Tabletop Roleplaying Games (D&D, Pathfinder, CoC, ETC.)

[Corn Flakes]

It's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. There are upsides and downsides to Pathfinder's "all in one book" approach, same as D&D's "at least one of you needs all three books".

Personally, I'd go with splitting the game into three books. The first is the traditional Player's Handbook with extra/optional rules in an appendix. The second is a combination of Monster Manual and Item Compendium. And the third is a free ebook (with an optional printed version, of course) on how to GM, how to structure adventures, and how to build dungeons. Stuff that you will usually do between sessions. That way anyone intending to GM doesn't have to buy two whole new books for it.

 

[BlueArmedDevil]

So if I was to run a d&d game set in the Dalelands from Forgotten Realms what books would I need beyond the 3.0 FR corebook?

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

So if I was to run a d&d game set in the Dalelands from Forgotten Realms what books would I need beyond the 3.0 FR corebook?

Grey Box from AD&D, FRE1 Shadowdale, and the Randal Morn adventure trilogy. Forgotten Realms in the 3.x and later era was retarded.

And if you can find a torrent or something of it - it's pretty old, but you probably still can - get a copy of the Forgotten Reams Interactive Atlas, or whatever that software was called. It's an amazing product - even if you don't use Forgotten Realms, it's got so many town, city, etc maps that you can repurpose for almost any fantasy game, but if you are using Forgotten Realms, it's extra amazing. It's basically Google Earth: Faerun Edition

 

[AnOminous]

I'm really torn because "super good" "good" "meh" "kinda bad" "really bad" pretty much covers the spectrum of alignments, and while alignment should be a result of actions not a character trait, moving to the buckets is just accepting reality.
I guess its one of my least favorite things about 4e.

The law and chaos element goes to methodology, though, which is somewhat different. Also there's a difference between neutral and true neutral (although almost nobody actually legitimately plays true neutral right). It's just a shortcut for general temperament. Especially in games where characters die frequently, there's not much point in developing a detailed background for a character (like the system in Traveler) when they're as likely as not going to die in the next couple hours of play.

Even in a game with character longevity, you can either chuck the alignment system entirely or just use it as a starting point if characters are going to last long enough to need development.

 

[Scream Aim Fire]

Got a question; my group had the idea of running a Lovecraft-inspired game in the modern day, with all of the wokeshit expected from the latter taken to its logical conclusion; problem is, we're not sure what game we should try and use. The obvious one is a World of Darkness game, but we also had the idea of using Call of Cthulhu and re-flavoring it to the modern day.

Any suggestions?

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

Got a question; my group had the idea of running a Lovecraft-inspired game in the modern day, with all of the wokeshit expected from the latter taken to its logical conclusion; problem is, we're not sure what game we should try and use. The obvious one is a World of Darkness game, but we also had the idea of using Call of Cthulhu and re-flavoring it to the modern day.

Any suggestions?

If you don't mind sailing the digital high seas - because the PDFs are currently unavailable due to licensing issues - grab The Laundry Files RPG and supplements. It's pretty much just the CoC rules slightly tweaked for a modern modern setting with some more modern flavorings.

 

[Alabama Gamer]

Got a question; my group had the idea of running a Lovecraft-inspired game in the modern day, with all of the wokeshit expected from the latter taken to its logical conclusion; problem is, we're not sure what game we should try and use. The obvious one is a World of Darkness game, but we also had the idea of using Call of Cthulhu and re-flavoring it to the modern day.

Any suggestions?

Well, if you want to do modern day Lovecraft, Delta Green is the obvious choice.

 

[Scream Aim Fire]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys; we'll take a look, see what we can come up with.

For the record, the idea we had for our campaign was fairly standard; playing as a collection of average joes/civilians, who ended up learning about/coming into contact with eldritch horrors thanks to the manipulations of the various lunatics in the world, and thus end up having to try and stop the insane bastards before they end up destroying the planet. Basically, the classic Call of Cthulhu game set-up, just set in the modern day; befitting with how a lot of wokeshit media tends to portray worshipping the horrors as a good thing - Lovecraft Country, Hc Svnt Dracones, Coyote & Crow, Flexible Survival, the list goes on and on - we got a few ideas on running a story like that, examining how the normal, rational people would have to deal with the eldritch truth, instead of insane wokies.

Granted, how we're going to set up the campaign is a bit difficult; making a setting that both encapsulates the potential threat of a cosmic horror, while simultaneously trying to keep things low-key setting-wise - as in, having the rest of the world remain blissfully unaware of the horrors trying to break in - is rather complicated, given how everything is connected via the internet these days. That's not getting into what kind of threat our group is going to be facing; we've got suggestions ranging from "a collective of horror-worshipping furfags try to chemical bomb a major city (like in Flexible Survival)", to a group of Injuns try and summon a horror to blow up the planet as revenge against the "colonizers" (C&C). Needless to say, we have a lot to work with.

