Francesca Viganò
Before we dive into the review of Cthulhu Bay, I would like to thank Nigredo Press and Ms Edizioni for sending us a physical copy so we can analyze it together.
If after reading this review you want to buy the game, you can find it on the publisher’s website for 15 euros for the physical edition including the digital one.
An Ambitious Game
Cthulhu Bay aims, in the premises, to rediscover the myths of Cthulhu through rapid dynamics and a particularly narrative system of rules. The inspirations are evident and are cited on the back cover. First of all, we have already discussed The Cthulhu Hack and The Mysteries of Brindelwood Bay.
There is no doubt that H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmogony is among the most honoured (or plundered) by role-playing game authors in recent years. Every year new titles appear to the point of having probably constituted a real sub-genre of the horror genre. Cthulhu Bay therefore places itself within this context.
Let’s start with a necessary premise: despite the title of the game, there are no explicit references to the Lovecraftian universe or its dynamics. The only exceptions are the citations to the works in the incipit of the scenarios, here called Stories. The direct insertion of these elements is therefore left in the hands of the players and the narrator. Each Story presents a group of clues to choose from as the narration progresses. What is particularly interesting is that it will be the players who choose, for each clue, which of the three proposals of meaning inherent in the manual to take into consideration.
Cthulhu Bay Character Sheet Review
As we will see in this review, the Cthulhu Bay character sheet is extremely simple and immediate to use.
Each character has four Resources to rely on: Torches, Voice, Physique and Self-control. Each resource has a value defined by a die’s size chosen between d4, d6 or d8 depending on its competence. The Resources Torches and Voice are used to search for Clues, instead, Physique and Self-control are used to cope with the physical or psychological pressure to which the character will be subjected during the investigation.
In Cthulhu Bay, each Story presents four pre-generated PCs, suitable for the proposed context. However, nothing prevents you from creating your character along the lines of those proposed.
Each PC has his Profession or Role that is functional to the Story on a narrative and mechanical level. Once per Story, he can be marked to gain an Advantage in a test, highlighting how his skills are of particular help at that moment. This very simply means rolling two dice and keeping the best one.
Each pre-generated PC has two questions that must be answered before playing They have different functions: to create links between the PCs, and the NPCs, with the story and allow players to introduce narrative elements during the Story.
Infine ogni PG possiede un oggetto, a scelta tra due presenti sulla scheda. Questo ha la funzione meccanica di concedere Vantaggio a una prova e racconta qualcosa del PG.
Tests to Pass and Clues to Find
Cthulhu Bay is a horror detective game designed for a narrator and a group of 3/4 players. The rules are really simple and introduce an interesting way of solving the mystery. Unlike traditional games, the narrator does not know where the story will lead. The player’s choices and the type of clues found will define at a certain point, the Epilogue.
During their investigation, the PCs must find the Clues to solve the Mystery. To do so, they have to be explicit and indicate how they want to search. In this way, they define whether they will use a Torch resource or a Voice resource depending on whether they investigate a place or interact with an NPC.
Regardless of the result of the die, the PC gets the clue. But if the result is 1 or 2, it is a failure and the size of the die will be reduced according to the pattern d8>d6>d4>0.
The same happens when the PCs face physical or mental tests, but the Physical and Self-Control Resources will be involved. In any case, when a Resource is reduced to 0 the PC can no longer make a test with it but can try to restore a part of it with a Recovery Scene. It will therefore be necessary to tell how the PCs heal their physical or mental wounds.
Moreover the character sheet summarizes the wound and shock table practically and effectively, so you always have them at hand when needed.
The Role of the Narrator
The narrator has a role not unlike that of other roleplaying games. He must manage the world and the NPCs, choose the clues to place in the various locations, choose the reactions of the world and the NPCs, increase the tension (also thanks to the Abyss Clock) and help the players unravel the Mystery to lead them to the Epilogue.
I want to say a few more words about the Abyss Clock. It is a useful tool to mark the time of the game so that the players keep their attention high. It is a clock with four dials that the GM fills in particular circumstances. Some examples are when the PCs play a Recovery scene or when they fail in their attempt to Unravel the Mystery.
Four Stories to Play
Inside Cthulhu Bay, we find four Stories ready to be played. These are four scenarios set in very different places and times. Let’s look at them a little more closely, keeping in mind that for each one the themes addressed, the warnings on the contents and the suggestions to evaluate together with the group before deciding to play them are rightly indicated.
The Monastery is set in the Middle Ages, in a monastery. The PCs are part of a group sent by the diocese to investigate the terrible murder that has shocked the Monastery of San Devoto. This mystery is linked to an ancient forbidden book, the Liber Ivonis, kept in the library of the Monastery.
The Stele in the Ice takes place in the ice of Greenland between the 20s and 30s of the 20th century. The characters are part of an expedition towards the Arctic Circle in search of signs of ancient civilizations, sent by the Miskatonic University. During the journey, however, a strange stele is found.
The Unknown Planet takes us into the future and space. The PCs are members of a spaceship forced to crash-land on an uncharted planet. Their communication systems are down and they must explore the planet to find a way home.
Sauna is set in 1596 on the new border of Karelia, a land long disputed between Russia and Sweden. The characters are part of a unit of men sent on the trail of an expedition that disappeared while mapping the new borders.
Cthulhu Bay Aesthetics Review
In its approximately 60 pages (not without typos), Cthulhu Bay is a practical and easy-to-handle volume with a typically retro feel, thanks to sheets of paper that recall old publications. Although very atmospheric, the choice of using taken from foreign magazines without translation did not fully convince me. On the one hand, they certainly reinforce the impression of having a period text in your hands, on the other hand, they represent a missed opportunity in making them real handouts for the scenarios.
The cover, by Leon Ant, is certainly impactful and aesthetically pleasing. Perhaps it is the most concrete reference to Lovecraft’s cosmogony of the entire product, which remains graphically interesting.
Cthulhu Bay Review Conclusions
As you can see from this review, Cthulhu Bay does not focus primarily on innovation or originality but has the merit of recovering interesting dynamics and integrating them. In this way, a genre generally linked to participatory narration pleasantly transforms into emergent narration, bringing fresh air to the horror genre.
If you like games with a strong focus on storytelling, tense themes and a horror feel where not even the narrator knows exactly how things will end, then Cthulhu Bay is the game for you!
