RPG Focus: Trail of Cthulhu (2008)

Last year, I took a look at Call of Cthulhu, the grandfather of Horror RPGs, and, last month, I took a look at Investigations in RPGs.

So, in honor of Messr Howard's birthday today (8/20), I wanted to take a look at a different take on Lovecraftian Horror in RPGs: Trail of Cthulhu.

Named after the series of interconnected short stories by August Derleth (who did much to keep Lovecraft's literary legacy alive after Messr Howard's unfortunate demise), Trail of Cthulhu is, like Call of Cthulhu, an RPG focused on the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction.  Published by arrangement with Chaosium, Inc., creators of the Call of Cthulhu RPG, there are a handful of familiar trappings in this game (e.g., Occupations, skills) but it's just window dressing as Trail of Cthulhu runs instead on Pelgrane Press' in-house Gumshoe System.

Unlike Call of Cthulhu's d100 mechanic, playing Trail of Cthulhu only requires a single d6 for Gumshoe's target roll over mechanic.  Also, there are no ability scores for Investigators, only skills.

The supposed "killer app" of Trail of Cthulhu is the absence of rolls for Invesgiation skills.  Namely:

"Gathering clues is simple. All you have to do is: 

1. Get your Investigator into a scene where relevant information can be gathered,
2. Have the right ability to discover the clue, and
3. Tell the Keeper that you’re using it. 

As long as you do these three things, you will never fail to gain a piece of necessary information. It is never dependent on a die roll. If you ask for it, you will get it."

ToC's boosters argue that this is a revolutionary mechanic because the failure of a single roll can derail the entire session/game/campaign!

However, I consider this "No clue roll" mechanic to be highly overrated and the above argument to be hyperbole.  For example, the argument doesn't take into account that typically there's more than one PC with a relevant skill to acquire a particular clue and that typically the GM will allow multiple rolls.

In addition, such bottlenecks that this "killer app" is meant to address are usually the result of poor adventure design.  This issue can easily be overcome by the Alexandrian's Three Clue Rule (i.e., if there are enough clues, missing one in particular should not be fatal to gameplay).

Additionally, as the Alexandrian notes:

"[The "No clue roll" rule] is a mechanical solution to the problem. But while it may result in a game session which superficially follows the structure of a mystery story, I think it fails because it doesn’t particularly feel as if you’re playing a mystery. 

[Robin] Laws’ fundamental mistake, I think, is in assuming that a mystery story is fundamentally about following a “bread crumb trail” of clues...But, in point of fact, this type of simplistic “A leads to B leads to C leads to D” plotting is not typical of the mystery genre."

Furthermore, ToC is a very New School RPG in the sense of expecting the GM to cater to the players and tilting the odds in the players' favor by reducing the overall challenge.  This is as opposed to the traditional GM role of an impartial referee.

This game does have a vocal group of fans.  However, in terms of actual play, I personally cannot recall seeing a listing for Trail of Cthulhu on Roll20.

Movie Review: Mongol (2007)

This week, I wanted to give a shout out to another overlooked Historical Adventure gem, "Mongol":

"Mongols need laws.

I will make them obey...

...even if I have to kill half of them."

Also known as "Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan", "Mongol" unsurprisingly covers the early life and rise to power of Genghis Khan (under his given name Temüüjin), who conquered the largest land empire in history.  The story begins with 9-year-old Temüjin on a trip by his father Yesugei, a Mongol chieftain, to select a girl as his future wife.

Although his father wishes him to choose someone from the rival Merkit tribe in order to make peace, along the way Temüjin meets Börte, a girl from another tribe.  Impressed with Börte's pluck, he picks her instead.  Shortly thereafter, disaster strikes when Yesugei is poisoned by another group of rivals.

This begins a sequence when Temüjin is periodically on the run and captured.  During this time, he becomes blood brothers with another young boy named Jamukha and Börte gives birth to two children of questionable parentage.  Eventually, Temüjin raises an army to unify all of the Mongols, and meets his blood brother, now a powerful warlord in his own right, for a final showdown.

While Genghis Khan is the national hero of Mongolia (where he is still revered to the present day), his reputation in other parts of the world is... mixed.  However, rather than portray Temüüjin as a cartoon villain or sociopathic mass murderer, director Sergei Bodrov instills sympathy and humanity, which is easier since the film depicts the period prior to Genghis Khan's major genocides and atrocities.

