BoM/TWS Message Forum

I wouldn't say that I'm married to the setting. It's not that I think it's the only setting/system that it could fit into, it's that I think it would be a good one. Keep in mind that I'm referring specifically to the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. I agree that Lovecraft's mythos is largely inextricably bound with the idea of the ultimate futility of mankind's endeavors, and the despair induced horror that both in the characters and the readers are led to feel. BoM isn't nearly grim enough of a setting to slot so neatly into it.

However, the Call of Cthulhu setting and system isn't immutably bound by that same logic, and draws its influences from more sources than the writings of Lovecraft. A less grimdark and hopeless tone only needs to draw more on the writings of Derleth than the more fatalistic Lovecraft, although I admit Derleth is a controversial name in things relating to Lovecraft. There is significant wiggle room in Call of Cthulhu for exactly how dark both a keeper or a scenario author wants it to be without necessarily wholesale disregarding the entirety of the Mythos.

I didn't really have the day-to-day type stories in mind when I brought up Call of Cthulhu. I fully intended for my vision to be a "fraction of the whole,” as you say. The various magical artifacts we've seen in the stories that venture outside the setting of Saratoga Falls, independent warlocks like Blackwell, and especially cults like the Brotherhood of Baphomet, would all be right at home in Call of Cthulhu scenarios. And nobody can even try to say that Cuthbert wouldn't fit perfectly into a Lovecraft story lol

I also do think that Fane would fit really well as an enemy in a Call of Cthulhu. Their nature as a world spanning corporation/sinister magical research organization that prefers learning from its mistakes instead of taking revenge on those that defeat one of its branches sounds like it would be conducive to a really cool set up for a modern day CoC campaign, but maybe that's just me.

The Elder Gods are interesting, and there are a lot of different interpretations of them. Derleth introduced most of them as I recall, and presented them as good, though that interpretation is very controversial, as are a lot of the elements that Derleth introduced. They certainly oppose the Great Old Ones, though their benevolence is a matter of debate. Most interpretations I've seen of them prefer the interpretation that they'll oppose the return of the Great Old Ones by any means necessary, and if that involves supporting humanity against them, then that's what they'll do, though only because it furthers their own goals, not really because of any inherent benevolence.

Your last paragraph actually does give me the idea that the ousiarchs could actually be explained in Call of Cthulhu while incorporating the mythos, by saying they’re mindless or benevolent avatars of one or more of the Outer Gods. The avatars of Outer Gods don't necessarily have to take the form of entities truly comprehensible; they could take the forms of concepts or aspects of reality. The ousiarchs being avatars of Yog-Sothoth or something would be an interesting way of incorporating the Stellae into a Call of Cthulhu campaign without them feeling entirely out of place, and it's not entirely without precedent in either Lovecraft or Call of Cthulhu. Lovecraft's characters Randolph Carter and Keziah Mason have special relationships with Yog-Sothoth and Nyarlathotep respectively that give them power, and Randolph Carter is even partially an aspect of Yog-Sothoth if I recall correctly. Either way, it’s an interesting concept that I might play around with in the future.