Acquisitions Incorporated Presents Call of Cthulhu - PAX Aus 2019

[@doverin5732]

So this was my first time at PAX, and my first time attending a live session. On the one hand I could have regrets about not starting sooner... But then I wouldn't have had such an amazing beginning.

[@KYMERAKITTEN]

I love this so much, Kris is the perfect person for Call of Cthulhu.

[@Nionivek]

Kris looks like a character from a Lovecraft book.

[@johnhall9900]

He reminds me of the Lovecraft short story, "Nyarlathotep", what with his dark beauty and Egyptian roots.

[@lionelt.9124]

Kris certainly is! Have you heard Wayne June as well? If you've played the game Darkest Dungeon you'll recognize him as the narrator. He also narrates some of H.P. Lovecraft's books here on KZbin.

[@shywoofer1620]

Honestly Ryan was on fire in this game, what an absolute delight!

[@GreyAcumen]

I get the impression that Ryan knew going in, and possibly everyone else knew too, that he gets EXTRA freaked out by these types of stories, and he uses humor as a defense mechanism. As the horror elements ramped up, so did Ryan's jokes and quips, he was incredibly protective of his sanity throughout the entire game, he had a bottle of alcohol right from the start, and as he was left alone at the end, that slight crack in his voice sounded very much like he had full out chills.

[@monkey10399]

27:30 - I love how well this crew adapts when the plan goes off the rails 😅

[@thecactusman17]

The Threnodite as an art piece is literally awe inspiring. It is the work of a master at his craft. If this wasn't an official monster before it should be now and Chaosium should be desperate for similar inspiration. Congrats Kris.

[@Raphtyr]

I love how enraptured Jerry is by Kris' storytelling at the end there.

[@jenweatherwax7113]

It ends so suddenly, I am dying with questions! This was lots of fun, hope these characters come back

[@neurohack9038]

*the characters never came back.*

[@WAMBHSE]

If I'm not mistaken, the newest call of Cthulhu episode was a continuation of this timeline. I think omin dran was the only recurring character though. Search pax aus 2022 acquisitions inc

[@majestyc0359]

Kris is brilliant, A must see.

[@Gray963]

"Ryan Hartman: SPEAKS ITALIAN?" Hope somebody bought this person a drink. I'm dyin. xD

[@RithSV]

What time stamp is this? Already seen the whole show but wanted to see the funny bits with the transcribing without having to watch the whole thing again.

[@thatscarletmoth]

@@RithSV 1:46:37

[@MemoryOfGravy]

I love how "you're about to see a lot of knobs" flew right over the heads of everyone at the table, but the audience caught it.

[@cat-cp6yh]

kris is the PERFECT keeper this is absolutely phenomenal wowie zowie

[@paxtenebrae]

I cannot be the only man who watches Acq. Inc. and gets distracted by how jealous I am of how ridiculously handsome Kris is, right? A very dapper suit too!

[@jessicazimmer8910]

Kris being just *absurdly* handsome is basically PA canon.

[@travisdicks3773]

I definitely do too.

[@nomanchaudhry8727]

I ain't jealous, I'm just enjoying the view

[@TheProfessor529]

I wouldn't call it 'jealousy', but...

[@stormcloudsabound]

jealousy. suuuure. totally not you being gay, which would be totally cool. totally not.

[@CTBridge]

So weird to hear Arnie's voice coming out of an actual person and not the aether.

[@ricomarez7834]

@@AlexKing666 Or is it robo Arnie? Or a deception of the dark lord!

[@HauntedToilets]

As someone that enjoys watching Acquisitions Incorporated and also acts as a Keeper for many CoC games, this was quite a treat to watch. I very much enjoyed the atmosphere Kris generated as a Keeper here, and it was great to see the investigators gradually uncover the mystery. The ending scene was phenomenal as well. I would like to point out, however, that many of the important CoC combat and sanity mechanics were overlooked here. Specifically, combat was run very much like standard DnD, where each player/investigator makes an action without an immediate reaction from the enemy. CoC has reactionary combat, which would have helped raise the lethality of the scenario. Additionally, I think Kris may have overlooked that if any investigator takes over 5 sanity damage in a single roll, they must test their intelligence. If the investigator succeeds in their INT roll, they fully comprehend the event and consequently go temporarily insane. At this time, they suffer a bout of madness (which will be roleplayed). More than likely, these omissions were likely just due to everyone still learning the rules of CoC while transitioning over from classic DnD-style role-play. I would love to see more of Acq. Inc and CoC. This was fun to watch and I look forward to additional presentations of this RPG system.

