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09:23, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Posted by Varsovian
Varsovian
member, 1439 posts
Mon 3 Sep 2018
at 16:03
  • msg #1

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Well, not *quite* out yet. But there's a final release date - November 21st - and you can actually pre-order the whole thing. So, it seems that the game *will* be released in three months... unless something happens again...

Anyone excited about this? I am... kind of... I know preordered the whole bunch yesterday ;)
BFink
member, 47 posts
Mon 3 Sep 2018
at 17:46
  • msg #2

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Where did you get it? I missed Kickstarter and, as a happy owner of the 3ed, I'm truly regretting it...
Varsovian
member, 1440 posts
Mon 3 Sep 2018
at 18:05
  • msg #3

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Well, it's available through the publisher's e-shop, as well through one other publisher that is a partner in this endevour. Not sure if I can give names - would it be against forum rules?
BFink
member, 48 posts
Mon 3 Sep 2018
at 18:07
  • msg #4

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Ah, got it, many thanks.
Varsovian
member, 1441 posts
Mon 3 Sep 2018
at 18:14
  • msg #5

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

No problem :)

I thought I'd share, because I know some people here were following the developments on this... but then, the whole project went silent for a few months, after yet another delay. Personally, I thought the whole thing went bust... but yesterday, there was an announcement on their FB page that they were starting to ship to the KS backers and that they were ready to go to retail! So, I posted, as some people might've missed that...
bigbadron
moderator, 15642 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Mon 3 Sep 2018
at 18:25

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

In reply to Varsovian (msg # 3):

Yes, it would.
Varsovian
member, 1442 posts
Mon 3 Sep 2018
at 18:26
  • msg #7

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

And so I thought :) Hence, no names! Just information :)
writermonk
member, 216 posts
Freelance Writer
Librarian
Tue 4 Sep 2018
at 01:31
  • msg #8

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

I'm one of the kickstarters and I'm looking forward to it.
BFink
member, 50 posts
Wed 3 Oct 2018
at 11:42
  • [deleted]
  • msg #9

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

This message was deleted by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 12:19, Wed 03 Oct 2018.
Varsovian
member, 1456 posts
Sun 23 Dec 2018
at 23:36
  • msg #10

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Okay, I finally have my copy of the game! Did anyone else here purchase it?
writermonk
member, 220 posts
Freelance Writer
Librarian
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 00:14
  • msg #11

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

In reply to Varsovian (msg # 10):

I've got a copy!
Varsovian
member, 1457 posts
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 02:02
  • msg #12

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Great! So, what do you think?

Personally, I must admit that the game is... heavy. Intriguing stuff, but I'm not sure I could handle GMing it. Somehow, I find it more disturbing than any other horror game I know...
writermonk
member, 221 posts
Freelance Writer
Librarian
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 04:26
  • msg #13

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

There is a great deal of lore in the game/text. That's going to be a bit of a barrier, I think, for shall we say, casual play. Now, that's somewhat by design - it's not really a pick up and play, beer and pretzels sorta game. It's meant to be heavy.

Still, I think it would be difficult to introduce to a group without having established some degree of trust around the table and having the group express some prior interest in the game or the themes.

Too, I think it may be difficult to sustain a game of it with strangers (for example here) unless you specifically set out beforehand exactly what everyone expressing what they want to get out of the game. I think that people with prior experience of Kult are going to probably come at it with slightly different ideas about the world based on their prior experiences with the game. Players that have no preconceived notions nor prior experience with it would be in for some rather rude awakenings.

Now, there's things in the game set up to deal with that - for players to come in as blank slates, so to speak. But (again, without running it currently) I have some reservations about how well that will actually work without the Player to have some idea of what's going to come.
BFink
member, 54 posts
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 07:36
  • msg #14

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

I'm half way though the core book and I have to admit that, in comparison, this one is pretty neat and user friendly. Yes, it is still dark, horror and unsettling, but my initial reservations regarding the "class" system are gone.

Yes, the idea of blank slates for the players (instead of any particular archetype) is an interesting one, and I have trouble seeing it as more than a way of introducing new players to the game. Personally, I would not spend too much time on playing as a Sleeper (or GMing a game for them).
Varsovian
member, 1458 posts
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 11:31
  • msg #15

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Regarding Sleepers - I admit I not entirely sure what exactly is the difference (story-wise, not rules-wise) between them and some of the Aware archetypes. Yes, some of the Aware archetypes obviously have the "there's something strange going on" aspect built in, but... what exactly is "aware" about people like the Deceiver or the Doll? There seem to be Sleepers, just darker...
BFink
member, 55 posts
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 12:12
  • msg #16

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

I think it has much to do with Dark Secrets - the Aware archetypes have already encountered something from the other side, while Sleepers, while there is (iirc) a notion of some forgotten event from the past, simply forgot about that. Though I admit that steering the story for Sleepers towards the direction of them experiencing that Dark Secret rather than having a sudden enlightenment would be much more interesting to play.
Varsovian
member, 1459 posts
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 12:30
  • msg #17

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Hmmm. And what do you guys think the stories in Kult could be about? Should they be very character-centric, or can you imagine a more typical horror scenario about investigating weird stuff etc.?
writermonk
member, 222 posts
Freelance Writer
Librarian
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 15:28
  • msg #18

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

In reply to Varsovian (msg # 17):

I think that they'd need some serious Player buy in/participation to run a character-centric story. Running some character-centric stuff would likely really establish the characters in the game - but you'd still need/want to forge ties to others (PCs that is).

