Cthulhutech?

[mabriss lethe]

I'm planning on taking a small group through a one shot playtest of Cthulhutech.

Is there anyone out here who plays or runs it? Any thoughts? Pitfalls to avoid? What sort of mileage have you gotten out of the system? etc.

[Gaiyamato]

Be careful of meta gaming and allowing the players to describe too many things they simply cannot do. That is about the worst I can think of with Cthulhu games.

I find that some degree of secrecy (use a sticky pad for everyone) helps to build the horror tension, removes a lot of the meta gaming and makes mysteries etc. more well... much of an actual mystery.

There is a great section on horror ni fantasy in the D&D Heroes of Horro book and combined with the tips from your system itself it should be fine.

Lighting and mood are truly useful for a good Cthulhu game. (though don't dim the lights too much else it can make it hard to see.).

:)

[9mm]

Be careful of meta gaming and allowing the players to describe too many things they simply cannot do. That is about the worst I can think of with Cthulhu games.

I find that some degree of secrecy (use a sticky pad for everyone) helps to build the horror tension, removes a lot of the meta gaming and makes mysteries etc. more well... much of an actual mystery.

There is a great section on horror ni fantasy in the D&D Heroes of Horro book and combined with the tips from your system itself it should be fine.

Lighting and mood are truly useful for a good Cthulhu game. (though don't dim the lights too much else it can make it hard to see.).

:)

Unfortunately, chulutech is more like Evengilean the RPG then Arkham Horror, or at least that's the impression I go leafing through the rule book.

[NPCMook]

Only if your entire group is made of Engel and Mecha pilots.

[Gaiyamato]

oh dear god. I am going to cry at the true horror unleashed by such an abomination of a game concept.

*cries*

[Nerd-o-rama]

Unfortunately, chulutech is more like Evengilean the RPG then Arkham Horror, or at least that's the impression I go leafing through the rule book.

And Evangelion's different from Arkham Horror how, other than being more combat-focused? It's a horrifying show, for the protagonists anyway.

There are a few tricks with CthulhuTech.

1) Know what kind of game you're going to run: Investigation (military or otherwise), Mecha Combat, or Tagers. Being a mecha pilot, or worse, an Engel pilot, requires a lot of resource focus at the beginning of character creation. Though mecha pilots can at least contribute to ground-level combat almost as well as regular combat-monkeys can, they will likely get bored and want to use their big honking "class feature" shortly. And bringing skilled investigatory characters to a mecha fight is just generally a bad idea, because they won't have the combat options. As for Tagers...don't...just...don't try to mix these with other things. There has been enough violence over the subject already.

2) Mood balance: CthulhuTech is not Call of Cthulhu. Mankind is fighting back against the horrors of the Universe now, however futile it may seem. Neither is it GaoGaiGar or some other upbeat super robot show. The world is still a goddamned scary and horrible place. As a GM, you need to learn to keep a balance between the horrors the characters see out in the field and a sense of purpose. "A faint glimmer of hope" is a good way to think about it.

But if the players aren't constantly paranoid about something horrible lurking in the shadows, literally or figuratively, you're probably doing it wrong.

3) The combat rules are a little wonky in the details, mainly about movement. Read them carefully.


All in all, CTech is a great system and a great setting. It's just very specific and has some unique quirks to it.

[mabriss lethe]

Thanks for the input guys. Sounds like my impressions were pretty close to the mark. I'm the one doing all the character gen and had absolutely no intention of unleashing Tagers into this scenario. I'd already given the group the choice of either an oldschool COC investigation game or a mecha game and they chose the former. There will be the option for at least some light mecha combat (this game is as much a playtest as anything else and I want to put as many basic aspects of gameplay through the ringer as I can without things getting too overwhelming.)

The current lineup that I'm toying with is one full out investigator, one soldier/pa pilot, and probably a para-psychic. To fascilitate the mecha aspect, everyone is going to have at least a decent piloting skill. (I know it doesn't make sense,It also doesn't have to make sense this time around. This is, as I've mentioned, only a test.)

I'm still putting the basic plot together, but my current list of inspirational materials include stuff like Heroes of Horror, Bearer's of Jade/Kuni Mokuna's guide to the shadowlands (l5r), Hellraiser, phantasm, and of course, the works of folks like Lovecraft, Bierce, Chambers and a few others.

And yes...Cthulhutech is an unnatural abomination of genres, which when you think about it that way...It's perfect.

[bosssmiley]

oh dear god. I am going to cry at the true horror unleashed by such an abomination of a game concept.
*cries*

Hah! I was weaned on Gamma World and force-fed a diet of raw RIFTS. The thematic dissonance of this "CthulhuTech" holds no fears for me.

(unfortunately nor does it hold any interest. Cthulhu Modern, Delta Green, CthulhuTech: all boats that left me on the island)

[potatocubed]

Hah! I was weaned on Gamma World and force-fed a diet of raw RIFTS. The thematic dissonance of this "CthulhuTech" holds no fears for me.

(unfortunately nor does it hold any interest. Cthulhu Modern, Delta Green, CthulhuTech: all boats that left me on the island)

Are you sure that a Cthulhu-haunted island is the sort of island you want to be left on?

[Nerd-o-rama]

mabriss lethe: You don't need the Pilot skill except for things that fly (which only certain mechs and Engels do). Just pointing that out.

[mabriss lethe]

mabriss lethe: You don't need the Pilot skill except for things that fly (which only certain mechs and Engels do). Just pointing that out.

good to know. I'm still parsing through the core rules, so I haven't picked up on all of it yet.

