Author Topic: Setting help!  (Read 3679 times)

Offline BigMrE

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Setting help!
« on: November 09, 2012, 07:54:13 PM »
I'm looking to set a game in the modern Boston area, and I was thinking about using some Cthulhu mythos stuff. Does anyone know of any books or websites that would be helpful?

Offline Addicted2aa

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2012, 08:08:37 PM »
RPPR
The Unspeakable Oath

Read Shadows over Insmouth, Mountains of Madness, Call of Cthulhu, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Thing on The Doorstep, and the Dunwich Horror.

Also John Dies at The End, isn't Chtulhu per se or Boston, but it has a sort of Neo-Lovecraft feel and is really good, and probably better at describing how to integrate that idea with a modern game.
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Offline BigMrE

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2012, 08:13:37 PM »
I've read the books, thanks. I'm wondering if there are any settings that I can "borrow" from (maybe Delta Green or something).

Offline Addicted2aa

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #3 on: November 09, 2012, 08:29:49 PM »
Check out the Unspeakable Oath and RPPR. Both are RPG Podcasts. Unspeakable Oath is CoC focused entirely, while RPPR discusses RPG's more generally, but often with a Focus on Horror.  The RPPR actually plays will have plenty of Cthulhu stuff you can steal. Any of the Chaoism stuff should work for you. A good number of the modules start in Boston area

What else are you looking to borrow for a setting if not the setting intrinsic in the books?
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Offline BigMrE

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2012, 08:56:36 PM »
Lore, locations, etc that we can use in city generation

Offline Addicted2aa

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2012, 09:20:16 PM »
Right, well all the lore and location you should want will be in the stories, so good luck.
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Offline tuttman1234

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2012, 01:24:30 AM »
And as far as being Boston specific, nothing beats hitting the web for local supernatural folklore.
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Offline Haru

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2012, 03:18:26 AM »
A quick look at the map reveals 2 perfect things about Boston:
First, it is directly at the ocean. A lot of Lovecraft's monsters live in or come out of the ocean, which makes Boston an ideal place for something lovecraftian from the get go.

Secondly: There is a place called "World's End" right there in the bay. Admittedly, it is not exactly in Boston, but neither was Victor Sell's Lakehouse. A hidden tunnelsystem leading to a cave, where some cult is trying to call up the OLD ONE. On that note, the OLD ONE could even lie beneath that very island. Yes, it's been done, but that doesn't mean it can't work.

Honestly, Google Maps and Google Streetview are great tools to get started. If you find something interesting, even if it is only by name, pick it out and you will soon have more ideas than you can carry.
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Offline BigMrE

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2012, 03:33:16 AM »
And as far as being Boston specific, nothing beats hitting the web for local supernatural folklore.

Yeah, that's what I was looking for, but haven't found much as of yet...I think my google-fu is lacking today...

Offline tuttman1234

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2012, 03:40:14 AM »
Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the fates design. Save what once was lost, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine.

For Mdodd. Rest in peace friend.

Drip, Drip, Drop.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #10 on: November 10, 2012, 03:53:22 AM »
Dunno if this is helpful, but there's a webcomic called Lovecraft Is Missing that I quite like. It's got plenty of Mythos stuff, maybe some of it would fit your game.

Offline noclue

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #11 on: November 11, 2012, 06:34:37 AM »
Here's some stuff:

Boston, MA — The first UFO sighting in U.S. history occurred here in 1639, but the metro’s claim to the supernatural does not stop there.  The Boston Athenaeum and the Commons are both rumored to be haunted, the area was home to several witch trials in the 1600s, and the ghost town of Dogwood is located in Suffolk County. 

Also http://www.bostonhaunts.com/2012_07_01_archive.html

"Many students at Boston College have encountered an unearthly hound that haunts O’Connell House to this day. Be on the watch for an actor who sits in on rehearsals at Huntington Theatre and restless spirits rumored to haunt Boston Common at night."

"...the Charlesgate Hotel...This creepy building is a hotbed of alleged paranormal activity since it was original built in 1891."

"Beacon Hill's Acorn Street, known as one of the most-photographed spots in America...is also rumored to be Boston's most haunted. There have been numerous sightings of ghostly, full-bodied apparitions wearing turn-of-the-century and Civil War-era garb passing by the street's ornate, gas-lit lamps."



Offline Taran

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #12 on: November 13, 2012, 01:07:15 AM »
There's a boston game in the play by post section.  I haven't looked through it myself, but it might be worth a look.

Offline CrackedOzy

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Re: Setting help!
« Reply #13 on: November 14, 2012, 05:54:22 PM »
I've read the books, thanks. I'm wondering if there are any settings that I can "borrow" from (maybe Delta Green or something).

Mage the Awakening uses Boston as it's core city. Both the core Mage book and the Boston Unveiled books have some stuff you may find useful.