[@Thunderhowl]

I can’t be alone wishing that someone talks Kris into running a regular game CoC game for PA, perhaps for the Patreon where they could get deeper into the rules as written.

[@Nionivek]

There were plenty of overlooked rules and mistakes made, but a lot of those things are fixed by simply playing it and this was likely a first game.

[@tonebenderx]

Watched a number of role--playing videos, but this is easily my favorite. So entertaining!

[@posermetal8884]

Kris' "prohibition" reference at 45:29 was brilliant

[@RumbleRed]

Oh wow. At long last we get some lovecraft love

[@stormcloudsabound]

RumbleRedUK you know what he called his dog?

[@frankie9373]

@@stormcloudsabound it was his cat

[@xerowon3490]

GREEN FLAME!!!! "oh...is that a thing" wow that was gold

[@B0uff0s]

I find you lack of Darkmagic disturbing

[@davidnixon5792]

"Color me green, it's color of my god!"

[@Nionivek]

My bet is what gave them the bad ending was the prayer. They allowed the priests to pray for a very extended period of time, then with the final round being the monster itself praying. It explains why Kris was so frustrated that no one was touching the cultist, since at that rate they were just going to be transported with absolutely nothing happening.

[@flarkoy]

Is there ever a good ending in Call of Cthulhu?

[@JordonVirtue]

They must've found a portal to this game setting out behind like.. a Burger King or something..

[@Bakamoichigei]

27:33 gdi, Ryan! The transcribers have trouble enough as it is! 😂 Oh gods, I am so glad y'all got the transcripts. After this point, the live captions basically became the sixth person at the table, the way it was creating a feedback loop of hilarity throughout the proceedings. 😂😂😂

[@doverin5732]

There's the GM, and then there's the REAL god of this session 😂🤣

[@krathoon2338]

What an ending.

[@sleepyzealot9182]

The best Call game I have seen in forever, excluding Critical Roles one-shot (as a huge fan of CR it's hard for me to admit it's better but it is!) & can we hear it for Kris Straub as Keeper! Oh, my gods, his voice is just candy to my ears & that beautiful tone mixed with the imagery he was creating, just got me right in my feels. I adore Acq. Inc shows & of course all The C Team stuff, this was such a nice change of pace though, great, fantastic job! this was just excellent.

[@Nionivek]

For me... In terms of being serious and chilling than CR's oneshot wins out. In terms of being the most funny, then Yogscasts Call of Cthulhu wins out (even if... the first one is maybe too irreverent for my tastes)

[@NMan944]

Kriss! such an amazing Job as the Keeper! I really hope to see more of this world through your crystalline eyes. How did it feel to make most of your players lose their minds?

[@MA7ERICK]

At 1:55:00 I would have joked that the priest was so good the body buried itself.

[@jonxor]

Trying to keep the volume audible, but not ear-splitting is a game of volume button quick-time-events. I may have tinnitus.

[@jessicazimmer8910]

Headphones generally help me a lot. I don't why the "mix" tends to be better for me.

[@causticarmadillo]

The audio level fluctuates wildly between RYAN'S VOICE and ᴷʳᶦˢ' ⁿᵃʳʳᵃᵗᶦᵒⁿ.

[@SamundraDarion]

How did they get from Ravnica to here?

[@ConnorRunda]

Are the subtitles ... missing or severely delayed in places for others as well? I mean they're a good like 3-4 seconds behind.

[@pennyarcadeTV]

The lag is intentional as it's meant to match the real-time subtitling that was going on during the show since the players and audience were reacting to the delay and it ended up being a part of the whole performance.

[@doverin5732]

Don't be mean to Caption-sama, they're doing their best 😂🤣

[@Gray963]

@@pennyarcadeTV I'm so glad you guys went through that extra effort. That cracked me up. :D

[@stormcloudsabound]

pennyarcadeTV I get what you were going for, but I have difficulty hearing & processing speech, and it would’ve been nice to know what they were actually saying-or to have an alt option for those real-time captions. This just seems like a wasted opportunity made solely for your hearing viewers.

[@bharl7226]

I listened to almost this whole show before finding this comment and learning that I had to turn on the fucking captions to get wtf they were talking about the whole damn time! 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Oof, guess I gotta watch it all over again.

