Introduction and Product
With the notorious calendar change, the stars are right for another review of Call of Cthulhu. This classic of horror roleplaying games has gone through around a dozen editions, albeit spread out through versions one to six, along with several other new systems (Trail of Cthulhu, D20 Call of Cthulhu etc). The edition being reviewed here however is 5th edition, by which I mean 5, 5.1, or 5.2 for the sake of argument. Anyone would think that Chaosium is playing with our head, but they wouldn't do that would they? In any case, we're referring to a game that has won at least three Origins awards, so we know where we're at. The fifth edition consists of 240 pages, two-column justified with a serif font and several styles of boxed and highlighted section.
Page numbers and chapter titles are clear, there is an ideal amount of white space to separate the text without losing density. The writing style is mostly very good, although there are some sections where it becomes annoyingly chatty. There is a handy section tab for "Rules" on the margin, but oddly not for anything else. The cover art "The Eye of Cthulhu" by Lee Gibons, illustrates the Great Old One gazing upon some hapless investigators; it is fair-good in terms of creativity and technique. The internal art is a combination of black and white sketches from previous editions and some excellent newer line drawings with a slightly cubist and pop influence. Many of the latter are used for chapter title pages and fillers. The portraits in the Lovecraft personalities section however leaves a little to to be desired. The artwork is mostly appropriate to context, especially (thankfully) in the "Creatures of the Cthulhu Mythos" section. There is a table of contents and index, but both are somewhat short, however there is an excellent selection of tables and example characters in the appendix. As a softback book, the book is very well glued and seems to be able to take a fair bit of usage.
There is an introductory chapter entitled "Orientation", which establishes the source material for the game (the mythos generated by horror writer H.P. Lovecraft), recommended characters (investigative), an non-systematic encouragement to roleplay ("A player has a duty to roleplay an investigator"), a distinction between Investigators (the Cthulhu word for "player characters") and the Keeper (the Cthulhu word for "game master"), and recognition of the three potential settings of the game (1890s, 1920s, and 1990s). A very sensible set of general hints is recommended for player characters ("use your head", "avoid gunfights"), concluding with use of figures, source material, and an extremely handy two-page graphic summary of character generation.
Character Generation and Game System
As a number of other BRP-derived games CoC has seven main characteristics used to generate an Investigator; STRength, DEXterity, CONstitution, POWer, APPearance all rolled on 3d6 and INTelligence and SIZe rolled on 2d6+6. There is an implication that these are rolled in order, but it it is not exactly clear. In addition these there is an EDUcation characteristic, rolled on 3d6+3. These characteristics generated characteristic rolls, percentile, roll-under checks, expressed in multiples, and typically of 5x. Of sufficient importance to make their presence on the character sheet are Idea rolls (INT*5), Luck (POW*5), and Knowledge (EDU*5). Hit points are derived from the average of CON and SIZ, Magic Points are directly derived from POW, and Damage Bonus from cross-referencing a table from SIZ+STR. Characteristics also receive a guernsey for the Resistance Table, which cross-reference equivalent values to derive a percentage change of success. Essentially the formula is (CHAR*5) - (CHAR*5) = percentage chance of success. So a STR 14 character has a 60% chance of lifting a SIZ 12 rock etc.
There is also a very interesting characteristic called a SANity, which starts at POW*5, but can never be more than 99 minus the character's Cthulhu Mythos skill roll. In this single brilliant design decision the central theme of Call of Cthulhu - that certain knowledge is dangerous to one's mental health - was incorporated into the game system. Characters simply cannot have knowledge of the Cthulhu mythos without tragically ever-increasing their risk of madness. And what glorious madness it is! From being surprised by a mutilated corpse to encountering a gibbering Outer God various levels of SAN are blown away from the character's mind; some causing short term shock (a failed SAN check resulting in more than 5 points lost), to indeterminate (more than 20% of SAN lost in a short period), to permanent (character reduced to 0 SAN). If a Keeper doesn't have DSM-V readily available, there is a handy set of typically insanities and associated behaviour in a short chapter dedicated to the subject. It should be mentioned that it's possible to improve SAN, through psychotherapy, mythos monsters and plots, and even through skill improvement.
