Let’s get straight on with things.
Part Three – Character Creation
This chapter begins with a discussion of Lovecraft’s (oft’ nameless) protagonists in his weird tales. From here, it moves to how best, if at all, to emulate creating that style of character in a role-playing game.
The player picks statistic grades from packages, with overall inferior statistics granting additional aspects and superior grades reducing the points available for aspects. I am not the kind of number cruncher to examine the overall mechanical balance of statistics vs. aspects, but obviously, the option is nice to have.
Following is a list of suggested aspects. These are familiar skills such as stealth, marksmanship and languages. There are also traits that would normally be secondary statistics or merits in other games like luck and toughness. A note brings up the value of a jack-of-all trades approach to aspects, indicating that a broad base is preferable to heavy specialization in most cases.
Equipment is pretty much glossed over, suggesting that characters be assigned whatever gear is logical and agreeable to the player and Referee. I for one welcome any game that does not have an encumbrance system.
Personal Factors are the social, spiritual or mental quirks that make a character interesting and can earn the player additional genre points. A character can have up to five such personal factors, but is expected to initiate them during play realistically or when dramatically appropriate. The Referee can reign in the genre point awards if the player is overdoing it.
The chapter (and character creation) ends with a few suggestions for finishing touches. Overall, this chapter is exceedingly brief and it ought to be easy to make a character in only a few minutes.
Part Four – Player’s Section
Chapter 4 is essentially a look at the ways a player can get the most out of the game. It is only a few pages in length, and I would suggest printing it out along with the character creation rules. Short, to the point essays about how to approach the game, the genre, the rules, and how to earn genre points by upholding the appropriate tone in action and narration.
This is a useful little chapter, perhaps not essential but welcome nonetheless. I'm uncertain how many players are going to sit down one-on-one with a Referee to play Macabre Tales without at least a little familiarity with the source material, but I suppose it is best to cover this ground.
Part Five – Narrator’s Section
Considerably longer than the player’s section, the narrator’s section covers a wide range of topics. It begins with a discussion of tale creation, from the initial notes to the finished work, including how to fit such a scenario into the three-act model required by the rules. This section is in-depth, and worth a read even if you opt not to play Macabre Tales, since everything here is good advice for Call of Cthulhu too.
Next is a discussion of supporting characters. This includes monsters up to and including the Great Old Ones and the Other Gods! There is a good selection of special abilities for such alien horrors for Referees to draw from. There is also a list of stock supporting characters and statistics for them.
A few pages are devoted to good old-fashioned narrator advice. Essentially, this is a list of tips along the lines of “Learn to Pace a Scene”, “Evoke a Mood and Create Suspense” and “Utilize Gore Sparingly”. Again, this is good stuff even if you play another Lovecraftian role-playing game. Each tip is explored and explained fully, hopefully preparing the Referee for the game.
Finally, the chapter ends with a discussion of rules management. Mostly this consists of advice on when and how best to implement the rules during play. A few extra words are dedicated to sanity checks caused by encountering monsters or reading forbidden tomes.
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My Thoughts So Far
The Narrator’s Section is absolutely great advice for anyone intending to Referee any Lovecraftian game on any system. The Player’s Section is also good for anyone playing such a game, and both combined are must-reads for anyone intending to write a horror scenario. These chapters are light on rules, but packed with genuinely good suggestions for the genre.
My Macabre Tales Review:
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