[& Sword] Lovecraftian game

[Justin A Hamilton]

Hello everyone.

Recently my group finished up our last game and was wondering what we should play next.  Out of every single game we have ever played, we seem to have the most success and fun with Call of Cthulhu-esque games.  Anytime we add Old Ones and things-that-people-shouldn't-know and all that jazz to anything, we end up having a great couple of sessions.

Now, always being a fan of Sorcerer and Sword & Sorcerer, yet never having played the game, I thought it would be best to run a very Lovecraftian sword & sorcerery game, obviously inspired by the works of Howard, both Conan and his mythos stuff.  Granted, this wouldn't exactly be placing the complete mythos into a fantasy setting, rather just pretty much shaving the serial-number off and running something very much like it.

Here's what I was thinking for the one-sheet:

• Humanity is Lovecraftian Sanity.  The more "truth" you are exposed to, the more of your sanity goes out the window, and the more tainted you become.
• Demons are spirits of ruin, servants of the Old Ones intending to use the PCs to become instruments of That Which Should Not Be Known.
• Sorcerers are those who have given negotiating with the Old Ones no matter how aware or unaware of their actions they may be.
• Sorcerous abilities are actual spells and formulas granted by the servants of the Old Ones.
• Lore is a general knowledge that Things-Man-Should-Not-Know does indeed exist, and an understanding of how to communicate and deal with the various beings of the universe

Are there anythings that I should keep in mind about this when I start preparing for the game?  Any suggestions?  Any comments?

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

I think you need to jettison the RPG Call of Cthulhu from your head and actually review the fiction. Because the Humanity definition is going to walk you into a brick wall, if you keep it that way without any reflection.

Lose the whole idea of Humanity being sanity, entirely. You don't lose sanity the same way you lose Humanity; in this sense the existing RPG is grossly divergent from the stories. Check out the stories - you can see where protagonists like Pickman and that poor bastard who marries Asenath "go wrong," or where others (I'm thinking the fellow who becomes the hero about halfway through The Case of Charles Dexter Ward) "go right." It's all about ethics, courage, and the desire to put oneself on the line for others, rather than for power or abstract knowledge.

Those three are actually my favorite Lovecraft stories. They are inhabited by people, not by cutouts, and the progress of the narrative is strictly based on people's decisions, not on stupid coincidences or cutting off right when it gets good (Lovecraft did this a lot), and the consequences are always clear. You'll be able to see what Humanity is all about when you take a pen and put a little star in the margins as you read, with notes that say "Here! He goes wrong right here."

Going nuts should be treated entirely differently, and if you'd like to emulate what's going on in the books, then I suggest using demon abilities like Psychic Force and Taint. I strongly suggest you not emulate the existing RPG, in the sense of "oh God, I saw it, I shall now go bonkers, geeble geeble." If the group is just too focused on the dynamics as laid out by the RPG, then I suggest not using Sorcerer at all.

Best,
Ron

[Justin A Hamilton]

Thanks for the reply, you pose a very good point.

I suppose I was just tieing Humanity far too closely on how general Lovecraft roleplaying goes, rather than what would probably work best for the group.  It would probably be better if Sanity was simply player fiat based on experience and maybe Lore, if at all.

There is a lot more that I need to think about before we get ready to run this game, and I thank you very much for the input.

[GB Steve]

I think a Lovecraftian game of Sorcerer could fly. PCs would be cultists, the premise would be something along the lines of 'how much would you deal with dehumanising forces to get your way in the world'.

I take Ron's point about sanity but you can twist this by saying Humanity represents to what extent you subscribe to the regular human viewpoint of the world, as opposed to one that is populated by immense forces out of your control that are likely to squash you by accident at any moment. In this respect loss of humanity represents how much you understand that the truth (i.e. the Mythos or Lore) will not set you free but will destroy everything, for no good reason. In effect Humanity is Hope.

[Judd]

I In effect Humanity is Hope.

I was thinking that same thing but I wasn't sure if I was just being influenced by Dictionary of Mu, where that is the Humanity definition or if I was really onto something.

Rock on.

Aren't there Howard short stories in which the mythos make showings in a Conan story at some point?  That might be a good place to start too.

[Justin A Hamilton]

Aren't there Howard short stories in which the mythos make showings in a Conan story at some point?  That might be a good place to start too.

There's definetely Lovecraftian elements in certain Conan stories, but I don't remember it being all that thick.

Robert E Howard did write a good amount of mythos fiction, however.

Thank you very much for the input, everyone.

[Nev the Deranged]

When I was considering sanity as Humanity for a modern-era Sorcerer setting, I defined it not so much as "craziness", but as the ability to relate to human motives, goals, ideals, and priorities. Becoming less sane meant prioritizing the arcane over the mundane, cosmic import over personal mores, relationships, and even self-preservation; whereas maintaining sanity meant putting the "real world" first, your life, your loved ones, your social standing, etc.

Sounds like a great game, hope you get it up and running.