Mixing Cthulhu and Shadowrun, Ia! Ia! Lofwyr ftaghn! Options

[Sabosect]

Well, my GM got the crazy idea of mixing SR and Cthulhu. In spite of the players all getting together and advising the opposite.

Well, we were out to try to stop Cthulhu from being summoned. The temple was guarded by cultists and Elder Things, but our combination of massive amounts of bullets comming from three miniguns and the backup power supplied by sixty drones, two mages, and a panther cannon pretty much reduced that to nothing. We break into the ritual chamber, shoot everything that moves, and get the lovely surprise of finding out we provided the final sacrifice necessary to summon Cthulhu. San saves all around and half of us are suffering from insanity. Then comes a wild idea I had.

Me: I want to intimidate Cthulhu.
GM: You want to what?
Me: Intimidate Cthulhu.
GM: Okay, I'll allow it. But this roll better be fucking high. And by high, I mean you must be a minor deity to make it.
Me (after a lot of rolling of my puny 4 dice): Will a 63 do?
GM: I fucking hate you!

Long story short, Cthulhu committed suicide out of terror, we escaped alive, the GM learned his lesson, and now I have to deal with a GM who has vowed vengeance against me. Since I'm GMing next session, his group gets a lovely hike through the Yucaton. Ya know, just to rub it in.

Edit: Scroll down a few posts. A houserule I forgot to include that happened for this story, which is another reason the players opposed it.

Well, anyone have stories they want to share about this?

[Fresno Bob]

You rolled ten sixes in a row?

[Wounded Ronin]

Uh, I call bullshit. Because a roll of 63 is extremely unlikely. The % chance of this story being true is really small.

[Sabosect]

D'oh! I forgot to include the houserule the GM used for this.

Basically, due to him wanting us to have a chance of surviving, he ruled we could add the totals of our dice together. The rolls I got: 24 (I refused to roll it again after the other dice), 11, 15, 13. Note that he did not adjust any other part of the game. It was one of those time where he made a very bad decision and paid for it.

So, yeah, the GM was being an idiot. Let's move on.

[FrostyNSO]

[Mister Juan]

[BookWyrm]

Also, if they *do* come across Cthulhu again, just explain it as the last time, they faced off against an avatar of the Great Old One, & not the real thing. The real deal would have leterally blown their minds....out of the back of their skulls.

And, most avatar-creating deities get mighty ticked off if you do away with their little piece of themselves....

[Clyde]

[fistandantilus4....]

had a player roll a 47 to shott down the barrel of a gun once.

"never say no, assign difficutly."

Yay! Thread hijcak!

[Sabosect]

I once saw someone roll a 43 for a called shot. The TN was only 11 at the time.

[Jürgen Hubert]

I think it is possible to mix Shadowrun and the Cthulhu Mythos without getting too silly.

Good starting points would be Delta Green and Delta Green: Countdown, which feature lots of information on spycraft, companies with dubious moral standards, modern cults, and top-secret government agencies - all perfect fodder for Shadowrun.

The question is how much of the "Cycles of Magic" and the Earthdawn backstory you want to incorporate - while the Horrors are already fairly similar to Lovecraftian monsters in many ways, their feeding on human fear and emotions makes them a bit too personal. Most Mythos entities are deeply uncaring about humans, in one way or another.

Personally, I'd explain the "Return of Magic" with the gradual dissolution of the Dreamlands - many of the entities from that dimension are reborn on Earth (thus explaining the existence of metahumans), and the resulting influx of magical energies make magic possible without constant threat to sanity (though there should always be a chance of mental problems when you botch a spell).

And letting dragons make casual references like "I witnessed the fall of Sarnath" would be cool...

[nezumi]

Earthdawn stuff is great for this. I did a big long post combining it with Sumerian Mythology, which adds some more legitimacy and historical interest for geeks like me. In my experience, it really isn't too hard, just don't drop names and don't throw people into constant gun battles. Build up suspense.

[Ancient History]

I like the musty, ancient tomes of profane lore. My grimoires have to be chained to the shelves while the Illdatch and the Darkhold cower forgotten in the corner.

[Toshiaki]

[nezumi]

With age comes Wisdom (as well as a better banana stock).

[Snow_Fox]

How do you intimidate Cthulhu? Is how our GM would respond. The thing is 100 feet tall. This is like a caprenter ant trying to intimidate a gorwn human. It shouldbe more than just a role of dice. you should have a usggestion as to what you're doing. Otherwise i think you're gonna be like Hank Azaria in Godzilla.

We've done Cthulhu type stuff but the major difference is in the books-which I love but made a mistake of reading for the first time in college, when I lived alone, in New England, BRRRRR, is that the characters in the books usually are not armed. maybe a revolver but usually just their pitiful wits against the darkness. Not assault rifles armed with APDS or assault shot guns with Big D's temper.

Now who wants to go to the clam bake at Innsmouth?

[Pthgar]

ook

[hyzmarca]

How do you intimidate Cthulhu?

Ray, when someone asks if you're a God, you say "Yes"!

I'm pretty such it would involve convincingly claiming to be a being more powerful that Cthulhu himself. There are such beings and, given Cthulhu's status as the high priest of his people, it is most likely that he worships some of them.

[Snow_Fox]

I think the key word here is "Convincingly"

As duly deputized representative of the city, county and state of New York I must order you to cease and desist all paranornal activity and relocate to the nearest alternate plane or parallel dimension!

Thanks, Ray.

[hyzmarca]

I would argue that making a TN of 63 is pretty darn convincing. The fact that the bluff is so absurd just makes it even more convincing.

[Snow_Fox]

but by standard rules they didn't beat a 63, they added dice together. A target of 63 means you've got to get a single die to roll a 6 ten times in a row, not start adding up mulitple dice. Heck I've got a sack full of dice. I could roll 100+ each itme, no troublewith that system.

[hyzmarca]

It isn't his fault the GM made a stupid house rule.

[SFEley]

[Nyxll]

[Lady Door]