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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2009607" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Steve Creech, Exec. Chairman, d20 Magazine RackThis review is for Call of Cthulhu by Monte Cook and John Tynes. Published by Wizards of the Coast, this 320-page book gives you all the information you need to run a d20 system Call of Cthulhu for only $39.95. Call of Cthulhu updates Chaosium’s classic game based on the works of H.P. Lovecroft for the d20 role-playing system. I’m going to be up front and say this book is fantastic and any fan of the horror genre should own this book. I’m already thinking of ways to blend the information in this book into a Ravenloft campaign. Yes, Virginia, it’s that damn good. The book wastes no time in giving you the rules for character creation. One difference from standard fantasy d20 is that there are only humans in this game. You won’t find dwarves, elves, halflings, or even orcs here. Fleshing out your character will determine his key skills (selection of a Profession template) and ultimately his feats. The feats presented are pretty much the same as those in the Player’s Handbook with the exception of a section on Psychic Feats. Psychic feats are a carryover from the previous edition of Call of Cthulhu and allow characters to access exceptional mental powers at a cost. Psychic feats include biofeedback trance, dowsing (sensing energy patterns), mind reading, psychokinesis, second sight, telepathy, and more. The chapter on sanity alone is worth the price of this book, in my opinion. This is something that can be used for any role-playing setting and not just Call of Cthulhu. Characters’ starting sanity points are equal to their wisdom score times five. From there, certain types of encounters force Sanity checks, which can result in the loss of x number of these points. Most of the time, this loss will be temporary. However, it is possible that the character can become permanently insane. Combat works just like any d20 game consisting of surprise, initiative, attacks, damage and movement. One difference is the massive damage rule. Instead of taking 50 points before necessitating a save, 10 points in a single attack now forces a Fortitude save or death. Another difference is the introduction of firearms. The Dungeon Masters Guide gives a precursory look into the use of firearms, but Call of Cthulhu goes much deeper. The firearms listed run from early single action Colt Army revolvers to modern Heckler & Koch MP5 machine guns. Shotguns and rifles also receive a good treatment. If you don’t want to wait for d20 Modern, this should help fill the void. Magic in Call of Cthulhu is treated differently. Spells are learned through reading forbidden tomes and artifacts containing the secrets of magic. Such tomes include The Necronomican, Nameless Cults, and The Books of Eibon. The creatures contained in this book come straight from the Cthulhu mythos and the stuff of nightmares. Undead are typically with nearly any campaign and are represented here also. But the truly scary stuff shows with creatures like Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath, Flying Polyp, Gnoph-Keh, Hunting Horror, Shoggoth, and The Worm That Walks. Templates that can be added to a creature include: Chosen of Hastur, Cult Sorcerer, Ghost, Loup-Garou (lycanthrope) and Mummy. The remaining chapters provide a wealth of information about the Cthulhu mythos (complete with excerpts from some of H. P. Lovecroft’s works) and other suggestions and tips for the GM. The adventure teaser is well done and can be used to set the stage for a more in-depth adventure. Any time period can be used as a backdrop; from the 1890’s up to modern day. The last part of the book contains two complete adventures that a group can go through to get their feet wet in this genre. Overall, Call of Cthulhu is masterfully written and a great alternative to standard d20 fantasy genres. But what really makes this book succeed is the versatility that lets you use parts of it for your other d20 campaigns. As I mentioned previously, the Ravenloft setting is ideal for using the elements contained to make your players’ horror experience even greater. I truly like this book and recommend it to anyone who likes to use horror in his game.To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to The Critic's Corner at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com.</a></blockquote>

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