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Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook - Hardcover

$76.89
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CHA23135-H
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3.50 LBS
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The World’s Best Game Of Intrigue, Mystery & Horror!

The Old Ones ruled the earth aeons before the rise of humanity. Traces of their cyclopean cities can still be found on remote islands, buried amid the shifting desert sands, and in the frozen wastes of the polar extremes. Originally they came to this world from the stars. They sleep now, some deep within the earth or beneath the sea.

When the stars are right they shall again walk the earth.

Chaosium Unveiled: Inside Inside Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook

Watch the unveiling video to see the book for yourself. Remember that you get the PDF when getting the physical copy.

Call of Cthulhu is the world’s best game of secrets, mysteries, and horror. 

Playing the role of steadfast investigators, you travel to strange and dangerous places, uncover foul plots, and stand against the terrors of the Cthulhu Mythos. You encounter sanity-blasting entities, monsters, and insane cultists. Within strange and forgotten tomes of lore you discover revelations that humanity was not meant to know.

You and your companions may very well decide the fate of the world.

The Keeper Rulebook, contains the core rules, background, guidance, spells, and monsters of the game. It is everything you need for Call of Cthulhu at your fingertips, and will enhance all of your games. The Keeper Rulebook is intended for use by the Keeper of Arcane Lore—the Game Master who will present the scenario to the other players.

The other players—the Investigators—will benefit hugely from a copy of the Investigator Handbook, which contains expanded rules for character creation, skills, occupations, equipment, and a primer on 1920’s New England—the signature setting of Call of Cthulhu.

Monsters, Beasts and Alien Gods!

The Dark Young

A bestiary of mythos entities to pepper your Call of Cthulhu scenarios and campaigns. Each entry contains full rules for using that monster in the game. Whether it’s a lowly Mi-Go, a flesh-changing Deep One, or the great Cthulhu himself, you’ll find background details, stats, special rules and spells to effectively dispatch these wicked beasts upon your hapless investigators.

Call of Cthulhu statistics for the Dark Young

Tomes of Eldritch Lore

The Tome

Whether at your local library, or among the forbidden bookshelves of a twisted cultist, the Keeper Rulebook provides a wellspring of books for your investigators to find. Rules for reading, researching, and discovering spells come alongside detailed entries for over 20 tomes. Every tome listed in the Keeper Rulebook can serve as the basis of its own story, and to inspire your very own cults to face off against your investigators.

Tome - Cthulhu in the Necronomicon

Sanity

The Scream of Sanity

Full rules for the Sanity system that sets Call of Cthulhu apart from other horror games. The Sanity system measures each investigator’s capacity to comprehend the incomprehensible. It mechanizes the way the human brain can break upon discovering mind-bending truths we were never meant to discover. With each loss of sanity, the investigators will change, and their character will shift and grow. Sanity is the backbone of narrative character development in Call of Cthulhu.

Sanity Loss Example

Scenarios

Two complete scenarios, handouts and pregenerated characters allow you to jump right into the action, or kick off a new campaign.

Amidst the Ancient Trees

Amidst The Ancient Trees - The investigators join a search party for a kidnapped girl, and must venture into the woods of Southwest Vermont in pursuit. What they discover is far worse than they could imagine.

The Horror in Ink

Crimson Letters - The death of a professor at Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts sets off a chain of events that echo through the entire city. The investigators must solve the unexplained death of the academic before things get out of hand.

Downloads for this Product

 
Character Sheets

Play online with our Licensed Partners

Do you play on a Virtual Tabletop? Our partners offer products for playing this scenario online.

Watch Live Play: Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook

Curious about the scenarios? Watch the Live Play on the Stream of Chaos

What The Critics Say

Call of Cthulhu - Keeper Reviews

  • The stars are right for the best edition of the best role-playing game in the world.

    — Antonios S., Call of Cthulhu Review.

  • "Call of Cthulhu is now the Pepsi of RPG franchises, alongside D&D’s Coke, and the game’s success is part of the revival of Lovecraft and Lovecraftian fiction."

    — Paul StJohn Mackintosh, Greydog Tales., The Legacy of Lovecraft.

  • "The Call of Cthulhu RPG has been in print from the same publisher since 1981. It is the horror RPG that all other horror games are judged by."

