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real world vs fantastic worlds

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Entsuropi:
heres an interesting thing. i find that im more interested in Call of cthulhu and its rules than DnD, despite an identicle(sp) system. the only reason i can think of is that its all very well imagining galinus the elf fighting in a smoky building, but when you imagine Johnathan, the chalet turned investigator from san fransisco, it suddenly become more immediate. this just me, or does anyone else get this?

42:
I think it has to do with what fantasy writers call the "supsension of disbelief." Essentially, there is less that you have to imagine in Call of Cthulu, so it feels a little more real to you right away. It take more effort for you to get into a fantastic world because there is more that you have to imagine.

So yes, I think a lot of people would agree with your assessment.

Tage:
I, however, disagree. Personally, I hated CoC. I'm an escapist, myself; so when I role-play, I want to be somewhere else.

Entsuropi:
thats the wierd thing, tage. so am i.
maybe it also has to do with the fact that DnD, in the books and the normal settings (feurun etc) is very sterotypical fantasy. normally i like that, but it just doesnt jive with me in the case of dnd. that and the fact that im fast getting bored with sterotypical fantasy settings - ive seen the dwarfs elfs etc already. i wanna see something more interesting, something that i havent already seen a thousand times already in books, games and films. and the fact that CoC is really dark, which is how i like my games (of all kinds).

Kid_Kilowatt:
I think it's actually harder to incorporate fantastical elements well into a realistic setting.  It's easy to imagine a dragon living in a cave in the forest, but it's harder to imagine one living in the back room of Joe's Garage on the corner.  Fantasy settings would be challenging if they really did force you to imagine all-new settings and characters, but they usually fall back on familiar images with one or two little twists to keep complete boredom from setting in.  That's why most fantasy relies largely on familiar things instead of working with entirely novel and foreign worlds.  Fantasy RPGs that try to do the latter (Skyrealms of Jorune, Talislanta, World of Synnibar) are usually monumental failures.  People can't really connect with them because everything about them is foreign.

It is as challenging to create a contrast of reality and fantasy as it is to cut a fantasy from whole cloth.  Part of the attraction of Call of Cthulhu is that it posits the existence of the most unlikely things (octopus-headed gods, star-plant-creatures from space, fish-people) in a setting that requires a lot of strict realism and historical accuracy.

I didn't really want to weigh in on this topic, though.  I just wanted an excuse to ask Charlie this question: So, how does a chalet turn into an investigator?  I'm stumped - that requires a mixing of fantasy and reality that goes beyond my abilities.

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