Modern Mythos with Jon and Seth Modern Mythos with Jon & Seth - Ep.4
Jun 21, 2021
They compare mechanics from many RPGs and imagine how those rules could spice up Call of Cthulhu play. They talk shared backstories, shock and injury cards, flashbacks for clever plans, and clue-versus-extra mechanics. They explore inspiration systems like bonus dice, skip-roll safety rules, and buddy/rival ties. They finish with practical tips and media to evoke historical settings.
02:18:25
Grant Skill Gains For Shared Backstories
- During character creation, make pre-existing relationships between PCs and grant a skill-improvement check tied to that shared backstory.
- Use this to give PCs a mechanical edge and immediate roleplay hooks before play begins.
Use Injury And Shock Cards
- Replace abstract hit/sanity points with physical and mental injury/shock cards that add descriptive effects and mechanical limitations.
- Allow recovery steps to trade cards down as first aid or time heals the character.
Resolve Heists With Flashbacks
- Run complex plans as on-the-spot flashbacks: players declare prep actions and roll to see if they succeeded before the scene.
- On failure still allow entry but introduce penalties or complications.
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
Bringing Other Games' Mechanics to Cthulhu
03:11 • 1min
Traveler: Shared Histories and Skill Bonuses
04:14 • 5min
Applying Backstory Boosts Across Systems
08:58 • 3min
King in Yellow: Shock & Injury Cards
11:35 • 8min
Using Hallucinations for Sanity Roleplay
19:10 • 35sec
Blades in the Dark: Flashbacks for Plans
19:45 • 5min
Trail of Cthulhu: Core Clues vs. Extras
24:50 • 5min
Inspiration/Moxie from D&D
29:54 • 7min
Powered by the Apocalypse: Skip Rolls When Safe
37:22 • 10min
Alien: Buddies and Rivals for Roleplay
47:00 • 6min
Transferring CoC Tools to Other Games
52:42 • 5min
Hacking D&D: Attribute-Based Skill Rolls
57:50 • 5min
Push Rolls and Failure Consequences
01:02:20 • 5min
Idea Rolls: Unblocking Investigations
01:07:20 • 6min
Listener Request: Researching Historical Settings
01:12:53 • 3min
Watch Parties to Build Shared Setting Vocabulary
01:15:31 • 12sec
Film Recommendations for 1920s Flavor
01:15:43 • 8min
Gaslight Era and Dark Ages Media Picks
01:23:54 • 16min
1920s Details: Automobiles & Jewett Medallions
01:39:42 • 7min
Handling Historical Bigotry at the Table
01:46:26 • 7min
Practical 1920s Game Details
01:53:49 • 5min
Travel, Firearms, Corruption, and Prohibition
01:58:53 • 14min
Outro
02:12:53 • 5min
#34075
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
King in Yellow
Robert Chambers
#4461
• Mentioned in 11 episodes
necronomicon
H.P. Lovecraft
#32824
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Trail of Cthulhu
Robin D. Laws
#69717
Pax Cthulhuana
Two Starving Gnolls
#12585
• Mentioned in 4 episodes
Alien
Alan Dean Foster
#9901
• Mentioned in 5 episodes
Blades in the Dark
Patrick Hall
Blades in the Dark integrates crafting into downtime actions, which are essential to the game's cadence.
Crafting is a long-term project requiring multiple actions, competing with activities such as stress reduction and preparing for future jobs.
Players can dedicate limited resources to crafting, leading to significant campaign changes.
The game encourages long-term projects that can alter core assumptions, offering rewarding experiences, such as improving a ship's engine.
This system highlights the importance of downtime and the impact of long-term crafting projects on the game world and campaign narrative.
#7028
• Mentioned in 7 episodes
Dungeons and Dragons
Darren Brewster
Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game.
It's known for its rich world-building, immersive storytelling, and collaborative gameplay.
Players create characters and embark on adventures, guided by a Dungeon Master who narrates the story and controls non-player characters.
D&D's open-ended nature and its emphasis on creativity and imagination have made it a beloved game for decades.
It has inspired countless other games and has had a significant impact on popular culture.
#11193
• Mentioned in 5 episodes
Eaters of the Dead
Michael Crichton
In 'Eaters of the Dead', Michael Crichton weaves a narrative inspired by real historical accounts, particularly the travels of Ibn Fadlan.
The story begins with Ibn Fadlan, a refined Arab courtier, who is sent on a diplomatic mission from Baghdad to the King of the Volga Bulgars.
