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What Keeper of Arcane Lore hasn’t had his adventure utterly derailed by poor Investigator dice rolls? I myself have warped scenarios in order to keep thing fun and the story moving along. Even though the parapsychologist failed to notice the asymmetrical design of a certain ritual chamber, the game must go on. In fact, such eventualities become a primary focus of the game. It almost seems that the Call of Cthulhu RPG, very near and dear to my heart, devotes almost a third of gameplay to acquiring clues. In other RPGs, I expect rolls to determine if an opponent is sliced into gory pieces or escapes into the darkness. Will the player characters succeed or will they fail? These events are exciting because the stakes are high; battles to the death and so forth. However, the routine gathering of clues should not be dependent on a couple chance rolls. For determined investigators, they should be more or less automatic. Therein lies the beauty of Trail of Cthulhu by Kenneth Hite and Robin D. Laws.

For those who are familiar with the Call of Cthulhu RPG, there aren’t too many game rules on which to hang one’s hat. This makes character creation a breeze, but it also makes each investigator fairly anonymous; your dilettante might be virtually indistinguishable from the dilettante someone created in the last campaign. Trail of Cthulhu has more than occupations; it also uses Drives to anchor an investigator’s motivation for delving into the Mythos. Your character gets skills (now called abilities) and the familiar ability scores are entirely absent… is this the blasphemy of which Lovecraft spoke? Not sure why the designers thought characters didn’t need attributes, but no one said innovation was painless. However, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep right without synthesizing a Basic Roleplaying / GUMSHOE hybrid… at least on this particular point.

Stability adds another refreshing component to the sanity rules. Here is an example from the text which will give readers a taste of what’s in store…

“Deep Ones are stalking Martin and his team, plus the increasingly panicky NPC librarian, Agnes Bowtree, through the Santiago Library. Agnes’ shrieks have been attracting unwelcome attention from patrons and possible Cthulhu cultists alike, and Martin’s player Josh decides to solve the problem. He spends 1 point from Martin’s Reassurance pool and Martin looks Agnes right in the eyes. ‘Lady,’ he says, low and calm, ‘I know how you feel. I’ve been there. These things killed my partner, and it near killed me. So I don’t plan to let them finish with me – and I’ll die before I let them start with you. But that’s not gonna happen, because we’re both gonna make it out of here tonight.’ Josh’s excellent roleplaying, combined with the revelation of Martin’s tortured past, visibly impresses the Keeper and the other players. The Keeper immediately rules that Agnes calms down… and she remembers a back way out of the Library. The Keeper also tells Josh to go ahead and roll a Confidence die. Josh rolls a 4, and Martin refreshes 4 points in his Stability pool.”

Now this example brings a question to my mind. Namely, how much ToC relies on the Keeper. As gamers know, the Game Master is master of the game. He is more-or-less the ultimate authority during the adventure. In recent years, RPGs have been putting more control into the players’ hands. From the few days I’ve owned ToC, it looks like the Keeper is responsible for deciding what happens, when it happens, and how it happens. Yes, the burden is decidedly on the Keeper of Arcane Lore. So, choose your Keeper wisely, players!

Another great innovation is recognizing the duality between traditional H.P. Lovecraft roleplaying and a more action oriented pulp style. ToC names the stories written by HPL that focus on either one or the other. Specific entries are labeled so that Keepers can easily see what is for purists and what is suited towards sensationalist play.

ToC’s presentation is great. The cover art looks intriguing and illustrates what the RPG is about. A giant monstrosity isn’t displayed; rather it’s the aftermath of some Lovecraftian scene: a person’s been murdered and a tentacle is slipping away into the watery night while three figures look on… a reporter, a cop, and possibly a private eye.

The interior is just as good. Love the larger type/font. The layout, coloring, and artwork really work with the rest of the content. A ton of new Mythos depictions, most in a dull green brown hue, create a horrific atmosphere. The muddy hue comes across as an eldritch sepia tone which, I believe, really adds something to the art as a whole. Unfortunately, a few images are not as distinct as I would have liked. Also, some areas of the book like the Mythos and Creatures section could have used additional representations.

My biggest grievance is the awkwardly forced use of the female pronoun, but that seems to be an ever-present mistake of the RPG publishing landscape.

Trail of Cthulhu is an alternate version of Call of Cthulhu. Some concepts an individual will like better in one game than another. Trail ignores all characteristics like strength, dexterity, education, etc. Not sure how that will play out, but it worries me a bit. I’m not currently involved in any roleplaying activity, so it might be awhile before I playtest this (although reading through ToC makes me want to break out my dice). The Basic Roleplaying and GUMSHOE appendix was only two pages. I was surprised by this because most Lovecraftian gamers will probably want to mix and match the two systems.

Character annihilation seems to be an even bigger problem in ToC than CoC. Cthulhu Mythos ability use costs Stability and Sanity. Apparently, character drives are meant to be unraveled, and the “big reveal” at the scenario or campaign’s end will surely end the investigators’ careers… one way or another. So, ToC players can expect more immediate “fun”, but only at the later cost of everything that keeps them human. Which brings me to a question of Cthulhu-esque gaming that I’ve had in my mind for years…

Where are the rules for taking investigators to “the other side”!?! If cultists, sorcerers, and madmen can do it, then why not those who once fought for truth, justice, and the American way? Aren’t these benevolent ideals washed away by the corrosive slime of the Old Ones? When human morals and ethics mean nothing, then why not side with Yog-Sothoth, am I right? Is it any different than Star Wars RPG characters going over to the darkside? At least present some rules for the option; that’s all I’m saying.

My prediction is that the next RPG incarnation of the Cthulhu Mythos (and oh yes, there shall be more!) will have to include such rules. ToC’s differentiating sanity from stability is a step forward. At least now we have a working paradigm for wizards who can exist in polite society as opposed to degenerate cannibals hysterically dancing in the shadow of malevolent shapes.

Anyways, I enjoyed Trail of Cthulhu and think it sheds new light on an already unbelievably great game, Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium.

Venger As’Nas Satanis
Cult of Cthulhu High Priest