What I Learned From The Haunting Session 1

One of the things I love most about GMing a game, besides exercising my storytelling capabilities, is what I learn about the process of creating a shared fiction through roleplaying. Here is what I learned from last night's Call of Cthulhu session.

1) SHARED CREATIVITY IN RULINGS

We had a situation where a PC shot the knife-wielding leader of a group of toughs threatening the investigators. The question was how to determine if the toughs would stay & fight or cut and run.

I put the question to the players - in clunky old CoC, how should we adjudicate this?

One player suggested using SAN as morale when a henchmen sees his leader shot.

GENIUS! I applied it on the spot and the investigators rightfully drove the toughs off in a hail of gunfire, then got their wounded man to the hospital.

Rulings should not be the sole responsibility of the GM, but players should also be invited to bring their creativity to the process.

2) NO NPCS AS PUNCHING BAGS

I see this so much in players coming from D&D. They think social skills are magic and they can intimidate NPCs just by talking (I've posted on this previously HERE). I find it much more engaging and immersive if NPCs are the centers of their own worlds with their own objectives, and that the bigger world rolls on with or without the PCs. This makes even more sense in Cthulhu, where man is insignificant in the face of the cosmos, as opposed to the human centric conception of pre-Renaissance thought which also dominates heroic fantasy.

So when some NPCs with nefarious purposes were found hanging about the haunted house (my addition to the scenario), they of course tried to scare away the PCs and were deaf to any types of intimidation. The toughs were armed with switchblades, and although the PCs had firearms, they kept them hidden and just tried to scare off a group of toughs that outnumbered them.

Things escalated, a PC was stabbed, the investigators drew their guns (finally), winged the assailant and sent the thugs packing.

3) MAKE IT MAKE SENSE

One thing I found myself saying during the session was "Make it make sense," and this is now my GM / Keeper mantra. I think players get too hooked on rolls for social interaction and make up unconvincing stories just to get things out of NPCs.

For example, in our session, a surgeon approached a sanitarium where two survivors of a mysterious incident were kept. The players first discussed trying to fast talk their way in. This could lead to a dead end in the investigation, or even serious professional consequences if their ruse was found out.

"Make it make sense" I advised. I suggested they could offer themselves as wanting to learn more about psychology, or else offer to do a medical procedure.

"Why don't we say the surgeon is doing research on the environmental effects on victims of violent crime, and wants to interview the two patients?"

Brilliant. It made perfect sense in the context, and they rolled with it beautifully. I interjected once or twice when they strayed back into 'con the NPCs' territory, bit in the end they got lots of clues without compromising their professional standing.

And that is how it should be.

4) NO UNCLEARED ROLLS

Finally, I told the players to try not to just start making rolls without consulting the Keeper (me).  I am open to most suggestions, ie a player's idea of using SAN for morale was genius and I ate it up. But in my experience, players sometimes do a roll without clearing it with the GM first. The problems with this are the roll might not fit the situation, so the player wastes their time and feels dumb and the GM is uncomfortable having to shoehorn in something just because a roll was made. So better to clear it first so both sides can be satisfied.