Call of Cthulhu: Part 1 - Introduction

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The first in a series where I discuss 7th Edition Call of Cthulhu. I give my thoughts on the game, and dispel several common myths about it. I apologize for getting a little ranty about the myths.

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speaking as a person who has actually played his fair share of call of cthulhu, in both my played and published adventures, (1) there is combat; (2) I expect survivors; and (3) they are not always lovecraftian. Clearly I'm doing it wrong.

SandyofCthulhu
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No survivors is a wild exaggeration, but it’s not unreasonable to say it will be a rare character that retires. Insanity or death is likely for most long term characters. Call of Cthulhu is pretty unforgiving of mistakes, and everyone will make a mistake eventually.

marlinperkins
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Thank you Seth, I dropped Cthulhu a lot of years ago because of the "it's only investigation, all pg must die by the end of the adventure" stereotype, but thanks to this series I picked it up again and I'm having a great time DM'ing it in a pulp-ier style.

CapCaffeine
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The military reports of Audie Murphy shrugging off tank rounds were classified. So were the reports of his ability to fly and catching artillery projectiles in his teeth. The Army felt it necessary to retain the element of surprise when deploying The Murph against axis powers.

sindarpeacheyeisacommie
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The myth of characters dying in every session, was exactly what I heard, when I first learned about CoC. And - seemengly exactly like you - it threw me off.

I started to GM Cthulhu just recently (... sometime last fall) and it is a gorgeous system. The art, the playstyle.
And - everything, including the mortality, is up to the style you play it.

Do you want horror-oneshots, with premade characters, to have this amazing feeling of being really on the edge the whole time, knowing every step might be the last, just to have to sacrifice yourself in the end? Ok. Go for it. Have fun. (I might even do things like this on conventions...)

Or do you want to play like The Mummy (I talk about the 1999 movie with Brandon Fraser / Rachel Weisz), pulp 20' with chases, barfights, cobwebbed tombs and unspeakable horrors - without sacrificing humor? You can do that as well.

And everything in between or around this.

robertnett
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Your sir, are quickly becoming my favorite RPG content creator. Good on you.

andrewturner
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I always disregarded CoC for these exact myths. But when I stopped playing D&D, I spent years thinking about and trying to design a pulp adventure game set in the 1930s with no idea that I was basically recreating CoC with a pulp bent. Since seeing your videos, I realize Pulp Cthulhu is the game I always wanted to play.

ZarbanDerek
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So, I realize that this video is now almost 5 years old, however I just started listening to your podcasts so I was intrigued. Everything you said about the myths was exactly what I heard and understood COC to be which really turned me off to wanting to even look at it. But listening to you and Jon talk about it and now watching this, I'm really interested in giving this one a shot!

brianharrison
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Oh man I was scared away from this game by Reddit. But this video has me itching to get my books. Subscribed and watching the rest of these great videos!!

choirchick
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Btw Seth, just finished running the end chapter of The Dare...fourth ever Keeper experience. Twice had my players jaws dropping from mental shock, emotional horror and personal dismay. I owe the choosing of my ensemble cast and the managing of narrative success TO YOU !!! Thank you Seth.

toddtaylor
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Just picked up a ton of CoC resources. So happy this is here to help make sense of it all.

mybuddyken
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Very good description of CoC and the differences from D&D. I have heard people actually afraid to run or play CoC because of the "Oh it's a constant meatgrinder with characters slaughtered and gone insane right and left, make 10 characters when you start out and don't expect to live more then two sessions." This is as you say not true at all, playing CoC with a D&D mindset can lead to horroible fights that leave investigators mangled and unhinged, but unless they decide to charge the Esoteric Order of Dagon in Innsmouth on their own with a pistol and a machate, they will at worst leave the game with a derangement that will make for fun roleplaying and a few scars. I also find that CoC is great for playing on "player paranoia", after a story or two, have odd looking people turn up when they do research at the library or the newspaper office, it may be a deep one hybrid...or just a regular guy that is a bit off. Call of Cthulhu is a wonderful game and I really look forward to the rest of his series of videos.

DanteTCW
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Funny enough expecting everyone to have gone mad or died by the end of the game is part of what sparked my interest in the game, at least as far as one-shots go. In DnD I've always found one-shots unappealing due to being so limited, but making the game a horror story where everyone is on board to go absolutely bananas or die unpleasantly by the end is rather freeing. This tacit agreement means players can focus far more on doing the most interesting or risky things their character could do instead of playing defensively as someone wanting to keep their game piece alive.

