The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Hello again! Looks like it's time for another review of a cutting edge recently released product from yours truly.

Call of Cthulhu is consistently rated as one of the greatest role playing games ever printed. It captured first place in arcane magazine's top 100 RPG poll a few years back, and deservedly so.

So what makes CoC so damn good?

Is it the resolution system?

Well, it's basically a straight percentile system. You know, I have a 55% gun skill, ergo I can put holes in things (the right things, at least) 55% of the time. Maybe revolutionary in 1981, but most definitely old news today.

What about those freaky sanity rules?

The sanity rules were innovative enough that they are, in some form or another, mandatory in a horror role playing game. But you have to remember, this game is almost 20 years old. That seems like a somewhat long time to hang on to the innovative label. (Gee, check out this monitor! It's color!)

So it's the setting, right?

That's half of it. Cthulhu and company have pretty much grabbed the gaming subculture by the tentacle. Only the most clueless newbie hasn't heard of the big C and his astral entourage of Nyarlathotep and Azathoth. But that alone isn't enough to put CoC over the top.

What makes CoC cool?

CHARACTERS CAN DIE.

Yeah, it's that simple. Oh, sure, characters can die in any game system. But they usually don't.

It's a given, in CoC, that characters are mortal. You cannot drop a grenade at your own feet to take out some thugs and expect to live. When someone pulls out a gun, characters duck for cover. When something big and nasty shows up, it does nasty things to the party in a big way.

In too many campaigns, it's story uber alles. The characters generally face dangers that, when all is said and done, parallel a Road Runner cartoon for gripping suspense. Sure, explosions and riots and all sorts of crazy assed things happen around them, but it's a rare game where anything really nasty happens to the players. They just sort of wander through the game and watch the pretty explosions from a safe distance. They're in as much danger as the audience at an action flick.

CoC glorifies character survival. Tension is the rule in CoC, not, as is sadly the norm in most games, the exception. Players know that what lurks behind the closet door can and will kill them. One wrong move in the face of grave danger will have profound repercussions for the party.

How many times have you, as a GM, fudged die rolls and let the players get away with boneheaded mistakes? How many street samurai march into a tsunami of gunfire without thinking twice? Have you ever watched a really bad action-adventure movie and found yourself pulling for the villain rather than the brainless, contrived hero who can seemingly do no wrong, despite his utter lack of redeeming qualities?

Think about it.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Call of Cthulhu
Author: Sandy Petersen & Other Wonderfully Demented Folks Category: game Company/Publisher: Chaosium Cost: Your personal sanity (and lots of characters) Page count: ????? ISBN: ????? Playtest Review by Mike Mearls on 02/02/99. Genre tags: Horror	Hello again! Looks like it's time for another review of a cutting edge recently released product from yours truly. Call of Cthulhu is consistently rated as one of the greatest role playing games ever printed. It captured first place in arcane magazine's top 100 RPG poll a few years back, and deservedly so. So what makes CoC so damn good? Is it the resolution system? Well, it's basically a straight percentile system. You know, I have a 55% gun skill, ergo I can put holes in things (the right things, at least) 55% of the time. Maybe revolutionary in 1981, but most definitely old news today. What about those freaky sanity rules? The sanity rules were innovative enough that they are, in some form or another, mandatory in a horror role playing game. But you have to remember, this game is almost 20 years old. That seems like a somewhat long time to hang on to the innovative label. (Gee, check out this monitor! It's color!) So it's the setting, right? That's half of it. Cthulhu and company have pretty much grabbed the gaming subculture by the tentacle. Only the most clueless newbie hasn't heard of the big C and his astral entourage of Nyarlathotep and Azathoth. But that alone isn't enough to put CoC over the top. What makes CoC cool? CHARACTERS CAN DIE. Yeah, it's that simple. Oh, sure, characters can die in any game system. But they usually don't. It's a given, in CoC, that characters are mortal. You cannot drop a grenade at your own feet to take out some thugs and expect to live. When someone pulls out a gun, characters duck for cover. When something big and nasty shows up, it does nasty things to the party in a big way. In too many campaigns, it's story uber alles. The characters generally face dangers that, when all is said and done, parallel a Road Runner cartoon for gripping suspense. Sure, explosions and riots and all sorts of crazy assed things happen around them, but it's a rare game where anything really nasty happens to the players. They just sort of wander through the game and watch the pretty explosions from a safe distance. They're in as much danger as the audience at an action flick. CoC glorifies character survival. Tension is the rule in CoC, not, as is sadly the norm in most games, the exception. Players know that what lurks behind the closet door can and will kill them. One wrong move in the face of grave danger will have profound repercussions for the party. How many times have you, as a GM, fudged die rolls and let the players get away with boneheaded mistakes? How many street samurai march into a tsunami of gunfire without thinking twice? Have you ever watched a really bad action-adventure movie and found yourself pulling for the villain rather than the brainless, contrived hero who can seemingly do no wrong, despite his utter lack of redeeming qualities? Think about it. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)