''CthulhuTech'' is a

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and horror

roleplaying game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

created by Wildfire LLC and published by Sandstorm that combines elements of the Cthulhu Mythos with anime-style

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...

, horror, magic and futuristic action. The setting is Earth in 2085 during a worldwide conflict known as the Aeon War, (from the ''

Necronomicon The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first men ...

'' quote: "And with strange aeons even death may die") wherein the planet has been invaded twice: once by a black-skinned manufactured alien race known as the Nazzadi who are derived from humans and who join forces with them, and then a second time by the Mi-Go, an advanced alien civilization seemingly bent on the enslavement of humanity. Aside from these conflicts, the game focuses on other factions, such as ancient cults like the

Esoteric Order of Dagon The Deep Ones are creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The beings first appeared in Lovecraft's novella ''The Shadow over Innsmouth'' (1931), but were already hinted at in the early short story " Dagon". The Deep Ones are a race ...

that are running amok across the planet and the eldritch horrors that are rising to destroy the world as, according to the prophecies of the Cthulhu Mythos, the "stars are right" and the Great Old Ones and their servitors are returning/reawakening to reclaim the Earth. The game uses a proprietary ten-sided die (d10) system titled "Framewerk." __TOC__

History

Game designer Matthew Grau dreamed up ''CthulhuTech'' in Aron Anderson's store, The Dreaming, when Grau realized that no one had ever combined anime-style

mechs In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...

with

Cthulhu Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first introduced in his short story " The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the p ...

. The concept of ''CthulhuTech'' combines magic, mecha and the Cthulhu Mythos, in which mankind is fighting a war in a science-fiction age against the mi-go and other alien races. In September 2003,

Eos Press Eos Press is an American game publisher named for the ancient Greek goddess of the dawn. It was established in 2001 in Seattle, Washington, as "Hawthornn Hobgoblynn Press". Eos has operations in Suzhou (China), Taiwan and Singapore. History Fi ...

announced their intentions to publish a new game, ''CthulhuTech'' and said that its system, Framewerk would be the new Eos Press house system; Eos ultimately decided to prioritize their licensed game, '' Weapons of the Gods'', over the newcomer ''CthulhuTech'', thus leading Grau to take his game to Osseum Entertainment and then

Mongoose Publishing Mongoose Publishing is a British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, publishing material since 2001. Its licenses include products based on the science fiction properties ''Traveller'', '' Judge Dredd'', and ''Parano ...

. ''Cthulhutech'' (2007) was published through Mongoose's Flaming Cobra imprint. ''CthulhuTech'' got caught up in Mongoose's printing problems of 2007–2008; although the first printing of ''CthulhuTech'' was released in full-color, just as WildFire envisioned, a second printing (2008) and follow-up book ''Dark Passions'' (2008) both appeared in black and white. As Mongoose could no longer publish the full-color books that Wildfire had envisioned, they brought the game to

Catalyst Game Labs Catalyst Game Labs (CGL) was created in May 2007 by InMediaRes Productions, LLC for the purpose of publishing print ''Shadowrun'' and ''Classic BattleTech'' sourcebooks.FASA Fasa ( fa, فسا, Fasā, also Romanized as Fassa) is a city and capital of Fasa County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 110,825, in 33,379 families. Fasa is the fourth most populous city of the province. The city date ...

games ''

Battletech ''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The tradema ...

'' and ''

Shadowrun ''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic in fiction, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime fiction, crime, with ...

'' in 2007. Catalyst was able to rapidly publish a series of five full-color hardcover editions just as WildFire had envisioned – ''CthulhuTech'' (2008); ''Dark Passions'' (2008); ''Vade Mecum: The CthulhuTech Companion'' (2008); ''Damnation View'' (2009); and ''Mortal Remains'' (2009). After Catalyst, WildFire took ''CthulhuTech'' to Sandstorm Productions.

Game overview

''CthulhuTech'' uses a proprietary game system known as "Framewerk" that focuses on a

dice pool In some role-playing game (RPG) systems, the dice pool is the number of dice that a player is allowed to roll when attempting to perform a certain action. Mechanics In many RPG systems, non-trivial actions often require dice rolls. Some RPGs ro ...

