KULT: Gallery of Souls - RPG Review
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2021
- Los Angeles, 1951: the Player Characters are sent to retrieve a uniquely-talented artist for their crime boss. Unfortunately, someone (or something) else wants the artist as well. Here's my criticisms, tips, and suggestions for this noir-horror adventure.
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Guest starring Jack the NPC
#TTRPG #PbtA 
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Thank you for a balanced and fun review! I'm hoping this will be followed by more scenarios in this vein and I will take your criticism to heart! Regards /Magnus (author of Gallery of Souls)
Yes! Give us more KULT in the 1950s!
Thank you for a fun adventure. We really enjoyed it.
I'm now translating this into 2 other games for different groups I run with. As well as running it Vanilla with my brand new Table of Kult players :D Great Story!
Question: at 0:58, do you say time period "did", or "didn't" sell this to you, I can't quite tell what you said
@@peterwestmer576 Did sell it to me.
sometimes I wonder if seth's wife walks in on him playing as the crew (dweebles, todd and mike) and just kinda backs off.
Or she helps him with his makeup, hairdo, or facial hair...
She did help me with Jane's makeup for my Two-Headed Serpent reviews.
Well my wife didn't know abut RPGs when we met, and then listened to us playing Vampire. She was ... amused ... LOL!
My wife did not know about RPGs when we met. Now she is the one who wants to play all the time :D
@@SSkorkowsky Does she play as well?
So when you mention there is a rolling tray of spirits, I immediately “oh so not just a flesh monster, but there are ghost too...oh Molotov...oh you mean booze not ghost”
Same here mate!
Seth's proactive solutions to module criticisms help us create a culture of being better GMs, friends, & creators. Our hats tip to you, sir!
Ran this module last night and it was a blast, mostly thanks to you Seth! I was confident in running after watching your video, even if it was our first Kult game.
My few additions to it:
- At the very beggining, as they were kneeling in the sand, I made sure their boss dropped a polaroid in front of each of them, representing for each one a loved one, taken in a photo without their knowledge.
- I made the PC find a painting representing them in the Starker studio, enhancing their feeling of being watched.
- I made the Schiller/Starker apartment the only flat on the top floor of a seven-story building. When the Caihart attacked, one of the PCs attempted to reach the window only to discover that the emergency stairs outside ended on the floor below, for no apparent reason. As the same PC was getting into their car outside, I had them look back at the building, only to find that they could only count six floors from the facade. My players really enjoyed this! It was obviously inspired by the dark secret from the character you created in the latest Kult video, with the disappearing building. Haha.
Thank you so much for these inspiring videos, Seth. Keep up the awesome work!
"Kult. Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time."
Before the Empire?
@@RoDaGrier Before the Dark Days of Magic CCG ruining the RPG scene in the 90s.
Sorry reminded me of a star wars quote. Sorry. My bad.
@@RoDaGrier It was meant to remind you of a Star Wars quote. I just applied it to real life when Magic The Gathering ruined the RPG scene.
@@Joemantler Of course, if it weren't for Magic:
-there'd be a lot fewer card gamers who moved on to RPGs
-D&D would probably have gone out of print after TSR's closure
-there almost certainly wouldn't have been an OGL or the massive RPG boom (both for d20 and other engines as different companies followed WotC's lead) that followed from it
-GenCon might have died as well
Silver linings deserve some acknowledgement too, even if the end result is Hasbro in ultimate charge of way, way too much of the industry - but that's a whole different kettle of fish.
Good to see some Kult reviews. I think their stories tend to be pretty good, in the middle of running a Black Madonna game.
"Thumbs up if you liked the video". Sir, there has never been a video of yours that has not brought a smile to my face! Thank you again!
This RPG deserves its own in-depth series like Call Of Cthulhu and Traveller...
We'll see. Remember, for both Traveller and Call of Cthulhu, I had over a year's experience running them as our primary RPG, including at least 1 completed campaign in each as well as multiple 1-shots. A single adventure with Kult is nowhere near enough. Trying an in-depth review series after one game is like proposing marriage after a first date.
I’m a simple man, if I see Seth upload, I click on that as fast as possible.
Kult is a game I've peeked at and would be interested in learning more about. Hopefully we can expect a video on the system...?
