>Hi. I'm Chris and I'll be running Pokethulhu at Anime North this year
>as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of both the con and
>Pokemon. (I assume that's acceptable.)

Sounds groovy :)

>Anyway, I'm interested in any game running hints or material that
>might be useful for me, as I've not played before. The con is in late
>May, and I'm hoping to run a game or two beforehand with friends to
>get better acquainted with it, but beyond that, I've not the foggiest
>on what I could do to make the game as enjoyable as possible.
>
>Thanks for any help you can provide!

The most useful advice I have for GMs running _any_ RPG that's new to them is
"relax, and don't overthink it," and that applies many times over for
Pokéthulhu. It's the kind of game where players usually bring a lot of
enthusiasm to the table (anytime you let gamers play small children or animals,
there's an extra level of energy) so it can be overwhelming if you let yourself
feel too unsteady :)

Just begin with simple set-ups that highlight the game's basic goals: the
meeting and acquiring of new and interesting thulhu, the sporting battles
between cultists, the exploration of creepy gambrel-roofed structures, the
flipping-through of ancient tomes to look for the pictures, and the occasional
summoning of something that makes the universe go pop. The starter adventure
provided with the game (2nd and 3rd Editions only) is a solid one, and it's
pretty easy to concoct more, either by twisting Lovecraftian bits or twisting
Pokémon bits, or both or occasionally neither.



|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn