Call of Cthulhu's new 40th anniversary starter set is out next week
Four decades of fright.
Call of Cthulhu, the classic horror tabletop roleplaying game, is getting a new starter set next week.
A new starter set for Call of Cthulhu – the tabletop RPG inspired by the Cthulhu mythos and eldritch horrors – is being released to celebrate the game’s 40th anniversary. Revealed via Chaosium, the publisher responsible for the TRPG, earlier this year, before being more widely publicised on the company’s official Twitter account, the Call of Cthulhu 40th anniversary starter set will introduce a number of changes and new elements to the tabletop RPG.
The upcoming RPG starter set will feature brand-new box art from artist Lin Hsiang – who has previously created artwork for tabletop franchises such as Legend of the Five Rings – updated interior designs for the rulebook, various corrections and investigator sheets specifically designed for Call of Cthulhu’s 40th anniversary.
Call of Cthulhu is a tabletop roleplaying game set during the turn of the 20th century, that sees players becoming investigators following leads into sinister plots and mysteries happening across the world. Inspired by Cthulhu lore and mythology, Call of Cthulhu has players taking on the roles of relatively ordinary people – from reporters to artists – who find themselves embroiled in some extraordinary goings-on. As a horror TRPG, the player characters will regularly face threats that are far beyond their understanding and capability, with the most sensible course of action often being to run and hide.
Players’ investigators will have their own occupation – which can come in handy when players least expect it – a set of skills, an inventory of items and a network of people they can call upon whenever they find themselves in need of assistance. Investigators in Call of Cthulhu will also have their own ideologies and belief systems, which may be challenged throughout their journey into cosmic horror, as well as locations that hold some significance for them.
Whenever a player character attempts to complete a task or faces resistance, they will roll a d100 and look to an appropriate skill rating to see whether they have passed or failed. For example, a 40 skill score for stealth means that players have a 40% chance of succeeding, as long as they roll 40 or under. Whenever a character attempts something, they also have a chance of improving at that skill regardless of whether they succeed or fail.
Besides Call of Cthulhu, Chaosium is also behind the release of other games including fantasy roleplaying games such as Runequest – which is set in Glorantha – and King Arthur Pendragon, a TRPG inspired by classic Arthurian legends.
The Call of Cthulhu 40th anniversary Starter Set https://www.chaosium.com/blogdarkness-is-calling-in-2022-announcing-the-forthcoming-call-of-cthulhu-starter-set-40th-anniversary-edition-/ is set to be released on June 27th, with a retail price yet to be confirmed.