Well, there are ways to bleed reality into a CoC session... T.E.D. Klein's "Black Man witha Horn" is a good example of blurring the line between the reader and the narrator... and the confessional narrator that the narrator is further reading. Similarly you can do with any angel & demon material (e.g. IN SJG) with all the modern confessional anecdotes in media. It just takes a little bit of Weird News column in any newspaper and some Artist Suggestion. Let the players cook up their own conspiracy!

Quote from: Opaopajr;1106962GIMME SOME SUGAR, that is very thoughtful to let your friend gracefully bow out without having to expose his discomfort. It is an important reminder that our insight and fluid social contract can tend for those we care about without "explicit confessionals," a la X Card or Consent Forms. Sometimes the explicit is helpful, but sometimes the implicit is helpful; there is no singular right answer when it comes to the form of shaping social dynamics.

Yes, there's no need for X-cards or sensitivity questionnaires when you have known a person for a very long time. I also know he doesn't like ketchup and mustard on his burgers. I also know he is the murder/rape hobo of our gaming group so he isn't sensitive in that way. Murder, rape, the razing of villages and other horrendous stuff has always been present in our fantasy gaming mostly thanks to him. He's also prone to derailing stuff if he gets bored and feel there's no action, but I love him anyway although it can be a bit frustrating at times. But now that his most skilled warrior PC is dead, he has been forced to follow the rest of the gaming group. Hopefully, someday, he will feel what joy it is to really finish a campaign or a longer adventure. And in my dreams, what joy it can be to play a genuine good guy.

Quote from: Opaopajr;1106967Well, there are ways to bleed reality into a CoC session... T.E.D. Klein's "Black Man witha Horn" is a good example of blurring the line between the reader and the narrator... and the confessional narrator that the narrator is further reading. Similarly you can do with any angel & demon material (e.g. IN SJG) with all the modern confessional anecdotes in media. It just takes a little bit of Weird News column in any newspaper and some Artist Suggestion. Let the players cook up their own conspiracy!

I also imagine that blending the fictive gaming material with let's say GM-created webpages, forums and stuff could also be a way to bleed reality into a modern horror scenario. If I had the know-how I would probably test such a thing, for some KULT scenario. Imagine some harmonious, pretty website with some order akin to Odd Fellows where the order presents itself as a charity order. In reality they harbour an inner circle called The Connoisseurs who practice ritual cannibalism. Expensive wines served at long tables together with the roasted rumps of missing children and other long pig delicacies.

Shotguns are no joke. I was talking to the Ops & Tactics designer about them on Discord a couple weeks back. You can load shotguns with a wide variety of different ammo types, and you can affix different kinds of chokes to shape the spread. Shotguns have power, but they also have versatility.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;1106963Yes.

Usually the DM works hard to build up dramatic tension. Then someone cracks a joke.

Yeah, I've been guilty of that in my younger days, but I learned how disruptive and mood killing it can be in the more "Serious" RPGs.