Yes, please.
If it's a PBtA game, you can probably pick it up quicker than most RPG's, tbh
@@woobackwednesday2299 - Yes, it's basically PbtA using 2d10 instead of 2d6. Although it has a lot more content to draw from than most PbtA titles. The production value is far ahead of others, too.
@@NefariousKoel what’s the comparison like between kult and call of Cthulhu?
@@samurguy9906 - Instead of the cthulhu mythos and monsters, it has more of a focus on Demons and similar occultism. I think of it more like Clive Barker style horror. Think the Cenobites from Hellraiser, for example. It still has 'universe outside our world' and occult mystery themes. It uses Powered By The Apocalypse RPG rules to be more narrative and less number crunching, but still lends a lot genre options for characters. I can see it being fairly flexible for a GM to create their own horror scenarios & situations in a range of time periods although modern is the default.
OMFG! My favorite ttrpg youtuber is reviewing something from Kult! I am going to treasure this video!
Rpg youtuber. Not ttrpg, but rpg. You have rpgs and crpgs [computer rpgs]. Just stop using this casuals invention nonsense. ;)
@@hadeseye2297 Yeah... No. No I won't. And neither should anyone else =P Using language to differentiate all the types of rpgs from one another is easy, smart and practical. It has nothing to do with being a casual or not =) It's not the 70s anymore ;)
Kult.
Like "Call of Cthulhu", only without the hope...
More Kult reviews please!
CoC has hope?
Hello Seth nice to hear from ya. Hope you're doing well.
"Jack: Memoirs of An NPC" There's a title for you.
Love this review. Was thinking of running this as my first Kult adventure. And I’m glad I saw this video cause it has solutions to things I never thought would be issues on a first read through. I’ll have to add and build upon those in my notes . Thanks ! 😊
Good luck with the game.
@@SSkorkowsky first session went pretty well but this is my first powered by the apocalypse engine game so its been a bit of getting used to but we are up to carita's apartment now and i think i have thing on the ball for what comes next :)
In the last session, our dm asked us to help name some of the businesses in the town we just arrived in. So the Inn we found lodging at became known as The Dubious Necessities and the signage looks like an inkblot crossed with a mystery Pokemon.
Watched your Review of KULT 4th Edition yesterday, bought it right away, downloaded Gallery of Souls and now I find this runthrough with your excellent tips and analysis. Thank you so much! You're making my dive into KULT a real treat :)
Hope you enjoy it as much as we have.
"Oh, Seth uploaded a new review, what's this then...
...KULT...OOOOHHHHH NOOOOOOOOO..."
Looks at shelf at personal copy of Kult 4th.
"...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."
I'm still going to watch and have a blast, maybe edit this comment, but damn, glad to see this game covered just to see if anyone else found Kult 4th... Harrowing to read. Let alone play.
Edit: Gallery of Souls seems pretty dark, but not as dark as Oakwood Heights which seemed the nail in the coffin that is me running Kult for my group. Gallery of Souls seems more likely, at the very least because it doesn't seem to use the pre-gen characters to have personal horrors going on layered upon the already horrific things going on. It's something I might float, at least because since I mentioned Kult to my group one player is curious about delving into it. Thanks for the review!
I think that many people put too much emphasis on horror and not enough on spirituality of the setting. Archons or Death Angels names are based on Tree of Life from Kabbalah. Reincarnation is a prison. You die, you forget. Carte Blanche. And you become your true self again. A demi-god.
@@hadeseye2297 I think it's because when I think of the spirituality of the system, I figure this is how people in the 1920s/1930s must have felt having a pantheon of deities who either don't care in the same way the average person doesn't care about bugs in the garden, or actively despises humanity. The Archons and Death Angels are linked to all the worst humanity has to offer, and very little of the positives. That while once humanity did reach divinity, but like the Kult 4th ed subtitle goes: That divinity was lost so humanity was put into a prison to be gaslighted by beings who don't like you at all surrounded by a madness that is nigh incomprehensible. Very describable, but just unable to be comprehended in any logical way.
It's a layer of bleakness that gets to me a bit. It suggests a degree of misanthropy by powerful and incomprehensible forces. It's stellar writing, but it'd be hard for me to run such a thing.
