FWIW, I guess I'm saying the idea that madness is the inevetibale end is Lovecraft's belief - and doesnt have to be our's, or the game makers'.

-tomos (July 21, 2014, 12:46 PM)

Well sure, I'll agree to that, but don't call it a Cthulhu game if you do, that's all I'm saying.  I'm not opposed to "Making defeatable bosses out of unnameable horrors" per se; it is probably fine for any game that requires it.  But if you want to stay true to the Cthulhu mythos at all, you really shouldn't do that, because that's simply not what it's about.

From the man himself:

Now all my tales are based on the fundamental premise that common human laws and interests and emotions have no validity or significance in the vast cosmos-at-large. To me there is nothing but puerility in a tale in which the human form—and the local human passions and conditions and standards—are depicted as native to other worlds or other universes. To achieve the essence of real externality, whether of time or space or dimension, one must forget that such things as organic life, good and evil, love and hate, and all such local attributes of a negligible and temporary race called mankind, have any existence at all. Only the human scenes and characters must have human qualities. These must be handled with unsparing realism, (not catch-penny romanticism) but when we cross the line to the boundless and hideous unknown—the shadow-haunted Outside—we must remember to leave our humanity and terrestrialism at the threshold.

— H. P. Lovecraft, in a note to the editor of Weird Tales, on resubmission of "The Call of Cthulhu".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft#Themes

Wow, I'm getting WAAAAY too passionate about this subject...  :( :-[

I'm not saying that the Cthulhu stories don't feature vast forces so large that they are beyond our control.. I'm just saying that I don't read that as the key, core element.  Madness seems the key to me.

Well... I don't think your opinions are so different from the video's author, really.  I mean, it's not so broad a jump from here to there, is it?  The natural result of facing the situations he described would be utter insanity in the face of them, no?  That IS the crux of many stories by Mr. Lovecraft. 
They often start out somewhat benignly in that the main character has come across some peculiar phenomenon and will explore further.  Then as a result of his (many times dangerous and/or foolhardy) investigations, discovers forces beyond his control or comprehension that brutally exposes his own smallness in the face of the vastness of what he observes.  This, in turn, drives him stark raving mad and/or drives him to pen an entry in a letter or diary warning the rest of us not to tread the path he forged.

You've actually got a pretty good grasp of the argument, as madness IS the inevitable end, and I think you'd agree with the author's opinion that any game based on the Cthulhu mythos would be better served by NOT making defeatable bosses out of unnameable horrors.  I mean really...

I need a little taste of smooth cool jazz to go with these hot summer nights we've been having.

-40hz (July 17, 2014, 10:06 AM)

Y'know, I've followed you so far, even when going deep into prog territory, even when you invoked the infernal name of Windham Hill, but this is the line in the sand.  Obviously great musicians, tight as the pocket they're playing in, but... I just can't follow you into Smooth Jazz territory.  The best I can match that with is the incredible Wes Montgomery:



It's jazz for sure, and it couldn't get any smoother if you put butter on it, but I can't call it "Smooth Jazz" to save my soul.
Enjoy!  :Thmbsup: