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Call of Cthulhu 5.6 is a complete roleplaying game based on the work of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. A number of Lovecraft's stories had a central theme all tied together by what has become known as the Cthulhu Mythos. During his life he encouraged other writers to write Mythos stories as well, and much of this material is also used as a source for this game (except Robert E. Howard's stuff, but that is probably because using his material would involve getting permission from his estate and that is always messy).

In Lovecraft's Mythos a variety of super beings, mostly aliens, have a bad habit of coming to the Earth and wreaking havoc. They are largely amoral beings that couldn't give a flying leap about humanity. There are notably three types of these beings: Great Old Ones, Elder Gods, and Outer Gods. Never mind the differences among them; they are all-powerful and will kill you without discrimination. There are also lesser, non-godlike races that either serve these greater powers or are independent of them.

Of the Great Old Ones, the most powerful is their high priest, Cthulhu, and he happens to be dead (but yet alive) and is currently somewhere beneath the Pacific Ocean in the sunken city of R'lyeh. This is just as well; if he woke up he'd probably eat half of humanity and make slaves of the rest. It is from him that this game gets its name.

The game is set on our own world of Earth. The original Lovecraft stories mostly took place in the 1920s, but the game can take place in the 1890s, 1920s or 1990s. The population at large is ignorant of the Cthulhu Mythos and most of them would think it was a bunch of bunk if they did hear of it. Only a few know the Mythos and have seen firsthand its kin and power.

Players create characters that investigate the Mythos and, when possible, try to stop its agents. These investigators can employ earthly means (like guns) to stop Mythos creatures, but doing so usually just gets them dead. The most truly effective way to stop Mythos creatures is to use magic. The trouble with Mythos magic is it happens to drive its practitioners insane.

The version of this game I am reviewing is the new hardcover edition, dubbed 5.6 by its publisher. There are few differences between this book and earlier editions. The one I owned before this one the 5^th edition. This newer edition is well bound, well laid out, and filled with new bits I didn't have before, like the actual "Call of Cthulhu" short story written by Lovecraft himself. Having attempting to read Lovecraft in general and this story in particular, I can safely say two things. Its inclusion really didn't help things since Lovecraft's ideas are great but his writing is than the Mohave Desert. The second conclusion I can make is that Lovecraft's stories are the cure for insomnia, and I actually proved that!

Still, this isn't a review of Lovecraft's writing, so I'll give that venture up. Another new addition to this book is new pieces art. The art in the 5^th edition book was not great; amazingly, the new art is worse. But, as I've written in many reviews before, I don't care what the art looks like if the game is good. This book vindicates this opinion.

In fact, I can't say enough good things about Call of Cthulhu. Its main rulebook is the only thing you'll ever need to play it. It contains a mountain of source and background material and a rule system that you can learn in about ten minutes. There is no need to buy any more books than this one. I recommend that you do, though, because there are some excellent books out there for this game.

Cthulhu's system works like this. You make a character in about fifteen minutes using the two page illustrated character creation guide. Characters have a number of attributes (the usually lot found in most roleplaying games) as well a large number of skills. In this game there are no character classes or experience points that allow characters to advance in levels. A character's skills are use for resolving most situations, and every skill has a minimum of 1% (except for Cthulhu Mythos, which you want low).

Cthulhu's resolution system works like this. Take two ten-sided dice and roll them to get a percentile number. If the number is equal to or less than the skill's percentile number, then the result is successful. If it's over, it failed. Rolling attribute checks works the exact same way, except the number you need is often higher than the actual attribute in question because it's given a multiplier. That's all there is to it. Combat uses this system as well, and the combat skills are listed along with the other ones. The only time you need a die other than a 10 sided one is when you are rolling for damage or rolling for the number of shots that hit a target when a burst of bullets has been fired.

The most important trait a character has is not a skill but rather an attribute known as sanity. Every time a character is exposed to something unnaturally horrible (like seeing Mythos creature or using Mythos magic), a sanity check is made. If it fails (and sometimes if it succeeds) points of sanity are lost, making the next sanity check that much more difficult to achieve. If sanity goes down too quickly or runs down to 0, the character goes insane (temporarily or permanently, depending on the situation).

Call of Cthulhu is one of those rare games where having a long-term character is highly unlikely (if not downright impossible). If the character doesn't die--and the attrition rate is very high in this game--then it will eventually go insane, probably to the point where it can no longer be played and must therefore be retired. This is actually what makes this game so fun--playing an insane character is great.

I simply cannot say enough good things about this game. It has everything that makes a game good: a lot of well-written and interesting background material for the game itself and easy to use rules that don't take long to use. Combat is short and sweet and, best of all, 90% of play is put towards actual roleplaying. In fact, I've managed to run game sessions where no combat took place, and the games were great! I have no criticisms on how this game could improve because it has managed to reach perfection. Of course the book's aesthetic appeal is not especially high, but, as I've written, I don't care about that anyway.

Hail evil!