Character starting wealth is determined with a flat probability distribution, a particularly unrealistic design. Also, the wealth charts for 1920s and 1890s are confused due to an editorial omission. Appropriate occupations are selected which provide a set of several skills that background experience can be added into based on EDU*20 skill points. Characters also receive personal interest as background experience as well, at a value of INT*10. In addition to these skill points, many skills also have a base chance (e.g., Climb 40%). Skills are almost invariably utterly independent from characteristics (with the exception of Dodge and Own Language). A character can be, for example, a complete dullard with the charismatic empathy of a slug and suffer no penalty to Fast Talk.
Call of Cthulhu uses a percentile roll-under skill system. Remarkably however - and probably due to a design and editorial oversight spanning several editions - there are no rules for skill roll modifications in standard use. Rules-as-writ (and paraphrasing comments by others I have discussed this with), performing tonsillectomy in a well-equipped hospital is the same difficulty as performing brain surgery in a remote log cabin. This is so bad, I lost a point of SAN as I searched desperately searched through the eldritch tomes (i.e., the rulebooks of multiple editions) praying that I could possibly be wrong; I wasn't. Such a decision has very real effects. Rather than being a more difficult implementation, Medicine is a separate skill to First Aid, Psychoanalysis is separate to Psychology and - especially odd given that the monsters are real - Occultism is separate to Cthulhu Mythos. Despite claims to be an investigative game, combat skills are given particular variation: rather than "Brawling" there are separate skills for Punch, Kick, Head Butt, Grapple, and even Martial Arts, rather than "Firearms" there are separate skills for Handgun, Rifle, Machine Gun, and Shotgun.
Indeed, combat is one area where special attention is paid. Actions are in order of DEX with phases for firearms, movement, melee, and then multishot firearms. A successful modified "to hit" roll can be challenged by parry (lots of breakages) or dodge, but if it gets through the attacker rolls damage, subtracting the defender's armour (rare in 1890s and 1920s settings). Effectively a character can do two of the three per round of attack, dodge, or parry. Note that there are in combat alone skill roll modifiers (e.g., in ranged weapons, partial cover, and environment). This is the only place in the core rules where "degree of success" has influence as well (there is an optional rule as well); bullets and pointy melee attacks do double damage on a roll of 20% or less of the modified chance. Damage that reduces a character to two or one hit points causes unconsciousness, and at 0 or less the character will die the following round (which means the maximum possible loss is -2, as healing will fix 1d3). Appropriately, characters can drop pretty fast, especially when guns are pulled out. However the threshold for unconsciousness seems too slim.
Monsters and Magic
The Keeper's Section is a surprisingly wordy and sometimes repetitive chapter which also contains some some excellent substance. It is here that both descriptions and mechanics for the tomes of the Cthulhu mythos are provided, an overview of the mythos itself (especially the distinction between the otherworldly Outer Gods, the malevolent and local Great Old Ones, and the Servitor and Independent races). The actual advice on running the game is also placed in this section, especially good for terms of pacing, narrative structure, roleplaying, and Investigator mortality. There is a selection for optional rules which include "special" skill successes, probably the most useful suggestion. Finally there is a short set of notes on the civil authorities that PCs are most likely to encounter - the police and mental health authorities.
A huge section of the book is entitled "Reference Section", which can be summarised as 'Monsters and Magic'. There is approximately eighty of so critters of the mythos described and provided stat blocks. Each are provided a short paragraph from the literature, a few to several paragraphs of the creature in context, following by characteristics, weapons, skills (if appropriate), and the Sanity losses said beings cause. Even the great Outer Gods are provided stats, and as awe-inspiring as they may seem to be single investigator, in a more contemporary context a team of strong-willed individuals packing serious heat could make even destroy Azathoth, albeit for several hours. In most situations however, a good half of the mythos creatures are not the sort that any group of Investigators should engage in a straight-out conflict. As a personal preference I have always had a soft spot for the Great Race of Yith, and the more alien of the mythos creatures such as (Daoloth, Yog Sothoth, and the Colours Out Of Space) in contrast to the "giant carnivore with big teeth" variety of horrors, even if the latter are probably more frightening.