@@riobux3018
4th edition subtitle isn't just a phrase, but a backbone of the setting. Archons and Death Angels take revenge on human kind. And its own bad deeds open gates to twisted horrors. I don't know about 4th, but one of the mechanics in original is mental balance. 0 is normal. And there's -/+100. No matter in which direction you go, be it good or bad, you mecome less human, as your eyes opens to the Truth. A playable character can be at max around -/+20. In other words, mental balance is a hint, how much it takes to become god again.
As a side note. I don't know have you ever heard about inn called: The Trove DOTis.
I bet you can find a lot about KULT there. ;)
@@hadeseye2297 I think there is a mechanic similar to that one, but not the same. It has been a while since I've read Kult 4th. I do genuinely enjoy it as a book, don't get me wrong, I just put it next to my copy of Charnel Houses of Europe: The Shoah in terms of books I love but due to tone concerns would likely never run. But knowing there are pre-gens less like Oakwood Heights and more like Gallery of Souls makes it a bit more likely... If I put the Call of Cthulhu system aside. Not against buying more Kult 4th books just as nihilistic reading materials.
I am also a patron of that fine inn which has helped me plenty in the past, but my RPG habits tend to lead me to consuming mugs of Fisykcle mostly. More costly than the Digit Tales ale but suits my eyes better.
@@riobux3018 I agree on the latter. In my case I like taste of old lagers. Unlucky for me, they don't brew them anymore.
Nothing has ever made me happier than being able to hear “hello internet” when I open my phone
Me: "yeah I'm kinda tired of GMing... I don't know if I still have it, kinda tired"
Also me: "Bruh this review from Seth is amazing, I need to go back to Gming"
Really, Kult is getting me very invested in its world and adventures. Is very Clive Baker-y. Love it.
The lawyer... Mr 'Terry' Mason? I think I know his assistant, Bella Street.
Works with a PI named Saul Drake, of course. :)
Bella Lugosi's Dead. [Bauhaus]
I quite like that 50s Jack whilst similar to 20s Jack, does have a noticeably different style of dress that better reflects the period he's in.
Happy to see Seth take on Kult, especially as Cthulhu is his usual horror go-to. And also wondering how a PBtA game compares with the skill-based percentage games Seth usually plays. I have Kult sitting on the shelf but have not got round to playing it, and I’ve never played a PBtA game, so this will be particularly interesting...
Great review. Love the Patreon early access for this!
You lucky bastard, if I had the money to spare I would so give some to this beautiful man LOL.
Thank you for another great video, Seth! I really enjoy your content.
We need to see a Seth review of KULT now.
Would love to see the Kult rulebook review in the future
Same here!
Sounds like a blast. Anyone running this will be grateful for the little fixes along the way.
I'd never heard of Kult before, but this sounds really interesting. Getting kind of a World of Darkness meets Call of Cthulhu type feeling. It would be really cool if you did a review of the system sometime. Also possibly one for Old World of Darkness at some point. :D
Great review. I really like this scenario. Played the original in the 90's but this version is improved in every way. I especially like the ending with the temple! As you said. Truly an alien and creepy atmosphere.
Looking forward for more KULT stuff!
I’ve heard of Kult a bit and it seems pretty interesting so I’m looking forward to this.
I’d given Kult a once over before, might need to look into it again.
@12:45 Most accurate (yes, I have used one) sim of a Molitov cocktail: 1d6 of flame/glass damage on the first successful hit and then 2 damage from fire for 1d4 turns after.
Thank you for the wonderful and informative review! Still preparing my first Kult session and cant wait!
Seth, you do the best RPG adventure reviews on the internet. No other reviewer adds value to the product they review. Good show!
Listened to this excellent and helpful review on the drive home ❤
And I was like ”no Molotov Cocktail in the rules”? But that is found in the very handy Weapon Deck ❤
They are in the weapons deck. I like to assume is response to this review.
Kult is a good way to do Clive Barker style horror in an RPG. Lord Of Illusions, Candyman, Hellraiser, and Nightbreed could lend some inspiration regarding themes. Filing off or keeping the names of the higher powers in the book away from players is probably something I'd do. Leaving them in the distant background, unknown, or repurposing as needed while bringing their agents and those agents' machinations to the fore.
