Call of Cthulhu RPG

The basic concept behind the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game is that the universe is much more horrifying than we can imagine.

The world was once ruled by vastly powerful and totally alien beings. These beings still lurk outside the edges of the world, and contact those humans who are desperate enough to deal with them.

The majority of people in the world live normal lives, unaware of their total insignificance in the universal scheme of things.

A few gain awareness of how the universe really works, and those few are the heroes of the story.

Call of Cthulhu the roleplaying game is based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

If you've ever read any Lovecraft, you'll know that his heroes typically go insane as a result of discovering Things Man Was Not Meant To Know.

The roleplaying game models this pretty well. All characters have a sanity score, and any time a character encounters something outside their realm of experience, they make a sanity roll.

Failing that roll loses sanity. Sometimes even making the roll loses sanity, just less than if they'd failed. Losing sanity means you have a harder time succeeding at the next sanity roll.

It's a downward spiral that ends in the character going insane. Hopefully, they've managed to avert whatever catastrophe was looming before going insane.

But sometimes the world does end in these games.

Every character starts out with some amount of sanity. Some have less than others.

A low sanity does not mean your character is insane to start with, it just means that your character is able to accept events that conflict with their view of reality.

A person with a high sanity score is able to reject events that conflict with their world view, and thus avoid losing sanity.

As every character loses sanity, that reflects their gradual acceptance of Things Man Was Not Meant To Know.

Eventually they become totally unable to interact in a meaningful way with the ignorant people who call them insane.

To get the most of our playing Call of Cthulhu, go into it with the idea of having fun starring in your own horror movie.

Yes, your character will do stupid things, go insane, and quite possibly die. That's beside the point.

Did you have fun doing it? That's the real question.

Too many people play Call of Cthulhu as if the object is to stay sane and solve the problem. Sure, if you can solve the problem that's great, but the important thing is to have fun.

And go insane, most likely.

The best way to try Call of Cthulhu for the first time is to play with someone who is experienced at running the game.

These people are called Keepers, and their job is to figure out what the plot of the adventure is, and what all the beasties do.

To find an experienced Keeper, locate your local game stores and ask there. Post a notice on their bulletin board.

Or, if you're lucky enough to have a gaming convention in your town, go to it. Somebody will be running Call of Cthluhu. You're not guaranteed they'll be any good, but at least it's a chance to play.