Iyo: The Most Underrated Or Underused Character In Comics

[Hugh Neilson]

I used to play CofC all the time and for somenone who likes to get attached to his charcters it was truly a recipe for unhappiness.

I remember god old CoC! I recall a scenario which intro'd by stating it was intended for experienced characters, then went on to define that as a group consisting of no more than 50% new characters

In defense of CoC, if characters had a high survival rate, it wouldn't be true to the genre. Plus, the character generation system was quick. I'd hate to play a Hero game where the mortality rate was that high!

Actually, I recall in high school (more years back than I care to remember) a friend summarizing the three games we regularly played.

Champions: If you play half decent, your characters will probably succeed and they will almost certainly survive.

D&D: If you play well, your characters will probably succeed. If you play half decent, they will probably survive.

Call of Cthulhu: If you play exceptionaly well, make noerrors, cover off all possible research and double-check everything three times, your characters have a shot at survival.

As I recall, he was always the guy saying "Let's do a little more research in the library".

[starblaze]

Ah, CofC. The only game where if you survive long enough you are eventually rewarded with insanity!

But in reality I grew to like the feel of Call of Cthulu. The big mistake with the game is that the Keepers are often to willing to toss out the big powerful sanity draining monsters like Cthulu and Nylarthotep. And the combat system is really deadly.

[Hugh Neilson]

Ah, CofC. The only game where if you survive long enough you are eventually rewarded with insanity!

But in reality I grew to like the feel of Call of Cthulu. The big mistake with the game is that the Keepers are often to willing to toss out the big powerful sanity draining monsters like Cthulu and Nylarthotep. And the combat system is really deadly.

The problem is that, if characters are able to learn the secrets of the universe, and defeat the Elder Gods consistently, the game falls out of its genre. It needs to be defeatist if it's going to work. And that's contrary to GamerThink!

As for combat, I used to describe the opposition as "Weak opponents only have a couple of stats in excess of human maximums". I liked the Cthulhu stats - stats in the w/u, but the narrative discusses how many he can get at a time, not how mcuh damage he'll do.

[Vigil]

Our eventual solution to the CofC dilema was to convert the entire thing to Champions or, more properly, Jusitce Inc. We created analogues of the insanity inducing presence of Cthulhoid types and tried to recreate the feel as best we could and went from there. It was a hybrid, to be sure, but it was hybrid which worked and which was quite playable. The villains were still significantly more powerful but characters still had a chance and could buy skills like resistance and even limited forms of power defense (makes more sense than Ego Defense given the basis of the Cthulhoid types powers) to keep from going wing ding every time a zombie walks in. I liked the original CofC as a concept. As an actual game, however, I think it may have been abit too true to its sources.

[Kristopher]

I said this before about comics, but it applies here too. Sometimes, what works in the source material does not make for a good game.

I've never bothered to play CofC because of the hardwired hopelessness. The real world has enough hopelessness, I don't need it in my hobbies. There's also the issue of wondering why I'd put any real work into a player character that I know is going to die, and probably soon. CofC shares this flaw with Paranoia.

[Moody Loner]

Smilar experience with CoC here. If I need hopelessness and futility, I'll write "D20 Six O'Clock News".

Or sit in the basement and beat myself over the head with a two-by-four.

Both of which were more fun than the "Watch me create interesting, complex NPC madmen for the GM" that was my CoC experience.

And I won't even start about my wife's game-winning double critical hit getting retconned because actually managing to be competent would derail the campaign, because that was bad GMing.

[Lightray]

Like most games, CoC sucks if it's not run well, rules notwithstanding.

I've still fond memories of one game where a couple investigators went mad as loons only from some byakee -- and spent the rest of the game session occasionally hooting at us from the table they were playing cards at. Or sneaking up to our table and just staring at us.

The rest of us found the cave wherein was the problem, and one by one gave in to some temptation and got turned into ghouls. They all slunk under the table and gibbered at each other.

By the time I died 20 minutes later-- eaten alive by my "colleagues" -- the GM and I were alone at the table, with hands occasionally coming up from below to paw at our dice or character sheets. Actually, I think one of the GM's NPC character sheets got eaten (leading to the same fate for my faithful sidekick).

Good times.

[Kristopher]

Different tastes, I guess.

[Vigil]

To me, CofC is one of those games where the concept, the theory far outshines the reality. I remeber 20+ years back thinking, "wow, it would be cool to play an occult investigator who uses nothing but his knowledge of "the enemy" to squeak out of the closest calls. " or somesuch.

Unfortunately, the calls weren't close. They were delivered right to my door promptly and on time by Migo Express and the package always included a heapin' helpin' of insanity and death.

I'm not really sure how CofC could even be fun for a GM considering how dispiriting the whole thing is. It was only when we converted the system to JI that there was even any vague sense of balance. If you look at it, a lot of CofC PCs would be incompetent normals by Champs standards and just think of what fun a campaign built around those types would be. When Aunt May is your muscle, not your hostage, you're screwed.

