BESW's Spoil-Lair

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BESW

01:44

In this film, the old witch's name is Grubwort and her descendent is Trowburg. Is that too silly/cliché for a Cthulhu Dark game and I should change it?

Grubermensch

wait is the question just about the names?

if so, will the players ever see them written down, or only spoken?

BESW

The relationship between them may become a plot point.

Grubermensch

i'm asking because if the players see the names written down i think it will be too easy for them to see the connection

BESW

(The Investigators will probably suspect the witch's descendent of carrying on her witchy tradition and setting frog monsters on the town.)

One of the players is inclined to take notes, so yes--he'd probably write the names down.

Grubermensch

even then, if you only speak the names he could transcribe them wrong

unless he's the type to ask for correct spelling

BESW

01:51

(However, it's probably a red herring and someone else is possessed by the witch.)

Grubermensch

i haven't ever played Cthulhu Dark, so i don't know if there's a big tone mismatch

BESW

Are you familiar with Lovecraftian stories, the Cthulhu Mythos?

Grubermensch

I think if you do it, you should probably have a few more silly things in there to make it seem appropriate

@BESW Only by general description

BESW

Generally Mythos stories are more serious than Scooby-Doo, but I'm trying to test the theory that removing the human element from a Scooby mystery will make it more Lovecraftian: instead of someone in a monster costume, it's a real monster!

Grubermensch

well, then if you want to be all scientifical about it, you've got to keep the silly

BESW

01:59

I think you're right.

And as I mentioned yesterday, a lot of the literature on running horror games says that some humour is necessary.

People need a break from the tension or they go numb. We take a moment to laugh so that we can continue to be scared later.

@mxyzplk Hi! Your essay on horror in roleplaying has been very helpful to me.

BESW

02:27

So, my fundamental strategy for adventure-making in Cthulhu Dark has been to take the competent protagonist(s) out of a story and replace him/them with the Investigators.

Thus far it's worked pretty well with Doctor Who stories; just never have the Doctor show up.

Now I'm trying it by taking the Mystery Incorporated gang out of Scooby mysteries, with the added change of making the monster real.

(That's one reason I'm starting with this film: it really is about a ghost witch. The Scooby films have this... tic... about being actually supernatural.)

Adeptus

I just realised I know the film you're talking about!

Also, Doctor Who stories without the Doctor showing up, sounds like a great source for dangerous, mysterious threats

BESW

@Adeptus Gotta be careful to pick ones that don't rely on Time Lords to make the plot actually happen, though.

I had to abandon my attempt to convert "Pyramids of Mars" to Cthulhu Dark because it just failed to move forward without the Doctor's active presence.

I've successfully run games based on the Second Doctor story "The Abominable Snowmen," and the Fourth Doctor story "The Horror of Fang Rock."

But it's hard to find DW stories my players don't know.

All New Who is flat out, and all the well-known Old Who is out too.

Adeptus

02:46

Yeah, that's the problem... "Hey, I know this story!"

BESW

"The Abominable Snowmen" is lost and one of my players recognised it.

Adeptus

oh no

mxyzplk

03:33

@BESW Oh great, thanks. If you can find Nightmares of Mine from ICE it's really good too.

Are you also using the Scooby Cthulhu stuff from my site, from what you're talking about above?

BESW

@mxyzplk Shiny, I'll take a look for that.

@mxyzplk ...no, I didn't find that. I came to the horror RP essay from your link to it on an RPG.SE question.

I arrived at the "Scooby Mythos" idea on my own.

mxyzplk

mindspring.com/~ernestm/cthulhu

BESW

Cool.

mxyzplk

Scooby gang in CoC format

Very good for con games, the Blood Brothers "not-Lovecraft-but-horror" adventures are helpful for it. Players really get into the Scooby gang getting into real trouble.

BESW

I'm using the Cthulhu Dark engine instead of Call of Cthulhu, but I'll take a look and see if anything translates.

mxyzplk

03:36

I will note that the newer animated movies go "real supernatural"

BESW

(If you ever look at Cthulhu Dark and its adventure design suggestions I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.)

@mxyzplk The live action ones do too--I'm currently adapting this one.

mxyzplk

hadn't heard of it, will check it out

BESW

I put the (free, legal) pdf links in the tag wiki: cthulhu-dark

mxyzplk

yeah. the newest Scooby series was actually really good too, had real supernatural in it, was very undervalued

BESW

@mxyzplk Which is that? I'm partway through Mystery, Incorporated right now.

(Really enjoying it!)

mxyzplk

03:38

yeah that's the one

BESW

Interesting, because thus far (I'm very early in season 2) there isn't really any supernatural stuff except the talking animals.

mxyzplk

only went 2 seasons, which is unfortunate

oh yeah it ramps up hard

BESW

Interesting.

[even more eager to watch the rest]

mxyzplk

Harlan Ellison as himself about made me crap myself

BESW

Heheheh.

mxyzplk

03:43

My daughter and I appreciated the Hex Girls appearing, they were new characters that got recurring in the animated movies

BESW

I've definitely appreciated the way it started as a kind of light-hearted episodic parody of its own franchise and then relentlessly added characterisation and continuity.

mxyzplk

absolutely, and once the final arc kicks in you're not going to believe all what goes on. enjoy!

BESW

Looking forward to it.

Though I'm not sure how many Cthulhu Dark adventures it'll give me; I don't think it's quite the right.... shape.

So far I've been running adventures that are old Doctor Who stories where the Investigators show up instead of the Doctor, and that's been working well... but my players know too much Doctor Who for me to sustain that.

mxyzplk

Yeah. I found the stock CoC rules to be just awesome for Scooby

BESW

(We're more interested in the general aura and ethos of Mythos games, than in anything specific about the canon itself.)

(Also my group's attendance is erratic, so I mostly do one- and two-session campaigns.)

mxyzplk

03:50

Especially with the skills they have. We had Scooby failing his Speak English rolls, resulting in Scooby-esque stammering, we had Scooby and Shaggy doing opposed Eat Voraciously rolls to see who got the sandwich...

BESW

Hee, interesting.

Cthulhu Dark is a much smaller system with fewer fiddly bits, but I'm fascinated by its fail-lite mechanics.

mxyzplk

Yeah just browsed through it.

BESW

I was skeptical at first--I thought failure should be a big part of a Mythos game--but it's been working great at the table!

You can't fight monsters or you automatically die, but you succeed at nearly anything else... and it doesn't help.

mxyzplk

cool! ok gotta bail, flying out early tomorrow and have to finish packing

BESW

ttfn

7 hours later…

BESW

11:00

@JonathanHobbs Hey! Get out of here.

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