Marcus Kingston's page

Glad to have everyone here already! First things first I usually create a discord server for all the games I'm running because it's easier to access me there when I'm away from my PC. Feel free to join! Invite link

Hello! I've joined the Discord, and I'll check it, but I've never found the appreciation for that site that others have, so most of my communication will still be in this Discussion thread, unless something changes. Can you keep a link to it on the Campaign Info tab or the header?

Regarding changes and such, I do wish I could give you genuine advice as to the 'meta' skills or what have you, but as I am learning the system myself I cannot do so. The first few posts I am sure will just be flavor and setting the scene/introducing yourselves, so you have a couple of days to finalize the finer character choices.

I am not by any means an expert, but I did come across this Reddit post about Coc characters recently, and it feels like good advice:

Survival isn't really the goal in a Cthulhu game, revelation and role playing are. That said, spreading your skills thin in the hope you can at least attempt to do anything is not a good strategy. Characters should have at least a few skills they're 60+ in. If it were me I'd want 1 interpersonal skill up that high, 1 detection skill up that high (e.g. Psych, Listen, Spot, Stealth) and 1 knowledge skill up that high (includes the repairs etc). I lump combat skills (and dodge) with tactical support skills like drive auto and first aid and physical skills like climb, jump etc. Find a reason to be good at something that helps in a physical situation

Before we begin in earnest, I'd like to go over a bit of the expectations I'd like all of us to have for this game. Just to be sure we're all on the same page. I mentioned a few of these in the recruitment, but just want to flesh it all out a bit more.

I am using the Call of Cthulhu ruleset and will be sticking to a lot of the general vibes the rules and setting lend themselves to, but the game will be taking place in a separate setting away from the big names of Cthulhu and the like. Don't expect the cosmic horror to take the same familiar forms you might be used to!

I also mentioned the content warning in the recruitment, and I just want to reinforce the idea that this will not be the typical heroic adventure most games on here are. I will not actively try to kill your characters (unless they do something or go somewhere they shouldn't), but you should expect harm and loss of life to both you guys and anyone in the story. Violence, fear, gore, death, children under threat, all sorts of nasty business. If there are any specific triggers or limits you'd like to avoid, best to let me know ahead of time and I'll see what I can do to accommodate it.

Other than that, I expect to have my opening post up this evening, and I'm glad to be gaming with you all!

Thanks, I appreciate the content warning. I'm usually okay with all of those, although some of them squig me out (but that's part of the point of a game like this). The only thing I don't like to participate in -- and it seems unlikely to happen in this game from what you've said -- is sexual encounters involving my PC. If they happen, I prefer they happen off-screen.

Other than that, I'm excited to get going!

Marcus bustles through the cold toward the chapel entrance, consciously choosing to not compare the Columbia campus to Brown. He nods at one of the attendants to acknowledge them for their service and steps inside. He chooses a pew in the middle. Not too far forward, since he's conscious of his height and bulk blocking the view of those sitting behind him, but he doesn't sit in the back, because why should he? He's not a second-class citizen.

Finally, he sits in the center of the center pew he's chosen, because it's least likely that he'll be expected to stand up again to let someone move by or to move further in. With a loud sigh he doesn't even notice anymore, he lets his bulk lower to the cushioned wooden bench, and he relishes in the relative warmth of the chapel and the fact that he's off his feet.

He takes a look around at the other mourners to see if there's anyone interesting to look at.

I'm also still not sure which alias picture I'll use:

- This is the one that I'm leaning towards right now, because he's young enough and wearing period-appropriate clothing, maybe.
- This one is too old, but otherwise has all the right characteristics as I picture them.
- And this one has the right attitude, but he's wearing fantasy garb.

I decided to go with Grigori from Kingmaker. Please ignore the fantasy hat.

The two useful (I think) skills I'm seeing that none of us has thrown points into are:

First Aid - but the base is 30% so maybe that's not a big deal?

Psychoanalysis - this skill is good for helping people recover Sanity points over time. For the folks with CoC experience... is this a useful skill or do you normally hire a psychologist to treat folks that are about to crack? IF this is a good skill to take, my character went through intensive therapy so it could make sense that he picked up this skill. I'm happy to shuffle some points around to give us better than 1% chance on this. What do you think?

All of my CoC games have been mostly on-shots, almost as if CoC PCs are disposable, because everyone is likely to lose sanity sooner or later. I've rarely seen psychoanalysis used, but my experience may be different than standard.

I think that we should identify any skill overlaps before worrying overly much about any gaps. But also, it's been my experience that there are so many skills and not enough skill points to go around that there will almost always be gaps.

Hi team!

Here's the alias that I'll use for Marcus, and I'll work on getting the character sheet moved from the PDF I linked to in the Recruitment thread to this alias. (But it is a busy time of year, so...)

I'm also still not sure which alias picture I'll use:
- This is the one that I'm leaning towards right now, because he's young enough and wearing period-appropriate clothing, maybe.
- This one is too old, but otherwise has all the right characteristics as I picture them.
- And this one has the right attitude, but he's wearing fantasy garb.

Anyway, as I said in the Recruitment thread, I'm also playing in a real life CoC game currently. I don't get to play RPGs in-person very much at all these days, so when my friend said he was going to start a game, I jumped in. However, our first game was a Delta Green game, and our current game uses the actual CoC ruleset, but it's set in the mid-2000s decade. Both games are fun, but I've been really craving the 1920s setting. So, I'm looking forward to this game!

I agree with the assertion that this is a team sport, so I'm open to discussing any adjustments to my PC. But the intent is that Marcus is a History and Library Use guy, with a specialty in Egyptology, but I also made sure he can use a shotgun without hurting himself and that he knows how to throw a punch. I expect he'll go down fast if he's ever in a one-on-one confrontation, but fortunately, CoC doesn't have to be that sort of game. (And he'll probably save everyone else's life when running from a threat, because he's the slowest!)