LotFP Carcosa: actual play

everloss · April 24, 2012, 01:47:49 AM

I've noticed about half a billion blogs and forum posts about people buying Carcosa, reading it, then making half-assed "reports" about the game without any actual play time involved.

I played Carcossa.

And I wrote a half-assed review of my experience running it.

Carcosa play-report

Rincewind1 · April 24, 2012, 02:03:18 AM

Quote from: everloss;533120I've noticed about half a billion blogs and forum posts about people buying Carcosa, reading it, then making half-assed "reports" about the game without any actual play time involved.

I played Carcossa.

And I wrote a half-assed review of my experience running it.

Carcosa play-report

Well let's not be beating around the bush - any child molesting or should I not waste time reading the play report?

Just kidding, already did. It looks like the supplement could use a lot of polishing and detailing, but it's decent enough add on. I am surprised that Spawn of Shub Niggurath is weak enough to be clubbed by a 1st level Sorcerer

.

Melan · April 24, 2012, 02:05:54 AM

Okay, that was just entertaining to read. Did not convey any of the bleakness, but hey.

everloss · April 24, 2012, 02:24:12 AM

My roommate's character found the Bone Sorcerer's spellbook after defeating him. After hearing the names of the three spells in the book, he was excited! After I read to him the descriptions of the spells... not so much.

He defeated the Spawn after a not-so-easy battle; however, the Spawn rolled D6's for damage, and D4's for Hit dice. He rolled D10's for hit dice and D10's for damage.

After playing it, I actually like the rules for random determination of damage and hit dice (before actual play, I thought the idea was interesting, but stupid). I like the fact that any attack has the potential to be deadly.

everloss · April 24, 2012, 02:32:13 AM

Quote from: Melan;533122Okay, that was just entertaining to read. Did not convey any of the bleakness, but hey.

Yeah, I guess I didn't really include the desperation of the setting.

Like I said, he started in the desert with no equipment and no money. As a Bone Man and with a Charisma of 6 (6!!!) he also had little chance of making any friends. But he got lucky with die rolls (and I took it a little easy on him).

To get water, he had to defeat the Spawn of Shub-Niggarath, and after killing it, he got food and a pretty sweet backpack! I used one of the 20 spawn that was pre-made out of the book.

So, just out of the gate, he had to fight for food and water. He had an odd obsession with searching every hex for a "stick," which is hard to find in a desert of rocks and sand.

danbuter · April 24, 2012, 09:37:48 AM

Great read! I'm kind of surprised by some of the rules omissions (I haven't bought the new version). Maybe it just slipped through the cracks, since the author and most of his target audience are long-time D&D players.

TAFMSV · April 24, 2012, 07:10:44 PM

Quote from: danbuter;533201Great read! I'm kind of surprised by some of the rules omissions (I haven't bought the new version). Maybe it just slipped through the cracks, since the author and most of his target audience are long-time D&D players.

Most of those questions are answered in the introduction of the hardback.

QuoteIt does not include clerics or magic-users. (Specialists can be used or not without effecting the feel of the setting.) The standard spell-casting classes are replaced by Sorcerors, who use horrific rituals to summon Cthulhoid entities.
There are no Dwarfs, Elves or Halflings.

So, no M-U spells. Starting money will be according to the rules you're supplementing with the book. In both OD&D and LotFP, everybody gets 3d6X10. Sorcerors are the same as fighters, except they can learn rituals, have different saving throws, and nobody wants them around. Default LotFP skill ratings are covered in the specialist description, with ability modifiers listed on the character sheet.

Anyway, it's not that obscure if you're sober, but starting with a loincloth and a random number of skill points sounds entirely appropriate.

Oh, that was a fun read. Let us know if you give it another shot.

RPGPundit · April 25, 2012, 01:31:03 PM

And the child-rape?

RPGPundit

everloss · April 25, 2012, 01:50:11 PM

No child rape.

One of the spells he discovered in the Bone Sorcerer's Laboratory did require the torture and murder of a child, followed by sex with the corpse. However, the PC wasn't into that. He WAS interested in another spell that required siring a child with a 22 year old woman, then throwing the baby down a bottomless pit, in order to commune with nightmarish gods living in the center of the planet. Players; you never know exactly what to expect from them.

RPGPundit · April 26, 2012, 03:35:40 PM

Quote from: everloss;533642No child rape.

One of the spells he discovered in the Bone Sorcerer's Laboratory did require the torture and murder of a child, followed by sex with the corpse. However, the PC wasn't into that. He WAS interested in another spell that required siring a child with a 22 year old woman, then throwing the baby down a bottomless pit, in order to commune with nightmarish gods living in the center of the planet. Players; you never know exactly what to expect from them.

Oh, well that's clearly fine, then.