Press [Chaosium] From the Q&A: What is the Sanity ('SAN') mechanic in Call of Cthulhu?

[Michael O'Brien]

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From our Fan Use and Licensing Q&A:

Q: What is the Sanity ('SAN') mechanic in Call of Cthulhu?

A: Sanity (abbreviated as 'SAN') is the game mechanic in Call of Cthulhu that models the behavior of protagonists in Mythos fiction when confronted with incomprehensible physics and monstrous entities from beyond space and time. The cosmic horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos defy safe or easy comprehension. When faced with such terrors, the human mind attempts to rationalize them but may be corrupted by the experience. The acquisition of Cthulhu Mythos skill points in the game reflects an investigator developing a human-centric understanding of the Mythos, while the loss of SAN points balances this acquisition with the cost associated with this new, but terrible knowledge. In this sense, SAN is a corruption of human morals, behavior, and personality.

"Sanity" is the game’s register of the investigator’s mental resilience. It is not designed to model or make light of real-world mental health conditions, in the same way that hit points (and the loss of them) in most RPGs do not make light of real-world physical trauma and injury.

 

[Michael O'Brien]

Also, first posted on August 20 last year:

From our Fan Use and Licensing Q&A:

Q: BTW, wasn't H.P. Lovecraft a terrible racist?

A: Yes, he was. Lovecraft was a complex and troubled person in life. He was a wonderful writer with a wondrous imagination, a friend to many, and part of a corresponding group of writers (that included Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and others) that created the genres of horror and heroic fantasy as we know it. He also wrote things that were racist, and anti-Semitic, and probably misogynistic as well. His fear of the "Other", "infecting" the body of "old stock" definitely influenced his writing, and can be seen in things like Shadows Over Innsmouth, The Horror at Red Hook, and The Thing on the Doorstep. But these were also major anxieties of his time, shared by many others—Lovecraft's horror is many of the deep fears of the modern world (and includes the fear that not only is there no benevolent God but that the "gods" are outright malevolent and hate us). Lovecraft's cosmos is a howling abyss and none dare stare too long into it without becoming a monster.

Q: So how can we esteem or promote the works of such a terrible person?

We don't think it is possible to formulate answer to this more eloquently than the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has already done:

It is true that Lovecraft wrote some offensively racist things and held some very regrettably racist views. It is also true that his opinions changed over the course of his life, and the ugly things he said in his youth were somewhat mellowed by age and experience. But he's been dead a long time, and there's nothing we can do to change him. We can only recognize his flaws, and enjoy those parts of his work that do appeal to us: his fantastical imagination and worlds of ancient mystery. The HPLHS does not subscribe to Lovecraft's racial, political or sociological views, and does not support or promote them in any way.
HPLHS - The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society

We are in full agreement with the HPLHS (who are great folk and do amazing work—check them out!: http://www.hplhs.org). To reiterate, Chaosium and the Call of Cthulhu RPG does not subscribe to Lovecraft's racial, political or sociological views, and does not support or promote them in any way.

 

[Michael O'Brien]

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From our Fan Use and Licensing Q&A:

Q: Isn’t H.P. Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythos in the public domain?

A: Because H.P.Lovecraft died over 70 years ago, his individual writings are now in the public domain. However, the Mythos was/is a shared creation—even in HPL's lifetime ("the Lovecraft Circle"). Many of the writers HPL collaborated with lived on much later into the 20th century, e.g. Clarke Ashton Smith (d.1961), August Derleth (d.1971), Robert Bloch (d.1994), etc. Certain elements of the Mythos are theirs, or have been created by other still-living authors including Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Sandy Petersen, and others. What these writers created in the Mythos won't enter the public domain until they have been dead for 70 years.

Q: So you're not trying to claim you "own" the Mythos?

A: We make no claim that we "own" the Mythos, never have. We don't claim to own the Mythos in general, although certain elements of it including storylines, names, creatures, characters, descriptions, and depictions are Chaosium IP. We do own the Call of Cthulhu RPG, and and are obliged to protect it. We also have agreements in place with living authors such as Ramsey Campbell and Brian Lumley, as well as the estates representing Lin Carter, August Derleth, Clark Ashton Smith, and other important Mythos creators.

Q: Can you advise me on what is and what isn't considered to be in the public domain for H.P. Lovecraft and the Mythos in general?

A: Sorry, for the sake of our SAN we can't assist with general enquiries about which elements of the Cthulhu Mythos reside in the public domain and which remain in copyright. The matter is complicated by a number of factors, including the incomplete or contradictory records connected to the copyrights of the original Mythos stories, the divergent and contradictory copyright laws of the various countries in which Mythos works are or have been published, and the sharing of content that went on between the authors in Lovecraft's original circle and some Mythos authors today.

There are a number of sites online that discuss the status of Lovecraft's copyrights. On the other Mythos authors, the works of living writers such as Ramsey Campbell and Brian Lumley clearly remain in copyright, while the status of works by authors who have passed away can vary wildly.

 

[Michael O'Brien]

From our Fan Use and Licensing Q&A:

Q: I want to use the image of an Elder Sign or the Yellow Sign in my work. Is this allowed?

A: Chaosium's Star Elder Sign and Yellow Sign designs are copyright to Chaosium, and cannot be used without permission*.

The "Star" Elder Sign is the Chaosium Arcane Symbol, created in 1983 for the second edition of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game and is © copyright 1983 Chaosium Inc. The Chaosium Yellow Sign was created by Kevin Ross and is © copyright 1989 Chaosium Inc. nb there are other versions of Lovecraftian elder signs available; these here are the ones that are Chaosium's IP.

The Yellow Sign as seen recently in HBO's '30 Coins'​

*if you ask us, we're very likely to say yes.

 

[Michael O'Brien]

From our Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Speaking of the HPLHS, is that Nick Offerman's likeness in the Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set?

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A: Indeed it is. As Sean Branney of the HPLHS says, "HPLHS Headquarters was located in Nick's wood shop in South Glendale from about 2003 to around 2010. We shot part of Call of Cthulhu (the movie) there." Nick Offerman is a member of the HPLHS; he and Sean and Andrew Leman go way back to playing in Call of Cthulhu LARPs at college.

Says Nick of the HPLHS: "It’s simply bonkers how much high quality original content they have cranked out over the years, even as the quantity continues to rise as well. Perhaps their secret lies in the company motto: Ludo Fore Putavimus, or 'We thought it would be fun.' Heroes."