Reddit reviews Call of Cthulhu: Horror Roleplaying in the Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft, 6th Edition
We found 9 Reddit comments about Call of Cthulhu: Horror Roleplaying in the Worlds of H. P. Lovecraft, 6th Edition. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Call of Cthulhu is Chaosium's classic roleplaying game of Lovecraftian horror in which ordinary people are confronted by the terrifying and alien forces of the Cthulhu Mythos. CoC uses Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying System, easy to learn and quick to play.
I've never played the d20 version, but I play the standard d100 game. If you want to just give the game a try, you can download the quickstart rules, which come with a sample scenario. You can print out the rules, character sheets, and scenario, and run a game off of just that.
The only book you really need is the Call of Cthulhu rulebook. This book is pretty much a player handbook/DM guide/monster manual built into one. The great thing about Cthulhu is that the game is so basic that you only need 1 copy of the book (for the DM, or keeper) and can give the rest of the players quickstart rules that you can print online. Cthulhu is such a simple game that I think about 70 percent of the book is just flavor text and sample scenarios.
In that book, you can get some beginning sample scenarios that you can run with your group, which will give you a sense of how the game is run. One of the great things about Cthulhu is that the game is very story driven. Combat has very simple rules, and there are no experience points or levels, although you do increase skill points. The whole point of the game is that you are presented with a mystery, and the players must gather information and solve the mystery, at the risk of their own sanity. So don't expect any monster mashes or anything like that, unless that's how you want to run your game.
List of Influential RPG Titles
Dungeons and Dragons - By TSR and WotC
Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition - TSR
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition - TSR
Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 - WotC
Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 - WotC
Dungeons and Dragons 4e - WotC
Pathfinder - Paizo Publishing
Not Dungeons and Dragons
World of Darkness - by White Wolf
"New" World of Darkness
AEG
Other
Authors to Look for
RPG Related Non-Fiction
RPG Fiction, also essential
Other Lists
Honorable Mentions
*Please add suggestions below, I'll add to the list as I revisit this thread throughout the day. Adding Amazon links now.
You could try Pathfinder expansions, or The Resistance (probably the Avalon version is most fun) is a great mix of board game and light RPG.
You can find out more about Pathfinder here: http://rpggeek.com/rpg/1627/pathfinder-roleplaying-game. Pathfinder is, as far as I know, an RPG system not just an RPG in of itself, that other RPGs can be played off if you have the core rule book handy, which some of which are listed in 'Linked Items' (to move through the pages, the link is hidden in the top right hand corner of the Linked Item box :) ).
You can also find out top ranked RPGs by the users of RPG Geeks here: http://rpggeek.com/browse/rpg, if you wanted them to get into a new RPG! Call of the Chtulhu is its own system, and apparently number 1! I've heard good things about it - if he's asking for a new RPG, the core rule book is here: http://www.amazon.com/Call-Cthulhu-Roleplaying-Lovecraft-Edition/dp/1568821816/. You can also buy spiffy dice for it here: http://www.awesomedice.com/rpg-dice-by-game/call-of-cthulhu-dice but they are pricey! The same site has nice sets of dice for D&D (so I THINK they can be used for Pathfinder but I'm not 100% - maybe check on /r/rpg for that) at a much more reasonable price, if you maybe wanted to opt for them!
The Resistance Avalon - there are bad guys and good guys, but not everyone knows who is who. The bad guys have to try and bluff their way through the game to sabotage all the missions, and the good guys have to try and stop them - but if the bad guys work out who Merlin is (and Merlin knows who all the bad guys are), then they automatically win anyway. Great group game (I don't own it but I know it), and fun. You can see the peeps from Shut Up & Sit Down play it here: http://susd.pretend-money.com/videos/v/play-the-resistance-avalon/
Someone else mentioned Pandemic, which I do own, and is a boat load of fun! A co-operative game trying to wipe out infections!
I've only played one RPG, once, before, so I'm not an expert! Board games are more my domain. But I hope this helps with your giftee! :)
You can buy the rulebook for like $25 on amazon
. I really like it, i've played like 4-5 sessions of it. It plays a bit like D&D but usually you play as detectives (More in actions then in title, unless you want to play an actual detective) And combat is SIGNIFICANTLY more deadly. You won't be much stronger than the average cultist.
[If you want to see it being played I'm particular to Dice Stormers on youtube.] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oi1i70iaUM&list=UUiHMbAFXhVslHs0wPd8-JrA)
On Amazon it's only $24.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1568821816
/u/amightyrobot speaks truth. I'd mentioned CoC yesterday, but I guess it was easy to miss around all of the other posts. It's very simple to learn, has a ton of good adventures and setting books, and all of the published material is 99% compatible across editions.
You can even get the core rulebook for cheap.
Here's an Amazon entry.
Here's DriveThruRPG's PDF of the same.
You could no doubt find cheaper ones with some effort, but that was just off the top of my head.
http://smile.amazon.com/Call-Cthulhu-Horror-Roleplaying-Lovecraft/dp/1568821816/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452378050&sr=8-2&keywords=call+of+cthulhu+rpg
You could try to get the RPG game from Chaosium and such, stuff like "Call of Cthulhu" (https://www.amazon.com/Call-Cthulhu-Horror-Roleplaying-Lovecraft/dp/1568821816/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467686272&sr=1-3) and also some extensions like Delta Green (https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Cthulhu-Horror-Roleplaying-Modern/dp/1887797084). Most are nice to read even if you don't play the RPG.
Also books from Robert E. Howard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard).
No. I mean D100/percentile.