system. An unusual feature is the selection of numbers from the d10 rolls – a player can pick a single highest number, all like numbers, or straights of consecutive numbers, and use these to generate the result. The result is then added to a "base" consisting of a related attribute score bought by the player at character creation. The sum of the base and the result is then compared to target numbers or to the results of an opponent's rolls to determine success or failure. Players build characters using points to buy six attributes, Strength, Agility, Perception, Intellect, Tenacity, and Presence, which are used for attribute tests and serve as the base to which roll results for skills are added. Players have another, separate pool of points used to buy skills such as "Marksman" or "Persuade" in five degrees of competency. These levels of competency determine the size of the player's dice pool. Players can also use their points to purchase Assets, including wealth, status, and allies that are beneficial in the game. They can also select Drawbacks, such as poverty or sickness, that will give them extra points to spend at the cost of suffering an ill effect, either as a direct penalty, or as part of the storyline. Though the character generation is not class-based, there are "Profession" templates that guide players in building characters suitable for the setting, and include prerequisites to join the many factions. For example, the level of devotion and training required to become a Mecha Pilot is explained in its Profession template. Professions still allow the player to build a unique character despite this. When rolling, players can make use of "Drama Points," which affect die rolls. One drama point spent can remove a die from an opponent's pool or increase their own pool by one die. Players have ten drama points which are restored every game session (loosely defined as being each time the players get together to play). Despite this being a feature suited mostly to players, important Non-Player Characters also possess drama points to make them tougher or represent their importance. A major element of ''CthulhuTech'' is fear and insanity. All alien monstrosities have a fear factor that forces a Tenacity roll – should the player fail, he or she will be scared or panicked by the presence of the monster, which may have scarring effects on the character's psyche. As well, coming into contact with aliens and demons, performing sorcery, utilizing psychic abilities, or witnessing horrible events, could lead players to gain points of Insanity. These can be opposed with Tenacity rolls as well. Should a player gain enough insanity points, the character will suffer psychological trauma, including common mental illnesses such as

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

. If a player gains too many points of insanity, the character will be forced out of the game – but can recover with proper psychological attention over a period of time.

Game setting

The ''CthulhuTech'' corebook is set on Earth in 2085, during a war known as the "Aeon War," against aliens and cultists with varying goals. Due to the Aeon War, the political layout of the world has changed greatly. The remainder of the civilized world has joined forces to create the New Earth Government, comprising mainly Western Europe, China, Japan, Australia, Africa, and the Americas. Vast swathes of Asian and European territory have been destroyed by the rapidly expanding Rapine Storm, a cult of crazed psychopaths and cannibals who ravage the land in hordes of armed men and terrifying alien beasts. Antarctica, Alaska, and Northern Europe have fallen under the control of the Mi-Go aliens and their advanced technological war machine. All of the oceans and most of the coasts of the world are sparsely controlled by the

, who use sea beasts, monstrous

Deep One The Deep Ones are creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. The beings first appeared in Lovecraft's novella '' The Shadow over Innsmouth'' ( 1931), but were already hinted at in the early short story " Dagon". The Deep Ones are a rac ...

s and Hybrid soldiers, brainwashed or

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

humans, and their own brand of oceanic mecha in their search for

R'lyeh R'lyeh is a fictional lost city that was first mentioned in the H. P. Lovecraft short story "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in ''Weird Tales'' in February 1928. R'lyeh is a sunken city in the South Pacific and the prison of the entity calle ...

, the lost underwater city of

. Players can choose from two player races in the Core Rulebook. Aside from Humans, a player can choose to play as the alien Nazzadi, genetically engineered humans once under the influence of the Mi-Go but now allied with the Earth's government. The Nazzadi are depicted as dark skinned humans with intricate tattoos. The ''CthulhuTech'' companion book ''Vade Mecum'' introduced three new playable races, two of which are results of Nazzadi and Human coupling and are referred to as "Xenomixes." The third is the monstrous "Ghoul," a race of filthy and only vaguely humanoid creatures that hide within human civilization, disguising themselves as homeless people or living in sewers and tunnels. Factions include the "Tagers," a group of warriors who work for the mysterious Eldritch Society and bond with alien symbionts that produce alien-like suits of flesh over their bodies, giving them enhanced strength and other abilities. Tagers combat the powerful and nearly all-encompassing Chrysalis Corporation, a front for a terrible cult known as the Children of Chaos, who worship Nyarlahotep, and create shapeshifting super soldiers called "Dhohanoids" to accomplish their ends. "The New Earth Government" is the most encompassing faction, with numerous government agencies, military powers, and all of the world's remaining nations under its command. NEG players will fight the cults and the alien Mi-Go using mecha and military technology out in the battlefields or sorcery, wits, and investigative ability in the futuristic urban arcologies. The players can also, if they choose, ally themselves with the Chrysalis Corporation and other evil cults.

Inspirations

''CthulhuTech'' is inspired by various

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

such as ''

Robotech ''Robotech'' is a science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production and first released in the United States in 1985. The show was adapted from ...

'', ''

The Guyver ''The Guyver'' (released in Europe and South America as ''Mutronics'') is a 1991 American tokusatsu superhero film made in conjunction with Shochiku Films, loosely based on the Japanese manga series of the same name by Yoshiki Takaya. The film ...