I was stunned when I played my first game and we all managed to get out of there alive, but that sense of relief and temporary victory only exists because I went in assuming we were all doomed. I say temporary, because I sincerely doubt we'll make it out of the second session we're plotting to wrap up the lose ends and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Now I'm working on writing my own one-shot, trying to strike that balance of making things thrilling and dangerous with the threat of destruction reaching a peak at the climax and seeing who survives.

Clank
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The Everyone Dies myth comes from the intent of the game to ensure that the Investigators are aware how mortal they are and how losing that mortality can be very quick permanent. Probably some Keeper went from implied threat to practical application and then the rumour statrts

rnp
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As someone who is very entertained by your CoC reviews and looking to play some myself at some point, this is very helpful. Thanks and keep it up!

anthonytrevino
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19:30 Just 2 years? Count your blessings. I stayed away from CoC for over two decades because I was told these myths and never could imagine running a game where I basically had to kill and drive my player characters insane. I always enjoyed campaigns and long lasting storytelling way too much. And I truly believe that you need a few sessions to bond with your character. So CoC always seemed like a cool setting but a huge waste of time... and a source for loads and loads of player frustration.


Thanks to you and your reviews all this is changing right now.

Frank-Voight-Kampff
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Wow, I didn't realize just how many people out there are truly incapable of opening up their perspective... about a game where the objective is to explore the unknown. How creatively bankrupt do you have to be to make the assumption that every single session has to end the exact same way? A large part of what makes horror actually terrifying is the fear of what's to come, that chance of survival is what makes the player deaths sting all that much more and the dread of losing them so much more potent. It's not terrifying if you already know how it ends. There sure seem to be a lot of people out there who seem to think that because they've been playing the game since it came out that they suddenly get the privilege of gatekeeping any prospective new players from enjoying a rich world of terror because it's in anyway different from the limitations that they've shackled themselves to. I'm glad you're calling out these people, your content is always engaging and full of valuable insight. Running a game for other players should be a creative experience where you tailor the experience to the enjoyment of everyone at the table and you encapsulate that perfectly.

WhatsThePointPicture
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This video really won me over. I've had a long history of playing and running many systems over the years, and have built up a reputation amongst friends for my one shots. Cthulhu had always been on my radar, I'm a big fan of cosmic horror, horror in general, and grimdark tones and atmospheres. But for some reason I never gravitated towards Call of Cthulhu. This video came up on my feed, I'd watched some of your others before and enjoyed them, so on a whim I gave it go, I was interested. I went and grabbed the quick-start rules and read them, I needed more, I went online an proceeded to buy both the keepers book and the investigators book in pdf so I could consume them immediatly, I was ravenous, I needed more, so I grabbed some modules and supplements, I started watching your other videos, then I was watching other videos, then all of a sudden I was writing a one-shot and had proposed it to my regular group, they accepted. Finally I had an audience. What unfolded was qouted as "Your best work yet", as we proceeded to descend rapidly down the rabbits hole, with some absolutely steller ropeplay from the investigators, we eventually ended with 4 of 5 members of the party in a drug induced catatonic state and a cliff hanger that begged for the return of Yog-Sothoth himself. 🙏

"Y'AI'NG'NGAH,
YOG-SOTHOTH
H'EE-L'GEB
F'AI THRODOG
UAAAH"🦑

Broomsticks
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Out of all the Keepers I have seen out there, you are simply the best. Bar none. Your videos are never boring or repetitive and they have a flow that really holds my interest. You also have a voice for radio.

Your natural talent, enthusiasm and high intellect are a joy to witness. Your great passion for the game is full out infectious!

What you have taught me is priceless. You have no idea how much I have learned from you by watching only a couple of your videos.

Thank you so much for all the hard work, time and effort you invest in each and every one of your videos. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. You are doing the CoC community a tremendous service.

Crack on and keep up the good work! Cheers and God Bless you, Sir!

qthermal
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Thank you for making this. I have been gaming since 1979 and avoided CoC my entire gaming life because of those same "truths" you listed. It always bothered me that players and DM's alike seemed to hold the games lethality and "purity" as paramount. I am just now gearing up to get into CoC after 38 years of gaming just about everything else. Your videos factor greatly into that momentum.

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