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A review by dantastic
Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook: Horror Roleplaying in the Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft by Sandy Petersen
4.0
I wasn't going to get this since I doubt we'll ever play it but the price dropped to around $30 the other day and I had some rewards points burning a hole in my pocket. I played the Call of Cthulhu RPG once or twice in antediluvian times but I've never run it.
Anyway, this is very well done. The artwork is spectacular and lightyears ahead of the art in the last edition I skimmed whatever year that was. That art was a touch on the amateurish side and this was on par with anything Wizards of the Coast puts out. The book is laid out in a logical way and I didn't find myself flipping back and forth for any fault of the book.
The mechanics are fairly easy to understand. There's more math than in the current edition of D&D but it's done ahead of time instead of the heat of the moment in this edition, smoothing things a bit. I imagine it would be daunting to people new to playing RPGs but an experienced Keeper would help that.
There's lots of source material to draw from in later chapters. It's nice to get an RPG with this much material in one place instead of having to buy three or four books just to play the game. There are chapters on magic, alien devices, creatures, and things of that nature. The chapter on how to run the game was interesting. I'll have to read that one again.
Much with Ravenloft, I'm wondering how you run a horror campaign since they seem more lethal than more conventional adventures. No fault of the book, though.
While I doubt I'll get to play or run this any time soon, I feel like I could with reasonable prep time. It really makes me want to reread some HPL, something I don't say every day. Four out of five stars.
Anyway, this is very well done. The artwork is spectacular and lightyears ahead of the art in the last edition I skimmed whatever year that was. That art was a touch on the amateurish side and this was on par with anything Wizards of the Coast puts out. The book is laid out in a logical way and I didn't find myself flipping back and forth for any fault of the book.
The mechanics are fairly easy to understand. There's more math than in the current edition of D&D but it's done ahead of time instead of the heat of the moment in this edition, smoothing things a bit. I imagine it would be daunting to people new to playing RPGs but an experienced Keeper would help that.
There's lots of source material to draw from in later chapters. It's nice to get an RPG with this much material in one place instead of having to buy three or four books just to play the game. There are chapters on magic, alien devices, creatures, and things of that nature. The chapter on how to run the game was interesting. I'll have to read that one again.
Much with Ravenloft, I'm wondering how you run a horror campaign since they seem more lethal than more conventional adventures. No fault of the book, though.
While I doubt I'll get to play or run this any time soon, I feel like I could with reasonable prep time. It really makes me want to reread some HPL, something I don't say every day. Four out of five stars.