The first supplement out the door for the d20 version of Call of Cthulhu is the obligatory Gamemaster’s Pack. Over the years, these referee screen packs have become more elaborate, containing sample adventures, extras such as cards or props, and additional background information on the game world. This one is now exception, and here we have a glossary cardstock referee screen, a set of 4 bookmarks listing page numbers for important rules, a set of official-looking documents for things like a sanitarium admittance form, police reports, and medical and dental records. The centerpiece is a short adventure, “The Lost Temple of Yig,” background information for a private society called The Vaguard Club, errata for the main rulebook, a conversion system for original Call of Cthulhu rules, and finally a set of character sheets for major and minor characters as well as for monsters that are a bit more atmospheric than the ones provided in the d20 rules.
The production value is decent here. The referee screen uses the cover art of the original Call of Cthulhu rulebook, which is one of the more mysterious representations of the Great Old One himself. The interior portion of the screen is of lesser value. While the Combat Spot Rules and the Temporary Insanity tables are useful, others such as the Detecting Invisible Creatures and Object Hardness tables are less so. Why not list the most commonly used handgun or melee weapon damage tables, which are far more likely to be needed in average session?
The bookmarks are nice and likely to be useful for frequently referenced sections of the rulebook, and the various forms can add some nice flavor to a scenario if they are used intelligently.
“The Lost Temple of Yig” is only a fair adventure, and feels like it might be used to introduce younger players who are accustomed to Dungeons & Dragons to a Call of Cthulhu game. Remaining true to the feel of the d20 Call of Cthulhu rulebook, the adventure sticks to a pulpy, Indiana Jones style of play with characters being hired to explore a mysterious temple that has a history of infrequently appearing in the jungles of Brazil. The temple has reappeared recently, and a number of people -- not all of them upstanding citizens -- are interested in discovering its secrets and treasures.
In fact, the treasure hunting aspects of the adventure takes center stage here, and leads to some fairly cheesy confrontations and action-oriented fights with the “bad guys.” I had visions of the villains twirling a long mustache during some of the speeches in this thing. The series of events at the temple itself had definitely a dungeon-crawl feel to it, and the stealing of a certain treasure from a giant statue must have been taken directly from the cover of the old AD&D Player’s Handbook
There are some saving graces – a harrowing plane landing in the jungle after an inspired horror scene onboard and an interesting encounter with jungle natives could be used in other adventures, but this is a fairly lightweight Cthulhu adventure. One promising note: the rules for resolving combat and skills are given in shorthand for both the d20 system and the original Call of Cthulhu rules. Also nice to see some characters from the original game’s Arkham Unveiled supplement making their way into the adventure. Here’s hoping this trend continues.
The Vanguard Club is an interesting idea for a campaign backdrop and gives investigators a reason for their travels and expeditions. Basically, the club is a worldwide, loosely affiliated group of explorers who assist each other in networking and funding studies or explorations into the unknown. A plausible history of the founding of the club is given, as well as some of the club’s successes and failures. It’s too bad that the background for the Vanguard Club was not used more effectively in the “Temple of Yig” adventure.
The errata and conversion rules are fine, and it’s good to see that there is a path for d20 players to draw on existing Call of Cthulhu supplements in addition to any new d20 material being released.
In general, the Gamemaster’s Pack is an okay addition to the d20 line – the referee screen, bookmarks, the Vanguard Club, and conversion rules being the most useful, while the bonus adventure falls short. Players who use the original rules may even find some use from the bookmarks for the other rulebook, and the forms are generic and could be used in any campaign.
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