretty sure that if the /lower tier/ (Cthulhu) can be hurt by crashing a steam boat into it, (Which is well beneath the lowest tier of Super Robot, the Mazinger/Getter Robo/G Gundamish level of 'merely' altering Geography as a side effect of attacks), then I must question whether the upper tier is really that far beyond a Super Robot. The whole point of Super Robot Anime is that Hot Blood and Burning Spirit can overcome pretty much any problem. That's why this game's diametric opposites amuse me :smallbiggrin:

"Hurt" is to strong a word. It split open Cthulhu's head and Cthulhu instantly regenerated, but he decided he was still tired and just swam back to his island.

Remember this is after 5 or 6 men were struck dead just by looking at him.

The most powerful being in the Mythos is Azathoth, the Daemon Sultan and embodyment of all entropy. He's statted in the CofC book as having an abiliy tha fires what ammounts to a beam of pure insanity that can extend for 20 miles and does 42d12 damage with no save.

Thats really not even a close approximation to what Azathoth is, though. Even assuming somehow you could NOT have your eyeballs explode when you even came within a couple thousand miles of him and somehow managed to use your crazy super mecha to destroy him the very act of his destruction fuels his power. Azathoth is the amalgamation of every end there is in the entire universe. You cannot destroy him because in doing so you recreate him.

Rutee
2008-04-18, 10:50 PM
So... Ideon's power of rebirth (Sufficient to recreate the universe after destroying it) against the embodiment of slow destruction. Do you not realize that this sounds /fair/? And that I'm thrilled by something being near the Ideon? :P

neochaos
2008-04-18, 10:51 PM
Though Cthulhu is most "popular" being in Cthulhu Mythos, There are many other more powerful being than Cthulhu. But, his mere presence, which is so otherworthy and wicked and vile and all other stuffs, human mind cannot understand that and go mad. It's power is secondhand thing; It's presence itself is its greatest weapon, I think. Human cannot just understand that, and Lovecraft said the biggest fear of human is fear of unknown. So to speak....

neochaos
2008-04-18, 10:54 PM
Well, Azatoth is evil start of all that it's slight movement created our universe, and end of all if it ever wakes up again. I try not to convert deities' power to d20 style, since it shadows their true power, which is "cannot be understood", but well...Ideon is creation of this world, anyway.

TehJhu
2008-04-18, 10:54 PM
So... Ideon's power of rebirth (Sufficient to recreate the universe after destroying it) against the embodiment of slow destruction. Do you not realize that this sounds /fair/? And that I'm thrilled by something being near the Ideon? :P

Well you've also got Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath which are basically at the same power-level, representing time/space and life respectfully.

The thing is, these beings deal this much destruction without even trying. If something came along that could even gain their attention, they could snuff it out with one concentrated thought. Especially Yog-Sothoth, he'd just fold time/space so this Ideon thing never existed.

And we're not going to even speculate about Nyarlathotep.

Nerd-o-rama
2008-04-18, 10:56 PM
So... Ideon's power of rebirth (Sufficient to recreate the universe after destroying it) against the embodiment of slow destruction. Do you not realize that this sounds /fair/? And that I'm thrilled by something being near the Ideon? :PWell, Ideon is, as I understand, the most powerful mecha-sorta-thing ever created by a wide margin (even TTGL can only pummel stuff, Ideon apparently destroyed the Universe). Everything else is pretty much screwed against Azathoth, as it relies on destruction. Well, God Gundam's got the Power of Love, but it's rather a smaller scale.

neochaos
2008-04-18, 11:23 PM
Even if they cannot beat it at all, I just like to see the Hero's making some significant change, like prevent Old Ones' comming, even if it's temporary. I want them to show humans are not mere dusts and individual will really can change something.

TehJhu
2008-04-18, 11:27 PM
Even if they cannot beat it at all, I just like to see the Hero's making some significant change, like prevent Old Ones' comming, even if it's temporary. I want them to show humans are not mere dusts and individual will really can change something.

