I started sketching on a game in the vein of Eldritch Skies, the game of Lovecraftian horror minus the horror, and also minus all the Probluhmatick stuff… and unfortunately also minus all the dark poetry and evocative ideas, because no one seems to have pointed out to the writer that when you take out all the Probluhmatick stuff, it helps if you replace it with something instead of just slicing off huge chunks of the genre and then presenting the mutilating carcass as an improvement.
All that said, the idea of Lovecraft without quite so much swooning and pearl-clutching and, yes, without quite so much hysterical xenophobia, isn’t without its appeal. I mean, let’s face it, sometimes the endless wailing about how horrible it is that this thing is mixing with that thing even though those things aren’t supposed to mix!!! gets a little tiresome even for a cosmic horror fan. So why not a game where you get to shoot Cthulhu with a raygun?
Still, Eldritch Skies needs some serious massaging, not just in the rules but in the setting, before it can be a decent game, so I’m not looking to make a straight port of it so much as a reimagining. Hey, Cthulhu is public domain anyway, might as well.
So what’s first?
Well… first off, let’s involve the Dreamlands in a more serious way. In fact, let’s make them half the game, in the same way as the Umbra in Werewolf: the Apocalypse or the Underworld in Mummy: the Resurrection. Let’s make sure that there are always things going on both in the waking world and in the Dreamlands, and that they are frequently connected – that information about waking problems often needs to be found in the Dreamlands, and that disturbances in the Dreamlands are often caused by dysfunctions in the waking world. Whenever a character falls asleep, they go to the Dreamland; whenever a character wakes up, they return to the waking world.
Speaking of which, let’s give each character 3 “strain boxes” that measures how close they are to freaking out. We’ll forego physical health entirely – that’s not normally what’s at stake in Lovecraft’s stories, and as for Eldritch Skies, the weapon of choice there are Yithian stunguns that knock people out non-lethally. Being physically hurt causes strain, but only because being physically hurt is upsetting; in the main, it’s your state of mind we keep track of. So, when you mark too much strain in the waking world, you pass out and end up in the Dreamlands, and when you mark too much strain in the Dreamlands, you wake up in a cold sweat. Also, whenever you wake or fall asleep for any reason, you clear all strain.
To give “death” some teeth, though, let’s also give each character 10 “alienation boxes” that measure how close they are to losing themselves to the Mythos. Every time you wake or pass out as a result of strain, you mark alienation. When you mark too much alienation, you leave the game in some way decided by your playbook.
Speaking of:
THE AGENT
High Practicality, low Imagination (worldly but dull)
Someone must put a lid on the chaos, and it’s your bad luck that it had to be you. Empowered by the authorities and trained to withstand the sanity-shredding effects of the Mythos (for a while, at least), you’ve been sent out alongside the lunatics that the agency employs as troubleshooters in the hopes that you’ll keep them under some kind of control. To help you keep up with the inhuman abilities of your colleagues, you’ve also been outfitted with some gadgets that you’ve been assured are cutting-edge technology… but it’s odd how often their effects seem to mimic what the freaks get up to…
When you exceed your alienation tract, you get forcibly retired by your superiors, possibly to a padded cell.
THE DREAMER
High Imagination, low Practicality (open-minded but distracted)
On this pale, prosaic Earth, you are little enough – a poet, an dreamer, an impractical person in a practical world. But every night, you enter a truer reality, and there, you are little less than a god, wandering an endless land of wonders in search of ever-greater glories. It is with reluctance that you return each morning, but elder dreamers have warned you of the dangers of completely abandoning the flesh.
When you exceed your alienation track, you overdose to enter the Dreamlands permanently.
THE GHOUL
High Rigor, low Intellect (fierce but simple-minded)
You were placed in a cradle as a child, and grew up watching the world through cold scavenger eyes, not knowing until recently why you always felt different – why you felt called to claw and fight and steal. You know now that you are of an older and more virile breed than the lazy monkeys around you… and yet, some semblance of fondness for your adoptive world remains and makes you want to prove your worth to it.
