The Call of Cthulhu
- Genre: Horror
- Core focus: Investigation, cosmic horror
- Complexity: Moderate
- Languages: German, English, French, Spanish
Call of Cthulhu (short CoC) is a pen-and-paper role-playing game based on the horror stories of H.P. Lovecraft, particularly his mythos surrounding ancient, cosmic beings and the madness that their knowledge induces in humans. The game is heavily influenced by the genre of psychological horror and focuses on investigation, atmosphere, and mental decay rather than heroic adventures.
Here, you take on the roles of ordinary people, such as journalists, professors, or private detectives who encounter incomprehensible and cosmic horrors. The goal is not to defeat monsters, but to uncover mysteries while trying not to lose your sanity.
The most fundamental difference from D&D is the role of the players and the central game mechanics. In CoC, the characters are intentionally not heroes; they are fragile and subjugated to horror. The most important resource is not life energy but mental stability (Sanity).
Every time a character sees something terrible or gains forbidden knowledge, they must roll for their mental health. If they fail, they lose a portion of it and can gradually descend into madness, which represents the most common and threatening “out” for a character.
While combat in D&D is a central element for problem-solving, open conflict in CoC is almost always the worst option and often deadly. A gunshot can incapacitate or kill a character.
The system thus rewards clever approaches, research in libraries, questioning witnesses, and avoiding direct confrontation. The core is often about solving a puzzle, not about defeating a monster or overcoming a major villain. CoC is particularly suitable for groups that find fantasy too colorful or not scary enough and wish to focus on the psyche of the characters.