In addition to the Mythos creatures there is also a chapter on normal and occult animals; so one will find Bats and Bunyips to Wolves and Wraiths. It's a slightly weird combination, but somewhat necessary in a game which has an over-riding mythos which is then separate from world mythologies. A short selection of around a dozen personalities from H.P. Lovecraft's tales is provided, including quite a number in the realm of permanent insanity. Each character is provided a quote from a relevant story, a paragraph on their appearance or activities, and a stat-block.
The various creatures and people are followed by a chapter of spells, "The Greater Grimoire". Most magic in Call of Cthulhu involves contacting the various creatures of the mythos, summoning such creatures, and binding them. It is usually a good idea to be aware of the need to have a binding spell before casting the summoning spell. There is also a small set of spells for creating gates, enchanting items and the like, along with some sample magic artifacts. There is also a collection of some eighty "Lesser Grimoire" spells of a more utilitarian variety. Magic typically costs magic points, Sanity, and sometimes even POW to cast; some spells can be resisted, magic points of the caster versus magic points of the victim. Spell ranges are deliberately vague, with a great deal of Keeper interpretation - effects however are clearly stated.
Scenarios and Setting
The final section is entitled "Resources" which begins by providing three excellent scenarios, albeit all nominally set in the 1920s period. "The Edge of Darkness" in particular makes a great introduction to a small group. This is followed by a literary biography of H.P. Lovecraft, and then an exceptional linguistic essay in an academic style which argues the the world-wide exposure of the mythos in various languages, coming to the convincing conclusion "Traces of ancient Cthulhu worship exist in the records of all major Old World civilizations". If three time periods are not sufficient, a short chapter on the Dreamlands is also provided, a weird alternate reality accessible only when one is asleep. An handy essay of some length on forensic pathology follows for the three time periods, then a timeline of events covering the period from 1890 to 1992, along with another timeline of disasters, "natural and man-made", and then "events occult, criminal, and futurist". The main text concludes with a very handy set of equipment and service tables for across the three time periods with an emphasis on the sort of things that Investigators are likely to purchase and the distances they are likely to travel.
Conclusion
In the past numerous reviewers have declared that Call of Cthulhu is the greatest roleplaying game of all time. This is true, but only in a particularly narrow band of greatness. It is arguably the coolest RPG of all time, and certainly is very high on the fun quotient (playing the odds of almost certain madness and almost certain death is fun!). The page-count to content is excellent, and the range of content is extremely good as well. The book itself has excellent layout, is readable, solid, and some decent artwork as well. Perhaps most importantly, Call of Cthulhu established a thematic orientation towards roleplaying games; it was not a game of killing fantastic monsters and taking their stuff - it was a game of killing fantastic monsters that were so awe-inspiring they could easily destroy dozens of people, and taking their stuff because it contained the only possible way of stopping the horrors from destroying all life on earth.
Where Call of Cthulhu does slip is in the game system; it's not the core system has a major problem, after it it's the BRP engine, well known for being flexible, easy to pick up, and having a good degree of realism. The main issue is the implementation, where entirely the wrong issues are implemeted (e.g., combat over investigation), where there is a lack of believablility (e.g., skill implementation), and even with the statistics for the major creatures of the mythos which are presented more of a whimsy than serious consideration. It is fortunate in most contexts the rules "fade in the background" in actual play, but often - all too often - there is a jarring reminder of their less than optimal workmanship. It is this issue that causes Call of Cthulhu a somewhat lower substance value than it could achieve. Will these issues be resolved in an upcoming seventh edition? One can hope; but it does seem rather long in the tooth to get these matters right. Despite these criticisms, Call of Cthulhu remains a truly excellent game, strongly encapsulating a fascinating setting and theme in an accessible manner.
Style: 1 + 0.7 (layout) + 0.7 (art) + 1.0 (coolness) + 0.7 (readability) + 0.7 (product) = 4.8
Substance: 1 + 0.8 (content) + 0.7 (text) + 0.9 (fun) + 0.3 (workmanship) + 0.6 (system) = 4.3