Pokéthulhu

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Pokéthulhu , more precisely The Pokéthulhu Adventure Game , is a pen & paper role-playing game that parodies the role-playing games Pokémon Jr. Adventure Game and Call of Cthulhu , in a broader sense even everything related to Pokémon and the works of HP Lovecraft .

The game was written by S. John Ross and goes back to an idea by Russell Godwin and Philip Reed, the latter contributed additional material. Pokéthulhu was illustrated by John Kovalic .

Game world

"Endless summer vacation in the land of the dead."

At Pokéthulhu , the characters, called cultists , are school children. You live in a vaguely described land made up of set pieces from the Pokémon television series and the Cthulhu myth . Pokéthulhu , "cute and creepy monsters from the icy depths of space," live in its forests and terrify adults. The cultists catch and tame these monsters and let them compete against each other in sports.

Rules of the game

Pokéthulhu has few, but surprisingly complex rules compared to most other role-playing games. The system is a modification of the so-called "dice pool" known from Shadowrun, for example , in which several dice are thrown, but they are viewed individually. There are only twelve surface cube used as "brilliant dodecahedron " ( "Shining dodecahedrons" , an allusion to one of Lovecraft's short stories) are referred to. In the game world, the "glowing dodecahedra" take on the function of Poké balls .

The rules of the game are roughly divided into two blocks, which revolve around the cultists and their "'Thulhus". Common to both is the aspect of "spiritual resonances" such as "non-Euclidean" or "scaly" ( "squamous" - a particularly characteristic word for Lovecraft), which make a personal bond between cultist and 'Thulhu easier or more difficult and offer advantages in combat.

Cultists

Unlike the Pokémon Jr. Adventure Game , Pokéthulhu contains rules for the actions of the player characters. Unlike most contemporary RPGs knows pokéthulhu no skills , but only attributes that here "skills" ( abilities are called). Part of the parody is that instead of “natural” attributes like strength or intelligence, the author has chosen attributes that are perhaps more appropriate for pupils to play with; they also partially replace the missing skills:

  • GPA ( Grade Level )
  • Spocht ( Phys Ed ),
  • Pokéthulhu knowledge ( Pokéthulhu Lore ),
  • mental stability ( sanity ),
  • Shoplifting ( shop-lifting ) and
  • Rumlabern ( Talking Trash ).

'Thulhus

The rules for monsters have different attributes except for their aspects, they are entirely geared towards the Pokéthulhu fight, in which two of the cuddly monsters face each other. Like Pokémon, 'Thulhus have various attacks that are designed to weaken the opponent, to scare them away or to catch them.

In addition to the rules, statistics are given for some of the "better known" Thulhus, such as Pikathulhu, a malicious combination of Pikachu and Cthulhu.

parody

The charm of Pokéthulhu comes from this unnatural interweaving of the gruesome visions of HP Lovecraft and his epigones with the animated series Pokémon . The text of the game even often refers to a Pokéthulhu television series, which in truth does not exist and for which the role-playing game is only supposed to be an accessory.

The protagonists of this fictional series serve as example characters to explain the rules: Randy (Randolph) Carter, Sonja (Greene) and Titus (Crow), the counterparts of Ash, Misty and Brock from Pokémon . In contrast to the gloomy mood at Lovecraft, which is characterized by despair and helplessness, the cultists have retained the cheerful nature from the Pokémon series, where, in addition to the occasional, brief frustration, there is a spirit of confidence and joie de vivre.

expenditure

  1. The Squishy Brain edition ( 2000 ).
  2. The Dork Storm edition ( 2001 , ISBN 1-930964-66-8 ) published by Dork Storm Press , the publisher of John Kovalic's cartoon series Dork Tower . It is illustrated by him and contains a three-page comic in which the characters from Dork Tower explain how a role-playing game works with snappy swipes at role-playing games and players.
  3. The third edition ( 2002 ) is freely available as a PDF from Cumberland Games and Diversions , self-published by S. John Ross . It comprises the material from the 2nd edition and contains the game expansion "Chaos Cards" as well as a greatly expanded "Pokénomicon", in which 'Thulhus' created by fans from the "Pokéthulhu Design Contest" are presented.

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