David Mitchell (24)

Possibly the greatest pen-and-paper RPG of all time, based on the works of one of my favorite childhood authors. Who doesn't want to pretend to be bon vivants and librarians confronting the meaningless madness of space and time? So cool it's ridiculous.

Call of Cthulhu (CoC) is a "pen & paper" roleplaying game (RPG) published in 1981 by Chaosium and still very popular. Now in its 6th edition, CoC features a very simple but realistic set of rules based on opposing percentual skills and probabilities. Based on the Basic Roleplaying set of rules, also called D100, is very similar to the actual probabilities we are used to in the real world and allows a very easy and smooth playing experience without the multiple tables, stats and calculations show more which complicate and slow down most of the other RPGs (D&D anyone?). Also the player and NPC stats are generally compatible with real people with real skills and capabilities. Magic exists but is limited and can have dire effects. Weapons need expertise and have real world effects disallowing superhuman powers in players (as found in other RPGs): reckless players can quickly die in CoC.
CoC is a investigator-suspense-horror RPG with a classic setting in the late 19th or early 20th centuries. However, with time most every other era (future inclusive) has been adapted to the game which has a huge collection of sourcebooks and supplements ranging from several-months-play long elaborate epic missions to short one-hour-play adventures.
An important feature is sanity which is expended each time a player has a terrible experience or has a contact with the Occult, direct or through text, objects or rituals. Loss of sanity causes psychotic surges and ultimately leds to definitive dementia.
In sharply contrast to other RPGs, after several versions the core principles an rules of CoC are still the same enabling direct use of old published material and preserving the investment already made by faithful veteran players.
The game is easy to learn and the adventures very easy to prepare generally in a short time. The easy intuitive rules and a lot of clever settings and scenarios allow for a smooth game and a very unique and suspensive game playing experience. show less

Call of Cthulhu (CoC) is a "pen & paper" roleplaying game (RPG) published in 1981 by Chaosium and still very popular. Now in its 6th edition, CoC features a very simple but realistic set of rules based on opposing percentual skills and probabilities. Based on the Basic Roleplaying set of rules, also called D100, is very similar to the actual probabilities we are used to in the real world and allows a very easy and smooth playing experience without the multiple tables, stats and calculations show more which complicate and slow down most of the other RPGs (D&D anyone?). Also the player and NPC stats are generaly compatible with real people with real skills and capabilities. Magic exists but is limited and can have dire effects. Weapons need expertise and have real world effects disallowing superhuman powers in players (as found in other RPGs): reckless players can quickly die in CoC.
CoC is a investigator-suspense-horror RPG with a classic setting in the late 19th or early 20th centuries. However, with time most every other era (future inclusive) has been adapted to the game which has a huge collection of sourcebooks and supplements ranging from several-months-play long elaborate epic missions to short one-hour-play adventures.
An important feature is sanity which is expended each time a player has a terrible experience or has a contact with the Occult, direct or through text, objects or rituals. Loss of sanity causes psychotic surges and ultimately leds to definitive dementia.
The game is easy to learn and the adventures very easy to prepare generally in a short time. The easy intuitive rules and a lot of clever settings and scenarios allow for a smooth game and a very unique and suspensive gameplaying experience. show less

This is the quintessential roleplaying game of Lovecraftian horror.

Various editions of this game have typically been distinctly different from each other. I can't tell you off hand whether this is the best edition of this book that's ever been published, but it's adequate for my needs and interests.

- Peter K.