Red Moon Roleplaying also has a nice Actual Play of this scenario for those that want inspiration.
Thanks for this! Got me to looking into getting Kult.
Eyyy, Swedish games! Love top see them entering the channel. Would love to see you having a gander at Mutant: Y0 at some point.
Mutant Year Zero is great, as are many of the titles using the system. However, I wonder if Seth ever does much sandbox style GM'ing since MYZ definitely has that sandbox-y exploration facet. I'd also like to see his take on it if he was up for that sort of game.
@@NefariousKoel Agreed, it could be possibly remedied by looking into the various compendiums that exist to supplement any potential video.
I have been waiting for this since I made a post about this game of a Facebook group asking about mechanics and all that good stuff which Seth commented on and helped me out greatly. I'm very happy that you have finally got time to do a video on this. Great work to you sir.
I hope you go on to explain kult like you did with call of Cthulhu, I would really love that.
I like how Seth low-key drops this card for a lawyer named Terry Mason he came up with like no big deal.
Hello Internet, Some Rando here.
Rando First Blood
Hi rando welcome to AA
And I'm the reply im here to give you from a commenters point of view
Rando Calrissian
Hi Rando have a random comment.
16:56 Heh. The "Hollywood sign encounter" trope is a classic, but it maybe gets a bit too much use. I remember reading a very tongue-in-cheek detective/comedy novel where the protag gumshoe has trouble arranging a meet there due to all the "good" letters being booked weeks in advance. Finally had to settle for the second "L" next Tuesday and even then they kept getting interrupted by people who'd mistaken it for the first "L" or gotten lost looking for one of the other letters. Very "Murder By Death/Cheap Detective" that gag.
Guess it would disrupt the tone of a Kult game a bit, though. :)
Hahaha! Love it when writers poke fun at tropes like that. Terry Pratchett is a master at it.
Do you remember where you read this?
@@99veruca Afraid not - it was back in 1984 and I'd borrowed the book from the college library, and the title and author elude me at this point. It was part of an anthology, I recall that much. More a novella than a full length novel.
This seems like a very intriguing setting, makes me think of Call of Cthulu set in the World of Darkness, gives off that White Wolf vibe
Some parts of WoD borrow from Clive Barker, who was absurdly popular when Vampire first came out. Kult has a very similar feel. Slightly less cosmic horror, more personal and nasty than Mythos generally is.
Not even close. It's horror that for setting has Reincarnation - Kaballah crossover.
would love to see more reviews from kult!
Interesting. I played the original edition of Kult way back when but haven't kept up with the later version at all. Solid horror game setting, if a bit edgy (which was quite the thing in the 90s when it first came out) for my tastes. Very much a Clive Barker feel to the 1st ed stuff.
BTW, really enjoyed that crossover vid with Questing Beast and Prof you did over on QBs channel. Ought to host the next one here, eh? Think your regular audience would enjoy it.
DM enjoying describing a grisly scene gleefully and the players looking at the DM in horror is one of my favorite tropes. The "pretty word pictures" as one of my players calls them isn't so pretty anymore.
Oh man, that GM-screen. A discussion whether you can see the S in Spelledarskärm (Swedish for Game Master-screen) has been going on since the release.
Great video Seth!
I think it was cool at the time but... well... not so much anymore!
I’ll be honest, when Seth first mentioned a trolley laden with “spirits,” and since Kult is a deeply spiritual horror game, I thought the trolley was haunted or had a bunch of ghosts trapped in stuff like Six Demon Bags 😅 When they talked about molotovs after, then it made much more sense.
Side note: having first heard of Kult: Divinity Lost from the “How to Run a Horror Game” video, and now getting a full scenario in this one, I’m getting more interested in actually playing this kind of game, as well as stuff like City of Mist and Monsterhearts 2 (both are also Powered by the Apocalypse).
Pro Tip: Go to the most recent Kult scenario Kickstarter ( www.kickstarter.com/projects/helmgast/kult-divinity-lost-horror-guide-and-scenario-collection ) Download their free alpha-version quickstart rules appearing on the landing page. Check it out. There's several free scenarios on the Kult Divinity Lost website ( kultdivinitylost.com/resources/ ). Check those out, too. Now you have some free rules and 8 free adventures (I'm considering 'Oakwood Heights' or 'The Atrocity Exhibition' as my next one to try). If you like them and want to get more, you can then decide to buy the corebook.
