Posts made by Botulism

@ixokai There's a Central Casting character (NPC) that's gay, and his uncle is the priest at the local Catholic Church and accepts him, which isn't really troubles? Beyond that, not sure!

Come swing by!

@il-volpe That's one of the influences.

We're officially open! I'll be trying to run things throughout the weekend to kick things off, and both the high school and university start the year on IC Monday. +Time is accurate.

Making a character takes 5 minutes. It's fast and easy. Give us a try!

@ominous I'd argue that a cunning demon would rather stay and not have to claw their way back again. Why work harder than you have to just to look fearless? Why give a shit what it looks like when you can still win?

@surreality It was fun! People seemed to think it was a great way to learn a new system.

I held a Workshop on the game system for players to get a feel of how things work. Posting the log below!

http://lovecraftma.com/index.php/Workshop_1

@tnp Awesome! Thanks for giving it a chance.

We have a Staffer now dedicated to designing Miskatonic U, and the college will be just as much of a focus as the high school, for anyone wary of 'Teen Drama' RP.

@darkdeleria No vents, all the keys are already made.

@ixokai The name is from the comic. Joe Hill (Stephen King's kid) named it Lovecraft. Keyhouse and the Drowning Cave, the Narwhals mascot, that all comes from the comic.

lovecraftma.com 1880
http://lovecraftma.com

Open for Beta! Cgen, dice, temp rooms, the wiki - it all works. We're currently just finishing the grid and recruiting players and Staff. RP for now will be set near the end of Summer break, 2018, with school (high school and college, focus will be on both) starting when we have our grand opening.

Welcome to Lovecraft is a mortal horror game using the Slasher Flick rules system and (very) loosely inspired by the comic book series Locke and Key. Knowledge of either is unnecessary to play here - everything you need is on the wiki.

Our story is set in Lovecraft, Massachusetts, a fictional island town connected to the mainland by bridge with a single road in and out. On the surface it's a pretty little resort town with a friendly, close-knit community, but appearances can be deceiving. Beneath that placid surface is an ancient horror that feeds on youth and innocence, leaving the adults in an oblivious fog. Players take on the roles of students at Lovecraft High and Miskatonic University, or one of the rare adults who, scarred by the past, remembers and see things as they truly are.

The story is not limited to eldritch horrors by any means, and nearly any horror or thriller can fit right in here, from big screen slashers to the books of Stephen King. Using a game system that emphasizes cinematic storytelling over dice and survival over combat, we focus on personal horror from the point of view of the average person. We encourage player-run-plots, and have a number of pre-made plot kits you can use to tell stories, or you can make up your own with staff approval. We also utilize supporting characters to use in your stories.

Welcome to Lovecraft. We hope you enjoy your stay.

@ixokai said in Oh the Horror:

I like danger, but it depends on how fatality works on a system. If a single bad roll of the dice determines if I lose a character, I am less inclined to join a scene without being damn sure I can probably survive it. Like, on the 100, @Seraphim73 and @GirlCalledBlu had it set up so when you got KO'd, the next turn if no one else attacked or did something to the guy that got you, the NPC would go in for a kill shot. I liked the balance of this: no single action can end you, but if you're abandoned (or don't have a luck to bring yourself back into the scene) it could be fatal.

Our system allows for others to stabilize fallen characters, so dead isn't always dead, which sounds similar to what you mention.

XP/Save Points: As long as there's some way to change and grow over time, or to feel like I'm having an impact on my development, I don't need it to be XP and for all my numbers to get bigger every week.

Stats don't change, but you can expand on qualities (specialties) and, as proposed, buy some special stuff.

@krmbm said in Oh the Horror:

How hard is it to make a character and get approved?

That usually determines how willing I am to have a PC death.

A couple sentences of a BG, five minutes in cgen on stats, and a desc is all you need.

@tnp said in Oh the Horror:

Make it like CoC. You WILL die/go insane. The measure of success is how long you last (or you just hide under your bed too much).

Heh. No, not THAT heavy.

A few questions for anyone interested in answering!

How dangerous/deadly do you like your mortal horror? Should scenes with a monster always carry a real risk of death?

Would having supporting characters (NPCs) under your control be something you'd take advantage of? Some might be good at things you aren't, or have a special ability that makes them useful. They can also be used to do the risky/dangerous things you might not do with your PC.

