[RPG]: CthulhuTech, reviewed by C.W.Richeson (4/3)

[RPGnet Reviews]

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13992.phtml

Christopher W. Richeson's Summary:

<I>Cthulhutech</I> merges Mythos with science fiction, resulting in a high action game of fighting against the horrors with magic and mecha.

Go to the full review for more information.

[J.T.]

Great review, you covered all the bits that I found good and bad about the game.

I really love the setting but the rules are, as you indicate, a little bland. I took part in an online game a few months ago and while we were role playing it was great but as soon as we had to use the rules it kind of fell apart and the game folded.

My biggest problem with the whole thing is not being able to mix groups easily, it tends to lend itself to one group games rather than a good mix of PC types. I can get passed the rules problems, they are workable but just boring but not being able to mix PCs easily broke it for me.

It’s a shame as I like the setting so much I bought a coloured copy when it came out but was afraid to read it too much as the binding was a bit shoddy. When the new black and white copy hit the shelves I bought that too and was able to sit down and read it from cover to cover.

I may port the setting to another rules set maybe BRP or even savage worlds but that won’t happen in the near future.

J.T.

[oni no won]

Soldiers, occultists, Tagers (super soldiers), mecha pilots, and Engel (super mecha) pilots don’t mix well together mechanically or thematically, and there’s little guidance from the book as to how to structure a gaming group with these extremely varied options.

The book recommends that you play the game in 3 different levels. One is playing mechs, another is playing on a super human level, the Tagers, and finally as a regular soldier. It is not meant to be played mixing them up.

Also, it says up front that it is a storyteller system (which I interpret as meaning the rules are very simplified). Combat mechanics relies much more on description since combat is the same whether playing mech, Tager, or regular Joe.

I do agree that Tagers are not as flexible in chargen as we would like.

Nice review by the way!

[oni no won]

Originally Posted by J.T.

Great review, you covered all the bits that I found good and bad about the game.

I really love the setting but the rules are, as you indicate, a little bland. I took part in an online game a few months ago and while we were role playing it was great but as soon as we had to use the rules it kind of fell apart and the game folded.

My biggest problem with the whole thing is not being able to mix groups easily, it tends to lend itself to one group games rather than a good mix of PC types. I can get passed the rules problems, they are workable but just boring but not being able to mix PCs easily broke it for me.

It’s a shame as I like the setting so much I bought a coloured copy when it came out but was afraid to read it too much as the binding was a bit shoddy. When the new black and white copy hit the shelves I bought that too and was able to sit down and read it from cover to cover.

I may port the setting to another rules set maybe BRP or even savage worlds but that won’t happen in the near future.

J.T.

I think when you have wide variation in power level, it is very difficult to mix such a group up. I've seen people complain about RIFTS because it allows such a mixture thereby compromising balance between players and even the adventure. CT tries to maintain some balance by recommmending you play in one of those three levels.

[J.T.]

Perhaps where the online game went wrong the GM allowed us to play whatever we wanted so I took a recon sniper while some others took mecha and tagers.

As I said before I like the setting and got both versions of the book and the supplement about the cults. I will probably buy other supplements as well but not sure if I'll ever use them with the rules.

Maybe I should give them another read to see if they'll grow on me.

J.T.

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by J.T.

Perhaps where the online game went wrong the GM allowed us to play whatever we wanted so I took a recon sniper while some others took mecha and tagers.

Yeah that would be a problem. Several PC options are explicitly stated as not being designed to go alongside others.

Every CTech game I have been in has followed the advice in the book about coming up with a group concept and going from there. As such, you get variation of PCs but enough similarity to make the game work well.

[Arkat]

Good review. But my taste in crunch differs from yours. For me the mechanics in CTech was a plesant surprise. I bought the game because the setting and premise intrigued me, but I never expected a mecha game to have rules I would ever consider running. But I could run CTech! What you find bland, I find unified and easy to implement. Even mecha combat would be easy to run! That is a first for me.

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by Arkat

Good review. But my taste in crunch differs from yours. For me the mechanics in CTech was a plesant surprise. I bought the game because the setting and premise intrigued me, but I never expected a mecha game to have rules I would ever consider running. But I could run CTech! What you find bland, I find unified and easy to implement. Even mecha combat would be easy to run! That is a first for me.

I was the same. I have been disappointed that no one had taken the character focussed (yet traditional) style of rules from the likes of WoD and applied it into a mecha game. They tended to either be heavily tactical or extremely light. CTech was a great mix with a rule system that balances detail with ease of play well.

[C.W.Richeson]

Originally Posted by Arkat

Good review. But my taste in crunch differs from yours. For me the mechanics in CTech was a plesant surprise. I bought the game because the setting and premise intrigued me, but I never expected a mecha game to have rules I would ever consider running. But I could run CTech! What you find bland, I find unified and easy to implement. Even mecha combat would be easy to run! That is a first for me.

That makes a lot of sense. I remember playing Battletech with my friends back when and being sad that it took so much work to get the game going. Mecha haven't gotten a very good treatment from some games in terms of rules accessibility.

[RooksGambit]

Christopher, you know I respect your opinion!

I'm a little surprised you didn't like the "game" part of the game. I never had a doubt you'd like the setting, though.

I know that I could easily coerce Tim and a few other recetly-met aquaintances into a CTech mecha game. Of course, these are the guys I didn't have to put much effort into learning the complex, 40 button custom cockpit controller of the XBox game "Steel Battalion". Which is a hard-core mecha simulation sort of thing.

Then again, I've played with you, and I get how a little bit of pidgeon-holing can set you on edge. I always loved your games because we were all encouraged to be as different and varied as possible, and you always found a way to incorporate some wacky ideas into a storyline.

Some of the design philosophy behind CTech is somewhat your anathema, I suppose. It very much appeals to me, though.