Customer Reviews

H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands (Call of Cthulhu Horror Roleplaying)

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This hardback copy of HP Lovecraft's Dreamlands is an improvement over the 4th edition. Previously removed adventures were restored, with Lovecraft's original conception of the land of Xura. It still has Lumley's description of Zura and the Eidolon Lathi, which many people resented. I just found it interesting that the scenario involving Xura (not Zura) admits that the decription is different from the one in the sourcebook, but was still worthy of inclusion.

To begin with, it is a nice hardback book. I like my source books to be hardcover for more use. I tend to mangle softcovers that are used a lot for reference. There is a nice color landscape on the inside covers. However, all other graphics are black and white, which at least cost less. Some of the pages weren't bound well either.

The material begins with a description of dreaming, the land of dream, and how to get there. This edition says that in order to enter through dreams, characters must have less than 300 points of modern skills (science and technology); they can still enter via other methods (artifacts, magic, and chemicals). The dreaming skill is described, which allows MP and POW to be used to alter reality within the dreamlands.

The next section is a paraphrase of "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath". I assumed it would merely leave out some prose from HPL, but it also includes further information on each of the areas that Carter visited - very informative and fun to read! The Gazeteer of the Dreamlands follows, which divides the world into the North, East, West, Seas, Oriab, the Moon, and the Underworld. I didn't feel that these sections were well-developed; it was almost just a list of places and people. It really would have been more productive to focus on a few sites of interest and add more background to those than do a lukewarm job on all of them.

Afterwards, there are sections on people, creatures, and gods of the Dreamlands. These are mostly complete, but the major races and gods ere only references to read the core rulebook. I would have preferred to see the entries repeated than have to pull out another book for the most important denizens of the Dreamlands. There are also artifacts, books, and many spells - the magic of the Dreamlands is much more powerful in its ability to warp "reality".

There are then 6 scenarios presented. The first is two pages, and really just a suggestion to travel through the Dreamlands to meet a friend - big whoop. This is a "seed", not a "scenario". "The Land of Lost Dreams" and "Season of the Witch" are powerful narratives with physical and psychological challenges for investigators to overcome. "Pickman's Student" is a horrific transformation of a friend into a fiend from the Underworld, requiring a travel to the Dreamlands to gain assistance to end the change. "Lemon Sails" seems like a fun adventure for Dreamlands-only characters, although the plot is forced.

One huge point in favor of this book is a section on creating a dreamlands character, with rolls, skills, and a character sheet. There are occupation skill sets listed and weapons more common to dreams. This allows the Dreamlands book to be used as a standalone, which I think adds a LOT of value. There is also a bibliography of authors and stories referenced in the dreamlands - a great reading list!

I think this book has some weak points - a lot of names of cities and people, but not much info. Clearly, this allows the Keeper to improvise a lot, but then if you wanted to do that, why buy the sourcebook? But there is a lot to approve of - the restoration of all the scenarios, the acknowledgement of the difference between Lovecraft and Lumley on some points, the rules for creating a character so that this supplement can be a standalone, and, well, the hardcover itself. Might be worth upgrading if you own 4th edition, otherwise a good buy for anyone new to dreams.

After I bought the Core Book for Call of Cthulhu I did not think any of the Supplementals could rival the information, story, and imagination but Dreamlands comes very close. It encapsulates HPL's world very concisely and accurately. It even includes a nicely illustrated Dreamland map.