Call of Cthulhu (RPG)

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Call of Cthulhu
publication
Author (s) Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis
Original publisher Chaosium
Original publication 1981 (first edition)

2014 (current, seventh edition)

original language English
German publisher Hobby Products, Laurin, Ars Ludi,

(current) Pegasus games

German publication 1986 (first edition)

2015 (current, seventh edition)

World and system
genre horror
Game world HP Lovecraft's Universe
Basic system Basic role-playing
cube (W3), W4, W6, W8, W10, W100

Call of Cthulhu (often abbreviated as CoC , also HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu , dt. On Cthulhu's track or simply Cthulhu ) is a pen & paper role-playing game based on the Cthulhu myth created by HP Lovecraft . It is the first successful attempt, after the fantasy genre, to bring horror into a game form suitable for role- playing. Call of Cthulhu has been published by Chaosium since 1981 . The current seventh edition appeared in 2014. The German-speaking licensee has been Pegasus Spiele with the title H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu since 1999 .

history

Sandy Petersen, 2004

Call of Cthulhu was developed by the English game designer Sandy Petersen and was published by Chaosium in 1980 . It was the first classic pen and paper role-playing game with a Lovecraft theme and, like most role-playing systems of the 1980s and later, is based on the classic Dungeons & Dragons by Gary Gygax and similar systems. In the case of Call of Cthulhu , the system of the role-playing game RuneQuest developed by Steve Perrin , which was also published by Chaosium, was taken as the basis and relocated to the "Dreamlands" (in German "Traumlande") of the story world of HP Lovecraft . Originally intended as a supplement to RuneQuest , Petersen developed several adventures for Call of Cthulhu in addition to the basic set of rules and developed it further until the fourth edition in 1989. After Petersen left Chaosium, the 5th, 5.5th. and 6 issues of Call of Cthulhu taken over by Lynn Willis . They appeared in 1991, 1998 and 2004, and in 2001 there was also an anniversary edition for the game's 20th anniversary. In 2001 Wizards of the Coast released a version that instead of the rule system of the Chaosium edition, uses the d20 rules , which were first introduced with the 3rd edition of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. In 2014 the 7th edition of the set of rules was published, drawn up by Paul Fricker and Mike Mason .

The first German edition was published in 1986 under the title Auf Cthulhus Spur by Hobby Products. Later the rights went to the Laurin publishing house , where Cthulhu was one of the main systems alongside MERS from 1990 until the bankruptcy of the publisher . In 1995 the system was published briefly by Ars Ludi Verlag (Konstanz) as a hardcover under the title H. P. Lovecrafts Cthulhu, The RPG .

Further (licensed) role-playing games and role-playing extensions related to the Cthulhu myth include Trail of Cthulhu (2008) by Pelgrane Press, Shadows of Cthulhu (2008) by Reality Deviant Publications (in the True20 rule system), Realms of Cthulhu by Reality Blurs or das FHTAGN developed by the German Lovecraft Society .

Control system

The rule system is based on the basic role-playing system . A percentage system is used to determine the (failure) success of actions .

The specialty of the game system is the intensive occupation and the technical illustration of madness and mental decay of the player characters . The "mental stability" expressed by Sanity Points ( SAN for short ) suffers from horrific experiences and discoveries about the Cthulhu myth. At the latest with a mental stability of 0, the character is insane and no longer playable. This is in line with Lovecraft's stories, which often end with the death or madness of the protagonists. While the players of other fantasy role-playing game systems usually use their characters over many game sessions, the stability points mean that the characters rarely remain playable for a long time.

The low chance of surviving (more than) one adventure also makes CoC ideal for so-called one-shots , i.e. H. Adventures that are played with ready-made characters and that can therefore be played anywhere and anytime.

Setting

The classic setting for adventure is Lovecraft Country , i.e. New England in particular Massachusetts expanded to include fictional locations such as Arkham and Innsmouth . Based on Lovecraft's stories, the classic times in which the games are played are the 1920s and 1930s. Other popular settings include the 1890s ( Gaslight ), the present ( Delta Green / Cthulhu Now ), the Middle Ages ( Dark Ages ) and the dreamlands . There are also two futuristic science fiction settings ( Cthulhu Rising and Cthulhu Endtimes ), as well as a setting in antiquity with a focus on the Roman Empire ( Cthulhu Invictus ) and one in World War II ( attention! Cthulhu ), whose popularity is less.

All these expansions represent separate game worlds, but not separate systems, as the rule system of CoC is used. The unofficial fan project “Katzulhu”, in which cats are the protagonists (possibly inspired by Lovecraft's love for cats and their celebrities in several short stories), is also popular in German-speaking countries.

Cthuloid worlds

Cthuloide Welten was the official biannual German-language Cthulhu magazine from Pegasus. On December 1, 2010, Frank Heller placed the office of editor-in-chief in the hands of Heiko Gill and announced on July 18, 2011 that Cthuloide Welten would be discontinued in October 2011. In addition to 21 regular editions, special volumes were also published as the Cthuloide Worlds Library .

Awards

  • The 7th edition of the basic set of rules was selected on the shortlist of the German Role Playing Award 2016 in the basic set of rules category.
  • The Grand Grimoire of Mythos-Magic was selected on the shortlist of the German Role Playing Award 2018 in the supplementary volumes category.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.pegasus.de/210.html
  2. ^ Lars Konzack: Video Game Genres. In: Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, 3rd edition, 2015; P. 3073 ( Google Books ).
  3. ↑ New Lord of Tentacle Terror at Pegasus News at Pegasus. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  4. ↑ Announcements on Cthulhu and Cthuloide Worlds News at SEANCHUI GOES RLYEH. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  5. ^ The winners of the German Role Playing Award 2016. June 12, 2016, accessed on June 16, 2018 .
  6. ^ The winners of the German Role Playing Award 2018. June 10, 2018, accessed on June 16, 2018 .