Call of Cthulhu: Ex Scientia Vera is a Neverwinter Nights 2 persistent server. Most of the roots of the setting find their origin with both H.P. Lovecraft's and August Derleth's Cthulhu Mythos and the original Call of Cthulhu pen and paper game. Though other influences such as ancient myths, fairytales and a very few aspects from more recent literature and novels have been added as well.

Those who know about Call of Cthulhu need little more information (because I'm not going to tell you the diffrences, you'll have to figure that out in the module) but those who are new to the concept should read on for a bit. In Call of Cthulhu the only playable 'race' available is human. An adventure or rather an investigation usually happens on earth in an 19th and 20th century setting. Other variants such as Call of Cthulhu: Dark Ages and Call of Cthulhu: modern are available as well though less played. In each game the principle is about the same: A completely ordinary person receives a letter on a dark cold night. The letter explains how an old friend of relative finds himself in certain problems and as the player decides to go and help his friend he is dropped into horrific and terrifying situations that take their tolls on the human mind.

Sanity and Insanity play a very large part in Mythos campaigns and every mind rendering event is usually caused by fear and traumatic events. Many people think "Oh, it's just a big blob with maws and tentacles... that doesn't scare me..." though that's not the point of the insanity. The idea that 'humans are alone in the universe' many people had in the those old days is shattered in Lovecraft's stories. And the sudden knowledge that there are far more powerfull things out there and that humanity is nothing more then an insignificant little spec tends to be the reason why many of the characters in the stories go insane and indeed, end up dead.

Top

Ah, this is where I might have to dissapoint some of the hardcore Call of Cthulhu players. Though the system will resemble the original Call of Cthulhu pen and paper game as much as possible (Skill & percentage based instead of the d20 system), the setting will be quite different. Ex Scientia does not take place on earth, though rather an alternate version. Instead of sticking to one aspect, the setting will be a nice balance between fantasy and the original 1920's game and since it heavily involves old folk- and fairytales, there will be a slight increase on the focus of magic. Where Dungeons and Dragons is often too much dungeon crawling and Call of Cthulhu can often involve too much of the investigation part (admittedly, it all depends on who leads the game) Ex Scientia will try to offer both and a decent ballance in between.
In truth, the 'Call of Cthulhu' part in the title, references more towards the game mechanics. While I was writing out specifics for 'Ex Scientia Vera' it turned into a mythos of its own.

Top

Zedicius. Or to those who know me better, just Zed. I've done nothing really notable in the past except enjoy the fun Neverwinter Nights had to offer in the role play department. I've also developed and helped develop a few other role playing systems one which offers a 'number safe' way of playing by eliminating random numbers while still making the system variable, making it perfect for forums and chat rooms. I might put information of it on Twisted Crypts once I get the site functional. Furthermore I like thinking, typing stuff down and playing games. I currently work as a java application programmer in some unknown company and am regrettig the choice. I'm rather cynical and probably not the type of person fit for a leaders job but I'm not going to renounce just because of that. It's still my project, after all.

I have a thing for the 'unconventional' role playing game and quite frankly it amazes me while people try to re-create the forgotten realms or some other 'known' world as best they can while neverwinter nights provides so much customizability so you could easily create a thing of beauty without having to copy anything. Obviously, I don't limit myself to Neverwinter Nights alone.

Top

Eventually, yes. In the forums there is a Player suggestions / Expectations section. I will check it from time to time and add any cleverly asked question to this page.

Top