"The Laundry"

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 6:19 pm

Apparently it's a combination of secret agents and Cthulhu, using the chaosium system. It's by Gareth Hanrahan.

Anyone have opinions on any part of that?

TheFlatline · Post by **TheFlatline** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 6:45 pm

Not especially. It's one of the more cliche modern day CoC settings I've played in.

I'm not opposed to a game in that setting, but I have a bunch of espionage themed RPGs already that I can mine for fluff, so the thought of actually purchasing it kind of is a non-starter for me.

The issue we found, and maybe this product discusses it, is that as agents, you're either way in over your head and not trained for any of this (becoming a somewhat standard Call of Cthulhu game), or you *are* trained to deal with Cthulhu, in which case a large portion of the horror is gone.

You also have weird power levels. Creepies like Deep Ones become canon fodder under automatic weaponry or really any concentrated firearms. But pretty soon you hit creatures that are immune to physical damage and shit, and I'm not even referencing the Old Ones and their ilk.

It's doable, I've played in great "agent" games of CoC, but it changes the underlying dynamic away from what you think of when you think "cthulhu". The thing that makes it work I guess is that Lovecraft actually wrote science fiction horror, and the sci-fi part fits with the agents concept.

PS: You'll find general contempt and dislike of Chaosium's actual mechanics. I personally don't mind... I like the system better than the D20 treatment of Call of Cthulhu, but that might just be me.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 6:48 pm

[/edit]Okay, I misread the opening post and started in on the actual books the RPG is based on...sorry.

The first book, The Atrocity Archives is exceptional. There's a fair bit of nerd porn in it by way of throwaway references to higher math, philosophy, computer science, and nerd-y pop culture in general. From a spy-thriller viewpoint, it is (deliberately) highly reminiscent of Len Deighton's early Harry Palmer stuff, with a focus on the realities of espionage (even occult espionage) like paperwork, Van Eck Phreaking, etc. I highly recommend it. The follow-up short story The Concrete Jungle is also very good.

The second book, The Jennifer Morgue is based (again, deliberately) on the James Bond novels of Ian Fleming, and I care less for it - except the beginning, which is a brilliant take on the CIA's secret Gomer Explorer project. It has heavier Mythos material than the previous volume as well, and less of a focus on nerdcore stuff. The follow-up short story Pimpf is relatively weak.

The two books were also collected in a single volume titled On Her Majesty's Occult Service. There's a third book which I own but haven't read yet called The Fuller Memorandum, it's on the pile.

The closest equivalent books are Tim Power's Declare (occult espionage - Cthulhu), Delta Green's The Spiraling Worm anthology (surprisingly well done), and Bruce Sterling's short story The Unthinkable.

Stross also released a novella not set in the Laundry Files universe but also combining Cthulhu and espionage called A Colder War, which is available for free online.

The Laundry Files has also spun out an RPG, which I have not seen yet.

JigokuBosatsu · Post by **JigokuBosatsu** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 7:32 pm

Declare is great. It's more mystical than the Laundry series, but it's also a more seamless work than most of Powers' stuff. I'll second "A Colder War", that one's an amazing short piece.

erik · Post by **erik** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:30 pm

Here's The Concrete Jungle by Charles Stross. Free to read.

I've been looking forward to the RPG just for fluff and ideas mostly. Supposedly they were going to use new mechanics, I haven't seen it yet though. Not really expecting much from the crunch.

Avoraciopoctules · Post by **Avoraciopoctules** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:23 pm

Ancient History wrote:There's a third book which I own but haven't read yet called The Fuller Memorandum, it's on the pile.

Still good, but I found it bleaker and more depressing than the first 2. I didn't see a short story in the back of mine, which was kind of disappointing. Some pretty awesome stuff in the end.

I really like most of Charles Stross' books.

kzt · Post by **kzt** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:52 am

I think the books are outstanding. However the long-term outlook for that world seems to get bleaker with each book.

mean_liar · Post by **mean_liar** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:47 am

Ancient History wrote:The second book, The Jennifer Morgue is based (again, deliberately) on the James Bond novels of Ian Fleming, and I care less for it - except the beginning, which is a brilliant take on the CIA's secret Gomer Explorer project.

"Glomar Explorer", used for Project Azorian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSF_Explorer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Azorian

How do these books compare to the Delta Green books? I enjoyed the early anthologies quite a bit, especially Blair Reynolds' Operation Looking Glass. I still have a devoted love of that one.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:57 am

Less outright Mythos stuff, a heavier dedication to the collusion of high tech and espionage, and in general the atmosphere is that of a spy novel...there are great and evil and occult powers in the world, but the approach to them is similar to how Cold War spy agencies would view and deal with each other. The usual tropes are thus somewhat swept under the rug, and there is less focus on action to the DG anthologies.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 12:41 pm

PS: You'll find general contempt and dislike of Chaosium's actual mechanics. I personally don't mind... I like the system better than the D20 treatment of Call of Cthulhu, but that might just be me.

d20 Cthulhu was fucking horrible, so being more playable than that doesn't mean shit. d20 Cthulhu was based on the d20 Modern engine with a kludged in True Namer casting mechanic for rituals. Ugh. It was atrocious. Added to that, the very premise of d20 Modern - where everything is dealt with by hitting it for hit point damage is an insult to anything that could even be confused for horror in bad light.

The Chaosium system is bad. The character advancement is very bad. But fuckety fuck, I would never inflict d20 Cthulhu on anyone.

Personally, I'd use Feng Shui. The fast and loose system lends itself well to a game where you are action hero stars, but also lends itself well to a game where the bad guys don't play by the rules of physics.

-Username17

Nebuchadnezzar · Post by **Nebuchadnezzar** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:38 pm

There are a couple more Bob Howard stories available for completionists' sake, linked to on Stross' wikipedia page. Of the two, 'Overtime' is one of the cuter Cthulhu Christmas (Christmythos?)stories I've read.

Neurosis · Post by **Neurosis** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:35 am

I personally find its genre blending quite intriguing...it reminds me very much of the somewhat Delta Green centric d20 Call of Cthulhu game I ran several years back, which was very much great time had by all. On the other hand, though, I have way too many ongoing RPGs and campaigns to even think about purchasing a new one, and also sort of, been there done that.