    — Powell’s Bookstore., Call of Cthulhu RPG.

  • Call of Cthulhu has been called “one of the best roleplaying games of all time”(Geek & Sundry But something that’s overlooked about this classic horror RPG… is that it’s also one of the most versatile and well-researched historical RPGs around... I mean honestly, you can now play CoC in more time periods than your average season of Dr Who.

    — Games Vs Play., 5 Reasons Why.

  • "…one of the most iconic tabletop roleplaying games of all time."

    — Catholicsay.com., 10 hugely influential figures you didn't know were Mormon.

  • "The ultimate horror RPG, Call of Cthulhu is a stone-cold classic of the tabletop."

    — Tabletop Gaming Magazine (UK)., Top 10 Roleplaying Games.

  • "God, I love this book... Basically, everything you’d want from a new version of your favorite horror game and the best iteration to date."

    — Vintage RPG., This is the Keeper Rulebook.

  • "It almost destroyed my life and career"

    — George RR Martin., (Game of Thrones).

  • "One of the most well-known and beloved tabletop RPGs on the market."

    — Wargamer, Tabletop RPGs: the best tabletop roleplaying games.

  • "There is a reason why Call of Cthulhu is regarded as one of the greatest roleplaying games ever published. It is a classic piece of design that successfully emulates the singular genre it is inspired by and in doing so, introduced new ways to roleplay and tell amazing stories as well as innovations to the roleplaying hobby that are still influential today. It is always going to be the greatest horror roleplaying game there is, not just because of the Mythos, but because of its influence, innovations, and the simple fact that it can still give you a great playing experience."

    — Reviews from R'lyeh, 1500th Review.

  • "A well-known cornerstone of hobby shops all around the world."

    — The Gamer, 10 Best Tabletop Games Based On Books.

  • “Is Call of Cthulhu the best roleplaying game ever written? That would be an interesting debate in 2075 when role-playing hits its centenary. There will never be any consensus on that, as gamers are vehement defenders of their favorite system. Certainly, the BRP engine is hugely flexible and easily comprehensible.. What IS the case is that this is definitely the best version of possibly the best roleplaying game ever written. The bar has been raised and good luck for any designer trying to improve on it.”

    — Chaosiana, CALL OF CTHULHU 7TH Edition Review.

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PDF Product Name: [Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook - PDF]
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Publisher:
Chaosium
Year Released:
2016
Version:
7th Edition
ISBN:
978-1-56882-430-7
Page Count:
448
Format:
Color Hardcover
Authors:
Sandy Petersen, Mike Mason, Paul Fricker, and Lynn Willis
Cover Artist:
Sam Lamont
Artists:
Jonathan Wyke, Paul Carrick, Rob Gould, Fran.ois Launet, Victor Leza, Charles Wong, Mike Perry, Nicholas Cloister, Antonio Luis, Kalli Schulz; Interior Illustrations: Rachel Kahn, Grilla, Chris Huth, Lo.c Muzy, Paul Carrick, Scott Neil, Jonathan Wyke
Cartography:
Steff Worthington
  • Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star 5
    Call of Cthulhu rule book

    Posted by Christopher Dunn on 11th Feb 2024

    Great game and great purchase. Very easy website to use. My rule book arrived quickly and in perfect shape.

  • Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star Empty Star 4
    A worthy tome of knowledge

