2/26/22, 12:16 PM What makes KULT different from others "modern day RPG" with "magic"?

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question What makes KULT different from others "modern day RPG" with "magic"? search
8 (self.KULTrpg)
submitted 2 months ago by 0Jaul
this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2021
So, I heard about KULT, I know that it's a PbtA, that is about "unraveling the real world that the
8 points (100% upvoted)
superior forces hide to you" and that kind of thing. Cool. But that's something that (in a way or
shortlink: https://redd.it/rnbzvh
another) you can find in tons of Modern Days RPG [like World of Darkness ones, or Unknown
Armies, CoC, and so on).
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Now, I'm not asking you a dump of lore, but I'm asking you: what part of the setting of KULT
makes it different from the other RPGs you played and, more importantly, what are the
mechanics that you think are so well "wired" in the setting and lore that just wouldn't work the Submit a new text post
same outside of this setting and make the game worth playing?
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[–] Zamarak 1 point 1 month ago  zentropia (edit)

Mechanics I can't say. It's a modified PbtA system. It's modified enough that me and my group enjoyed it, even if Feel free to add/discuss everything and anything KULT-
related. Just keep in mind that while KULT itself features
I hate PbtA (at least from the GM side of things). I liked the KULT version because it's a bit closer to normal ttrpg, very dark and twisted vision, it doesn't mean every
with health and stuffs like that. aspect of it should make it to the public.

But the setting is the goldmine here. The first thing for me was that unlike Call of Cthulhu, my players didn't know Think about other people's feelings before touching
some disturbing subject, ok? ;)
the lore, so that already upped the scariness factor. The thing is, you can only appreciate the setting as the GM.
What is KULT? (wikipedia)
The players will only see glimpses of it, glimpses they will probably never understand fully. The thing I love is KULT: Divinity Lost (homepage for the latest,
how different each sides of the whole universe are from each others. In Call of Cthulhu, all elder gods are just upcoming edition of the game).

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2/26/22, 12:16 PM What makes KULT different from others "modern day RPG" with "magic"? : KULTrpg

weird creatures. In this, each sides have their uniqueness and goals you can somewhat understand. And pretty KULT on FB (unofficial, closed group).
KULT on FB (official, open group).
much all those sides want you dead.
created by JesterRaiin Borderlander a community for 5 years
It's also a game that works well for a horror game (obviously), with more focus on the horror than the whole
investigation focus Cthulhu goes for. MODERATORS

Honestly, if you want a feel for the game, runs Oakwood Heights. It's free on the KULT website. I used it to MESSAGE THE MODS
introduce players to the game and it was fantastic.
permalink embed save report give award reply JesterRaiin Borderlander
roflo1 Borderlander
[–] Auburney_RFOS 6 points 2 months ago*  Kittenstorm93
It's basically Paranoid Schizophrenic: the RPG...
except it's also Gnostic Occultism: the RPG...
and Postmodern about moderation team »

Social Criticism: the RPG, too.

RECENTLY VIEWED LINKS
Other things are like it, but not quite. The Matrix, Unknown Armies, lots of other media share (or copy) aspects of question What makes KULT different from
it, but none can match the sheer unadulterated noncompromising vehemency of its bleakness, nihilism, others "modern day RPG" with "magic"?

grandure, and magnificence. 8 points | 15 comments

song
Into the World of Man - Hell Night
It taps into everything; religion, science, the humanities, superstitions, psychology, nightmares, sex, violence...
Soundtrack

and it funnels them all into one single purpose: Horror.

5 points | comment
It can do all the horror subgenres (from quiet, psychological horror, to religious and occult horror, supernatural
My review of The Magic Christian, which
horror, cosmic horror, extreme gore and brutality, body horror, social horror...) because it nails the genre's core features John and Graham, who also wrote
so well. material for the film

26 points | comment
Humankind is the ultimate victim in this game - and the ultimate victimizers as well.
isn’t the term ‘indie film’ being used incorrectly
There are also a lot of individual elements you could point out that are unique and good. Metropolis, on the and overly so nowadays? especially regarding
setting & fluff side.
Stability, Keep it Together, and Disadvantages, on the (hard) mechanics side.
Dark Secrets, a24 as an example.

203 points | 67 comments

personal drives, and Dramatic Hooks on the "soft" mechanics side.
Article Clint Eastwood Passed On Starring In
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Die Hard Because He Didn’t Get The Humour
[–] ansigtet 3 points 2 months ago  In The Script

It can do all the horror subgenres (from quiet, psychological horror, to religious and occult horror, cosmic 17.6k points | 1028 comments

horror, extreme gore, brutality, abuse...) because it nails the genre's core so well. clear

If I know I want to run a horror game, but I'm still uncertain what kind of horror I want to run, KULT is the first account activity
thing I look too, because I agree that anything can work for KULT. There are certain systems that might do
specific kinds of horror better, but nothing is as all encompassing as KULT.
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[–] vainur 2 points 2 months ago 

Kult is Gnostic Horror akin to CoC or Unknown Armies but with it’s own lore.

