''Cthulhu Live'' is a live-action roleplaying game (

LARP A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique feature ...

) version of the popular horror roleplaying game '' Call of Cthulhu'', based on the works of horror author H. P. Lovecraft.

Publication history

Created by game designer Robert "Mac" McLaughlin, the first edition of the game was published in 1997 by

Chaosium Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include '' Call of Cthulhu'', based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft'', RuneQuest Glorantha'', ''Pendragon ...

as a 154-page softcover book, with cover art by Bob Berta. A second edition and four supplements were published over the following years by

Fantasy Flight Games Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game company based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, card, and dice games. As of 2014, it is a subsidiary of Asmodée Éditions. History Fantasy Flight Publish ...

. In 2006, a third edition was published by

Skirmisher Publishing LLC Skirmisher Publishing LLC is a publisher of wargames, roleplaying games and historic reprints based in Spring Branch, Texas, USA. It was founded by the author, editor and game designer Michael J. Varhola and is co-owned by Robert "Mac" McLaughlin, ...

Setting

Like ''Call of Cthulhu'', this game is set in the 1920s. Players take on the role of ordinary folk (lawyers, private eyes, etc.) who are drawn into investigating the rise of occult horrors in their neighbourhood.

Gameplay

Rules have been deliberately streamlined to accommodate the live-action aspect. Character have only four attributes: Dexterity, Education, Constitution, and Power, as well as a number of Sanity Points that represent mental stability. The player can then buy a number of skills from a list. When a character wants to try a task, the referee assigns the task a difficulty, and then compares the difficulty to the character's relevant skill. If the skill equals or exceeds the difficulty of the task, then the character succeeds.

Reception

In the November 1997 edition of Dragon (Issue 241),

Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote ''The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin's Pr ...

"adored" the game, although he admitted it had a few problems. Swan believed the live-action game needed 10-15 participants, far more than a normal role-playing game. And he found the combat system "awkward". Nonetheless he gave the game a thumbs up, saying, "You'll find ''Cthulhu Live'' to be a great way to spend a weekend, a theatrical extravaganza that captures the flavor of the RPG and doesn’t take itself too seriously."

Reviews

*''

Shadis ''Shadis'' is an independent gaming magazine that was published in 1990–1998 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). It initially focused on role-playing games. Publication history Shadis was conceived and started by Jolly Blackburn as an indepe ...

'' #34 (1996) *''Arcane'' #18 *''Backstab'' (Issue 3 - May/Jun 1997)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official ''Cthulhu Live'' websiteRobert McLaughlin Interview
Flames Rising Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game) Cthulhu Mythos role-playing games Live-action role-playing games Role-playing games introduced in 1997 Horror role-playing games