The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Weird shapes in the park? Odd rumbling noises in the basement? When you need to know what you're encountering, you need to know it fast--don't leave home without the Field Guide!

--blurb on back

This book is popular with my 8 and 10 year old nephews. So, it's pretty beat up. They both like the pictures, and the 10 year old, one of these Discovery Channel animal kids who likes to recount everything he saw on Animal Planet, likes the pseudo-scientific text. Of course, I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Subtitled, "A Field Observer's Handbook of Preternatural Entities," the Field Guide is one of these tongue-in-cheek Cthulhu gimmicks that Chaosium pops out every once in awhile. File this one away with your Cuddly Cthulhu and Miskatonic diplomas--its fun but pointless. The book size is about 12x9 and is primarily a picture book. It's set-up exactly like Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials, one page of full text and an opposite page with a big blow-up of your favorite nasties. The text is chalk full of pseudo-scientific observations that I never read from my jaunts in the Cthulhu literature. For example, byakhee fly at 70 kph near the Earth's surface but in space, can reach one tenth the speed of light. Also, Azathoth smashed a planet between Mars and Jupiter creating the asteriod belt. These pseudo-facts are given credence by pseudo-references to pseudo-studies like (Moriarty, 1872) and (Isinwyll, 1983). Makes one wonder what advances in preternatural research occurred in the 90s. And to round out the page is a case by case comparison with similar baddies so that you don't get confused what you're looking at (Was that a Spawn of Cthulhu or Ithaqua...let's see...it doesn't have tentacles, I'm in Canada, and it flies without wings. Must be Ithaqua).

The pictures are top-rate, full color paintings by Tom Sullivan, the guy who did a lot of the early CoC covers. By now, I believe most of the pictures have been recycled (Chaosium's a big recycler) through the Mythos CCG, but they are still fun and good.

Other tidbits--a size comparison chart is in the back, with Sandy, Tom and Lynn standing in a dhole's mouth. Near the front is a scientific key for quick identification. It asks questions like "Does the entity have a definite mouth?" and "Does it have a head?". As for game potential: you could always throw it up on the table for bored players. Although with a book over 10 years old and Chaosium not in any danger of reprinting, you might be better off shrink-wrapping it and setting it on the shelf. I'm sure its eBay stock shall rise in the future.

And last but not least, for the curious, or the desperate who want to know what beasties are covered, here's the list: Azazoth, byakhee, cthonian, spawn of Cthulhu, dark young of Shub-Niggurath, deep one, dhole, dimensional shambler, elder thing, flying polyp, formless spawn of Tsathoggua, fungi from Yuggoth, ghast, ghoul, great race of Yith, hound of Tindalos, hunting horror, Ithaqua, moon beast, nightgaunt, Nyarlathotep, servitor of the Outer Gods, shantak, shoggoth, Shub-Niggurath, star vampire and Yog-Sothoth.

Cthulhu sez: TASTES GOOD!

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

S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters
Author: Sandy Petersen, Tom Sullivan, Lynn Willis and others Category: game Company/Publisher: Chaosium Line: Call of Cthulhu Cost: $20.00 U.S. Page count: 64 ISBN: 0-933635-48-6 SKU: 5105 Capsule Review by Steve Dustin on 09/02/00. Genre tags: Modern day Horror	Weird shapes in the park? Odd rumbling noises in the basement? When you need to know what you're encountering, you need to know it fast--don't leave home without the Field Guide! --blurb on back This book is popular with my 8 and 10 year old nephews. So, it's pretty beat up. They both like the pictures, and the 10 year old, one of these Discovery Channel animal kids who likes to recount everything he saw on Animal Planet, likes the pseudo-scientific text. Of course, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Subtitled, "A Field Observer's Handbook of Preternatural Entities," the Field Guide is one of these tongue-in-cheek Cthulhu gimmicks that Chaosium pops out every once in awhile. File this one away with your Cuddly Cthulhu and Miskatonic diplomas--its fun but pointless. The book size is about 12x9 and is primarily a picture book. It's set-up exactly like Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials, one page of full text and an opposite page with a big blow-up of your favorite nasties. The text is chalk full of pseudo-scientific observations that I never read from my jaunts in the Cthulhu literature. For example, byakhee fly at 70 kph near the Earth's surface but in space, can reach one tenth the speed of light. Also, Azathoth smashed a planet between Mars and Jupiter creating the asteriod belt. These pseudo-facts are given credence by pseudo-references to pseudo-studies like (Moriarty, 1872) and (Isinwyll, 1983). Makes one wonder what advances in preternatural research occurred in the 90s. And to round out the page is a case by case comparison with similar baddies so that you don't get confused what you're looking at (Was that a Spawn of Cthulhu or Ithaqua...let's see...it doesn't have tentacles, I'm in Canada, and it flies without wings. Must be Ithaqua). The pictures are top-rate, full color paintings by Tom Sullivan, the guy who did a lot of the early CoC covers. By now, I believe most of the pictures have been recycled (Chaosium's a big recycler) through the Mythos CCG, but they are still fun and good. Other tidbits--a size comparison chart is in the back, with Sandy, Tom and Lynn standing in a dhole's mouth. Near the front is a scientific key for quick identification. It asks questions like "Does the entity have a definite mouth?" and "Does it have a head?". As for game potential: you could always throw it up on the table for bored players. Although with a book over 10 years old and Chaosium not in any danger of reprinting, you might be better off shrink-wrapping it and setting it on the shelf. I'm sure its eBay stock shall rise in the future. And last but not least, for the curious, or the desperate who want to know what beasties are covered, here's the list: Azazoth, byakhee, cthonian, spawn of Cthulhu, dark young of Shub-Niggurath, deep one, dhole, dimensional shambler, elder thing, flying polyp, formless spawn of Tsathoggua, fungi from Yuggoth, ghast, ghoul, great race of Yith, hound of Tindalos, hunting horror, Ithaqua, moon beast, nightgaunt, Nyarlathotep, servitor of the Outer Gods, shantak, shoggoth, Shub-Niggurath, star vampire and Yog-Sothoth. Cthulhu sez: TASTES GOOD! Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters