Best Call of Cthulhu Campaigns
Sep. 23rd, 2010 12:29 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
drcpunk.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
labcatsYog-Sothoth.com has a thread on the Best Campaigns from a Keeper's Point of View. I may babble about this on a blog, either here or there, but my short answers:
1. Masks of Nyarlathotep. It still sets the standards for presenting a lot of information consummately well, and for giving the PCs a lot of freedom in where they go and what they do.
2. At Your Door. Modern setting. The first adventure I ever ran. While I'm kicking myself over everything I did wrong in Masks, and hoping to run it again some day, At Your Door is very friendly to new players and new GMs alike.
Other campaigns I've run, in no particular order:
Spawn of Azathoth. Well, parts of it -- it didn't fit my campaign world, but it struck me as very well constructed. I need to reread it, with the author's original ending in front of me. (This is a short pdf file, available online.)
Tatters of the King. Great atmosphere -- this is exactly the feel I want in a Hastur campaign. Excellent set pieces for the climax. Excellent presentation of a lot of travel information without overwhelming me. Marred by weak stitching between the parts that makes it less than it could be.
Beyond the Mountains of Madness. I ran this one straight, and I think the players had fun. But, I don't think I did a great job. That said, I may have done a good job based on time constraints (two players leaving NYC meant the game had a deadline by which to wrap). I just don't quite get how other GMs make it go so much longer, with the players clearly enjoying it, and I don't quite get how to use all of the information that's there. Some railroading I am not thrilled with (I am not counting "You're on a ship heading for Antarctica" as railroading), but this was compensated in play by Chaz, who is incredibly supportive of anyone taking his baby out for a spin. This feels like the perfect sequel to "At the Mountains of Madness". There's going to be a new German edition, and I'd love to get the English translation of that.
I sort of used bits of Day of the Beast, but I'm not sure how well it works as a campaign. I used one of the sections of Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, but I'm not sure that one works well as a campaign. It was, if not the first, one of the earliest campaigns published for Call of Cthulhu.
Other Campaigns I've read, but not run, in no particular order:
Our Ladies of Sorrow is fascinating, but I've got a couple of issues with it. The first is I'm not sure if I have the right sort of players for it. It is not new Keeper friendly, and there are a couple of points where my suspension of disbelief snaps. I'd like to figure out how to compensate for those, like I did for the weak stitching in Tatters.
Walker in the Waste. I remember liking the scope, but not liking instances of "Make sure X happens" and thinking that some of the red herrings are more fleshed out than some of the core sections.
Coming Full Circle. I remember liking this, but wishing that the scenarios were more closely linked.
Realm of Shadows. All I remember about this one is thinking, "Is that it? That's not so horrific.... Oh! They've already won if I'm thinking that!"
Uttati Asfet. Modern setting. I was disappointed in this, and I gather most people were. There are a few defenders, one of whom made a strong enough case that I'd like to read it through again. The problems I recall were weak links and a villain who was supposed to be flamboyant in an airport and a thorough master of the social situation. Right. Tell me how to run that? My players wouldn't have stood for it, and I'd have been at a loss.
Armitage Files. It's Trail of Cthulhu, and I'm not sure whether I consider it a campaign or an experiment, but it is very impressive. It's a series of ten documents that the PCs find and interpret, whereupon the GM designs the campaign based on what they decide, and supporting material of people, organizations, and artifacts, along with different spins on all of them so that the Keeper can choose what best suits the run.
Campaigns I have not read:
Horror on the Orient Express
1. Masks of Nyarlathotep. It still sets the standards for presenting a lot of information consummately well, and for giving the PCs a lot of freedom in where they go and what they do.
2. At Your Door. Modern setting. The first adventure I ever ran. While I'm kicking myself over everything I did wrong in Masks, and hoping to run it again some day, At Your Door is very friendly to new players and new GMs alike.
Other campaigns I've run, in no particular order:
Spawn of Azathoth. Well, parts of it -- it didn't fit my campaign world, but it struck me as very well constructed. I need to reread it, with the author's original ending in front of me. (This is a short pdf file, available online.)
Tatters of the King. Great atmosphere -- this is exactly the feel I want in a Hastur campaign. Excellent set pieces for the climax. Excellent presentation of a lot of travel information without overwhelming me. Marred by weak stitching between the parts that makes it less than it could be.
Beyond the Mountains of Madness. I ran this one straight, and I think the players had fun. But, I don't think I did a great job. That said, I may have done a good job based on time constraints (two players leaving NYC meant the game had a deadline by which to wrap). I just don't quite get how other GMs make it go so much longer, with the players clearly enjoying it, and I don't quite get how to use all of the information that's there. Some railroading I am not thrilled with (I am not counting "You're on a ship heading for Antarctica" as railroading), but this was compensated in play by Chaz, who is incredibly supportive of anyone taking his baby out for a spin. This feels like the perfect sequel to "At the Mountains of Madness". There's going to be a new German edition, and I'd love to get the English translation of that.
I sort of used bits of Day of the Beast, but I'm not sure how well it works as a campaign. I used one of the sections of Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, but I'm not sure that one works well as a campaign. It was, if not the first, one of the earliest campaigns published for Call of Cthulhu.
Other Campaigns I've read, but not run, in no particular order:
Our Ladies of Sorrow is fascinating, but I've got a couple of issues with it. The first is I'm not sure if I have the right sort of players for it. It is not new Keeper friendly, and there are a couple of points where my suspension of disbelief snaps. I'd like to figure out how to compensate for those, like I did for the weak stitching in Tatters.
Walker in the Waste. I remember liking the scope, but not liking instances of "Make sure X happens" and thinking that some of the red herrings are more fleshed out than some of the core sections.
Coming Full Circle. I remember liking this, but wishing that the scenarios were more closely linked.
Realm of Shadows. All I remember about this one is thinking, "Is that it? That's not so horrific.... Oh! They've already won if I'm thinking that!"
Uttati Asfet. Modern setting. I was disappointed in this, and I gather most people were. There are a few defenders, one of whom made a strong enough case that I'd like to read it through again. The problems I recall were weak links and a villain who was supposed to be flamboyant in an airport and a thorough master of the social situation. Right. Tell me how to run that? My players wouldn't have stood for it, and I'd have been at a loss.
Armitage Files. It's Trail of Cthulhu, and I'm not sure whether I consider it a campaign or an experiment, but it is very impressive. It's a series of ten documents that the PCs find and interpret, whereupon the GM designs the campaign based on what they decide, and supporting material of people, organizations, and artifacts, along with different spins on all of them so that the Keeper can choose what best suits the run.
Campaigns I have not read:
Horror on the Orient Express
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