Sam, The Night Shift

D&D is, and has long been, the most popular TTRPG. It is fairly easy to learn if you are willing to spend a bit of time with the rules and the action economy, though it can also get quite crunchy. It also has some beautifully made modules and campaigns, some of which are among my personal favourites. Curse of Strahd and Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus are at the top of that list.

Call of Cthulhu stands out to me because of its long history, its roots in Lovecraft’s fiction, and the fact that you are not playing heroes, but ordinary people who are usually in way over their heads. I know Lovecraft is a deeply problematic figure, but the kind of horror tradition that grew out of his work still has a unique pull for me. What I love most is that CoC is usually a slow burn. It often begins as an investigation and gradually unfolds into a larger conspiracy or an encounter with unknowable cosmic horrors and mind shattering truths. By the time the characters realize how serious things really are, it is often already too late.

Shadowdark is a lot of fun. It is fast paced, unforgiving, and adds real time pressure to dungeon crawls, which helps keep the game moving. It is also extremely easy to learn, especially if you already have experience with d20 systems.

I have mostly experienced Delta Green from the player side, and I really enjoy it. Playing agents who are “in the know” and trying to protect society from cosmic horrors, or even from the knowledge of them, is a fun and challenging premise. Mechanically, it is similar to Call of Cthulhu, but the Bond system adds a lot. You are not just playing your agent in the field, but also in home scenes, which show how their declining sanity and exposure to the unnatural affect their personal life. The one thing I do not think the game fully solves is the Sanity mechanic. To me, it still feels a bit like another kind of HP bar. The consequences are there, but it can be hard to make them feel truly integrated into play.

If you’re a new or seasoned player, I highly recommend playing in one of Sonia’s games. I just played in a one-shot she hosted and had a really great time. The way she set up the story, and how we uncovered it along the way, felt very organic and had a lot of depth for a one-shot. The combat was very challenging, which had our party of five 8th-level PCs on the edge of our seats the whole way through. Sonia clearly knows how to use her assets to her advantage, especially the monster stat blocks and the environment. The last battle in particular was a dance on the razor’s edge, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. :)