The thing I want people to realize the most, is that this game is not generally like the D&D games you are most likely used to. This game focuses on investigation and problem solving instead of hitting things with weapons and taking their stuff.
Communication and strategy are going to be crucial to your success. I will be creating an area in the game to talk strategy. Please make use of it. Express your opinion about what what you think the group should do next, and please don't be passive. Being flexible is a great trait, however, it will not help come to a decision.
Below I have included what I feel is the most important part of the CoC rulebook. It describes what to expect and gives you an idea about what you should be doing.
Most important rules
Expectations & Play
Call of Cthulhu differs in feel and motivation from other roleplaying games. In many such games, player-characters can directly confront and attempt to destroy obstacles and opponents. This strategy typically leads to disaster in Cthulhu scenarios. The majority of other-world monstrosities are so terrible and often so invulnerable that choosing open combat almost guarantees a gruesome end for an investigator. Even the merest glimpse of some of the more macabre horrors can send one into screaming insanity. What can a player do, then?
Accumulate Information
First, the investigators should determine what they are up against. This may involve going to the library, speaking with local residents, trying to obtain journals and diaries of those involved, and weighing reports of the problem, perhaps with the help of arcane books. To save time, split up the group and look in different places, as long as it seems safe.
Often newspapers and diaries have pertinent information. Libraries, newspaper files, state and local records of births and deaths, historical societies, hospitals and schools, individual doctors and lawyers, ministers and priests, and private organi zations like chambers of commerce — among others! — may offer information which proves lifesaving in retrospect. Don’t worry too much about choosing the right place to look: listen closely to your keeper, who’ll be dropping clues.
Many times published scenarios include quotations, excerpts, statements, or letters which are given to the players to study and interpret. These materials always contain clues or potentially useful information or they would not be handed out.
Question local inhabitants carefully and try to befriend the nonplayer-characters whom your investigators meet. Consider what they have to say. Even if they know nothing now, they may be of help in the future. As detectives of the supernatural, investigators should proceed cautiously and try to make allies. Anything could be out there.
At The Scene
At the scene of an investigation or disturbance, the investigators should comb the area for clues, looking in desks and dressers, inspecting the clothing and belongings of victims, and attempting to arrive at a realistic picture of what happened. If important information is to be found, the keeper will be patient with player queries and rolls. If nothing is to be found, then the keeper so advises the players. However, the way that such queries and responses are phrased may be significant.
Take precautions and stay together where danger has been: something as bad or worse might return. If that Something does return, and there is no easy way to handle It, do not hesitate to run. Your feet are your friends. Your investigator can always return later.
Make A Plan
When you understand the situation, make a plan to deal with the problem. Novice players should not assume that the danger is too much to face—any competent keeper will try to match the dangers to the party’s capabilities, unless he or she has already clearly warned of the over-match.
If disaster occurs and eldritch horrors overwhelm the party, those who can should flee and leave the scenario as “a story better left untold!” If the keeper consents, the players might attempt the same scenario later on, when they feel more confident and
their investigators are better able to handle themselves. Of course, the keeper is within his rights to beef up the monsters and dangers of the scenario. After all, the horror has had that much more time to grow.
Use Your Head
The cheapest and safest way to emerge victorious is to use brain power. In many published scenarios, a way exists for the investigators to solve or dispel the problem with little or no physical combat, though Sanity may need risking.
As a rule of thumb, pursue physical combat against creatures who have already made physical attacks. Other-wise rely on repeating the words from the manuscript, breaking the mirror that the tracks lead through, melting down the dire statuette, and so on. If the investigators find out that a grisly demon inhabits the old rickety mine shaft, they need not climb down it again and get eaten or struck permanently insane. They could set fire to the mine supports, dynamite the shaft, or pour concrete into the opening, thus burying the threat, perhaps forever.
Different Investigators
Are any investigators specialists? One handy sort is the wise old professor who knows foreign languages, reads arcane manu- scripts, and pieces together Sanity-blasting spells able to send the Elder Horrors back whence they came. He or she is typically of little use if a fight develops, and generally has low Sanity points, due to intensive study of the Mythos.
An opposite sort is the tough operator able to fight well with fists or guns. He or she should leave the eldritch as-pects of the Mythos to others and remain a bodyguard and scout. He or she can be helpful with police and gangsters.
Still another sort is the investigator who can do things. He or she drives very well, maybe pilots an airplane, has good mechan- ical and electrical repair skills, and might be a wizard with locks. Yet another sort could be the street-wise investigator who knows the floaters and drifters of a city, and who has a tongue glib enough to keep good relations with them.
Many types could be proposed. No one investigator can learn to do everything or be prepared for all eventualities. But they can act in balanced groups and approach adventures in ways that compensate for individual deficiencies.
Avoid Gunfights
Every group of players has its own feel and customs. If gang- sters and foreign spies are common features in a campaign, all the investigators probably carry concealed weapons for self- defense. The number of devastating weapons floating about in the 1990s practically demands sidearms. On the other hand, in a campaign in which the investigators devote most of their time to studying the grislier mysteries of the Cthulhu Mythos, the only use for a gun may be to shoot oneself if in danger of permanent madness.
By all means have lots of firearms. But do not rely on firearms. Most powerful monsters are not harmed by gunfire, explosions, and such. They are genuinely alien creatures from vaults of space-time very different from ours. If the plan is to shoot ’em until they die, that plan will not work. Try another plan first.
Volleys of gunfire tend to attract police, the state militia, G-men, and everyone with a stake in law and order. If the investigators happen to assassinate the local priest
of Yog-Sothoth without first convincing the police of the necessity, they will certainly be questioned and arrested, almost certainly be convicted, and probably end up on death row.
