Any interest in classic era uk-based ToC?

[Mr. Handy]

Well spotted that was a typo cool character idea!

Cheers, Hal

Thanks, Hal! I actually came up with the character concept a while ago, before you announced your game, and it was the perfect opportunity to play her.

Mr. Handy, who is the real Amanda?

I thought that my character would be a journalist, middle-aged and world-weary, who chances on the club where Amanda Somerville is singing. Although he would claim to be a stolid man uninfluenced by glamour, he is in fact charmed by her and is drawn back to the club again and again.

The real Amanda is Louise Dodds, a Scottish jazz singer. I had never heard of her before until I searched for pictures of 1920s female jazz singers, but she's from the present day. When I saw the black and white picture of her, I knew it was perfect. Her website also has audio recordings of her singing.

I've created a forum for the game here and made you the Keeper for it, Hal, so you can add your own threads whenever you want. If you want actual subfora within the forum, let
me know, and I'll create those too.

If you want to start the first weekend of July (or even sooner), I have no objections. I just probably won't be able to post after July 2 until at least the night of July 6 (more likely, not until the night of July 7).

[Tabs]

Priest, I've never heard of Helen Long. I did a quick Google search but couldn't find her?

Cool characters so far...perhaps your journalist Tabs can have links to the yard - helps me with an 'in'

Will do.



Felix Henriot turns out the gas ring and pours his supper into a chipped bowl. He stands before his chintz curtains and watches fog rolling down the Thames and a late omnibus trundling across Putney Bridge, all the while stirring his unsavoury soup. He pulls a sixpence from his pocket, he says to himself "heads the club, tails early to bed."

He really should go to sleep. If he is to be on hand at the Yard it means an early start, a very early start, in order to accompany the detectives to the scene of the previous night's crime. Felix takes photographs, writes a description--mentioning a detective by name, and hawks the story to whichever newspaper he can.

Every year he travels abroad by himself, with nothing more than a walking stick and a clean shirt, hiking and climbing in the Jura; but the cost of a drinks are depleting his meagre savings and now he cannot afford a holiday, he determines therefore to visit the club no more . . . and never hear her sing again.

Felix Henriot flips the coin: tails. He dons his hat and coat and walks out into the fog.

[Priest]

Tabs,
Helen Long is one of the characters in 'Dance in the Blood' a scenario for ToC. We began playing back last year, but the keeper vanished. Shame really because I was just getting into the character. However with suitable alterations she is reborn as Millicent Broadacre, author.

Felix seems just the sort of character that may provide her with the subject for her next book. Perhaps its hero will be a underpaid, hard working journalist?

[Airbornexo]

Woot just need a character for Lee now! I'm going to shameless plunder that other thread for rules etc...

Looking forward to this game once my gcse marking is completed!

Cheers, Hal

[carnage_lee]

Hi all - will sort something out ASAP

[Tabs]

Priest, sorry, didn't read your posts properly re. Helen Long.

[Tabs]

Felix Henriot, 46, Journalist
Drive—Curiosity
Pillars of Sanity: Beauty of Nature, Moral Principles, Amanda Somerville’s voice, modern literature
Sources of Stability: Evelyn Pankhurst (Aunt), Bobby the newsboy

OCCUPATIONAL ABILITIES [16 x2 =32]
Cop Talk 4
Disguise 2 +6[Gen. Ab.]
Evidence Collection 5
Languages 2
Oral History 2
Photography 4
Assess Honesty 3
“Reassurance 4
Shadowing 3
+Streetwise 3
“SPECIAL—access to newspaper morgues.
Credit Rating 2

GENERAL ABILITIES [65]
Sanity (4) 7
Health (1) 8
Stability (1) 5
Athletics 9
Disguise 2[Occ. Ab.] +6
Firearms 6
Preparedness 6
Sense Trouble 6
Stealth 6
Weapons 6

[Mr. Handy]

Wow, I've never been someone's Pillar of Sanity before. Hope I don't get laryngitis.

Do we still get Sources of Stability? I didn't include any for my character because I thought the rules said those were only for Pulp games.

[Tabs]

[Airbornexo]

My understanding was everyone gets sources of stability but in purist you cannot use them in quite the same way. I'll check the rules again in the core book. I'm relatively new to TOC and am currently running Eternal lies as a hybrid pulp game. Even persuaded my reluctant players to be recorded, we're nowhere near as good as the yoggies but we have a good time!

Cheers, Hal

[Tabs]

The idea of ToC is fab: ask and you will succeed, however my 1st ed. rulebook is not as clear to follow as it should be; caveats are hidden within paragraphs--and Sanity and Stability seem over complicated. The Art in the book by Jerome Huguenin, with its green tint, is spot on, I think.

Airbornexo, where can I hear the recording of Eternal Lies?

[Airbornexo]

I didn't want to publish as POC over at Yog-sothoth was doing his and didn't want to steal his thunder - but I suppose over here its a little more of a 'limited' release so you can find the episodes in my dropbox:

Session 1 - Beginnings
Session 2 - Savannah
Session 3 - LA part 1
Session 4 - LA part 2

The players are: My good wife Cath playing detective Nelly Knott, her brother Pete playing professor Donovan Boyle and his wife Toni playing Father Angelo Drake. As I said they're not very good (edit: the session not the players!). Sorry about the sound quality on Session 2 its not up to par with the others

I love the trail concept which fits my group nicely but I agree they are impenetrable on the first couple of read throughs - character generation felt like a massive chore with ToC in terms of allocating points for example.