[Jayngfet]

Neither is it GaoGaiGar or some other upbeat super robot show.

Of course, there are us players who either didn't get the memo or rocketpunched it into oblivion and insist on yelling at the top of our lungs and trying to have our mecha flying kick our opponents into oblivion.

[Gaiyamato]

Hah! I was weaned on Gamma World and force-fed a diet of raw RIFTS. The thematic dissonance of this "CthulhuTech" holds no fears for me.

(unfortunately nor does it hold any interest. Cthulhu Modern, Delta Green, CthulhuTech: all boats that left me on the island)

Cthulu should be early 20th century or Victorian Era IMO.
When you obtain giant mecha you lose much of the horror.

When your a victorian era cockney maid weilding a butter knife, and a demon pops out of a painting you **** your pants.

The only time Cthulu should have technology of any real level added is when Doctor who is involved. :)

[ShneekeyTheLost]

The only time Cthulu should have technology of any real level added is when Doctor who is involved. :)

Yanno, old-school Doctor Who episodes DID rather run like a CoC game, didn't they? Complete with the body counts (I can think of only ONE companion who didn't get killed).

Of course, CuthuluTech only works if you have a properly emo main character who doesn't actually WANT to pilot his mech, because it forces a sanity check every time he steps inside. And every fight, his opponents keep forcing more sanity checks, or making him loose more sanity points (not that he had many to begin with) until finally he looses it completely.

So yea... Neon Genesis Evangelian.

[chiasaur11]

Yanno, old-school Doctor Who episodes DID rather run like a CoC game, didn't they? Complete with the body counts (I can think of only ONE companion who didn't get killed).

Actually, like half of all companions eventually ended up sorta okay.

It's random schmucks who run into the TARDIS and don't join the permenant crew who are all but inevitably doomed.

[Kris Strife]

Actually, like half of all companions eventually ended up sorta okay.

It's random schmucks who run into the TARDIS and don't join the permenant crew who are all but inevitably doomed.

So, red shirt, one episode characters die regularly? How is this different from any other show... ever?

[Gaiyamato]

So, red shirt, one episode characters die regularly? How is this different from any other show... ever?

Have you watched Doctor Who, the longest running Sci-Fi TV series ever?

[ResplendentFire]

Cthulu should be early 20th century or Victorian Era IMO.
When you obtain giant mecha you lose much of the horror.

When your a victorian era cockney maid weilding a butter knife, and a demon pops out of a painting you **** your pants.

The only time Cthulu should have technology of any real level added is when Doctor who is involved. :)

But how can Cthulhu mythos transcend colonialist horror about the colonized if you keep it mired in a more colonial era?

[Gaiyamato]

Why would it?
Is there some urgent need for it to do so?

lol.

[ResplendentFire]

Why would it?
Is there some urgent need for it to do so?

lol.

Because, of course, all roleplaying games are designed because of urgent needs? What kind of counter is that? We had an urgent need to convert HP Lovecraft's stories to a roleplaying game in the first place? That's not even an argument.

And yes, I do think it's important to be able to take any genre beyond its roots, adapt them in new ways. There is nothing wrong with this.

[Gaiyamato]

I completely agree with the general gist of what you aer saying. :)
Heck without that concept we would still all be playing 1.0 AD&D.

But {Scrubbed}

[NPCMook]

The one thing I enjoy about CthulhuTech is the Magic Mishap chart... One of them being The spell goes off just fine, but you don't know where, or when, or how it will effect the area it has happened in.

[Kris Strife]

Have you watched Doctor Who, the longest running Sci-Fi TV series ever?

A few episodes, don't watch TV much actually.

[chiasaur11]

A few episodes, don't watch TV much actually.

I've only seen two serials, but I can say with some confidence that the body count is a touch higher than average. The Pyramids of Mars, for example

Spoiler

Show

everyone who shows up but the Doctor and Sarah Jane bites it. Horribly.

[Waspinator]

Wow. If there's this kind of dislike for the genre mash-up of CthulhuTech, then how do you feel about Dragonmech (which is D&D 3.5 with steam-powered robots)?

[Kris Strife]

I've only seen two serials, but I can say with some confidence that the body count is a touch higher than average. The Pyramids of Mars, for example

Spoiler

Show

everyone who shows up but the Doctor and Sarah Jane bites it. Horribly.

So, pretty much the entire cast is a Star Trek away-team? If you're not a major character you have a 95% chance of dieing by the end of act 1?

[chiasaur11]

So, pretty much the entire cast is a Star Trek away-team? If you're not a major character you have a 95% chance of dieing by the end of act 1?

No, better.

They drag it out, give false hope, even a tiny chance if you aren't the Doctor (The other serial I saw had the two lovable rogues get out alive.). A character you've grown to like may join up permanently. Or die at the last second.

Also, companions die every once in a while, and the main character has died. A lot.

[The Rose Dragon]

Also, companions die every once in a while, and the main character has died. A lot.

Ten times to be precise. But no matter, he gets better.

[Subotei]

This setting does future-Cthulhu well:

http://www.cthulhurising.co.uk/index.php

[Zincorium]

Well, I actually worked with Mike Vallaincourt before he got out of the military, and the preview game I played with him pretty much settled the issue.

Honestly, the main problem it has is that people have expectations regarding the cthulhu mythos, and the game happily turns all of that on it's ear in an attempt at doing things differently. Explaining it is a significant undertaking.