The Cthulhu Mythos skill is one of the most interesting (and notorious) devices of the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game.  While it can prove to be an essential talent for an investigator pursuing lengthy investigations into the mythos, increasing one's aptitude in the skill presents dire consequences.  The more knowledge one possesses, the closer one draws to the brink of madness.  No other game illustrates more clearly how dangerous knowledge can become. 

As Lovecraft wrote in the game's namesake story, ". . . the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."  However, the Cthulhu Mythos skill can present some difficulties for the Keeper, depending on how it is used.

Take for example: an investigator has five points in Cthulhu Mythos after encountering a Hunting Horror in his first exploration of the unknown.  During a later scenario, this investigator stumbles across a group of the Fungi from Yuggoth-the Mi-Go.  The Keeper takes great delight as the player rolls the investigator's Occult skill to no avail.  As the investigator's (and the player's) terror and confusion mounts, the Keeper prepares to spring a few more surprises.  But the player calls for a Cthulhu Mythos skill roll and subsequently rolls an 04%.  Now the Keeper feels obliged to reveal a little more information about the Mi-Go, and the investigator somehow understands that these alien creatures are known to perform terrible operations and experimentation upon hapless humans.  This can ruin at least some of the tension in the game. Additionally, to maintain a sense of realism and a suspension of disbelief, the Keeper must also devise some connection between the Hunting Horror the investigator encountered to earn the Cthulhu Mythos points and the Mi-Go-two elements that were meant to be unrelated in the Keeper's campaign.

While there is nothing necessarily wrong with the mechanics of the Cthulhu Myths skill as it is presented in the rulebook, there are some options available that can enhance the game for players and Keepers alike.

First of all, the Keeper could decide to disallow players from rolling both Occult and Cthulhu Mythos.  Instead, the Cthulhu Mythos skill could interact with the Occult skill similarly to the way in which Martial Arts interacts with Fist/Punch.  When you wish to see if an investigator understands the true significance of a newly found artifact, for instance, roll only against the investigator's Occult skill.  If the roll succeeds, the Keeper may reveal some tidbit of non-mythos information or may simply say, "During your occult research, you have never come across something like this," letting the investigator know that there is something more to the item.  If the roll succeeds and is lower than the investigator's Cthulhu Mythos skill, the Keeper may reveal some of the artifact's Mythos significance.  In this way, the two skills work hand in hand.  Remember, the Mythos have been around for a long time, and while most people are unaware of things such as Shoggoths and Deep Ones and Dholes, it seems likely that a character with a 90% Occult skill might have stumbled across some small reference to the Mythos during their studies. Perhaps their first encounter with a Mythos entity stirred something in their subconscious.  This option can help the Keeper explain how the investigator knows something about the mind-numbing horror he is facing.  It also cuts back (ever so slightly) on the number of dice rolls being made during what might be a frightening scene.  While rolling dice and testing skill levels can add drama to the game, doing so can also pause the game until the results are resolved.

Still, the Keeper faces the challenge of ruining some suspense or killing the fear factor by revealing too much information when a successful Cthulhu Mythos roll is made.  If handled correctly, though, successfully understanding the Mythos can be frightening as well.  Writers will tell you that strong fiction will "show not tell," and this concept can be applied to Call of Cthulhu as well.  Using the example above, our intrepid investigator has succeeded on a Cthulhu Mythos roll.  The keeper could simply state, "You remember a reference to something similar to these creatures in one of the books you read in your early days at school.  You passed it off as fiction at the time, but the book described these strange beings as not of this earth with a desire to experiment and operate upon unsuspecting humans."  Depending on the situation, this might work fine.  But imagine that the Keeper says nothing right away.  Later, as the investigator sleeps, he dreams that he is being held down in his bed by pincer-like arms.  The Mi-Go swarm around him, buzzing excitedly.  Blood runs down his face, stinging his eyes.  As he watches, horrified, the Mi-Go lift his brain from his skull, showing it to him!  A sanity check would, of course, be required as the investigator wakes, sitting bolt right in bed, with a new understanding of the terrors that must be faced.  This technique, like any other, can be overdone, but hopefully it will give Keeper's some new ideas as to how to present Mythos information.

These ideas are presented only as options for Keepers who may be finding the Cthulhu Mythos skill a bit problematic.  Other gamers may have already devised their own methods for handling any problems they may have faced.  It is important to handle any given situation as logically as possible, thereby maintaining realism to balance the fantastic.  It is also important to maintain an air of mystery, so that the players are kept guessing.  By using some new techniques, the Keeper can perhaps make the campaign a little more thrilling, a little more frightening.


Credits: Cullen Bunn