In any event, "Mongol" is a sweeping epic historical film, with beautiful cinematography, stunning landscapes, and powerful battle scenes.  There's plenty of carnage but the film is also balances with quiet character moments that give a sense of Temüüjin as a person and family man.

Blending action, politics, romance, and brotherhood,  "Mongol" is both a grand and an intimate movie that is successfully both entertaining and dramatic. 

So, if you're looking for a David Lean-style Epic that's also a not-over-the-top action flick, this may be the film for you!

RPG Focus: 2nd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (2005)

This week, I want to take a look an all-time great Dark Fantasy tabletop role-playing game, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay:

"It is a dark time: far to the north, the gate of chaos has opened once more. Archaon, Lord of End Times, had waged his insane war on the civilized world, although he was beaten back at the last moment, Chaos is still prevalent throughout the land: Beasts ravage the countryside, Mutation and Insanity are rife. Heroes are needed, heroes who will beat back the darkness, heroes the like of which who have better things to do than to save inbred, misbegotten peasants like these.

So, you lot will have to do. May the lords of ruination spare your souls..."

With a very British sense of black humor, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is set in the grim and perilous Warhammer Fantasy setting, where the power of Chaos lurks in the heart of every person and  simply surviving day-to-day in the midst of various dark and deadly threats is an achievement.  First used by the Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop miniatures wargame, world of the Warhammer Fantasy drew inspiration from a number of sources, including Tolkien's Middle-earth, RE Howard's Hyborian Age (Conan the Barbarian), Michael Moorcock's Elric, and early modern European history. 

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is only of the best RPGs in terms of capturing the flavor of Dark Fantasy.  Rather than playing (at least in the beginning) badass warriors and powerful wizards, in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, the PCs start as everyday scrubs that need to scratch and crawl their way up out of mediocrity, assuming that they don't die in the process.  For example, starting PCs include rat catchers and tax collectors.  Also, regardless of how powerful the PCs become, they can still be taken out by a lucky shot.

The 2nd Edition did a good job of updating and streamlining the 1st Edition.  For example, 2e only uses d10s for resolution.  Thus, similar to Call of Cthulhu, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay uses a roll under percentile system, so task resolution is straightforward.

However, Character Creation and Advancement is quite crunchy in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.  There are 8 primary attributes AND 8 secondary attributes, as well skills and talents (i.e., perks and disadvantages).  This makes creating a PC a lengthy task not easy for a beginner.

Also, as an alternative to leveling, PCs have the ability to shift careers by spending XP.  However, there are around 60 basic careers AND 60 advanced careers.  That's a lot of careers!

In addition, each career has specific career entries and career exits, so one cannot simply go from  rat catcher to noble.  This means that players need to crunch out in advance their career paths if they have a specific goal, similar to the feat system in WotC D&D.

While Character Creation and Advancement is clunky and there are many look up tables to slow down game play, the tremendous flavor of Warhammer Fantasy makes up for it.  The game really is gritty and PCs can die from a single unlucky hit and there's an element of survival horror.  However, under the bleakness, there's a gallows humor and a sense of real accomplishment if you do manage to survive.

So, if you're a roleplaying fan of the Warhammer Fantasy setting, Dark Fantasy, or Horror generally, this may be the tabletop role-playing game for you!

Movie Review: "Hero" (2002)

Much like there were many Swords & Sorcery films released in the wake of the epic "Conan the Barbarian" (1982), there were a number of Wuxia movies at the turn of the century that sought to capitalize on the popularity of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000).

This week, I wanted to take a look at one of the better efforts, "Hero" (2002):

Very, very loosely based on the story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King Zheng of Qin (who would go on to become Emperor Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Qin Dynasty) in 227 BC, "Hero" is a low fantasy historical adventure film by "Fifth Generation" director Zhang Yimou.

Set in the Warring States period of China, the story follows a nameless swordsman (appropriately named Nameless), a minor government official who purportedly has killed three assassins (Sky, Snow, Broken Sword) who have been giving King Zheng sleepless nights and caused him to take drastic security measures.  This gets Nameless an audience with the King and what follows is a cat and mouse game between the two, and we see various versions of the events (a la Rashomon (1950)), as the King drills down to the surprising truth.