Additionally, the setting is primarily going to be in/around a major city; given the modern-day time period, that means we're also going to be putting a LOT of wokeshit stuff into the game. For instance; dealing with a lack of policing, guns and supplies being risky and difficult to find, etc. It's certainly interesting, seeing how all the shit in the modern day would end up affecting a cosmic horror story.

 

[40 Year Old Boomer]

In your case, with the Sea Hags I'd have the party roll up secondary characters and then have the adventures turn out to be a rescue mission. Maybe the Sea Hags do a tarantula wasp thing where they lay eggs on stunned victims and the Sea Hag larva eat the victim alive. Or maybe the Sea Hags are raising pet monsters that do that.

From the DM side, I once had a nearly TPK when the cleric suddenly sperged out and tried to bully some kobolds that were acting as guides in a dungeon inside an active volcano AFTER being guided past a fuck load of traps and many twists and turns. Long story short, he died after a 100 foot drop into lava, the monk and bard were captured by kobolds, and the fighter/cleric somehow made it to the gnomes they were originally trying to reach that were besieged by goblins. I just did a time skip where the next session was everyone playing a rescuer sent to find the original party and once an original character was rescued, the rescuer died somehow in the next scene.

 

[JJLiautaud]

Got a question; my group had the idea of running a Lovecraft-inspired game in the modern day, with all of the wokeshit expected from the latter taken to its logical conclusion; problem is, we're not sure what game we should try and use. The obvious one is a World of Darkness game, but we also had the idea of using Call of Cthulhu and re-flavoring it to the modern day.

Any suggestions?

If you need setting idea inspiration this short might help:

DAGON

“We’ve received a complaint. I’m sorry, I can’t say from whom, apparently one of your coworkers overheard a conversation between you and your teammate, Joanna. In the context we received the complaint, you were discussing her date from the previous night, and you made the remark, “there are...

zerohplovecraft.substack.com

Its fucking hilarious, heres the tagline-Fish people are, first and foremost people, you bigot.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

Additionally, the setting is primarily going to be in/around a major city; given the modern-day time period, that means we're also going to be putting a LOT of wokeshit stuff into the game. For instance; dealing with a lack of policing, guns and supplies being risky and difficult to find, etc.

So not an American city, then.

The Laundry File's premise is based around the idea that the British government has a branch of the civil service that handles things with too many angles and a squamous disposition, the Capital Laundry Services. It's designed around the players being members of that organization (or a few others from other countries... The American Black Chamber are basically nazgul necromancers and you really don't wanna work for them...) but you don't have to be - it's still just the CoC rules adapted to the modern era, for the most part. A few tweaks to how the magic system works to better fit the books... Not so much the old spells that CoC uses but a pared down list, and they're designed to be cast with the aid of modern technology, to help offset the inevitable insanity.

Still, I really love it. It's got a grim sense of humor... The Laundry has "residual human resources" to do the janitor work and deliver inter-office mail (read: zombies of employees who died in such a way their corpse was still useful, or got possessed by brain-eaters), power point can literally be used to suck your soul during a meeting, and don't forget to fill out the appropriate forms for your training by the Deep Ones, or else you might have to answer to the Auditors. Etc, etc.

 

[Judge Dredd]

So what VTT are people using nowadays?
I used to use Astral which was jank but offered more functionality than Roll20.
With Astral being dead I'll need to find a new option for my group for when we don't play in person because they absolutely don't want to use Roll20.

I use Foundry, but it requires tinkering to get working right. If you have no knowledge of computers, then might be best avoided.

Got a question; my group had the idea of running a Lovecraft-inspired game in the modern day, with all of the wokeshit expected from the latter taken to its logical conclusion; problem is, we're not sure what game we should try and use. The obvious one is a World of Darkness game, but we also had the idea of using Call of Cthulhu and re-flavoring it to the modern day.

Any suggestions?

As always, I'll simp for Savage Worlds. My longest running and best campaign was a modern horror game, so I can say I can speak from experience that it works. There's a new horror companion for the SWADE version of the game. I've not read it properly, but a quick skim seems to be that they've updated the original companion. The only new addition that stood out was a setting neutral version of the lodge system from Rippers.

There's also a bunch of horror related adventures and settings to work with, some of which are free (though pirating them is easier due to dead links). Even if you don't use Savage Worlds, I think you should skim East Texas University. It's is more of a horror comedy setting, but it's a setting that does much of what you want. It's set in a modern day, small US town called Pinebox. The player characters are students who have to balance studying with fighting the paranormal.

Not a Savage Worlds book, but if you can find it you might enjoy The God Machine Chronicle. What it does well is explaining how to run a huge threat on a small scale. In short, you put the PCs up against a more local, immediate threat.

Also, if your players haven't played it, I recommend The Haunting as a good starter adventure. There's lots of fan made material, and it's easy to update by moving the dates forward. It's free and easy to adapt to any system.

having the rest of the world remain blissfully unaware of the horrors trying to break in - is rather complicated, given how everything is connected via the internet these days.

