Steve gets Nostalgic

So Emma’s post was all about how she got into RPGs, so I thought I’d throw my own little story in and if it gets read then cool and if not I’ve actually written something today and therefore totally deserve the cookie so shut up!

I was raised by a dad who loved Discworld, Bernard Cornwell, and late-night sessions of Resident Evil during the 90’s and when I was meant to be in bed, so I was doomed from the start. A little later into secondary school, my brother started hanging out with this kid and got into Magic the Gathering and I thought that was really stupid, but the cards looked cool. So, I played a game. Then I played some with one of my friends that did MtG. Then someone in the afterschool Drama club pointed out that the RP in RPG stood for acting. Then I started playing RPGs with my friends on the few occasions we could and amassed quite the love for all things a little nerdy and quaint. Then Critical Role became a thing and suddenly it was cool to do this and we weren’t beaten up anymore because we’d all outgrown that and got jobs but also because it’s now cool to be called a “geek”. Then I stopped and my only output of fantasy was video games and shows and books and that was it. Until my friends went to Edinburgh Fringe and played D&D and then wanted to try it and someone needed to be the DM…

Long story short, you can’t escape.

Emma tried D&D and it didn’t sit, and then I was listening to podcasts to network for my other podcast and found Call of Cthulhu. So, let’s talk about that, shall we?

I’ve never really been a fan of Lovecraft. I like the monsters, and I like the suspenseful horror elements, but I just don’t like some of his stories. They’re so same-y. I have a few that I like, and when I started CoC I was pleasantly surprised to see that you could use them. Your character would lose all sense of sanity and die with a sneeze from most of them, but they were in the game. Cue several hours of reading scenarios and trying to make sense of them for the podcast you find yourself at now. I saw a comment by Sandy Peterson recently that helped me re-evaluate my thoughts. He simply said that he expects survivors, he expects fights in general, and he expects that not every bad guy is a ghoul or ghast. I have lived with the concept since hearing of CoC and also playing it that poor Emma’s character will die within a few seconds of playing, that she didn’t like creatures so had to make human bad guys, and that she’d need a back up to put those down. On the latter two, I was right. If you’re planning to play Duets, get your player to make a Pulp character rather than a classic but stick to more classic rules.

After Season 1 and Last Station, I’ve come to realise that I can’t write a long-form or epic campaigns. I feel the game works best with short scenarios that link together like the first season. I’m interesting in playing more existing scenarios to learn, but I’ve always believed that podcasts and shared games should be originals otherwise it’s not interesting for those who have played them before; even if you didn’t go in that room or do that thing like that. 

It’s been an interesting challenge as a fantasy writer jumping into thriller/cosmic horror, and I’m still trying to find my footing. I’m happy to take suggestions, feedback, or even just a couple of smiley faces to know I’m doing good.

Until next time…