Beyond the world of mortal ken lies another, a nightmare world of profane alien gods, nightmarish tomes of eldritch lore, bloodlines tainted by elder secrets, and forgotten places whose existence makes a mockery of established history. You will find a world where Cthulhu dreams no longer in his house at R’lyeth in Leagues of Cthulhu.
Leagues of Cthulhu (also available in PDF) is a 96 page full color RPG supplement published via kickstarter by Triple Ace Games in 2017. It is powered by the Ubiquity rules and requires both Leagues of Adventure and Leagues of Gothic Horror. Ubiquity is a dice pool system where evens count as a success. This supplement does not drawn upon the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game by Chaosium and has nothing to do with that game.
There are five things I really like about Leagues of Cthulhu. First, I like the Ubiquity system. Characters built using Leagues of Adventure can use a template (Leagues of Cthulhu includes book dealer, fearful academic, and questing mariner) or built from the ground up using skills and talents. Two sample leagues invite those seeking to defeat the Mythos to join with like-minded (and sanity drained) fellow members.
Leagues of Cthulhu pares down the Mythos to stories and lore written during the lifetime of Lovecraft himself. This narrows the focus of the game. At the same time, the RPG ignores the racism in Lovecraft’s stories. The game focuses on the Great Old Ones, a variety of alien monsters, ill-bred degenerate cultists, arcane literature and forbidden tomes, and haunted locations.
The Things man was not meant to know is covered by Eldritch Experience Points. Exposure to the Mythos, blasphemous tomes, or blasted sanity will grant these points. Once a character earns enough points to improve a skill, they must do so immediately. This leads to a loss of sanity but an increased understanding of the Mythos. The knowledge forces itself onto the character who delves into these eldritch mysteries.
The events of the RPG take place in the 1890s decades before Lovecraft’s stories. Events in Lovecraft’s tales are treated as possible futures, not fixed references that must occur.
Player characters can be members of infamous families. While belonging to a bloodline like Marsh or Pickman provides benefits each family also has skeletons in their closet. When a family member gains Corruption the curse of the family is revealed. For a Marsh, he starts out with the Swim Talent for free and being able to hold his breath longer. But with Corruption, he gains the “Innsmouth Look” and becomes Disfigured for the Marsh family has interbred with the Deep Ones for several generations.
Leagues of Cthulhu includes detail on magic and manuscripts, Mythos locations across the globe, monsters and cultists, Mythos gods, cults, and notable persons. GMs receive a chapter of advice. The default assumes that the PCs are slightly more skilled than normal people.
Advice is given on handling investigations and handing out clues. GMs are encouraged to keep the Mythos lean to avoid a monster of the week feeling. Cultists can be the enemy far more often than a monster. Handling death and madness suggests letting the dice fall where they may. Finally, when naming rituals the GM is encouraged to use archaic sounding names, ones intended to invoke flavor rather than game mechanics.
The joy and horror of Leagues of Cthulhu includes both exploring the world of Lovecraft before his stories are set in stone and experiencing the Mythos in a tightly woven and lean version with a handful of terrible monsters and rituals backed up by hordes of cultists. You would be mad to skip experiencing the horror that is Leagues of Cthulhu.
This article was contributed by Charles Dunwoody as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Please note that Charles is a participant in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to DriveThruRPG. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
Leagues of Cthulhu (also available in PDF) is a 96 page full color RPG supplement published via kickstarter by Triple Ace Games in 2017. It is powered by the Ubiquity rules and requires both Leagues of Adventure and Leagues of Gothic Horror. Ubiquity is a dice pool system where evens count as a success. This supplement does not drawn upon the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game by Chaosium and has nothing to do with that game.
There are five things I really like about Leagues of Cthulhu. First, I like the Ubiquity system. Characters built using Leagues of Adventure can use a template (Leagues of Cthulhu includes book dealer, fearful academic, and questing mariner) or built from the ground up using skills and talents. Two sample leagues invite those seeking to defeat the Mythos to join with like-minded (and sanity drained) fellow members.
Leagues of Cthulhu pares down the Mythos to stories and lore written during the lifetime of Lovecraft himself. This narrows the focus of the game. At the same time, the RPG ignores the racism in Lovecraft’s stories. The game focuses on the Great Old Ones, a variety of alien monsters, ill-bred degenerate cultists, arcane literature and forbidden tomes, and haunted locations.
The Things man was not meant to know is covered by Eldritch Experience Points. Exposure to the Mythos, blasphemous tomes, or blasted sanity will grant these points. Once a character earns enough points to improve a skill, they must do so immediately. This leads to a loss of sanity but an increased understanding of the Mythos. The knowledge forces itself onto the character who delves into these eldritch mysteries.
The events of the RPG take place in the 1890s decades before Lovecraft’s stories. Events in Lovecraft’s tales are treated as possible futures, not fixed references that must occur.
Player characters can be members of infamous families. While belonging to a bloodline like Marsh or Pickman provides benefits each family also has skeletons in their closet. When a family member gains Corruption the curse of the family is revealed. For a Marsh, he starts out with the Swim Talent for free and being able to hold his breath longer. But with Corruption, he gains the “Innsmouth Look” and becomes Disfigured for the Marsh family has interbred with the Deep Ones for several generations.
Leagues of Cthulhu includes detail on magic and manuscripts, Mythos locations across the globe, monsters and cultists, Mythos gods, cults, and notable persons. GMs receive a chapter of advice. The default assumes that the PCs are slightly more skilled than normal people.
Advice is given on handling investigations and handing out clues. GMs are encouraged to keep the Mythos lean to avoid a monster of the week feeling. Cultists can be the enemy far more often than a monster. Handling death and madness suggests letting the dice fall where they may. Finally, when naming rituals the GM is encouraged to use archaic sounding names, ones intended to invoke flavor rather than game mechanics.
The joy and horror of Leagues of Cthulhu includes both exploring the world of Lovecraft before his stories are set in stone and experiencing the Mythos in a tightly woven and lean version with a handful of terrible monsters and rituals backed up by hordes of cultists. You would be mad to skip experiencing the horror that is Leagues of Cthulhu.
This article was contributed by Charles Dunwoody as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Please note that Charles is a participant in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to DriveThruRPG. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
