Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game)
Call of Cthulhu 1st edition box cover, 1981.
Illustration by Gene Day. |
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| Designer(s) | Sandy Petersen |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Chaosium |
| Publication date | 1981 |
| Genre(s) | Horror |
| System(s) | Basic Role-Playing (adaptations into other systems also available) |
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos. The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium; it was first released in 1981 and is currently in its seventh edition, with many different versions released. It makes use of Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing (BRP) system, with special rules for Sanity.
The setting of Call of Cthulhu is a darker version of our world, based on H. P. Lovecraft's observation (from his essay, Supernatural Horror in Literature) that "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." The original game, first published in 1981, uses mechanics from Basic Role-Playing, and is set in the 1920s, the setting of many of Lovecraft's stories. Additional settings were developed in the 1890s Cthulhu by Gaslight supplement, a blend of occult and Holmesian mystery and mostly set in England, and modern/1980s conspiracy with Cthulhu Now. More recent additions include 1000 AD (Cthulhu: Dark Ages), 23rd century (Cthulhu Rising) and Ancient Roman times (Cthulhu Invictus). The protagonists may also travel to places that are not of this earth, represented in the Dreamlands (which can be accessed through dreams as well as being physically connected to the earth), to other planets, or into the voids of space.
Call of Cthulhu uses the Basic Role-Playing system used by other Chaosium games (first seen in RuneQuest). For as long as they stay functionally healthy and sane, characters grow and develop. Call of Cthulhu does not use levels, but is completely skill-based, with player characters getting better with their skills by succeeding at them. They do not, however, gain "hit points" and do not become significantly harder to kill.
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