Post by Shifty on Jan 29, 2019 15:15:06 GMT 9.5
What the hell is this nonsense, you ask?
Why, that's an excellent question.
It's a demented experiment I'm undertaking.
Cthulhu Confidential is a one-to-one roleplaying game, meaning one player, one gamemaster. I, as always, will be your gamemaster, and you will all be the one player. Anyone can participate whosoever feels like bothering. Initially, you will be playing the character Dexter Raymond, a tough guy private eye living in L.A. But that might change with future investigations. A thread on this forum will act as his character sheet, and I will be updating it as we play.
Q - So, how do we play?
If you've ever played a play-by-post roleplaying game, you'll have some idea, but if you haven't, basically you do the same thing as we do when we're sitting at a table. i.e. - Talk shit in character. The difference here is you are typing instead of talking, and are therefore able to put a bit more thought into your character. The other difference is that in this instance there is only one character.
Q - What rule system are we using?
Cthulhu Confidential uses a very simple rule system that is based on the Gumshoe system used in Trail of Cthulhu. It's pretty straightforward. There are two types of tests - Investigative tests and General tests. Investigative tests do not require a dice roll! If you have an appropriate investigative ability, and you are looking in the right place, you automatically succeed. This might seem a bit unusual to us folks that are accustomed to rolling dice for everything, but the thinking behind it is that dead ends are boring. An investigator should find what they're looking for. If they don't, it just means the case runs cold, and nobody wants that. It is only general tests that are resolved with a dice roll because sometimes failure is as interesting as success.
Q - So how does this dice rolling stuff work then?
Dexter currently has 13 General abilities, which I will copy and paste from his character sheet here:
The number next to the skill is the number of dice he can roll. Eg, if he is making an Athletics check, he can roll up to 2 dice, while if he is trying to roll a Driving check he may only roll 1. All dice used are d6s, and the total of this roll must meet or exceed a target number given when attempting the check. If he makes the roll and still has a die left to spare, he gains something called an "Edge", but if he fails the roll, he gains something called a "Problem". You also get 4 "Pushes". You will be informed when an opportunity presents itself to use a Push to gain extra information, or to roll an extra die. You can also sometimes voluntarily take on a Problem to allow yourself to roll an extra die.
(Addendum: There is also one other possible result, and that is a "Hold". Holds are neither success, nor failure, but somewhere in between. They generally mean that there is no significant progress or setback in the result)
Q - What the hell are Edges and Problems?
Basically, Edges are good, Problems are bad. Edges might offer benefits to future tests, they might give extra information, or they might advance the plot in interesting ways. Problems might hinder future tests, have annoying consequences, or might affect characters future interactions with you. These are usually represented by cards, and opportunities will come up to either discard or to use them.
It all seems pretty intuitive to me, but we'll see how it goes.
Q - What about all these "Sources" it lists on the character sheet?
Oh, yeah. I nearly forgot. Those are some friends that you have to go and talk to if you're having trouble with the investigation. You'll notice they have a few investigative skills that Dexter does not. So if you come across something you have no idea about, you can always go see your friend, the Fortune Teller.
Why, that's an excellent question.
It's a demented experiment I'm undertaking.
Cthulhu Confidential is a one-to-one roleplaying game, meaning one player, one gamemaster. I, as always, will be your gamemaster, and you will all be the one player. Anyone can participate whosoever feels like bothering. Initially, you will be playing the character Dexter Raymond, a tough guy private eye living in L.A. But that might change with future investigations. A thread on this forum will act as his character sheet, and I will be updating it as we play.
Q - So, how do we play?
If you've ever played a play-by-post roleplaying game, you'll have some idea, but if you haven't, basically you do the same thing as we do when we're sitting at a table. i.e. - Talk shit in character. The difference here is you are typing instead of talking, and are therefore able to put a bit more thought into your character. The other difference is that in this instance there is only one character.
Q - What rule system are we using?
Cthulhu Confidential uses a very simple rule system that is based on the Gumshoe system used in Trail of Cthulhu. It's pretty straightforward. There are two types of tests - Investigative tests and General tests. Investigative tests do not require a dice roll! If you have an appropriate investigative ability, and you are looking in the right place, you automatically succeed. This might seem a bit unusual to us folks that are accustomed to rolling dice for everything, but the thinking behind it is that dead ends are boring. An investigator should find what they're looking for. If they don't, it just means the case runs cold, and nobody wants that. It is only general tests that are resolved with a dice roll because sometimes failure is as interesting as success.
Q - So how does this dice rolling stuff work then?
Dexter currently has 13 General abilities, which I will copy and paste from his character sheet here:
General Abilities
Athletics - 2
Cool - 1
Conceal - 1
Devices - 1
Driving - 1
Filch - 1
Fighting - 2
Preparedness - 1
Sense Trouble - 2
Shadowing - 2
Stability - 2
Stealth - 2
Story - 2
Athletics - 2
Cool - 1
Conceal - 1
Devices - 1
Driving - 1
Filch - 1
Fighting - 2
Preparedness - 1
Sense Trouble - 2
Shadowing - 2
Stability - 2
Stealth - 2
Story - 2
The number next to the skill is the number of dice he can roll. Eg, if he is making an Athletics check, he can roll up to 2 dice, while if he is trying to roll a Driving check he may only roll 1. All dice used are d6s, and the total of this roll must meet or exceed a target number given when attempting the check. If he makes the roll and still has a die left to spare, he gains something called an "Edge", but if he fails the roll, he gains something called a "Problem". You also get 4 "Pushes". You will be informed when an opportunity presents itself to use a Push to gain extra information, or to roll an extra die. You can also sometimes voluntarily take on a Problem to allow yourself to roll an extra die.
(Addendum: There is also one other possible result, and that is a "Hold". Holds are neither success, nor failure, but somewhere in between. They generally mean that there is no significant progress or setback in the result)
Q - What the hell are Edges and Problems?
Basically, Edges are good, Problems are bad. Edges might offer benefits to future tests, they might give extra information, or they might advance the plot in interesting ways. Problems might hinder future tests, have annoying consequences, or might affect characters future interactions with you. These are usually represented by cards, and opportunities will come up to either discard or to use them.
It all seems pretty intuitive to me, but we'll see how it goes.
Q - What about all these "Sources" it lists on the character sheet?
Oh, yeah. I nearly forgot. Those are some friends that you have to go and talk to if you're having trouble with the investigation. You'll notice they have a few investigative skills that Dexter does not. So if you come across something you have no idea about, you can always go see your friend, the Fortune Teller.