Please note, this is seriously an 18+ game. The Mature Audience warning is not window dressing. The game presents itself in its darkest form and then coaches you how to tone it down for your particular group.
I'm too squeamish to play KULT (which is funny coming from someone like me) but I love hearing other's recaps. I hope you do more in the future!
I have loved your videos so much recently, that i bought 4 of your books just now. i have no idea if they are related to each other, so this could be interesting
Well, thank you very much. Hope you enjoy them. Don't know which ones you got, but I have 7 books.
Valducan Series (4 novels): Dämoren, Hounacier, Ibenus, Redemptor
Black Raven Series (2 short story collections): Mountain of Daggers, Sea of Quills
Ashes of Onyx (standalone novel)
@@SSkorkowsky hahaha, i got ashes of onyx, Damoren, Hounacier, and Redemptor...guess i'm getting ibenus now too! unless you think i can skip it :D
I'm sure i'll enjoy them tremendously
That was great. Thanks for the tips and handouts. More Kult. Pretty please.
Awesome video! Even more interesting than the review I found the modifications that you made! It's very educational for me to see the reasoning of a much more experienced GM and I plan on stealing all of the ideas. Kudos!
I really enjoy your reviews. Keep up the great work.
Great job Seth! All the best for you!
"come up with the name of the bar so you do not come up with something stupid"
me a first time dm: the name of the bar is ummm. ... damn it i just had it written down some were ummm o here is the note "come up with something stupid stupid" ...... the name of the bar is "something stupid"
That's better than Barrie McBar-face.
@@RockOfLions Bleeding Thighs.
While I'm probably not gonna get into Kult, as I already play too many systems, I can see this scenario translating into a really fun Call of Cthulhu game!
And for anyone curious, cause I know how the internet is, I play: Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Ed), Call of Cthulhu 7th ed, 2 editions of D&D (4th and 5th), Earthdawn 3rd Ed, Fate, Vampire-Werewolf-Changeling-Mage (I believe all 2nd edition), and Hollow Earth.
I can't speak for the current edition of Kult, but we mined the original for all sorts of ideas in our 90s era World of Darkness campaigns. It's worth a look even if you never use the rules themselves.
Kult: nice! this game was my introduction in horror rpg's, but 25 years later i'm more into Cthulhu
Thanks for the English subtitles, it makes the video easier to watch by translating it into Spanish. (Google Translate) Nice nice nice.
I don't roleplay, but I love hearing Seth stories. Roleplay by proxy.
Great videos man!
So the lawyer is called Terry Mason. Nice.
I just love your reviews. Even tho I do not play other than DnD and GURPS systems, I take a lot from your videos, that I use to better my games.
Such a great video I had to watch this video immediately when I saw it. I watch all your videos. Hopefully their will be a review on Kult and maybe a break down of the rules like you did for Call of Cthulhu.
I never thought I’d say this, but Kult might be * too* dark of a game for me, especially in light of the recent pandemic...I need something light hearted like some pulp action (which Call of Cthulhu can deliver if you play it right)
Yeah, Kult is definitely a darker shade of darkness. This adventure was pretty light. I figured I'd step my players into it slowly before dropping them into the abyss.
It does make the Mythos seem...well, not optimistic, but quaintly old-fashioned by comparison, doesn't it? It's kind of like "real" old-school Gothic horror - Castle of Otranto and Frankenstein were probably terrifying in their day and are still full of atmosphere, but they just aren't really scary to modern audiences. The cosmic insignificance of humanity is still objectively horrifying but more personal nastiness has greater impact for most people these days. Changing tastes I suppose.
Me, I find the things real people do are by far the most terrifying things out there, but they don't make the sort of story I want to roleplay or read. True crime and the like aren't my cup of tea.