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2/26/22, 12:16 PM What makes KULT different from others "modern day RPG" with "magic"? : KULTrpg

It’s just a mere google away!

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[–] 0Jaul [S] 2 points 2 months ago 

Indeed, that's why I want to know something more about that: the point of view of someone who plays it
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[–] vainur 3 points 2 months ago 

Ah, well, the setting is amazing, so visceral and anxious.

It’s not pulpy like WoD or Unknown Armoes, just dark, shiny and depressing.
The rules set is fine, I play PbtA mostly, and this is barely a PbtA - I had to hack it to make it work.
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[–] JesterRaiin Borderlander 2 points 2 months ago 

PbtA is the mechanics that plays well for short, a few sessions long stories. KULT shines out in long campaign mode. PbtA is player-
driven, where the world around, setting and its internal lore aren't particularly important. KULT is lore heavy and features a "story arch"
that's looming over players' heads, much like Planescape-ish Blood War. PbtA doesn't work with tactical combat and tactics is often the
only thing that may save you when you're facing a creature that might tear you apart in a matter of seconds.
That's my opinion for the selection of this mechanics for the latest iteration of KULT. Fans of the mechanics always disagree and often
quite vehemently, but since they use proverbial "I know people who..." or similar vague arguments I see no reason to change my
opinion.
As for the questions:
differences
Nowadays, there's probably no piece of KULT's lore that didn't appear somewhere, so when you read it you're going to say "oh, this is
Lovecraftian, this is WOD, this is UA, this is Delta Green..." most definitely.
I'd say that the only difference lies in the way KULT uses and connects all those small pieces. No other game to my knowledge aside of
WOD: God Machine does something similar.
peculiar submechanical part
None. Whatever works in KULT might be implemented to other games and would work quite well...
So, why select KULT?
Because it's the only ttrpg in existence that interconnects with real world so much that you may perceive the reality around us through
the scope of the in-game lore and it's going to work.
Yeah, it's madness, but it works.
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2/26/22, 12:16 PM What makes KULT different from others "modern day RPG" with "magic"? : KULTrpg
[–] 0Jaul [S] 4 points 2 months ago 

Sounds like you really like the lore but don't the mechanics at all!
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[–] JesterRaiin Borderlander 1 point 2 months ago 

Precisely.
The lore is highly engaging. The mechanics is entirely opposite of what I consider fun.
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[–] von_economo 3 points 2 months ago 

I like PbtA because it's simple and I find that the concept of partial success is very effective at moving the story in interesting ways. In
particular, the moves in Kult: Divinity Lost are very conducive to running an open ended sandbox game because they tie in directly to
the PCs backstory or to elements of the lore.
I also like the way PbtA gets rid of initiative, turn order in combat, is player facing, and has generally less die rolls. I find this works
particularly well for a horror game where too many mechanics can really slow things down and detract from the dramatic tension.
So while you could totally play Kult with, say, CoC, the moves in Kult: Divinity Lost are designed to enmesh the PCs in the lore of the
game and, for me at least, I find the PbtA rules very elegant for playing these kind of games. Some people hate PbtA though, so
different strokes..
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[–] febboy 2 points 2 months ago 

I love PBTA , but I find Kult system unnecessary complicated.

Kult lore stands out compared to any other game like Cthulhu or Wod.
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[–] iribar7 1 point 2 months ago 

Stands out for what?

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[–] febboy 0 points 2 months ago 

For the lore. It is fantastic.

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[–] iribar7 1 point 2 months ago 

I only have passing knowledge of the depth of Kult lore, but I highly doubt that it can hold a candle to the cast lore of the World of
Darkness. I'm not a fanboy pr something, but it's crazy how much lore/story/characters are out there when it comes to the WoD.
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[–] Auburney_RFOS 3 points 2 months ago 

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2/26/22, 12:16 PM What makes KULT different from others "modern day RPG" with "magic"? : KULTrpg

Yes, WoD lore is undoubtedly more expansive/detailed. Tons of fleshed out NPCs, locations, metaplot...
But Kult wins not at quantity but at quality. The essential ideas behind the cosmology make the Caine Myth seem like a children's
bedtime story (which IRL, at its roots it basically is :P) and the entire Umbra like a vanilla mass of meh.
There is a kind of trope known as "the Kult reversal". You may have heard of some of its cornerstones: God is Evil (and also dead or at
least gone without a trace)... Death is Only the Beginning... Madness is an Escape... Ideas like these (and many more) inform the
setting and give a GM ideas, rather than nailing down the game world with an endless flood of details (as is the WoD style)
It may sound like I'm bashing on WoD for not having any good ideas. That's not the case. They have great, inspired ideas in each of
their game lines... often at least two or three for each. (Werewolf: the Apocalypse is perhaps the best example here)
But Kult can eat this for breakfast. If you can track down the old Jail of Night supplement, this will give you a good idea of why/how.
(Hint: there's a reason the writers for that one, even though they were WoD people, put the Kult cosmology above the WoD lore in that
book ;))
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