Vigil

[Vigil]

I guess this question could be a sub-question of this topic. Given that we've all played a lot of systems, I'm sure, which have had the most potential, which were the most frustrating ansd which were the most fun?

I recall enjoying the Awful Green Things from Outer Space quite a lot and Demon Lord and Titan absolutely ocked, whereas Illuminati NWO and Armageddon (I think it was called, essentially nuclear Risk set in the Mediterranean region) were true pigs that weren't never goin' be silk purses.

[Rapier]

I guess this question could be a sub-question of this topic. Given that we've all played a lot of systems, I'm sure, which have had the most potential, which were the most frustrating ansd which were the most fun?

Believe it or not, I've not really played that many RPGs. I spent my youth mostly with AD&D (up through high school) and my adulthood (uni and beyond) with Hero.

In the middle there I played some:

- Dr Who (this had such potential, but I was too young. I don't recall much about the system other than we didn't really understand it, but the setting...CMON! Its DOCTOR WHO!)
- MSH (I have no idea which version or anythhing, but it was fun, just not really fond of the system itself)
- TMNT (ack, that was bad)
- SFB (too rules heavy)
- Toon (fun, but only really good as a 1 shot)
- Paranoia (HATED IT)
- Star Wars (was fun, but the GM was not so good so this died before it ever really got going...but the setting, of course, RoXXoReD!)
- ShadowRun (I really like ShadowRun, I would even considering running/playing that again for the CyberPunky stuff)
- CyberPunk (eh, wasn't so fond of the game)
- Jorune (only limped through 1 game)
- GURPS (couple games that ran concurrently with the Champions...and Champions pwned GURPS)
- RoleMaster (I did like RoleMaster, it was probably what actually triggered my out-and-out dislike (which had been only grumblings until this point) of AD&D)
- Vampire/Werewolf (I don't like LARP, the game system sucks (which is actually kind of a rule with LARP since you can't really run around with lots of books and dice) and there is a rather large majority IME of LARPers that are REALLY, REALLY creepy. When not actually LARPing WW, the game system just SUCKS)

And of course there was a whole bunch of board games, card games, war games and miniature games that we played too.

Thats about all I can think of. Hey, actually I guess I have played a number of RPGs!!

[Vigil]

I remmebr playing and enjoyint the very first iteration of Dand D back in the mid 70's. Unfrtunately the experience was soon destroyed by a novice GM (weren't they all back the?) who thought the best thing in the world was to invent clever but inescapable death traps ("Isn't that brilliant?! There are dragons behind all the doors!" apparently the point was to demonstrate that rtue heroism is demonstrated in how you face certain death or soemsuch twaddle).

Be that as it may, after ward we moved on the Chivalry and Sorcery in HS. I recall that C&S had potential to be one of the greatest and most interesting RPGs ever, if only it didn't take itself so deathly seriously. They started with a great idea and quickly killed it by trying to be too "realistic" about their system (it's magick not magic seemed to be the philosophy). Somewhere around that same time we began experimenting with the Hero system. Ah, the wonder and the joy of one's first experience with Champions. After that we flirted with DCH only to find that the system was a really expensive date that wouldn't put out. Then there were tons of lesser systems and a period of playing lots of war games (most of which were pigs to one degree or another but Squad Leader was probably the worst) before ultimately gravitating back to Champions and JI.

Vigil

[assault]

Like most games, CoC sucks if it's not run well, rules notwithstanding.
...
By the time I died 20 minutes later-- eaten alive by my "colleagues" -- the GM and I were alone at the table, with hands occasionally coming up from below to paw at our dice or character sheets. Actually, I think one of the GM's NPC character sheets got eaten (leading to the same fate for my faithful sidekick).

CoC is vulnerable to heavy handed GMing. With a lighter touch, it's fine.

It also makes a fine semi-LARP. Lightray's description indicates that.

My favourite CoC game was played in a rundown old farmhouse in the hills, on a foggy night. That was where we _played_ it. The setting in the _game_ was a rundown old mansion in the hills, on a foggy night...

None of us died or went insane.

The plot was broadly lifted from Robert E Howard's "Dig Me No Grave".

[st barbara]

My vote would go to "The Global Guardians". Every time I see them they are either underpowered, have some members turn evil or get (temporarily) killed off. I think that they could make a great comic ! Do they have a token Yank by the way ?

[nexus]

Call of Cthullu...

I've played it once or twice. I can see why some people might like it, but I didn't. Complete doom and insanity isn't really my idea of a good time.

Paranoia always felt different because you aren't supposed to take it seriously. Its a black comedy. The goal of the game is to see how long it takes you to go threw your clones, your "companions" clones and how spectacularly you can go out.