See, this I'd be cool with. From reading the fluff of the setting, the Old Ones AREN'T around. The Mi-Go are just aliens from Pluto with super weapons, so humans can beat that.

The Cults are trying to reawaken Cthulhu et al, but both the NEG and the Mi-Go are trying to stop them, since neither wants to get smooshed by giant Star God Monsters.

You know, this would make for a kick-ass dual front game. Have one group of players being the crazy, cocky mech pilots fighting Mi-Go on the frontlines and another group playing sorcerers, scholars and taggers (assuming I have the image of a tagger right and he dosn't transform into a towering monster) fighting behind the lines against the Esoteric Order and the evil shapeshifters. There could be some cool interaction between the two groups as well.

Man, now I wanna play even more.

EDIT:(But you still are a dust mote in the end)

Nerd-o-rama
2008-04-18, 11:33 PM
Even if they cannot beat it at all, I just like to see the Hero's making some significant change, like prevent Old Ones' comming, even if it's temporary. I want them to show humans are not mere dusts and individual will really can change something.Yeah. I mean, that's how the situation stands. Humanity can stop the Old Ones from coming, at least for a while. They can stop the Mi-Go invasion, at least for a while. It's a lot more hopeful that most Mythos stuff in that respect.

Ascension
2008-04-18, 11:36 PM
CthulhuTech is only marginally optimistic. Humanity may be able to pull through, especially if they manage to shut down the cultists (Which the Migou are also attempting to do... if they could just come to some sort of agreement it'd basically be the end of the war. The problem is, there's no way the Migou are going to agree to anything.), but most likely all their struggles will merely postpone their inevitable destruction for a decade or so, at the cost of many lives and many minds.

Also, while the Engels are clearly inspired by the EVAs, and are indeed quite powerful, they're not as powerful as that which inspired them (well, maybe Unit 2 level, but nowhere near Unit 1). There's really nothing approaching a real super robot power level, and trying to design (and maintain) such a thing would cost many, many arcanotechnicians their sanity.

EDIT:
taggers (assuming I have the image of a tagger right and he dosn't transform into a towering monster)

It's Tager, not tagger, and yes, they do transform into towering monsters. Well, not mecha-sized, but larger than human.

Nohwl
2008-04-18, 11:40 PM
whats more important, some arcanotechnicians sanity, or me having a giant robot? i think the answer is pretty obvious.

neochaos
2008-04-18, 11:45 PM
Does anyone played "MUV-LUV Alternative" ? It's somewhat similar, since alien race send some kind of AI creatures to the Earth to dig natural resources, and that creatures, called BETA, started to kill humans, because they don't think human as an intelligent beings (because humans are carbon-oriented creatures, some sort of). Human fought back, with robot-like weapons, but losing. Our hero is summoned from "real" peaceful world, and thrown into the fight.

Well, in the end, Hero and his comrades try to blow up BETA's biggest colony, the central core-brain, to stop BETA. Comrades are killed, to make the way to the hero to move, and hero killed his lover (...like woman) assimilated with the core to blow up everything. He comes back to the Earth, without his comrades and his lover, and goes back to his own world. He did well, but his work was temporary, since the aliens will send BETAs again to the "other" world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBOf_Ihoy7E&feature=related

this is opening of that game, JAM project's "Asue No Houkou" translated as "Howl to the Future". I think it will suit with CthulhuTech.

TehJhu
2008-04-19, 01:08 AM
It's Tager, not tagger, and yes, they do transform into towering monsters. Well, not mecha-sized, but larger than human.

Well, but small enough to engage in melee, right?

Rutee
2008-04-19, 01:25 AM
Well, but small enough to engage in melee, right?

There's such a thing as too large for melee?

