And they said it couldn't be done! The Great Old Ones themselves are stirring in their sepulchers over the first official live-action version of Chaosium's acclaimed Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. Based on the short stories of Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) and the expansive group of writers known as the "Lovecraft Circle," Call of Cthulhu took the gaming world by storm when it first appeared in 1981. Over the years, several organizations have created their own systems to bring Cthulhu gaming to life. This has been a challenging proposition at best.

Cthulhu Live is the first officially licensed live-action role-playing system for Call of Cthulhu. The book contains a tremendous amount of information, ranging from the game mechanics of character creation, skill use, and combat, to the more challenging tasks of make-up, costuming, monster building, prop construction, and running a live-action game.

Although it took 16 years for an official live-action Cthulhu to appear, it seems to have been well worth the wait. The basic rules structure is top-notch, streamlining the Call of Cthulhu rules into a simple, fast-playing system that is quickly mastered. I would rate the combat system as fair. It is one of the better non-contact systems I've seen for live-action gaming, but it's certainly the hardest element of the game for a new player to learn. We tried running a couple "practice battles" with all the players before starting the actual game, which seemed to help everyone later in the adventure.

The greatest challenge gamers might face is assembling a large enough group to run many of the adventures proposed in the rules. Eight to 10 players seem to be about the absolute minimum for Cthulhu Live, and some scripts call for 12 to 20 players. Obviously, such games lend themselves well to a convention setting, but some gamers may find a challenge recruiting that many players outside of a larger city or a college environment. Some challenges may also arise finding a suitable area to play the game, but the book includes tips on finding game locations and preparing houses and apartments for game play. Quite a bit of preparation is required for the games, and the game master, or "Keeper," needs to have not only a good imagination and narrative skills, but some leadership and organizational abilities as well. This being said, I've got to say that a well run session with a good Keeper and NPCs is a great experience.

It is my understanding that Fantasy Flight Games has recently purchased a license to publish a second edition of Cthulhu Live, due out in Spring 1999. The new edition will have rules updates and additions, an optional new combat system, and several new adventures. It sounds as if several other projects are also in the works, to include a game support website and players' network. A lot of gamers will be looking forward to the continuing development of the Cthulhu Live system. I know that I am one of them.

-- Bob Apelt

Dragon Magazine, 5 pips out of 6
"... I adored it ... a winner ... a theatrical extravaganza that captures the flavor of the RPG and doesn't take itself too seriously..."

Pyramid Magazine
"... a thoroughly solid product ... an excellent live-action system ..."

Arcane, 9 out of 10
"... the information and advice it contains could hardly be improved on..."

Shadis
"... more than just a bunch of rules for LARPing. It is a guide to GMs on how to run a truly effective live-action experience ... the system in Cthulhu Live is one of the neatest I've seen so far ... Cthulhu Live is definitely the way it should be done ..."

InQuest, 5 pips out of 6
"... much easier to run than most LARPs ... I would recommend it highly for anyone who wants to try running a live-action game ..."