Welcome to Rolling Dice, the tabletop RPG podcast which examines a new game system in each episode, with the help of a rotating cast of both experienced and new players, in order to discuss the system’s mechanics and how they affect collaborative storytelling.
A tabletop roleplaying game, or RPG, is a collaborative storytelling game. Each player takes on the role of a character in a fictional universe. The players work together to tell a story in which those characters overcome challenges. RPGs can be run with as few as two players, but groups of 4-7 are more typical. Players usually have a character sheet, a piece of paper that describes their character’s abilities, strengths and weaknesses through the use of numbers. Dice are typically used to resolve success or failure when attempting certain tasks with the character’s abilities, making the player more or less likely to succeed on certain tasks. One person takes on the role of the gamemaster (GM) and is responsible for setting the scenes, advancing the storyline, and adjudicating rules. In addition, the GM typically controls any other characters [or non-player characters (NPCs)] the players run across from the helpful town shopkeeper to the dangerous dragon. The GM is not the player’s opposition, but works with them to help tell the best story.
In this episode we play Call of Cthulhu: 6th Edition from Chaosium, Inc. and examine how CoC‘s basic mechanics aid in the telling of a horror story. Call of Cthulhu is a game of Lovecraftian horror, where a group of ordinary people investigate mysteries and come face to face with monsters and beings beyond human comprehension. Specifically in this episode, we played the Call of Cthulhu Quick Start rules and its adventure “The Haunting,” where our team of investigators are hired to confirm or disprove whether a house that has been driving its occupants insane is haunted.
Gamemaster: Kristine Chester (FBC Senior Contributor)
Players: Phillip Kelly (Identity Comics), Kai Charles, Kirk George, and Stephanie Tang
{mp3}fbcnetworkmain/rollingdice/rd003{/mp3}
You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or click here to download! Stay tuned for next month’s episode!
Music by:
Kool Kwesi by Monk Turner
Starting Your Own Call of Cthulhu Game
If you’re interested in starting your own Call of Cthulhu adventures, the place to start is with Chaosium’s free Quickstart ruleset featured in tonight’s episode. The Quick start .pdf can be found here. While the Quick Start rules provide the basics, GMs will want to pick up a copy of the rulebook titled Call of Cthulhu: 6th edition which can be ordered from www.Chaosium.com and Amazon or found at your local, friendly neighborhood game store. The rulebook contains the rundown on how to create characters, running different time periods, a host of monsters, and even adventures to put a group of investigators through.
Next Time on Rolling Dice
Next month, we’ll be taking a look at the Mouse Guard RPG from Archaia Entertainment. Until then, keep those dice a-rolling.