@@richmcgee434 absolutely! I think the idea of humans not being the centre of things was scarier during the certainty of the turn of the last century, most people just accept it as a given in these more nihilistic times. I love the feel & style of Kult & have enjoyed playing a couple of sessions, but it’s just so grim...almost too grim, at least for me in the current climate. Maybe I’ll return to it ironically when the real world feels less doomed 😉
@@KuyVonBraun Ironically, the Kult setting is pushing 30 years old at this point. Very much a product of Clive Barker body horror and the continuation of 80s slasher movie aesthetics in a lot of ways. But it still manages to feel retain its impact, and it may be even stronger in the real-world hellscape we live in today. Unusual to see last generation's horror still working so well.
@@richmcgee434 for me it’s not really the slasher/body horror aspects that freaks me out, more “the true nature of reality is hell & that’s seeping through”. The game invites tales of paedophiles, bullied children on the cusp of suicide, rape of family members and the terminal final days of addiction if only as a backdrop to whatever the Archeons are up to. It is a *very * grim game.
@8:02
"HE'S GODDA SHOWIN'!!"
Interesting.
Have you done a review of Kult? I can't find it on your playlist.
I haven't (this was only our first game of it). It normally takes several adventures before I want to tackle a system review. Some games I might post scenario reviews for a year before starting a system review, so don't expect one for Kult anytime soon.
@@SSkorkowsky Cheers.
I just wondered as I've not been "in the loop" for ages and I'd never heard of it. :)
@@alantheinquirer7658 Funniest part is that I asked him to try KULT. Now I have to wait another year for a review. I wonder will he compare original game rules (d20 based) with new one.
Great one. It shows when you speak about a module you enjoyed.
BTW, Seth, and this is off topic, but the newly revised editions of Mister Corbitt and "The Crack'd and Crook'd Manse" took a LOT of suggestions from your review videos to heart.
So, this is a weird question, but what did they change? Like I flipped through it, but didn't notice, and I think that's because I remember the scenarios the way I recommended them be changed, instead of how they originally were. Like I read it and it's all, "Yup, that looks right to me."
Great rundown of the adventure.
The tidbit about Pickett's earlier agent(s) who turned up dead is a good seed for a typical gumshoe/noir style revelation in the middle of the characters' story, just before things start getting serious. Would fit the theme if some NPC mentioned it to them during investigation so the PCs realize they're now into something deeper than expected, and aren't being told the truth. The module probably should've planted that notion for the GM in a bit more detail than just an off-hand mention in one sentence.
50s is an interesting setting - I don't think many games cover that by default.
Kult is primarily modern-day. This adventure just happened to jump on the 1950's setting. I thought it made for a good way to sort of easy my players into Kult from their regular 1920s/30s Call of Cthulhu horror.
@@SSkorkowsky You'd think with all the cold war paranoia and hollywood debauchery it would be a natural horror setting.
Excellent review, I learned a lot for when I run this. I really look forward to more Kult content in the future, should you feel inclined. Thanks Seth! :)
i saw your review posted last month and just bought it without watching the video as well as the whole Kult: Divinity Lost lineup... i had my eye on it for a bit and easily convinced the guys to try it since it seems similar to COC and we love that. now i'm gonna watch the review and see what i could do to have a bit of mess about with it
Kult is weird. I think it's awesome, but it is definitely in the realm on 'Not for Everyone'. The system was a bit weird at first, but didn't take too terribly long to adapt to. The world is very...Matrix, meets Hellraiser, meets Constantine (Keanu version). Now that stuff is totally my jam, but it is super niche. I hope you dig it as much as I do. Life got in the way and postponed our last two attempts to play a second adventure, so hopefully that settles down and gives us a chance to get some more playtime under our belts.
Just a heads-up in case you didn't know, there are several PDF adventures for free on DriveThru RPG, manyof which are also in Taroticum and Other Tales, but totally free. I'm hoping we can get to Oakwood Heights and Atrocity Exhibition sometime in the not so distant future.
@@SSkorkowsky yeah we're into that kinda stuff, hellraiser holds a place where we have tried putting similar stuff in DnD and Cyberpunk which didn't work out well
Terry Mason, you named the 1950’s LA lawyer that? Good call. 🙂
Great Review Seth! Polish version of Kult is to be in print mid 2021 so perfect timing for review for an opening adventure. Do you have any plans on making multi-part Kult Core Rulebook review? Also, have you played/run Black Madonna? Any plans for that?
