Lovecraft - De Profundis

Hello.

I'm not at all certain that this is the proper forum for this question, but it seems to be the most general. So, here it goes.

Has anyone out there heard of the game "De Profundis"? It is a Lovecraftian inspired role-playing-game which is played (ideally/preferably) via handwritten letters using ink and paper and sent between the players via the postal service.

The game sounds fascinating to me but I've never been able to find anyone interested in giving it a try. Not being a player of more traditional role-playing-games, I don't have a pool of friends who would naturally be interested.

I don't think that the game ever gained any popularity and if you go to the game publisher's page you'll see that it is listed as "out-of-stock".

Below are a couple of site about it. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has actually played this game.

Thanks.

A review of De Profundis

Publisher Page

reply to post by Noscitare


EXCELLENT!!!!

(note my moniker on ATS)

First, for the record, if anyone wants to get this going, just give me the nod. I believe that I write very well, am familiar with the Lovecraftian mythos and the mores of RPG, and would be a solid addition to any attempt to scare the living crap out of each other.

Second, I've played lots of RPG's from back in the day when we used funny dice and couldn't get women to sit near us. Lotta AD&D, lots of "paranoia" and some traveler. As I moved away from college friends, I've gravitated more to mail chess, Diplomacy, Pax Britannica, etc.

Third, for those who enjoy role play, but without horror, you might read up on the game called "nomic" which is played by changing one rule every turn (until that rule gets changed . . . )

Fourth, I'd like to know a lot more about De Profundis, and am wondering whether the play would be uneven, with some players being better than others, and whether this would cause problems for the playability of it all. . . .

Thanks for this thread, I hope to hear from others on this!

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reply to post by dr_strangecraft

Strangecraft --
I have a copy of the "rules" book. It is a 12-page manual written sort of in the form of two people playing "De Profundis". It appears that there are copies still available on Amazon, through their partners.

As for your question about differing skill levels between players, I'll quote the following from the rules manual:

To start playing De Profundis, first you need to find several people who share your interests. ... Try to find persons who are more or less interested in the mysterious aspects of our world, to whom reality is not as simple and obvious as to the blind majority. Oh, and don't think they must all be gamers already! Not at all! De Profundis is so specific that people who haven't developed any role-playing habits will find it even easier to understand.
Look for those who delight in reading books, in searching libraries, in crazy fantasies, investigating unexplained phenomena and seeking the eerie and the uncanny in our world.

So, if you decide to get a copy of the rules and would like to discuss the possibilites further, just let me know.

Thanks for the response and, by the way.....The Dude is one of the all-time great characters in recent film.

reply to post by Noscitare


done and done.

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