Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Call of Cthulhu

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had not yet read any Lovecraft stories. Well I just read the Call of Cthulhu. It was fascinating. Also completely horrifying. It does make me want to explore the idea of such alien beings in my games. However I do not believe, as the stories of Lovecraft posit that humankind is insignificant. I believe that we are even created in the very image of the Creator. To some degree or another that idea has shaped my idea of mankind's role in the fictional universes I set my games in. So my view of beings like Cthulhu is also shaped by that idea. It would be entirely possible for an adventuring party in my games to prevail once and for all against dread Cthulhu, not merely stalling the "inevitable", but averting it entirely. Not very Lovecraftian at all. More similar to the treatment of such beings in World of Warcraft, wherein being like C'thun and Yogg-Saron are to put it frankly, Raid Bosses. Now enemies in my games are not quite "Raid Bosses" that can be farmed for loot and the like, but a true adherence to the spirit of the Cthulhu Mythos would likely not give such beings statblocks and the like at all. I am not ashamed of this philosophy, but merely note the dichotomy between the spirit of the original material and my treatment of it. In fact I am considering having some kind of Chtulhuoid being be the guardian of the Water Crystal in my Legacy of the Titans campaign. Though as the Kraken that was the Fiend of Water in Final Fantasy, the inspiration for my Legacy of the Titans campaign in the first place, was quite like Chtulhu anyway, I might just use a Kraken and emphasis the similarities.sp

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