    Posted by Wanderer on 18th Nov 2023

    A great resource for running the game and expanding on the wonderful streamlined rule set presented in the Starter Set. It covers the basics, but includes variant rules and fleshed out concepts if you want to dive into those dark corners of investigative horror. It really gives you some neat tools to create the experience you want at the table, with plenty of guidance and examples sprinkled throughout. Beyond the rules you get a wealth of supporting material like tomes of knowledge, spells, artifacts, monsters and gods. Each of these can spark plenty of ideas for your own campaign. Included are two scenarios that are ready to run, but also show you two very different approaches to building a scenario for this style of game. Last there is a vast appendix that provides you with quick access to the important rules or frequently referenced details that the keeper can have at their fingertips. It is a huge help having that in one place (and with a handy ribbon bookmark bound in the book). I’ve used it plenty of times while running the game. The book itself is good quality. The cover and pages are sturdy. Font size and style is easy to read. Art is good and evocative. Love the two ribbon bookmarks (and my cats love them even more). I only have two criticisms. The writing style differs a bit from the Starter Set. I found the way the rules were laid out in the Starter Set a bit easier to grasp. Not to say that the Keepers Rulebook was confusing, but the style was a bit wordy (much like Lovecraft himself), while the Starter Set was a bit more concise. But I liked the abundance of examples provided in the Keeper Rulebook as well as the appendix distillation of the key elements in one place at the end. I also think that the section on creating your own scenarios and campaigns is good, but could use a bit more practical guidance for creating a mystery to base the scenario around. Coming from more combat focused games, it requires a bit of a mind shift to build a mystery for investigation, the core aspect of this game. While there are some great online resources (including great videos from Chaosim itself), I do wish there was more in the book. All that said, this book is a great resource, but also a fun book to just sit down and read. It is a must, especially if the Starter Set whet your appetite for more.

  • Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star 5
    Excellent Customer Service

    Posted by Khrista Herzing on 2nd Mar 2023

    Dustin Wright truly cares about each customer and provides amazing customer service that I didn’t believe still existed. This company and fulfillment service will make sure everything is the way you would like it to be. I’m so happy with my beautiful book and the level of professionalism with this company. I will definitely be a returning customer.

  • Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star 5
    Nailed it

    Posted by Brian Sandall on 10th Nov 2022

    Absolutely gorgeous book, great binding quality, and filled with everything a keeper needs and then some. I really like the rules summaries in the appendices, that's a nice touch and very useful to print out a copy or two for your players.

  • Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star 5
    This book is lit

    Posted by Nate on 26th Sep 2022

    This book is amazing, and well worth the price of a physical copy. It has an awesome new book smell, and even has a built-in bookmark. Very high production value. The content of course is fantastic as well, as long as you enjoy skill-based games with high levels of player danger and a reduced focus on combat. The layout can be a tad confusing at first, but that's mostly due to the growing pains of learning a new system. My only complaint is that the shipping times are a little long. It took twelve days for my order to arrive following the date of order. That, however, is par for the course for a niche product such as this, but it was nonetheless annoying. That being said, the quality of the product itself more than made up for the wait-time. Overall, if you can put up with a bit of a wait, buying from Chaosium directly is well worth it, especially considering the PDF included in the package (which is immensely helpful for long distance groups). Definitely a purchase I am happy with.

  • Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star 5
    Indispensible

    Posted by Mike Geib on 26th May 2022

    I would get this even if I was only intending to play Investorgators. Well-built, sturdy, and chock-full of excellent rules and details on the depth of the system and what it's capable of in terms of collaborative storytelling.

  • Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star 5
    7th Edition Cthulhu Keepers Book

    Posted by Kim White on 27th Mar 2022

    A gem of a product! A beautifully presented and illustrated hard cover book that just SHOUTS “quality” and is a pleasure to hold in your hands. Absolutely worth getting even if you have an earlier Edition.

  • Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star 5
    Creating a life long fan

    Posted by Thomas Connole on 25th Oct 2021

    Having my start in the tabletop rpg genre with DND, Call of Cthulhu was such a surprising and life changing game to find. The ruleset and lore has everything I ever hoped to have in a tabletop game and more. It is actually quite amazing how much better the quality of this book and others from Chaosium are than the rest of the tabletop rpg market. To name everything that makes these books world class amongst the rest (in my opinion) is the art, design, game structure, rules, character creation, volume and quality of supplements, organization of the book(s), and best of all the feel of the game. This isn't the only tabletop rpg I play, but it will always be my favorite.

  • Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star Full Star 5
    Keeper Rulebook

    Posted by Franklin Diggs on 16th Sep 2021

    This is a really well produced book. I'm not going into content, because you can probably find out about the game easily elsewhere. I want to talk about the book binding and printing. Production is at least equivalent to competitors. I believe it to be Smithe sewn and case bound, but I honestly cant see very well past the headband to see the binding, I'm not at this stuff. Paper is glossy, like other RPG books, thicker than magazine paper, but not as thick as photo paper. Color and alignment consistent throughout. There is a bookmark sewn in. The end pages on this book are amazing and I just wish they would use these end papers all the time. Like. these end papers just tell me the company put the 110% into the production of this book.