Monster of the week or ongoing plots? Or both?

If there were Plots in a Box, where all you have to do is read it and run it, would you consider running PrPs (if you otherwise usually don't)?

If workshops were held to teach players how to run scenes (the dice system, conflict resolution, etc.), would you attend?

Instead of XP, would a system where you can save points you get IC (that you normally spend on rerolls and such) to buy Special Traits interest you? It wouldn't raise stats, but they could add bonuses, special abilities and items, etc.

I'll add more questions as I think of them!

It would seem to me that the best way is to start with a declaration of what you want to do (change someone's mind, say) and roll it, then based on the roll negotiate with the other player the best way to do the declared thing. Like in combat. The problem arises when people try to do it in poses first, fail or struggle, then want the dice to fix it. Why not treat social "combat" like regular combat? We don't pose shooting someone in the face before rolling. Stop trying to pose your persuasion before you roll it.

One last poke! We can use a few people to help us out. Staff are named after scary movies. @ZombieGenesis is Halloween there, and I'm Showgirls. lovecraftma.com 1880. Come chat!

Also, what things would you like to see on this game? Ideas and suggestions (or even concerns and questions) welcome!

@loakey said in Welcome to Lovecraft Looking for Directors and Stage Hands:

Just a quick typo point on the Info page - It's Massachusetts. No e after the double t.

Thanks! ZG fixed it.

@quinn said in Welcome to Lovecraft Looking for Directors and Stage Hands:

I feel like you're going to get a huge amount of STF refugees. This is like everything we wanted out of that game, but cooler!

Aw! We hope people will like it. I can really use a hand with Miskatonic - I'm developing/running all the Lovecraft High stuff, and we'd like the college to be an equal focus if we can get someone(s) interested in helping there.

Way too amused by this and had to share. So much fun making it.

Figured I'd post the wiki link so people can know a bit more about if they're interested in pitching in! http://lovecraftma.com/index.php/Main_Page

So it's looking like this will end up being a small TT-ish game. I think it's proving to be abit TOO wide-open for people.

Ah well. Still having fun with friends.

If my Whoniverse game never takes off, I just might try a Mortal Horror game. Here are my answers to the questions:

1: Age. Would it need to be young adult to be captivating? Could you do "age spheres" such as High School, College, Adult and run plots for each?

I'd base it very loosely on the comic book Locke and Key by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son). I'd call it Welcome to Lovecraft and set it in modern-day Lovecraft, MA, the fictional town from the comics, but would not use (much of) the story or characters. Lovecraft is a strange town where the supernatural and unusual happens but no one talks about it. Not the adults, anyway. They always forget. I'd let PCs be students at Lovecraft High and Miskatonic University, or those few adults who can, for various reasons, notice and remember. While the HP Lovecraft influences are obvious, it wouldn't just be that. I'd bring in lots of horror movie stuff like Camp Crystal Lake, vampires and werewolves and sea creatures and zombies and... the whole toybox. The idea would be that Shit Is Not Right, but no one believes it.

2: How often would plots need to be run? Let's say, for gits and shiggles, that I'm running a game and am also the only staffer running plots. I could only do so probably once a week, on Monday evenings. Would that be enough? Twice a week? Three times?

I could/would run at least a scene a week, sure.

3: Player Run Plots. I'm a HUGE fan of PrPs. What tools would players want/need to run their own plots?

I'd let people run with it. Borrow from comics, movies, TV... have fun. Anything can happen in Lovecraft.

4: Mortality. Should death be a very real possibility? Should players go into character generation knowing their PC could be short-lived? Should there be a "victim" opt-out option for players who don't necessarily want to have their characters killed (which may make them ineligible for some scenes)?

I'd let people opt out, but if they want in on the nastiest stuff, death can happen.

5: The monsters. Strictly staff run? Should players be able to take on the role of "Suburban Vampire" for the length of a plot knowing that, in the end, he will be slain?

As I said in #3, go have fun.

6: System. What system would work for this? I think WoD or the current edition of Call of Cthulhu would work fantastically.

I'd be open on system. Not WoD, though. Something that doesn't have 30+ books and is less about fistfuls of dice and XP and number-crunching and more about drama and story. FATE, etc.