The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I live in Anchorage Alaska, I drop by my local hobby store every weekday because it's on my bus route. I have a fifteen minute layover so I paruse the shelves, seeing if anything new has come out. My good friend who works at the store informs me that Cthulu D20 has just come out. I hadn't even known it was in the works. After thumbing through it I'm hooked. Having passing knowledge of the original RPG and having read many of Lovecraft's tales, I consider myself to be a fan of the Mythos setting. I purchased the RPG, and it turns out my friend was looking for someone to DM the game. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker...

Now I'm ironing out the details of my own campaign and I've developed some opinions about the product. First, it's well written. It seems to follow the guidlines set forth by most of the recent D20 products by Wizards. By this I mean, geared with the new gamer in mind. I like this, even though I feel like I know a lot about the genre, I appreciate the designer's effort to edjucate those less informed.

Second the art and layout is superb, having a very spooky feel. You'll find everything you're looking for in the table of contents and index, two sections which are often lacking in some RPG products, much to the gamer's chagrin. I also felt the art was well done, images of Lovecraft's creatures are rendered in what I feel were the true to his intentions.

Third the system itself (including character creation, level advancement, and spells) are made for a more story oriented game, and less rules intensive. However detailed rules for firearms are provided in the event that you would like to get more complicated. Not like your FN FAL will do much good against a Colour out of Space or the teaming hordes of undead.

No literary work is perfect, and there are a few things I'd like to point out, both for the casual gamer, and those more familiar with genre. For the casual gamer, be prepared for a lot of reading, with little campaign detail in this product you're going to be on your own until future books detail the setting more fully. The bulk of reading available on the subject is a bit staggering to the uninitiated.

For those already exposed to the horrors of the Mythos, be prepaired for a game that doesn't quite play like you're used to. There's almost an X-Files feel to the new version. Though it's true that original CoC games had an unusually high death rate, be prepaired for your invsestigators to survive a little longer in the new D20 system. Just remember, our intrepid explorers are only prolonging thier life spans, not completely avoiding thier eventual spiral into madness and decay.

Call of Cthulu D20
Call of Cthulu D20 Capsule Review by J. Colin Madden on 16/04/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average) A well written product, perfect for the new gamer, though it may leave something to be desired for the old CoC fans. Product: Call of Cthulu D20 Author: Monte Cook and John Tynes Category: RPG Company/Publisher: WOtC Line: D20 Cost: $40 Page count: 320 Year published: 2002 ISBN: 0-7869-2639-2 SKU: 886440000 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by J. Colin Madden on 16/04/02 Genre tags: Horror	I live in Anchorage Alaska, I drop by my local hobby store every weekday because it's on my bus route. I have a fifteen minute layover so I paruse the shelves, seeing if anything new has come out. My good friend who works at the store informs me that Cthulu D20 has just come out. I hadn't even known it was in the works. After thumbing through it I'm hooked. Having passing knowledge of the original RPG and having read many of Lovecraft's tales, I consider myself to be a fan of the Mythos setting. I purchased the RPG, and it turns out my friend was looking for someone to DM the game. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker... Now I'm ironing out the details of my own campaign and I've developed some opinions about the product. First, it's well written. It seems to follow the guidlines set forth by most of the recent D20 products by Wizards. By this I mean, geared with the new gamer in mind. I like this, even though I feel like I know a lot about the genre, I appreciate the designer's effort to edjucate those less informed. Second the art and layout is superb, having a very spooky feel. You'll find everything you're looking for in the table of contents and index, two sections which are often lacking in some RPG products, much to the gamer's chagrin. I also felt the art was well done, images of Lovecraft's creatures are rendered in what I feel were the true to his intentions. Third the system itself (including character creation, level advancement, and spells) are made for a more story oriented game, and less rules intensive. However detailed rules for firearms are provided in the event that you would like to get more complicated. Not like your FN FAL will do much good against a Colour out of Space or the teaming hordes of undead. No literary work is perfect, and there are a few things I'd like to point out, both for the casual gamer, and those more familiar with genre. For the casual gamer, be prepared for a lot of reading, with little campaign detail in this product you're going to be on your own until future books detail the setting more fully. The bulk of reading available on the subject is a bit staggering to the uninitiated. For those already exposed to the horrors of the Mythos, be prepaired for a game that doesn't quite play like you're used to. There's almost an X-Files feel to the new version. Though it's true that original CoC games had an unusually high death rate, be prepaired for your invsestigators to survive a little longer in the new D20 system. Just remember, our intrepid explorers are only prolonging thier life spans, not completely avoiding thier eventual spiral into madness and decay.

Call of Cthulu D20