Compelled to surpass "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (directed by Taiwanese multiple Academy Award winner Ang Lee) out of nationalistic pride, "Hero" was the most expensive mainland Chinese film to that date, with an all-star cast headlined by legendary martial arts star Jet Li and including Hong Kong staples Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, "Crouching Tiger" starlet Zhang Ziyi and long time mainland Chinese actor Chen Daoming.

"Hero" has solid wuxia action, especially between Li and fellow action star Donny Yen.  The other action scenes are more dreamlike, but are still fine.  One of the best parts of the film is the amazing cinematography, featuring amazing landscapes and gorgeous use of color.

However, the story has some issues, not the least of which is, without completely spoiling the ending, that this movie was unsurprisingly criticized in the West as being pro-authoritarian.  By this, I mean that, unlike the position taken by the film, the people of the Warring States didn't really have a sense of being part of one country at that time, while the film has a clear message of the importance of sacrificing lives and liberty in favor of central power.

Unsurprisingly, this is exactly the message that the Chinese Communist Party pushes.  And, as Director Zhang Yimou is a loyal member of the Communist Party, it's not surprising that he was awarded the prestigious position of directing the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Anyway, "Hero" is a fine entry in the wuxia genre.  However, take its historicity with a giant boulder of salt and it's better to enjoy the film as pretty but vapid entertainment.

Movie Review: Aragami (荒神) (2003)

With All Hallows' Eve soon upon us, this week, I wanted to give a shout out to a rare gem, a spooky samurai film, Aragami:

Directed by Kitamura Ryuhei, "Aragami" is a low fantasy, horror action film featuring badass samurai and philosophical musings.  The movie begins with a pair of seriously wounded samurai who seek shelter from a storm and their enemies in a remote and forbidding temple in the mountains.

Next, one of the previously wounded samurai wakes up to find himself mysteriously healed and that his friend is suspiciously missing.  He then finds that the sole inhabitants of the temple are a sinister warrior and a strangely silent woman.

"Aragami" is not a conventional horror film (there are no jump scares), but it does brilliantly succeed in being mysterious and creepy.  From the beginning, there's a growing unease as it becomes increasingly clear that something is not right about this lonely temple.

As events unfold and the truth is revealed, things are not what they seem, as the samurai is in for a really bad night.

This movie is part of the Duel Project, a challenge issued by producer Shinya Kawai to Kitamura and fellow director Yukihiko Tsutsumi.  The goal was to film a feature-length movie with only two actors, battling in one setting, and to be completed in only one week.

However, despite (or perhaps because of) these limitations, Kitamura manages to put together a film that is both slick and stylish, as well as clever and thoughtful. There's a close feeling, sometimes  intimate, sometimes claustrophobic, sometimes terrifying.

Unsurprisingly, "Aragami" seems a lot like a play, having only a single location and only a handful of characters.  It's quite atmospheric, with thoughtful ruminations on the nature of war and conflict and the boredom of immortality.

There are also lots of nice touches, such as the weird purple glow in the background for most of the movie and the subtle black humor.

The acting and score are excellent.  The fight choreography is also good, if fantastical.

So, if you are a fan of low fantasy, samurai films and/or interesting and clever stories, you owe it to yourself to watch this film!  However, don't just take my word for it.  Here's a link to the film from the director himself!

TV Review: "Rome" (2005-07)

This week, I wanted to give a shout out to a show that is one of the greatest historical drama TV series of all time, HBO/BBC's "Rome":

First off, I want to say that this series (or at least Season One) is friggin' Awesome!

"Rome" is an epic show with a sprawling cast of interesting characters that covers the death throes of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.  Filled with personal and political machinations, the show chronicles how various individuals and factions ruthlessly vie for power, with Julius Caesar and later his nephew Augustus carving their way to the top over an enormous pile of bodies, shaking Rome and her people to the core.

Our viewpoint characters are Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, who are based on a pair of Roman soldiers mentioned in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, though there are some obvious changes from the source material.  In addition to showing the plebeian side of things, this odd couple provides humor and much of the action of the show.

In fact, Vorenus and Pullo are basically PCs in an RPG, to whom all kinds of ridiculous and implausible things happen (including escaping being marooned on a island with a raft made of driftwood and corpses!) as they repeatedly play a role at key historic events.  Indeed, a one point, Caesar muses whether to get rid of them but decides against raising a hand against ones so obviously favored by the gods!

Setting itself apart from lesser historical dramas, producer Bruno Heller's "Rome" is big, sweeping, brutal and unapologetic.  Of course, there's the graphic sex and violence ("Rome" was what "Game of Thrones" is now known for), but more importantly, this ambitious show recreates and brings ancient Rome to life with lavish sets and costumes and superb writing, direction, and acting.

While not historically accurate beyond broad sweeps (a number of the details are incorrect or fictionalized for dramatic purposes), what "Rome" definitely gets right is the feel of the time and place.  A big part of this is that these Romans, while the height of civilization for the time, clearly do not have our sense of morality.

Also, Vorenus and Pullo are ridiculous killing machines and anyone getting on their bad side might die at the drop of a hat!

"Rome" does have some flaws, chief of which is the lack of major battles scenes.  Super disappointing!

There are also big jumps in time that are scarcely covered with a line of dialogue, particularly in Season Two.  This can be quite confusing at times and is particularly bad in Season Two (when Messr Heller learned that the series wouldn't not be extended so he crammed in multiple seasons worth of material).

Season Two also suffering in comparison to Season One in terms of a lead actor: James Purefoy (playing Mark Anthony) simply lacks the gravitas of Ciarán Hinds (playing Julius Casear) and failed to carry the production in the same way.

Still, the overall quality of the show is excellent.  So, if you are a history buff, political scheming or a fan of Sword & Sandal, this show is right up your alley!

Movie Review: Gladiator (2000)

This week, I wanted to take a look at the film that's kicked off the latest round of Historical Epic and Sword & Sandal romps, "Gladiator":

First of all, I want to state up front that calling this movie "historical" has to be taken with a gigantic asteroid of salt!  Anyway, "Gladiator" follows the rise and fall... and rise of the fictional Maximus Decimus Meridius as he transitions from general to slave to the titular gladiator.

The film begins with the final battle of the Marcomannic Wars, which ends with a decisive Roman victory by Maximus while Emperor Marcus Aurelius watches.  Afterward, Marcus Aurelius declares to his son, Commodus, that the latter will not be Emperor (NB- this didn't happen in real life) because the former wants to dissolve the Empire and to restore the Roman Republic (NB- this didn't happen in real life).  However, rather than enjoying his much longed for peace, the Emperor instead enjoys being smothered to death by Commodus (NB- this didn't happen in real life).

Maximus is not down with this regime change and attempts a coup d'etat.  However, wily Commodus  remains one step ahead and Maximus ends up a slave after his family is murdered.  The former general is sold and trained as a gladiator and proves to be unstoppable!

Meanwhile, Commodus decides to host a massive and hugely expensive series of gladiatorial fights to distract the populace from the failings of his rule.  As the A #1 hotshot, Maximus and his friends are off to Rome.  This sets up a collision course between the two men that can only be settled with cold steel on the hot sand of the Colosseum!

While it won Best Picture at the Academy Awards (robbing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon IMHO), "Gladiator" basically just a fun popcorn flick.  The movie has excellent action scenes, high production values and a wonderful score.  Additionally, it deserves credit for reinvigorating the Historical Epic and Sword & Sandal genres and increasing the public's interest in history generally.

However, director Ridley Scott again shows his inability to elevate source material: when he has a great script, he can produce a great movie (e.g., Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Black Hawk Down, The Martian).  When the scripts are not great, his films are stylish and visually stunning but not much else.  This is the case here, as "Gladiator" is ultimately a vapid tale filled with forgettable characters. 

So, if you're looking for a ripping Sword & Sandal yarn, this movie is just fine.  But if you're looking for a somewhat more historical take on ancient Rome, the HBO television series is much, much better in every other category.

Thirteen!

RPG Focus: 6th Edition Call of Cthulhu (2004)

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."

This week, I want to take an Olde School look back on a terrifying classic, Call of Cthulhu, the seminal work in the field of Horror RPGs.

Named after H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and drawing upon the eponymous Cthulhu Mythos, Call of Cthulhu (or "CoC" for short) is mostly true to the source material as the PCs (aka "Investigators") take on the role of ordinary people struggling against various dark forces.  I love this setup, as the power level of the game presents real opportunities for true horror, as well as true (if potentially bleak) heroism.

While this discussion specifically covers the 6th Edition, Call of Cthulhu, published by Chaosium and powered by the Basic Role-Playing (BRP) game engine, has remained mostly unchanged over the years since the publication of the 1st Edition of Call of Cthulhu in 1981, which is a testament to the solidity of the BRP ruleset.  Indeed, CoC is one of the best and most influential of the second generation of roleplaying games.

