With the easing of restrictions in Tasmania our group has been able to move from the virtual table back to the actual table. We ran two games via Fantasy Grounds and they were very well received. I only loaded one to the YouTube channel as my screen recording software was having errors all over the place on the second night. We moved through the Peru prelude in the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign and it served well as a basis for the rest of the campaign.
Three Weeks in New York
So we have now just completed our third week in the first chapter of the campaign – New York. We are having great fun with it too. Each time I come away from a night of this game I am excited for the next. The players first night was all about making a gruesome discovery and spending some time in the cells afterward. The second week was all about the investigation. This campaign package has a lot of handouts and the players are lapping it up. One of them has even made an investigation board (pictured below) that they are using to track their investigators progress. It is magical to watch.
Last night was the third week and it really was about the players trying to hone in on what was important. They had a broad spectrum of clues but where was the focus required. Also, what were they going to do about the police who seemed to be making their life difficult. It was interesting to watch last night. The group dynamics are really interesting and the players are totally invested in the story.
Completely different style
This game is just so different to most other games. The players commented on it last night about how they could play it without chasing the weird – in that it would be a recreation of their character jobs. It is fascinating to watch a low burn style of hints and clues can build such intrigue with the players. I am going to be the first to admit that I don’t think I have the skill to create an adventure of this style myself. I have done intrigue before but this set of modules really pulls the engagement off.
If you have never considered a game of Call of Cthulhu I strongly recommend it. I know that there are other games out there with a similar focus on intrigue, but I do think this is one that grasps it completely. The players are interested and there is a great buzz at the end of the night about what has just happened. Not to mention that this latest edition of the game just seems to be ticking all the boxes. Keep rolling!