[@llamasniper1116]

Heck dang dudes I love kris' spoopy mind

[@MrRevertis]

Oh so that's what Arnie looks like. I knew that podcast wasn't really real.

[@KikoKay-Kay]

But what if.... Acc Inc hired an actor to play as an actor so that we would beleive that the podcast is not real. Its a MASSIVE HOAX! Acc Inc is ran by the Dark Overlord! We must stop watching now!

[@TheLAhearts]

Nothing makes me more excited to see a new video!!

[@llamasniper1116]

Holy shit yes I had no idea this was a thing thank you so much youtube recommendeds!!!!

[@SergioLeRoux]

Whoa, Evelyn has a pretty low starting sanity score, pretty much already a bit crazy...

[@terrybeal2252]

Animal rights activists often are a little crazy. 😏

[@ZSchrink]

This was a very fun session to watch!

[@frankzamary2477]

So, I did as I was told by the higher ups at AI and turned on the closed captions. I wad confused everytime I saw Kris Straub instead of K'thris Draub. It got worse as the game got more and more strange.

[@lilMissmAlice]

Same. Also, the space taken up by their full names was just a waste! There's not a single duplicate name on this stage, just go by first names and get on with what they're saying!

[@capesword111]

I'm pretty sure Omin Dran of Acquisitions Incorporated was never there canonically. 🤣

[@AnnaTheFallMaiden]

God, I love Kris so much

[@Tythas1]

Intro screen: 'Turn on subtitles for better viewing!' Subtitles: *has no concept of timing and cuts the experience*

[@tomasoflathartaigh7189]

From pennyarcadeTV (response to a comment below): The lag is intentional as it's meant to match the real-time subtitling that was going on during the show since the players and audience were reacting to the delay and it ended up being a part of the whole performance.

[@Joemantler]

Evelyn has a STR of 100?!?! CON of 110 and APP of 100??? She's an avatar of Nyarlathotop, isn't she!

[@timkai]

I want... this. All of this. Forever.

[@trevorotis172]

I've watched this, like, a dozen times now. Lol

[@KagedWhizDumb]

Mr L A Thander. 😂😂 Brilliant

[@polishedpebble4111]

I think Call of Cthulhu should be the CTeam-ish but with unforgiving consequences, and a one shot, because everyone dies or goes insane.

[@ricomarez7834]

Oh shit, it's Arnie! Shoutouts to Magic Tavern!

[@JerseyParagon]

Kris - amazing job overall. Bonus for implementing a badass Maine accent 😉

[@ERBarratt]

Song at the beginning please?

[@lassebuhl1882]

Can anyone tell me where that octagonal dice tray is from?

[@isaacwilliams7493]

Ah finally some good effing food

[@mrskribble]

That ending got to me.

[@TheLastPhoen1x]

Kris Straub is breathtaking.

[@patandmacmusic]

That was an amazing session

[@AndromedaD]

Is Kris dressed as Dr. Angstrom from Broodhollow?

[@AL-ck3hg]

I was definitely getting Broodhollow vibes as well.

[@UnklSam39]

I really dislike that there was an extra screen I couldn't see. Still entertaining.

[@flarkoy]

I rewatch things like this to remind myself not to waste time.

[@llamasniper1116]

Ryan Hartman, More like Ryan Hartwarming

[@gabrielnapoleon3856]

Is this kris’ first time DM’ing?

[@m.penguin571]

Yeah, and he did incredibly well, although I truly believe that Call of Cthulhu is Kris' true home for being a Game Master.

[@robertbogan225]

Wow he was really good. Really felt the madness at the end. Its funny how close insanity and comedy are lol the ending!

[@ROYBGP]

Gabriel Napoleon His first time doing it live, I'm pretty sure. But ever? I don't think so.

[@syd4890]

Mr L A Thander????

[@lionelt.9124]

At 58:40 he was delivering to her a Mr Ed talking horse joke opportunity on a silver platter. Dang, she missed a good one.

[@ljubomirjuraj9658]

Thats cause she's not here based on her talent. And I'll leave it at that.

[@ScroogeMcWhat]

"I'd like to get a second opinion" that made me laugh

[@alexandersmith9144]

Love this game! Another classic next to Dungeons & Dragons! 😁.

[@JoseAngelC]

Yesssss! Ryan (Donaat) with Acquisitions Inc, finally! (well, sort of)

[@j.w.2261]

I'd love to see Kris DM more.