Keeping the masses unaware shouldn't be much of a problem. Unless you hand the PCs a bunch of irrefutable proof, most stuff can be handwaved because of the modern world. Cameras everywhere? The footage they capture is all CGI. Outlandish story? Dismissed as you pulling a TikTok prank. The PCs try to call in a SWAT team? Either they assume it's internet drama and don't turn up, or they do turn up and are fodder for the monsters. The only people who believe will be conspiracy nuts, which can be used to your PCs benefit or annoyance.

 

[Another Char Clone]

Not a Savage Worlds book, but if you can find it you might enjoy The God Machine Chronicle. What it does well is explaining how to run a huge threat on a small scale. In short, you put the PCs up against a more local, immediate threat.

I was thinking God Machine Chronicles too, the GMC Demons splat, the first splat to use it is a bit of a departure from the usual urban fantasy supernatural mash up like modern werewolves and vampires in a random modern city. It's more spycraft and gadgets, more James Bond or East Berlin depending on the tone of your game.

I love it since your PCs can have all the cool tricks they want, BUT will be motivated to be self restrained and use their tricks creatively, since nobody wants agent Smith-like hunter angels just coming out of lamp posts and TVs like Ju-On style glowies trying to get them if they are too exposed/flagged/burned.

Edit: You can think of the cover mechanic as wokescolds trying to dox you if you show your powerlevel in front of too many people.

 

[MaxPayne]

From the DM side, I once had a nearly TPK when the cleric suddenly sperged out and tried to bully some kobolds that were acting as guides in a dungeon inside an active volcano AFTER being guided past a fuck load of traps and many twists and turns. Long story short, he died after a 100 foot drop into lava, the monk and bard were captured by kobolds, and the fighter/cleric somehow made it to the gnomes they were originally trying to reach that were besieged by goblins. I just did a time skip where the next session was everyone playing a rescuer sent to find the original party and once an original character was rescued, the rescuer died somehow in the next scene.

If it's all predetermined and the rescuers are going to die anyways why even go through the motions of playing it out? You could just surmise what happened in 5 minutes rather than waste 2 hours trying to create an illusion that the events are unscripted.

Id recommend you don't kill the rescuers and keep them as backup PCs or henchmen. Personally if i did what you plan on doing my players would roll their eyes hard.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

Got a question; my group had the idea of running a Lovecraft-inspired game in the modern day, with all of the wokeshit expected from the latter taken to its logical conclusion; problem is, we're not sure what game we should try and use. The obvious one is a World of Darkness game, but we also had the idea of using Call of Cthulhu and re-flavoring it to the modern day.

Any suggestions?

There are literal official modern day supplements for Call of Cthulhu (and I'm not just talking about Delta Green or the Laundry), such as Cthulhu Now (which is now included in the core books of recent editions). You could just go with that.

There's also Monster Hunter International's second RPG, which just uses the Savage Worlds system as a base. And then there's Fear Itself which uses the GUMSHOE system and is specifically about being an average joe in a cosmic horror setting. Or you could go with The Esoterrorists, which is set in the same setting as Fear Itself, but from the point of view of agents of an official creature hunting organization.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

I'm really torn because "super good" "good" "meh" "kinda bad" "really bad" pretty much covers the spectrum of alignments, and while alignment should be a result of actions not a character trait,

The main issue with alignment is that, barring some mental issue, no one is evil but acting out of self interest for either short term or long term. Burning orphanages should only be done if you get paid/kill future Hitler.

 

[40 Year Old Boomer]

If it's all predetermined and the rescuers are going to die anyways why even go through the motions of playing it out? You could just surmise what happened in 5 minutes rather than waste 2 hours trying to create an illusion that the events are unscripted.

Id recommend you don't kill the rescuers and keep them as backup PCs or henchmen. Personally if i did what you plan on doing my players would roll their eyes hard.

My players loved it and yours sound like a bunch of "no fun allowed" faggots.

 

[MaxPayne]

My players loved it and yours sound like a bunch of "no fun allowed" faggots.

It's generally funner to have variable outcomes and player agency, rather than go through the motions and have it discarded for the sake of the GMs pre determined script.

 

[40 Year Old Boomer]

It's generally funner to have variable outcomes and player agency, rather than go through the motions and have it discarded for the sake of the GMs pre determined script.

There was a variable outcome. Failure or death is always on the table. Where did I say the outcome was predetermined?

 

[MaxPayne]

There was a variable outcome. Failure or death is always on the table. Where did I say the outcome was predetermined?

"I just did a time skip where the next session was everyone playing a rescuer sent to find the original party and once an original character was rescued, the rescuer died somehow in the next scene."

The impression I'm given is an evening is spent with brand new characters battling their way to the old characters, and then the new ones are pre planned to be arbitrarily killed by the GM.