Tabletop RPG · since 1981 · #3 most discussed

Call of Cthulhu

Ordinary investigators uncover occult secrets in the 1920s, rolling percentile skills while their sanity erodes and survival is uncertain.

Percentile (d100)Cosmic horrord100roll understress or sanityinvestigationhigh lethalityAny lengthNeeds a GM

6.4

Geek rating

From 18 firsthand play reports in 4 r/rpg threads. The threads alone average 7.1.

Player rating— / 10

No visitor ratings yet.

Discussion8.8 / 10

1,086 r/rpg posts named it, October 2023 to October 2026.

Rules weight

Light. Hype 4.9 for its age.

Have you played it?

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What players say

At the table

Call of Cthulhu gets strong praise for its scenarios and campaigns, and tables disagree about the 7e rules. Long-time Keepers call the lethal, short combats a good fit for horror. Newer players found character creation and contested rolls fiddly. The notes also cover the huge Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign, whose problems are mostly prep load and sanity loss.

What works

Veteran GMs say the system suits the job, and some cite 35 years of play. They see dangerous, short combat as intended, since a fight is meant to be a fail state. (thread)
Even critics call the scenarios brilliant. (thread)
One Keeper ran all of Masks of Nyarlathotep over 38 sessions and had an incredible time. They single out England as the strongest chapter and Shafik and Erica Carlyle as villains who stayed relevant throughout. (thread)
Tables keep long campaigns going with Lovecraft-fan players, a shared date-keeper, and next-session planning at the end of each session. Houserules such as faster tome study suited several groups. (thread)
Ordinary, non-expert investigators in historical settings appeal to players who prefer them. (thread)

What tables struggle with

Masks needs enormous prep. New York is hardest, Australia is called the weakest chapter, and Kenya's Sanity loss led to deaths, suicides and awkward replacement characters. (thread)
One player found character creation slow and convoluted, and found success-level contested rolls confusing. They also disliked characters being knocked out and players sitting out of fights. (thread)
Unrelated investigators have little reason to stay together. Scenarios can follow a pattern of arrival, partial investigation, monster attack and flight. (thread)
Some Keepers find the 7e full-auto rules overly complex. (thread)
Skill point allocation can produce large gaps between characters, especially in dodge. (thread)

Who it suits

Keepers and groups who want fragile investigators and fights that go badly, and who value strong published scenarios.
Groups willing to commit to long campaigns, with prep time and players invested in the mood.

In players' words

"I've been playing CoC for near 35 years and find it perfect for the job." (thread)
"The scenarios are brilliant, but the system was making me want to gouge my eyes out IRL." (thread)
"I think the strongest chapter is actually England. There's great flow, super interesting NPCs, several extremely exciting locations, and lots to do for the PCs." (thread)

The threads behind it

Each thread is rated for the play it describes, from the firsthand reports in it. Load one here or read it on Reddit.

8.4

AMA: I ran the entirety of Masks of Nyarlathotep 7th ed. Call of Cthulhu

The OP ran all of Masks of Nyarlathotep over 38 long sessions and had an incredible time. The other Masks Keepers in the thread (mid-campaign in London and England, one who hit China third) are also engaged, and the problems they report are mostly prep load, scheduling, a weak Australia chapter and brutal Sanity loss. The Enemy Within and Horror on the Orient Express comments are about other campaigns and were ignored. 6 firsthand · 65 comments

Open on Reddit

6.0

What is the best Cthulhu system? Because I feel Call of Cthulhu 7e's ruleset is an outdated mess.

Firsthand reports of Call of Cthulhu are split. The OP played a couple of sessions and found 7e's character creation and combat frustrating, while veteran GMs say it works as intended and is fast and fun. Most of the thread is about alternatives (Gumshoe, Fall of Delta Green, Cthulhu Dark, Fate of Cthulhu), which are not rated here. 5 firsthand · 58 comments

Open on Reddit

6.0

What's better in Delta Green than in Call of Cthulhu?

The thread is mostly about Delta Green, and the Call of Cthulhu play reports in it are brief asides from people who ran or played both games. They describe CoC as enjoyable but prone to weak group motivation and scenarios where the investigators never work out what is going on. 5 firsthand · 69 comments

Open on Reddit

6.0

Need advice on Traveller and Call of Cthulhu character generation. How to make it poit-buy system?

This thread is mostly a chargen-design debate covering both Call of Cthulhu and Traveller, with very little reported actual play. The OP enjoys running the BRP system but their group dislikes rolled stats, and one commenter says CoC's existing point-buy skill allocation already produces big combat gaps between characters. 2 firsthand · 51 comments

Open on Reddit

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Chaosium is renaming Shub-Niggurath for it's upcoming edition of Call of Cthulhu

The thread is about Chaosium's publisher decision to rename Shub-Niggurath, plus arguments over Lovecraft's racism and the slur. Almost nobody describes actually running or playing Call of Cthulhu, so there is nothing substantive to rate. 1 firsthand · 411 comments

Open on Reddit