However, his journey is diverted when he encounters Viking warriors and is coerced into joining them on a mission to defend a Norse kingdom against the Wendol, a group of cannibalistic and nocturnal monsters.
As Ibn Fadlan learns about Norse culture and customs, he and the Viking warriors, led by the chieftain Buliwyf, devise strategies to combat the Wendol, culminating in a final showdown that results in the defeat of the monsters but at the cost of Buliwyf's life.
The novel blends action, violence, horror, and suspense, offering a unique blend of historical and fictional elements.
In this episode, Jon and Seth talk about game mechanics from other game systems, and how to adapt them into Call of Cthulhu. And, they provide advice on where game masters and players can divine inspiration for playing Call of Cthulhu in other eras or settings.
Topic #1
Using game mechanics from other games:
- Traveler -- During character creation, players can create backstory links between each other, and as a result of that, gain one skill improvement check each due to that backstory event.
- King in Yellow -- Shock and Injury cards. In addition to the normal hit point and sanity damage, physical and mental injury cards could be introduced that are handed to the players to give them flavor text and game mechanical info that expands on their physical and mental injuries.
- Blades in the Dark -- Flashbacks can be used to roleplay how the investigators execute some of their kooky plans. Skill checks can be used to see how well the investigators prepared to sneak into a building or bribe a guard.
- Trail of Cthulhu -- Core clues are given to the investigators just by simply being in the location to gain that clue. But skill rolls can be used to determine if the investigator gains anything extra beyond just the core clue.
- Dungeons & Dragons -- Inspiration. If a player does something commendable (good idea, great roleplay, says a funny joke, etc.) they get a 1-time credit to add a Bonus Die to a future roll.
- Kult (Powered by the Apocalypse) - unless the PC is in danger of being caught or in combat, no skill roll is required for actions like First Aid, Picking a Lock, etc. Can relate to not having to make a Drive Auto check if just driving to the store on a normal day.
- ALIEN - Buddies and Rivals - having special relationships with other player characters where some are good and some are bad.
Topic #2
Listener Request - Because the most popular setting for Call of Cthulhu is in historical periods, how might players and GMs learn more about those settings in order to paint them properly and make them feel real?
- Watch movies of shows set during the time period. (The Mummy (1999), Boardwalk Empire, Peaky Blinders for UK, Indiana Jones is 1930's but still works) Murder on the Orient Express (or several Agatha Christie movies and books). Ken Burns's "Prohibition" Documentary.
- For Gaslight Era - From Hell, Penny Dreadful, tons of Sherlock Holmes, The Nevers
- Down Darker Trails - Warrior, spaghetti westerns, True Grit
- Cthulhu Invictus - Rome, Spartacus
- Dark Ages - (13th Warrior is technically a Cthulhu Dark Ages movie)
- One of Seth's players really got into 1920's automobiles and went down several Wiki-holes on early auto manufacturers. Learned of the Stanley Steamer and the Jewett (with magic amulets imbedded into the dash)
- Straying from perfect history is OK. It's your game. Racisim, Sexisim, Homophobia, Classism, etc.
Things Seth keeps in mind when doing 1920's
- Telephone operators and switchboards. Long distance could take over an hour to connect.
- Travel, even by car, took a long time (Interstate system not established. Many roads unpaved and winding) and gas stations weren't on every street corner
- Guns (even automatic) available in hardware stores or by mail. Concealed in most cities was still illegal.
- Bribery -- Government officials (cops and elected officials) are more than happy to accept a bribe
- Prohibition (speakeasies, or cafes. Private Clubs. Booze Cruises)
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Thank you!!!
We can't do this show alone. We want to thank our amazing editors Max Mahaffa and Edwin Nagy for their hard work and keen skills at making us sound awesome!
We also want to thank John Sumrow, for our badass logo. He's a very talented artist, so please follow him on Facebook, check out his official website, and please consider joining his Patreon account.
John Sumrow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsumrow
Sumrow Official Website: http://www.johnsumrow.com
Sumrow Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JohnSumrow
And finally, we want to thank The Darkest of the Hillside Thicket for generously allowing us to use their song, Gluttony, as our intro and outro music. If you are a fan of Lovecraft's writing and the Call of Cthulhu RPG, then you need to check out The Darkest of the Hillside Thicket. Please check out their BandCamp site and their official band site.
Bandcamp: https://thedarkestofthehillsidethickets.bandcamp.com/
Official Website: http://thickets.net/