Greg and Sandy back in charge of Chaosium

AmazingOnionMan · June 03, 2015, 08:37:31 AM

Huh.. didn't see that one coming. Part of me is super-exited. Part of me is worried they're only there to salvage the kickstarters. But I choose to be positive - heck, Sandy back behind the tentacles of CoC is great news!

For my next surprise, I'd like to read that Ken Rolston has dug up his dice again.

Stainless · June 03, 2015, 08:55:55 AM

I don't know the details of the business history, but didn't they "abandon" the company? Are they now trying to fix the crop they sowed? Seems a bit hypocritical to me. I'm not expecting much other than spin doctoring.

Brad · June 03, 2015, 09:02:18 AM

Quote from: Necrozius;834739Somewhat related: is there a general consensus among CoC fans about which edition is "best"? I'd like to finally get a hard copy for my shelf; I don't care if it's a version that came out 20 years ago.

I have 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 5.6th and they're all pretty much the same rules-wise. If I were to pick the better one-book version, I'd go with 4th. The boxed set, however, is probably best out of all of those, although can be a bit cumbersome at times. I've never seen the 3rd edition boxed set, but heard it's better than 2nd...so might be something I need to track down.

Akrasia · June 03, 2015, 10:25:24 AM

This is quite unexpected news. I thought that Petersen was happy doing his kickstarter boardgames and the like. But this certainly looks like a positive development for CoC.

Akrasia · June 03, 2015, 10:30:46 AM

Quote from: Simlasa;834704Meanwhile, IMO, CoC 7e felt like a desperate move in the wrong direction... after playing it I found the mechanical changes just enough to annoy... change for the sake of change.

I agree that some of the changes in CoC 7e are cases of "change for the sake of change" (e.g., making characteristics % instead of 3-18).

Having run six sessions (3 adventures) of a CoC 7e campaign now, though, I think that it runs very smoothly -- just as smoothly as pre-7e did, if not more so. And I find it easy to ignore the optional 'fiddly bits' I don't like.

(As an aside, none of my players ever want to 'push' rolls, except in life-or-death situations, because of the negative consequences of a failed 'push'.)

Quote from: Opaopajr;834720Hopefully this is the last of the "Let's Fuck with a Great Old System!" movement, instead of making their own.

Claims that 7e CoC is markedly different in mechanics or flavour from earlier editions are highly exaggerated IME.

Simlasa · June 03, 2015, 12:06:59 PM

Quote(As an aside, none of my players ever want to 'push' rolls, except in life-or-death situations, because of the negative consequences of a failed 'push'.)

It did seem odd and I think that it might have been due to how Push was presented by the Keeper... as a 'You can do this with your skill rolls now!'... in combination with most of them never having played CoC before.

QuoteClaims that 7e CoC is markedly different in mechanics or flavour from earlier editions are highly exaggerated IME.

It's different enough... for no benefit I can perceive... that I'd find myself having to ignore/change more than I'd like to when it's easier to just stick with an earlier edition.
Also, having read the thing, I feel like there is a shift in the spirit of the game... including narrative suggestions such as having Players describe NPCs and settings.

K Peterson · June 03, 2015, 12:34:23 PM

Quote from: Necrozius;834739Somewhat related: is there a general consensus among CoC fans about which edition is "best"? I'd like to finally get a hard copy for my shelf; I don't care if it's a version that came out 20 years ago.

With the impending release of 7e, you'll probably get less of a general consensus among CoC fans than at any other time in the game's history. I haven't seen any 'edition wars' break out on any forums over CoC editions, but the changes introduced in 7e certainly could add fuel to that fire.

Personally, I'd recommend 6th edition. Intuitive, abstract, evocative. I don't see any point in 'upgrading' to 7e. More cruft, goofy rules changes, a bloated text. Really, quite a disappointment, IMO.

Akrasia · June 03, 2015, 01:09:08 PM

Quote from: TristramEvans;834707Not ot derail the thread, but what were the mechanical changes in CoC 7th?

I cover some of them in my review of the 7e quick start rules.
http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=31309

Akrasia · June 03, 2015, 01:13:25 PM

Quote from: Necrozius;834739Somewhat related: is there a general consensus among CoC fans about which edition is "best"? I'd like to finally get a hard copy for my shelf; I don't care if it's a version that came out 20 years ago.

I have a special fondness for the hardcover 5.5 edition book. But rules-wise, it's identical to the 6e book, which likely is more available.

The quick-start rules PDF for CoC 7e is free and only 20 pages long (excluding the scenario). You can get it here:
http://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-7th-edition-quick-start-rules-pdf/

There was a similar quick-start PDF for 6e, but I'm not sure if it's still available online.

Godfather Punk · June 03, 2015, 01:14:10 PM

I own 3 or 4 (and soon one more) versions of the CoC rules but I always return to the 3rd edition GW hardcover. Maybe it's just familiarity with that rules set but I never had any problem using other edition scenarios with them.

On topic, some quotes from Sandy on Yog-Sothoth, KS and RPGGeek:

QuoteHey all, this is Sandy Petersen.
I am now involved with Chaosium's management and my number one focus is fulfillment of Call of Cthulhu 7th edition. I have not been involved with the campaign at all ere now but we are looking to see precisely where CoC 7th edition is. I was told a month ago that HotOE was being shipped to Europe, and I will seek to confirm this.
Anyone who's been involved with my other Kickstarter campaigns knows that I am a big fan of transparency and communication and I expect to bring this to Chaosium's campaigns as well.
Sandy Petersen

QuoteHello all. This is Sandy Petersen.

