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Trail of Cthulhu - Dark Continent

Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 6:07 pm
by Worryworf
This might take a while to orchestrate. I'm just learning Trail of Cthulhu, so it may become just a straight up CoC game by the end.

It's been a while since I ran a PbP but the ones I did worked out pretty good. Still, best to judge the concept and interest of a game before diving in.

Looking for up to six players, but heck I'll play one-on-one if it comes to that too.

What I'm proposing is a game set in the pre-WWII era. The players are a bunch of missionaries, scholars, adventures, treasure hunters, smugglers, soldiers, etc. all trapped on the front lines at Makale, in Ethiopia. It's October 10th, 1935. Italian Fascists are heading their way, after 5 swift days of grinding through Ethiopia's finest.

Being foreign nationals (or close friends with one) they have been strenuously advised by their home governments to make their way into neighbouring countries for evacuation.

Eventually they all flee the doomed town together, taking whatever they can and heading west to circumvent the encroaching invaders.

Along the way a terrible storm hits. Disoriented, desperate and half-drowned the group takes shelter in the ruins of a long-abandoned jungle city. Yet their relief of being saved from the tempest outside may prove short-lived, as it soon becomes apparent that the desolate ruins may not have been made by human hands - nor completely as empty as first assumed.

As the night wears on, and the gloom of the Dark Continent presses in on them, the wayward refugees may soon learn what exactly happened to the vanished builders of such a forsaken place. And in doing so share the fate visited upon anyone foolish enough to have ever ventured there.

***

So post below anything thoughts or suggestions. And hopefully it sounds good enough to get off the ground sometime.

Re: Trail of Cthulhu - Dark Continent

Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 2:52 am
by Mr. Handy
I'd be interested in playing this. It's a wonderful idea for a setting!

Re: Trail of Cthulhu - Dark Continent

Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 7:44 am
by Mister Ginge
I'd definitely be interested in this. I have Trail of Cthulhu but I've not played it yet. Are you going for a pulp or more purist angle? The idea you've outlined sounds great.

Re: Trail of Cthulhu - Dark Continent

Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 11:11 am
by Worryworf
Mr. Handy wrote:I'd be interested in playing this. It's a wonderful idea for a setting!
Great, I was hoping the setting would sound good. WWII simmering just out of sight might make for a good backdrop. I was thinking of Casablanca and the mood of folks worried about what was going on back home. Only this time they are suddenly plunged into one of the first conflicts of the era.

Plus, Makale is going to be an unregulated place. Germany has operatives supplying Ethipoians with guns and food to resist the Italians (who were being courted by France and Britain to stand against the Nazis at the time) Not to mention slavery in that region survived British, French and Italian interference. Ethiopia and the South Sudan will have drawn both the best and worst of Outsiders. Any kind of person can be found here and prejudices align far more nationally than racially. So, keep that stuff in mind when thinking of characters.

Mister Ginge wrote:I'd definitely be interested in this. I have Trail of Cthulhu but I've not played it yet. Are you going for a pulp or more purist angle? The idea you've outlined sounds great.
Awesome, and to answer your question - It will be as realistic as I can manage. Stats and stuff will be at the slighting higher end. Africa (especially 1930s Africa) tends to attract the exceptionally compitent and those who can handle extremes.

I know there will be action, a limited survival aspect and a time or two for Indiana Jones-level heroics. There will also be psychological and very real horror, palpable tension amid people on all sides of the war to come and a deeply rooted need to support each other; even amidst constant paranoia (of both the obvious and supernatural varieties).

There will be traps, there will be clues that need to be figured out in order to survive. There will be eldritch magic and forbidden knowledge and there will be an ever-present peril, hanging over everyone's heads - pushing them to their very limits.

Re: Trail of Cthulhu - Dark Continent

Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 3:22 pm
by Mister Ginge
Ok, I'm in. Need to dust off my pith helmet.

Re: Trail of Cthulhu - Dark Continent

Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 3:42 am
by Cotton
I'm in. I don't have much experience with ToC unfortunately, but I've been hoping to fix that.

Re: Trail of Cthulhu - Dark Continent

Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 10:02 pm
by justinhorner
Im in (if you'r still thinking of running it). Have the ToC book and am excited about playing

Re: Trail of Cthulhu - Dark Continent

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2017 5:16 am
by Percy Shipton
This looks interesting - let me know if you get it up and going.

Re: Trail of Cthulhu - Dark Continent

Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 4:10 am
by HelplessBystander
Again, this looks interesting. I'll watch this thread to when it finally takes off. :)