When you exceed your alienation track, you find your way to the deep tunnels and leave the sunlit world forever.
THE HYBRID
High Practicality, low Rigor (insidious but fragile)
It was the will of Father Dagon that the briny blood of the ocean be mingled with the sweet one of the land. The experiment – or crusade – or migration – seemingly failed, but you remain, a scion of both worlds. The ocean whispers in your dreams, but you are not ready to go to it yet. Perhaps your presence here is still part of Father Dagon’s true plan to bind the oceans and continents together?
When you exceed your alienation track, you throw yourself in the ocean in search of beckoning Y’ha-nthlei.
THE PSYCHIC
High Imagination, low Rigor (intuitive but erratic)
For whatever reason, you were born different, with wild supernatural abilities that are only barely under your control. Some theorise that the appearance of people like you signify humanity’s gradual evolution into… something else. All you know is that the visions and headaches get a little easier to bear when you put your gifts to good use.
When you exceed your alienation track, you transcend your body to become one of the daemon spirits beyond the veil of sleep.
THE SORCERER
High Intellect, low Imagination (educated but hidebound)
The folly of ancient man was to misunderstand and misname his stranger arts as “magic.” The folly of modern man was to think that those arts were not real. You know better than both – you have studied the eldritch sciences, teased out the potent formulas and alchemies that were hidden among the superstition and the lies. You know that many who have walked your path came to a bad end, but they surely lacked your discipline and drive.
When you exceed your alienation track, you perform an ill-advised ritual and trap yourself beyond time and space.
And finally, the basic moves of the game:
When you shape the dream, describe what should happen next and roll +Dream. 7-9, your embellishment comes true, but in a twisted or ironic way, causing as much trouble as it solves. 10+, you rewrite the reality of the Dreamworld exactly to your liking.
Note: This move is only possible in the Dreamlands, for obvious reasons.
When you make an intuitive leap, roll +Dream. 7-9, you get a hint as to what you should do next or what is really going on, but you get a fatalistic sense of impending doom; take -1 forward. 10+, you get a glimpse of the true state of the world without being disturbed by it… which should maybe worry you.
When you perform an eldritch spell, roll +Intellect. 7-9, the spell succeeds, but it echoes within your soul and threatens the bounds of your sanity. Mark alienation. 10+, the spell succeeds, and you withstand its effects.
Note: The Sorcerer can take advances that allows him to learn specific spells so well that casting them with a partial success only causes him to mark strain, not alienation.
When you put the pieces together, roll +Intellect. 7-9, ask 1 question below. 10+, ask 1 question, and you may choose to ask 1 more in return for marking strain.
- What have I read or studied that reminds me of this?
- How do I make this stop?
- Who is lying about something?
- What should I avoid doing here at all cost?
- What led up to this?
When you get to where you’re going, roll +Practicality. 7-9, you make progress on your journey, but choose 1 complication below. 10+, the same, but you also run across an unexpected opportunity or resource along the way.
- It takes a long time.
- You wear yourself out; mark strain.
- You attract unwelcome attention.
- You have to pay a price, whether in goods or in blood.
When you acquire what you need, roll +Practicality. 7-9, you find some goods, services or connections that are useful for your purposes, but you become entangled in a situation or have to pay a steep price. 10+, you got hold of what you needed easily, or recalled that you already had it with you.
When you push for what you want, roll +Rigor. 7-9, choose 1 option below. 10+, choose 2 options.
- You hurt someone worse than they hurt you.
- You don’t mark strain.
- You seize control of something.
- You advance your tactical position.
- You make a clean getaway.
When you endure great hardship, roll +Rigor. 6-, mark strain. 7-9, you go on, but take -1 ongoing to this move until next time you wake up or fall asleep. 10+, you soldier on undeterred.
That’s off to a good start, I think. Next up would be the special abilities and advances of the different playbook. We’ll see if I end up continuing.
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