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[Fniff]

Well, then, what kind of players do you usually get? Also... It kinda isn't great, yeah. Mainly because I'm not that interested in Magic the Gathering and it seems to be a popular topic.

[Neonivek]

Well, then, what kind of players do you usually get? Also... It kinda isn't great, yeah. Mainly because I'm not that interested in Magic the Gathering and it seems to be a popular topic.

Well last game was five players

-Player who actually likes creative input and was willing to help me come up with ideas, which I used because each session took hours (days) of work to get together. He also driven his own plot and what he wanted to do. (I liked him! I'd have him in all my games if I could)
-Player who wanted an initial creative push but was otherwise passive and wanted me to provide them with the sandbox for them to act.
-Player who wanted to derail everything so that it applied to his character, constantly GM vetoed in order to get his way "Ohh I am a Prince, even though I said I couldn't do this I in fact can", and never completed his story input, character profile, world section... leaving me to create all that for him, except when he makes up something on the spot.
-Two players who just didn't care they just wanted to play.

Four really loved the game, and one liked it but I couldn't stand him.

It ended because of schedule conflicts and I was about to GM them out of a current adventure that was incredibly boring (it was just a slog).

And since then I did a miniroleplay with a person who wouldn't make their own character, wouldn't read the rules, and who didn't want to contribute anything.

And the real life group I attempt to GM with are all "No, we are putting it all on you" people.

---

The issue with Call of Cthulhu is that... the mystery is the major draw.

I could do the Dresden Files RPG and have all the players collectively create the world. Yet ultimately the scenarios are something I'd have to come up with myself, the only thing the players could contribute are possible actors as well as the reason they are even involved with the situation.

[Fniff]

Well, the last roleplay I did was with two people. It was a Fiasco game, and the great thing was that they were all great at acting and only one wasn't great at describing things, which me and the other player filled in for pretty well. It was a pretty good game. Maybe next time gather all the players you know are good at roleplaying. Know their strengths and weaknesses. Plus, invite people who you might not think are that into roleplaying. Of those two people, both played well off each other (They're the kind of friends who have a chemistry that's sometimes volatile but is always entertaining for an observer) and one was fond of making character-based jokes with other people. Neither were particularly experienced with roleplaying, but it didn't matter.

Sometimes I wonder if the typical roleplaying number of five is too many cooks spoiling the broth. Six people, including you, is very hard to direct. I've done four people before, and it never felt as if I was giving my all since I had to divide my attention up so much. Maybe try a smaller game with players you know are good.

You know what would be interesting? A roleplaying game where the mystery is contributed to by the players, resulting in a deepening spiral of unsolvable questions and strange circumstances. Twin Peaks: The RPG?

[Neonivek]

I think my favorite Eldrich Abomination is: The Mi-go

I don't know why but they are just a bunch of lovably losers to me.

How are the books with the Migo?

[wierd]

The Mi-Go arent losers. They are very nasty things that use humans as slaves, after cybernetically installing their brains inside servitor robots. (Otherwise humans cannot survive on Pluto, where they live.) (at least according to lovecraft's stories)

[Neonivek]

Yeah but tech wise they are less sophisticated than both Elder Things and the Yith.

Physically they are also bellow most Mythos

And Magically they are way down there (they aren't bad mind you).

All while being bossed around by bigger beings or mythos creatures.

As well I THINK they aren't all evil? They are mostly "neutral" towards humanity.

[wierd]

My favorite ones only get a single story in lovecraft's collection.

The people of K'n-yan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27n-yan

They look JUST like humans... But aren't.  I doubt they made it into the CoC beastiary.

[Fniff]

My favorite ones only get a single story in lovecraft's collection.

The people of K'n-yan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27n-yan

They look JUST like humans... But aren't.  I doubt they made it into the CoC beastiary.

I was reading through the article thinking "Hey, these guys don't sound so bad", until I got to the bit with the extended public torture and ritualized orgies...
Oh, Lovecraft, you card.

[Neonivek]

Nope a lot don't make it.

Heck 7th ed removed some creatures that were in 6th. Such as the Insectoid form of the Yith.

Not that they don't have a few esoteric ones.

Though when they have ones that appear in just one book. They often make an adventure about it later.

For example Yeti aren't in the base book.

[wierd]

I like the people of K'n Yan, since despite their elders being ancient beyond all reason (like, potentially millions of years old), their younger ones are impressionable youths, like humans are. Since they engage in ritualistic practices that involve sacrifices, they still reproduce, despite being immortal. 

This aspect was worked with in Lovecraft's version of The Mound, where the protagonist convinces a female K'n-Yan to go with him when he attempts to escape from their cavernous home. (He stumbles into the mound when investigating local legends, and is apprehended and treated as a captive guest.)

To me, this suggests that if some of these youth succeeded in escaping from their elders to the surface, they could potentially be a protagonist type.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mound_%28short_story%29

[Neonivek]

By the way...

If you ever end up in a Lovecraft book..

Do not trust ANYONE with the title of Lama.

Heck I wouldn't be surprised if the Dali Lama turned out to be evil.

All Lama's want to kill you!

[wierd]

I kind of wonder how a CoC GM would handle a backstory involving a "john doe", tall, native american man from Oklahoma, that is really an escaped K'n-yan, since they aren't in the bestiary.  They ARE in the mythos, but not the bestiary.

I would give them very high CON, INT, POW, SAN and EDU stats, but human like SIZ, APP, DEX, etc stats. Maybe even give them a deficit on STR. (Being able to mind-rape everything reduces need to use muscles.)

Selected handful of specials (With VERY high POW costs) such as Teleport/Teleport-Other, Reanimate Dead, and Transmute Matter.
Passives of things like Magical Mastery, Telepathy/psychometry and Cultural Acclimation to Mythos.

If used as a PC, they cant be OP-- Antagonist versions should be "Elders", and be BAD ASS OP/Near unstoppable, even to PC controlled "Kids."

The should be able to see a Shoggoth and not die of insanity induced asphyxiation of their own vomit--- but should definitely get "Brown stains in pants" scared, etc.

[StupidElves]

I think my favorite Eldrich Abomination is: The Mi-go

I don't know why but they are just a bunch of lovably losers to me.

How are the books with the Migo?

Want Mi Go? Cthulhu Tech's alien invasion is done by the Mi Go. Have fun with that.

[Neonivek]

It depends if you are making them a PC or NPC... Though Sanity isn't really a stat for NPCs.

But there is no real need to make them super DUPER good...

4d6*5 or (3d6+6)*5 works for all the stats that need to higher. (EDU and INT can use the +6 one)

Antagonist versions should be "Elders", and be BAD ASS OP/Near unstoppable, even to PC controlled "Kids."

I don't know they are competing with the Dhole. (Seriously don't mess with Dholes)

Though it is likely the Elders are "Immune to conventional weaponry but are vulnerable to spells and magic weaponry"

Something that the base book never even states where you would even get your hands on magic weapons.

[wierd]

An athame is the quintessential "Magical weapon" in the stories...

Another balance feature would probably be "Higher EXP requirements per level"--- They live FOREVER. They dont get to become super powerful mind lashers after going on a few short trips.  Something like say, +25% EXP requirements per level?

This makes having them in the party a potential liability; Monsters leveled for the LV50 humans in the party are going to be "very hard" for the LV38 K'n-Yan that is tagging along, especially with a STR reduction.