A CoC Manifesto

I've been talking for some time about compiling a manifesto of tweaks, and additions, to the Call of Cthulhu rpg rules. There are times when I get so frustrated by what I consider to be CoC's archaic game design that it compels me to make changes. And, I get so inspired by 'newer' BRP rules offerings - from the BRP Gold Book and MRQ2 - that I want to inject some of their features into CoC.

For a time, I was obsessed with compiling this 'manifesto' as my own, interpreted, core book: blending rules passages from CoC, BRP, and MRQ2 by cutting and pasting into my own .doc; editing and 'laying out' the results; and, then, sending a completed .pdf off to be printed and spiral-bound. (For my own table-side purposes, of course).

I've started and stopped on this project so many times over the years. Some of that is due to free-time restrictions; some of it has to do with not feeling eager to edit an extensive document. Maybe it's laziness, too - there are other rpg projects that I play around with, too, and rewriting CoC has never really left the backburner.

I was thinking about my manifesto this week, and chatted with a friend about presentation options. After some discussion - and browsing through my compiled document last night - I think I'm going to take a different approach. I think that I'm just going to develop a few small, separate pdfs with the nuts-and-bolts of chargen, task resolution, and system tweaks, rather than one doc with nuts-bolts-fluff altogether. For the players, I'll just offer a few flowcharts to help them along the way. The system will still be straightforward enough that tons of detail won't be necessary.