So far, this scenario is 100% of all that I've played of Kult. It'll take a lot more sessions/adventures before I'd be ready to start a system review, so don't expect one anytime in the near future. I dig the hell out of it, but due to the fact that not all my players are into this level of horror or this type of RPG mechanics, I see it as being more of a side-game that I get to run between normal games.
@@SSkorkowsky Maybe you should try original Kult, that is d20 based. Also don't forget that main theme of Kult is not horror of monsters, but loss of your godlike status. Demi-Gods are trapped in mortal bodies. You die. You forget every bit of knowledge you gathered. You start from scratch. You can't regain your true self and get free from torment. Once a demi-god, now degraded to a prisoner and pawn, to forces that in reality pretty often are weaker than your true self. This game is very spiritual. Look at Archons and Death Angels names. Their based either on Kabbalh Tree of Life sephirots, or influenced by Christianity, or other religions. That speaks a lot.
That was a good quick approximation for molotovs based on what you had. On reflection, I think they might work a bit differently.
I do not know anything about the Kult system I didn't learn in about four seconds of Googling, so my knowledge of what can be done and how is a bit buggy.
An improvised firebomb doesn't really do its damage up front like smacking someone with a club that happens to be on fire or a grenade explosion. A molotov doesn't explode so much as spread accelerant to be ignited. I wouldn't give it a damage value on hit since it is full glass bottle being thrown around. The damage is done over time by the resulting fire. Alcohol does aerate and burn very quickly, but in the range of liquid fuels, it doesn't burn all that hot. So I think maybe one or two points the turn after the toss and a point the next turn, presuming turns are about three seconds or so. That would be the extent unless it ignited other things on or around the target. This gives the target time to react. It may be a bit less effective, but it is an improvised weapon. If the characters want effective, they should pack some actual heat.
I would say two points of damage seems good. If Kult has some kind of debility mechanism where die penalties can be imposed, that should apply here based on where the hit was. The burns would be wide-ranging and pretty painful. If the target is hit in the head, that can get pretty nasty.
Ryan Howard used to play first base for the Phillies.
How did you like the Kult system? Oh, and by the way, have you played the old edition?
4th Edition was my first look at it. I did a Halloween panel on running horror games back in October and Petter Nallo was on it. I'd only vaguely known of Kult before then. He sent me a couple books to see if I might be interested and the game was beautiful (the production quality of the books is probably the best I've seen in a RPG, which is really saying something). It really hit my particular taste in horror and the Powered by the Apocalypse system is pretty easy to pick up. Unfortunately, out of my normal cast of 5 players, I only see 3 of them getting into it, so Kult is probably going to serve as a Side-Game since I want something that all 5 of them will love to be our Primary Game.
@@SSkorkowsky that’s a real shame. Would have liked to see more of how you tackle the really ‘next level’ horror gaming.
14:00 Um, yeah...the bar is named Scott Brown's.
14:56 Uh, the lawyer is Scott Brown. No relation.
If the players ever ask what real estate company handles those properties, well, I'm sure you'll think of something.
Hey Seth can you maybe do a review for Kult: Divinity Lost in the future? It has been pretty hard to find any review of the game. The only thing I found are playthrough sessions, that give you ideas about the setting and so on. I already purchased the book awhile ago and I am familar with core rules(played apocalypse world a couple of times). It just seems to me that a lot of your viewers who love COC would like to get some fresh new ideas. Kult can bring that and I think the system is pretty good as well. Would be nice to hear your thoughts on the matter.
Will you review KULT?
One day, eventually. I'll need a lot more games under my belt before I'd feel ready to.
@@SSkorkowsky awesome cant wair
Excellent and entertaining review, Seth. I look forward to whatever Kult reviews you might make in the future! I've been playing PbtA since the beginning of my time in the hobby, so hearing that mentioned on your channel was a bit of a surprise. I will say you're quite correct that this will cause me to check this game and scenario out.
Original is d20 based. But not D&D one.
If you listen carefully during the intro, you can hear several ALIEN rpg and Traveller player guides all hitting the waste bin at once.
Man, I hope not. I got several more Traveller scenario reviews, at least one more Alien review, and once quarantine has ended and we can all play in the same room again, I want to run Alien: Destroyer of Worlds (since I got the box with all the cards and fold-out maps, I feel a virtual tabletop would be missing some of the potential. Also I got a bunch of Alien minis and damnit I want to use them).
