Additional settings were developed in the Cthulhu by Gaslight supplement, a blend of occult and Holmesian mystery and mostly set in England during the 1890s, and modern/1980s conspiracy with Cthulhu Now and Delta Green.
Additionally, though the early 1900s serve as the default era of play, rules and statistics are given for setting games in modern or futuristic time periods, Lovecraftian or otherwise. ===Mechanics=== CoC uses the Basic Role-Playing system first developed for RuneQuest and used in other Chaosium games.
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 Basic Role-Playing as its basis, and is set in the 1920s, the setting of many of Lovecraft's stories.
The game was released on January 30, 2012. ====Cthulhu Chronicles==== In 2018, Metarcade produced Cthulhu Chronicles, a game for iOS with a campaign of nine mobile interactive fiction stories set in 1920s England based on Call of Cthulhu.
Its various supplements over the years have maintained an exceptional level of quality; several, including Shadows of Yog-Sothoth and Masks of Nyarlathotep, deserve consideration among the greatest pinnacles of the fantasy role-playing game design." In the June 1990 edition (Issue 158), Jim Bambra liked the updated setting of the 4th edition, placing the game firmly in Lovecraft's 1920s.
The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium; it was first released in 1981 and is currently in its seventh edition, with licensed foreign language editions available as well.
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 Basic Role-Playing as its basis, and is set in the 1920s, the setting of many of Lovecraft's stories.
He took over the writing of Call of Cthulhu, and the game was released in 1981.
In 2020 Chaosium announced a license agreement with Ardacious for Call of Cthulhu virtual miniatures to be released on their augmented reality app Ardent Roleplay. ==Reception== Several reviews of various editions appeared in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer. In the March 1982 edition (No.
It is the one reprint that is worth the money." Several reviews of various editions appeared in White Dwarf. In the August 1982 edition (Issue 32), Ian Bailey admired much about the first edition of the game; his only criticism was that the game was too "U.S.
The Asylum and Other Tales, a series of stand alone articles released in 1983, rated an overall 9/10 in Issue 47 of White Dwarf magazine. The standard of the included 'clue' material varies from scenario to scenario, but reached its zenith in the original boxed versions of the Masks of Nyarlathotep and Horror on the Orient Express campaigns.
Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game is a second collectible card game, produced by Fantasy Flight Games. ===Miniatures=== The first licensed Call of Cthulhu gaming miniatures were sculpted by Andrew Chernack and released by Grenadier Models in boxed sets and blister packs in 1983.
The intent was to give investigators a common base, as well as to center the action on well-drawn characters with clear motivations. ===Terror Australis=== In 1987, Terror Australis: Call of Cthulhu in the Land Down Under was published.
In 2018, a revised and updated version of the 1987 game was reissued, with about triple the content and two new games.
Lovecraft are truly open for the fantasy gamer." In the October–November 1987 edition (No.
Good reading, and a good campaign setting for COC adventures." In the October 1988 edition (Issue 138), Ken Rolston gave an overview of the 3rd edition, and placed it ahead of its competitors due to superior campaign setting, tone and atmosphere, the player characters as investigators, and the use of realistic player handouts such as authentic-looking newspaper clippings.
This proved to be a very popular alternative milieu, so much so that much of the supplemental material is now included in the core rule book. ===Lovecraft Country=== Lovecraft Country was a line of supplements for Call of Cthulhu released in 1990.
Its various supplements over the years have maintained an exceptional level of quality; several, including Shadows of Yog-Sothoth and Masks of Nyarlathotep, deserve consideration among the greatest pinnacles of the fantasy role-playing game design." In the June 1990 edition (Issue 158), Jim Bambra liked the updated setting of the 4th edition, placing the game firmly in Lovecraft's 1920s.
discover for yourself why it has made so many converts since its release." In the October 1992 edition (Issue 186), Rick Swan admitted that he was skeptical that the 5th edition would offer anything new, but instead found that the new edition benefited from "fresh material, judicious editing, and thorough polishes." He concluded, "Few RPGs exceed the CoC game’s scope or match its skillful integration of background and game systems.
These supplements may be set in different time frames or even different game universes from the original game. ===Video Games=== ====Shadow of the Comet==== Shadow of the Comet (later repackaged as Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet) is an adventure game developed and released by Infogrames in 1993.
A follow-up game, Prisoner of Ice, is not a direct sequel. ====Prisoner of Ice==== Prisoner of Ice (also Call of Cthulhu: Prisoner of Ice) is an adventure game developed and released by Infogrames for the PC and Macintosh computers in 1995 in America and Europe.
And there’s no game more fun." In a 1996 reader poll by Arcane magazine to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time, Call of Cthulhu was ranked 1st.
It requires the Call of Cthulhu Keeper's Rulebook (7th Edition) and is usable with Pulp Cthulhu. ===Recent history=== In the years since the collapse of the Mythos collectible card game (production ceased in 1997), the release of CoC books has been very sporadic, with up to a year between releases.
Arc Dream Publishing released a new version of Delta Green in 2016 as a standalone game, partially using the mechanics from Call of Cthulhu. ===d20 Call of Cthulhu=== In 2001, a stand-alone version of Call of Cthulhu was released by Wizards of the Coast, for the d20 system.
Lovecraft's short story "The Call of Cthulhu". ===Trail of Cthulhu=== In February 2008, Pelgrane Press published Trail of Cthulhu, a stand-alone game created by Kenneth Hite using the GUMSHOE System developed by Robin Laws.
As of 2011, RAFM still produce licensed Call of Cthulhu models sculpted by Bob Murch.
The game was released on January 30, 2012. ====Cthulhu Chronicles==== In 2018, Metarcade produced Cthulhu Chronicles, a game for iOS with a campaign of nine mobile interactive fiction stories set in 1920s England based on Call of Cthulhu.
After the death of Willis, Mike Mason became Call of Cthulhu line editor in 2013, continuing its development with Paul Fricker.
Chaosium offered a one-time printing of this Collector's Edition. On May 28, 2013, a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for the 7th edition of Call of Cthulhu was launched with a goal of $40,000; it ended on June 29 of the same year having collected $561,836.
Together they made the most significant rules alterations than in any previous edition, culminating in the release of the 7th edition in 2014. ===Editions=== ===Early releases=== For those grounded in the RPG tradition, the very first release of Call of Cthulhu created a brand new framework for table-top gaming.
Both lines include investigator player character models and the iconic monsters of the Cthulhu mythos. As of July 2015, Reaper Miniatures started its third "Bones Kickstarter", a Kickstarter intended to help the company migrate some miniatures from metal to plastic, and introducing some new ones.
Arc Dream Publishing released a new version of Delta Green in 2016 as a standalone game, partially using the mechanics from Call of Cthulhu. ===d20 Call of Cthulhu=== In 2001, a stand-alone version of Call of Cthulhu was released by Wizards of the Coast, for the d20 system.
In 2018, a revised and updated version of the 1987 game was reissued, with about triple the content and two new games.
The game was released on January 30, 2012. ====Cthulhu Chronicles==== In 2018, Metarcade produced Cthulhu Chronicles, a game for iOS with a campaign of nine mobile interactive fiction stories set in 1920s England based on Call of Cthulhu.
The first five stories were released on July 10, 2018. ====Call of Cthulhu==== Call of Cthulhu is a survival horror role-playing video game developed by Cyanide and published by Focus Home Interactive for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows.
In 2020 Chaosium announced a license agreement with Ardacious for Call of Cthulhu virtual miniatures to be released on their augmented reality app Ardent Roleplay. ==Reception== Several reviews of various editions appeared in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer. In the March 1982 edition (No.
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