We’re back and we’re doubting our humanity. It’s easily enough done. Whether it’s these gill slits on our necks, that pervasive smell of death surrounding us, or just the weird way our shadow shifts and twists, there’s always been something a little off. Normally, that doesn’t cause any problems beyond the usual revulsion. It does make us wonder, however, whether we’re really protagonist material. Is a background role the best a non-human character can hope for in this game, or it is finally our time to shine as investigators?

Main Topic: Non-Human Characters in Call of Cthulhu

There are plenty of creatures in the Cthulhu Mythos that resemble humans, both in appearance and intelligence. While it’s easy to categorise them as monsters, we explore how to present them as fully formed characters. Normally, their role would be as an antagonist, but the Mythos is more ambiguous and nuanced than that. Some of your best friends might be ghouls!

And, of course, Lovecraft’s protagonists often discovered that they weren’t quite as human as they’d believed. Why shouldn’t the same be true in Call of Cthulhu? What are some of the considerations of having non-human characters as investigators in your game?

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

• D&D
• “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” by HP Lovecraft
• “Pickman’s Model” by HP Lovecraft
• The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by HP Lovecraft
• “The Outsider” by HP Lovecraft
• At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft
• “Nyarlathotep” by HP Lovecraft
• “The Whisperer in Darkness” by HP Lovecraft
• “Fat Face” by Michael Shea
• “The Shadow Out of Time” by HP Lovecraft

• Possession in Call of Cthulhu
• Ghosts in Call of Cthulhu
• Cloverfield (2008)
• Ain’t Slayed Nobody
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• Uncanny valley
• “Ghost Light” arc of Doctor Who

• Dawn of the Dead (1978)
• Alien (1979)
• “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fishmen” by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society
• The Sopranos
• Breaking Bad
• Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
• Nodens
• Reddit thread about non-human characters
• Vampire: the Masquerade
• Werewolf: the Apocalypse
• World of Darkness
• How We Roll
• “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” episode of The Twilight Zone

News

Paul at Gen Con

Paul will be attending Gen Con 2024 as part of the Chaosium presence. Seek him and the rest of the team out in room 134, off the Hoosier Concourse, or at any of the events in which he is participating. These include the scenario writing seminar and workshop, with Mike Mason, and a game with You Too Can Cthulhu. The Good Time Society will also be running some Call of Cthulhu, and our good friends from the HP Lovecraft Historical Society are offering one of their legendary LARPs.

The Blasphemous Tome Issue 12

Issue 12 of The Blasphemous Tome will be shipping very soon. This is the fanzine we produce for Patreon backers of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias. The latest issue contains “A New Dark Age”, a modern-day Call of Cthulhu scenario by our own Paul Fricker, set in a town near you.

Every backer will receive a PDF of issue 12 as soon as it’s available. Anyone backing us at the $5 level or above by the end of July will also get a printed and signed copy.

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