@@SSkorkowsky That's the worst thing about playing online, physical handouts and minis are such cool toys. Bloody pandemic. Where's that clip of the mST3K guys screaming "END! END!" when you need it?
Seth and Kult? I wouldn't believe if someone told me that he will do this review.
Jack's tommy gun is magical after being soaked in all the blood of those occult beings
The Tommy Gun would not be the strangest thing with this scenario
modern day Dragonslayer
I've actually done that in OSR games - bane weapons that slowly got more powerful but only against their preferred victims as defined by what the owner(s) had been slaughtering with it. Very easy to find banes for low-level wimpy critters like goblins, very hard to find banes for dragons and the like. Human-banes tended to get you all sorts of funny looks.
my favorite youtuber back at it again. Wish i could double subscribe
If nothing else, the motto of most player characters I've encountered (or played) in tabletop games tends to be some variant of "Kill it with fire" (sometimes before they failed the SAN check, sometimes after), so that feels like something the game should be more prepared for, in terms of weapon stats.
Well the RH trick might work, however it’s just as likely to end up with the party trying to kidnap Rita Hayworth...
Bob Ross!! 😂
I keep hearing "Damp Legionare" which is a very different kind of monster and one I'm stating up for Monster of The Week as we speak
Damned Legionnaire! More like an epithet.
Ahhhh yeaaaaaah!!!! New video wednesday!
Wait, your players used Molotovcocktails, a simple Handgrenade one could say? With there crippling fear of handgranades? Wow, they seem to be cured.
Molotovs have never been a problem for them. They've used those for years. Same with throwing dynamite. The curse is weirdly specific about being only thrown hand grenades (grenade launchers are fine to use). Even now that we've had a screaming success with them, the players still don't trust using hand grenades, thinking it might have been a fluke game or some clever ruse to lower their guards. They're all, "Oh we're not afraid of them anymore," but still won't touch them. Even last game they talked a new player out of picking some up for a job.
So Kult seems a lot like Call of Cthulhu. How do the systems compare?
We just ended a 12-month long campaign using Savage Worlds to play a pulpy Cthulhu campaign. It worked well.
Its more hellraiser ..
A lot more Hellraiser...
12:39 This does not surprise me. The original 1st edition kult book had high end machine guns and sniper rifles, and a large variety of exotic weapons and yet no shotguns.
Seth, your players must be the most well-rounded and knowledgeable RPG players of all time. How many systems have you forced them to play with you now? 14? 20? More?
My three long-time players (21-13 years) and not including 1-shot single-session games or failure-to-launch attempts (way more of those than I care to think about), it comes to 15. Keep in mind that four of those were different editions of D&D(1,2,3,5), two were Cyberpunk(2020, IU), and I'm listing Call of Cthulhu and Pulp Cthulhu separately, so it sounds way more impressive than it really is.
Once we're finished with our Traveller campaign (3-4 months away I estimate), we'll probably do a pallet cleanser with some Call of Cthulhu adventures and then finally dive into Cyberpunk Red. I've been putting off Red only because I REALLY don't want our first run with it to be virtual tabletop. Returning to Night City should be an occasion and I want that to be in-person with minis and toy cars. But with social distancing and all, I might have to do it on Roll20, which makes me sad.
@@SSkorkowsky Ah, but I do count the different editions because they have different rules and mechanics that players have to learn (looking at you THAC0). A well-rounded group indeed! Very admirable!
this story sounds really good I don't play KULT but I bet with a little modification I could convert this to Call of Cthulhu pretty easy ohh great review BTW
Yeah, out of the Kult scenarios I've read, this one is probably the easiest to convert to CoC. Part of why I chose it to be our first run at the game is because my players are such CoC veterans that they could at least be pretty familiar with the investigation elements.
Very cool. Nicely Done. And I really want a prop tommy gun.
Excellent video Seth! I’ve been interested in KVLT but it might be too dark for my players, at least not without using lines and a whole lot of veils. I would love to hear your thoughts someday on Trail of Cthulhu, or a review of one of the ToC adventures or campaigns.