I'm not sure how much investigation you'd want to run. Personally, were I to run a Kult game with investigation as a theme (either central or in the background) it would very likely be street-level stuff to start with. Figuring out what's going on in your neighborhood, town, and delving into how you fit into all of it. If it was a long-term game, that might expand out to the region or the world, but I'd leave a lot of stuff as mysterious and unknown (unknowable) just to keep the feel of the game.
Varsovian
member, 1460 posts
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 15:50
  • msg #19

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Hm. So, if I may ask, what would you make your Kult stories about? It's a strange game for me - strong setting, but I'm not entirely sure what to do with it...
BFink
member, 56 posts
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 16:15
  • msg #20

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

I think character creation rules, as well as archetypes, Dark Secrets, Disadvantages etc. make Kult, at least from what I've read and interpreted, strongly character-centred. Yes, I agree it would require a lot from the players, but then the GM section offers a very nice way of bringing all of that together into one interesting piece.

At the same time, yes, it can also be presented in the usual investigation/horror way, but then we're risking that most of what makes PCs the main protagonists (rules-wise and story-wise) would not be used. I had a feeling that it was the problem with the previous version - by running a typical horror/investigation/strange stuff scenarios it took way too much time to actually get to the point of discovering at least some traces of the Truth. The new edition gives the GM tools to start on much higher level of character immersion in the world on both sides of the Veil. After all some of the archetypes allow players to tear the Illusion and reveal the Truth.
writermonk
member, 223 posts
Freelance Writer
Librarian
Mon 24 Dec 2018
at 16:55
  • msg #21

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Probably, depending on the group I was running for, I'd put the immediate focus on the characters.

  • Figure out who the individual PCs are.
  • Figure out how they're connected.
  • Work towards why they're connected.
  • Stories building off of individual PC issues.
  • Uncover secondary story of how they're connected.
  • Uncover secondary story of what's going on in their neighborhood/city

Morty
member, 323 posts
The Doctor.
Mon 21 Jan 2019
at 10:49
  • msg #22

Kult 4E is *finally* out!

my five cents.

I've GMed Kult and Kult-WoD crossovers since about 1997. The new edition has some lore changes that are slightly annoying (Nahemoth). It's powered by pbta now, which is a blessing.

My approach is the same as writermonk's. Let the player characters stumble into something, let it evolve, smile smugly and act like you planned it that way from the start.

KULT's setting works best when there is a no-holds-barred mentality between players and the GM. The themes are heavy, and players should be willing to mesh the characters together. Also, everything is driven by what the player wants to get out of it. There is no such things as going overboard here.

Someone once pointed out the differences between Call of cthulhu's horror and KULT's horror. CoC is terrible because you are insignificant compared to the eldritch cosmic horrors you're battling. KULT is horrible because all the horrors are tailor-made for you. There is a purgatory waiting just for you, nepharites just waiting to torture your soul, entities suffering because you did things to them in your past life thirsting for vengeance. After all, you used to be a god, and everyone remembers the bad, bad things you did .
Morty
member, 324 posts
The Doctor.
Mon 21 Jan 2019
at 12:15
  • msg #23

Re: Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Varsovian:
Hm. So, if I may ask, what would you make your Kult stories about? It's a strange game for me - strong setting, but I'm not entirely sure what to do with it...


My favorite was the stereotypical "PC is an artist who gets inspiration from Hell". Watch the player scramble to keep the character alive via all and every method. Watch the character sacrifice various people and then her two adoptive children (which in the first session of the campaign she saved from a child molester in a satisfying manner courtesy of Dice God) in Death rituals to save herself. And fail. She was finally dragged to her Purgatory where all of the above took revenge. "How much do you want to stay alive?"

A number of CSI-themed games, including a memorable one where the PC checked himself into a mental hospital because of mental illness, the other PC mowing through pedestrians with his car, and a car chase into Metropolis with predictable results.

I've run several games using the awesome Jail of Night by Paul Beakley. This crosses over old World of Darkness with KULT. Mage can be used almost unchanged. Vampire is much more fun. Imagine the Ventrue snob finding out that his blood powers are really a record of all the crimes accumulated by his ancestors, and that he will be punished for them. Werewolves are the tragic ones, rejected both by Gaia and the Illusion. (And, Malkuth is the boss of Pentex!) This used the oWoD system, though.

In any case, character motivations are what drove successful stories forward. Players who have a strong idea of what to do will make the game more fun. That's where pbta helps.
PCO.Spvnky
member, 378 posts
Tue 22 Jan 2019
at 17:55
  • msg #24

Re: Kult 4E is *finally* out!

Got the pdf!  Excites to hopefully play soon.
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 18:29, Tue 22 Jan 2019.
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