The Good Friends of Jackson Elias

291: Non-Human Characters in Call of Cthulhu (long cut)

Added 2024-07-16 10:28:40 +0000 UTC

This is the unedited version for backers only.

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?

News

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.

Blasphemous Tomes Latest Updates:

Blasphemous Tome Fanzines Update for $1 backers (Jan 2024)

Blasphemous Tome Fanzines Update for $3+ backers (Jan 2024)

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.