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[Halloween] Great Call of Cthulhu one-shots


malindle
· 
Oct 13, 2010

malindle
M Registered User
Validated User

Oct 13, 2010  #1

It's that time again, and I'm considering running a one-shot for my group.

The thing is... they usually suck. At least all the times I've attempted to run one. It just seems to me that
the kind of slow horror that makes Hunter and Call of Cthulhu awesome takes Loglonger than an evening to
 in Register
build. People need to grasp their characters, situations, second-guess themselves, etc.

 

So with that said, what are good/great Call of Cthulhu (or similar. Though CoC is our system of choice for
this) one-shots that people have enjoyed? Modern-era-compatible stuff is a plus.

O. G. Readmore
O Registered User

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9/23/2021 [Halloween] Great Call of Cthulhu one-shots | RPGnet Forums

Oct 13, 2010  #2

I have heard good stuff about the ToC scenario "The Dying of St. Margaret's". It is designed to be a one
shot and comes with pre-generated characters. I believe it is set in the 1930s, however.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=61146
Last edited: Oct 13, 2010

Aegypto
Treelicious
RPGnet Member
Validated User

Oct 13, 2010  #3

Try here:

http://www.irishgaming.com/index.php?
option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=47&Itemid=39

I've run "Serene & Primal" and "Verboten: Operation Faust" as one-evening games to great success. As
and added bonus, they're free.

Baulderstone
B Registered User
Validated User

Oct 13, 2010  #4

In Media Res is considered one of the classic one-shots. It has pre-generated characters, complete with
interesting summaries of their personalities which are likely to butt heads. Aside from their basic
personalities, they don't need to know anything of their past at the outset at they have amnesia. They are
all gathered around the dining room table of remote farmhouse, wearing uniforms from a high-security
mental health facility. A guard from the facility is lying dead on the table, and a strange, hypnotic image
hangs on the wall. As the players come back to themselves, the one at the end of the table makes an
cryptic statement. Oh, and he isn't using his tongue. He also has the cut out tongue of the security guard
in his mouth for some reason. No time spent setting mood or digging through newspaper archives. The
adventure has already started. They have just forgotten the first half.

seneschal
S New member
Banned

Oct 13, 2010  #5

http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=5105

Murder in the Footlights is pretty basic but has strong NPCs, an evocative map, and can be expanded
and tweaked to be whatever you want it to be. And it's free, too!

malindle
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9/23/2021 [Halloween] Great Call of Cthulhu one-shots | RPGnet Forums
malindle
M Registered User
Validated User

Oct 13, 2010  #6

In Media Res sounds compelling. Is it possible to swap in custom characters? My players like making
their own, even if they get shoehorned into a weird situation.

Baulderstone
B Registered User
Validated User

Oct 13, 2010  #7

malindle said: 

In Media Res sounds compelling. Is it possible to swap in custom characters? My players like making their own, even
if they get shoehorned into a weird situation.

Well, I suppose. Making characters with no memory of their past, but fully developed (and insane)
personalities designed to bounce off each other might be tricky though. Especially since the players have
have flashback appropriate to each as the session wears on. You could, but you would really be
diminishing the adventure.

Perhaps you could meet them halfway. Give them the personality profiles and let them stat themselves
up based on it.

In any case, there is not shortage of awesome CoC one-shots out there. If this won't work you will find
others.

Deepfire
D Blödmannsgehilfe
Validated User

Oct 14, 2010  #8

baulderstone said: 

In Media Res is considered one of the classic one-shots. It has pre-generated characters, complete with interesting
summaries of their personalities which are likely to butt heads. Aside from their basic personalities, they don't need
to know anything of their past at the outset at they have amnesia. They are all gathered around the dining room table
of remote farmhouse, wearing uniforms from a high-security mental health facility. A guard from the facility is lying
dead on the table, and a strange, hypnotic image hangs on the wall. As the players come back to themselves, the
one at the end of the table makes an cryptic statement. Oh, and he isn't using his tongue. He also has the cut out
tongue of the security guard in his mouth for some reason. No time spent setting mood or digging through
newspaper archives. The adventure has already started. They have just forgotten the first half.

Yes, I love this! My favorite one-shot Cthulhu - get some stuff for it, cheap green OP clothes for instance,
the players will love it

Bondidude
B Registered User
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9/23/2021 [Halloween] Great Call of Cthulhu one-shots | RPGnet Forums

Oct 14, 2010  #9

I'm running "The Murder of Thomas Fell" this weekend. Though it's a Trail of Cthulhu adventure you
could easily adopt the story/clues to a BRP version as well.

It seems good for a one shot because it's self contained, has characters made up for you, though you
said your group didn't like this they could stat up the characters themselves and then use the provided
backgrounds, and it seems like it's going to be a fun scenario to run.

Not to mention that it has a nice twist at the end and seems like it has some good potential to be a TPK if
things go horribly wrong (and what good Cthulhu one shot wouldn't?) but isn't written to be that way on
purpose. Here's a link:

http://www.pelgranepress.com/seepagexx/June2008.html

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