H.P Lovecraft

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Giradius
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H.P Lovecraft

Post by Giradius »

Hello folks

Is anybody here a fan of HP Lovecraft and his Cthulhu Mythos?
If so, What are your favourites stories?, characters? What is it you like about them?

I am personally a fan, and have been for some time.
Maybe they appeal to my nihilistic streak, Lovecraft is one of the few horror authors whose stories eneable atheists or agnostics a greater degree of willing suspension of disbelief.

That and I have a soft spot for weirdos with cats :p
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Re: H.P Lovecraft

Post by linflas »

I really discovered and enjoyed Cthulhu myth a year ago when i started to play Arkham Horror board game. I've been more and more addicted since i got a big Lovecraft book of novels as a birthday gift. For example, I especially like the Hounds of Tindalos story.
I already knew about Lovecraft at teen age but wasn't interested a lot. I just remember being dead after only 30 mins of roleplaying !
At the moment, i've been thinking about a project based on Arkham board game : could be a steampunk manga or a dungeon...
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Re: H.P Lovecraft

Post by Narjhan »

I'm a big fan of HPL, but my first contact with the Cthulhu Mythos was through Chaosium RPG Call of Cthulhu. Thats why my favourite stories are those linked with the Role Playing Game (Beyond the Mountains of Madness, Escape from Innsmouth and of course the Call of Cthulhu). But to be honest I know a lot more about Chaosium Cthulhu Mythos than about HPL writings so I wont really be able to tell you what I liked more about those stories than: they helped me a lot as a CoC GameMaster :)
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Giradius
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Re: H.P Lovecraft

Post by Giradius »

but my first contact with the Cthulhu Mythos was through Chaosium RPG Call of Cthulhu.
Same here, I bought it at a car boot sale and thought it looked really interesting, later I started reading the stories and that was that.

There have been some adaptions of either Lovecraft stories or concepts and themes, I can thoroughly recommend the PC (and Xbox I think) game, Call of Cthulhu "Dark corners of the Earth"...its terrifying, one of the only FPS where you don't get a weapon until an hour into the game (Like CoC its based more on puzzles, atmosphere and interaction rather than combat).

Its actually based on the CoC module Escape from Innsmouth (if that's the one involving the raid on Innsmouth), many of Lovecrafts creature's are in the game and they are very well done, its a brilliant game.

There is also quite a good movie adaption of the Shadow over Innsmouth, called Dagon.
There were a few artistic licences taken in the translation from book to film (but aren't there always) but it is for the most part a good version (they moved Innsmouth from new England to coastal Spain, and called the town Imboca (which is Spanish for "in the mouth" or some such).
My favorite scene is the one where the drunk Ezekiel (Zadok Allen in the book) tells the protagonist about Innsmouth's history and Captain Combarro (Marsh in the book).

don't look at this link if you don't want spoilers...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA6mOBSSGjE


I have not played the Arkham board game, but I do know that life expectancy in Lovecraft based games is usually very short (which fits with the fact that most of Lovecraft's stories involve the "hero" either going insane or dying).
At the moment, i've been thinking about a project based on Arkham board game : could be a steampunk manga or a dungeon...
I use Lovecraftian elements quite a lot in my RPGs, my fantasy setting has numerous cults and monsters associated with "the Gods from the stars", maybe an RTC Lovecraft dungeon might be a worth a look, there are plenty of bitmaps (the kua toa from EOB would be perfect deep ones).

Have these boards had "Play by post" RPG threads on them before?
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Re: H.P Lovecraft

Post by Narjhan »

Well, I 100 % agree with you Gira

Dark Corners is really terrific. It is a must have for any Cthulhu fan, and for any horror-action game fan as well. The best thing about this game is that having read the book do not spoil at all the whole gaming experience, I would rather say it enhances the whole thing.

Dagon is very good. I liked the way they've modernized the story.

Have you ever tried Delta Green/Countdown Gira ?
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Giradius
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Re: H.P Lovecraft

Post by Giradius »

One of the things I loved about Dark Corners, was the hotel chase....terrified me, they really captured the panic and terror of that scene in the book, the graphics are very pretty, and the music is superb.

Dagon was good, (the best Lovecraft adaption to date i think, although I liked Reanimator as well) and their choice of location was perfect, it was exactly how I imagined Innsmouth (All it was missing was the refinery), but it did take a few artistic liberties (The protagonist was not nearly terrified enough).

There is a movie of the Dunwich Horror (starring Dean Stockwell from Quantum Leap and Dune) its a good film in its own right (But I like dodgy old Horror films), but bares little resemblance to the book.


I have not tried Delta Green yet, is it good? I assume its basically CoC in a contemporary setting.

I had a look at CthulhuTech but couldnt get into it, my passion for anime has faded in recent years.
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Re: H.P Lovecraft

Post by Narjhan »

I agree as well the Hotel chase sequence was/is terrific. Especially since you spend half your time under the fear effect :)

I'm gonna check the Dunwich movie. I've never heard of it before.

Another movie you might want to watch is the Call of Cthulhu (2005). I found it very interesting, and though one might not agree with their artistical choices (its basically Call of Cthulhu meet Metropolis, a black and white movie without speech), the mood of the original story is well conveyed imho.

About Delta Green: to put it simply, its awesome. The best campaign setting for CoC ever made, maybe for any RPG ever made. Basically, its a crossover between vanilla CoC and X-Files. Or rather I would say its the X-Files settings enhanced with Mythos elements. The way they explain the evolution of the Mythos creatures and the Human agencies (mostly US here) trying to oppose them is simply brilliant. The book is huge, with plenty of historical stuff, of background elements, stories, one campaign, and a description of most of the US agencies that might get involved in a CoC campaign). Even if you're not really planning on playing it, its worth reading.

But the most incredible thing about Delta Green is that it's getting even better with Countdown, the first supplement published by Pagan Publishing. Roughly, its a campaign setting for Delta Green where players have to deal with hostile forces in the UK. But like the first DG book, there is a lot of goodies in there: a history of the Mythos in the UK, in the former USSR, stories, one campaign, and a description of many secret services/police forces around the world. Another must have/read for CoC fan ^^
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