Product– Cthulhu Dreamt
System– Cthulhu Dreamt
Producer– QuasiReal Publishing
Price– $40.00 here https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/quasireal-publishing/cthulhu-dreamt
TL; DR– Maybe not great Cthulhu himself, but still great. 95%
Basics: How far would you go for grief? Cthulhu Dreamt is a horror-based RPG where you join a military campaign to confront the horrors of a woman who went to the edge to end her sadness. Let’s break it down.
Basic Mechanics: This is a d10 system where you roll dice and attempt to hit a specific value on the dice called a TN. You can spend ability points from an ability pool to add to the roll. But if you spend more than two, you overexert yourself.
Specializations: When you build a character, you get a specialization. These function as feats and allow you to build your character in specific directions. These modify your rolls and function like feats in other systems.
Combat: Combat in this system is pretty simple. Combat is divided into three groups based on your current agility stat. Then, in each group, players go first, then monsters. Each turn, you get a major action like attacking, a minor action like moving, and free actions like opening a simple door without a lock. Players roll the dice in this one; the GM decides actions, but they roll to dodge or attack based on the monsters. Each weapon causes a specific amount of damage, and you have armor to reduce that amount of damage.
Damage: Damage is against your mental or physical pools. When you take damage, you reduce your pool by the amount of overexertion or damage. When a pool runs out, you start taking conditions. You get minor, serious, and severe wounds. These work like reverse specializations, causing you major issues as you attempt to survive.
Ok, now my thoughts.
Mechanics or Crunch: This is a rules-light horror game. I love what’s here. It’s quick and has some good ties to the theme. This is not Shadowrun Levels of crunch, but if you want a good horror game, this is even more rules-light than Call of Cthulhu. That’s not bad if you know what you are getting into. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– I like this one, but this feels more like “The Mist” and less like Call of Cthulhu. A major plot point is that a researcher opened up a hole to another universe, and bad came out. That is not bad; in fact, it’s awesome. There are Cthulhu ties in “The Mist”, but the overall theme feels a bit off. It’s not bad, but the Cthulhu feels lighter on this one. 4.75/5
Execution: I love what’s here but miss what’s not. This book has some solid stuff, and in all the best ways, it feels like an Alternative Rock Band ran away from home to start a horror Publishing company with song tracks made for the background of the built-in adventure. This book has a complete built-in adventure. Honestly, all the mechanics are here to serve that adventure. It’s got tons of built-in handouts for that adventure. All that is amazing. But you know what I can’t find? Character sheets. And to get really nitpicky, there is solid art in this book that is reused multiple times. I honestly like all the stuff here, but just give me a separate character sheet, use less reused art, and maybe have your pregens in a separate doc, as you do with the handouts, and this would be amazing. 4.5/5
Summary: I like this one. It is fun, and the music is a solid addition to the game. BUT, it doesn’t feel Cthulhu. It’s Lovecraftian, but that’s not as much fun. But I do want you to know I love what’s here. I think you should check this one out. But know that I have a few small issues. 95%
Throat Punch Games 