Quote from: jhkim on November 19, 2021, 02:29:40 PM

Quote from: Darrin Kelley on November 19, 2021, 11:12:08 AM
I don't think it is possible to make Cthulhu Woke and stay true to the fiction Lovecraft produced.

Lovecraft was a bigot. It informed a lot of his writing. For good or ill. But he did give birth to a particular kind of horror.

Cosmic horror can be done better these days. New authors can use the basic themes Lovecraft originated to create something new. And honestly? They should.

Ending up producing anti-semitic dreck. Which, in a way, is beyond funny

https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-does-hbos-anti-racist-lovecraft-country-stumble-into-anti-semitic-tropes/

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I just don't think rewriting Call Of Cthulhu is the correct approach. I believe it should be left as it is. Flaws and all. So future generations can learn from it.

The Call of Cthulhu RPG has never been very true to the fiction that Lovecraft produced. It's always been a horror RPG that draws some of the trappings of Lovecraft and some of the themes, but also from Lumley and other writers and its own approach.

Well, it depends. There is a s**t-ton of material produced for CoC, and one of the strengths of the game is that you can choose your inspiration - from R.E. Howard to M.R. James. A friend of mine, back in the day, ran a "Necroscope" campaign using CoC.

Also, it is often forgotten that Lovecraft wrote straight horror too (stories where the characters were nuked anyway). Not every adventure must be "cosmic horror" - as long as it has a strong theme of madness and delusional beliefs about how the World works. Characters like the Archaeologist at the end of M.R.James' "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad" start with hubris and end up permanently scarred. I could ran that short story as a one-evening CoC adventure and it would work wonderfully.

Greetings!

HBO's program "Lovecraft Country" is fucking racist garbage, full of scum.

Like the article says--all the white characters in the program are depicted as evil cultists, racist sheriffs, or racist, cross-burning neighbors.

Why not make a program where all of the black characters are criminal thugs, degenerate whores, or violent, racist activists?

I'm sure that a program like THAT would have hordes of people having seizures of rage.

But it is just fine and dandy to have a program where all of the white characters are depicted as evil cultists, racist sheriffs, or cross-burning, racist neighbors.

"Lovecraft Country" can fucking choke on napalm.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Lovecraft Country was canceled so their will be no sr one season.

Quote from: S'mon on November 19, 2021, 02:39:48 PM

Quote from: jhkim on November 19, 2021, 02:29:40 PM
This had a much more uncomfortable feel, as the U.S. had a reluctant alliance with Nazi Germany. The Nazis had a particular hatred of Deep Ones as they produced mixed-race abominations. I think this was closer to Lovecraft's writing than Pulp Cthulhu, though it also had its own take.

If you really want to be uncomfortable you'd have the Pure Aryan Nazis fighting the Miscegenating Deep Ones & their British, American & Soviet Allies...

You could soften it a bit by having the Nazis allied to eg the Great Race of Yith, or maybe the Mi-Go.

I have trouble picturing the U.S. doing that. Uncomfortableness comes from how well it fits with both Lovecraft's writing and history. In my game, the Deep War started from a series of escalations including the American bombing of a Deep One city in 1931 (i.e. the ending of Shadow Over Innsmouth). As our real-world alliance with the Soviets showed, having a common enemy can make for differing alliances. Also in the setting, the U.S., Germany, and Japan all had secret research and/or diplomacy with various other forces like the Yithians or Mi-Go.

Pulp Cthulhu emphasizes fighting a foreign evil enemy, as do a lot of standard Cthulhu adventures -- but a lot of Lovecraft's stories took place in his own backyard of New England - where the horror is what's hidden in one's own community or even one's own self.

Quote from: Reckall on November 19, 2021, 04:09:36 PM

Quote from: jhkim on November 19, 2021, 02:29:40 PM
The Call of Cthulhu RPG has never been very true to the fiction that Lovecraft produced. It's always been a horror RPG that draws some of the trappings of Lovecraft and some of the themes, but also from Lumley and other writers and its own approach.

Well, it depends. There is a s**t-ton of material produced for CoC, and one of the strengths of the game is that you can choose your inspiration - from R.E. Howard to M.R. James. A friend of mine, back in the day, ran a "Necroscope" campaign using CoC.

Also, it is often forgotten that Lovecraft wrote straight horror too (stories where the characters were nuked anyway). Not every adventure must be "cosmic horror" - as long as it has a strong theme of madness and delusional beliefs about how the World works. Characters like the Archaeologist at the end of M.R.James' "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad" start with hubris and end up permanently scarred. I could ran that short story as a one-evening CoC adventure and it would work wonderfully.

Agreed that Call of Cthulhu has a variety of different styles of sourcebooks and adventures, and that likewise Lovecraft had some variety of the sort of stories he wrote. But there is little if any overlap. Even Lovecraft's non-cosmic stories generally aren't gameable directly. One can adapt parts of his stories - especially his background and monsters, but the general focus is different.

Even over the variety of Lovecraft's stories - pulp "war on monsters" isn't a part of his range.