I finished this up last night.

It has about 60 pages of setting information. Most of it isn't Mythos-specific. There is information about Roman life, Roman cities, etc..

Character creation next. Players take on appropriate occupations, such as Centurion, Druid, Farmer, Rabbi, Scholar, Senator. As you can imagine, the skill list is shorter and different. Starting skill points are still based on Education, which is...interesting.

One of the biggest changes is the way characters recover Sanity. They do so via restful recuperation or institutionalized violence. (Yes, you read that last bit correctly.)

There are Mythos tomes - they're just scrolls and tablets. The list seems thin.

There are some new Mythos beasties, such as Cyclopes and Harpies, and some unique monsters, such as Charybdis, as well.

I'm a big Call of Cthulhu devotee, but I don't know about this one. Some of the changes and absences might be too much of a change for me. There are elements which, to my mind, are Call of Cthulhu - such as old tomes - that I'm not sure Cthulhu Invictus can pull off.

Anyone else get it? What do you think?

Seanchai

I have Cthulhu Invictus.  While I haven't been able to read it thoroughly yet, I like what I have read so far.

Overall, though, it strikes me as describing a setting that is closer to R.E. Howard (a la 'Worms of the Earth') than H.P. Lovecraft.  The adventure especially suggests this to me.

I don't think that this is a bad thing at all, as I love the Howardian 'swords & sorcery' ethos, and many of Howard's stories include references to Lovecraftian horrors.  I believe that the author is explicit about the Howard influence (e.g., the description of the Picts comes pretty much directly from Howard's Bran Mak Morn tales).

The cover is awesome. Other than that, i've got nothing.*

*Although the cover almost got me to buy it...

In principle, the idea of Cthulhu in Ancient Rome sounds absolutely awesome.

In practice, I'm not entirely convinced that it can be pulled off; because if PCs feel helpless in the 1920s version, the Ancient Rome version has got to be exceedingly complicated in that regard.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;356057In principle, the idea of Cthulhu in Ancient Rome sounds absolutely awesome.

In practice, I'm not entirely convinced that it can be pulled off; because if PCs feel helpless in the 1920s version, the Ancient Rome version has got to be exceedingly complicated in that regard.

RPGPundit

I ran a Roman CoC one shot once.

When they encountered a dark young, they organised spearmen, trapped it and killed it.

It turns out Roman soldiers are a touch less prone to running away than 1920s academics.

It may not be too Lovecraftian in tone, but I'd like to run a Cthulhu Invictus game where the PC's are members of a secret mythos-hunting order answering directly to Imperial Authority.

I'd start the game during the reign of Tiberius, right after the fall of Sejanus (the PCs predecessors would have been victims of the purge that resulted in its wake).

The nominal head of the order and the recipient of any confiscated tomes would be Tiberius' young, and initally sane heir: Caligula.

Quote from: Seanchai;355688There are elements which, to my mind, are Call of Cthulhu - such as old tomes - that I'm not sure Cthulhu Invictus can pull off.

I do not have the game (and I'm not a fan of the era, even if an one-shot deep in some European forest during this or that Roman war could be interesting). However, two adventure hooks/ideas come readily to mind:

A) Oral tradition - which explains why some priests are just weird...

B) The burning of the Library of Alexandria, and the effort done by some (who are just weird...) to save and hide away part of the books.

Quote from: Balbinus;356063It turns out Roman soldiers are a touch less prone to running away than 1920s academics.

Did they wear armor? Did that help?

Seanchai

Quote from: Reckall;356092A) Oral tradition - which explains why some priests are just weird...

That's cool, but how do the PCs go insane from hearing the story?

Seanchai

Quote from: Tipsy;356087It may not be too Lovecraftian in tone, but I'd like to run a Cthulhu Invictus game where the PC's are members of a secret mythos-hunting order answering directly to Imperial Authority.

I'd start the game during the reign of Tiberius, right after the fall of Sejanus (the PCs predecessors would have been victims of the purge that resulted in its wake).

The nominal head of the order and the recipient of any confiscated tomes would be Tiberius' young, and initally sane heir: Caligula.

Got to admit dude, that's a kickass idea.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Seanchai;356096Did they wear armor? Did that help?

Seanchai

They made their san rolls, which is luck in large part, so nobody went down on that.

Massed pilum volleys, armour did help, then close in with gladius and shield.

There may also have been a pit trap.

Basically, the key thing was they thought of it as a monster that could be killed, just a particularly fearsome one.  Once the PCs think that way, an awful lot of CoC beasties can actually be taken out, particularly with organised firepower - even low tech.

Quote from: RPGPundit;356057...
In practice, I'm not entirely convinced that it can be pulled off; because if PCs feel helpless in the 1920s version, the Ancient Rome version has got to be exceedingly complicated in that regard...

I think that Cthulhu Invictus is 50% R.E. Howard and 50% Lovecraft (unlike 1890s/1920s/modern CoC, which has no Howardian influence).  The ethos is pretty much that of Howard's "Worms of the Earth."

Quote from: Tipsy;356087It may not be too Lovecraftian in tone, but I'd like to run a Cthulhu Invictus game where the PC's are members of a secret mythos-hunting order answering directly to Imperial Authority.

I'd start the game during the reign of Tiberius, right after the fall of Sejanus (the PCs predecessors would have been victims of the purge that resulted in its wake).

The nominal head of the order and the recipient of any confiscated tomes would be Tiberius' young, and initally sane heir: Caligula.

It's a shame I'm in Texas and you're in Ontario, because I'd definitely want to play in that one.

Cthulhu Invictus sounds rad.

For ideas how it would work, read that Max Brooks' zombie graphic novel.  The free preview story involves a Roman outpost dealing with a zombie outbreak.

Another good comic preview is the one for the Arcane Legions miniatures game.  A Roman soldier's family is caught up in magical mists that transform his beloved wife and son into monster of myth.

He deals with them as it should be done, with the requisite anguish over the situation afterwards.

If you like the whole "Going bonkers constantly" bit of CoC I don't see a Roman campaign working, but if you like a slightly pulpier, more bad ass thing where people who believe in the supernatural have to DEAL with the supernatural sort of thing it would rock on.

Sure the SAN loss is gonna be lower and people KNOW this sort of thing exists, but its harder to take out Deep Ones when you don't have Tommy Guns on you.  And no cell phones or satellite radios to call in back up.  Horses and chariots probably can't outrun the Mi Go.