A new RPG dares to ask the question, which is worse: cosmic horrors most incomprehensible, or the trials and travails of high school?
High School Cthulhu is a new RPG coming in August from Gear Games. It poses that eternal question: which is worse, an eldritch being from the darkness that lies between the stars raising up its terrible head as it rises from an unsleeping, undying dream… or finding out that your partner is cheating on you with your best friend and also finding out that literally everyone in school now has a new nickname for you based on your greatest shame?
High School Cthulhu
From the premise and influences of High School Cthulhu, it’s probably more the relationship and teen angst melodrama than, you know, high schoolers being cruel for no reason. This is because HSC takes its inspiration from high school series, specifically from the ’90s. In fact, it takes place in the ’90s, in the haunted town of Innsmouth.
You’ll wear your JNCO jeans and get on your Apple Power Macintosh to research whatever eldritch problems you might be dealing with at dial-up speeds upwards of 56 kbps. Which, I’m pretty sure, was the plot of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Conveniently enough, that’s one of the inspirations, along with Dawson’s Creek and Beverly Hills 90210. Technically, you could probably add Degrassi Junior High (and definitely Degrassi High) into the mix despite them starting in the late ’80s.
Right. So 90s teen drama meets Cthulhu is the vibe. What about the gameplay itself? Here’s what Two Little Mice have to say about it:
“You’re a student, it’s the 90s, you live in Innsmouth, and something dark and terrifying is about to take your life by storm. As if adolescence wasn’t bad enough, now you’ll have to deal with the supernatural of cosmic horror on a stage lit by the bright, fluorescent colors of the Nineties. What a mix!
High School Cthulhu is powered by a highly cinematic game engine called Director’s Cut. The system uses small pools of six-sided dice to determine the outcome of anything that involves a risk or a danger. When rolling dice, you’re not looking to roll high or low, but to group as many matching symbols together.”
The Director’s Cut engine is the same one used in Outgunned, the action movie RPG, and Outgunned: Adventure, the pulpy action movie RPG. It’s a “cinematic” RPG engine that makes for a lot of high-stakes fun because you get to roll a handful of dice looking to make sets. It’s designed to get you to push your luck, which is what you want when facing the eldritch horrors of the Cthulhu mythos.
You can check out a free quickstart preview of the system yourself, right here. With a release date of August 15th, there’s still time to check it out. If you want to make sure you have your copy on day 1, then you can pre-order at the link below!
Innsmouth High, eh? Wonder what their mascot is?
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Source: Bell of Lost Souls