Nerd-o-rama
2008-04-19, 01:26 AM
Tagers (inspired by Guyvers of the series of the same name) are pretty much the toughest "Vitality-scale", which is to say normal-human-scale, things available for play. They're sort of superheroish, I guess is the best description. They can do very well in personal-scale combat, and probably hold their own against the smallest mecha (powersuits, the little 10' tall ones). Haven't actually played to test that last part out.

Also, <3 JAM Project!

neochaos
2008-04-19, 01:31 AM
Like Tekkaman Blade? That was cool anime (Teknomen in Western world, I think)

Rutee
2008-04-19, 01:43 AM
I think Guyver is fundamentally the same as Tekkamen Blade, yes.

Ascension
2008-04-19, 01:44 AM
Like Tekkaman Blade? That was cool anime (Teknomen in Western world, I think)

Indeed. Except with a much greater chance of descending into insanity.

As far as JAM Project (they're gonna be at Otacon this year! :smallbiggrin: ) is concerned, I think "The Gate of the Hell" (from the Mazinkaiser OVA) would be nice for CthulhuTech. In a more optimistic moment, at least. Shortly afterwards another wave of Migou from Pluto would land and it'd all be over.

By the way, I'm so totally using "PLUTO ISN'T EVEN A PLANET ANYMORE, NOOBS!" as my battlecry against the Migou.

neochaos
2008-04-19, 01:51 AM
Well, he lost most of his memory anyway after the fight. Similar deal(....) here.

Rutee
2008-04-19, 01:54 AM
And was physically crippled. Blaster Form pretty much destroys Tekkamen. Also there's the part where they're all mind controlled.

neochaos
2008-04-19, 01:57 AM
Even better. Tragic hero who lost his everything to save others (He lost his sister too, right?) That EVA-thing with Tekkaman Blade type character will be so cool. I'm in.

Leliel
2008-04-19, 12:42 PM
Though Cthulhu is most "popular" being in Cthulhu Mythos, There are many other more powerful being than Cthulhu. But, his mere presence, which is so otherworthy and wicked and vile and all other stuffs, human mind cannot understand that and go mad. It's power is secondhand thing; It's presence itself is its greatest weapon, I think. Human cannot just understand that, and Lovecraft said the biggest fear of human is fear of unknown. So to speak....

So...Those weird were-horrors (Taggers) would be immune? They have embraced the unknown, after all.

I can think of it right now:

Cthulu: Oh look, here's another puny mecha. Well, I'll just wait until he goes insane...Any time now...What, has he gone cataonic or somthinGAAH IT'S BURNING MY FACE-TENTACLES OFF! OH, THE INHUMANITY, OH, THE INHUMANITY...(Faints)

Were-Horror: Hey Cthulu! Think you might need to get a better power than just driving normal people insane! *Turns into Deep One* 'Cause I ain't normal!

Buddy of Were-Horror: You know, you kind of freak me out when you do that.

WH: *Stops Eating Psudeonatural Fish and Chips* Do what?

BWH: Uhhh...Never mind.:smalleek:

Ascension
2008-04-19, 12:54 PM
There are rules for becoming acclimated to seeing terrible things after you've encountered them often enough. Tagers aren't instantly immune, but even if they were immune to normal causes of insanity, the Ta'ge symbiont itself slowly drives them crazy. They have to make a challenging insanity test every month or gain an insanity point. Insanity is a question of when, not if, for them.

Nerd-o-rama
2008-04-19, 12:56 PM
The same, incidentally, goes for Engel pilots, since they're cybernetically interfacing with some bizarre horror which is probably not their dead mother.

Leliel
2008-04-19, 01:05 PM
Mr. Genre Savvy: Yeah...I'll believe it when I see her ghoul.

Ascension
2008-04-19, 01:06 PM
The basic mechanic of CthulhuTech is with great power comes great insanity (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity). You can do the impossible and see the invisible (Row! Row! Fight da powah!), but you gradually lose touch with reality in the process.

TehJhu
2008-04-19, 02:43 PM
/wants to play this game so bad he can taste the ichor.