Review Of Trail Of Cthulhu By Pelgrane Press
-== What is it? ==-
Trail Of Cthulhu (TOC) is a horror RPG based on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and the investigation based Gumshoe rules system from Robin Laws. The book focuses on the 1930’s but this can easily be adjusted by the GM. It was written by Kenneth Hite and published by Pelgrane Press in 2007. With a pedigree of Robin Laws and Kenneth Hite my expectation for TOC are very high. I consider these two gentlemen to be some of the best RPG authors in the business. 😉
TOC has a color cover and a three color interior. The interior text is black and white but there is dark green shading to add atmosphere. The hardcover version of TOC is 8.5†x 11†and is 248 pages in length. I am reviewing a print copy that I bought from Pelgrane Press. I ran six sessions of TOC using the Purist rule set as part of my Armitage Files campaign. (Watch this very blog for a review of the Armitage Files.)
-== What I Like ==-
TOC uses the Gumshoe system previously presented in Esoterrorists but skins it for Cthulhu. The primary enhancements are the addition of rules for Stability/Sanity loss, spell-casting, and tomes. In these areas the product does a pretty good job. My group had little issue with the Stability rolls and seemed to take to them quickly even though as a GM I had some minor issues with them (see below). I do not plan on discussing the Gumshoe system in detail. If you want to read more about it you can check out my Esoterrorist review here. 🙂
The TOC rules cover two styles of play. There is a Purist mode and a Pulp mode. Purist mode is straight horror similar to that found in the Call Of Cthulhu RPG. Pulp mode is two guns blazing against deep ones. 🙂 For my campaign I used the straight Purist mode.
The rules presented in TOC are very fast. I think pushing role-playing over gameplay works well for the horror genre. You don’t get caught focusing on strange rules you move along quickly. The game enforces this aspect of play really well with the Scene card mechanic. After all of the major clues are uncovered the GM holds up a card with the word “Scene” written on it. This lets the players know that they have all of the critical information related to the investigation. There could be details gained by further research but the major important clues are out. The Scene card worked great because it never seemed to distract from the role-playing. In fact I plan to steal the idea for other campaigns that I may run.
The investigative engine present in Gumshoe is a perfect fit for the Lovecraft horror genre. Often the research about a particular nasty is more important than your shotgun. The system naturally supports the style of gameplay that you want to evoke at the table.
I really liked the way the Drive statistic is used to provide character motivation. When creating their characters players pick a motivation, or Drive, for their PC. For example, Curiosity. If they go against their drive they can incur a Stability loss. The mechanic worked well and the players enjoyed the interaction that Drive had on our gameplay.
I really like the artwork and layout in TOC. Even though there is dark green shading behind the text it is not distracting. The artwork can be dark but it really evokes the setting. Jerome Huguenin also knocked it out of the park with a fantastic cover.
-== What I Don’t Like ==-
One of my players pointed out that there are several “influencing people” skills without clear boundaries. I agree. I made some subtle changes in my campaign that really helped. I removed Flattery and rolled it into Reassurance. I removed Interrogation and rolled it into Intimidation. I flat out pulled Oral History. Those changes worked pretty well for us. It cut down on complaints and confusion quite a bit. 😉
Several of the players did not like the fact that in TOC Purist rules investigators do not earn experience. I came up with something that is not as open as the Pulp play style but is similar. Here is what I did.
- For each session that a player attends his PC gets 1 ep.
- This ep can be spent to get +1 on a General Ability.
- 5 ep can be traded in to get +1 on a Investigative Ability.
- The rules say that points can be redistributed during the course of a campaign. I allowed this initially. After the 5th session I did not allow point shifts.
- Per the rules ep cannot be used to increase Credit Rating, Cthulhu Mythos, or Sanity.
- Stability or Health can generally not be raised unless approved by the Keeper.
The way General Ability pools work in the Gumshoe system was something that my group could not accept. Lets say a PC has 9 points in Firearms. A tough bad guy might need a 4 to hit on 1d6. That means I can spend 3 and automatically hit. So for the first 3 rounds of combat I will hit every time. Once my pool is gone the PC all of a sudden becomes a lousy shot. It just does not make sense. This was by far our biggest issue with TOC.
The chances for a PC to lose Sanity are very hard to achieve. Every PC in my game had 8 to 10 Stability. You don’t lose Sanity unless Stability is knocked below 0 and it is a Mythos attack. Getting attacked by a horrible beast only loses you 5 Stability max. Not sure the math plays out unless the GM whittles away at the Stability before that last encounter quite a bit. I started trying this but I am still not comfortable with it.
The way Investigative Abilities work when involved with the persuasion related effects is not wonderful. If I have Assess Honesty I cannot be fooled unless the other person is an actor or trained then it does not work at all. If two Investigative Abilities play against each other there is literally not a mechanic for resolving the situation. It the call of the GM. I think rules are needed for this situation.
-== Summary ==-
I found this TOC review particularly hard to write. The reason is because I am a huge fan of Ken Hite and Robin Laws. I consider them both master RPG designers . At DunDraCon this year Ken mentioned that he and Robin have learned a lot about making the Gumshoe system easier for folks to “grok”. After every Gumshoe release the system clarifies. Me and my players could use some of that clarification. We actually switched from TOC to Call Of Cthulhu after 6 sessions. This is a product with some standout concepts that is brought down by a few severe problems.
You can get copies of TOC at Noble Knight Games at this URL for $25. Amazon has copies for $39.99 at this URL. You can get the PDF from DriveThruRPG at this URL for $24.99.
I give it 6 out of 10 paws.
Having played Trail of Cthulhu now, I think the system is brilliantly designed minus one small detail, most players as I found out, prefer a system that has mechanics of failure and success, instead of rules to tell a story (which is what GUMSHOE does). One of my players couldn’t get it all and I had to kick them out, the others struggle, but are slowly getting it. The system is supposed to be player driven, not GM driven. So a player is supposed to go into a room and say, I want to look at the dead body, I want to do this or that, and I find that some players have a real hard time with that, so I end up leading more than I want to as a GM.
I do think that your Purist games aren’t as soul crushing horrifying as they probably should be. I am pretty sure, if you aren’t insane or dead by the end, things aren’t quite right 😉 I don’t think you are using enough Stability rolls, because EVERY time they face a ghoul, they have to make a check. So even if they spend 2-3 points from their pool to increase their odds of not taking 5 stability, it should whittle down over time. In Purist play, there are very few opportunity to replenish Stability.
I had a similar problem with my player who left in regards to his understanding the General Skills. The best explanation I have heard is that those General Skill pools are there to put the spotlight on your character. So when you use up your pool, your spot light is over until they refresh. In your example of a Shooting Skill of 9, you have have the ability to automatically succeed 3 times or have a great chance of success 4-6 times. Three shots at a Ghoul will take them down and if it doesn’t, you need to run and run fast. If you want a more Combat orientated game, then you need Night’s Black Agents where the combat options are way more robust, though the pool points remain.
Those are my thoughts since having ran the game. It’s a hard system to get your head wrapped around and wish I was playing instead of running it, because I would absolutely love to play this system. On the other hand, I do fully understand that some players won’t enjoy it and that’s okay. I personally can’t get my head wrapped around the FATE system or the Apocalypse Engine, and others really love them.
1Thanks for the great comment. 🙂
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