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

Call of Cthulhu ver. 5.6
Author: Sandy Peterson & Lynn Willis Plus A Hoard of Others Category: game Company/Publisher: Chaosium Inc. Line: Call of Cthulhu Cost: 37.95 Page count: 287 ISBN: 1-56882-148-4 Playtest Review by Mark Strecker on 04/18/00. Genre tags: Horror	Call of Cthulhu 5.6 is a complete roleplaying game based on the work of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. A number of Lovecraft's stories had a central theme all tied together by what has become known as the Cthulhu Mythos. During his life he encouraged other writers to write Mythos stories as well, and much of this material is also used as a source for this game (except Robert E. Howard's stuff, but that is probably because using his material would involve getting permission from his estate and that is always messy). In Lovecraft's Mythos a variety of super beings, mostly aliens, have a bad habit of coming to the Earth and wreaking havoc. They are largely amoral beings that couldn't give a flying leap about humanity. There are notably three types of these beings: Great Old Ones, Elder Gods, and Outer Gods. Never mind the differences among them; they are all-powerful and will kill you without discrimination. There are also lesser, non-godlike races that either serve these greater powers or are independent of them. Of the Great Old Ones, the most powerful is their high priest, Cthulhu, and he happens to be dead (but yet alive) and is currently somewhere beneath the Pacific Ocean in the sunken city of R'lyeh. This is just as well; if he woke up he'd probably eat half of humanity and make slaves of the rest. It is from him that this game gets its name. The game is set on our own world of Earth. The original Lovecraft stories mostly took place in the 1920s, but the game can take place in the 1890s, 1920s or 1990s. The population at large is ignorant of the Cthulhu Mythos and most of them would think it was a bunch of bunk if they did hear of it. Only a few know the Mythos and have seen firsthand its kin and power. Players create characters that investigate the Mythos and, when possible, try to stop its agents. These investigators can employ earthly means (like guns) to stop Mythos creatures, but doing so usually just gets them dead. The most truly effective way to stop Mythos creatures is to use magic. The trouble with Mythos magic is it happens to drive its practitioners insane. The version of this game I am reviewing is the new hardcover edition, dubbed 5.6 by its publisher. There are few differences between this book and earlier editions. The one I owned before this one the 5^th edition. This newer edition is well bound, well laid out, and filled with new bits I didn't have before, like the actual "Call of Cthulhu" short story written by Lovecraft himself. Having attempting to read Lovecraft in general and this story in particular, I can safely say two things. Its inclusion really didn't help things since Lovecraft's ideas are great but his writing is than the Mohave Desert. The second conclusion I can make is that Lovecraft's stories are the cure for insomnia, and I actually proved that! Still, this isn't a review of Lovecraft's writing, so I'll give that venture up. Another new addition to this book is new pieces art. The art in the 5^th edition book was not great; amazingly, the new art is worse. But, as I've written in many reviews before, I don't care what the art looks like if the game is good. This book vindicates this opinion. In fact, I can't say enough good things about Call of Cthulhu. Its main rulebook is the only thing you'll ever need to play it. It contains a mountain of source and background material and a rule system that you can learn in about ten minutes. There is no need to buy any more books than this one. I recommend that you do, though, because there are some excellent books out there for this game. Cthulhu's system works like this. You make a character in about fifteen minutes using the two page illustrated character creation guide. Characters have a number of attributes (the usually lot found in most roleplaying games) as well a large number of skills. In this game there are no character classes or experience points that allow characters to advance in levels. A character's skills are use for resolving most situations, and every skill has a minimum of 1% (except for Cthulhu Mythos, which you want low). Cthulhu's resolution system works like this. Take two ten-sided dice and roll them to get a percentile number. If the number is equal to or less than the skill's percentile number, then the result is successful. If it's over, it failed. Rolling attribute checks works the exact same way, except the number you need is often higher than the actual attribute in question because it's given a multiplier. That's all there is to it. Combat uses this system as well, and the combat skills are listed along with the other ones. The only time you need a die other than a 10 sided one is when you are rolling for damage or rolling for the number of shots that hit a target when a burst of bullets has been fired. The most important trait a character has is not a skill but rather an attribute known as sanity. Every time a character is exposed to something unnaturally horrible (like seeing Mythos creature or using Mythos magic), a sanity check is made. If it fails (and sometimes if it succeeds) points of sanity are lost, making the next sanity check that much more difficult to achieve. If sanity goes down too quickly or runs down to 0, the character goes insane (temporarily or permanently, depending on the situation). Call of Cthulhu is one of those rare games where having a long-term character is highly unlikely (if not downright impossible). If the character doesn't die--and the attrition rate is very high in this game--then it will eventually go insane, probably to the point where it can no longer be played and must therefore be retired. This is actually what makes this game so fun--playing an insane character is great. I simply cannot say enough good things about this game. It has everything that makes a game good: a lot of well-written and interesting background material for the game itself and easy to use rules that don't take long to use. Combat is short and sweet and, best of all, 90% of play is put towards actual roleplaying. In fact, I've managed to run game sessions where no combat took place, and the games were great! I have no criticisms on how this game could improve because it has managed to reach perfection. Of course the book's aesthetic appeal is not especially high, but, as I've written, I don't care about that anyway. Hail evil! Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Call of Cthulhu ver. 5.6