Compared to the contemporaneous AD&D 1E, Call of Cthulhu is faster and simpler game.  It's not quite as streamlined as a modern design, but still easily playable and has a quick learning curve.  In true Olde School tradition, stats are randomly generated, though then there's a point distribution element, based on an Investigator's Intelligence and Education, for skills.  As you might expect, using the RAW some Investigators can have far more skill points than others, so for my own CoC games, I house rule that all Investigators start with the same number of skill points, regardless of Intelligence and Education scores.

With a good Game Master  (aka "Keeper"), the gameplay can be evocative, tense and terrifying as the Investigators explore the mysteries and face the challenges of the Cthulhu Mythos.  As I mentioned above, PCs are fragile (both mentally and physically) and I really like that this leads to more of a Sneak-and-Peak approach, rather than Search-and-Destroy.  This has influenced my campaigns such that the PCs' typical backup plan for any genre is to run away.

The book itself is filled with good advice and, unlike AD&D 1E, isn't written in High Gygaxian, so the writing is clear and to the point.  The book also has lots of neat tidbits to add color and atmosphere (such as a timeline of weird events), as well as random fun things.

So, if you're a roleplaying fan of Lovecraft or Horror generally, I'd suggest taking a look at this tried and true classic!

TV Review: "Korgoth of Barbaria" (2006)

[NB- this post is a slightly revised version of one that I published earlier]

This week, I wanted to give a shout out to a show that might have challenged "Berserk" (1997) as arguably the greatest Swords & Sorcery TV series of all time, "Korgoth of Barbaria":

A great "What if?", "Korgoth of Barbaria" was a pilot episode created by Aaron Springer and produced by Cartoon Network for Adult Swim.    This ripping yarn cranks the amps up to 11 as our eponymous hero (clearly inspired by Conan the Barbarian) carves a red path through a post-apocalyptic future Earth (clearly inspired, at least in part, by the classic cartoon Thundarr the Barbarian), in a orgy of death, sex and more death.  However, rather than grim dark, the show always has a sense of humor.

"The Great Cities have risen and fallen. Civilization's grip on mankind has grown weak and arthritic. Dark forces seek to renew forgotten covenants, and primordial beasts reclaim the wilderness. Out of the frozen north, a man emerges - a man of a barbaric age, whose merciless savagery may be the only key to his survival. They call him Korgoth!"

This show is metal, and I'm not just talking about the hard rock intro and soundtrack.  The violence is copious and WAY over the top.  The men are various shades of ugly, while the women are all lovely, voluptuous and highly sexualized.  Pretty much every frame of "Korgoth of Barbaria" could have been ripped from the pages of Métal Hurlant (known in America as Heavy Metal Magazine).  Korgoth's world is grim, violent, dirty and sexy, sometimes all at once:

"Korgoth of Barbaria" deftly veers between homage and parody.  On the one hand, the story works fine as a ripping Sword & Sorcery yarn, where the Conan-esque protagonist cleaves his way through mooks and monsters, beds a lusty wench and battles an evil sorcerer.  On the other hand, the show, as the tongue-in-cheek title suggests, also is clearly having a fun time in the process.  For example:

Scrotus: You! You will regret what you have done this day. I will make you regret ever being born! You're going to wish you'd never left your mother's womb, where it was warm, and safe, and wet. I'm going to show you pain you never knew existed. You're going to see a whole new spectrum of pain, like a rainbow!  

Hargon: You tell 'em Scrotus! [screams as Korgoth crushes his head some more]  

Scrotus: But! This rainbow...is not just like any other rainbow, it's… [gets interrupted by Korgoth ripping his skin off]

The production values, writing and direction for this show were great.  Diedrich Bader's gravelly voice is perfect as the titular character, bringing just the right amounts of world weariness, wit, menace and humor.  It's a madcap thrill ride where the viewer never knows what to expect- "They're riding giant pigeons?"

Despite critical acclaim and strong fan support, Cartoon Network reversed its decision to pick up Korgoth of Barbaria and canceled the show after only the pilot episode.  Apparently, it was too expensive to continue.

So, we can only imagine what might have been.  Still, any fan of Sword & Sorcery would do themselves a disservice if they didn't take a look at this fun and funny modern take on the genre.