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  1. #1

    Welcoming Tips for CoC? How can I be a better keeper?

    I'm new to Call of Cthulhu. Just started my first adventure (The Haunting). I would welcome any tips that experienced Keepers could give on running a CoC game.

    I played a LOT of different roleplaying systems in the 1980s and 1990s, but mostly D&D and Cyberpunk. CoC seems like a VERY different experience to me, and it's like wearing a new pair of shoes. It's cool and all, but feels a bit awkward.

    Some things I've kind of figured out on my own:
    1. Atmosphere is EVERYTHING in this game. As keeper, it's on me to scare my players.
    2. Theater of the mind seems to work best. I made a map, but basically, I've found that fear requires imagination, and that seeing the map just isn't scary. I understand now why the maps in The Haunting are just simple black and white hand-drawn style. Even there, I feel a strong compulsion to try to describe rather than show.
    3. Pacing is important. Like a horror movie, build up to the fear slowly.
    4. Unlike most games that are very heavy on combat and adventure, CoC seems very heavy on the roleplay. In our first session, we only rolled the dice a few times.

    But, again, it feels weird to me. I'm so used to D&D where, if it feels slow, attack! And this isn't really that kind of game. OH, I'm PLANNING to attack, but it's sitting in the dark waiting for them, and before I go all out and attack them, I want to play with them first. But it feels weird not to have a combat-focused game!

    So, experienced keepers, what advice do you have for clueless newbies? What can I do to have a fun and successful game for my players?

  2. #2
    damned's Avatar
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    It is a very different game. Its different to keep and its different to play.

    Firstly - did you enjoy the session and did your players enjoy the session? Most players come from a D&Desque background and some just dont like CoC or want to play it more pulpy. Most likely there will be parts they liked and parts they thought could be better. The challenge ofc is when they like/dislike different things to each other and you!

    If you read material about writing horror and suspense you will likely find that the advice is the less you describe it the more horrific it can be because the listener can create their own horrible images, things that are horrible to them, better than we can in many cases.

    Initially allude to things going awry. Make a casual reference - "that was strange - for a moment it felt like he was reading my thoughts", "you feel a shiver run down your spine", "you look around and dont see anyone but it almost felt like someone brushed past you", "phew its warm in here, a bead of perspiration runs down your cheek", "you feel a bit aggravated, you dont know why, something about the reporter is really pushing your buttons even though her questions are straight forward". Dont elaborate on the early feelings/glimpses/strangeness. Why would you? They're obviously just your imagination working on overdrive.

    When the horror is more obvious and cant be explained away you could describe it in horrifying detail or you could describe more matter of factly the big bits and let them fill in the blanks. "As she screeches you feel her hot breath, the awful stench makes your legs quiver momentarily and your head throbs like a bad head ache is building." "The creatures eyes, dozens and dozens of them, take in everything. They are like cut gems, reflecting and refracting the scenes around you. You could gaze into them for hours if not for the red tentacles whipping towards you."

    I think CoC generally wants you to roll often as making successful skill checks is how your characters develop and improve their skills. However rolling often also involves failing often so give them plenty of opportunities to use skills to find clues and to improve their situation earlier in the adventure. Later on failing the skill rolls tends to worsen their situation

    I tend towards ToTM a lot but my players tell me that maps and images help them. I dont fill my maps with lots of detail. They are there to clarify the physical location descriptions rather than to do the describing.

    Every keeper is different!

    Oh one more thought - especially early on, the things that they see/hear/feel/experience that they are not quite sure they did - they often affect only one or two characters and a different character might get a different experience that doesnt "align" with what the other(s) got.

    And another - encourage and reward investigation. Even if you have no new clues, elaborate on an earlier one, paint it in more detail, repeat an important clue, or play on the strangeness they just experienced in the prior scene.

  3. #3
    Thank you. That's good advice. I'll keep it in mind. The game isn't going badly, and the players seem to be enjoying it, but I feel a bit outside my comfort zone, even though I'm very familiar with HP Lovecraft and am huge horror fan.

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