Yesterday, Chaosium went through a major restructuring. Charlie Krank is no longer President of the company. Greg Stafford and I are now in charge.

I can't speak for Greg, but my number one focus for Chaosium is seeing how to get the Call of Cthulhu 7th edition campaign fulfilled as expeditiously and efficiently as possible.

We have not yet had a chance to completely examine everything that is going on with the company, but my hope and plan is that we do not lose ground with the takeover but in fact that the production is accelerated.

Yog-Sothoth Neblod Zin

Sandy Petersen

QuoteHey all, this is Sandy Petersen of course.

I've been keeping my head down for a while, working on other matters, but I wanted to drop a note about what happened at Chaosium yesterday. You guys ought to know.

1) Charlie Krank is no longer President of Chaosium.

2) Greg Stafford is President of Chaosium. (again).

3) Ben Monroe, whose name many of you may recognize, is assisting Greg in managing Chaosium's physical facilities, its warehouse, material, etc.

4) I am now involved with Chaosium (again). My current status is VP of the Board of Directors (Greg is President).

5) I cannot speak for Greg, but my number one concern is seeing that the Call of Cthulhu 7th edition gets out to the backers.

One way of looking at it is that the old Chaosium team is back again. Personally I think this is cause for rejoicing not worry but there you have it.

Yog-Sothoth Neblod Zin

Sandy Petersen

So Blatter quit FIFA, Sandy and Greg are back heading Chaosium. Maybe if some of this rubs off, there is hope for Exalted 3e too

Akrasia · June 03, 2015, 01:20:06 PM

Quote from: K Peterson;834780I haven't seen any 'edition wars' break out on any forums over CoC editions, but the changes introduced in 7e certainly could add fuel to that fire.

Eh, I doubt it, at least amongst people who actually play 7e. The fact of the matter is that 7e plays very much like 6e (and other pre-7e versions). Most of the new rules are optional or easily ignored (though a few do improve the game, IMO). And it is easy to run pre-7e scenarios with 7e, and vice versa.

At least that has been my experience (having run six sessions of 7e, and many sessions of 5/6e).

While I enjoy running 7e, I'm happy to run 6e as well. In fact, I likely will do so when (if) I run a Cthulhu Invictus campaign this summer.

The differences between 6e and 7e simply do not strike me as great enough to warrant 'edition warring' (except, perhaps, for people who enjoy edition warring for its own sake).

Akrasia · June 03, 2015, 01:23:39 PM

Thanks for the additional info, Godfather Punk.

K Peterson · June 03, 2015, 01:31:54 PM

Quote from: Godfather Punk;834790I own 3 or 4 (and soon one more) versions of the CoC rules but I always return to the 3rd edition GW hardcover. Maybe it's just familiarity with that rules set but I never had any problem using other edition scenarios with them.

Same for me. I own GW3e, 5e, and 6e, and a couple of anniversary editions because I'm a nerd like that. I like GW3e quite a bit, but I can see some CoC gamers not preferring it because of the reduced amount of occupational and personal interest skill points compared with later editions.

Simlasa · June 03, 2015, 01:52:06 PM

Quote from: Akrasia;834791The differences between 6e and 7e simply do not strike me as great enough to warrant 'edition warring' (except, perhaps, for people who enjoy edition warring for its own sake).

I'm pretty sure I'm not 'edition warring'... just being the squeaky wheel about what I think were... less than optimal alterations to the game for reasons that had more to do with shaking things up and getting some attention now that there are a lot of other Lovecraft-based games on the market.

I'm certainly not saying '7e is teh suckz! Total fail!'.

I suppose my hackles were originally raised due to scattered things I'd read from the designers of 7e... their attitude that CoC needed fixing and a desire to sex it up with borrowings from more 'modern' games.
It's true that relatively little of that shows in the final product... but just enough to put me off backing it and voting for it with my gold pieces.

Akrasia · June 03, 2015, 02:28:59 PM

Quote from: Simlasa;834797I'm pretty sure I'm not 'edition warring'... just being the squeaky wheel about what I think were... less than optimal alterations to the game for reasons that had more to do with shaking things up and getting some attention now that there are a lot of other Lovecraft-based games on the market.

I'm certainly not saying '7e is teh suckz! Total fail!'.

I suppose my hackles were originally raised due to scattered things I'd read from the designers of 7e... their attitude that CoC needed fixing and a desire to sex it up with borrowings from more 'modern' games.
It's true that relatively little of that shows in the final product... but just enough to put me off backing it and voting for it with my gold pieces.

No, no, I certainly did not mean to accuse you of 'edition warring'! And I think that many of your complaints are legitimate.

I'm ambivalent, but on balance positive, about 7e. I think some of the changes are positive, but many are indeed gratuitous. I just don't think that it turned out to be an especially radical break from earlier editions. (And I was worried that it would be.)

Perhaps I've been too blasé about the changes. Maybe many longterm CoC folks are upset about them. (I haven't been paying attention.)