CALL OF CTHULHU STARTER SET is a good introduction to the game

Chaosium recently sent me their new starter set for the tabletop RPG Call of Cthulhu. Overall, I thought it was a good introduction to the game that made me want to delve into the rules and lore behind it all.

First of all, I love that this set includes a solo adventure. Basically it worked out how to choose your own adventure, but it helped you build a really good character. In the end, my character didn’t survive, but I enjoyed playing a little mystery to help me know what kind of options I could expect to have in future games. It also helped me learn a little more about how most choices in a game like this come down to a few key options. Definitely do this scenario whether you want to be a gamer or a keeper, this scenario will help you especially if you are new to ttrpgs. It took me about an hour to complete, but this varies depending on your math skills and reading speed.

I only got to play 2 of the 3 scenarios, but I thought they were well done overall. The first scenario is designed for one goalkeeper and one player, but I would recommend having two players. It’s not a particularly challenging scenario, but my player kept failing to uncover the key clues and even if they got to the end, it would have been nice to have another player who could help with the shots. Also, for me the joy of playing is having someone to collaborate with and that’s missing with just one player. It took about an hour to an hour and a half to get through that, so it’s easy to play in one night.

The second scenario is a lot of fun. It is designed for multiple people and this time I had a group of 4 players. It took 3 sessions of around 2 hours each but could easily be shorter or longer depending on what you want. This scenario leads investigators to try to banish a monster from a house. The scenario is well laid out and does a good job of giving you enough information that a not-so-imaginative keeper will have a lot to work with, while also giving you a lot of freedom to add your own fun twists. For example, the creature is able to raise the dead to try and destroy players during their exile ritual. The book suggests that although the undead can’t get past protective barriers, they can destroy them or the creature can throw a corpse into the room and revive it. I used this trick when players had sent my human zombies to launch a flock of birds and then revive them.

There are some drawbacks to the starter set. While it does reduce the rules considerably for you, it seems to me that there were a few points that could have been worked out. For example, the section on sanity doesn’t tell you much beyond bouts of insanity at the loss of sanity stage. It’s easy to assume that sanity dropping to 0 is permanent insanity, but it would be helpful to know that dropping to ⅕ of your initial sanity leads to temporary insanity. Also, I would have liked a short section on critical success and wrong roles. They don’t happen often, but it would still be nice to be prepared.

Overall, I really enjoyed this starter set. It gives you enough flair for the game that you want to play more without completely overwhelming yourself with all the intricacies of the rules. And it comes with character cards and a set of dice. If you were thinking of giving it a try Call of Cthulhu I would really recommend it, I give it a 9/10.