Well if you listen to the above you'll hear me bumbling through the rules badly!

Cheers, Hal

[Priest]

Stability (p48)
Whether caused by an onrushing shoggoth, a horde of ghouls, or an NKVD torturer, shock and fear take a toll on the mind and nervous system. Mythos and non- Mythos threats alike can send Investigators into screeching panic, near-catatonic funk, or blind frenzy. Your Stability rating indicates your resistance to mental trauma. Although the sudden revelation or confirmation of the truths of the Cthulhu Mythos can damage your Stability, so can service in the Great War or the deaths of your beloved family in a fire. In other words, although losing Sanity can decrease Stability, the two are not directly correlated. (See p. 70.) A Sanity 0 cultist of Hastur might be a gibbering backwoods cannibal (with an appropriately low Stability) or a sophisticated, wealthy art critic with a Stability higher than that of any of the Investigators who seek to take him down.

You get Stability 1 for free.
In a Purist game, your Stability is capped at 12.

It then goes on to list Sources of Stability but points out this is for the pulp mode.

For every 3 full rating points you possess in Stability, you must name one person that keeps you sane when the terrors of the world threaten to shred your psyche.

How this works in practice is possibly one of those confusing elements that tends to plague ToC.

[Tabs]

Priest, thanks for that.

Airbornexo, I listened to 40 minutes of Session 1 last night (I've given up on the World Cup) and was entertained, but all of it is too long to hold my attention! I also thought--do you want criticism? because I am about to give it anyway!--that you all spoke well, the incidental music was great,--is it on YouTube? it'd be excellent for a session of Eldritch Horror,--the Keeper asked the Players if they had a particular skill, but I thought the Players s/be asking: "Is the Asylum nurse telling the truth? I'll try Assess Honesty."

As I said I was entertained by it.

[Airbornexo]

--the Keeper asked the Players if they had a particular skill, but I thought the Players s/be asking: "Is the Asylum nurse telling the truth? I'll try Assess Honesty."

Yeah this is something we are now trying to build into our sessions as the first few were just getting to grips with ToC! We are all BRP bunnies and have found the shift across a little difficult - getting there thought! Thanks dude for the comments anyway

The music is the official Eternal Lies soundtrack from Pelgrane Press - its on their webstore.

Cheers, Hal

[Dave Syrinx]

Hi guys!
Is it too late to do some hat-throwing in the gaming circle?

[Airbornexo]

Always room for you Dave! Please follow the advice above for characters - another law enforcement connection would be helpful for the group I believe!

Cheers, Hal

[Dave Syrinx]

Name: George "Gory" Grimes

Occupation: Police Detective

Occupational Abilities:
16 +8= 24 -21-17-14-12-7-0
*Cop Talk, 6
*Evidence Collection, 6
*Interrogation, 8
*Law, 4
Assess Honesty, 10
Locksmith 7

65 -63 -51 -41 - 35- 24- (trade to 8 inv.points -24)
*Athletics, 8
*Driving, 8
*Firearms. 12
*Sense Trouble. 18

Credit Rating: 3-4

Sanity 6
Stability 12
Health 11
Pillars of Sanity: Follow through or fall through. Won't let go if on a trail. Ever.
The need to be polite, in all situations. As an afterthought counts. It does. Without civility chaos reigns.


Sources of Stability: Doctor of History Archibald Andrews"Never worry old chap. Nothing's new under this sun."
Chief Librarian Lord Cunnighamn of The Central Library (Secret Society). "You if anyone has got the stomach for it, Grimes."
Deborah Grimes, younger sister 32, "George, I need your help with this..." "I won't tell mom."
Pierre Remy, barkeep at The Boehmian, "Another one? If you're conscious - I guess it's a yes."

Hit threshold 3

Drive: Revenge

Something out there hurt you,
or hurt someone you care about.
Therefore, it must be destroyed,
burned out, taken down, exposed
… whatever it takes, and
whatever it costs. Any trail that
might lead to your vengeance is
a trail you have to follow to the
bitter end.

[Airbornexo]

Awesome...love him

Just starting to set up threads now as a bit of downtime between exam marking!

Cheers, Hal

[Dave Syrinx]

George Grimes is a 42 year old Scotland Yard detective. His story can be read in his eyes.
He'll stop at nothing to get the case closed.
He's partial to talking others to do the investigative part. And he's good at getting his point
across. It's best for everyone if the help out.
Revenge can be an intimidating mistress...

Thirteen years ago, Grimes got his nickname Gory for being part of The Bay Slaughterhouse
Incident, where nine upper class women were found butchered and displayed like angels, flying with their
backs sliced open and hung from wires by their scapulas.

The poor artist responsible for the display caught the short end of the stick handled by Grimes.

Two of the girls from the Slaughterhouse were former girl-friends of Grimes.

Today, Grimes' younger sister has been missing for three months and he has been sent letters
with hair locks from her with messages with the text: it aint over till I say it's over, Mr Grimes.

In his heart Grimes knows that somehow his sister can't be alive. But still, there might be a small
chance that she can. The question is: who is tormenting him, now, after thirteen years?

- Some kind of backstory, at least.

What have I missed in the creation process? I guess I do need some hand holding with this. Something
Grimes n-e-v-e-r would have admitted.
Cheers!