'' and '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', and by

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and c ...

games like ''

''. The core inspiration is drawn from the works of HP Lovecraft and others. A few Mythos elements have been extrapolated into a futuristic setting, such as monstrous

Ghouls A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...

and Byakhee, the alien Mi-Go, as well as Lovecraftian deities such as

and

Hastur Hastur (The Unspeakable One, The King in Yellow, Him Who Is Not to be Named, Assatur, Xastur, H'aaztre, or Kaiwan) is an entity of cosmic horror. Hastur first appeared in Ambrose Bierce's short story "Haïta the Shepherd" ( 1893) as a benign ...

. Despite the use of races and deities created by Lovecraft and others, there is little to connect the game with the Lovecraftian style of horror; the game is more action oriented. While prominent elements of the Mythos described in some of Lovecraft's key works (such as

Elder Thing The Elder Things (also known as the Old Ones and Elder Ones) are fictional extraterrestrials in the Cthulhu Mythos. The beings first appeared in H. P. Lovecraft's novella, ''At the Mountains of Madness'' (published in 1936, but written in 19 ...

s, Shoggoths or Yithians) are not used as NPCs or enemies and generally do not appear in the game, they are referenced in a section of the CthulhuTech ''Core Rulebook'' describing the background of the setting and intended for

gamemaster A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are m ...

s. Notably, while the game itself is very loosely based on the Mythos and the aspects integrated into gameplay are extensively reimagined, the background section closely follows Mythos canon and is fairly accurate. The setting features futuristic elements such as the architecturally efficient and futuristic arcologies, powered armor and

, energy weapons, and bio and nano-technology. In addition, the setting also includes many paranormal or fantastic elements, such as dangerous sorcery and psychic abilities, which take a toll on the sanity of the user, and the Arcanotechnology, a paranormal technology that produces near-endless amounts of efficient and clean fuel.

Reception

''CthulhuTech'' has received varying degrees of acknowledgment.

Io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

featured a short review of Vade Mecum, the ''CthulhuTech'' companion book. The reviewer referred to the artwork as "amazing, really helping to evoke the gloomy, decadent world of CthulhuTech" and recommended the book for those who are looking for a dark RPG. Hyperion, the largest Norwegian website for roleplaying and

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 ...

, featured a review of ''CthulhuTech''. The reviewer applauds ''CthulhuTech'' for its fresh setting and the wide variety of stories it can support, saying it might become a "cult symbol" among games. The reviewer also goes through Framewerk, finding it easy to pick up, especially for those with experience in the

White Wolf A white wolf or Arctic wolf is a mammal of the ''Canidae'' family and a subspecies of the gray wolf. It may also refer to: Organizations * White Wolf (band), a Canadian heavy metal band * White Wolf (band), white power oi band from the USA * Whi ...

Storyteller System The ''Storytelling System'' is a role-playing game system created by White Wolf, Inc. for the Chronicles of Darkness (formerly known as the New World of Darkness), a game world with several pen and paper games tied in. The Storytelling System ...

. However, he also goes on to say that some of the skills are similar and might confuse beginners, and that it lacks information on the technology of the setting, requiring more supplements to make it whole. ''CthulhuTech'' was a finalist for the 34th

Origins Awards The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 a ...

, an award for particular aspects of the traditional gaming industry. It was nominated in the "Roleplaying Game" category for 2008 and was selected as a silver award finalist, though it did not win the category. The winner was Aces & Eight

''CthulhuTech'' was also a finalist for the 2009 ENnie awards for "Best Game", "Best Production Values", "Best Interior Art", "Best Supplement", and "Best Cover Art". For those categories it won Gold ENnie awards for "Best Cover Art" (Core Rule Book) and "Best Supplement" (Vade Mecum). ''CthulhuTech'' was featured in Yog-Sothoth.com's semi-regular "Yog Radio" podcast. It was featured in Yog Radio #28, in an interview with the game's authors. Translations of ''CthulhuTech'' into Italian, Spanish and French are in the works. The Spanish edition of ''CthulhuTech'' is being published by Edge Entertainment in Spain. The French edition of ''CthulhuTech'' is being published by La Bibliothèque Interdite in France.

Publication history

The first publisher of ''CthulhuTech'' was EOS Press. This was followed by

(a relationship which ended amicably) and

Catalyst Game Labs Catalyst Game Labs (CGL) was created in May 2007 by InMediaRes Productions, LLC for the purpose of publishing print ''Shadowrun'' and ''Classic BattleTech'' sourcebooks.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cthulhutech Campaign settings Cthulhu Mythos role-playing games ENnies winners Horror role-playing games Role-playing games introduced in 2007