6 Types of Adventures (Per GURPS CthulhuPunk)

GURPS CthulhuPunk written by Chris McCubbin is a strong supporting document for integrating Cthulhu Mythos Elements into the GURPS Cyberpunk Setting. It is a great resource for any GM running a game in the GURPS Cyberpunk Stock setting. For us that do not use that setting (being more the Night City or Homebrew Types) it is less relevant that way. However there are some really cool elements to incorporate into your Horror Game overall. The focus of this article is found on Pages 66 to 69, Adventure Archetypes. The author states there are 6 overall broad outlines for stories in the Mythos, and so these can be used in the gaming as well. The 6 Outlines are: The Ceremony Forbidden Knowledge Fatal Attraction Outbreak The Lost Expedition The Site With those 6 outlines also comes The Victim. The Victim in these circumstances is the poor unfortunate that has come across The Mythos, or is the focus on the scenario or story. As Chris McCubbin states this is the Catalyst for what is occurring. It can be past tense, it can be happening right at that moment. So a little in depth with each of the 6 Outlines The Ceremony: Essentially this boils down to Characters vs Cultists, to stop a ceremony of some sort. Of course in CoC or any other Mythos inspired game this can open up to a wide range or activities. From someone invoking The Hounds of Tindalos to making contact with Yithians, to actual Contact Spells for Ithaqua or other Great Ones. Forbidden Knowledge: This is the plotline where The Victim has come into possession or contact with something that is better left untouched. Be it a tome, an artifact, an offshoot of the Whately Family living in the DC area and running for Local Government, it boils down to better left alone. Fatal Attraction: This is where The Victim has come to the attention of The Mythos for some reason. Skill, talent, inherited an artifact. For what ever reason, the Great Old Ones or their minions have come a knock knock knocking on the Victims' Front Door. Outbreak: When the Mythos comes into the limelight in an obvious way. Think in terms of an Outbreak of an illness. The actions of some sort have come to the attention of the Characters and potentially of the authorities. The Lost Expedition: When the Nameless Patron invites the Characters to go and find out what happened to the previous discoverers, that is the Lost Expedition. The Site: Where the Lost Expedition is to find out what happened. The Site is where the characters are on The Lost Expedition. Good Luck. These 6 broad outlines are a great way to start the thinking process for a night's gaming, or for a longer more spreadout adventure. For more details go find a copy of this out of print sourcebook. It is illustrated by Dan 'Smif Smith and worth the effort for the other gems included in the 125 pages of writing.

Why are Characters So Dense In Horror Flicks

So we rented the movie Prometheus as directed by Ridley Scott. Yes there are obvious parallels to his earlier Alien Movies. Similar creatures, similar questions, with the additions of the Start of life and who made Human Kind. There are a number of differences as well of course. The level of technology, the appearance of the Engineers, the way the creatures in the film look. Still the feeling is there. It does seem more like Alien than the follow on films. The motivation for the backers, the underlying themes, the heroism of the female lead, very in tune with the other related films. But why are they, the characters, so stupid in this movie. Hi we are on an alien planet, lets take our helmets off, lets touch the alien life form, lets go to a distant world without a first contact protocol in place, without scanning for infections, and lets just go run around without armored suits. How about we show up with only simple firearms and odd looking flamethrowers for weapons, nothing sophisticated at all. It is enough to irk me in watching the film. All of these factors make the characters look like complete novices. Prometheus is no different than Alien, Aliens, Aliens 3, etc. In those movies the ordinary people make simple mistakes. In Prometheus the one character reaches out to the snake like alien. Come on, it looks like a snake, why would you think it will be friendly. I mean there are ample examples in literature and films to make a rational guess how a first contact situation should be able to be conducted. From SF in the 1960s and 19702 to movies such as Super 8, The Day The Earth Stood Still, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind which could give a prospective deep space traveler some idea of what could, in theory, develop. So what can we Horror Oriented Gamers pull from Prometheus to use in our games. Here area few things from a single watching of the movie today. Isolation The unknown, fear of the unknown Play up on simple mistakes Infection and changes in personality Hidden Agendas and secrets The Attempt to Cheat Death Each of these can be pulled into a game setting or scenario. each one could be a single encounter leading up to the final aspect of the adventure planned out. Next time I am on a deep space mission, I am so not trusting the artificial life form assigned to the mission. Especially when a private concern is the financing portion of the expedition.