[@Drewbert101]

I know the stats didn't really matter for the game, but Ryan's Intelligence stat wasn't really that low for him to think he was just too dumb to be impacted by what was going on. If anything, his appearance stat was so bad that he would fit in with the disheveled cannibals and horrors lol

[@Datharass]

This. Is. Perfect.

[@chriswood3673]

I really feel like I am missing out on something not seeing what was above them

[@paulpenna5615]

Just click the close-captioning button (CC). It apparently exactly matches (or, at least closely matches) the subtitling from the show.

[@TheBacontarian]

Still confused what was happening above even with CC, only that pork house was changed to whorehouse

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

I’ve been waiting for this for like a week, since I watched a copy someone in the audience posted. They didn’t get the IRL captions though.

[@V0ID_WALK3R]

what version of CoC is this

[@elakeqq]

Love the animation!

[@balloonattics6186]

Still entertaining, but I hope the regular show returns soon.

[@davidhodgden7449]

Less than 10 minutes in. I know you recommend CC on, and maybe its only on my end, but the subtitles are inaccurate and starting to lag behind what is being said. Disruptive of my viewing experience (CC on. Settings: English). Otherwise, thank you for continuing to upload this type of content. Penny Arcade's devotion to table top role playing has brought many years of joy to my life.

[@pennyarcadeTV]

The lag is intentional as it's meant to match the real-time subtitling that was going on during the show since the players and audience were reacting to the delay and it ended up being a part of the whole performance.

[@ericrellik5838]

@@pennyarcadeTV If you have footage of the screen from the event, please share! CC doesn't quite capture the true beauty of the whole Porkhouse Saga!

[@robertbogan225]

Lol thats what happens. Hes still sane lol.

[@thetruth-hl7ct]

From the brilliant mind of H.P. Lovecraft.

[@mordyth]

Missed this at the event, glad to see it on the tubes

[@jaysw9585]

I don't think i would like to be a player in this game, but i think i would really enjoy GMing it. I would love to run a 1960s era Scooby Doo game.

[@tictoktop7679]

Why Mike doesnt play with ypu all? Is he still a part of PA?

[@tabletopenhanced7113]

Mike very didnt come to this PAX he was back home with his family.

[@89warden]

Tentacles gallore!

[@RandomAccessMammeries]

More of this please!

[@chocoboegg5405]

this was great !!

[@nickkuroshi0]

Why am I getting Evelyn's evil twin vibes?

[@srennhrryborg8861]

More CoC please 🖤😎

[@jochenpanjaer980]

Where is mr Darkmagic? :(

[@Aaron-hn9hv]

Arnie got out of Foon?

[@DanDisgrace]

Truely haunting and perfectly lovecraftian. Amazing

[@jessicazimmer8910]

Wouldn't it be Theta Epsilon Theta or TET, though?

[@PangolinMontanari]

Ipsolon is also a letter.

[@jessicazimmer8910]

@@PangolinMontanari Thank you! I couldn't determine the proper spelling to look it up.

[@Fardawg]

@@PangolinMontanari As far as I can find, Ipsilon is the Italian spelling for Upsilon/Ypsilon. None of these would look like TIT on a frat or sorority logo. It would look something like OYO or OEO. It would have to be Tau Iota Tau to work out as TIT.

[@Fardawg]

It would have to be Tau Iota Tau to work out as TIT on a logo. Theta looks like an O with a dash in the middle anyway. Also, "Ipsilon" is apparently an Italian spelling for Ypsilon, so even that wouldn't show up realistically. It would look like OYO or OEO if it was Ypsilon or Epsilon.

[@jessicazimmer8910]

@@Fardawg Thank you for not only nerding out with me, but providing the right answer. It was bugging me, knowing it was wrong. :)

[@DelayofUpload]

Is COC always this "rail-roady", or was that for the sake of time? I'm somewhat interested in the game, but it just seems like it was the players having choice in the beginning until "this thing teleports you to another plane now you all go crazy" with no hope of changing the outcome. Is that the appeal of the game for people?

[@thecactusman17]

This had to be done as a one shot for a live audience. If you look at Kris's DM notes on his Patreon (free! go check them out!) you can see how each location was structured to flow into each other naturally as the players participated and that there were tons of opportunities for improvised exploration. He also had time limits to indicate when each scene should be changed to ensure they had chances to explore and roleplay everywhere, with the last sequence being the shortest since it was mostly combat. The final city is where players might get ro response any lingering questions, but by that point they had probably already failed or succeeded to stop the cult's plot. That said, a CoC game where you outright defeat the greater forces would not be very in keeping with most of HPLs work. They technically succeeded - defeating the cult's lesser monster and leaving one sane person alive to warn anyone else that he could.

