Lovecraft-based plots for Shadowrun? Options

[Dvalin]

Hey folks-

While reading the Target: Wastelands bit on the Antarctic, I was rather stricken by the mention of a 'city under the ice,' which was evidently radar images of geometric patterns. This reminded me a lot of Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, where an Old One (or some such) city is discovered by a pair of Antarctic explorers. I've had an urge, ever since, to do Lovecraft tie-ins.

That said -- have you guys ever had similar urges? If so, have you ever followed through with them? How successful were these plots, and what sources did you draw from?

[Dogsoup]

I've some plans laid out for converting the Hellboy comic "Conqueror Worm" into a run where Aztechnology is investigating a forgotten space program conducted by South American nazi fugitives.
In the finale the azzies manage to bring down the long lost capsule, but something has latched on to it as the vessel has been floating around in the cold, dead void for over a century...

[Centurion]

I think it would be as simple a matter as replacing the horrors with elder gods. The Azzie blood magic, etc, all would seem to tie into Lovecraftian cultist mythos. The Lovecraft story about the gang of cultists being shot up in the Louisiana swamp land could be converted into a plotline of the Azzies are trying to stir up trouble in CAS territory (or possibly found another focus like the one in south Texas, only this is something rather big and nasty instead) covertly through something that's even nastier than blood spirits. The CAS police agency/gov't who broke up the cultists wants someone to look into the Wierd Wierd Shit™ and needs some freelancers skilled in paranormal stuff to investigate.

[Ancient History]

Darke and his servitors make great Lovecraftian villians, as do insect spirits (in the original exposure of insect spirits, you start slowly discovering bits and pieces about them...until the final chapter when you have to wade through the hive, an a massive hack'n'slash gore-splattered nightmare until you find the queen...)

[Nikoli]

I suggest that if you can get your hands on it, read A Prince among men and A knight among knaves, written by Robert N. Charrette. He's also a writer for the old FASA books but under a different name, covered that very topic nicely.

[Ancient History]

Nikoli: WHat do you mean? Robert N. Charrette wrote SR under his own name, unless he was secretly NYX Smith, the only SR author with substantial Lovecraftian references in the game (We shall not count the Shoggoth program, nor the Al Azif reference by Steve Kenson).

[Nikoli]

Well, I coulda swore he used a pseudonym. Point is, they make references similair to what you are talking about. the time frame is during the awakening but before goblinization has occured. it's pretty cool.

[Seidaku]

I'm currently involved in a campaign where the runners are working for "Delta Green." :)

[Panzergeist]

Hell yes! A Lovecraft-inspired campaign would be great. The horrors are quite similar to Lovecraft's tales of ancient evils returning to Earth.

[Nikoli]

Honestly I've been reading a lot of HP lately and I'm just not scared. Probably because I've been watching horror flicks my whole life. My mom loves them and let me watch with her when I was young.

[mfb]

well, the thing about lovecraft is, he invented a lot of what are now the staples of horror fiction. his stuff doesn't seem scary because you've seen a lot of it before--but the reason you've seen it before is that he invented it (or, at least, made it popular).

edit: crap, they took down the online Lovecraft library.

[Siege]

[Panzergeist]

I'm not scared by a simple book either, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it.

[Siege]

[ShadowPhoenix]

Sounds like an idea to stuff into my scrapbook of ideas, I've played the actual CoC, loved the game and the system, I think I'll have to bring my friend back into my SR games with this one :P

[Nikoli]

Mmm, Call of Cthulu...

[ShadowPhoenix]

Nyarlehotep!, R'leyh! I played CoC as a big Black Man named Shaft, wore silk suits and carried a handcannon and an Elephant gun. He walked up a mountain in a snow storm in that suit, and succeeded @ his fortitude all 3 times the GM asked for it :P it was so cool, I'd like to use the CoC stuff in Shadowrun. I can just see shadowrunners deal with a dimensional shambler >: ) Which reminds me, I miss Quake I :(

[Kagetenshi]

*Hits Shadowphoenix with a lightning bolt, then smashes him into the ground*

~J

[ShadowPhoenix]

ahhh, memorys :P

[Lantzer]

Hmm, My last CoC character was was modeled after *me*, and was killed by a lamp, then proceeded (as an unquiet spirit with very minor abilites to project halucinations) to help in the the destruction of most of the midwest.

Oddly enough, what doomed the Midwest was the fact that I knew 2 of the party liked Sandman and Hellraiser comics. Hmmm....

[ShadowPhoenix]

my buddy was a hellraiser fan. I remember playing a mission in CoC against a vampire, I was a cult of Bast cultist, and my buddy was a Delta Force commando. I knew the run was fragged, when my buddy said "I look the Vampire right in the face as I pull out dual Assualt rifles on him" he rolls attack, barely does any damage to the vampire, get's compelled, my character notices the change in demeanor, and decides to take a shotgun to one of my buddies hands. Blowing his hand to pieces woke him from his control, and we got out of there, just in time for the vamp to cast summon Dimensional Shambler without the Bind :( in a pop of Ozone, the Shambler and the Vampire, were no more. My buddy later tried to sue my character, too bad my credit rating was higher :P. All this talk of CoC definitely makes me want to do some write ups, it may even work in my ganger campaign. How many dark nasties might roam in the Shadows of the Barrens, They'll be looking for a new HQ, I think we might have to make their HQ "haunted" :vegm:

[Panzergeist]

"Okay, stop battling the dragons, the old ones are coming. No, not the blood spirits, the old ones who used to rule the world. No, not the horrors, the even older ones who conquered earth after the horrors conquered it. No, not the aliens who put the stuff on Mars that the government covered up, those aliens were also conquered by the old ones. The old ones are beyond human, or dragon, or horror, or spirit comprehension. You know what, hell with it, earth is screwed. Maybe the old ones will have tougher environmental policies."

[Swansonegger]

[Glyph]

I don't know if I'd attempt mixing CoC in with Shadowrun. I don't think I'd ever be able to top this. :D

[Panzergeist]

Dear God.