Why do you prefer CoC 5.x > 6???

[grodog]

I know that Pagan Publishing did their own version of the "core" rules for CoC in TUO 7/8 or so, which was their 5.5 version IIRC. I've never really sat down to do a/b/c/d/etc. comparisons between versions of the rules, though I suspect that some folks have over on yog-sothoth....

The CoC 5.5 version was published across TUOs 6 and 7 (Summer and Fall 1992, respectively). Details:

Issue 6 contains the core of the 5.5 rules, Pagan-style:

• Introduction - Kim Eastland and John Tynes
• Creation - Kim Eastland
• Skills - Kim Eastland
• Sanity - Kim Eastland, Garrie Hall, J. Todd Kingrea, Richard Watts
• Lunatic Asylums in the 20s - Michael Tice
• Spells - J. Todd Kingrea, Thomas Stratman
• Campaign - Thomas Hart
• Scenario ("Blood on the Tracks") - J. Todd Kingrea

Issue 7 contains CoC 5.5 Resources:

• Intro & Errata - John Tynes
• Using Skills - John Crowe, Maria Douglas
• Pen & Ink - Maria Douglas (this chapter covers
• Thirties-Something - David Barras
• The Arch-Nemesis (with Fu Manuchu example) - G. W. Thomas (with C. L. Werner)
• The Randolph Pierce Foundation - Kim Eastland

Issue 7 includes more info/details on the Randolph Pierce Foundation, which is introduced in the Campaign section of TUO6.

I hope that helps; I haven't done an A/B between Chaosium's CoC 5.0 and Pagan's 5.5 in ages, so that'll have to wait for later (unless someone else has done so? ). So far as I know, TUOs 6-7 haven't been reprinted. They're still in the digest-sized format that I still think of as "TUO" FWIW....

 

[dragonlordofpoondari]

The CoC 5.5 version was published across TUOs 6 and 7 (Summer and Fall 1992, respectively). Details:

Issue 6 contains the core of the 5.5 rules, Pagan-style:

• Introduction
• Creation
• Skills
• Sanity
• Lunatic Asylums in the 20s
• Spells
• Campaign
• Scenario ("Blood on the Tracks")

Issue 7 contains CoC 5.5 Resources:

• Intro & Errata
• Using Skills
• Pen & Ink
• Thirties-Something
• The Arch-Nemesis (with Fu Manuchu example)
• The Randolph Pierce Foundation

Issue 7 includes more info/details on the Randolph Pierce Foundation, which is introduced in the Campaign section of TUO6.

I hope that helps; I haven't done an A/B between Chaosium's CoC 5.0 and Pagan's 5.5 in ages, so that'll have to wait for later (unless someone else has done so? ). So far as I know, TUOs 6-7 haven't been reprinted. They're still in the digest-sized format that I still think of as "TUO" FWIW....

Thank you, Allan! I'll have to keep an eye out for copies of these. Did Tynes author them?

 

[grodog]

Thank you, Allan! I'll have to keep an eye out for copies of these. Did Tynes author them?

Pretty much not at all, actually. I added the section authors above.

Turns out that the Resources section was so big that it also ran into the double-issue 8/9 (Winter 1993), so here's the contents for that portion, too:

• Kick-Off! by Steve Hatherley
• Things That Go Bump in the Night by J. Todd Kingrea
• A Non-Mythos Menagerie by C. L. Werner
• The Randolph Pierce Foundation: The Loula Institute by Kim Eastland

And that concludes Pagan's version of CoC 5.5

 

[Weirmonken]

I wasn't able to find Gumshoe or Trail of Cthulhu at GenCon, alas. Are they both available, or is one/both still pending release?

GUMSHOE is not a book in and of itself, instead it is the system in which a variety of games (Esoterrorists, Fear Itself, Trail of Cthulhu and Mutant City Blues) use as their "basic model." Esoterrorists and Fear Itself have both been released, the first game concentrating on modern day occult/conspiracy themes and the second game working to emulate the horror movie genre. Trail of Cthulhu will not be released until (probably) the end of the year. Mutant City Blues, a game described as CSI meets Heroes, is slated for release early 2008. For more information, go to http://dyingearth.com/gumshoe/index.html

 

[Nemo235]

I've never done a detailed comparison of the various editions, but I've compiled a product database of Call of Cthulhu RPG products.

~Call of Cthulhu Tome Seeker~

Look at the top under ~CORE RULES~ for details on all the various editions.

Clear credit goes to the creators of Yog-Sothoth.com , whose hard work my database is based upon.

In fact, I invite anyone with an interest in all things Cthulhu to visit the forums at Yog-Sothoth.com.