Further, observant keepers will notice that if the investigators’ response to difficulties is to shoot their way out. Many will react accordingly. Three or four gun-slinging worshipers of Yig could well prove more than the investigators would like to handle. In Call of Cthulhu, as in the real world, guns are lethal. Avoid them.
Call of Cthulhu differs in feel and motivation from other roleplaying games. In many such games, player-characters can directly confront and attempt to destroy obstacles and opponents. This strategy typically leads to disaster in Cthulhu scenarios. The majority of other-world monstrosities are so terrible and often so invulnerable that choosing open combat almost guarantees a gruesome end for an investigator. Even the merest glimpse of some of the more macabre horrors can send one into screaming insanity. What can a player do, then?
Accumulate Information
First, the investigators should determine what they are up against. This may involve going to the library, speaking with local residents, trying to obtain journals and diaries of those involved, and weighing reports of the problem, perhaps with the help of arcane books. To save time, split up the group and look in different places, as long as it seems safe.
Often newspapers and diaries have pertinent information. Libraries, newspaper files, state and local records of births and deaths, historical societies, hospitals and schools, individual doctors and lawyers, ministers and priests, and private organi zations like chambers of commerce — among others! — may offer information which proves lifesaving in retrospect. Don’t worry too much about choosing the right place to look: listen closely to your keeper, who’ll be dropping clues.
Many times published scenarios include quotations, excerpts, statements, or letters which are given to the players to study and interpret. These materials always contain clues or potentially useful information or they would not be handed out.
Question local inhabitants carefully and try to befriend the nonplayer-characters whom your investigators meet. Consider what they have to say. Even if they know nothing now, they may be of help in the future. As detectives of the supernatural, investigators should proceed cautiously and try to make allies. Anything could be out there.
At The Scene
At the scene of an investigation or disturbance, the investigators should comb the area for clues, looking in desks and dressers, inspecting the clothing and belongings of victims, and attempting to arrive at a realistic picture of what happened. If important information is to be found, the keeper will be patient with player queries and rolls. If nothing is to be found, then the keeper so advises the players. However, the way that such queries and responses are phrased may be significant.
Take precautions and stay together where danger has been: something as bad or worse might return. If that Something does return, and there is no easy way to handle It, do not hesitate to run. Your feet are your friends. Your investigator can always return later.
Make A Plan
When you understand the situation, make a plan to deal with the problem. Novice players should not assume that the danger is too much to face—any competent keeper will try to match the dangers to the party’s capabilities, unless he or she has already clearly warned of the over-match.
If disaster occurs and eldritch horrors overwhelm the party, those who can should flee and leave the scenario as “a story better left untold!” If the keeper consents, the players might attempt the same scenario later on, when they feel more confident and
their investigators are better able to handle themselves. Of course, the keeper is within his rights to beef up the monsters and dangers of the scenario. After all, the horror has had that much more time to grow.
Use Your Head
The cheapest and safest way to emerge victorious is to use brain power. In many published scenarios, a way exists for the investigators to solve or dispel the problem with little or no physical combat, though Sanity may need risking.
As a rule of thumb, pursue physical combat against creatures who have already made physical attacks. Other-wise rely on repeating the words from the manuscript, breaking the mirror that the tracks lead through, melting down the dire statuette, and so on. If the investigators find out that a grisly demon inhabits the old rickety mine shaft, they need not climb down it again and get eaten or struck permanently insane. They could set fire to the mine supports, dynamite the shaft, or pour concrete into the opening, thus burying the threat, perhaps forever.
Different Investigators
Are any investigators specialists? One handy sort is the wise old professor who knows foreign languages, reads arcane manu- scripts, and pieces together Sanity-blasting spells able to send the Elder Horrors back whence they came. He or she is typically of little use if a fight develops, and generally has low Sanity points, due to intensive study of the Mythos.
An opposite sort is the tough operator able to fight well with fists or guns. He or she should leave the eldritch as-pects of the Mythos to others and remain a bodyguard and scout. He or she can be helpful with police and gangsters.
Still another sort is the investigator who can do things. He or she drives very well, maybe pilots an airplane, has good mechan- ical and electrical repair skills, and might be a wizard with locks. Yet another sort could be the street-wise investigator who knows the floaters and drifters of a city, and who has a tongue glib enough to keep good relations with them.
Many types could be proposed. No one investigator can learn to do everything or be prepared for all eventualities. But they can act in balanced groups and approach adventures in ways that compensate for individual deficiencies.
Avoid Gunfights
Every group of players has its own feel and customs. If gang- sters and foreign spies are common features in a campaign, all the investigators probably carry concealed weapons for self- defense. The number of devastating weapons floating about in the 1990s practically demands sidearms. On the other hand, in a campaign in which the investigators devote most of their time to studying the grislier mysteries of the Cthulhu Mythos, the only use for a gun may be to shoot oneself if in danger of permanent madness.
By all means have lots of firearms. But do not rely on firearms. Most powerful monsters are not harmed by gunfire, explosions, and such. They are genuinely alien creatures from vaults of space-time very different from ours. If the plan is to shoot ’em until they die, that plan will not work. Try another plan first.
Volleys of gunfire tend to attract police, the state militia, G-men, and everyone with a stake in law and order. If the investigators happen to assassinate the local priest
of Yog-Sothoth without first convincing the police of the necessity, they will certainly be questioned and arrested, almost certainly be convicted, and probably end up on death row.
Further, observant keepers will notice that if the investigators’ response to difficulties is to shoot their way out. Many will react accordingly. Three or four gun-slinging worshipers of Yig could well prove more than the investigators would like to handle. In Call of Cthulhu, as in the real world, guns are lethal. Avoid them.
None yet.