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Recently,  Jeff and I got a chance to sit down to dinner and talk with author Kenneth Hite.  As a big fan of Lovecraft and an avid Cthulhu Mythos gamer,  I was overjoyed to have the opportunity to chat with him!  Ken is the author of several books on the Cthulhu Mythos as well as a well renowned RPG designer. He was kind enough to send along an excerpt from his book, Cthulhu 101, for me to share. 

Here’s what Atomic Overmind press says about the book:

Do You Know Cthulhu? No?!? Never fear! Cthulhu 101 lets you in on the mystery, and lays it all out in the open. From “How do you pronounce Cthulhu?” to the 8 Best Cthulhoid Board Games, Cthulhu 101 has most of the questions, and all of the answers. Do you know the shocking truth about Hastur? Which Elder Sign is right for you? Don’t guess — find out!

And here is the excerpt – just for us gamers! This book is available right now at Atomic Overmind Press along with several other very good Lovecraftian books written by Kenneth Hite.

Make Lovecraft, Not Warcraft: 6 Best Tabletop Roleplaying Games About Cthulhu (And His Ilk)

Call of Cthulhu (Chaosium)

Best. R. P. G. Ever.

Also available in the GUMSHOE system (Trail of Cthulhu), the GURPS system (GURPS Cthulhupunk), the Savage Worlds system (Realms of Cthulhu), the One Roll Engine system (Nemesis), the Versus system (Vs. Cthulhu), the True20 system (Shadows of Cthulhu), and the d20 system (the imaginatively titled Call of Cthulhu d20). Although they all have their points, none of these Dark Young are the equal of the Big Goat in the Woods.

Delta Green (Pagan Publishing)

G-Men vs. Deep Ones. Or X-Files vs. HPL. Or Dick Cheney vs. Nyarlathotep. Technically, a supplement for Call of Cthulhu, but so good it deserves its own entry. If Call of Cthulhu is “Go mad and die,” Delta Green is “Fire off 1,200 rounds of high-caliber, lovingly-docketed assault rifle ammo, go mad, and die.”

The Shab-al-Hiri Roach (Bully Pulpit Games)

“Excuse me, waiter, but there’s a giant, megalomaniacal, mind-controlling, primordial Sumerian cockroach in my head.”

“Be quiet, sir, or everyone will want one.”

De Profundis (Hogshead Publishing)

Are you getting paranoid? You’d better write down all the creepy horrors that stalk you, so you can find out.

Originally published in Poland by Portal Publishing.

Carcosa (Geoffrey McKinney)

An old-school D&D-style supplement for high Lovecraftian fantasy pulp. From the dictionary: “Pulp: n. Soft, moist tissue that fills a cavity.” Like, say, a chest cavity.

Cthulhutech (Catalyst Game Labs)

Based on the lesser-known Lovecraft story, “The Shadow Over The Giant Robots From Japan.”

Go Fish: 9 Best Cthulhoid Card Games

Illuminati (Steve Jackson Games)

The “Servants of Cthulhu” are but one faction in this classic game of conspiracy … or are they?

Dark Cults (Dark House)

This Gothic storytelling game is like the Necronomicon, much whispered of but nigh impossible to find openly.

Mythos Collectible Card Game (Chaosium)

Unlike virtually every other CCG ever designed, which may be why it’s my favorite CCG ever designed. Or it might be all the Cthulhu in it.

Creatures & Cultists (Eos Press)

Build a cult! Eat the world! Play again!

Originally published by Pagan Publishing.

Cthulhu 500 (Atlas Games)

I can only imagine that NASCAR fans are just as gleefully appalled by this game as I am.

Munchkin Cthulhu (Steve Jackson Games)

What would Lovecraft be without puns and childish betrayals? Completely unchanged.

Unspeakable Words (Playroom Games)

The Scrabble of Tindalos. Sadly, no apostrophe cards.

Call of Cthulhu LCG (Fantasy Flight Games)

“LCG” stands for “Living Card Game,” not “Lovecraftian Card Game,” although “Living Card Game” sounds creepy enough as it is.

Successor to the Call of Cthulhu Trading Card Game published by FFG.

Do You Worship Cthulhu? (Toy Vault)

Or are you a Werewolf? What is this, some kind of Witch Hunt?

Necronomonopoly: 8 Best Cthulhoid Board Games

There actually is a Necronomonopoly, published by the Wicked Dead Brewing Co. People say it’s pretty good, but that may be one Community Chest you don’t want to open.

Arkham Horror (Fantasy Flight Games)

Like a good Lovecraft story, it takes forever to set up, but once it starts, you never want it to end. Which is fortunate, because that can take awhile, too.

Originally published by Chaosium; this is a new, vastly vaster, version.

The Stars Are Right! (Steve Jackson Games)

Combines irritating puzzles with also-irritating trick-taking to become weirdly addictive. Like scratching poison ivy.

English version of the original German game Die Sterne Stehe Richtig (Pegasus Spiele).

The Hills Rise Wild! (Pagan Publishing)

The only skirmish miniatures game of hillbilly horror you’ll ever need!

Innsmouth Escape (Twilight Creations)

Literally cuts to the chase and presents “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” as survival horror.

When Darkness Comes: The Nameless Mist (Twilight Creations)

A Lovecraftian expansion to the game When Darkness Comes.

Cults Across America (Atlas Games)

Crazy doomsday cults want to destroy America. Only, you know, funny.

Cthulhu Mash (Evil Polish Bros.)

A remake of … can you guess? … Monster Mash. If August Derleth was a game designer …

Cthulhu Rising (Twilight Creations)

Designer Reiner Knizia once more proves there is no steak he cannot un-sizzle, in this squamous, eldritch game of … adding up tiles!

Elliott Miller

1 Comment

  1. I have a copy of Shab Al-Hiri Roach that I plan on playing…soon? I love the teaser language: would you swallow a soul-eating, empathic insect bent on destroying human civilization? No? Even if it will get you tenure?
    Oh, yeah, it’s all about an English department going batsh** crazy in the 1920s. I’ve got to find people to play with!

    Reply

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