[@DBoyTommie]

Eventually every player character in CoC goes insane. Which is in keeping with HPL works, there are no happy endings.

[@DelayofUpload]

@@DBoyTommie Ahh I see, that's a bummer, but I'm glad they stick with the source material, I can see how that'd be appealing for some. Thanks for the reply!

[@rangerbobcat]

No, it is not. I am running Shadows over Stillwater. The three part campaign begins with the party getting an assignment from a judge to bring a murder suspect in. The players *totally ignored* this. We have played two of the three parts and the murder suspect is still at home not knowing the Law is out after him. And I have loved every moment. :-)

[@Nionivek]

It isn't railroaded at all. Pay attention to what is going on: The cultists started a prayer and the party took a VERY long time to deal with it. Thus the Cultists ended up finishing their prayer/spell that transported the party to the City at the Top of the Hill. The adventure after they were transported is just a elongated failure state emphasizing the horror of their failure. They could have killed the cultists faster, interfered with the prayer, ran away, as well as many options that could have been opened up before entering the basement. Call of Cthulhu does not pull that many punches and emphasizes intelligent solutions.

[@weaponizedlizardmen360]

Anyone else remember the waffle crew? I remember the waffle crew...

[@phoebemoon6952]

I miss the waffle crew. Time to uncancel them. Theyve been punished and weve all suffered enough!!!!

[@Recardoguy007]

Especially after Jared dropped some hard facts on the people that accused him of being a predator.

[@thatguynamedgabestyfy8348]

yeah true but can't stop thinking about the fact that in this Universe pultin is an actual lawyer

[@icydeath0000]

So good, more GM-Kris!

[@johnhall9900]

As with most of the ventures involving the living madness that is Kris Straub, I'm disappointed by the volume control. As with the "C" team podcasts, I find it difficult (cult, haha) to hear all the bonkers nonsense that he so lovingly crafts. Maybe y'all could mike him differently? Like a bone-grafted mike implant, for our listening enjoyments? Have Ryan spare no expense! Additional request: not everyone watches the video... some of us only listen, which makes it vital to hear all the delicious sauce Kris brings. Otherwise, content was 10/10, would recommend. Love you guys!

[@gabrielnapoleon3856]

Audio was booty but I loved it overall ❤️💯

[@kumikey]

*Duck noises*

[@ayotorry4897]

y'all ever thought about showing what's on the big-ass screen above the DM? everyone's laughing but none of us know why

[@pennyarcadeTV]

People are laughing at the Closed Captions/subtitles because they were done live and had funny mistakes and were off a bit. You can see those same Closed Captions by turning them on for this video.

[@Locane256]

WHAT IS ABOVE THEM???? 26:00 ????

[@ericrellik5838]

The person typing the CC at the event was live typing, so each letter typed came up as typed, not full sentences. As they were trying to write "Porkhouse" but it autocorrected to "Whorehouse" and everything they deleted it would change back. This went on for about a minute before the table noticed . From then on, the players tried to trip up the captions a few times, especially with Doctor Azim and there were some captions not on here were the person typing would direct something to the players or audience.

[@chelseamadisetty350]

I am so disappointed that I can't see what the person is typing

[@thatscarletmoth]

You can, actually! Just set your youtube video to show the Closed Captions :)

[@PJBxx]

the start of the video specifically told you to turn on closed captions

[@josh-lewis]

I have been so excited to see this! 👏👏👏

[@CreatorCade]

Nice intro. 👍

[@cameronjames3499]

Am I missing a plot hook (/item) or something. Havent watched this yet but happened to see that Prosser's character has 3 stats of 100 (one of which being even higher than that normal cap). Seems beyond ridiculous (not even bothering with the coincidence of which stats are 100), especially when compared to the other PCs who dont seem to have munchkin tier stats.

[@6006mrfu]

Wheres the main acq inc game? Or is it just not up yet

[@thecactusman17]

Gabe aka Mike didn't go to Australia, so this is the main Acq Inc game replacement (they even incorporated the logo). There was also a C Team game posted last week.

[@nastymangoes144]

They never play a main acq inc game in Australia because we are so far out of the way and stuff, were also the ones they played the star wars game for

[@ChurchofCthulhu]

Cool!